Shows
Recreational ScienceKids think bacon and hot dogs are plantsLu and Tirth discuss wacky scientific journal titles and how American children cannot tell whether foods are animals or plants. Article link: Hahn et al., 2021. Children are unsuspecting meat eaters: An opportunity to address climate change. Journal of Environmental Psychology. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494421001584?via%3Dihub Theme music by Dasein: open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (www.scientafic.com/recscipod) Lu's song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbaEdm5hLaY 2025-07-2240 minRecreational ScienceDogs are somewhat magnetic and do elephants yawn?Lu and Tirth discuss whether dogs can sense the earth’s magnetic field when they poop and whether elephants yawn. Article links: Hart et al., 2013. Dogs are sensitive to small variations of the Earth’s magnetic field. Frontiers in Zoology. https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1742-9994-10-80 Rossman et al., 2017. When Yawning Occurs in Elephants. Frontiers in Veterinary Research. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2017.00022/full Theme music by Dasein: open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (www.scientafic.com/recscipod) 2025-07-0834 minRecreational ScienceManspreading for Tinder and scaring goats with helicoptersLu and Tirth play a science-themed “family feud” style game and then discuss how to get likes on Tinder and an attempt to scare goats using air force helicopters. Article links: Vacharkulksemsuk et al., 2016. Dominant, open nonverbal displays are attractive at zero-acquaintance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1508932113 van der Staay et al., 2011. Physiological and behavioral reactions elicited by simulated and real-life visual and acoustic helicopter stimuli in dairy goats. BMC Veterinary Research. https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1746-6148-7-16 Theme music by Dasein: open.spotify.com...2025-06-2444 minRecreational ScienceDouble dipping and using mirrors for itch reliefLu and Tirth review research ideas from ChatGPT and discuss the microbiology of double dipping and how to scratch an itch using a mirror. Article links: Trevino et al., 2009. Effect of biting before dipping (double-dipping) chips on the bacterial population of the dipping solution. Journal of Food Safety. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-4565.2008.00137.x Helmchen et al., 2013. Itch Relief by Mirror Scratching. A Psychophysical Study. PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082756 Theme music by Dasein: open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced...2025-06-1037 minRecreational ScienceImmoral meat and rubbing chickens into beardsLu and Tirth discuss how eating meat makes you immoral, according to science, and how to trick hippies into shaving their beards. Article links: Loughnan et al., 2010. The role of meat consumption in the denial of moral status and mind to meat animals. Appetite. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666310003648?via%3Dihub Barbeito et al., 1967. Microbiological laboratory hazard of bearded men. Applied Microbiology. https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/am.15.4.899-906.1967 Theme music by Dasein: open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (www.scientafic.com/re...2025-05-2733 minRecreational ScienceSwimming in syrup and fake liquid confidenceLu and Tirth discuss how fast humans swim in syrup and how to gain confidence by tricking yourself into thinking you are drunk. Article links: Gettelfinger & Cussler, 2004. Will humans swim faster or slower in syrup? AIChE Journal. https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aic.10389 Begue et al., 2012. ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder’: People who think they are drunk also think they are attractive. British Journal of Psychology. https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2012.02114.x Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recr...2025-05-1334 minRecreational ScienceSheep shearing and how to publish anythingLu and Tirth discuss the hazards of sheep shearing and how to publish anything you want...if you’re the editor-in-chief of a journal. Article links: Harvey et al., 2002. An analysis of the forces required to drag sheep over various surfaces. Applied Ergonomics. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003687002000716?via%3Dihub McCrory, 2006. Who says you cannot get published? British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/40/2/95.long McCrory, 2006. Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum. British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/40/10/815 Theme music by Dasein: ht...2025-04-2235 minRecreational ScienceChickens appreciate human beauty and rhinotillexomaniaLu and Tirth discuss how to train chickens to become attracted to human faces and the prevalence of nose picking in teenagers. Article links: Ghirlanda et al., 2002. Chickens prefer beautiful humans. Human Nature. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12110-002-1021-6 Andrade & Srihari, 2001. A preliminary survey of rhinotillexomania in an adolescent sample. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11465519/ Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (www.scientafic.com/recscipod) 2025-04-0834 minRecreational ScienceFruit bat foreplay and electric anti-venomLu and Tirth discuss the importance of foreplay in fruit bat copulation and what happens when electrocution is attempted as therapy for venomous snake bites. Article links: Tan et al., 2009. Fellatio by Fruit Bats Prolongs Copulation Time. PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0007595 Dart et al., 1991. Failure of electric shock treatment for rattlesnake envenomation. Annals of Emergency Medicine. https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(05)82389-3/abstract Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (www.scientafic.com/re...2025-03-2930 min