Have you ever played with a Magic 8-Ball? They’re black and white toy balls – but with a twist! People ask the Magic 8-Ball a question, shake it, and it gives you an answer!   How do these toys work? And when were they invented?  We asked Chris Bensch, head curator of the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, NY to help us out. Got a question that you’re toying with?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll shake up an answer.

Flannel is a soft, comfy fabric used to make shirts, cozy winter bed sheets and all kinds of other stuff. But how is it made?  We asked fabric expert Susan Brown to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s got you woolgathering? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you weave your way to the right answer! 

A volcano forms when the hot melted rock deep under the Earth’s crust bubbles to the surface and breaks through. Sometimes, a volcano will go from active to dormant, meaning it doesn’t erupt anymore. How does that happen? We asked geochemist Kelsey Woody to help us find the answer.Got a question of seismic proportions? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a MAGMAnificent answer!

A volcano forms when the hot melted rock deep under the Earth’s crust bubbles to the surface and breaks through. Sometimes, a volcano will go from active to dormant, meaning it doesn’t erupt anymore. How does that happen? We asked geochemist Kelsey Woody to help us find the answer.Got a question of seismic proportions? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a MAGMAnificent answer!

Our body has lots of ways to fight off the germs that make us sick. One of those ways is to crank up our internal temperature to make it too hot for harmful bacteria to survive. This is called a fever. How do our bodies reach those hot fever temperatures? We asked physician Dr. Joe Alcock to help us find the answer.Got a burning question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that’s a real fever reliever!  

QR codes are little black-and-white squares that you might have seen on food packages, movie tickets, restaurant menus, and lots of other places. You take a picture of the code with your smartphone and then your phone takes you to a certain website! But how does your phone know what all those random little dots mean? We asked computer engineer Sam Dickerson to help us find the answer.Got a question that you just can’t crack? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help decode the answer.

Solar panels absorb light from the sun and turn it into electricity. They can power everything from a calculator to a whole country! How does this sunny science sorcery work? We asked solar power expert Karl Wagner to help us find the answer.Got a sUN-believably cool question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll power through til we find the answer! 

3D printers are pretty awesome. Unlike the machines that print pictures or words on paper, 3D printers can create things you can hold in your hand – like fun-shaped food, cameras and even guitars. So how do they do it? We asked printing expert Robin Schwartzman from the University of Minnesota to help us find the answer.Got a question that jumps off the page? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll see if we can get an answer to materialize. 

Computers are awesome machines. They help us do so many things – from looking up facts to watching hilarious videos. But what exactly makes a computer a computer? We asked computer engineer Sam Dickerson to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s hard to compute? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help process it.

Computers can do all sorts of amazing things, from solving complicated math problems to showing us videos of dancing birds. Computers do all that thanks to something called “binary code”, which is a code that is made up of only two numbers,  1 and 0. But exactly how does it all work? We asked computer engineer Sam Dickerson to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s hard-driving you bonkers? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll  help compute the answer.

Our world is full of sound, but what happens when we leave Earth’s atmosphere? Is it true that there’s no sound in space, or are there ways to listen to the universe? We asked NASA scientist Dr. Kimberly Arcand to help us find the answer.Got a question that sounds interesting? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll make space for an answer!

Iron is a metal that we dig out of the ground and use to make everything from kitchen knives to skyscrapers. Most of the iron we use comes out of rocks. But do all rocks have iron in them? We asked geochemist Kelsey Woody to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s totally metal? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help iron out the answer!

Sometimes when we get sick, our body reacts by cranking up our internal temperature to make a fever. This helps get rid of invading bacteria or viruses. But sometimes when you have a fever, you feel cold instead of hot. What’s up with that? We asked ER doctor Joe Alcock to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s just chillin’ in your brain?? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll work feverishly to find the answer!

Hermit crabs carry their shells with them wherever they go…but they don’t make their own shells! Unlike other species of crab, hermit crabs use shells from other animals for protection. So why aren’t they born with shells of their own? We asked crab researcher Tuck Hines to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s making you crabby? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll share the answer un-shellfish-ly!

There are thousands of species of butterflies, all with unique patterns of color on their wings. How did those designs get there? We asked butterfly collection curator Blanca Huertas to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s cocooned in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll send an answer winging your way!

Lava is the red-hot gloop that comes pouring out of an erupting volcano. But what is it made out of? Some sort of supercharged Silly Putty? Volcano guts? Super-spicy habanero sauce? We asked geoscience grad student Kelsey Woody to help us find the answer.Got a real scorcher of a question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, we’d LAVA to find the answer for you.

It’s impressive to see a gorilla beat its chest. But why do they do it? We’ve tackled this question before, but  there’s a new scientific scoop about this primate percussion! We asked primatologist Andrea DiGiorgio to tell us about it. Got a question that you want to get off your chest? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get an answer ready to GO(rilla).   

Bananas are a delicious, nutritious fruit! You can pack them in a picnic lunch or bake them into a sweet nutty banana bread. But are bananas radioactive? We asked Dr. Robert Chin to help us find the answer.Got a really a-PEEL-ing question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find bunches of answers for you!

You can use a scale to measure how heavy something is…but what if that something is really big? Like, really, REALLY big? Like the WHOLE continent of North America? There’s no scale big enough, so you gotta use science and math! We asked geoscience grad student Kelsey Woody to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s weighing heavily on you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help lighten the load by finding the answer!

Have you ever looked at the keyboard on a phone or computer and wondered why the letters are arranged the way they are? The English alphabet starts with A-B-C-D-E, so why do keyboards start with Q-W-E-R-T-Y? We asked historian and museum curator Kristen Gallerneaux to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s just the right type? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help spell out the answer.

It’s so satisfying to pour a glass of sparkling water. All those tiny bubbles, popping in rapid succession, creating a soothing fizz. Sparkling drinks are also called carbonated beverages. But what is a carbonated beverage? Where do the bubbles come from? We asked food scientist Adam Johnson to explain.Got a question floating around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll make sure an answer pops up!

The internet has been around since the 1960s, and since then it has become a huge part of our lives. We use it to look up cool facts, send messages, order pizza…and listen to podcasts! But how does the internet actually work? We asked computer scientist Vikram Iyer to help us find the answer.Got a question written in your search bar? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help connect you with the answer!

Outer space is far from empty. There are chunks of space rock zipping around, and occasionally one of them finds its way through our atmosphere to smack into Earth’s surface. There’s usually metal contained within those space rocks…but where does the metal come from? We asked planetary geologist Paul Byrne to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s totally metal?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll STARt looking for an answer!

Coffee is known for giving people energy. In fact, some say they can’t start their day without coffee! It made us wonder why coffee helps us stay awake.  We asked dietician and nutritionist Maria Cruz to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s percolating in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer and spill the beans for you.

There are lots of foods that are blue-raspberry flavored, like candy, popsicles, or fizzy drinks. But there’s no such thing as a blue raspberry…so where does that flavor come from? We asked food scientist Adam Johnson to help us find the answer.Got a TASTEful question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll do you a flavor and find the answer.

Sometimes people dream about similar things, like losing teeth, being chased by monsters, or forgetting to study for a test. Why are there some kinds of dreams that people share? We asked dream researcher Tore Nielsen to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s just dreamy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll share the answer with you.

Ahhh! There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night after a nightmare.  Your heart is pounding, you’re all sweaty and suddenly your room seems so dark. Sometimes, you’re almost too scared to close your eyes and try to fall back asleep.  What’s the point of these scary dreams anyway? Is there a reason we have them at all?  We reached out to sleep scientist Ketema Paul to get the answer.  Got a question keeping you up at night?  Send it to us at brains on dot org slash contact and we’ll wake you up with the answer.

Have you ever had a dream that felt so real you thought it actually happened? Our brain can cook up some really vivid images while we sleep, complete with sounds and even emotions. So how do we tell the difference between dreams and real life? We asked dream researcher Tore Nielsen to help us find the answer.Got a question that you’re dreaming about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – we won’t snooze on finding the answer!

Dreams can be fun, scary or just plain weird. We typically dream for around two hours a night, but we usually don’t remember what we dreamt about. So what happens? We asked dream researcher Tore Nielsen to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s haunting your dreams at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t rest until we find an answer!

When we dream, sleep becomes storytime. You might see an old friend, go on an adventure or show up to a test without having studied. So when animals hibernate for a long stretch in the winter, do they have epic, long dream stories too? We asked dream researcher Tore Nielsen to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s keeping you up at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t hit snooze on finding an answer.

A thermometer is a handy dandy little device that measures temperature. We use them for lots of things, from telling us when we have a fever to making sure our roast chicken is cooked to perfection. But how does a thermometer actually measure how hot or cold something is? We asked physics graduate student Nicolas Dronchi to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s heating up your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll work feverishly to find the answer. 

Have you ever noticed your tummy sometimes makes a little grumbly rumbly sound when it’s time for a snack? What’s up with that? We asked Dr. Lily Dara to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s hard to stomach? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – we’ve got a gut feeling we’ll be able to answer it!

You might have heard the word “radiation” in science class or even in superhero movies. It’s something that we’re often warned about, since too much of some kinds of radiation can be bad for our health. But what is radiation? We asked physics graduate student Nicolas Dronchi to help us find the answer.Got a question radiating from your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get up and ATOM to find the answer!

Caffeine is a chemical that occurs naturally in drinks like tea and coffee. It can make you feel wide awake and energetic, so it’s also often added to other things like sodas and energy drinks. But how do energy drink manufacturers put caffeine into their products? We asked food scientist Adam Johnson to help us find the answer.Got a buzzworthy question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer faster than you can say LIGHTNING LASER LEMON LIME

Octopuses are incredible and intelligent ocean creatures. They’ve got talented tentacles, three hearts, and can become almost invisible to predators and prey by blending in with their surroundings. But how does an octopus do that? We asked squid biologist and science communicator Sarah McAnulty to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s a ten out of TENtacles? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll answer it on this very cephaloPODCAST.

Wifi seems like magic! It lets us send information from routers to computers through the air!. But how does it work? Are there magical computer data tubes? Lasers? Tiny invisible falcons carrying messages incredibly quickly? We asked computer scientist Vikram Iyer to help us find the answer.Got a question about who, what, when, where, or WHY-fi? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll signal you an answer!

Did you know there are thousands of different species of crabs on Earth? Most of them live in water, but there are plenty of species that can live outside the water, too. So how do crabs breathe, both in the water and on land? We asked biologist and science communicator Sarah McAnulty to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s got you feeling crabby?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll write you an answer on our finest cruSTATIONERY.

Our sun is a big fiery ball of gas. It is very bright and very hot. So hot that we can’t even send spacecraft there without them burning up! But how does the sun make all that heat? We asked physics grad student Raj Katti help us find the answer.Got a question that’s a real scorcher? ? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get bRIGHT to work finding the answer.

Have you ever seen a dog get the zoomies? That big burst of energy makes them skitter around like furry lightning bolts! But how about wolves? Do they get the zoomies, too? We asked wolf researcher and educator Michelle Mancini to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s zooming around in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll  pack your brain full of answers!

Ever wondered how trees keep track of time? They don’t wear wristwatches, so…do they have a tree calendar? Or count their rings like candles on a birthday cake? We asked arborist Casey Clapp to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s budding in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help sprout the answer!

The paper money that we use in the United States is printed by the Department of the Treasury. But if money is printed…well, then why couldn’t someone print hundreds of dollars for themselves? How do you know if the crisp five dollar bill in your hand is the real deal or a fake-a-rooni? We asked money expert and Million Bazillion co-host Bridget Bodnar to help us find the answer.Got a question banked in your brain?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll spend our time on the answer!

Human butts are divided into two cheeks that come in all shapes and sizes. Plus, they help us stand upright and move around! But what about dogs and cats? Why don’t they have butt cheeks like ours? We asked dog researcher Alexandra Horowitzto help us find the answer.Got a question you’ve been sitting on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you crack it open!

There are lots of things we can do to relax and get ready for bed at the end of the day: take a warm bath, curl up with a book, or even sip a steaming mug of chamomile tea! But why does chamomile tea make us feel so sleepy? We asked brain doctor and sleep expert Chris Winter to help us find the answer.Got ZZZZZ-illions of questions? Send them to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answers in a sNAP!

People all over the world have little brown dots called freckles on their skin. You might notice that you get new freckles if you spend time out in the sun. So what are the deets on these dots? We asked dermatologist Kristen Kelley to help us find the answer.Got a question about something and you need help connecting the dots?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help spot the answer.

Who doesn’t love a dog nose? They’re cute, often very wet and way better at smelling the world than our puny human noses. Dog noses are one of the few places dogs don’t have hair. But what about inside? Do they have nose hair like we do? We asked dog researcher Alexandra Horowitz to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s giving you a ruff time? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll bark up the right tree for an answer!

The Earth is made up of giant masses of land called continents. There are seven continents, but which one came first? Where did it come from? We asked geologist Annie Bauer to help us find the answer.Got a groundbreaking question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll dig into it!

Lots of people talk in their sleep, especially kids!  Have you ever heard anyone babbling away in the middle of the night?  Or maybe someone has told you that you do it?  Sleep talking is totally normal, but why do we do it?  We asked sleep specialist Chris Winter to help us find the answer.Got a question that you’ve been dreaming about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll search through the night for the answer.

A nosebleed is just what it sounds like: it’s when blood comes out of your nose. Lots of people get nosebleeds, but what causes them? We asked pediatrician Emma Gerstenzang to help us find the answer.Got a scent-sational question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we promise we won’t turn our noses up at it!

Have you ever tried stirring a liquid really fast with a spoon? Sometimes, it looks like it creates a tiny tornado in the cup! Why does that happen? We asked mechanical engineer Jacy Bird to help us find the answer.Got a question that has your brain spinning? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll TEAm up to find the answer!

Believe it or not, plants are sensitive things. They know when the sun is shining. They get stressed when an insect is munching on them. But do they feel things like an electric shock? We asked arborist Casey Clapp to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s firmly planted in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t leaf you hanging

Have you ever started to fall asleep and then suddenly – whoa! – you jolt awake? What’s up with that? We asked sleep specialist Chris Winter to help us find the answer.Got a question that has you losing sleep? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll pull an all-nighter to find the answer!

Octopuses are some of the most incredible animals on Earth. They have three hearts and their blood is blue! Plus, they can taste and smell things with the suction cups on their powerful arms. But do octopuses have brains? We asked wildlife expert Paul Bartell to help us find the answer.Got a question for this cephalo-PODcast? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll blow your mind with the answer!

Dogs have an amazing sense of smell, incredible hearing, and the most adorable tail wags. But do they remember anything from when they were puppies? We asked canine cognition researcher Alexandra Horriwitz to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s dog-gone delightful? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’re paw-sitive we’ll help find an answer.

Humans are mammals, which means that we have hair on our bodies and heads. Sometimes, as people get older, they lose some of that head hair. How does it happen? Do hair goblins come at night and sneak away with those silky strands? Ok, it’s probably not that. We asked pediatrician Dr. Emma Gerstenzang to help us find the answer.Got a hair-raising question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help tease out the answer. 

Our world is FULL of microorganisms, or microbes for short! They’re tiny microscopic living things like bacteria– and they do so much for us! They help us digest our food. They help make some medicines– like antibiotics. They even help make some of our favorite foods like bread and cheese. Microbes sure are busy, but do they ever sleep? We asked microbiologist Daniel Bond to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s keeping you up at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t sleep on it!

A black hole is an area of outer space where gravity is so strong that nothing can get out … not even light! But what’s actually inside a black hole? Are there asteroids? Whole planets? A 1988 Buick LeSabre? We asked astrophysicist Amanda Farah to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s just your cup of gravi-TEA? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the hole truth! 

Bones! We’ve got lots of them. Leg bones, arm bones, face bones, even ear bones! But…not all animals even have bones inside their bodies. So what are our skeletons for? Why do we have them?  We asked pediatrician Dr. Emma Gerzenstang to help us find the answer.Got a topic you’d like to bone up on? Send us a question at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll paTELLa you the answer. 

Lots of people love sparkly, pretty things – especially precious stones, like diamonds. But who decides which stones are precious? And what makes diamonds so special? We asked geologist Marc M. Hirschmann to help us find the answer.Got a priceless question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a jewel of an answer!

In places all over the world, there are ancient paintings in caves and on cliff walls that were made thousands of years ago by the people living there. But this was way before modern paints, and those people couldn’t mosey down to the craft store to buy their brushes…so how did they make their paintings? We asked anthropologist David Ian Howe to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s close to your heART? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll draw on all our knowledge to find the answer. 

Bubbles are everywhere! Soap bubbles, fizzy seltzer bubbles, underwater bubbles – even bubblegum bubbles!  But how do bubbles pop? We asked mechanical engineer Jacy Bird to help us find the answer.Got a question that you’re bursting to share? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll POP by with the answer.

All different kinds of giant prehistoric creatures used to walk the Earth, from 20-foot-tall sloths to sharks longer than a school bus.. They all seem huge in our imaginations, but were animals in the past actually bigger than animals on Earth now? We asked paleontologist Kristi Curry Rogers to help us find the answer.Got a BIG question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help size up the answer!

When our skin gets irritated, it reacts! And sometimes a rash appears. Rashes can be red, itchy, painful and bumpy… But how does our skin make them? We asked pediatrician Dr. Anjuli Gansto help us find the answer.Got a question under your skin? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll rash to find the answer!

