SciShow Tangents

We're taking a short dirt nap this week in preparation for October's frightening festivities! Enjoy this classic, slightly spooky episode and join us next week as we kick off Monster Month!

It'll be worth the wait, I promise!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Poem]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-pitcher-plants-call-bats-get-their-poo-180956014/

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2010.1141

[Truth or Fail]

Bats that spend time on the ground:

http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2005/03/vampire-bats-keep-out-trouble-running-study-shows

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16621953

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/creatura-blog/2018/01/why-fly-when-you-can-shuffle-the-lesser-short-tailed-bat-prefers-the-ground/

Diurnal bats:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/11/daytime-bats-help-explain-nocturnal-evolution/

https://blogs.plos.org/ecology/2017/06/29/bat-species-found-only-on-islands-in-trouble-worldwide/

https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/mamm.ahead-of-print/mammalia-2017-0128/mammalia-2017-0128.xml

Suction cup bats:

https://www.wired.com/2010/04/how-sucker-winged-bats-hang-on/

[Fact Off]

Bat & dolphin echolocation:

https://evolutionnews.org/2012/05/tangling_the_tr/

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/01/hear-bats-and-whales-share-sonar-protein

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(09)02073-9

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature12511

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/refined-fine-tuned-placental-mammal-family-tree/

Moth echolocation blocker:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2009/07/moths-block-bats-sonar

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/325/5938/325?keytype=ref&siteid=sci&ijkey=GbDjRlkoHfRnY

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2009/07/17/tiger-moths-jam-the-sonar-of-bats/

http://jeb.biologists.org/content/214/14/2416

[Ask the Science Couch]

White-nose syndrome:

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/bat_crisis_white-nose_syndrome/Q_and_A.html

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/static-page/what-is-white-nose-syndrome

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-bats-could-bounce-back-devastating-white-nose-syndrome-180969378/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02441-z

https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/4/2/48

[Butt One More Thing]

Bat guano gunpowder:

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dkc09  

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What would a podcast be without language? Perhaps a series of soothing tones? Maybe frog sounds? Wait… that sounds nice… 

Need more sweet language knowledge? 

Crash Course Linguistics: https://youtu.be/eDop3FDoUzk

Want more Deboki? 

Journey to the Microcosmos: https://youtu.be/17tug6T-4jc

Crash Course Organic Chemistry: https://youtu.be/bSMx0NS0XfY

And follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/okidoki_boki

And every other Tangents episode! She does a ton of behind the scenes work and we’d, frankly, be screwed without her! Thank you, Deboki!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Truth or Fail]

Mustached bat sounds and syntax

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7962992/
 

Heaps Law

https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2019/08/27/heaps-law/

Jackass penguin honks

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0589
https://www.livescience.com/jackass-penguin-linguistic-rules.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/jackass-penguin-calls-follow-similar-rules-human-speech-180974139/
https://youtu.be/oTOcJj_NNUg
 

Speed dating communication

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/04/30/151550273/to-predict-dating-success-the-secrets-in-the-pronouns

Prairie dog chatter
https://www.prairiedoghoogland.com/vocalizations
https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/79/3/887/859259

[Fact Off]

Facebook machine learning of language 

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/uops-fuc030620.php

Hypothetical spaceship language

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200706145433.htm

https://zenodo.org/record/3747353#.X1j66nlKiJc

[Ask the Science Couch]

Human language efficiency 

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/06/complex-languages/489389/

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/9/eaaw2594

http://www.ithkuil.net/00_intro.html

Computer languages 

https://thenewstack.io/which-programming-languages-use-the-least-electricity/

https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/compiled-versus-interpreted-languages/

[Butt One More Thing]

Pumpernickel

https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/the-devilish-origins-of-pumpernickel/

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Jeepers creepers, today we’re talking about peepers! 

I can't come up with anything that would really add to the above description of the episode, but I also feel like I owe you guys more than that... so hey, what's up? Excited for Halloween? Watching any good shows? I'm sort of out of shows... 

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Truth or Fail]

Bat Eyes

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/78kwdz/bats-crash-into-each-other-all-the-time-high-speed-cameras-reveal

Guitarfish Eyes

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/instead-eyelids-fish-has-special-muscles-retract-its-eyeball-180957005/

https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/sharks#:~:text=Sharks%20have%20eyelids%2C%20but%20they,damage%20when%20fighting%20or%20feeding.&text=In%20addition%2C%20some%20species%20have,the%20eye%20in%20dicey%20situations.

