Surely we all need lungs to breathe?

But what if we didn't? How would that work?

In today's episode Fin tells us about a tiny animal that doesn't have lungs but breathes just fine. Click play to find out what animal it is. 

You'll be amazed at how they do this.

Transcript:

Welcome to Brain Pop! — where your brain goes boom with one mind-blowing fact every day!
I’m Fin — your curious, crawling, fact-finding buddy — and today we’re zooming in on some of the smallest creatures on Earth… and discovering a BIG surprise about how they breathe!

Let’s get that brain popping — no lungs required!

Alright, take a deep breath with me.
In through your nose… and out through your mouth.

Feels good, right? That’s your lungs at work! Humans (and most animals you know — like dogs, cats, even whales) have lungs that take in oxygen from the air and move it into the blood, so every part of the body can stay alive and active.

But guess what?
Ants don’t have lungs.
Nope! Not even tiny little ones.

Ants are way too small to fit big organs like lungs inside their bodies. Instead, they have a completely different — and totally brilliant — way of breathing!

Ants have tiny holes on the sides of their bodies called spiracles. Air enters through these holes and travels through a network of tiny tubes called tracheae.
These tubes carry the oxygen directly to their muscles and organs — no need for blood to do the work like in humans! It’s like an instant air delivery system.

Here’s an easy way to picture it:
•Imagine if you didn’t need lungs at all — and instead had little straws all over your skin that slurped up air straight into your muscles.
•You could be running, jumping, climbing — all fueled by mini air tunnels! That’s how ants roll.

And because they’re so small, ants don’t need nearly as much oxygen as humans do.
If humans breathed like ants, we’d need a network of tubes sticking out of our bodies everywhere — which, um, might make soccer games a little tricky.

Wow — ants are tiny but totally mighty! No lungs, no problem!
Thanks for popping your brain with me on today’s itty-bitty, breathing-without-lungs episode of Brain Pop!.

Be sure to crawl back tomorrow for another small but mighty fact. And here’s your ant-sized question of the day:
If you could shrink down to the size of an ant, what’s the first thing you would explore? A blade of grass? A kitchen crumb? A LEGO city?

See you next time on Brain Pop! — where curiosity is cool, facts are fun, and every day your brain goes BOOM!

Do you know that humans come in all shapes and sizes? Some even have feet as long as a skateboard.

In today's episode Fin tells us about 5 record breaking humans. You won't believe some of these facts.

Transcript:

Welcome to Brain Pop! — where your brain goes boom with one mind-blowing fact every day!
I’m Fin — your fact-hunting friend — and today we’re not diving under the ocean or flying into space. Nope. Today, we’re looking right here on Earth… at some of the most extraordinary people to ever live!

Let’s get that brain popping — with record-breaking bodies!

Every human is special, but some people are extra unforgettable because of their super-sized or super-small features.
Let’s meet five amazing examples:

1. The Tallest Person Ever: Robert Wadlow

Robert Wadlow, from the United States, holds the record as the tallest person ever recorded. He grew to a height of 8 feet 11 inches — that’s 2.72 meters!

To picture that, imagine stacking two refrigerators on top of each other. Or standing next to a baby giraffe — and Robert would STILL be taller!
He needed special furniture and even a custom-built car just to fit his giant frame.

2. The Shortest Person Ever: Chandra Bahadur Dangi

On the flip side, the shortest adult ever measured was Chandra Bahadur Dangi from Nepal. He was just 21.5 inches tall — about 54.6 centimeters. That’s shorter than a toddler!

You could fit Chandra comfortably in a regular school backpack!
Even standing on a chair, he barely reached an adult’s waist.

3. The Largest Head Circumference: Joseph Carey Merrick (The Elephant Man)

Joseph Merrick, who lived in the 1800s, had a head circumference of about 36 inches — that’s 91 centimeters around.

To imagine that, think of the size of a large beach ball — bigger than some people’s entire upper body! His condition made him famous, but also showed the world the importance of kindness and acceptance.

4. The Biggest Feet: Jeison Orlando Rodríguez Hernández

Jeison, from Venezuela, has the biggest feet recorded for a living person today. His right foot is over 16 inches long — that’s about 40 centimeters.

That’s about the length of a regular skateboard!
And no, he definitely can’t just walk into a shoe store and grab a pair — his shoes have to be specially made.

5. The Biggest Hands: Sultan Kösen

Sultan Kösen, from Turkey, has the largest hands ever recorded. Each hand measures 11.22 inches from the wrist to the tip of his middle finger — that’s about 28.5 centimeters!

