Stuff To Blow Your Mind

You can learn a lot from a book's smell. For example, the books of heavy smokers tend to smell of smoke. When you smell a book, you're encountering more than 200 individual components combining to produce an olfactory fingerprint. Tune in to learn more.

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Genetic polymorphism describes a basic fact of human life -- that every set of genes is unique. However, scientists have been able to detect many physical traits from genetic markers. Tune in to learn more about five fascinating genetic markers.

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In the early 1900s, Duncan Macdougall set out to prove the existence of the soul. By placing consumption patients on a scale as they died, he tried to find a difference between the weight of a person before and after death. Learn more in this podcast.

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Stretching from Miami to Bermuda and Puerto Rico, the notorious Bermuda Triangle has a bad reputation for wrecking ships and planes. But how much of this legend is based on science? Tune in and learn more in this episode.

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Dolphins are one of Earth's smartest animals. In fact, scientists still aren't sure exactly how smart a dolphin is in relation to the average human being. Join Robert and Allison as they break down the science behind dolphin intelligence in this podcast.

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When whales or other aquatic mammals wash onto the shore, they are usually unable to return to the sea without help. What exactly causes a whale to beach, and how can scientists prevent it? Tune in and learn more in this episode.

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Are you a fan of running outside without shoes? Many people enjoy walking barefoot, especially in warmer weather. Yet there's a dark side to the joy of a shoe-free life: parasites. Listen in and learn more about parasites in this episode.

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When hurricanes hit land, they can cause enormous damage over a short span of time -- but how can scientists stop these roving natural disasters? The answers may surprise you. Listen in and learn more in this episode.

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What do Edison, Tesla and an unfortunate elephant named Topsy have in common? They were all involved in "The War of Currents," an ongoing battle over the standardization of electricity. Tune in and learn more about Topsy's fate in this episode.

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We've all heard the saying "fight fire with fire," but could it actually work? Tune in as Robert and Allison break down the ways in which firefighters actually do use fire and explosives to fight fires in this episode.

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