Goat Eyes

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/08/07/430149677/eye-shapes-of-the-animal-world-hint-at-differences-in-our-lifestyles

[Fact Off]

Glowing Contacts

https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/glowing-contact-lens-could-prevent-leading-cause-blindness-82050

https://orionvisiongroup.com/blog/glow-in-the-dark-contact-treatment-diabetic-retinopathy/#:~:text=Diabetic%20Retinopathy%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Facts,the%20precursor%20to%20nerve%20death.

Cockeyed squids

https://today.duke.edu/2017/02/mismatched-eyes-help-squid-survive-ocean%E2%80%99s-twilight-zone

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2016.0069

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/this-squid-gives-better-side-eye-than-you

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-someone-get-two/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Eye shapes

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/90509/13-furry-facts-about-pallass-cat

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/7/e1500391

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/08/07/430149677/eye-shapes-of-the-animal-world-hint-at-differences-in-our-lifestyles

[Butt One More Thing]

Cow butt eye

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/painting-eyes-cow-butts-could-save-cow-and-lion-lives-180975601/

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/627983/save-cow-from-predators-paint-eyes-on-its-butt

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Beep beep, toot toot, etc. 

Cars are definitely one of the more common-place things we’ve talked about on Tangents… yet to some, including many on our panel, they are even more mysterious and confusing than the human body or the fundamental forces of nature! 

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Truth or Fail]

Freeze-drying

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/nuos-nit031820.php

Replacing human tissues

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/cuot-nrm031320.php

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.9b01924

Batteries

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140827151654.htm

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2014/RA/C4RA03888F#!divAbstract

[Fact Off]

Added engine noise

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15117726/faking-it-engine-sound-enhancement-explained-tech-dept/

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/5-ways-that-manufacturers-enhance-the-sound-of-their-cars/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/americas-best-selling-cars-and-trucks-are-built-on-lies-the-rise-of-fake-engine-noise/2015/01/21/6db09a10-a0ba-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html

https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a7923/the-rise-of-the-fake-engine-roar-11291754/

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15107374/this-is-why-various-engine-types-sound-so-different-feature/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Wheels vs. tracks

https://litetrax.com/wheels-vs-tracks-advantages-disadvantages/

https://www.macallisterrentals.com/track-vs-wheeled-equipment-type-machine-rent/

3 vs. 4 wheels

https://thenewswheel.com/why-do-cars-have-four-wheels/

https://jalopnik.com/why-three-wheels-are-better-than-four-5950307

[Butt One More Thing]

https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(07)01404-5/pdf

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Does the Tangents crew know anything about black holes? Not really. But when has that ever stopped us? Let’s get theoretical! 

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Truth or Fail]

Gravastar

https://www.universetoday.com/24299/types-of-stars/

https://web.archive.org/web/20061213095149/http://www.lanl.gov/news/releases/archive/02-035.shtml

Blanet

https://www.sciencealert.com/we-have-ploonets-we-have-moonmoons-now-hold-onto-your-hats-for-blanets

https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.15198

Massteroid

https://www.space.com/51-asteroids-formation-discovery-and-exploration.html

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/basics/primer/

[Fact Off]

Stealing energy from black hole

http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2011/ph240/nagasawa2/

https://www.sciencealert.com/an-experiment-has-just-demonstrated-how-energy-could-be-extracted-from-a-black-hole

https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_727690_en.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=73&v=ES2VxhRAkUM&feature=emb_title

https://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/astronomy-terms/black-hole.htm#:~:text=The%20Schwarzschild%20black%20hole%20is,singularity%20and%20an%20event%20horizon.&text=The%20Kerr%20black%20hole%2C%20which,it%20was%20formed%20was%20rotating.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-an-ergosphere

https://www.howmusicworks.org/103/Sound-and-Music/Amplitude-and-Frequency#:~:text=There%20are%20two%20main%20properties,how%20loud%20the%20sound%20is.&text=A%20frequency%20of%201%20Hz%20means%20one%20wave%20cycle%20per%20second.

[Ask the Science Couch]

White holes

https://www.space.com/white-holes.html

https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/white-holes-do-black-holes-have-mirror-images

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1HqOEbq2L4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4aqGI1mSqo

[Butt One More Thing]

Carl Sagan BHA

https://www.engadget.com/2014-02-26-when-carl-sagan-sued-apple-twice.html#:~:text=In%20the%20wake%20of%20Sagan's,first%20place%20is%20beyond%20comical.