That’s longer than a standard school ruler — and almost as big as a pizza box if you stretch from fingertip to fingertip across two hands!

Wow! — humans come in all shapes and sizes, and each one is a wonder!
Thanks for popping your brain with me on today’s record-breaking, jaw-dropping episode of Brain Pop!.

Come back tomorrow for another awesome adventure through the weird and wonderful world. And here’s your big question for today:
If you could set a world record, what would it be for? The world’s longest drawing? The loudest laugh? The fastest LEGO builder?

See you next time on Brain Pop! — where curiosity is cool, facts are fun, and every day your brain goes BOOM!

An animal with eyes bigger than basketballs? Surely not!

Well, actually there is. In today's episode Fin tells us about a sea creature that lives deep in the ocean that has eyes the size of beach balls.

Find out which animal it is and why they need such silly eyes.

Transcript:

Welcome to Brain Pop! — where your brain goes boom with one mind-blowing fact every day!
I’m Fin — your friendly fact explorer — and today we’re diving deep into the ocean to meet a creature with a body part SO big, it’s hard to even imagine.

Let’s get that brain popping — with something giant and seriously googly-eyed!

Okay, ready for today’s wild fact?
There’s a creature deep in the ocean called the colossal squid — and it has the biggest eyes of any animal on Earth.

How big are we talking?
Each eye is about the size of a beach ball!
Not a tennis ball. Not a basketball. A beach ball. Around 30–40 centimeters wide — that’s almost as wide as a large pizza!

Why does the colossal squid need such ginormous eyeballs? Well, in the deep ocean, where it’s darker than a cave at midnight, having huge eyes helps them spot even the tiniest bit of light — like the glow of another weird deep-sea creature trying to sneak by.

The colossal squid doesn’t just have big eyes — it’s also massive overall. It can grow up to 14 meters (or about 45 feet) long — about the size of a school bus! And it has hooks — yes, hooks — on its arms instead of just suction cups, like many other squids. Some of those hooks even swivel, like little grappling hooks.
This squid is basically an underwater boss level creature.

And get this — even though it sounds like something out of a monster movie, humans hardly ever see colossal squids. Most of what we know comes from squids caught accidentally by deep-sea fishing ships.

The colossal squid lives in the super cold waters near Antarctica — swimming through pitch-black darkness, with its enormous eyes looking for prey. Creepy… and totally awesome!

Wow! — that fact was bigger than my whole imagination!
Thanks for popping your brain with me on today’s big-eyed, deep-diving episode of Brain Pop!.

Come back tomorrow for another giant-sized curiosity. And here’s your ocean-sized question of the day:
If you could have a superpower inspired by an animal, what would it be? Giant squid eyes to see in the dark? Dolphin sonar to find hidden treasures? Shark sense to smell a snack a mile away?

See you next time on Brain Pop! — where curiosity is cool, facts are fun, and every day your brain goes BOOM!

Have you ever thought how much 1 billion really is? How much bigger it is than 1 million?

If someone gave you a dollar every second you'd have 1 million dollars in days but you'd only reach a billion dollars in more than 3 decades.

Listen to today's mind blowing episode where Fin discovers that a billion is WAY bigger than he thought.

In today's episode Fin tells us some facts about volcanoes you've probably never heard of including volcano lightning and why volcanoes can actually be good. 

Sit back and press play on today’s lava-blasting episode of Brain Pop!

Transcript:
Welcome to Brain Pop! — where your brain goes boom with one mind-blowing fact every day!

I’m Fin — your curious co-host of chaos and coolness — and today’s episode is full of lava, ash, and superheated surprises. That’s right — we’re talking volcanoes. And this one’s gonna erupt with facts.

Let’s get that brain popping — hot magma style!

Volcanoes are like the Earth’s pressure valves. When molten rock (that’s hot melted rock beneath the ground) builds up beneath the surface, and pressure gets too high… BOOM! The volcano erupts — shooting out lava, ash, gas, and rocks!

But how powerful can volcanoes really be? Hold onto your marshmallows. This is where it gets wild.

1. The Loudest Sound in History? A Volcano!

Remember in Episode 9, we talked about the loudest sound ever? That was the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. It was heard over 4,800 kilometers away — that’s from London to Egypt or Sydney to Singapore. People’s eardrums burst 60 kilometers from the explosion. Boom indeed.

2. Mount Vesuvius Turned a City to Stone

In the year 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the entire city of Pompeii in volcanic ash. People and animals were frozen in place for nearly 2,000 years, and we only rediscovered them in the 1700s. It’s like a time capsule of the Roman world!

