Fact Casual: Recent Episodes
John Lemelman
Is water actually blue? Is Pluto really not a planet? Do bulls honestly hate the color red? There are so many common facts we've been told our whole lives. But how many of us checked to see if they were even true before we shouted them from the roof tops? Definitely not me... That's why I made Fact Casual. I research common facts you've probably heard to find out if they're true, false, or somewhere in between. To learn more about the creator, head to johnlemelman.com.
It's been a minute, but we are back with Season 2! Let's start to year off healthy with some fruits. Specifically, berries.
Are strawberries actually berries? What about bananas?
This episode uncovers the overly complex world of berry categorization. Get ready to get berry confused (sorry about the pun).
To learn more, here are my sources:
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/bananas-are-berrieshttps://www.livescience.com/57477-why-are-bananas-considered-berries.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LybfPwCzs3g
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/syllabi/422/422lab3.htm
https://science.jburroughs.org/resources/flower/fruit1.html
Whether you were first introduced to them in Free Willy or SeaWorld (yikes...), orcas are hard to forget. They're fast, smart, and part of the whale family? Well, at least the first two statements are true. Now, let's find out if killer whales are really whales.
Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/ocean-giants-whale-fact-sheet/7567/https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/facts-about-orcas/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/o/orca/https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2019/03/13/orca-not-whale/
Every wonder what space smells like? Probably not! But some say it's like being at a bad barbecue where no one's watching the grill. Today, we're going to find out if that's true!
Sources:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/moon-smells-gunpowder-180952494/https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-space-smell-like-2016-3https://www.science.org.au/curious/space-time/smells-spacehttps://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/what-space-smells-like/259903/https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/the-smells-of-space-burned-steak-gunpowder-raspberrieshttps://www.livescience.com/34085-space-smell.html
Yawning is pretty common. Especially, after being stuck inside during quarantine. But is it contagious too? Let's find out on this episode!
Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201403/why-is-yawning-so-contagious
https://www.livescience.com/60288-why-are-yawns-so-contagious.html
https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/you-asked-why-are-yawns-contagious/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/why-are-yawns-contagious-we-asked-a-scientist
https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/contagious-yawn.htm
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/ever-wondered-whether-yawns-are-contagious/2019/03/18/34a10e84-3c5c-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Mystery_of_Yawning_in_Physiology_and/dongdGtKUecC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=yawns+contagious&printsec=frontcover
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/10/why-do-bigger-brained-animals-have-longer-yawns/502856/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-do-we-yawn-and-why-is-it-contagious-3749674/
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/05/15/527106576/yawning-may-promote-social-bonding-even-between-dogs-and-humans
It's not just werewolves who are affected by the full moon. Between emergency room doctors and police officers, people think the full moon makes folks act wild. Is that really what's going on? Let's find out in this episode of Fact Casual!
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/10/24/dear-science-does-a-full-moon-really-change-human-behavior/
https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/why-do-we-still-believe-in-lunacy-during-a-full-moon
https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/moon.html
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20131029-does-a-full-moon-make-people-mad
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190731-is-the-moon-impacting-your-mood-and-wellbeing
https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/vbn7wd/does-the-full-moon-really-make-people-crazy
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lunacy-and-the-full-moon/
Whether you call it maroon, burgundy, or red, there's one thing remains the same. Bulls supposedly hate it. But do bulls really hate that one color? If so, what did it ever do to them? On this episode, we head to the Plaza De Toros to find out if bulls really hate red.