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Milk is pretty normal, right? Boring even! But have you ever thought about it? Like, really thought about it? We have! And I gotta say, it led us to some challenging places. 

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

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We get A LOT of questions from our listeners! So this week we decided to put the competition on hold, open up the old Tangents Mailbag, and answer a few of them! 

Get ready to learn some of our deepest secrets, like what Ceri thinks about yogurt and Stefan's milk conundrum! There are other, less dairy related things in this episode, too. Once again, thank you all for your support and for all of the amazing questions you ask us every week. We couldn't do it without you!

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:
Artificial sugars

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Aspartame.html

https://sucralose.org/sucralose-facts/#:~:text=Sucralose%20is%20made%20by%20a,%2C%20but%20is%20calorie%2Dfree.

https://www.stevia.com/2016/10/03/how-is-stevia-leaf-extract-made/

https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/artificial-sweetener8.htm

http://www.yalescientific.org/2010/09/mythbusters-does-sugar-really-make-children-hyper/

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/391812

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7963081/

Photic sneezing

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-bright-light-cau/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03012675

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1042271/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41551-0

Milk and bones

Whale hearing

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118582

https://dosits.org/animals/sound-reception/marine-mammals-hear/hearing-in-cetaceans/

https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/how-to-see-what-whales-hear/

https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/marine-mammals/keeping-ear-out-whale-evolution

http://repository.ias.ac.in/4651/1/321.pdf

Duck swimming 

https://www.audubon.org/news/webbed-feet-are-evolutionary-hit

https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/110/3/543/2415604

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/uropygial-gland

https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/feathers-article/

Multivitamins

[Butt One More Thing]

Anal pouches

https://books.google.com/books?id=IETMd3-lSlkC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99

https://www.wired.com/2015/01/creature-feature-10-fun-facts-fossa/

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Glowing Things: is that a scientific topic? Yes, but not by much. In fact, we spend a lot of the episode figuring out of there even is a scientific definition of 'glow!' Very exciting!

Here's a little fun fact for all you Sam-heads out there: my favorite color is 'glow-in-the-dark green." That's right, I finally admit that I'm the one writing all these descriptions! I guess Ceri doesn't do everything after all, huh?! 

Peace,

Sam

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out SciShowTangents.org!

[Truth or Fail]

Foxfire

https://allthatsinteresting.com/foxfire-bioluminescence#:~:text=Foxfire%20is%20the%20informal%20term,together%20to%20form%20a%20glow.

Submarine

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/david-bushnells-turtle-of-1776.html

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/s/submarine-turtle-naval-documents.html

There is a LOT about this submarine, and a lot of it is contradictory! A very fun Google rabbit hole to fall down. 

[Fact Off]

Death fluorescence 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/blue-death-in-worms/

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001613

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3735983/

Picture: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3735983/figure/F1/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6S3D8Fy8N4

Millipede glowing genitals

https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/187/1/117/5475011?searchresult=1

The Brain Scoop video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjNQUOYtZC0

[Ask the Science Couch]

Freezing glow sticks

https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/10/14/glowsticks/

https://www.thoughtco.com/how-do-lightsticks-work-607878

https://www2.chem.uic.edu/marek/apintropage/ap_notes/chapter18/rateseffectstempconcats.htm

[Butt One More Thing]

Glow Woims 

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/science/glow-worms-new-zealand.html

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What do proteins do? Heck, an easier question to answer would be 'what don't they do?" No, seriously... I think they do, like, everything. 

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links!

[Truth or Fail]

Protein game

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/victory-for-crowdsourced-biomolecule2/

Protein music

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190626125052.htm

Whey fabric

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-01/ded-ssa012317.php

[Fact Off]

Prions in wine yeast

https://phys.org/news/2014-08-prions-trigger-stuck-wine-fermentations.html#:~:text=Working%20through%20a%20prion%E2%80%94an,without%20altering%20the%20yeast's%20DNA.

Spider silk in vaccines

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180612185155.htm

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/udg-ank061218.php

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961218302473?via%3Dihub

http://news.mit.edu/2019/spider-silk-humidity-robotic-muscle-0301

[Ask the Science Couch]

Complete proteins

https://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/complete-and-incomplete-proteins-grains-and-vegetables

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002467.htm

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002222.htm

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-03/cfgr-utr031119.php

https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/134/6/1558S/4688841

[Butt One More Thing]

Sonic hedgehog anorectal malformation

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1850556/

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