SciShow Tangents

Complexly

SciShow Tangents is the lightly competitive knowledge showcase from the geniuses behind the YouTube series SciShow. Every other Tuesday, join Hank Green, Ceri Riley, and Sam Schultz as they try to one-up and amaze each other with weird and funny scientific research... while not getting distracted. There will be tangents about video games, music, weird smells, surprisingly deep insights about life, and of course, poop, but it always comes back to the science.

#74 in the Top 100 science Weekly chart

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Top 10 SciShow Tangents Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best SciShow Tangents episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to SciShow Tangents for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite SciShow Tangents episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Messes with Joe Hanson

SciShow Tangents

06/04/19 • 35 min

Be they big or small, purposeful or accidental, innocuous or potentially-planet-destroying, there is no question that humans are great at making messes and not so great at cleaning them up. Joe Hanson, host of the PBS channel Hot Mess, joins us to talk about some of the more notable messes we’ve made, and what, if anything, we can do to be less messy in the future.

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

And if you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out this episode’s page at scishowtangents.org!

3 Listeners

Graveyard Smash - It was a Dark and Stormy Month

SciShow Tangents

10/26/21 • 35 min

Ceri and Sam headed on down to the cemetery to dig Hank up for one more bone-chilling edition of It Was a Dark and Stormy Month! We hope you enjoy and have a happy and safe Halloween!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Eclectic Bunny and Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

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: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969716324202?via%3Dihub

https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lam.12345

https://www.epa.gov/so2-pollution/sulfur-dioxide-basics

[Fact Off]

Spaceship debris graveyard

https://www.greenmatters.com/p/what-happens-to-rocket-boosters-after-launch

https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/in-russias-space-graveyard-locals-scavenge-fallen-spacecraft-for-profit#.w0egudhkhbw

https://www.nature.com/articles/433095a.pdf?origin=ppub

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19127713

Oleic acid as a death cue

https://web.stanford.edu/~dmgordon/previous/Gordon1983Dependence.pdf

https://www.pnas.org/content/106/20/8251

https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2009/04/01/102601823/hey-im-dead-the-story-of-the-very-lively-ant

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-24054-2

https://www.ijbs.com/v09p0313.htm

http://www.researchtrends.net/tia/article_pdf.asp?in=0&vn=9&tid=20&aid=5289

[Ask the Science Couch]

Eco-friendly burial options

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/is-cremation-environmentally-friendly-heres-the-science

https://www.cremationassociation.org/page/alkalinehydrolysis

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4895712/New-type-cremation-DISSOLVES-bodies-LIQUID.html

https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12421

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWo2-LHwGMM

[Butt One More Thing]

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30111659/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17091303/

3 Listeners

Sleep

SciShow Tangents

05/28/19 • 32 min

So,right off the bat, basically all you need to know about this episode is that Hank sings this week's Science Poem. Beyond that, we delve into the eternal mystery that is 'sleep.' Where do oursdreams come from? How does sleeping help rejuvenate our brains and bodies? Why do some people need less sleep than others? Turns out, no one really knows yet, but it's still fun to talk about!

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Sleeping and Idea Generation:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/sleep-creativity-theory/560399/

http://mentalfloss.com/article/12763/11-creative-breakthroughs-people-had-their-sleep

https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/02/08/mendeleev-periodic-table-dream/

https://www.inverse.com/article/3696-5-dreams-that-led-to-scientific-breakthroughs

[Fact Off]

Auto activation deficit:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24026624

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130911211923.htm

Narcolepsy and dogs:

https://med.stanford.edu/narcolepsy/narcolepsyhistory.html

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12026-014-8513-4

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3625934/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9481825

https://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/psychiatry/documents/narcolepsy/latestnews/cell98.pdf

[Ask the Science Couch]

Naturally short sleepers:

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2018/03/410051/scientists-discover-how-gene-mutation-reduces-need-sleep

https://www.pnas.org/content/115/13/3434.short?rss=1

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3589707/

Circadian rhythms:

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/variations/individual-variation-genetics

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/having-this-gene-may-make-some-people-night-owls/

Flies:

https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1007098

[Butt One More Thing]

Dormant butt syndrome:

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/your-dormant-butt-might-be-to-blame-for-knee-hip-or-back-pain

3 Listeners

Satellites

SciShow Tangents

11/27/18 • 34 min

What do the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station, and the Moon have in common? They’re all satellites that orbit the Earth! This week, we’re going extraterrestrial to talk about the dreams, discoveries, and debacles that went into Mir and other weirdly cool human-made satellites. Plus, we dig into burning questions, like whether the Sun can be considered a satellite. And we’re big enough space nerds that we try to explain some celestial mechanics.

