Learn about how quickly different languages can transmit information. Then, learn how you can predict the weather by analyzing the pixels of your Facebook photos, with some help from Randall Munroe, creator of the popular geek webcomic xkcd.

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following story from Curiosity.com about how languages all transmit information at the same rate, no matter how fast they’re spoken: https://curiosity.im/2OgvR0j

Additional resources from Randall Munroe:
“How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems” on Amazon — https://amazon.com 
xkcd, “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language" — xkcd.com 
“What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions” — https://amazon.com 
Randall Munroe: Is It Possible To Change The Moon's Colour? [Video] — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avYPeoU0nI8

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Predict the Weather Using Facebook Photos (w/ Randall Munroe) and Spoken Data Speeds

The award-winning Curiosity Daily podcast from CuriosityDaily.com will help you get smarter about the world around you. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll get a unique mix of research-based life hacks, the latest science and technology news, and more. Nate Bonham and Calli Gade will help you learn about your mind and body, outer space and the depths of the sea, and how history shaped the world into what it is today.Head to discovery+ to stream even more science content, from Animal Planet to Science Channel. Go to discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms Apply. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Today, you’ll learn about a new plan to use waste from beer brewing to clean metal out of our water supply, a study that puts languages like Orc and Klingon to the test, and a discovery about the direction our memories travel in our brains.     Brewer’s Yeast    “The same beer waste that gives us Vegemite could help us recycle metal waste.” n.a. 2024.  “Spent brewer’s yeast as a selective biosorbent for metal recovery from polymetallic waste streams.” by Anna Sieber, et al. 2024.  “What Is E-Waste Recycling and How Is it Done?” by Tin Lok Wu. 2023.    Constructed Languages    “From Star Trek’s Klingon to Tolkien’s Orkish: Unraveling the auditory aesthetics of constructed languages.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.  “Does Orkish Sound Evil? Perception of Fantasy Languages and Their Phonetic and Phonological Characteristics.” by Christine Mooshammer, et al. 2024.    Memory Direction   “Brain Waves Travel in One Direction When Memories Are Made and the Opposite When Recalled.” by Grant Currin. 2024.  “Theta and Alpha Oscillations Are Traveling Waves in the Human Neocortex.” by Honghui Zhang, et al. 2018. “The direction of theta and alpha travelling waves modulates human memory processing.” by Uma R. Mohan, et al. 2024.    Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brewer’s Yeast, Constructed Languages, Memory Direction

Today, you’ll learn about a medication that can successfully treat frostbite, the study of bloodsplatter in space, and a surprising finding about the supposed benefits of small class sizes.    Frostbite Treatment   “The U.S. now has a drug for severe frostbite. How does it work?” by Saugat Bolakhe. 2024.  “Frostbite.” NIH. 2023.  “FDA Approves First Medication to Treat Severe Frostbite.” FDA. 2024.    Blood in Space    “Bloodstain pattern dynamics in microgravity: Observations of a pilot study in the next frontier of forensic science.” by Zack Kowalske, et al. 2024.  “How Did NASA’S ‘Vomit Comet’ Get Its Name? A Brief History.” GoZeroG. 2023.    Small Classes   “Small Class Sizes Not Better for Pupils’ Grades or Resilience, Says Study.” Taylor & Francis. 2024.  “Typologies of secondary school student academic resilience in science with classroom and school context predictors.” by Tao Jiang, et al. 2024.    Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frostbite Treatment, Blood in Space, Small Classes

Today, you’ll learn about a skin printer that could lead to scar-free surgeries, the possibility of bringing the wooly mammoth back to life, and how to work at being happy.     Printed Skin   “Scar-free surgery prints living skin (and maybe hair) right into wounds.” by Paul McClure. 2024.  “New bioink promotes growth & regeneration of 3D-printed muscle tissue.” by Paul McClure. 2023.    Mammoth De-Extinction   “Wooly mammoth de-extinction inches closer after elephant stem cell breakthrough.” by Sascha Pare. 2024.  “Scientists Are Reincarnating the Woolly Mammoth to Return in 4 Years.” by Tim Newcomb. 2023.  “Why Are Scientists Trying to Bring Back the Woolly Mammoth?” by Teresa Ehrlich. 2022.   Learning Happiness   “Happiness can be learnt, but we have to work at it - study finds.” University of Bristol. 2024.  “Unit information: Science of Happiness.” University of Bristol. Course catalog.  “The Science of Well-Being.” Coursera Course.  “The Science of Happiness Course.” Greater Good Science Center. N.d. “Managing Happiness.” Harvard. Ongoing.      Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Printed Skin, Mammoth De-Extinction, Learning Happiness

Today, you’ll learn about a radical idea for installing a curtain around a massive ice sheet, how positive vibrations might help people with social anxiety, and new tech that could remove dangerous forever chemicals from our environment.     Glacier Curtain   “Scientists want to build 62-mile-long curtains around the ‘doomsday glacier’ for a $50 billion Hail Mary to save it.” by Ellyn Lapointe. 2024.  “Thwaites Glacier Facts.” International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration. N.d.  “How We Came to Know and Fear the Doomsday Glacier.” by Marissa Grunes. 2023.    Good Vibrations   “Good vibrations could hold answer to calming social anxiety.” University of Glasgow. 2024.  “Brain mechanisms of social anxiety disorder.” by D J Nutt, et al. 1998.  “Social Anxiety Disorder.” NIH. n.d.   PFAS Water Detox   “Harmful ‘forever chemicals’ removed from water with new electrocatalysis method.” by Luke Auburn. 2024.  “PFAS Explained.” EPA. n.d.  “What are PFAS?” ASTDR. 2024.   Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Glacier Curtain, Good Vibrations, PFAS Water Detox

Today, you’ll learn about a surprising discovery inside the worms of Chernobyl, a way to protect metals at sea inspired by barnacles, and foot-eye coordination.     Chernobyl Worms   “Radiation-proof Chernobyl worms offer answers about cancer.” by Paul McClure. 2024.  “Chernobyl Accident 1986.” n.a. 2022.  “Environmental radiation exposure at Chornobyl has not systematically affected the genomes or chemical mutagen tolerance phenotypes of local worms.” by Sophia C. Tintori, et al. 2024.    Barnacle Proteins   “Barnacle proteins protect metals from corrosion in salt water.” by Prachi Patel. 2024.  “How Does Salt Water Rust Metals?” By Claire Gillespie. 2018.  “What are barnacles?” NOAA. 2023.    Foot-Eye Coordination   “Foot-eye coordination: how our vision changes in rhythm with our walking.” EurekAlert! 2024.  “Neuroscience research shows the brain is strobing, not constant.” n.a. 2017.    Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Predict the Weather Using Facebook Photos (w/ Randall Munroe) and Spoken Data Speeds

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