Don't Pee on Your Leg (and other scientific misconceptions)

Camden and Margaret discuss if broken bone actually heal back stronger (4:18) and if some dog and cat breeds are hypoallergenic (24:23).

Camden's citations:

• BBC
• McGill University
• Hackensack Meridian Health
• Golden State Orthopedics
• University of Texas
• Principles of Life, Second Edition
• University of Rochester
• Mayo Clinic

Margaret's citations:

• "There's No Such Thing as a Hypoallergenic Cat" – Smithsonian Magazine (Kristin Schmidt)
• Dog Allergy Myths – American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
• Pet Allergy – American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
• The Myth of the Hypoallergenic Dog – Dr. David Stukus, Nationwide Children's Hospital
• The Myth of Hypoallergenic Dogs (and Cats) – Dr. Richard F. Lockey, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
• Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation (MAAL) - Donate to them!

Camden and Margaret discuss what if only mammals produce milk (2:18) and if chameleons camouflage by changing their color (18:30).

Camden's citations

• Lactation – Wikipedia
• Crop milk – Wikipedia
• Biology Exchange
• Ask Hank Anything (YouTube series)
• The Origin and Evolution of Lactation – Journal of Biology
• Platypus Milk May Help Us Fight Antibiotic Resistance – Australian Geographic
• 10 Animals That Make "Milk" and Aren't Mammals – Discover Magazine
• Inside the Wild Ways Many Creatures Make Milk – Smithsonian Magazine

Margaret's citations

• Chameleons, Facts and Photos – National Geographic
• Chameleons' Craziest Color Changes Aren't for Camouflage – National Geographic (Benji Jones)

What We're Consuming

• Camden: "The Man Who Died Twice" by Richard Osman
• Margaret: "Yesteryear" by Caro Claire Burke and "The Long Walk" by Stephen King

Have a scientific misconception you'd like us to tackle? Email us at [email protected]Find us on Instagram: @DontPeeonYourLeg

Margaret and Camden discuss what it really mean to "eat like a bird" (5:20) and if all birds migrate (17:39).

Margaret's citations

• BONUS: Support Knack's Trip to Nationals!
• Sacramento Audubon Society
• Golden Gate Bird Alliance
• The Peregrine Fund
• American Bird Conservancy
• The National Zoo
• What It's Like to Be a Bird by David Allen Sibley
• Here's How Much Food Three Different Birds Need to Eat Daily – Audubon Society by Mary McCann

Camden's citations

• What It's Like to Be a Bird by David Allen Sibley
• Audubon Society
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• The Nature Conservancy
• Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy
• Kansas State University

What We're Consuming

• Camden: Mood Machine by Liz Pelly
• Margaret: Widow's Bay on Apple TV

Have a scientific misconception you'd like us to tackle? Email us at [email protected]

Find us on Instagram: @DontPeeonYourLeg

Camden and Margaret discuss if all corn is the same (2:43) and whether most of our body heat is really lost from our heads (17:59).

• Wikipedia
• NMSU — Specialty Corns
• SDSU Extension — Indian Corn & Popcorn
• Britannica — Why Do Corn Kernels Pop?
• Nature Scientific Reports — Sweet Corn Sugary Gene Mutation
• EBSCO Research Starters — Corn Ethanol
• USDA — Global Demand for Fuel Ethanol Through 2030
• Scientific American — It's Time to Rethink America's Corn System

• US Army Survival Guide
• Cleveland Clinic — Body Heat Loss by Dr. Thomas Waters
• Ohio State University BuckMD Blog — Medical Mythbusters by Tina Comston
• University of Rochester Medicine Health Encyclopedia
• University of Utah Health — Debunking Common Winter Health Myths by Dr. Russell Vinik
• BBC Science Focus — The Great Cold Head Myth by Abbie Jordan

Camden and Margaret discuss whether American wild horses are actually native to North America (3:44) and if breastfeeding can really prevent pregnancy (17:23).