Sources:

[Truth or Fail]

https://www.wired.com/2014/07/orange-juice-toothpaste/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3354153/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4684458/

http://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20171114232622/https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm247099.htm

[Fact Off]

Moon dust:

https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/30jan_smellofmoondust

Bees and Pesticides:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180828204911.htm

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1885/20180655

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/187907/the-more-pesticides-bees-more-they/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Developing taste:

https://www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139033757/babys-palate-and-food-memories-shaped-before-birth

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7583013

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/107/6/e88.full

[Butt One More Thing]

Sea cucumber eating:

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/03/14/giant-sea-cucumber-eats-with-its-anus/

3 Listeners

Communication with Vanessa Hill

SciShow Tangents

06/18/19 • 32 min

Birds singing, dogs barking, computers sending and receiving data, you reading this description: at the end of the day, it’s all communication. This week, we sit down with Vanessa Hill, host of the YouTube channel Braincraft, and do a little communicating about communication!

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

If you want more Vanessa Hill, check out BrainCraft: https://www.youtube.com/user/braincraftvideo

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

[Fact Off]

Languages & ecological risk:

Evolved antenna:

https://ti.arc.nasa.gov/m/pub-archive/1244h/1244%20(Hornby).pdf

http://www.genetic-programming.org/gecco2004hc/lohn-paper.pdf

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/nmp/st5/ABOUT/about-index.php

Picture of ST5 antenna: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/nmp/st5/TECHNOLOGY/antenna.html

Evolution of antenna: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/2-Sequence-of-evolved-antennas-leading-up-to-antenna-ST5-331427_fig2_226537559

[Ask the Science Couch]

Animal communication:

http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ling201/test1materials/Animalchart.htm

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/08/22/chirps-whistles-clicks-do-any-animals-have-a-true-language/?utm_term=.1e218b9e7f00

http://www.cogs.indiana.edu/spackled/2009readings/Slobodchikoff%202009.PDF

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1834009/

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150512-birds-hold-the-key-to-language

[Butt One More Thing]

FRTs:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2003/11/farting-fish-keep-touch

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsbl.2003.0107

3 Listeners

Fossils with Kallie Moore

SciShow Tangents

06/25/19 • 30 min

Fossils: a profound link to our Earth’s past... some are profound... some are beautiful... some are poop! Kallie Moore, host of PBS Eons joins the Tangents crew to talk old stone bones, fraudulent fossils, and a dinosaur so well preserved, we may be able to figure out what its last meal was.

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

If you want more Kallie Moore, check out PBS Eons:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzR-rom72PHN9Zg7RML9EbA

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

[Truth or Fail]

Pseudofossils:

http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Pseudofossils-1663.aspx

Underwater cave:

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/09/pictures/110927-crocodile-fossils-found-underwater-cave/

http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/bitstream/handle/2246/6440/N3779.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6920

Picture: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/09/pictures/110927-crocodile-fossils-found-underwater-cave/#/40959.jpg

Amber:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00379271.2010.10697637

https://www.pnas.org/content/112/32/9961?ijkey=4607330261d2012edc599837b06f71be63ebc148&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

[Fact Off]

Opalized fossils:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/12/exclusive-sparkly-opal-filled-fossils-reveal-new-dinosaur-species-paleontology/

Super preserved Ankylosaur:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/06/dinosaur-nodosaur-fossil-discovery/

https://www.livescience.com/65640-opal-dinosaur-herd-bones.html

[Ask the Science Couch]

Zircon:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/10/scientists-may-have-found-earliest-evidence-life-earth

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/09/news-earth-rocks-sediment-first-life-zircon/

Tully monster:

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/laelaps/tully-monster-still-a-mystery/

https://www.isgs.illinois.edu/outreach/geology-resources/illinois-state-fossil-tullimonstrum-gregarium

[Butt One More Thing]

Fake poop:

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140729-dinosaur-coprolite-paleontology-dung-fossil-auction/

2 Listeners

Natural Disasters

SciShow Tangents

07/02/19 • 32 min

Natural disasters are a fact of life when you live on a giant ball of water, ice, and rock with a gooey magma center that’s hurtling through space... and all the pollution we’re pumping into the environment doesn’t really seem to be helping, either.

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

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

[Truth or Fail]

Cloud seeding

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-935704-30-0_9

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/195/4274/139

Absorbent polymer

https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/C5d.html

http://discovermagazine.com/2002/sep/featrain

Hail cannon

https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0477(1981)062%3C0368%3AHRTFHC%3E2.0.CO%3B2

https://www.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-hail-cannons-mexico-farmers-draught-2018-8

https://books.google.com/books?id=h-ADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA548

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hail-cannons-the-devices-that-supposedly-blast-away-bad-weather

Soot

https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/C5b.html

[Fact Off]

Year Without a Summer:

https://scied.ucar.edu/shortcontent/mount-tambora-and-year-without-summer

http://mentalfloss.com/article/73585/15-facts-about-year-without-summer

https://medium.com/@spencerbaum/the-year-without-summer-and-the-origins-of-frankenstein-13e6884c3ece

Tae Bo “earthquake:”

https://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/korean-skyscraper-shakes-from-17-middle-aged-people-doing-tae-bo-1405157/

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/07/117_91209.html

http://mentalfloss.com/article/31349/how-power-literally-rocked-house

[Ask the Science Couch]

Glass rain:

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/galaxy-of-horrors/

Cryovolcanoes:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/media/cassini-20081215b.htmL

https://www.nature.com/news/2009/090325/full/news.2009.190.html

Ice quakes on Earth:

http://climate.missouri.edu/news/arc/mar2014b.php

http://time.com/5517690/frost-quakes-ice-polar-vortex-sounds/

[Butt One More Thing]

Hurricane Florence poop:

https://www.govtech.com/em/disaster/Hurricane-Florence-Bathed-North-Carolina-in-Raw-Sewage-New-Figures-Show-it-was-Even-Worse-than-we-Thought.html

https://www.livescience.com/63625-pig-manure-overflow-hurricane-florence.html

2 Listeners

Science Hoaxes

SciShow Tangents

11/13/18 • 36 min

We’re delving into the complicated world of scientific hoaxes. Some are just goofs that went a little too far, but others have had serious negative impacts on public health.

Welcome, traveler, to the first episode! This is Sam from December of 2020. I can't believe, more two years later, we're still playing this goofy game!

If you're starting here, you have a long and grand adventure ahead of you. It only gets way better from here!

If you're working your way backwards... well, you did it! Hopefully a new episode will be coming out soon, otherwise what will you listen to while you do your chores??

Sources:

[Truth or Fail]

Cello Scrotum:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1610985/

https://www.bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b379

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7853564.stm

Surfer’s Ear:

http://ent.uci.edu/more-at-uc-irvine/conditions/surfers-ears.asp

Jeep Butt:

https://publichealth.gwu.edu/departments/healthpolicy/CHPR/downloads/mil_prep042605.pdf

http://www.academia.edu/19875506/Pilonidal_sinus_Jeeps_disease_An_improved_model_of_care

[Fact Off]

Mary Toft:

http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/aug2009.html

https://academic.oup.com/past/article/238/1/43/4822513

Parapsychology:

http://www.tricksterbook.com/truzzi/ZS-Issues-PDFs/ZeteticScholarNos12-13.pdf

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.617.9791&rep=rep1&type=pdf

https://www.csicop.org/uploads/files/martin-gardner-pdfs/landmark-pk-hoax.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20060503224225/http://www.banachek.org/nonflash/project_alpha.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1S5CRcqJQo

[Ask the Science Couch]

Andrew Wakefield:

https://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5347

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2323045/

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jan/28/andrew-wakefield-mmr-vaccine

[Butt One More Thing]

Fake coprolite:

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140729-dinosaur-coprolite-paleontology-dung-fossil-auction/

2 Listeners

Heat

SciShow Tangents

11/02/21 • 33 min

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you might be starting to notice a chill in the air. Let's all fondly reminisce about those warm, summer days that feel so long ago as we learn about heat!

And don't forget to pick up a few hundred thousand new SciShow Tangents stickers, featuring our new logo!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Eclectic Bunny and Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

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: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

Hot flashes

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/495671/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4612529/

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(18)30947-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2211124718309471%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

[Fact Off]

Thermogenic plants

https://www.natureinstitute.org/article/craig-holdrege/skunk-cabbage

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ849536.pdf

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21205176/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2634508/

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.186.4165.746

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781904/

Superionic ice

https://www.cnet.com/news/scientists-create-extraordinary-alien-form-of-super-hot-ice/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1114-6

https://www.quantamagazine.org/black-hot-superionic-ice-may-be-natures-most-common-form-of-water-20190508/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Breath temperature changing

https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/7868/why-does-the-air-we-blow-exhale-out-from-our-mouths-change-from-hot-to-cold-depe

https://www.aa.washington.edu/sites/aa/files/faculty/breidenthal/pubs/Brazil.book_REB.pdf

http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=5530

http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/turbulent_flow.html

[Butt One More Thing]

Butt welding

https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780857095107/welding-processes-handbook

https://www.sciencedirect.com/referencework/9780080965338/comprehensive-materials-processing

https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780815515814/handbook-of-plastics-joining

https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/bitstream/10044/1/27516/9/Turrell_Ultra-fast%20collisional_NC.pdf

2 Listeners

Storms - It Was a Dark & Stormy Month

SciShow Tangents

10/05/21 • 34 min

It’s October, so you know what that means: SciShow Tangents is about to get a little spooky! This year, we’re celebrating the Halloween season by talking about traditionally eerie subjects and writing bad collaborative poems! Welcome to “It Was A Dark & Stormy Tangents” month!

And to kick it off, we’re talking about the number one most scary of all types of weather: storms!

Head to https://www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter!

A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Eclectic Bunny and Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

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: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Fact Off]

Project Ice Storm - possible effects of stress on pregnancy

https://www.thoughtco.com/canadian-ice-storm-in-1998-508705

https://www.mcgill.ca/projetverglas/publications

https://www.mcgill.ca/projetverglas/icestorm

https://www.mcgill.ca/projetverglas/files/projetverglas/Laplante2007FunctionalPlay.pdf

https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/stress-and-pregnancy-prenatal-and-perinatal/according-experts/prenatalperinatal-stress-and-its

Blood/red rain mystery in Spain

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/882233