3. Volcano Lightning is a Real Thing!

During super explosive eruptions, the ash cloud rubbing together creates static electricity — and then lightning shoots through the sky! It looks like a fire-breathing dragon battle in the clouds. Google “volcano lightning.” You won’t regret it.

4. Lava is Hotter Than You Think

Lava isn’t just hot. It’s 1,300 to 2,200°F (or 700 to 1,200°C). That’s hotter than a pizza oven, a campfire, or even your toaster x100. It can melt cars, trees, and even rocks!

5. There Are Underwater Volcanoes Too!

Most people picture volcanoes as huge mountains, but did you know there are thousands of volcanoes under the ocean? In fact, the biggest volcano on Earth is underwater! It’s called Tamu Massif, and it’s bigger than the whole state of New Mexico. 

And guess what? Volcanoes aren’t all bad. They make new land, heat hot springs, and their ash can even help plants grow better. So they’re like the Earth’s way of making a mess — but also cleaning things up afterward!

Wow! That fact was molten hot and totally explosive.
Thanks for popping your brain with me, Fin, on today’s lava-blasting episode of Brain Pop!.

Come back tomorrow for another mind-melting moment of truth. And here’s your volcanic question of the day:
If you could name your own volcano, what would you call it? Lava Llama? Mount Marshmallow? Boom Boom Peak?

See you next time on Brain Pop! — where curiosity is cool, facts are fun, and every day your brain goes BOOM!

Today Fin tells us about 5 really strange weather events. Ever heard of green rain? Here about it and other crazy weather facts in today's fascinating episode.

Transcript:

Welcome to Brain Pop! — where your brain goes boom with one mind-blowing fact every day!
I’m Fin — your storm-chasing, cloud-watching, totally curious host. And today’s episode is all about weather — but not the kind you hear in the morning forecast. Oh no. This is the kind of weather that makes you say, “Wait… WHAT?”

Let’s get that brain popping — and maybe grab an umbrella, just in case!

Okay, we all know the usual kinds of weather:
•Sunny 
•Rainy 
•Windy 
•Snowy 
•Maybe even a thunderstorm 

But did you know Earth has some seriously strange weather that sounds like something out of a fantasy movie?

Let’s go on a quick tour of five of the weirdest weather events ever recorded:

It once rained fish in Honduras!

Yes, real fish — falling from the sky! This happens almost every year in a town called Yoro after big thunderstorms. Scientists think strong winds or water spouts suck up small fish from nearby rivers, then drop them over land. We even talked about this in Episode 8, so go check that out if you missed it!

Purple rain in India?!

In 2001, rain in the state of Kerala turned purple, green, and even yellow! People thought it was alien slime or space goo — but scientists figured out it was colored by spores from algae floating in the air. Gross AND cool.

Lightning storms that strike 100 times per minute

There’s a place in Venezuela called Lake Maracaibo, where lightning strikes thousands of times a night — almost every single night of the year! It’s so regular, sailors used it as a natural lighthouse hundreds of years ago.

Ball lightning

Imagine glowing orbs of light — floating through the air during a thunderstorm! No one’s really sure how ball lightning works, and it’s super rare. Some people say it’s the size of a grapefruit… others say it hovers silently, then goes pop! Spooky, huh?

Blood snow (a.k.a. watermelon snow)

In places like Antarctica or high mountains, snow sometimes turns red or pink, like a giant slushy! It’s caused by tiny algae with red pigment. It looks tasty, but don’t eat it — scientists call it “blood snow”, and it’s super weird to see.

From raining fish to glowing lightning balls — this episode was totally storm-tastic!
Thanks for popping your brain with me on today’s wild weather adventure on Brain Pop!.

Come back tomorrow for more facts that’ll blow you away. And here’s your breezy question of the day:
If you could invent your own kind of weather, what would it be? Marshmallow snow? Bubble rain? Jellybean hail? Think about it — and maybe draw a forecast for Fin’s Fantasy Weather Channel!

See you next time on Brain Pop! — where curiosity is cool, facts are fun, and every day your brain goes BOOM!

Were you still at school when you were 10? Probably.

Could you read when you were a baby? Probably not.

In today's episode Fin tells us about a genius kid who could read as a baby. He also graduated college (university) at the age of 10!

Get your brain popping with this amazing episode about an amazing human.

Transcript:

Welcome to Brain Pop! — where your brain goes boom with one mind-blowing fact every day!