Radios are like magical devices. You just flip a switch and BAM, you can listen to everything from punk rock to world news. But how exactly does a radio work? And what’s the difference between AM and FM radio? We asked physics expert Angie Huerta to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s AM-azing? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll dial in the answer. 

Lots of people love spicy food for that tongue-tingling feeling. But where does it come from? What’s happening in our mouths when we bite down on a jalapeño or chili flake? We asked taste and smell researcher Arthur Zimmerman to help us find the answer.Got a tasteful question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll spice up your life with the answer!

There are so many different kinds of bird nests out there: big ones, small ones, some as big as your head! Birds build their nests out of everything from twigs and grass to spider silk! But do they make a new nest every year? We asked bird expert Paul Bartell to help us find the answer.Got a question that you’ve been thinking about owl night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – you won’t egret it!

Tattoos are a type of art that’s added permanently to a person’s skin using special inks and needles. It’s a way of decorating the body that has been around for a long time. But how long? When were the earliest tattoos?  We asked sociologist David Lane to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s really needling you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll poke around until we find the answer!

It’s super helpful that each day of the week has its own name!  Without these names, it’d be really hard to keep track of our calendars – and there’d be no such thing as #MotivationMonday or #TacoTuesday! But why do the days of the week have the names that they do?  We asked language expert Amelia Tseng to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s making you #WonderWednesday? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help #FindoutFriday!

Movies are everywhere. They’re on our tablets, phones, and projected onto giant screens. But it hasn’t always been that way! So… when were movies first made? We asked cinema and media historian Laura Isabel Serna about it – and she helped us find the answer!Got a question flickering in your mind’s eye? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll produce an animated answer!

We may not think much about sewing machines, but there are so many things we wouldn’t have without them! Think about how many things are sewn together in our everyday lives. Your shirts, pants, hats, pillows, backpack, even parts of your car seats! There’s no doubt that sewing machines were a revolutionary invention. But when exactly were the first ones made? We asked Articles of Interest host Avery Trufelman to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s got you in stitches? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help thread the needle!

People have all different kinds of animals as pets: dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, pigs, you name it. The famous artist Salvador Dalí even had a pet lobster that he took for walks on a leash! But when did humans first start craving animal companionship? We asked anthropologist David Ian Howe to help us find the answer.Got a question that you want to ask right meow? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll unleash the answer.

Drums are the backbone of rock’n’roll…and most other kinds of music, too! Where would we be without a big bass drum leading a parade, or a jazzy ba-dum-CH after a well-told joke? But how do drums actually make their sounds? We asked drum maker Liz Aponte to help us find the answer. Are you ensnared by a question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t miss a beat in finding the answer!

Have you ever looked at a bird turd? Like, really looked at it? If so, you might’ve noticed there’s a lot of white in there. But what is that white stuff?  We asked bird expert Amanda Bender to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s poo-sitively great? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that doesn’t stink!

Astronauts have such cool jobs!  They get to blast off in rockets, experience micro-gravity, and see Earth from a whole new perspective.  But how does someone become a NASA astronaut?  We asked spacesuit designer Pablo de Leon to help us find the answer!Got a question that’s out of this world? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll launch an investigation.

Throwing up isn’t fun, but it happens to everyone. Sometimes we vomit if we’re sick with a virus or an infection – and other times, it happens because we’re feeling dizzy or carsick. But do other animals barf too? Like snakes? We asked wildlife biologist Laura Kojima to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s retch-edly hard to figure out? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll spew out an answer!

If you fold a sheet of paper just right, you can create a paper airplane that zooms through the air! But how do you make sure that your plane zooms across a room instead of nose-diving into the couch cushions? What makes a good paper airplane? We asked physics grad student Angie Huerta to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s just plane fun? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll launch an answer your way!

Bird eggs come in all shapes and sizes, from speckled hummingbird eggs smaller than a jellybean to mango-sized emu eggs. But how do birds make them? We asked bird expert Paul Bartell to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s ova-whelming? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help crack the case!

Oobleck is a mix of cornstarch and water that can act like a solid or a liquid. On its own, it’s gloopy and squishy, but if you squeeze it, it turns into a solid ball in your hand! So what would happen if oobleck fell from the sky like rain?  We asked meteorologist Ginger Zee to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s clouding your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll bRAINstorm an answer!

Paper is made out of trees! But… how? Those tall, leafy, shade-giving beauties in your backyard don’t look anything like the piece of white paper coming out of your computer printer. We asked forest expert and educator Sanford Smith to help us find the answer. Got a question printed on the inside of your brain? Send it to us at Brainson.org/contact, and we’ll help you uncrumple the answer!

About 60 miles above Earth is a line where our atmosphere ends and space begins.  That boundary is called the Karman line.  Of course, rockets that astronauts take go much farther than that.  But just how far from earth have astronauts gone?  And what do they need to bring for the trip?!  We asked spacesuit designer Pablo de Leon to help us find the answer!Got a question that’s far out? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll shoot for the moon to find the answer.

At first glance, you might think bats and birds are close relatives. After all, they both flap their wings and fly! But are they actually close cousins or just coincidental copycats? We asked bird expert Amanda Bender to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s got you in a flap? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer–we promise we won’t just wing it! 

Cinnamon is used all over the world. It makes cookies, cakes, tea, and coffee taste and smell amazing, and it’s also used in lots of savory foods!But where does cinnamon come from…before it gets to the grocery store? We asked spice expert Pooja Bag to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s flavoring your thoughts? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll bark up every tree until we find the answer!

Bacteria are everywhere. At the top of Mount Everest. At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. There are millions on your hands and TRILLIONS in your gut! So what happens when a truck rolls over bacteria on the road? Do they get squished? We asked microbiology professor Daniel Bond to help us find the answer.Got a crushing question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll keep on truckin’ til we find an answer!

Have you ever watched a bee flitting from flower to flower? It zips through the air like a tiny plane, making a buzz-buzz-buzz sound. But why do bees buzz, anyway? We asked bee scientist Alina Niño to help us find the answer.Got a bee-YOO-tiful question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we promise we won’t just wing it!

Say cheese! Cameras can take amazing photos and videos of just about anything. But have you ever wondered how they work? We asked mechanical engineer and science educator Tiffani Teachey to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s picture-perfect? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll snap to it!

Knock knock! Everybody loves a good joke, but how did they start? And why do we think they’re so funny? We asked Brains On producer and resident funny expert Anna Goldfield to give us the lowdown on jokes! Got a question that’s tickling your curiosity? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get to the punchline.

Bread is the best. But you know what makes bread even better? Toasting it. That brown crunchy exterior with the springy chewy center can’t be beat. But how does a toaster transform bread into toast? We asked food scientist David Dominguez to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s bready to be answered? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’d loaf to find you an answer!

Human beings have told stories and made art about the sun and the moon for as long as we’ve existed!  Both of them were in the sky long before humans evolved.  But just how old are they?  And is the sun or the moon older?  We asked astrophysicist Amanda Farah to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s sunsationally difficult? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll comMOONicate the answer to you

Parrots are one of the few animals in the world that can mimic human speech and other sounds. But how exactly do they do it? We asked bird expert Amanda Bender to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s a real squawk in the park? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that’s macaw-some!

Ants, they’re just like us. They like picnics, hills, and sweet things! But if ants like sweets so much, do you think they ever attack beehives? We asked bee researcher Dr. Alina Nino to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s buzzing around your head? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help ant-swer it. 

Vacuums are like magic. You press a button and POOF – they can suck up all kinds of stuff: crumbs, cat fur, even coconut shrimp. But how do these handy dandy machines work? We asked mechanical engineer Tiffani Teachey to help us find the answer.Got a question, but you’re not sure Hoover answer it? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that sweeps you off your feet!

What do a cheetah, a rocket ship, and champion sprinter Usain Bolt have in common?  If you guessed they’re all way slower than your average beam of light, you’re correct!  Nothing in our universe moves faster than light. But recently, we got an interesting puzzle from a listener: if you were able to travel at lightspeed, and you turned on a flashlight, would it turn on?  We asked astrophysicist Amanda Farah to help us investigate.Got a question that has you feeling in the dark? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you see the light.

Imagine this: you’re at a karaoke competition. You grab the microphone, belt out your favorite song, and the crowd goes wild! Everyone can hear your voice, thanks to your handy dandy microphone. But how exactly do these snazzy little machines work? We asked mechanical engineer and science educator Tiffani Teachey to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s pitch perfect? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that really ampsyou up!

Eyeballs! They’re squishy orbs in our skulls, made of lots of different parts that work together to send visual information to our brain. But do they get bigger as we grow from babies to adults? We asked eye doctor Stacey Pineles to help us find the answer.Are you a pupil with a burning question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help en-vision the answer!

Have you ever gone outside after a rainy day and seen mushrooms growing in the grass or on tree trunks? How do they get there? We asked urban agriculture specialist Yolanda Gonzalez to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s really growing on you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll mold an answer for you. 

Skunks are part of a family of animals called mustelids, along with weasels, badgers, and otters. All of these animals produce a unique, musky smell, but where stink is concerned, the skunk reigns supreme. They can spray a super-smelly liquid from their butts at anything that scares them. But how does that spray work? We asked biologist Caitlin Amspacher to help us find the answer.Got a question stinkin’ up your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll see what the answer en-TAILS!

Lots of people wear prescription glasses to help them see. An eye doctor helps to find the right prescription so that our eyeballs focus better on things that would otherwise look like a blurry mess. But how do glasses actually work? We asked eye doctor Stacey Pineles to help us find the answer.Got a question in your sights? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll focus on finding the answer!

Have you ever noticed the thin layer of sticky, oily stuff inside your ears? It’s called earwax! It’s definitely not the kind of wax you use to make candles or crayons, so what do our ears need it for? We asked pediatrician Dr. Anjuli Gans to help us find the answer.Got a question that you want us to hear? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll wax poetic about the answer. 

There are billions of bacteria on Earth, and they’re everywhere. Bacteria are on every surface on the planet, and even live in the soil underground. Most bacteria are actually quite harmless to humans. They spend all of their time eating, resting, and making copies of themselves. But when bacteria decide it’s time for lunch, what do they eat? We asked microbiologist Daniel Bond to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s colonizing your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll send an answer right BAC-ter-ya. 

Toes! They’re short and chunky, sometimes smell funky… but without them, we’d be toe-tally out of luck! We asked evolutionary anthropologist Darcy Shapiro to walk us through why we have toes, and what they help us do!Got a question tickling the tips of your toes? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help nail down an answer!

Carrots are a delicious, crunchy snack. But unlike other vegetables, carrots don’t have seeds inside. So how do farmers grow them?  We asked plant scientist Jeff Mitchell to help us get to the root of the matter.  Got a question that you want us to chew over?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll dig up some answers.

Our hearts are strong muscles that pump blood all through our bodies. But do hearts look the same in different animals? What about a tiger, or a lizard, or…a cockroach? Do cockroaches even have hearts? ? We asked urban bug expert Dr. Jody Green to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s been bugging you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll fly the answer your way.

Say cheese! But if you’re lactose intolerant maybe don’t eat it? Cuz any kind of milk based food will probably give you a tummy-ache! But why? We asked pediatrician Dr. Anjuli Gans why some people are lactose intolerant… and she helped us understand what it is and why it happens. Got an udderly awesome question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll milk it for some answers!

There are so many bacteria in the world that we still haven’t discovered them all! But because bacteria are so tiny, they’re really only visible with the help of a microscope. But what if lots and lots of those teeny tiny bacteria got together in a clump? How many would have to pile together before we could see that pile with just our eyes? We asked microbiologist Daniel Bond to help us find the answer.Got a question GERM-inating in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help micro-SCOPE out an answer!

Have you ever accidentally let go of a helium balloon and watched it float up … up … and away? It drifts way up in the sky until it’s just a tiny speck! But what would happen if a balloon made it all the way to outer space? We asked astrophysicist Amanda Farah to help us find the answer.Got a question that popped into your head? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll float you an answer! 

Most bread dough needs yeast to make it rise, so the bread can be light and fluffy when it bakes. But can you put TOO much yeast in bread? What happens if you do? Do you get a bread balloon? We asked food scientist Dave Domingues to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s rising to the top of your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’d LOAF to help you find the answer!

Toothpaste is something that lots of people use to keep their teeth clean. It makes our mouths smell nice and fresh, but that’s not the only thing it does! So, why do we use toothpaste? We asked dentist Dr. Jean Star to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s stuck in your head, like spinach between molars? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help floss out an answer.

Our teeth are incredible chomping machines. Their strong outer layer helps us crunch carrots, nibble potato chips and chew bubblegum! But what’s inside of them? We asked dentist Dr. Jean Star to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s eating you up inside? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll chew it over!

There are 195 different countries in the world, and they all have different flags. Why is that? And where did flags come from? We asked flag expert Michael Green to unfurl the answers. Do you have a vexing question of your own? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help you flag down the answer.

If you open a book, you’ll see lots of letters that come together to make different words. Sandwiched in between the words are little dots, lines and squiggles called punctuation marks. But why do we need those, when they don’t make any sounds at all? We asked writing teacher Kristin Bauck to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s right on the mark? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – we can’t punc-tu-WAIT to help you answer it!

Concrete is all around us. It makes up the buildings we live in, the sidewalks we walk on, the ramps we do our sick skateboard tricks on … but how is it made? How does it go from a thick, sludgy paste into a hard, smooth surface? We asked engineering professor Matthew Adams to help us find the answer.Got a question that seems to keep getting harder? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll use all our ce-MENTAL ability to find the answer!

Have you ever looked through newspaper or magazine advertisements and seen coupons? They’re those little paper rectangles that let you pay less for certain foods, items, or services. But when was the first coupon printed? Who had the idea to advertise with sweet sweet deals? We asked historian Bart Elmore to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s limited time only? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll bargain for an answer for you!

Cell phones and tablets are like portals into other worlds. You can play games, take photos, read books – all with just the tap of a finger! But how do touch screens work? We asked mechanical engineer and science educator Tiffani Teachey to help us find the answer.Got a question that you’ve been monitoring? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll tap out an answer!

Almond milk is more popular than ever these days, but have you ever wondered how they actually get milk from almonds? We asked Gemma Aguayo-Murphy , recipe developer and creator of the cooking blog Everyday Latina, how it’s done.Got a question that’s a real tough nut to crack? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that quenches your thirst!

There are all different kinds of ears in the world: big floppy elephant ears, fuzzy rabbit ears – even teeny squirrel ears smaller than a dime! But what about insects? Do they have ears? We asked insect expert Meredith Cenzer to help us find the answer.Got a question that sounds like a winner? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that’s music to your ears!

Bamboo is a type of grass that grows into big clusters of long, straight stalks. Those stalks are super strong, and are useful for making lots of things, from instruments to gardening tools, to building materials. And when a breeze blows through a bunch of bamboo, it makes a really cool chattering, rattling sound. How does it do that? And why? We asked biologist Lynn Clark to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s BAMBOOzling you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll shoot you an answer!

It seems like water always falls down. Rain and snow fall down from the sky. Watering cans pour water down on plants. Waterfalls – well, the water falls down! But when water is steam, it rises up. Why is that? We asked aerospace engineer Nicole Sharp to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s weighing you down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find what’s up.  

Sleep helps our brains and bodies rest. Lots of animals need sleep to survive, like birds, mice and even humpback whales! But what about insects, like butterflies? Do they doze off, too?  We asked insect expert Meredith Cenzer to help us find the answer.Got a question fluttering around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t sleep on it!

If you’ve ever been on a long car trip, you may have noticed that you start to feel sleepy as the car moves. Is it because the seats are so comfy? Is the radio hypnotizing you? Are the floor mats sprinkled with secret sleepy dust? We asked neuroscientist Aurore Perrault to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s driving you nuts? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help dream up an answer.

Have you ever seen a Venus flytrap in action? An unsuspecting insect lands inside and BAM! The plant’s toothy leaves snap shut in a fraction of a second! But what happens to the insects that get stuck inside a Venus flytrap? We asked insect expert Meredith Cenzer to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s trapped in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help break down the answer!

Some teens’ personalities seem to change more frequently than the weather in April! Why is that? What’s going on in the brains and bodies of growing humans that changes how they interact with friends and family? We asked child development expert Dr. Ed Greene to tell us about the mighty forces that shape a young person’s personality. Got a question that will boost your mood? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help you feel out an answer!

Picture this: you’re enjoying a perfect day by your favorite lake. The sun is shining, the water is calm, and everything is peaceful … until SPLASH! A fish flies out of the water like a silver torpedo and flops back down into the lake. Why do fish do that, anyway? We asked aquatic biologist Keegan Lutek to help us find the answer.Got a question that you’re POND-ering? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that really makes a splash!

Swimming in the pool can be a blast, whether you’re floating peacefully, splishing and splashing, or doing the doggy paddle. But have you ever wondered why you feel lighter in the water than out of it? We asked physicist Xie Chen to help us find the answer.Got a question swimming around in your noggin? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll pool our resources to find the answer!

Our planet is shaped like a big blue marble. But when we’re standing on the Earth’s surface, the ground looks pretty flat. So why doesn’t the Earth look round to us? We asked astrophysicist Ian Hall to help us find the answer.Got a question that you can’t wrap your head a-round? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll answer it in no time flat!

If your family celebrates Christmas, you’re probably familiar with the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree. Some trees are reusable and can be stored in the closet or basement, and others are real. Just how long does it take real trees to grow to their full size? We asked science communicator and plant expert Brandi Cannon-Force to help us find the answer.Pining for the answer to a tree-mendous question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll fir sure sleigh the answer.