Sources:
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-bullfighter-capes-red-2018-9
https://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2012/12/12/what-is-it-about-red-that-makes-bulls-so-angry/
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/does-red-really-make-bulls-angry
https://books.google.com/books?id=3g4tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=are+bulls+dichromatic&source=bl&ots=bvB3CWq94h&sig=ACfU3U2v-NPm-uDbuIVTUkKpP5b9awENjg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwis6piqztnoAhW0HDQIHV0UAPc4ChDoATABegQIDBAo#v=onepage&q=are%20bulls%20dichromatic&f=false
https://books.google.com/booksid=VvTKBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=are+bulls+dichromatic&source=bl&ots=HhFgW7OrR6&sig=ACfU3U34CXzplFctHaV0Si2J-pIMuZYTJA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJv6L9z9noAhWXHDQIHYURAzc4FBDoATAFegQIDBAt#v=onepage&q=are%20bulls%20dichromatic&f=false
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/you-can-thank-your-fruit-hunting-ancestors-your-color-vision#https://www.britannica.com/sports/bullfightinghttps://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01249428/document
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781854/
Anything can happen in your dreams. Or almost anything. Today, we are testing the commonly heard fact that you can't die in your dreams.
Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/201602/what-dreams-your-death-are-really-about
https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/human-body/had-a-death-dream-recently-it-might-not-be-your-worst-nightmare/news-story/c9218722849bd5ffc68c1ff05315cbde
https://www.mic.com/articles/135761/what-dreams-about-death-and-drowning-really-mean-according-to-experts
https://www.newsweek.com/dream-dying-121675
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TZOiC23CpI&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=SleepioTV
https://dreams.ucsc.edu/168/deceased_loved_ones.html
https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/science-of-dreaming
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/doree/can-you-die-from-a-nightmare
https://www.bustle.com/articles/33261-what-do-dreams-about-death-mean-can-you-die-in-your-dreams-9-morbid-questions-answered
https://www.dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/your-life-in-numbers-infographic/
https://time.com/5008693/sleep-start-hypnic-jerk/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4481805/
Whether you're a dog person or not, you've probably heard that one human year is equal to seven dog years. But where did that come from and is it even true?
Today, we're taking a closer look at man's best friend and finding out if they really age that fast.
Sources:
https://www.almanac.com/content/dog-age-chart-dog-years-human-years
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/theres-new-better-formula-calculating-dog-years-180973575/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-human-year-does-not-equal-seven-dog-years-180952929/
https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2019/Q4/calling-all-dogs-and-dog-owners-your-input-is-needed.html
https://www.inverse.com/article/51806-why-dogs-don-t-live-as-long-as-humans
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/12/feature-dog-lives-300-years-solving-mysteries-aging-our-pets
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201701/why-do-large-dogs-have-shorter-life-spans-small-dogs
https://www.pedigree.com/dog-care/dog-age-calculator
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/metabolism
https://www.businessinsider.com/crazy-things-people-used-to-think-were-healthy-2012-9#radioactive-drinks-1
Recall the old saying to remember the order of the planets? My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.
Today, we're focusing on the "Pizzas" part, or otherwise known as Pluto. Some scientists say it's a planet while others disagree. This episode finds out the truth about what exactly lurks out at the edge of our Solar System.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/list/our-5-dwarf-planets
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/pluto-s-mysterious-floating-hills
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/heres-the-answer-that-will-finally-settle-the-is-pluto-a-planet-debate-for-good-yeah-right
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/24/world/pluto-no-longer-planet-space-scn/index.html
https://www.space.com/pluto-is-a-planet-nasa-chief-iac-2019-video.html
https://www.space.com/why-pluto-is-not-a-planet.html
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/heres-the-answer-that-will-finally-settle-the-is-pluto-a-planet-debate-for-good-yeah-right
Whether you're at a beach, pool, or even glacier, water is a blue. But when you drink a cup of water at home, where did the vibrancy of the blueness in water go? On the first episode of Fact Casual, we are going to wash away the falsehoods and find out the truth on this fun fact: Water is blue.
Sources:
http://inside.mines.edu/fs_home/dwu/classes/CH353/study/Why%20is%20Water%20Blue.pdfhttps://www.dartmouth.edu/~etrnsfer/water.htmhttps://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/oceanography/living-ocean/ocean-colorhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-the-ocean-appear/http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=2926https://www.britannica.com/science/color/Physical-and-chemical-causes-of-colourhttps://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-color?qt-
science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objectshttp://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/5B.html