I’m your host, Fin — and today we’re talking about someone with a brain that popped so early, he graduated college before most kids even finish elementary school (or maybe you call it primary school?).

Let’s get that brain popping — because this one’s off the academic charts!

Okay, get ready for this:
The youngest person to ever graduate from college was just 10 years old.
His name is Michael Kearney, and he earned his college degree when most kids are still learning long division and playing soccer on the playground.

Let’s break that down for a second.
Most people graduate college around age 22. That’s after 12 years of school plus 4 years of university. But Michael? He zoomed through his classes like a rocket.

He was reading by the time he was 10 months old — yep, not 10 years, 10 months — before he could even walk properly! By the time he was 4, he was teaching older kids in science classes. He started high school at age 6 and college at 8. Then — boom — graduated at 10 years old with a degree in geology!

To put that into perspective, when most kids are in fourth or fifth grade, Michael was wearing a cap and gown and shaking hands with the dean. He even went on to earn more degrees later, including one in chemistry and computer science. Talk about a knowledge collector!

But here’s what’s cool: Michael’s parents didn’t push him too hard — they just noticed how curious he was and helped him learn in ways that worked for him. He loved reading, asking questions, solving puzzles, and exploring science.

It just goes to show: every kid learns at their own pace. Some kids love art, some love sports, some love coding, and some — like Michael — love everything all at once.

Wow — talk about a brain blast!
Thanks for popping your brain with me on today’s genius-level episode of Brain Pop!.

Come back tomorrow for another fascinating fact. And here’s your question of the day:
If you could go to college tomorrow, what would you want to study? Dinosaurs? Robots? Chocolate chemistry? (That should totally be a real class.)

See you next time on Brain Pop! — where curiosity is cool, facts are fun, and every day your brain goes BOOM!

What's the loudest sound you've ever heard?

In today's episode Fin tell us about the loudest sound that has ever been made on Earth. Can you guess what made it?

Get your brain popping with today's fun fact that educates and fascinates.

Transcript

Welcome to Brain Pop! — where your brain goes boom with one mind-blowing fact every day!
I’m your host, Fin — and today’s fact is loud, like really loud. So maybe cover your ears and hold onto your headphones, because we’re about to blast off into the world’s biggest BOOM ever recorded.

Let’s get that brain popping — with a BOOM you’ll never forget!

Alright, here it is:
The loudest sound that’s ever been measured on Earth was caused by a volcano — and not just any volcano, but Krakatoa in Indonesia, back in 1883. When it erupted, the explosion was so powerful, it created a sound wave that could be heard over 3,000 miles away — that’s around 4,800 kilometers!

To help you picture that:
•That’s like an explosion in New York being heard all the way in California.
•Or from London, England all the way to Egypt.
•Or from Sydney, Australia to Singapore.

Pretty far, right? And people that far away didn’t just hear a faint rumble — they heard a BOOM so loud, it was like it happened right next to them.

Scientists believe the sound reached around 310 decibels.

But wait — what’s a decibel, and how loud is that?

Here’s a quick sound-o-meter to help:
•A whisper is about 30 decibels.
•A normal conversation is around 60 decibels.
•A dog bark is about 90 decibels.
•A car horn? Around 110 decibels.
•A jet engine taking off? A super loud 140 decibels — and that can hurt your ears if you’re standing nearby!

But Krakatoa’s boom? It was so loud, it ruptured eardrums of sailors over 60 miles away and caused a pressure wave that circled the entire Earth four times.
Some people who were close to the eruption said they didn’t just hear it — they felt it in their chest.

It literally shook the air!

To put it in kid-size terms:
•It was louder than a thousand race cars revving at once.
•Louder than an entire marching band blasting in a small room.
•And louder than if every kid at a birthday party screamed at the same time… next to a volcano.

And get this: the eruption caused a giant tsunami, changed the weather, and even made sunsets look red and purple all around the world for months afterward!

So yeah — the loudest sound wasn’t a rock concert or a rocket. It was Mother Nature saying, “BOOM!”

Wow! — that fact really made my eardrums wiggle!
Thanks for popping your brain with me on today’s explosively awesome episode of Brain Pop!.

Come back tomorrow for another fact that’ll make some noise in your brain. And here’s your question of the day:
What’s the loudest sound you’ve ever heard? Was it thunder? A firework? Your little brother yelling “MOM!” from the other room?

See you next time on Brain Pop! — where curiosity is cool, facts are fun, and every day your brain goes BOOM!

Imagine fish fell out of the sky like rain. Now, sit back and hear Fin tell us how this actually happens in some countries around the world.