Our galaxy is amazing, but it’s not the only one. Astronomers think there could be two trillion others out there. So, what’s up with those other galaxies? Are they just standing still, or do they orbit something? We asked astrophysicist Ian Hall to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s circling around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a universally appealing answer!

Black holes are created when a giant star explodes into a supernova. The gravity of a black hole is so incredibly strong that it pulls in anything that gets close – even light! But what’s it like inside a black hole? Is it hot or cold? We asked astrophysicist Ian Hall to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s a hole lot of fun? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that really draws you in!

Did you know there is a microscopic animal that can live up to 30 years without food? And that can survive in the vacuum of space? They are called tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, and they are hardy creatures. How much DNA do these adaptable and almost indestructible organisms share with humans? We asked biologist Kalia Gabriel to help us find the answer.Got a question you can’t bear anymore? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find a tardi-great answer!

Our universe is enormous and filled with lots of planets. We call planets outside our solar system exoplanets. Could one of these distant places have aliens living on it? We asked astrophysicist Ian Hall to help us find the answer.Got an enterprising question making a trek through your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll boldly go looking for the answer.

There are tons of cake recipes out there, from angel food to red velvet. These recipes make different types of cake, but mostly share the same ingredients, like flour, sugar and eggs. When you mix them up and pop them in the oven, it seems like magic happens! How does that pile of ingredients turn into a cake? We asked science writer Stuart Farrimond to help us find the answer.Got a question that takes the cake? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer – no ifs, ands, or bundts.  

There are tons of cake recipes out there, from angel food to red velvet. These recipes make different types of cake, but mostly share the same ingredients, like flour, sugar and eggs. When you mix them up and pop them in the oven, it seems like magic happens! How does that pile of ingredients turn into a cake? We asked science writer Stuart Farrimond to help us find the answer.Got a question that takes the cake? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer – no ifs, ands, or bundts.  

OH FARTS! Passing gas can be one of the amusing or embarrassing parts of your day. How you feel about tooting can be influenced by lots of factors including where you are, who you are with, how loud it is, and- most importantly- the smell. Speaking of which, what causes the smell of farts? Is it genetics? We asked Masters of Science candidate Kaila Gabriel to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s tying your stomach in knots? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help sniff out an answer.  

Earthquakes happen when the rocky plates that make up the surface of our planet move against each other. But what about quakes in other parts of our galaxy? Do the stars shake? Do planets get their crusts crumbled? We asked astrophysicist Ian Hall to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s quaking your world? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll serve you an answer on a tectonic plate.

Lots of trees shed their leaves to prepare for chilly winter temperatures – but not all of them. Evergreen trees, like pines and spruces, keep their needles throughout the winter. So how do they do it? We asked science communicator and plant expert Brandi Cannon-Force to help us find the answer.Have a question that’s really needling you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a tree-mendous answer!

DNA is a tiny molecule found inside almost every living thing on Earth. It’s      an instruction manual that tells your body how to grow and what it should look like! But what is it made of? We asked Kaila Gabriel to help us find the answer.Got a question that has you spiraling out of control? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help pair it up with the right expert!

Dandelions are the best! Their sunny, bright yellow blooms make amazing flower crowns. Their leaves are loaded with vitamins and nutrients. And eventually, they turn into adorable puffballs. So why do some people consider them weeds? We asked flower farmer Bo Dennis to help us find the answer.Got a question that is rooted in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you weed out the answer! 

Words are wonderful! Pickle, bubble, and hullabaloo are all super fun to say.  But some words can be hurtful, like  swear words. So if we aren’t supposed to say them, why do swear words exist? We asked linguist Carolin Debray to help us find the answer.Got a question that seems unan-swear-able? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll dis-cuss the answer. 

Flowers help us express our love. A beautiful bouquet can say to the people in our lives, “I’m thinking of you” or even “I love you!” But what about the flowers themselves? Do they ever get to have love stories of their own? We asked plant scientist Laura Steel to help us find the answer.Got a question sprouting in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help the answer bloom. 

Plants do so many different things: they grow fruits and veggies, make beautiful flowers and even pump out oxygen for us to breathe. But how do they suck up water from the dirt? We asked science communicator and plant expert Brandi Cannon-Force to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s unbe-LEAF-ably hard to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll root around for the answer!

Salmon meat can make a delicious meal and, since it has plenty of vitamins and minerals, can be a great part of a nutritious diet. What really makes salmon stand out  though is its pinkish-orange color. What's up with that? We asked aquatic biologist Dr. Keegan Lutek to help us find the answer.Got a question about something that seems fishy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get you an answer so you don’t have to keep flounder-ing about.

Milk! It’s a cookie’s best friend. It’s a key part of a creamy cup of hot chocolate. And it’s delicious, whether it comes from a cow, a goat, an oat, or a coconut. But no matter where your milk comes from, one thing is probably the same – the whitish color. What’s up with that? We asked science writer Stuart Farrimond to help us find the answer.Got a question MOO-ving through your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll milk the answer for all it’s worth!

Quick, look up at the sky! Do you see any fluffy puffy cotton candy clouds? Or maybe long, wispy ones? What about dark storm clouds? There are so many different types of clouds on Earth. But what about space? Are there clouds up there, too? We asked astrophysicist Ian Hall to help us find the answer.Got a question that you want someone to take cirrus-ly? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll aim for the stars!

Star Wars famously starts with “A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…” And boy are there some amazing galaxies in Star Wars. But a planet with two suns is just the stuff of science fiction, right? Maybe not! We asked astronomer Mark Popinchalk to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s forcing you to go ummm? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll Boba Fett-ch you an answer.

You may have learned that the colors red, yellow, and blue are called primary colors. It’s sometimes said you can use those three to make all the other colors. But can red, yellow, and blue really mix to make any color, or is there more to the story?  We asked color scientist Stephen Westland to help us find the answer.Got a question that came up out of the blue? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a CYAN-tific answer!

What do curling irons, campfires, and cups of hot cocoa have in common?  They’re all hot!  But nothing is as hot as the sun – at least not in our solar system!  But what about the rest of the universe?  Is the sun the hottest thing? We asked astronomer Mark Popinchalk to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s too hot to handle?   Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an explanation that shines!

All of the planets in our solar system, and plenty of the moons, are named after gods or other figures from ancient Roman mythology. Have you ever wondered who picked those names? And why is the theme Roman gods, and not famous kings, favorite cartoon characters, or notable cats? We asked astronomer Mark Popinchalk to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s outta this world? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and you can nepTUNE in to hear the answer!

When you’re an only child, it might feel nice to have all the attention for a few years until – DUN DUN DUN! – a little sibling comes along. Sometimes it feels like babies get all the attention. Why is that? To help us find the answer, we asked Dr. Ed Greene, early childhood psychologist and consultant for our sister podcast Charm Words.Got a question that’s grabbed your attention? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer. We’re not kid-ding around!

We spend a lot of time on top of our planet, but we don’t spend much time inside it. So it makes sense you might wonder what our planet is made of, deep deep down. Is it more rocks? Is it lava? Is it a gooey caramel center? And what about the other planets, like Mars and Jupiter? We asked astronomer Mark Popinchalk to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s tearing you up on the inside? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help dig up the facts.

Have you ever seen a snail sliming along, eyestalks a-waving, carrying its whole house on its back? What are snail shells made of, anyway? And how do they make them? We asked biologist Teresa Rose Osborne to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s been creeping around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll escar-GO find you the answer!

Many cactuses are covered in spikes - making them terrible to hug. But what about inside a cactus? Is it also spiky? Or is it soft and cuddly? And is it true you can find water hidden in these desert-dwellers?  We asked science communicator and plant expert Brandi Cannon-Force to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s stuck in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help pin down the answer.

What does painting the most splendid sunset and the most radiant rainbow have in common? They both require lots of beautiful paint colors! We can blend colors to make orange, green, and purple, but how do we make primary colors like red, yellow, and blue? We asked color science professor Stephen Westland to help us find the answer.Got a question that you’re dye-ing to get answered? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help illuminate the answer!

Ever find yourself staring at a shiny jewel? Or wowed by the glistening paint on a freshly washed car? Or inexplicably drawn to a magazine with a glossy cover? You are not alone. Humans love shiny things. But why is that? We asked Bauer College professor and marketing expert, Vanessa Patrick, to help shine some light on this topic. Is there a question that’s caught your eye? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll reflect on the answer!

When you look up at the night sky, what do you see?  A few stars, or a satellite, maybe even one of the seven other planets in our solar system?  But how many planets are there in all of outer space? We asked astronomer Mark Popinchalk to help us find the answer!Got a question taking up space in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll launch an investigation for the answer!

There are hundreds of different plants and animals on Earth that are endangered. That means they’re at risk of going extinct if they’re not protected. Lots of people and organizations all over the world are trying to protect endangered species and keep them from disappearing forever. But how does a species become endangered in the first place? We asked wildlife biologist Sergio Avila to help us find the answer.Got a question that you’ve been saving for us?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we promise it won’t vanish from our to do list!

Snails are some of the world’s coolest creatures.  They’ve been around since the dinosaurs walked the Earth – and they carry their houses on their backs! But do our super slimy friends ever need to … use the bathroom? We asked biologist Teresa Rose Osborne to help us track down the answer.Got a question that’s turd-ally awesome? Don’t pee afraid to send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact!  We might even find an answer that’s a real gas!

To us Earthlings, the moon is the ultimate cosmic chameleon. It’s always changing! Some nights it’s waxing, some nights waning, one day it’s full, and just two weeks later, it looks like there’s no moon at all. This is called a new moon, when the face of the moon is entirely in shadow. During a new moon, the moon doesn’t really go away. It’s just too dark to see. But… what would actually happen if we looked up at the night sky, and the moon was gone? We asked astronomer Chris Impey to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s making you moonstruck? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you land on the answer!

Do you ever have trouble putting away your tablet or turning off the TV? Us, too! Lots of people end hours every day using screens – but why do we like them so much? And why is it so hard to turn them off? We asked University of Minnesota professor Jodi Dworkin to help us find the answer.Got a question that you just can’t put down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll screen some experts to find the answer!

It’s a colorful world out there! When light from the sun hits surfaces on Earth, those surfaces reflect different wavelengths of light. Our eyes collect those waves and send them to our brains, which interpret the waves as colors! It’s an incredible process, and it happens in…well, the blink of an eye. But how many different colors can our eyes and brains identify? We asked University of Leeds color science professor Stephen Westland to help us find the answer.Got a HUE-mungous question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll identif-EYE the answer.

Fall is finally here!  For much of the world, that means falling leaves, cozy sweaters, and lots and lots of apples!  There are over 7,000 species of apples grown worldwide, and they’re all unique!  But how are they able to come in so many different colors? We asked Lee Kalcitsto help us find the answer.Have a question that’s got you stumped? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help pick out the answer!

Throughout history, people all over the world have pictured our planet in different ways, including as a flat disc. It can be hard to see the Earth’s curve when you’re standing on the ground, but mathematical calculations and information from space voyages have confirmed that the Earth is a sphere. But…what would it actually be like if the planet was shaped like a big pancake instead? We asked astronomer Chris Impey to help us find the answer.Got a question orbiting your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer in no time flat.

The ocean has multiple layers, like a big, watery, salty cake. The deeper underwater you go, the more water above you – and the weight of all that water creates super strong pressure. So how do the fish that live in the deepest levels of the ocean survive without being squished? We asked marine biologist Keegan Lutek to help us find the answer.Got a question that you want to shellebrate? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an in-depth answer.

When was the last time you laughed so hard your stomach hurt? Or cried so hard you couldn’t breathe? Sometimes it’s hard to tell if our emotions are in control or we are! To help find the answer, we asked Dr. Ed Greene, early childhood psychologist and consultant for our sister podcast Charm Words.Have a question that’s got you all emotional? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help feel it out.

The International Space Station is the largest structure that humans have ever launched into space. Hundreds of people have visited the space station over the past 25 years, but what about animals? Could birds or fish live there? We asked astronomy professor Chris Impey to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s launched you into a tizzy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll sparrow no time finding the answer!

Have you ever put a bag of delicious crunchy apple slices in your backpack, only to discover they’ve turned brown by lunchtime? What’s up with that? We asked fruit tree expert and Washington State University associate professor Lee Kalcsits to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s apple-solutely awesome? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help color in the answer!

The universe can be a very mysterious place. It’s so big! And so full of incredible things! But what’s it made of? We asked astronomy professor Chris Impey to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s really out of this world? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help the stars align to find an answer!

Have you ever felt a little twinge or ache in your body, but you’re not sure where it came from? It might have been a growing pain! Just like a plant stretches toward the sun, your body might stretch too as you grow bigger. We asked medical researcher Kira Bacal about the science behind these pains.Got a question that’s growing in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – it won’t be a pain to help find the answer!

We eat food to power our bodies and keep us healthy. After all, food is full of the vitamins we need to survive. If you need vitamin C, try an orange. Vitamin B? Eggs or meat. But why do some foods have certain vitamins and other foods don’t? What determines which foods have which vitamins? We asked nutritionist Ana Veloso to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s chewing at you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you digest the answer.

It’s pretty easy to tell when someone didn’t get enough sleep and you may have even felt the warning signs yourself. Simple things might feel annoying, or more difficult and you might not feel like dealing with anything or anyone. Have you ever asked yourself why we feel so irritable when our bodies and minds are weary? We asked medical researcher Kira Bacal to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s wearing you down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll crank out the answer.

Lots of animals feel itchy sometimes! Bears rub their backs on rough tree trunks, dogs love a good belly scratch and birds itch themselves with their feet. But what about flies? Do they get itchy, too? We asked Johns Hopkins graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got a question that you’re itching to know the answer to? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll come up with the answer from scratch!

Our solar system is full of incredible things, from rocky asteroids to Saturn’s spectacular rings. But most of these things are millions or even billions of miles away. Is it even possible to reach the furthest corners of our solar system? We asked NASA aerospace engineer Erik Axdahl to help us find the answer.Got a question that you keep gravitating towards? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll launch the answer your way!

Rocket engines have to push REALLY hard against Earth’s gravity to get up off the ground. The rockets that NASA sends into space weigh over a million pounds! That is a LOT to try to lift into the air! So what kind of fuel do those powerful rocket engines use? We asked NASA scientist Erik Axdahl to help us find the answer.Got a question orbiting your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll launch an answer your way.

3…2…1… Blast off! Rockets launch things into space, which is no easy task. They have to push off from the Earth and zoom at great speeds to break free from gravity. But how do they do it? What makes them different from airplanes? We asked NASA aerospace engineer Erik Axdahl to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s launched you into a tizzy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll jet off to find an answer!

In movies and TV shows spaceships can often travel faster than the speed of light. It’s an idea often called a hyperdrive or warp speed, and it would let you explore the whole universe! So is hyperdrive possible in real life? We asked NASA aerospace engineer Erik Axdahl to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s out of this world? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll bring the answer down to Earth.

Have you ever watched a plane take off? It rolls down the runway, picks up speed and then suddenly – it’s in the air! But how exactly do planes fly? We asked NASA aerospace engineer Erik Axdahl to help us find the answer.Got a question that has your curiosity taking flight? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that’s just plane fascinating!

Cupcakes are delicious! From their light and spongy texture to their creamy frosting to their funky clothes, also known as wrappers, they are one of the most fun treats out there. Why do cupcakes have a wrapper anyway? We asked English professor and cookbook historian Elizabeth Fleitz to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s pretty sweet? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll wrap our brains around it.

Most people burp regularly. There are small burps and big burps, loud burps and stinky burps. But have you ever stopped and wondered why we burp? We asked medical researcher Kira Bacal to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s just burstin’ out of you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you feel relieved.

Airplanes and trains use powerful engines to get around – but is one stronger than the other? Which would win in an epic engine showdown? We asked NASA aerospace engineer Erik Axdahl to help us find the answer.Got a question that has your curiosity taking flight? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that’s right on track!

An engine is the power source for many types of vehicles and machines, and there are many cool-looking pieces that make it work. But how do they all work together? We asked NASA aerospace engineer Erik Axdahl to help us find the answer.Got a question that really fuels your curiosity? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll work to find the answer! 

Frogs love snacking on flies. The frog’s sticky tongue shoots out – quick as a flash! – grabs the fly and pulls it into its mouth. But what about other animals? Do they like eating flies too? We asked Johns Hopkins graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s buzzing around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find an answer that satis-flies your curiosity!

A-choo! Does being outside on a sunny day ever make you sneeze? You’re not alone! But what causes these sunshine sneeze attacks? We asked scientist Dr. Kira Bacal to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’re a-chooing on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that’ll blow your mind.

Quick, how many pasta shapes can you name?! Spaghetti, rigatoni, tortellini, macaroni, penne, bucatini…whew! There are a plethora of pastas to choose from. But have you ever thought about why this simple food comes in so many shapes? We asked pasta shape inventor Dan Pashman to give us the dish. Got a question that’s pastatively confounding? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll serve up the answer.

Have you ever seen a willow tree? They sometimes have long branches that hang down to the ground and make them look like green, leafy waterfalls.  But why do they have this unusual shape?  We asked botanist Brandi Cannon-Force  to help us find the answer.Got a question that you just can’t find the answer to?  Don’t weep! Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll root around for the answer.

