BrainStuff

The concepts of ethnicity and race are both human inventions with no basis in science, but these concepts have huge impacts on us and our world. Learn the difference between ethnicity and race in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/race-vs-ethnicity.htm

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Turning cream into a stick of butter involves some complex chemistry, crystallization, and (traditionally) fermentation. Learn more -- plus the difference between sweet cream, cultured, and European butters -- in today's episode of BrainStuff.

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Some idioms have a fairly clear origin, but others have been lost to time and legend. Learn about the game that inspired calling dibs, the media that created calling shotgun, and why the 'real' McCoy was probably a number of people -- all in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/famous-inventors/why-do-people-call-things-the-real-mccoy.htm; https://people.howstuffworks.com/what-are-dibs-and-why-do-call-them.htm; https://people.howstuffworks.com/riding-shotgun-phrase.htm

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The Batagaika crater (or, technically, megaslump) is a massive pit caused by thawing permafrost -- and it's only getting bigger. Learn what paleontologists have found there (and why geoscientists are worried about it) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/batagaika-crater.htm; https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/permafrost.htm

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Investigating murders right here on planet Earth can be tricky -- how would it be handled in space? Who would even be in charge? Learn what current and future laws may apply in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/murdered-in-space.htm

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Your sense of taste isn't just a chemical catalog of what's in a food or drink -- it's a complex physiological and psychological process. Learn what we know (and don't know!) about taste in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/perception/taste.htm

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Weasels have a bad reputation among bird farmers and have been cast as literal villains in books and cartoons, but they can actually help control vermin populations -- and ferrets can make great pets. Learn more about various types of weasels (including why they dance) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/weasels.htm; https://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/otherpets/ferrets.htm

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In the midst of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte rode his hubris straight into an emperorship, but he was fated to fail. Learn how he came to power twice, why Waterloo was his downfall, and why he actually wasn't that short in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/napoleon.htm; https://history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/battle-waterloo.htm; https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/napoleon-short.htm

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Alchemists may have never turned lead into gold, but they did create the field of chemistry. Learn how the study of alchemy worked in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/alchemy-to-chemistry.htm

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Sundown towns are places in the United States where, after the Civil War and Reconstruction, white communities kept Black Americans and other groups out for decades, on purpose. Learn how they came to be -- and how some sundown towns are in recovery -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/sundown-towns.htm. Check out Dr. James Loewen's database of sundown towns here: https://justice.tougaloo.edu/sundown-towns/using-the-sundown-towns-database/

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