The BrainFood Show

⁠⁠In this episode of The Brain Food Show, which is partially a continuation of the last, we discuss the bear that was officially a member of the Polish army, how he came to be such and what became of him after WWII ended. We follow this up by discussing the interesting origin of the Live Long and Prosper Vulcan salute.

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In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start by announcing our current contest winners as well as launch a new contest.  Next up we get into the meat of the episode discussing the remarkable individual who volunteered to be sent to Auschwitz, why he wanted to go, and what happened next. We finish off by discussing an interesting bonus fact about the company Bayer.

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Chronic fatigue and weakness. Dizziness. Swollen limbs. Sudden, excruciating pain in the chest, back, legs, and arms. Uncontrollable, painful erections or priapism. Tissue necrosis. Organ damage. Increased susceptibility to bacterial infection. Death at a young age from stroke, heart attack, or organ failure. These are but a few of the awful symptoms of Sickle Cell Disease, also known as Sickle Cell Anaemia. Resulting from a defective gene that causes sufferers’ blood cells to collapse into a distinctive crescent shape, this inherited disorder afflicts nearly 8 million people worldwide and kills over 34,000 every year, with most sufferers hailing from - or tracing their ancestry to - tropical regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, Sickle-Cell Anaemia is often seen as a predominantly “Black disease”, tragically affecting access to care for millions of sufferers. But while this affliction causes untold suffering worldwide, condemning millions to a lifetime of pain - and, in many cases, an early grave - there is a silver lining: an unexpected evolutionary advantage that has allowed Sickle Cell Anaemia to persist for thousands of years. Join us as we take a deep dive into one of the world’s most fascinating yet overlooked diseases.

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In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we discuss the interesting story of who came up with the unit of measurement called horsepower and why it got applied to engines. We also discuss the late 19th century dominance of the electric car and why and when that changed. Next up we look at the mildly humorous story of who got the first known speeding ticket, as well as the much less humorous story of the first person killed in a car accident. Finally we finish up by talking about a little-known fascinating fact about James Doohan (Scotty from Star Trek).

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In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we discuss the surprisingly long history of the automobile, then move on to discussing what is generally considered the first “modern” car, the Model 3, made by Karl Benz, and how is amazing wife ultimately saved him and the vehicle from obscurity through her extreme audacity and faith in his invention.

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On April 9, 1959, the newly-formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, introduced the world to a new breed of heroes: the Mercury Seven, America’s first astronauts. Selected from a pool of over 500 military test pilots, these men represented the best the nation had to offer, and its best hope in the intensifying Space Race against the Soviets. Almost immediately, the Mercury Seven became national heroes: on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard would became the first American in space, while on February 20, 1962, John Glenn would become the first American to orbit the earth, a feat which catapulted him to superstardom. But among these early pioneers was an astronaut who, while less well-known to the public, would become a legend in the aviation community. His name was Gordo Cooper.

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Humans being horrible to other humans is nothing new. Think of the most brutal thing you can possibly imagine, and it’s almost certain not only has some human done that to another human, but probably some nation did it as a general policy to other humans. Possibly even for the amusement of the masses. And as ever, one of the few universal truths, beyond that Star Trek the Next Generation is the greatest thing humans have ever produced, is that the past was the worst. Nowhere is this perhaps better illustrated than what we are going to do an extremely deep dive into today because it’s an often forgotten bit of history, and even those who know something about it generally haven’t heard of many facets. This is despite the whole thing being central to one of the greatest and most studied conflicts in human history.

Author: Daven Hiskey

Host: Simon Whistler

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While Ben Franklin was remarkably successful in keeping elements of his private life very private to the point that historians can only speculate about much of it, despite having a common law marriage, he was, shall we say, noted for his overt and unabashed love of women and their company, particularly if they were educated- something he even used in argument for why women should be encouraged in education, not restricted as was so often the case in his time. In his view, women were simply even more fun to talk to and spend time with this way. Unshy about any of this, he even once penned an exceptionally detailed letter outlining why older women are much more preferable to sleep with than their younger counterparts. And that any young man seeking a lover to help with difficult to deal with urges before marriage would be wise to find himself an elderly woman to help meet these needs. Much more on this and Franklin’s rather humorous and well thought out reasoning in the Bonus Facts later. Brilliant, charming, funny, extremely sociable, Franklin was beloved by most who met him, knew how to have a good time, and seemed inclined to cast off his puritan upbringing and enjoy life to its fullest… despite also occasionally penning wise proverbs on how to live a good life that seemed to starkly contrast with some of his actual behaviors. British politician William Corbett would sum up that Franklin was “A crafty and lecherous old hypocrite whose very statue seems to gloat on the wenches as they walk the State House Yard.”

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In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start out with a follow up to a previous episode in which we mentioned Teddy Roosevelt likely helped delay the start of WWI, but then never actually said in that episode how.

Next up we discuss whether the Tyrannosaurus Rex could really not see

Then we get into a little podcast feedback and finish up by

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In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start out by discussing the fascinating story about how the statue of Shakespeare in Central Park, New York, got there, what John Wilkes Booth’s Brother did for Abraham Lincoln’s son, the real story about why Caesar dressing is called that, and a bunch of other interesting stuff!

This is part 4 of our 4 part series on Julius Caesar.  Stay tuned next time for when we talk about something completely different!

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