Have you ever taken a trip in an airplane? When you’re in the air, it feels like you’re sitting still, but you’re actually flying super fast! Some airplanes, called jumbo jets, can weigh about one million pounds at takeoff. So how do they manage to get up into the air when they’re so heavy? We asked NASA aerospace engineer Erik Axdahl to help us find the answer. Got a question you just can’t that’s really weighing on you?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll be sure to land on an answer!

Everyone poops! It’s how a body gets rid of the waste left over after it digests food.  Animals poop on the ground. Fish poop in water. Birds can poop while flying. But what about bugs? Do they poop? We asked Johns Hopkins graduate student Abel Carver to help us find the answer.Doo you have a question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find a turd-aly awesome answer!

Tongues do all different kinds of things for us. They help us taste our food and swallow it – plus they’re really important for talking and singing! Lots of other animals have tongues, like woodpeckers, cheetahs and chameleons. But do sharks have them? We asked shark scientist Melissa Cristina Marquez to help us find the answer.Got a question that’d you’d like to sink your teeth into? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer lickety split!

Blinking our eyes helps keep them from drying out and clears away tiny pieces of gunk that can irritate them, like dust and dirt. But what about flies? Do they blink their eyes, too? We asked graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got a question buzzing around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll answer it in the blink of an eye!

People are smart in so many different ways. Some are book smart, while others are  good with people, great at solving puzzles, or skilled at drawing. But what about musicians? It takes a lot of brainpower to be able to play music. Are they smarter than others? We asked voice teacher Kristy Bissell to help us find the answer.Got a really smart question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll re-chord a great answer for you.

Colors have so many different names! Even just one color, like pink, might have a few dozen names. There’s coral pink, fuschia, salmon, rose, mauve, blush or even Barbie pink! But where do these names come from, and who gets to decide which ones we use? We asked color science professor Stephen Westland to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s a pigment of your imagination? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you brush up on the answer.

Sharks are usually shown in movies and TV shows as huge, scary monster fish. But it’s actually really rare for a human to get bitten by a shark. And they are incredible creatures that deserve to be LOVED! So why are lots of people so scared of them? We asked shark scientist Melissa Marquez to help us find the answer.Got a GILLion-dollar question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a FINtastic answer.

Wow, wow wow have we got some big news! Brains On!, Smash Boom Best and Forever Ago are coming together for the Big Dig - an archeological, paleontological extravaganza that you can participate in through YouTube.The show has it all: Megaladons vs Giant Sloths, dinosaurs covered in cake AND lemonade being slurped through a straw!Go to brainson.org/fieldtrips to secure your space and check out the other events we have planned this fall. Plus, Smarty Pass members can take 20% off!

Happy Bee Week! Each episode this week gives you the buzz on our powerful, pollinating friends. What does the world look like to bees? When they land on a flower, is it like a big colorful trampoline? Bees are very small, so would grains of pollen look like tennis balls? Would a butterfly look like an airplane? Can bees see tiny things that our eyes can’t? We asked Johns Hopkins graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s giving you hives? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll make it our BUZZness to find the answer! 

Happy Bee Week! Each episode this week gives you the buzz on our powerful, pollinating friends. Bees spend their lives flitting from blossom to blossom, drinking each flower’s sweet nectar. And some have a special way of defending themselves: a sharp, tiny stinger in their butts. But why do bees sting? We asked Johns Hopkins graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got some questions buzzing around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll honeycomb through them. 

Happy Bee Week! Each episode this week gives you the buzz on our powerful, pollinating friends. You’ve probably heard of queen bees, right? Her highness of the hive, the one who holds all the flower power. But how come there’s no such thing as a king bee? We asked Johns Hopkins graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s bee-n buzzing around in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll make a beeline for the answer!

Happy Bee Week! Each episode this week gives you the buzz on our powerful, pollinating friends. Bees have two sets of beautiful wings, cute little antennae and six legs. But do they have noses? We asked Johns Hopkins graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s the bee’s knees? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help sniff out an answer!

Happy Bee Week! Each episode this week gives you the buzz on our powerful, pollinating friends. Bees spread pollen from one flower to another, which helps the flowers make seeds and grow new plants. But do they have a favorite flower? We asked Johns Hopkins graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got a question that you may bee wondering about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer, honey!

Have you ever noticed that your voice on a video or audio recording sounds totally different from when you’re just speaking? Maybe you’ve recorded yourself talking or singing, and when you play it back…it sounds like a different person! Why is that? We asked voice teacher Kristy Bissell to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s really speaking to you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a pitch perfect answer. 

Mice and rats are some of the most common critters around. You may see them out in your yard, on the street, or even sometimes in your house! It can be hard to tell them apart because they look similar, with twitchy little noses and hairless tails. So what’s the difference between a mouse and a rat? We asked Philadelphia Zoo animal curator Michael Stern to help us find the answer.Got an a-MOUSE-zing question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll answer it on squeakerphone.

Insects are incredible climbers. Flies, ants, grasshoppers and many others can climb straight up walls using teeny tiny claws on their feet. But what happens if one loses its balance and takes a tumble? Would it get hurt? We asked Johns Hopkins University neuroscience graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s really buggin’ you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll take the plunge to find an answer!

Fireflies are nature’s fireworks! Depending on where you live, you might see their blue-green lights twinkling in forests, parks, or even your backyard! But how do they make light? We asked Johns Hopkins graduate student Abel Corver to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s lighting up your imagination? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll answer it faster than you can say, “Ready, set, glow!”

Not only can people make all kinds of sounds with our voices, we can make those sounds loud or soft depending on what we’re doing. When we’re out on the playground, we can YELL TO A FRIEND, but in the library, we whisper quietly. How do we change our vocal volume? We asked voice teacher Kristy Bissell to help us find the answer.Got a question you want to holler about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll yelp you find the answer.  

Sharks are truly amazing creatures. They can find prey using electricity. Their skin is made up of tiny teeth that act like scales. And they don’t have any bones! But can sharks smell a tiny drop of blood in the water from miles away? We asked shark scientist Melissa Cristina Márquez to help us find the answer.Got a JAWSome question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help fish out an answer!

Lots of animals have teeth: walruses, baboons, and of course – humans! Teeth help cut and grind up food into smaller pieces so it’s safe to swallow. But why don’t ducks and other birds have teeth? We asked animal researcher Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer.Got a question you’ve been chewing over? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll quack the case!

Munch, crunch, sluuuurp! Eating is one of the great joys of life! We all know that food goes in one way and eventually out the other, right? But what journey does it take after you swallow it?? We asked dietitian Eva Haldis to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s eating you up? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll chew on it ‘til we find the answer!

There are lots of stellar songs about the night sky, but one of the most popular is this one: Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Have you ever wondered why stars twinkle, though? We asked astronomer Mark Popinchalk to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s taking up space in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find a five-star answer!

Humans need sleep! It helps recharge our brains and keeps our bodies running. But what about other animals – do they all sleep?? Do narwhals nap? Do spiders snooze? Do donkeys doze? We asked Philadelphia Zoo animal curator Michael Stern to help us find the answer.Got a question that you can’t ig-SNORE? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find the answer of your dreams.

It’s Breathe Week – a whole week of episodes about one of the most important things our bodies do to keep us alive and healthy! Do you ever plug your nose when you notice a bad smell? Does it help? Can you still smell at all? We asked pediatrician Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s stinkin’ good? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find someone that nose the answer.  

It’s Breathe Week - a whole week of episodes about one of the most important things our bodies do to keep us alive and healthy. If we need oxygen to breathe, and oxygen comes from trees, and there aren’t that many trees in the desert, how do people breathe in the desert? We asked pediatrician Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir to help us find the answer.Got a question that you just can’t under-sand? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help quench your thirst for the answer. 

It’s Breathe Week - a whole week of episodes about one of the most important things our bodies do to keep us alive and healthy. Humans love to swim and play in the water - but we can’t breathe underwater without lotws of heavy scuba gear. Why is that?? We asked pediatrician Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir to help us find the answer.Got a question that you swimply must know the answer to? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll sea-k out an answer! 

It’s Breathe Week - a whole week of episodes about one of the most important things our bodies do to keep us alive and healthy. Every time you take a breath, you’re inhaling oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide. But how does that work?  We asked pediatrician Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s a real gas? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get it answered – we’re not blowing hot air! 

It’s Breathe Week – a whole week of episodes about one of the most important things our bodies do to keep us alive and healthy. When you take a big breath, your lungs fill up with oxygen. But why is oxygen so important? We asked pediatrician Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s a real breath of fresh air? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, because we periodically choose questions to answer!

Every year, billions of birds around the world migrate, moving from one place to another for the season! Some, like geese, travel in groups. Others, like hummingbirds, make their journeys alone. But how do these feathered friends know when it’s time to go? We asked science communicator Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s flying around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help soar-t out the answer!

Red, yellow and blue are primary colors. But they’re not the only primary colors. Exactly what makes colors primary, and what other primary colors exist? Stephen Westland, a professor of color science and technology at the University of Leeds, helped us find the answer.Got a colorful question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help paint a pretty answer.

Some animals, like whales and wallabies, are wild. Others, like cats and chickens, are domesticated – which means they’ve been bred over many years to be tame. But how did animals get domesticated? We asked Brains On producer and archaeologist Anna Goldfield to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s driving you wild? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a pawsome answer! 

Have you ever started to pour milk into your cereal, only to realize it smells sour?! Or forgotten to eat that banana in the bottom of your backpack before it got brown and spotty? Lots of the foods we eat will eventually go bad. But why does this happen at all, and why does it happen super fast for some foods and really slowly for others? We asked dietitian Eva Haldis to help us find the answer.Got a very appealing question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact. We won’t spoil your fun!

If you’ve ever played with a cat, you might already know how much they love chasing after lights. Point a flashlight or laser pointer at the ground and your furry friend will probably chase it or even pounce on it! But why are cats so interested in lights? We asked veterinarian Lena Provost to help us find the answer.Got a question that you need an answer for right meow? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help chase down the answer – we’re not kitten around.

Most birds spend a lot of time up in the air. Some travel long distances or fly super fast. Others, like hummingbirds, can even fly backwards! But do their wings ever get tired while they’re flapping through the air? We asked science communicator Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer.Got a question perched on your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help answer it, BEAK-cause we love to learn! 

Our big, bright beautiful sun is a wonderful thing…but too much of a good thing can hurt! If you spend too long basking in that warm glow without proper protection, you could end up with a painful sunburn. But what actually happens to our bodies when we get a sunburn? We asked medical researcher Kira Bacal to help us find the answer.Got a burning question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and just like sunscreen, we’ve got you covered!

Have you ever seen a hot air balloon flying above you? They look like something out of a storybook, but they’re real! People have been flying in them since the 1700s! But how do they work? We asked hot air balloon pilot Sema Mathebula to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s floating around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help you land the answer!

Masked bandits. City-dwelling pests. Trash pandas. All of these phrases are commonly associated with the resilient, ring-tailed cuties we call RACCOONS! They’ve gotten a pretty bad rap, but they’re brilliant little animals! And they’re obsessed with eating our trash. Why is that? Why can’t we keep them out of our garbage bins? We asked animal expert Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer.Got a pesky question rummaging through your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact. We’ll help catch an answer, and release it into the wild! 

Our tongues are covered in thousands of taste buds that tell us all about the flavors of different foods. Some of those flavors are more popular than others. Sweet, sugary candy? Lots of people love it. Salty snacks? Yes, please. But what about bitter foods? Why doesn’t this flavor make us drool like others do? We asked food scientist Brittany Towers Lewis to help us find the answer. Got a FLAVOR-ite question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find a tasteful answer.

Happy butterfly week! It’s a whole week dedicated to beautiful insects with colorful wings that fly around in gardens and meadows. Butterflies start out as caterpillars. When the caterpillar is ready to change into a butterfly, it builds a shell called a chrysalis around itself and then goes through big changes. But can two caterpillars be in there together? We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s DOUBLE the fun? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help wiggle out an answer. 

Happy butterfly week! It’s a whole week dedicated to these beautiful insects that fly around in gardens and meadows, showing off their colorful wings.  But exactly what’s inside these majestic creature’s wings? We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer.Got a question fluttering around your noggin? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll let the truth fly!

Happy butterfly week! It’s a whole week dedicated to these beautiful insects that fly around in gardens and meadows, showing off their colorful wings.  But what happens when it rains? What do butterflies do to pass the time? We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s giving you butterflies? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll send your thoughts soaring.

Happy butterfly week! It’s a whole week dedicated to these beautiful insects that fly around in gardens and meadows, showing off their colorful wings. And today’s episode will help us understand not only how butterflies flap their wings – but bees too! We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s fluttering around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll get the buzz on your topic.  

People relax in all kinds of ways: spending time with friends, reading a good book or even petting a super soft cat. But have you ever tried sipping a mug of warm milk? For some people, drinking warm milk can be very relaxing – but why? We asked food scientist Brittany Towers Lewis to help us find the answer. Got a legen-dairy question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find an answer that puts you in a good moooood!

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, wait, it is actually a bird. Flying is pretty amazing, and birds of all kinds swoop through the air with the greatest of ease. How high can those feathery fliers go? We asked science communicator Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer. Got a question flapping around in your noggin? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll tweet you to some answers.

If you think about the whole history of our planet, the part that includes humans is just a teeny tiny blip. The Earth was around for more than four BILLION years before there was any life on the planet at all. Thinking about such a huge amount of time can really boggle your brain!  How do we understand what happened when?  We asked astronomer Mark Popinchalk to help us find the answer. Got a question that totally rocks? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help reach a geo-LOGICAL conclusion.

Dogs have some pretty great body parts: soft ears, happy tails, adorable paws…but have you ever wondered why they have such wet little noses? Is it so they can leave nose prints on every window? Is it for a fun, chilly surprise when they sniff each other’s butts? We asked animal researcher Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’d love to nose more about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll sniff out an answer!

Do you have a favorite food that your friend doesn’t like at all? That’s pretty common! People like – and dislike – different foods. But why is that? We asked dietitian Eva Haldis to help us find the answer. Got a question that tickles your tongue or baffles your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you get a taste for the truth.

Cows make something incredible and edible: milk! They have a unique digestive system that helps them turn grass and other plants into milk. But why do they have four teats on each udder? We asked animal expert Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s udderly fascinating? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll steer you in the right direction.

Birds have a beautiful and vibrant language that we may not be able to understand, but can certainly enjoy. But what about different species of birds – can they understand each other? We asked naturalist and science communicator Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’d like to communicate to us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact - we promise it won’t be a bird-en!

If you’re new to the barnyard, one easy way to tell male roosters from female hens is by the noises they make. Hens like to cluck, so when you hear a chicken go “Bawk bawk BAAAWK,” it’s usually a hen! And a rooster’s crow is unmistakable – who else starts the day with a big “errr-errr-ERRROOO?!” But what happens when hens start to crow? We asked animal expert Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer. Got a question you’ve been brooding over? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll give you something to crow about!

A rooster’s crow is one of the most iconic noises in the animal world. They puff up their chests, stretch out their necks, and belt out a big, beautiful errr-errr-ERRROOO! But why do roosters make this special noise? We asked animal expert Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer. Got a really egg-cellent question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we promise we won’t chicken out!

It’s cherry season! These tart, juicy flavor bombs are one of the best parts of summer.  But why do cherries have pits? We asked dietitian Ana Veloso to help us find the answer. Got a question you just cherry-ish? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t pit until we find the answer.

Asparagus is a delicious and nutritious food. The green, spear-shaped vegetable tickles our taste buds, is full of vitamins and other good stuff, and has one hilarious side effect – it makes our pee smell funny! We asked food scientist Brittany Towers Lewis to help explain the reason behind this stinky phenomenon.  Missing the answer to a question and you feel like that just stinks? If you send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, urine for a real treat!

One of the best parts of spending time outside is listening to all the different beautiful bird calls. It’s like nature’s symphony! But why do birds sing and chirp so much? We asked naturalist and science communicator Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s truly im-peck-able? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we promise we won’t just wing it!

Sugar is everywhere: in our favorite fruits, desserts, even savory things like bread or sauces. But what exactly does sugar do to our bodies? We asked dietitian Ana Veloso to help us find the answer. Got a sweet question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll treat you to an answer!

Cats can be cute and cuddly, but their tongues are rough and bumpy! Why do our favorite felines have such super scratchy tongues? We asked animal expert Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer.    Got a purrrfect question? Send it to us right meow at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help answer it - we’re not kitten around!

Have you ever seen a frog catch a bug with its tongue? The frog spots its prey and – quick as a flash – its tongue shoots out to catch it! But how do frogs make sure their tongues stay sticky, so they can snare delicious snacks? We asked naturalist and science communicator Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really stuck in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll hop to it!

It’s our last episode of Dinosaur Week! Every episode this week has explored these ancient marvels that walked the Earth millions of years ago. And that’s kind of the sad part about them, right? Dinosaurs are gone, baby, gone. But could they ever come back? Maybe even just a teeny bit? Like maybe just the nice, little ones? We asked paleontologist and science journalist Shaena Montanari to help us find the answer. Got a question that seems impossible? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help answer the question – it’s in our DNA. 

Happy Dinosaur Week! Every episode this week explores the ancient marvels that walked the Earth millions of years ago. And today we’re taking a special dive into what was going on even BEFORE these prehistoric giants existed. Can you even imagine a time so long ago? We asked paleontologist and science journalist Shaena Montanari to help paint us a picture of what was roaming the Earth before dinosaurs. Got a question that’s roaming around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you out because we’re as smart as a thesaurus!

