Imagine this: you’re at a karaoke competition. You grab the microphone, belt out your favorite song, and the crowd goes wild! Everyone can hear your voice, thanks to your handy dandy microphone. But how exactly do these snazzy little machines work? We asked mechanical engineer and science educator Tiffani Teachey to help us find the answer.

Got a question that’s pitch perfect? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that really ampsyou up!

How do microphones work?

Moment of Um is your daily answer to those questions that pop up out of nowhere and make you go… ummmmmmm. Brought to you by your friends at Brains On at APM Studios.

Kids & Family

Education for Kids

Lots of people love spicy food for that tongue-tingling feeling. But where does it come from? What’s happening in our mouths when we bite down on a jalapeño or chili flake? We asked taste and smell researcher Arthur Zimmerman to help us find the answer.
Got a tasteful question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll spice up your life with the answer!

Why are spicy foods spicy?

Earth is always moving around the sun, but does the sun move too? Or is it fixed in one place in the cosmos? In this episode, we talk to astrophysicist Brittany Kamai to get to the heart of this issue!
Do you have a Moment of Um question that’s burning in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help shine a light on the answer.

Why does the sun stay in one place?

There are so many different kinds of bird nests out there: big ones, small ones, some as big as your head! Birds build their nests out of everything from twigs and grass to spider silk! But do they make a new nest every year? We asked bird expert Paul Bartell to help us find the answer.
Got a question that you’ve been thinking about owl night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – you won’t egret it!

Do birds build a new nest every year?

Tattoos are a type of art that’s added permanently to a person’s skin using special inks and needles. It’s a way of decorating the body that has been around for a long time. But how long? When were the earliest tattoos?  We asked sociologist David Lane to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s really needling you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll poke around until we find the answer!

When were tattoos first invented?

It’s super helpful that each day of the week has its own name!  Without these names, it’d be really hard to keep track of our calendars – and there’d be no such thing as #MotivationMonday or #TacoTuesday! But why do the days of the week have the names that they do?  We asked language expert Amelia Tseng to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s making you #WonderWednesday? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help #FindoutFriday!

How do microphones work?

Download our free app to listen on your phone