To celebrate our 200th episode, we’re going back to 1822 to share cool facts from two-hundred years ago!

Listen in to a cornucopia of historical cooking, human experimentation, the discovery of stork migration, general Amy and Trace wackiness, one of the earliest versions of a computer, and MORE.

We appreciate you Brain Junkies so much! Enjoy the show.

Check out The Cook and Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary

Pfeilstorch!

Gifts. Just because that decorative paper is slapped on with yards of tape doesn’t mean what’s inside isn’t something you’d want.

Amy dives into a study about how we feel about gifts based on shabby wrapping paper.

Give a captive gorilla tasty food, they often vocalize in ways that sound a lot like singing. It’s so charming! But scientists thought this “singing” was a response to living close to humans. Turns out, wild gorillas sing too.

Check out this YouTube for an example! Gorillas Sing!!

One of the highest achievements in martial arts is the black belt. And Amy, OUR Amy Barton has reached that pinnacle in Taekwondo. How cool is that?!? To celebrate we’re talking about the history of the belt system. Raise your glass to congratulate Amy!!

https://traditional-dojo.com/blog/88092/The-true-and-not-so-true-history-of-the-Martial-Arts-belt-system-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_belt_(martial_arts)

We’re diving into a long episode chock-a-block full of weird facts. Get ready for German phrases, the history of bullion, hot dogs, neurons, and more (and OF COURSE a little Chuck Norris!)

image: journal with the literal bug in the system. National Geographic

Amy’s Miscellany:

German Words

Hot Dogs!

https://www.hot-dog.org/ NHDSC Hot Dog Ambassador.

You might think you’re special because you can flex your nostrils or flap your ears–but it turns out that there is a person out there who can voluntarily move their pupillary sphincters. What the heck are those? Listen to this one, it’s worth it.

Want to know more? Check out the scientific paper!

Amy’s Links: 
https://www.livescience.com/man-can-control-pupil-dilation.html
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167876021008448?via%3Dihub

The US military uses more than boats to protect our Naval bases. This episode brings a whole new meaning to “Navy seals”.

Check out this AP archive video — it’s remarkable!

More cool resources! Marine Mammal Program

Welcome to 2022!! Over the next few episodes we’re changing things up a bit. Let us know what you think! Email us at [email protected] or drop us a message on our Instagram

This week we dive into the origin of the word pothole. It’s funnier than you might think.

P.S. Trace does mention the word penis one time…but it’s not explicit. We promise.

Photo from the Pothole Gardener