Happy Dinosaur Week! Every episode this week explores the ancient marvels that walked the Earth millions of years ago. Now, close your eyes and picture a dinosaur. What color is it? Is it green? Blue? Sparkly purple? It’s interesting how we can know what color a dinosaur was when we were never around to see it. We asked paleontologist and science journalist Shaena Montanari to help us dig into this issue. Got a colorful question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help paint a picture for you. 

Happy Dinosaur Week! Every episode this week explores the ancient marvels that walked the Earth millions of years ago. So how many species of dinosaurs were actually alive back then? We asked paleontologist and science journalist Shaena Montanari to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s e-species-ly good? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help type out the answer. 

Happy Dinosaur Week! Every episode this week explores the ancient marvels that walked the Earth millions of years ago. Fossilized bones and footprints help scientists figure out what these prehistoric creatures looked like – but how do we know what they sounded like? We asked paleontologist and science journalist Shaena Montanari to help us find the answer. Got a question that makes you want to roar in frustration? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find a dino-mite answer.   

Quick! Imagine a beaver. Did you picture a furry, water-loving creature with long teeth and a pancake-flat tail? Us, too! A beaver’s thick, wide tail is one of its most iconic features, but why does it have one? We asked naturalist and science communicator Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really gnawing at you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – we wood love to help you answer it!

“Junk food” is a term you might have heard before that refers to foods that have a lot of calories but not much nutritional value - like cookies, candy and chips. But why does food that is often referred to as “junk” taste anything like junk, and what’s up with that term anyway? We asked registered dietitian Eva Haldis to help us find the answer. Got a question that makes you snicker? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and – donut worry – we’ll help you out. 

Human babies are born not knowing how to do a whole lot, besides eating, crying and pooping. But frog babies are born with a special power - they can jump really high! So how do they do it? We asked naturalist Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s toad-ally confusing? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll hop to it!

Have you ever wondered why cats make that delightful, soft rumbling sound? Is it because they’re happy? Relaxed? Trying desperately to tell us it’s dinnertime? We asked animal expert Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer.    Got a question that’s just purr-fect for Moment of Um? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, because we’re feline pretty paw-sitive that we can help. 

Weather forecasts can be super helpful. They can tell you how to dress for the day, whether to bring an umbrella to the park or if you’ll need extra sunscreen for your beach day! But how on Earth do the people who predict the weather know how to work their magic? We asked meteorologist Alan Sealls to help us find the answer. Got a question blowing around in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help forecast an answer!

Got milk? Cows sure do! Baby cows drink 10% of their body weight in milk everyday! That means some babies are guzzling more than a gallon of milk per day. But how do mama cows make it? We asked animal expert Courney Daigle to help us find the answer.    Got a question that’s udderly confusing? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll steer you in the right direction.

Whooooosh! Wind can rush in quickly and blow things all out of whack! But where does it come from, and how is it created? We asked meteorologist Alan Sealls to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s wind-ing you up? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find the answer with gust-o. 

Do you ever get a hankering for something sweet? Or maybe you crave a super salty snack, like crunchy dill pickles! Lots of people crave different kinds of foods when they’re hungry – but why? We asked dietitian Ana Veloso to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s eating you up inside? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a satisfying answer!

Worms are the superheroes of the underground world! But what do these tiny titans do that makes them so special? We asked naturalist Lucy Lapwing all about the ways our incredible, slimy friends make the planet a better place to live! Got a question that’s wriggling around in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll dig up the answer!

Do you like rainy days? Or would you prefer to have fun in the sun? Either way, no rainstorm lasts forever. But what makes it stop? We asked meteorologist Alan Sealls to help us find the answer. Got a question you’ve been pouring over? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help clear it up!

Baby lions are adorable! They’re small and fluffy, and they have spots. But adult lions don’t have any spots. So what happens? Do the spots fall off? Do birds steal them? We asked animal researcher Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s just lion around? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you spot the answer!  

The bumps on our arms and legs that show up when we’re cold or scared are called  goosebumps in honor of the bumpy skin underneath a goose’s feathers. But do animals besides humans get goosebumps? We asked animal expert Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer. Exgoose us, but do you have a question bumping around your brain? Just give us a honk at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer!

Ice skates are amazing! Think about it: you put them on, lace them up and suddenly you’re walking on water! Well, frozen water. But how do these magic things work? We asked Olympic speed skater Erin Jackson to help us find the answer.  Got a question twirling around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll figure it out.

Are you a karaoke king who loves to sing for anyone and everyone? Or a shy songstress who saves your talents for your family? Or a sneaky, private pop star who only serenades the clothes in your closet? Most of us are able to sing, but why are some of us better than others? Voice teacher Kristy Bissell helps us understand why some people can sing sweeter than a songbird. Got a question that’s got you singing the blues? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help provide an answer that’s music to your ears!

Puberty is a time of big changes for humans. Our bodies change, our voices change, even our moods change! But do animals go through puberty, too? We asked veterinarian Lena Provost to help us find the answer. Got a question you think is too hairy to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help change your mind!  

Happy Elephant Week! Every episode this week answers a different question about our magnificent and ginormous elephant friends. It’s a cartoon tale as old as time. Giant elephant sees a tiny mouse. Eeek! Elephant is frightened, jumps up onto comically small chair. CLASSIC. But what actually happens when an elephant comes across a mouse in the wild? We asked psychology professor and elephant expert Joshua Plotnick to help us find the answer. Got a jumbo-sized question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll unpack our trunk full of answers.

Happy Elephant Week! Every episode this week answers a different question about our magnificent and ginormous elephant friends. Elephants use their long, flexible noses to sniff out food, take baths and even hug other elephants. But do they ever get boogers in their trunks? We asked psychology professor and elephant expert Joshua Plotnik to help us find the answer! Got a question that’s snot easy to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help pick out the answer.

Happy Elephant Week! Every episode this week answers a different question about our magnificent and ginormous elephant friends. Have you ever accidentally gotten water up your nose? Imagine if you could slurp up a whole bunch of water with your snoot! You’d probably want to spray it around, right? That’s something that elephants do all the time – but why? We asked psychology professor and elephant expert Joshua Plotnick to help us find the answer. Got a pachyderm puzzler?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an elephantastic answer! 

Happy Elephant Week! Every episode this week answers a different question about our magnificent and ginormous elephant friends. You may have seen elephants at zoos and marveled at their size. Maybe you’ve seen nature programs about these ponderous pachyderms. It’s no secret: Elephants are big. But why do they grow so large? We asked psychology professor and elephant expert Joshua Plotnick to help us find the answer. Got a HUGE question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find the answer. No biggie!

Welcome to Elephant Week! Every episode this week answers a different question about our magnificent and ginormous elephant friends. Have you ever wondered what elephants eat? Because we have! We asked psychology professor and elephant expert Joshua Plotnik to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s eating away at you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that satisfies your hunger for knowledge!

Everybody has different preferences when it comes to food. Some people don’t like squishy textures or spicy flavors. And others avoid entire food groups, like vegetables! Have you ever turned up your nose at a turnip? Refused a radish? Pooh-poohed a pepper? Ever wondered why? We asked nutritionist Ana Veloso to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s bean puzzling you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and lettuce help you find the answer. 

With their graceful necks and long legs, giraffes are the tallest mammals in the world! These spotty, plant-eating giants roam the African savannah, towering over their fellow creatures. But why are they so tall? We asked psychology professor Joshua Plotnik to help us find the answer. Got a gigantic question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that measures up!

If you’ve ever looked at a chicken – like, really looked at one – you might have noticed that our feathered backyard friends look like mini dinosaurs. Think about it: their scaly toes look just like tiny T. rex feet! But are chickens actually related to the mighty T. rex? We asked paleontologist Shaena Montanari to help us find the answer. Got a dino-mite question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we promise we won’t chicken out!

Strings, woodwinds, percussion, brass…every instrument has its own unique voice. But have you ever wondered how each instrument actually makes sound? What makes a harp go plink plunk, a clarinet go bwaaahhh or a tuba go oompah? We asked musician Jennifer Christen to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s instrumental to your happiness? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help compose an answer.

Humans remember the people we meet by recognizing faces, voices, or with the help of a handy-dandy name tag. But do our canine companions do the same? Can a dog recognize someone they haven’t seen in a long time? We asked Barnard College dog cognition researcher Alexandra Horowitz to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s keeping you pup at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll search doggedly for the answer!

Humans tend to prefer using one hand over the other. How you write, throw a ball or play an instrument might depend on whether you’re right or left-handed. But what about critters who don’t have hands? Do dogs and cats have preferred paws? We asked veterinarian Lena Provost to help us find the answer. Got a left-over question that’s right up our alley? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll hand you an answer!

A beard is nature’s face-sweater. And just like a regular sweater, it can be scratchy and itchy and just plain uncomfortable. So what makes some people’s facial hair so sharp? We asked beard expert Greg Berzinsky to help us find the answer. Got a question whose answer you haven’t been able to stubble upon? You mustacheBrainsOn.org/contact. After all, we’re pretty sharp! 

Dogs communicate in a bunch of ways, from tail wags to barks. But can dogs from different parts of the world understand each other? We asked dog behavioral scientist Alexandra Horowitz to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really hounding you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, because we woof love to help you!

Have you ever followed a slimy, iridescent trail in the garden or park and found a snail, munching on a tasty plant? Or maybe a slug was helping itself to your snap peas! Snails and slugs look pretty similar, so why does only one have a shell? We asked biologist Teresa Rose Osborne to help us track down the answer. Got a question that has you retreating into your shell? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try not to answer it at a snail’s pace!

A steel drum is a musical instrument that’s traditionally made out of an oil barrel or other metal objects. So how does it make its iconic sound? We asked steel drum expert and band leader Jeremy Kunkel to help us find the answer. Steeling yourself for a great question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help drum up an answer.

Hurricanes are huge, destructive storms that suck up heat from tropical ocean waters, while tornadoes are smaller, funnel-shaped columns of air that form over land. But what would happen if these two weather titans happened at the same time? We asked meteorologist Rosimar Rios-Berrios to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s left your head spinning? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll shed some lightning on it for you!

Buckle up, because today’s “Storm Week” episode is going to be a whirlwind! A tornado is a super fast tunnel of wind that touches the ground. Its twisting, turning winds can reach 300 miles per hour – faster than an airplane when it’s taking off! But how do we know that? We asked meteorologist Alan Sealls to help us find out how a tornado’s speed is measured.  Got a question that’s got you all twisted? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact. It’ll be a breeze!

Happy Storm Week! Today’s episode is all about lightning – that big spark of electricity that illuminates the sky during a storm. If you’ve ever drawn lightning on a piece of paper, you probably sketched it as a zig zag. So how does lightning get its iconic shape? We asked meteorologist Alan Sealls to help us find the answer.Got a question that’s zig zagging around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you discover a bolt of knowledge! 

Happy Storm Week! Let’s talk about clouds today. There are lots of different types of clouds: fluffy ones, wispy ones, even little puffballs that look like a rabbit’s tail! But when a storm rolls in, the clouds often get darker – sometimes even turning deep gray. So what’s going on? We asked meteorologist Rosimar Rios-Berrios to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s clouding your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll rain down answers on you!

Happy Storm Week! Storms can be scary, but they can also be beautiful and awe-inspiring. Every episode this week explores the power and majesty of nature's most dynamic weather patterns. Today's question comes from a listener who was wondering “How do hurricanes form?” We asked atmospheric scientist Rosimar Rios-Berrios to help us find the answer. Got a question spinning around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that will blow you away. 

Rainbows are created when sunlight hits tiny water droplets in the air. They may not lead to an enchanted treasure or a newborn baby unicorn, but they’re still pretty magical! So where do they start and end? We asked atmospheric scientist Rosimar Rios-Berrios to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’re reflecting on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help color in the details.

Snails are fascinating creatures. They’re tiny, they’re slimy and they make their own beautiful shell houses! But how are they born? We asked biologist and snail expert Teresa Rose Osborne to help us find the answer. Got a question that has a lot of poten-shell? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll hatch a plan to find the answer!

Ants are the acrobats of the insect world. Lots of them spend their days climbing on just about everything – even the ceiling! So how do they do it?  We asked biologist Teresa Rose Osborne to help us find the answer. Thanks to the National Science Foundation for helping fund her research! Got a question that’s really bugging you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the ant-swer!

Farting! Humans do it. Lots of animals do it. But what does it sound like when elephants do it? What’s it like to eat grass and pass gas? Would elephants care if a fart stunk in their trunk? We asked Joshua Plotnik from Hunter College to help us find the answer. Got a question that really toots your horn? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll look far(t) and wide for an answer!

Stories can do so much for our world. They inspire and motivate us, pass down knowledge and entertain us. Stories can even help us connect with each other and make sense of the world. So how far back does the tradition of storytelling go? And what is the earliest story we know about? We asked Brains On producer and archaeologist Anna Goldfield to help us find the answer.  Got a question that has you by the tale? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the moral of the story.

Hi friends! For the next two weeks we’re taking a little break. We’re headed to Moment of Um camp, where we organize your questions, interview experts and get ready for more amazing episodes for you. We’ll be back on April 3 with a super fun episode about the oldest story ever told. See you then!

Happy Worm Week! Every episode this week will dig deep into the wonderful world of worms. Have you ever looked at an earthworm and wondered why some of them have a segment that looks like a tiny Band-Aid? Us, too! Luckily, biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University is here to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’re wound-ering about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help put a Band-Aid on your curiosity! 

Happy Worm Week! Every episode this week will dig deep into the wonderful world of worms. Today's question comes from a listener who was wondering, “How do silkworms produce silk?” We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s cocooned around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help spin out the answer.

Happy Worm Week! Every episode this week will dig deep into the wonderful world of worms. Today's question comes from a listener who was wondering “Do worms make sounds?” We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer. Got a question that you can’t keep quiet about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll check the Worm Wide Web for the answer. 

Happy Worm Week! Every episode this week will dig deep into the wonderful world of worms. Today's question comes from a listener who was wondering “What do worms do in the winter? Do they hibernate?” We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s making you freeze up? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help wriggle out an answer. 

Happy Worm Week! Every episode this week will dig deep into the wonderful world of worms. Worms are everywhere – slithering in your compost pile, wriggling in the forest, even tunneling through farm fields!  But have you noticed there are more of them at night? What’s up with that? We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s worming around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t try to wriggle our way out of answering it!

Good morning! Rise and shine! Time to stretch and yawn and…blech! What is that taste? What is that smell?? Morning breath can be especially stinky, even if you brush your teeth the night before. What’s up with that? We asked Dr. Michael Eggert, who teaches in the dental school at the University of Alberta to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really stinkin’ good? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll sniff out an answer. 

When we’re nervous our bodies react in a bunch of different ways. Our hearts might beat faster, our breathing speeds up and sometimes we get all sweaty! But why do we perspire when we’re perturbed? Or get clammy when we’re concerned? We asked Yana Kamberov, a geneticist who studies skin at the University of Pennsylvania, to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s gotten under your skin? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help find the answer, so you don’t have to sweat it anymore!

Have you ever seen an egg cooking on a griddle? When you first crack it, it’s clear and gloopy with a yellow yolk in the middle. But as it cooks, the clear part of the egg turns white! So, what gives? We asked Paul Adams, science research editor at Cook’s Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen, to help us crack this eggy mystery.  Got an egg-ceptional question?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll scramble to find the answer!

Most things cost money, whether it’s a box of cereal, new underwear or sunglasses for your dog.  But how do people decide  what the value of money is? Does it ever change? We asked Kai Ryssdal and Molly Wood to help us find the answer. Got a question that you really value? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help change your perspective! 

Did you know that basketball hoops in the NBA are 10 feet off the ground? That means if you want to dunk, you have to jump really high! Of course, it’s easier to reach if you’re taller, but can working on your jump help you gain more height? Or can tall people just already jump higher? We asked sports doctor Ed Laskowski to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s just out of reach? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll jump on it for you!

Volcano eruptions are a spectacular sight and a reminder of how powerful nature is. Rivers of molten lava can destroy forests, but they can also create new islands and mountain ranges! So why aren’t volcanoes erupting all the time? We asked volcano expert Lissie Connors to help us find the answer. Got a burning question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and find someone who would lava to answer it!

Have you ever had chickenpox? It can be itchy and annoying, but it usually clears up after a week or so. Kids get chickenpox from other kids (definitely not from chickens), so why does it have that weird name? We asked dermatologist Julie Schultz to help us find the answer! Got a question that you’re itching to know more about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll scratch out the answer.

A birthmark is a special spot on your skin that you’re born with. Birthmarks can be different colors and shapes, and can be found anywhere on your body. But how did they get there in the first place? We asked dermatologist Dr. Julie Schultz to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s made a mark on your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get the skinny on that topic.

Want to hear something wild about whales? Even though they’re some of the biggest creatures in the ocean, they eat some of the smallest sea life out there! Certain types of whales get their food by sucking in big gulps of water along with tiny shrimp – millions of them per day! But how do they filter out the seawater from the food? We asked marine biologist Leanna Matthews to help us find the answer. Got a whale of a question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll sea about an answer.

Looking for pictures in the clouds is so fun. After all, they come in an infinite number of shapes and sizes! But, most of the time, they all look white to us. Why is that? We reached out to atmospheric scientist Deanna Hence to help us find the answer.  Got a question that’s clouding your thoughts? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll clear up the answer. 

Elephants use their trunks for everything: sipping water, plucking leaves from trees, even hugging other elephants! But do they kiss each other? We asked elephant scientist Joshua Plotnik to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s a real mouthful? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we promise we won’t tell you to zip your lip!

