Is your compass actually wrong? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explore magnetic fields, why clocks go clockwise, and how phone numbers got their area codes.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free.

Thanks to our Patrons Ed B, Thomas Skov, Kelly Castro, tasos, Doug Dee, and Antonio Gutiérrez Pérez for supporting us this week.

Photo Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of StarTalk Radio ad-free and a whole week early.
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.