Camden's Misconception: American wild horses are not native to North America

Citations:

• Animal Welfare Institute — Wild Horses as Native North American Wildlife
• Live Science — The Surprising History of America's Wild Horses (2008)
• American Wild Horse Conservation — Scientific Research Confirms Native Ancestry (2020)
• Scientific American — The Secret Lives of Horses (2015)
• Smithsonian National Zoo — Przewalski's Horse
• In Defense of Animals — Wild Horses are Native to North America

Margaret's Misconception: Breastfeeding prevents pregnancy

Citations:

• Harvard Medical School — "Can Breastfeeding Really Prevent Pregnancy?" by Dr. Rachel A. Blake
• Cleveland Clinic — "Yes, You Can Get Pregnant While Breastfeeding" (2024)

Camden, Margaret, and guest David discuss if bird bones are hollow so birds can fly (6:48) and whether everyone sees things the same way in their mind (22:09).

Camden's Misconception: Bird bones are hollow so birds can fly

Citations:

• "What If? 2" by Randall Munroe
• The Science of Birds Podcast — "How Birds Breathe"
• "Bone Density and the Lightweight Skeletons of Birds" by Elizabeth Dumont, UMass Amherst
• Discovery — "Why Do Birds Have Hollow Bones?"
• Montana Natural History Center — "Avian Adaptations"
• Bird Spot — "How Birds' Skeletons Evolved For Flight"
• Wilderness Awareness School — "Bird Skeletons and Avian Physiology"

David's Misconception: We all see things the same way in our minds

Citations:

• Zeman et al. (2015) — "Lives Without Imagery: Congenital Aphantasia." Cortex
• Zeman (2024) — "Aphantasia and Hyperphantasia: Exploring Imagery Vividness Extremes." Trends in Cognitive Sciences
• Dance, Ipser & Simner (2022) — "The Prevalence of Aphantasia in the General Population." Consciousness and Cognition
• Marks (1973) — Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ). British Journal of Psychology
• Kay et al. (2022) — "The Pupillary Light Response as a Physiological Index of Aphantasia." eLife
• Pearson (2019) — "The Human Imagination: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Visual Mental Imagery." Nature Reviews Neuroscience
• Milton et al. (2021) — "Behavioral and Neural Signatures of Visual Imagery Vividness Extremes." Cerebral Cortex Communications
• Bainbridge et al. (2021) — "Quantifying Aphantasia Through Drawing." Cortex
• Wicken et al. (2021) — "The Critical Role of Mental Imagery in Human Emotion." Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Camden and Margaret discuss whether vampire bats actually suck blood and whether antibacterial soap is better for you than regular soap.

Camden and Margaret discuss if asteroids really look like cratered potatoes (2:52) and whether you have to lose consciousness to have a concussion (11:49).

Camden's Misconception: Asteroids look like little potatoes with craters

Citations:

• "What If? 2" by Randall Munroe
• NASA Space Place - Asteroids
• Scientific American
• CalTech Cool Cosmos

Margaret's Misconception: As long as you're conscious, it's not a concussion

Citations:

• Concussion Recognition Tool from the Concussion in Sport Group
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
• CDC - TBI Data 2024
• Mayo Clinic - Concussions
• "Concussion" by Nitin Agarwal, Rut Thakkar, Khoi Than for the American Association of Neurological Surgeons

What We're Consuming:

• Camden: "The Thursday Murder Club" by Richard Osman
• Margaret: "The Dog's Best Friend Game" board game

Follow us on Instagram: @DontPeeonYourLeg

Email us your misconceptions: [email protected]

Camden and Margaret discuss if household dust is mostly just your dead skin floating around (2:45) and whether our ears keep getting bigger our entire lives (16:05).

Camden's Misconception: Dust is mostly dead skin

Citations:

• "What If? 2" by Randall Munroe
• "Is Dust Mostly Dead Skin?" by Veritasium
• "Making an epidermis" by Maranke Koster, University of Colorado Denver

Margaret's Misconception: Our ears keep getting bigger our entire lives

Citations:

• Cleveland Clinic - Cartilage
• "Do Your Nose and Ears Really Grow with Age?" by Justin Chupungco
• "Why do old men have big ears?" by James Heathcote
• "Ear size as a predictor of chronological age" by R Tan, V Osman, G Tan
• "Human ears grow throughout the entire lifetime" by Niemitz, Nibbrig, and Zacher
• Today I Found Out
• "Truth or Myth: Our Nose and our Ears Never Stop Growing" by Michael Hinck

What We're Consuming:

• Camden: "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
• Margaret: Books

Follow us on Instagram: @DontPeeonYourLeg

Email us your misconceptions: [email protected]

Margaret and Camden discuss whether the spots on a ladybug determine its age (08:54) and if the red liquid that comes out of your steak is actually blood (22:02).