Have you ever noticed that a bowl of fruit will ripen faster if it has a banana as part of the bunch? Why is that? We asked nutritionist Sara Farhat Jarrar to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s appealing to you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll go bananas all over that answer. 

A sunshower is a rare and beautiful thing. Imagine a day when the sun is shining brightly in the sky, but at the same time, light rain is falling from the clouds. Think of it as a surprise rain party in the middle of a sunny day! So how can we get two types of weather at the same time? We asked weather scientist Rosimar Rios-Berrios to help us find the answer. Is your brain lighting up with a great question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll shower you with answers. 

If you think bugs and spiders are a bit on the creepy side, you’re not alone. But where did these feelings come from? We asked wildlife ecologist Thaddeus McRae to share a bit of insight into this question. Got a question that’s creeping you out? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact. We promise, it won’t bug us!

If you’ve ever gotten a rash from poison oak, you know it’s no walk in the park. Your skin might get itchy, red or even swollen – no fun! But can squirrels get a poison oak rash? Wildlife ecologist Thaddeus McRae helps us dig into this issue in today’s episode. Got a question that’s driving you nuts? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll squirrel away an answer for you! 

Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Here’s a mind blower for you: did you know the ancestors of snakes used to have legs?   Somewhere along the zigzag path of evolution, they traded in their lizardy legs for a more streamlined look. But why did snakes go legless? We asked biologist and snake researcher Emily Taylor to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s snaking around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find a fangtastic answer!  

Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Did you know that, out of the roughly 3,000 total species of snakes, only about 10-15% are venomous? But how do those snakes make venom in their bodies? We asked snake scientist Emily Taylor to help us find the answer.  Got a question that’s biting at you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll search for the answer-dote!

Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Snakes come in all sizes and colors, but they have one thing in common: no arms or legs! In fact, one might argue they kind of look like sticks. We asked snake expert Emily Taylor why our reptilian neighbors are twig-shaped.  Got a question that’s slithering around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll promise we won’t throw a hisssss-y fit!

Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Zoos have to have all kinds of foods available to feed the different species that they care for. Animals like elephants, zebras and buffalo eat plants. Predators like lions, foxes and bears have a much meatier diet. But what’s on the menu at the snake house? Snake cake? Snake steak? Snake grapes? We asked biologist Emily Taylor to help us find the answer. Got a question snaking throughyour brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help squeeze out an answer.

Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Did you know snakes hibernate in the winter just like bears, chipmunks and geckos? But what do they do while they’re hibernating? Do they have dreams? Do they wake up for mid-hibernation snacks? We asked snake scientist Emily Taylor to help us find the answer!  Got a question you just can’t ssssssleep on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and maybe we’ll bite!

Exciting news! Next week on Moment of Um is Snake Week, where every episode will explore a different question about our slithery friends. Not very excited about that? Feeling maybe…a bit apprehensive? We understand. To help us get to the bottom of this fear of snakes (and maybe even overcome it?) we reached out to wildlife ecologist Thaddeus McRae. Got a question that you’re afraid is very difficult? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help scare up an answer. 

Lots of different animals have siblings: humans, cheetahs, frogs – even spiders! But what about flies? Do they have brothers and sisters?  Thanks to science journalist Cara Giaimo, Annette Parks and Kevin Cook at the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center at Indiana University for helping us find the answer. Got a question that you came up with on the fly? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a relative-lysatisfying answer!

Who doesn’t love a good snow day? Snowball fights! Sledding! Making snow-people! The powdery white stuff is like nature’s amusement park. But why is it white? Why not pink or blue or tangerine? We asked atmospheric scientist Deanna Hence to help us find the answer.  Got a question that’s snow tricky? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll shovel out the answer. 

It’s not just humans who eat spicy foods – other animals do, too! But can all animals taste spicy things the way we do? We asked wildlife ecologist Thaddeus McRae to help us find the answer.Got a question on the tip of your tongue? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find a spicy answer for you.

Peaches and strawberries and mangoes, oh my! There’s nothing like biting into a juicy, perfectly ripe piece of fruit. But how does fruit know when to ripen? And how do farmers know when to pick it so that it’s ready and delicious by the time it finally gets to us? We talked to Philadelphia farmer Angel Papineau to get the answer.   Got a question that you’re berry curious about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll FIG-ure it out!

Spiders come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They can be smaller than a grain of sand or larger than a dinner plate. Some have fuzzy, rainbow-colored bodies, while others are black and shiny. But even though they sometimes look like insects, spiders are in their own special group! We asked wildlife ecologist Thaddeus McRae how spiders and insects are different. Got a question that has your spidey senses tingling? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we promise we won’t tell you to bug off!

If there’s one thing most people know about volcanoes, it’s that stuff explodes out of the top. But where did that hole come from? We asked volcanologist Lissie Connors to help us find the answer. Got an explosive question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find someone who will volca-KNOW the answer!

The flight of a butterfly is beautiful, if not erratic. How the heck do those graceful creatures know to avoid each other mid-flight? Science journalist Cara Giaimo and her pal Jeff Dawson at Carleton University in Ontario helped us dig into this question. Got a question that’s fluttering around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll wing it! 

If you’ve ever seen a squirrel munching on nuts or seeds it looks ADORABLE! But it also looks efficient, as they seem to pile the food in their mouths and move it from place to place. Just how much can they store in there? We asked wildlife ecologist Thaddeus McRae to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s making you nuts? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and don’t worry - we won't squirrel away the answer.

Have you ever seen a fresh pile of poo in the grass and wondered why there were so many flies around it? If so, we have just the episode for you! We asked science journalist Cara Giaimo why flies are the dung devotees of the animal kingdom.  Doo you have a question that’s left you a little scat-terbrained? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help find the answer, even if we’re feeling pooped.

Humans do a lot to keep our teeth clean! We brush them twice a day, we (hopefully!) remember to floss, and we visit the dentist regularly. But what about animals? Do they have to clean their teeth, too? And if they do…how do they do it? We talked to Barbara Toddes from the Philadelphia Zoo to find the answer.  Got a question that’s on the tip of your tongue? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll brush up on the answer.

Every animal needs to rest, but they do it in lots of different ways. Some sleep in beds, some on the ground, some in trees, and some … in the ocean! But how do animals like dolphins and whales catch their zzz’s at sea? We asked marine biologist Roxanne Beltran to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s making waves in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll fish out the answer!   

Ginkgo trees are seriously impressive. They’re the oldest plant on earth – even older than dinosaurs! They can grow up to 100 feet tall, and in the fall their leaves turn a brilliant golden color. There’s just one drawback – sometimes, they really stink! But why are these majestic trees so smelly? We reached out to tree researcher Natalie Love to get the answer.  Got a question you’ve been stink-ing hard about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll sniff out the answer!

Do you ever blush? Most of us do! Maybe it happens when you’re excited, or angry or embarrassed. But what causes our cheeks to turn pink, and why do we do it? We talked to pediatrician Kathryn Less to get the answer! Got a question that you’re ready to face? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll blush up on the answer.

A star is a big, glowing ball of hot gas that is held together by its own gravity. But what happens if that big ball of hot gas explodes? We asked space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock to help us find the answer. Got a super hot question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help explode your mind with the answer! 

Happy Planet Week! There are so many incredible planets out there, from giant Jupiter with its swirling storms to Saturn and its mesmerizing rings. Plus, there are countless other planets that humans have yet to discover! But how exactly do these cosmic wonders come to be? We asked geologist Yesenia Arroyo to help us find the answer. Got a question forming in your mind? Launch it over to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and it’ll be the center of our universe!

On Earth, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But what about other planets? Do they have cardinal directions like north, south, east and west, too? We asked geologist Yesenia Arroyo to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s left you feeling lost? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help point you in the right direction!

Happy Planet Week! Jupiter has a lot going for it. It’s the biggest planet in the solar system and NASA even has a spacecraft named Juno orbiting it to learn more about the hugest of the gas giants. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about it. Which made us wonder, what would happen if we lit a match on Jupiter? We asked geologist Yesenia Arroyo to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s orbiting your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help propel it to the nearest answer. 

Happy Planet Week! Did you know the Earth’s outer layer has big rocky sheets called tectonic plates that move back and forth up to six inches every year? As they move, these wiggly jiggly plates can create mountain ranges, cause volcanoes to erupt, and sometimes trigger earthquakes! But do other planets have tectonic plates, too? We asked geologist Yesenia Arroyo to help us find the answer. Got a question shifting around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll plate up the answer!

Happy Planet Week! Everybody knows Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, Venus is the hottest and Saturn is the best accessorized! It boasts seven gorgeous, gassy rings. But do they serve a purpose other than scoring style points? We asked geologist Yesenia Arroyo to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s ringing in your head? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help b-RING you the answer.

Have you ever been to a hypnotist show where someone “puts people to sleep” and then their behavior is changed in some way? Is that real, and if so, how does it work? We asked counselor Enakshi Choudhuri to help us find the answer. Hypnotized by a great question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll blow your mind with the answer!

You wouldn’t think a simple piece of paper would be anything to worry about. It’s flimsy and harmless, right? Not if it cuts you! OUCH! Even though paper cuts are so tiny, they hurt like the dickens! Why is that? We asked pediatrician Kathryn Less to help us find the answer. Have you putyour finger on a great question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help cut it to the core! 

Lasers are very powerful beams of light. You can't just turn on a flashlight or lamp to make a laser. So how intense does the light have to be? We asked mechanical engineering professor Sayan Biswas to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’re laser-focused on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll beam with joy at the thought of helping you! 

Big ones, small ones, cute ones, leggy ones. Is that the extent of your spider knowledge? Then this is the episode for you! We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us figure out how many types of spiders there are.  Got a question that’s just your type? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll search the web for someone to answer it!

Seals and sea lions are closely-related, ocean-dwelling mammals that have a lot to say! They make all kinds of noises, from barks to roars to grunts and squeaks. But what does all that mean? Are they communicating with other species? Are they telling secrets about crabs? We asked marine biologist and animal behavioral scientist Roxanne Beltran to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s swimming through your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help seal the deal with an answer. 

Bird eggs come in lots of different colors: white, brown, green, lavender, pink, and more. Splotches and speckles abound, too. If you’re in North America, maybe you’ve seen tiny bright blue robin’s eggs in a springtime nest. But did you ever wonder what makes that blue color? And why are robin’s eggs blue in the first place? We talked to biologist Bob Montgomerie about the reason for the hue.  If you’ve got a Moment of Um question that’s cracking you up, send it to the egg-heads at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll scramble to find the answer.

From glow-in-the-dark stickers to bioluminescent bacteria, twinkling fireflies to radiant jellyfish, the world is full of things that have the power to shine a light in the darkness. But how do glow-in-the-dark things actually work? We asked chemistry professor Aleeta M. Powe to illuminate this question for us.  If you’ve got a question that we could shine some light on, send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll do our best to brighten your day.

We take pencils for granted. They’re kicked around, thrown in the garbage and chewed on like yesterday's fast food. But think about how integral they are to our lives. They help us create art and write letters. They are vital tools of communication. With the help of Joya Cooley, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Cal State Fullerton, we pay respect to the humble pencil. Not only does she reveal how it sticks to paper, but she also tells us the secrets of erasing too. We’d love to hear your Moment of Um question too! Just go to BrainsOn.org/contact to submit it, and you could hear the answer in a future episode.

The T. rex is the embodiment of ferocious: razor sharp teeth, claws and a taste for blood. If you were running away from one of these beasts, you might not even notice its tiny arms. But there they are, in every recreation, almost comically small arms. So what gives? Paleontologist Bhart-Anjan Bhullar sets us straight on this not-so-tiny question. Do you have a head-scratcher you want us to answer? Unlike T. rex, you can scratch your head, and when you’re done, submit your Moment of Um question at BrainsOn.org/contact.

Giraffes are known for a few key features: their long necks, beautiful camouflage and the dark tongue they use to strip leaves off branches. Steve Gerkin, interpretive programs manager at the North Carolina Zoo, visits the show to tell us why we think their tongues are that shade. Hint: humans share this trait with giraffes! Do you have a head-scratcher you want us to answer? Submit your own Moment of Um questions atBrainsOn.org/contact.

Have you ever been out for a stroll in your neighborhood and noticed that the house numbers are in the hundreds, like 526, 528, 530 instead of 1, 2, 3? Why is that? We asked urban planner Brittany Simmons to help us find the answer. Do you have a question that’s number 1 on your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help address the answer. 

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away… we wondered, could you ever build a real lightsaber like the ones in Star Wars? A lightsaber is a glowing sword that can cut through metal – and pretty much anything else you can think of. It’s the favorite tool of heroes like Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, as well as villains like Darth Vader. That’s just in the movies, but could we make them real? We asked mechanical engineering professor Sayan Biswas to help us find the answer. Got more questions than Luke when he was training with Yoda? Send them to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help use the force to find an answer!

Did you know there are 18 species of penguin in the world? Each species has its own differences and quirks, but one thing all penguins have in common is that it can be tricky to tell if they’re standing up or sitting down. One curious listener wondered if they even sit down at all. We asked Dr. Michelle LaRue from the University of Canterbury to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s knocked you off your feet? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll stand up and find the answer. 

Aliens! Zombies! Tiny guys with big mustaches who can jump super high! Video games let you immerse yourself in new and fantastic worlds. But why is it so hard to stop playing, once you’ve started? We asked science journalist Christina Couch to help us find the answer. Got a question that won’t stop replaying in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that’s a real game changer. 

Do you crack your knuckles? You know, you pull back on your fingers until you feel a pop or a snap? Some people will tell you that cracking your knuckles is actually bad for your hands, but one of our listeners wondered if that’s really true. We asked Dr. Rowland Chang, who studies joints like knuckles, what’s happening inside your body when you crack your knuckles, and if it’s causing any harm.   If you’ve got a great Moment of Um question at your fingertips, send it our way at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll do our best to handle it.

Every winter, sleepy bears across the world crawl into their dens and take a very long nap, called hibernation. But what happens when nature calls? Do bears wake up to pee and poop?  We asked science journalist Christina Couch to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s a wee bit difficult? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll dig our claws into this subject for you!

They can strike out of nowhere, forcing you to make funny noises when you least expect it. We’re talking about hiccups and boy can they be annoying. Why do we have them and can we do anything to get rid of them? We asked pediatrician Kathryn Less to help us find the answer. Got a nagging question that just won’t go away? Don’t hold your breath waiting for an answer, send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact!

The world of 3D printers seems limitless. People can create anything, from dollhouses to entire cars. But how are these 3D printers made? Do they 3D print themselves? We asked software engineer and 3D printing enthusiast Joseph Bozarth to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s jamming up your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll ink out an answer. 

A volcano is a break in the crust of Earth that allows hot lava, ash and gas to escape. But what’s a supervolcano? Is it a really, really big volcano? Is it a volcano with super powers? We asked volcanologist Lissie Connors to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’d lava to know the answer to? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try super hard to find the answer.

If you look at the tips of your fingers really closely, you can see a unique pattern that belongs just to you! So what are those patterns for, besides looking cool? We asked biologist Roland Ennos from the University of Hull in the U.K. to help us find the answer.  Got a question whose answer you can’t quite put your finger on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll knuckle down to find the answer!

Humans fart. Orangutans fart. Even zebras fart. But what about sharks? We asked science journalist Christina Couch to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s a real gas? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that isn’t full of hot air.

Across the animal kingdom, you’ll find all sorts of communication methods! Screeching, stomping, dancing, singing and, if you encounter a gorilla, maybe some chest pounding. But what’s a gorilla trying to say when it thumps its chest? We asked Michael Stern, curator of primates at the Philadelphia Zoo, to help us find the answer.  Got a question that ape-peals do you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help pound out the answer.

Trees come in all shapes and sizes. Some are tiny, like the dwarf willow that’s less than an inch tall – half the size of a paperclip!  Others are massive, like the redwoods in California, which can grow hundreds of feet tall. But what factors go into making a tall tree so tall? We asked tree researcher Natalie Love to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s a tall order? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t leaf you hanging! 

You know what’s perfect on a super sweaty, scorching hot, melt-your-pants-off summer day? A tall glass of ice water! Water helps cool you down and quench your thirst – and that’s true for everyone from your mom to your mail carrier to your dog. But what about your goldfish? Do fish drink water if they live in water? Do fish even get thirsty? Curious for an answer, we asked science writer Cara Giaimo to help us out. Is there something that you’re gill-ty of not knowing? Send us a question and we’ll get you off the hook! Just find us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll track down the  answer no matter how fishy the question is.

Everybody’s afraid of something: scorpions, thunderstorms, making a joke and – gulp! – nobody laughs. But why do certain things make us feel scared? We asked science journalist Christina Couch to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s terrifyingly difficult? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we promise we won’t ghost you!

Friends rule! The best ones are those that are always there to help you out, embark on a strange adventure,  make you laugh so hard you cry and appreciate all the weird and wonderful things that make you… you! We love our friends! But do we humans need them as a species? We talked to psychologist/biologist Lauren Brent to find the answer.   Do you and your BFF have a question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll be a friend and help find the answer!

Seashells are like the artwork of the ocean! With their whirly twirly spirals and flashy patterns, each one is beautiful in its own unique way. But how exactly are they made? We asked marine biologist Sophie Wolvin to give us the lowdown on seashells.  Got a question that has a lot of poten-shell? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll sea if we can answer it! 

