Learn about why younger kids don’t understand sarcasm; a 24,000 year old living worm; and Betelgeuse’s “Great Dimming.”

Kids don't get sarcasm until around age 7 because of the kind of thinking it requires by Kelsey Donk

• Pexman, P. (2021, June 8). Why it’s difficult for children to understand sarcasm. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-its-difficult-for-children-to-understand-sarcasm-160915
• Do young children understand irony? (2007, January 25). Research Digest. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2007/01/25/do-young-children-understand-irony/
• An Acquired Taste: Children’s Perceptions of Humor and Teasing in Verbal Irony. (2021). Discourse Processes. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15326950dp4003_5
• Pexman, P. M., & Glenwright, M. (2007). How do typically developing children grasp the meaning of verbal irony? Journal of Neurolinguistics, 20(2), 178–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroling.2006.06.001

A 24,000 year old worm was discovered in Siberia, alive and kicking by Cameron Duke

• Grover, N. (2021, June 7). 24,000-year-old organisms found frozen in Siberia can still reproduce. Theguardian.com; The Guardian. https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2021/jun/07/24000-year-old-organisms-found-frozen-in-siberia-can-still-reproduce
• Shmakova, L., Malavin, S., Iakovenko, N., Vishnivetskaya, T., Shain, D., Plewka, M., & Rivkina, E. (2021). A living bdelloid rotifer from 24,000-year-old Arctic permafrost. Current Biology, 31(11), R712–R713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.077

Remember when Betelgeuse was acting weird? Turns out it was just a dust cloud by Steffie Drucker

• Original Betelgeuse episode: https://www.curiositydaily.com/live-longer-by-appreciating-art-betelgeuse-might-go-supernova-and-birds-freaky-fast-vision/
• Mystery solved: Dust cloud led to Betelgeuse’s “Great Dimming.” (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/hcfa-msd061221.php
• Plait, P. (2021, June 16). We may finally know why Betelgeuse dimmed so much. Bonus: No supernova. Yet. SYFY WIRE; SYFY WIRE. https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/we-may-finally-know-why-betelgeuse-dimmed-so-much-bonus-no-supernova-yet
• Betelgeuse Merely Burped, Astronomers Conclude. (2021). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/science/betelgeuse-montarges-star-supernova.html
• Castelvecchi, D. (2021). Why the supergiant star Betelgeuse went mysteriously dim last year. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01633-4
• Montargès, M., et. al. (2021). A dusty veil shading Betelgeuse during its Great Dimming. Nature, 594(7863), 365–368. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03546-8

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/kids-v-sarcasm-24-000-year-old-worm-why-betelgeuse-dimmed

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