You can't be serious can you? Fish falling out the sky like rain? Impossible! Or is it?

Transcript

Welcome to Brain Pop! — where your brain goes boom with one mind-blowing fact every day!
I’m your host, Fin — your fearless fact-chaser — and today’s episode is so strange, you might not believe it. I mean… can it really rain fish?

Let’s get that brain popping — and don’t forget your umbrella!

Okay, picture this: You’re standing outside after a storm. The sky is clearing, the ground is wet, and something plops down at your feet.
You look closer and—wait—is that a FISH?!

Believe it or not, there’s a place in the world where this actually happens — almost every year. It’s called Yoro, a town in Honduras, in Central America. But did you know there’s also been reports of this happening in parts of the world, too!

It’s called a “fish rain”, and it’s not magic — it’s science. Sort of weird, windy science.

Here’s how scientists think it works: Sometimes, during strong thunderstorms or even tornadoes over water, small fish get sucked up from lakes or rivers by spinning winds. Think of it like a big vacuum cleaner in the sky. The fish get pulled high into the clouds, swirl around, and then—when the storm moves over land—they fall back down, just like raindrops. SPLAT!

Most of the time, it’s little fish — not whales or sharks (phew!) — and sometimes the fish are still alive when they land! People in these towns have even collected them in buckets and cooked them for dinner. Instant fish delivery? Sort of!

And while fish rain is rare, it’s not the only weird weather we’ve seen on Earth. There have been stories of it raining frogs, worms, and even spiders in some places!
Nature is weird. And we love it.

Wow — from the sky to the skillet, this fact really made a splash!
Thanks for popping your brain with me on today’s totally fishy episode of Brain Pop!.

Join me tomorrow for another strange-but-true fact. And here’s your big question for today:
If you could make it rain anything, what would it be? Gummy bears? Pillows? Chocolate coins? Maybe… money?

See you next time on Brain Pop! — where curiosity is cool, facts are fun, and every day your brain goes BOOM!

In today's episode Fin tells us about an animal that sleeps for 3 years. 

That's THREE YEARS!!!!. 

Can you believe it? Find out if this animal is just lazy or if it has a very good reason for taking such long naps.

Your mind will be blown. BOOM!

Transcript

Welcome to Brain Pop! — where your brain goes boom with one mind-blowing fact every day!

I’m your host, Fin — your fact-loving friend who’s always curious, always learning, and sometimes a little bit sleepy. And today’s fact? It’s all about one very slow, very snoozy animal.

Let’s get that brain popping — and maybe grab a pillow just in case!

Did you know that some snails can sleep for up to 3 years?

Yes, you heard that right — three whole years! That’s 1,095 days of nap time. That’s longer than kindergarten, first grade, and second grade put together. And it’s not just a power nap… it’s serious sleep.

But why would a snail do that?

Well, some snails live in places that get really dry or really cold — and snails need moisture to survive. So when the weather turns tough, certain snails curl up in their shells and go into a super deep sleep called hibernation or aestivation (that’s like hibernation, but for hot or dry conditions). It’s their way of pressing pause until the world outside is safe again.

Now, humans? We definitely don’t sleep that much. Most kids need about 9 to 12 hours of sleep every night — just enough to rest, recharge, and grow. And even though it feels like we could sleep for 3 years sometimes (especially on Monday mornings!), that’s nothing compared to our sleepy snail friend.

And snails aren’t the only long snoozers in the animal kingdom!
Check these out:
•Bears hibernate in the winter for 5 to 7 months, living off their fat stores while they rest in cozy dens.
•Groundhogs can hibernate for up to 150 days — that’s like snoozing through the entire school year!
•Alpine marmots (they’re kind of like mountain squirrels) sleep nearly 9 months a year. That’s more sleep than wake time!

Hibernation is a special trick animals use to survive harsh seasons without food or warmth. Their body temperature drops, their heart slows down, and they hardly move at all. It’s like hitting the ultimate snooze button.

So next time someone tells you you’re being lazy… just say, “Hey, I’m going full snail mode!”

Phew! I think my brain just took a nap from learning all that.
Thanks for popping your brain with me, Fin, on today’s slow and sleepy episode of Brain Pop!.

Come back tomorrow for a fact that’ll wake you right back up! And here’s your dreamy question of the day:
If you could hibernate for a season — which one would you sleep through, and why? Winter snowstorms? Summer heat waves? Or maybe just Mondays?

See you next time on Brain Pop! — where curiosity is cool, facts are fun, and every day your brain goes BOOM!