If you’ve ever seen a spider web up close, you’ve probably noticed how beautiful and intricate it is. How can a creature so tiny make something so elaborate? We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s been crawling around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll search the web for the best person to answer it!

Cats are notoriously independent and sometimes it can be tough to get them to respond when you call out their name. But is your cat purposely ignoring you, or does it not even know its name? We asked science writer Cara Giaimo to help us find the answer. Got a question you want answered right meow? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you pounce on the answer.

Ever wondered what bones are made of? We have, too! We asked biological anthropologist Habiba Chirchir to help us answer this humerus question. Got a question that’s tickling your funny bone? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you dig up the answer!

Did you know that trumpets are the oldest brass instruments? Orchestras rely on them to play the highest notes in the brass section! But how do they make that bbbbrrrrrrr sound? We asked trumpet player and teacher Jim Boyle to help us find the answer. Got a question you’ve been wanting to brass-k? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that’s music to your ears.

Remember the last time you were really, really, really excited to see a movie? That might have been because you saw a trailer that showed you amazing scenes from the movie, gave you a little preview of what it was going to be about, and got you pumped to see the full thing. But who puts this mini version of the movie together, and how? We asked Travis Abels, who makes movie trailers, to help answer this question. Got a question that’s Singin’ in your Brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll give you lights, cameras, ANSWERS!

Humans poop and pee. So do many animals – even fish! (In fact, the ocean is full of fish poop!) But what about trees? Do they create and release waste in the same way we do? We asked tree researcher Natalie Love to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s leaf-ing you confused? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help poop out the answer.

Your body does a lot of things while you’re asleep. Your brain recharges, your muscles rest, you drool charmingly onto your pillow…but do you hear things? We asked sleep scientist Ketema Paul to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s too good to sleep on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find the answer of your dreams.

Most of us have been there: you’re having a roasty toasty day in the sun, making sand castles on the beach or playing at your favorite playground. But then you realize, oops – you forgot the sunscreen! And all that sunshine gives you a not-so-fun sunburn. But could this happen in outer space too? We asked space scientist and communicator Maggie Aderin-Pocock to help us find the answer. Got a burning question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you get the skin-ny on that topic.

Happy Food Week! We’re excited to bring you a whole week of delicious Moment of Yums leading up to Thanksgiving. Freeze-dried food seems like something that was invented for space travel, but this technique for preserving food is actually more than a hundred years old! Nowadays you might see freeze-dried mangos or strawberries in many grocery stores. You know, the ones that are dry and crispy and light as a feather? But how exactly do you make them? We asked food scientist Dave Dominguez to help us find the answer. Got an appetite for knowledge? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we promise we won’t give you the cold shoulder!

Most of us are familiar with the taste of something sour – that tart feeling that makes your eyes close and your facial features squint. Lemons, lime juice, kimchi are all sour - but what is the sourest thing in the world? We asked Janelle Clepper who has a Masters of Public Health in Nutrition from the University of Minnesota to help us figure it out. And if YOU have a question, we can help with that! Submit your Moment of Um question at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help find the answer.

Happy Food Week! We’re excited to bring you a whole week of delicious Moment of Yums leading up to Thanksgiving. Today’s question was sent in by a curious listener who wondered why fluffy, sugary-sweet cotton candy dissolves on your tongue. We asked food scientist Craig Sherwin to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s cotton you all confused? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a sweet answer for you.

Happy Food Week! We’re excited to bring you a whole week of delicious Moment of Yums leading up to Thanksgiving. If you’re a movie lover, a snack lover, or just a lover of things that go “POP!”, you might be wondering what makes a kernel of corn pop. We asked food scientist Dave Dominguez for the deets on this tasty treat. Got a question that’s popped up in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you feel butter about the answer.

Happy Food Week! We’re excited to bring you a whole week of delicious Moment of Yums leading up to Thanksgiving. First up: cheese! Cheese is delicious! It can be stringy, stretchy, stinky, salty, or sweet. It can be eaten fresh or aged for more than a decade.  But it only comes in a few different colors. We asked food scientist Craig Sherwin to help us find out why. Got a question on your rind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help cut through to the answer.

Many people take vitamins along with the normal food they eat in a day. But what if you ate ONLY vitamins? Could you survive? We asked Craig Sherwin from the biotechnology company Novozymes to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s vita-l to your life? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help feed you the answer.

Food gives us energy, so we can bounce! Run. Wiggle! Jiggle!! But all that energy… does it have a name? We talked with food scientist Dave Dominguez about it and he served up a very satisfying answer! Got a question that’s eating you up? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll whip up an answer that’s easy to digest!

Have you ever been to the circus and seen the super-bendy performers that can move their bodies in all sorts of amazing ways? You might be wondering, how did they get so flexible? We were wondering that too, so we asked Cami Biggar, a contortionist at Circus Juventas, to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s a real brain bender? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you wrap your head around it.

Ah, sweet sleep. From the quick catnap to the full drool-and-snore session, we humans cherish our sleepy time. But how much sleep is enough? Does everybody need the same amount? Does a person’s amount change as they age? Is it nap time yet? We asked sleep scientist Ketema Paul to help us find the answers. Got a question that’s keeping you up at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help put it to bed.

Growing fruits and vegetables looks pretty easy, right? Poke a hole in the dirt, drop in a seed, add a little sunshine and water — and violà! But how do farmers grow veggies that don’t seem to have seeds, like cabbages and broccoli? We asked Annie Klodd, fruit and vegetable expert from University of Minnesota Extension, to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s eating away at you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help produce the answer!

Volcanoes can lie dormant for thousands of years without erupting – almost like they’re sleeping. But how do they decide when it’s time to blow? We asked volcanologist Lissie Connors to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s erupting from your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help blow your mind with the answer.

Sometimes bad things happen – to starfish arms. A hungry bird takes a nibble and suddenly, that starfish is missing an arm! But in many cases, these resilient creatures can regrow a brand new one. We asked marine biologist Sophie Wolvin how that works. Got a question that’s left you in limb-o? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and if the stars align, we’ll find an expert to answer it! 

How do you like to wear your hair? Do you cut it short? Get it braided? Dye it every color of the rainbow? Hair can be an amazing tool for self-expression, but does it also serve another purpose? We asked biological anthropologist Habiba Chirchir to help us find the answer! Have a hairy question you’ve been thinking about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll comb around for the answer.

The Milky Way! Neptune! Uranus! Halley’s Comet! There are so many cool features in our solar system – but how did they get their names? We asked space scientist and communicator Maggie Aderin-Pocock to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s out of this world? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll make space for an answer.

Have you ever had a scary or weird dream and wished you could switch your brain-television to another channel? Great news! You can learn to use “lucid dreaming,” a technique that helps you realize when you’re in a dream. Once you know you’re dreaming, you can teach yourself to shape your own storyline. So how does that work? We asked Dr. Ketema Paul, Professor, Integrative Biology And Physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s keeping you up at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help put it to bed.

Have you ever heard of a mood ring? It’s a little piece of jewelry that supposedly tells you what kind of a mood you’re in. But how the heck can it know? We asked scientist Edwin Thomas to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s getting you in the mood to learn? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help w-ring out an answer.

Quick, picture a brain! Did you imagine a rosy-colored little meatball? Us too! But are brains actually pink when they’re inside our skulls? We asked brain expert Gwenaëlle Thomas to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s giving you a real headache? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll wrap our brains around it!

We chew our food, swallow it, and our stomach goes to work on digesting! Our bodies absorb the nutrients they need and then we poop out the rest. Here on Earth, the whole process takes somewhere between one to three days. But what about in space? Do astronauts digest food as quickly as they do on Earth? We reached out to space scientist and science communicator Maggie Aderin-Pocock to get the answer! Got a question you’re chewing  on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we'll spit out the answer

Did you know the tallest building in the world is a skyscraper in Dubai called the Burj Khalifa? It has 163 floors and weighs as much as 100,000 elephants! But how can the Earth even support such a huge building?! Why doesn’t the ground just collapse underneath it? We asked geologist Rónadh Cox to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s weighing heavily on your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help build you up with a great answer!

Decades ago, making a fake phone call to someone used to be a hilarious prank to play, such as, “Is your refrigerator running? Well, you better go catch it!”. But where did this trend come from and why did people think it was so funny? And what about caller ID? We asked science writer Cara Giaimo to help us find the history behind it all. Got a question that’s calling to you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer - no joke!

Become a Smarty Pass subscriber today to access bonus episodes and ad-free episodes of Brains On!, Smash Boom Best, Moment of Um, and Forever Ago -- all right here in your favorite podcast player. Visit smartypass.org/momentofum to get your Smarty Pass! It's $4/month or $36/year (a three-month discount!) Don't worry: This feed will stay free and we’ll be posting new episodes just like we always have. Whether you choose to subscribe, or keep listening in our free feeds, we so appreciate you listening to our shows and being a part of the Brains On universe. Thank you so much for your support!

If you’ve ever smacked a mosquito on your arm, you might have seen a little smear  of red blood on your skin afterward. But just whose blood was it? Do we have the same blood as insects? We asked biologist Claire Rusch from the University of Washington to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s buzzing around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, because we’re the type to help you find an answer!

Quick: close your eyes and picture the moon! I bet you imagined it at night, didn’t you? That’s because we’re used to associating the moon with nighttime. But why is it that sometimes we can see the moon during the day? We asked astronomer and planetarium educator Sarah Komperud from the Bell Museum in St. Paul, Minnesota to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’re over the moon for? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help shed some light on the topic.

If you’ve ever seen a spider’s web up close, you probably noticed its intricate pattern and level of detail. It’s like a work of art! Spiders use their webs to ensnare flies and other insects, but why don’t they  get caught in their own sticky traps? We asked biologist Andrew Gordus of Johns Hopkins University to help us find the answer. Stuck on a question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll search the web for the best expert to answer it.

Ahhh! There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night after a nightmare.  Your heart is pounding, you’re all sweaty and suddenly your room seems so dark. Sometimes, you’re almost too scared to close your eyes and try to fall back asleep.  What’s the point of these scary dreams anyway? Is there a reason we have them at all?  We reached out to sleep scientist Ketema Paul to get the answer.   Got a question keeping you up at night?  Send it to us at brains on dot org slash contact and we’ll wake you up with the answer.

Mwa ha ha ha! Welcome to Eeek Week – a whole week of spooky, creepy, crawly episodes to get you in the mood for Halloween! Listener Emery wanted to know why bugs are attracted to light, and Pam Welisevich from the Dodge Nature Center in St. Paul, Minnesota helped us find the answer. Got a question that’s really bugging you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help shed light on the truth. 

Avast, ye seafaring scallywags! Have you ever wondered how pirates communicated with each other?  Walkie-talkies hadn’t been invented yet, and even the world’s biggest megaphone wouldn’t have been very helpful. So how did they do it? We asked Mary K. Bercaw Edwards from the Mystic Seaport Museum to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s shivering your timbers? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll follow our treasure map to the answer. 

Flamingos are bird fashion icons. Those long legs! That distinctive beak! The glorious pink hue! But why do they have pink feathers? It’s not to blend into their environment, since they don’t live among clouds of cotton candy. What gives? We asked Flora Lichtman, science journalist and host of Every Little Thing from Gimlet Media, to help us find the answer. Got a question that you can’t stop pinking about?? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find the answer that’s pig-meant to be.

If you’ve ever seen a jellyfish, you’ve probably noticed its long, trailing tentacles. Or maybe you’ve accidentally touched one – ouch! In the ocean, jellyfish often swim together in big groups and touch each other’s stinging tentacles. So can they sting each other? We asked marine biologist Sophie Wolvin to help us find the answer. Got a question, but you just can’t sea the answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an intere-sting answer for you.

As long as there’s a light source, your shadow is with you wherever you go. If you jump, your shadow jumps. If you do the funky chicken, your shadow will flap its wings, kick its feet and bob its head right along with you. But there’s something your shadow can do that you can’t – depending on where you are, your shadow might bend and stretch from one surface onto another. How does it do that?! We asked science writer Rebecca Boyle to help us find the answer.   Got a question following you around? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll shed some light on the answer.

Human bodies are all so different. But how did our skeletons evolve to be the way they are? We asked biological anthropologist Habiba Chirchir to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s hard to handle? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find someone whose body of work reflects that topic.

The largest pumpkin ever grown was over 2,700 pounds – the same weight as four adult grizzly bears! Even though lots of pumpkins are heavy, they can still float! How is that possible? We asked Annie Klodd, fruit and vegetable expert from University of Minnesota Extension to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s weighing heavily on you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help you out, pumpkin!

Black Holes seem like the stuff of science fiction. Their gravity is so strong that once anything, even light, is sucked in, it can’t get back out. But what would happen if a person went through? Would you end up in a different place, a different time, or even a different universe? We asked space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock to help us find the answer. Got a question taking up space in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll explore the answer!

We know deserts have sand, but why oh why is there so much of it? And how oh how did all that sand get there? We asked Georgia State University scientist Katy Sparrow to help us solve the mystery. Got a question that’s making you thirst for knowledge? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you under-sand.

Pretzels are yummy, fun to eat, and even more fun to look at! What other object in the world is shaped like that? And how did the shape come to be? We asked historian Dr. Ashley Rose Young from the Smithsonian to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s twisting your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t be salty about it.

We’ve all been there: you’re poking your head into the freezer at the grocery store, trying to pick out the perfect popsicle flavor, and suddenly — brrrrr! Your body is covered in goosebumps! But why do we feel cold if our bodies are always 98 degrees inside? We asked Dr. Jonathan Dickman to help us find the answer. Got a question but you don’t have a degree in that subject yet? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find a pretty cool answer for you.

Happy Derm Week! It’s an epidermis extravaganza! Every episode this week helps you learn about the skin you’re in. Today’s question is “Why does my skin itch in a hot bath?”. We asked dermatologist Elizabeth Farhat to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s landed you in hot water? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll scrub out the answer.

Happy Derm Week! It’s an epidermis extravaganza! Every episode this week helps you learn about the skin you’re in. Today’s question is “Why do older people get wrinkles?”. We asked dermatologist Elizabeth Farhat to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s wrinkling your brow? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you line up an answer.

Happy Derm Week! It’s an epidermis extravaganza! Every episode this week helps you learn about the skin you’re in. Today’s question is “Why does it sting when salt gets in a cut?” We asked Dr. Jonathan Dickman to help us find the answer. Got a question that DERMands our attention? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get the skinny on the answer.

Happy Derm Week! It’s an epidermis extravaganza! Every episode this week helps you learn about the skin you’re in. Now, if we go swimming, or take a shower, or get caught in the rain, we definitely get wet. But we don’t seem to absorb that water inside of our body unless we drink it! So does that mean our skin is waterproof? One listener had this question, so we reached out to dermatologist Elizabeth Farhat to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s got you dripping with curiosity? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help wring out the answer!

Happy Derm Week! It’s an epidermis extravaganza! Every episode this week helps you learn about the skin you’re in. Today’s question is “Why does our skin wrinkle in the tub?”. We asked dermatologist Elizabeth Farhat to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s wrinkling your brow? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help point a finger at the answer!

Ever gone on a road trip or hopped on a boat, only to feel queasy? Yuckaroo. Us too! It’s called motion sickness and it’s really common. But how does it happen – and why do so many people get it? We asked Dr. Jonathan Dickman to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s making your head spin? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact. We’ll ear you out!

Ever watched a squirrel scrabbling around in the dirt, burying nuts? We have too. ‘Cuz squirrels are nuts for nuts! But how do our furry little neighbors remember where these nuts are hidden? We asked Berkeley psychology professor Lucia Jacobs to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s driving you nuts? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you dig up the answer!

Lots of people have allergies! Some people can’t be around specific foods, like peanuts, or certain fabrics or metals. Others might notice that they start sneezing or coughing in the springtime, because of all the pollen in the air. But what are allergies, anyway? And what causes them? We spoke to allergy expert Dr. Purvi Parikh to find out! Got a question that you’re itching to get answered? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find someone who nose the answer! 

As dog owners, it’s our job to take care of and protect our little buddies. But sometimes doesn’t it feel like they’re the ones taking care of us? We asked Dr. Lena Provost to help us discover why dogs can be  so protective of their owners. Got a question that’s pawing at your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help dig up an answer.

We know that whales swim in the water. They eat  underwater. But do they…drink water? We got this fantastic question from a listener, so we reached out to  whale expert Joy Reidenberg from the  Icahn  School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s leaving you parched? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help quench your thirst for knowledge.

For over 200 years now, astronomers have seen a Great Red Spot hanging out in the atmosphere above Jupiter.  We now know this “spot” is really a giant storm. But how long has it been there? We reached out to planetary scientist Shawn Brueshaber to get the answer! Have a question storming your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll search the planet for the answer!

We’ve all been there: on a long car trip with no rest stop in sight, but you really have to pee! Listener Aya wanted to know what happens if you hold it for too long, and we asked Dr. Jonathan Dickman to help us find the answer. Have a question that you just can’t hold in? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll flush out the answer! 

Zippers are everywhere – holding your backpack closed, keeping you snug in your sleeping bag and of course, on your pants! But how exactly does a zipper work? We asked Bryon Robinson of YKK (the world’s largest zipper manufacturer!) to help us find the answer.  Got a question that you’d like to sink your teeth into? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a fasten-ating answer.

Everyone eventually loses their baby teeth – but how does your mouth know when it’s time for a new tooth to come in? Is there a little toothy calendar in there that’s setting the pace? We asked Dr. Jonathan Dickman to give us the lowdown on baby teeth. Have a question that you want to sink your teeth into?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help you bite into this topic.

Maybe you’re one of those lucky pet parents who has a dog and a cat that magically get along. It does exist out there! But some cats and dogs truly don’t seem to like each other. Is this true? We asked veterinarian Dr. Carlo Siracusa to help us find the answer. Got a question that you hate not knowing the answer to? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t be kitten around with the answer!

Happy Eye Week! We heard from a listener who asked “How do you move your eyes?” and we asked optometrist Dr. Kelsea Brown to shed some light on this answer.Got a question that really moves you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and eye will try to help!

Happy Eye Week! Sometimes it feels like screen time, all the time! From the phone, to the TV, to the computer… It makes a person wonder: is all that blue light damaging my eyes? We reached out to optometrist Dr. Kelsea Brown to help us find the answer. Got a question unlike any we’ve ever screen? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll do our best to shed light on the answer!

Happy Eye Week! Jeepers creepers, let’s learn about peepers! Everyone has their own unique eye color, from blue to brown to green and everywhere in between! Sometimes, people can even have two different-colored eyes. So where does that color come from? We asked Dr. Kelsea Brown to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’ve been eyeballing? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer in the blink of an eye.

Happy Eye Week! We got a wonderful question from a listener - “Do your eyes close all the way every time you blink?” and we asked optometrist Dr. Kelsea Brown to help us find the answer. Curious about something that makes you feel like a smart pupil? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help you in the blink of an eye!

Happy Eye Week! We are excited to bring you a whole week of episodes all about the spectacular ocular eye. For today’s episode, we know that glasses help people see, but exactly how do those little lenses work? We reached out to optometrist Dr. Kelsea Brown to help us find the answer. Got a question whose answer you just can’t see? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help lens a hand!

Pucker up, pals, let’s learn about lipstick! Applying tinted goop to make your face fancy and your mouth mesmerizing has been in style for thousands of years. But what’s in that stuff? Crayons? Strawberries? Petunias? We asked cosmetic chemist Amanda Lam to help us find the answer. Got a question and can’t makeup your mind whether to ask for help? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help lip-stick the landing.

Turtles often look like they’re walking in slow motion, using their stubby little legs to scoot across the ground. But why do they move so slowly? We asked scientist Nicole Mazouchova to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s slowing you down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll shell out the answer.

Picture a delicious, juicy mango. Mmmm. Now, picture the shiny, itchy-rash-causing leaves of poison ivy. Ack! Couldn’t be more different, right? Well, get ready for a fact that’s going to boggle your bean! Mangoes and poison ivy are actually plant cousins! How does that work?  We asked botanist Dr. Eve Emshwiller to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s making your mind itch? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll scratch up an answer.

We get so many fantastic questions sent in to Moment of Um, but today’s is a real sight for sore eyes! One listener wrote in asking what is the farthest distance a human can see, and we asked Sue Keirstead from the University of Minnesota to help us search for the answer. Got a question whose answer is hard to envision? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and eye personally will help you find the answer!

If you’re an adventurous eater you might have tried spicy cuisine, or maybe added hot sauce to your meals. Did your eyes water? Did your nose run? If so, that’s a totally normal response, and  Otolaryngologist Erich P. Voigt is here to help us understand why that is. Got a burning Moment of Um question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find the answer.

Woof woof woof! It’s Woof Week here on Moment of Um, where we’re ready to learn about all things related to dogs! In today’s episode, Dr. Carlo Siracusa answers the question “Do dogs always lift the same leg to pee?” Got a topic that urine-to? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get you a leg up on the answer!

Woof woof woof! It’s Woof Week here on Moment of Um, where we’re ready to learn about all things related to dogs! In today’s episode, Dr. Carlo Siracusa answers the question “How do dogs sense emotions like fear or tenderness?” Got a question you’ve been chewing on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help dig up the answer.

Woof woof woof! It’s Woof Week here on Moment of Um, where we’re learning  about all things related to dogs! In today’s episode, Dr. Carlo Siracusa answers the question “Why do dogs sniff each other’s butts?” Got a question that’s hounding you?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you answer it–it’s the leash we can do.

Woof woof woof! It’s Woof Week here on Moment of Um, where we’re ready to learn about all things related to dogs! In today’s episode, Dr. Lena Provost answers the question “Why can dogs learn tricks but cats can’t?” Got a tricky question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you fetch the answer.

Woof woof woof! It’s Woof Week here on Moment of Um, where we’re ready to learn about all things related to dogs! In today’s episode, Dr. Lena Provost answers the question “Why are dogs so energetic?” Got a question that you’re excited about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you embark on the journey to the answer!

We hope you’ve enjoyed the episodes this week because for the next two weeks we’re taking a short break. We’re headed to Moment of Um camp, where we organize all of your questions, interview a whole bunch of experts, and get ready for a fall and winter FULL of amazing episodes for you. We’ll be back on August 29! Now, on with the show. Snoring isn’t boring – usually it’s kinda funny and harmless! But it can also be disruptive and a sign of breathing troubles. We wanted to find out WHY it happens, so we asked sleep medicine physician Dr. Andrew Stiehm to explain snoring mechanics. Got a question keeping you awake at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact. We’ll get you an answer you can’t ig-snore!

We’re all familiar with that icky feeling of a sickness creeping in. It could be a tummy ache or a headache, maybe a tickle in the throat, or a drippy nose. But what about our tree friends? Can they get sick too? One listener wanted to know, so we asked Anna Yang from the University of Minnesota to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s tree-mendously hard to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help a-leaf-iate your curiosity.

Dogs love to chase things! Squirrels, balls, other dogs in the park. But why do they sometimes get stuck in a loop chasing their own tail? We asked Dr. Carlo Siracusa to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s taking furever to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help chase down the answer.

P-U! Today on Moment of Um, we’re talking trash! More specifically, a listener wanted to know why trash gets so darn smelly in the bin! We asked Tim Bennet, the owner of a compost company, to help us find the answer. Got a question that isn’t a waste of time? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help dig around for the answer.

Boo! Ahhhh! When we’re scared, we often can’t help letting out a scream.  But how and why did humans develop this instinct? We got the scoop from neuroscientist Luc Arnal. Got a question that’s keeping you up at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help scare up an answer for you!

Hey, hi, howdy y’all!  Depending on where you go, the words people use and the ways they pronounce them varies widely.  But where did these different accents originate and how do we get them?  We talked it over with linguist Nicole Holliday! Got a question on the tip of your tongue? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find the answ

One of the most beautiful things on Earth is a sunset, wouldn’t you agree? But what exactly is creating this rainbow of different colors? We asked physics and astronomy teacher Darik Velez to help us find the answer.  Got a question that’s lighting up your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you breathe a sky of relief.

Most of us have gotten little cuts here and there and noticed that blood comes out. Sometimes we need a Band-Aid to stop it. But why does bleeding need to happen? It must serve a purpose, right? We asked Dr. Emily Downing to help us find the answer.  Are you vesseling with a big question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll circulate it around!wer.

Lots of people are allergic to cats and dogs. All their fur and dust can make our eyes itch, our noses tingle, and our throats scratchy. But can pets be allergic to each other? What happens when a dog sniffs a cat and gets a snootful of kitty fuzz? We asked Dr. Christine Cain, a veterinary dermatologist, to help us find the answer. Questions got you chasing your tail? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help fetch you an answer.

Humans have so many different hair colors – black, brown, red, blonde – and almost every shade in between. As we get older, our hair usually starts to lose its color. But why is that? We asked Dr. Emily Downing to help us find the answer.  Got a question that’s pretty hairy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll answer it in style.

All humans have blood, but not all blood is the same! We each have our own blood type, which depends on DNA passed down from  our parents. But what does it actually mean to be Type O-positive or Type AB-negative? Why is it sometimes really important to know your blood type?  We asked Dr. Emily Downing to help us find the answer.  Got a question that’s so hard it makes your blood boil? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we are positive we’ll find an answer.

Cookies, cakes, candy, soda pop. It can be very fun to snack on sweet treats - in moderation. But just what makes these sweets so sweet? It’s the sugar, right? We asked scientist Ann-Marie Torregrossa to help us figure out why sugar tastes so sweet. Got a question that you’re pretty sweet on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll treat you to the answer.

Have you ever spent time with your grandparents and noticed that sometimes they’re a little on the forgetful side? Is this a typical part of life? We weren’t sure, so we asked Dr. Emily Downing to help us learn more about memory loss.  Got a question that you simply forgot the answer to? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you remember!

You’re taking your beloved doggie on a walk in the park – lucky girl! But then the skies open up and it starts to rain. You both forgot your rain jackets, but it’s not a huge deal because your dog is loving the time outside with you! Then you get home, and wow it’s a whole different story. That dog STINKS. We asked Dr. Christine Cain, a veterinary dermatologist, to help us figure out why wet dogs stink so much! Got a question that’s pawing at you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help stink of a really good way to answer it!

We know that soil helps many things grow -- but how is it made? It must come from somewhere, right? We talked to farmer Angel Papineu to find the answer.  Got a question growing in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll dig for the truth! 

Teething, losing teeth, growing new teeth. It’s a part of life that every human goes through! But what about dinosaurs? Did they experience the same thing? We asked paleontologist Shaena Montanari to help us find the answer. Got a dinomite question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you out because we’re as smart as a thesaurus!

A boomerang is a specially curved wooden throwing stick that was originally used as a hunting tool by Indigenous Australians. Nowadays, you can find toy versions along with the real thing, and if you throw them just right, they’ll curve around in the air and head right back to you. At least…it works for some people. So how exactly does a boomerang fly? We asked boomerang champion Logan Broadbent to help us find the answer. Got a question that keeps coming back to you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll booma-wrangle some answers for you.

Plastic is a part of so many of the things we use every day. But just what IS it? We asked University of Minnesota professor Frank Bates to help us find the answer. Got a question you’ve been bottling up? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll pla-stic to the topic.

If you go to the zoo during the day - you can see that things are hopping! Animals are being cared for, people are milling about, and there’s a lot of action to observe. But what happens at night? Who takes care of the animals then? Or is everyone just sleeping? We asked Nancy Hawkes, Director of Animal Care at Woodland Park Zoo to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s zookeeping you up at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find the truth – we won’t be lion!

Black pepper is in just about everyone’s kitchen. It’s salt’s best buddy. It comes in shakers, grinders, and little paper packets. But where does black pepper come from?  We asked historian Jenna Schultz from the University of St. Thomas to help us find the answer. Want to pepper us with questions? Drop us a line at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll serve you some freshly-ground facts.

Whether you know exactly where it came from, or it suddenly appears on your skin and you don’t remember it happening, it’s just a fact of life…we all get bruises! But why are they there, and what’s inside of them? We asked Dr. Frank Rhame to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really getting under your skin? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and – don’t be blue – we’ll help solve the mystery!

Have you ever raced a cheetah? Hopefully not, that sounds dangerous. But if you have, that cheetah probably left you in her dust. We asked Rick Schwartz from the San Diego Zoo to help us figure out why cheetahs are so fast. Got a question that’s testing you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find an answer so you don’t have to be a cheetah!

Throwing a flat rock juuust right so that it skips across the surface of a pond or river is super satisfying. How many hops can you get? Two? Seven? Sixty-five? But how does the right kind of throw cause a rock to NOT sink as soon as it touches the water? We asked Jon Lambert of Splash Lab to help us find the answer.  Got questions skipping through your brain? Send your questions to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll throw you some answers.

Kids grow super fast and get taller and taller and taller and then – all of the sudden they stop! How do our bodies know when it’s time to stop? Why don’t we just keep growing until we reach the sky? We asked Dr. Frank Rhame to help us find the answer. Got a question that you think is a tall order? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll answer it shortly.

Whether you have a dog, want a dog, don’t like dogs, or are a dog…one thing's for sure. Dogs can’t eat chocolate! Why is it so bad for them? We asked Cassie Panning, a certified veterinary technician from the University of Minnesota, to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s pawing at you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help pup-date you on the topic!

Spinning around in circles is really fun right? And then a weird thing happens. When you stop, it’s like the world is turned upside down and you don’t know which way you’re facing and you feel dizzy and sometimes even fall down! We asked infectious disease physician Dr. Frank Rhame to help understand why that is. Got a question that’s spinning you around in circles? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help set you straight!

Ballet dancers inspire us with their grace, twirls, and leaps. But how do they stand on their tip-toes? We asked contemporary ballet dancer and choreographer Penelope Freeh to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s keeping you on your toes? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll pointe you to some answers!

Have you ever been really thirsty on a hot day? Nothing beats that thirst better than a cold glass of good old H2O. We can’t live without it! Water quenches our thirst, but does it tickle our taste buds? Does water from different places taste different? We asked Martin Riese to help us find the answer. Are you thirsting for knowledge? Send your questions to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll pour you a nice tall glass of facts.

Have you ever been on an airplane and noticed that pressure in your ears? And then, as you’re taking off…they pop! Just like a balloon or a bubble or a freshly opened can of dough! Why does that happen? We asked infectious disease physician Dr. Frank Rhame to help us find the answer. Got a question that popped in your head? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll fly in to help answer it for you.

Ever wish you had a frog's tongue? You wouldn’t even have to pick up a cookie with your hand…your tongue would grab it for you! How amazing is that? But really, how DO frog tongues stretch so far? We asked Kiisa Nishikawa, a professor at Northern Arizona University, to help us find the answer. Got a sticky question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll slurp up an answer for you!

People rubbing two sticks together and a fire magically appearing is a common thing you might see in movies or on television. But does it actually work? We asked engineer Vi Rapp to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s flickering in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help put out the fire.

Babies. They’re cute little peanuts, huh? Babbling and drooling while their parents talk to them in widdle baby voices. But do babies understand what people say to them? When do they start learning how to communicate with language? We asked child psychologist Dr. Beverly Goldfield to help us find the right words to explain the answer.  Got a question that’s really verbing your noun? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find an adjective answer.

We know how important it is to wash our hands with soap and warm water. Get between the fingers, under the nails, all that good stuff. But why does soap get all foamy when you add water? Where do those bubbles come from? We asked University of Minnesota professor Frank Bates to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s bubbling up in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help pop the question!

Sometimes we get questions from listeners that are so intertwined that we just have to include them both in one episode, and today is one of those days! Cardiologist Dr. Courtney Jordan Baechler helps us figure out the answer to two questions – why does blood taste like metal, and why are we not magnetic? And as a bonus, Dr. B. includes a super fun experiment that you can do at home. Got a question that’s meddling with your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help iron out the answer.

Clay is neat stuff. You can knead it, shape it, carve it, sculpt it, and make all kinds of beautiful creations. It goes from soft and squishy to hard and breakable when it’s baked in a kiln. But clay is…dirt, right? It comes from the ground! So how do you get it out of the ground and into the blocks that you find at an art supply store? We asked ceramic artist and educator Lauren Sandler to guide us through the process.  Got a question that you just knead an answer to? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help mold an answer into shape for you!

Antarctica. Home of the South Pole and an incredibly diverse population of sea life. You know what there’s not a lot of in Antarctica? People! But there are some adventurous scientists who go there for research. These folks  can’t just zip out to the grocery store when they want to make a meal…so what do they eat?  We asked scientist Cameron Hearn to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s just the tip of the iceberg? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll give you an ocean of knowledge!

Are your ears burning? ‘Cause we’ve been thinking about them. Sure, they’re an incredible self-cleaning marvel that we can wax poetic about all day. Sure, they’re a great place for dads to store all kinds of hairs. But do ears have bones?  We asked Olivia Bermingham-McDonogh from the University of Washington to help us find the answer. Heard a good question recently? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, because we’re ear for you.

Have you noticed that there’s a kind of cheese that’s holier than all the rest? Swiss! Why does it have all those holes anyway? We asked Jenny Eastwood of Small Goods to help us answer this delicious question.Hungry for some answers? Send your questions to BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll briepare an answer justfor you.

Let’s say you wake up on a Tuesday morning feeling fine and fresh. But by the end of the night your throat hurts, you’re coughing, and there’s snot dripping from your nose. What happened in the course of that one day to make you feel so sick? Dr. Courtney Jordan Baechler helps us stick our noses in this (t)issue.  Got a question you can’t fever out? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and then be patient! We’ll help find the answer.

Have you ever picked up a peach in the supermarket and noticed that its skin is covered in soft fuzz? What’s that about? Should we be taking our peaches to barbershops? And what about kiwis? They’re covered in scratchy hairs! Why do some fruits have fuzz while others have smooth skin? We talked to Dario Chavez from the University of Georgia to find out. Got a fresh ‘n’ fruity question? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an a-peeling answer.

Ever look up at the moon and wonder what it’s doing up there? And whether it could drop out of the sky and fall to earth’s surface? In this episode, astrophysicist Smadar Naoz helps us understand what would happen if the moon decided to give Earth a visit, and teaches us a thing or two about the forces keeping the moon in its place.  Searching the skies for answers? Send your questions to BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that will rock your world.

If sharks were around in the time of dinosaurs, how are they still here today when dinosaurs have gone extinct? Were some just really, really good at hiding from the asteroid that hit Earth? For this episode, we talked to Karen Chin, a professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado.  Got a question you want to sink your teeth into? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try our best to fin-ish what you started!

Airplanes fly high in the sky and at super fast speeds. But is there a limit to how fast they’re allowed to fly? You know, in the way cars have speed limits? For this episode, we talked to Bobby Sharp, an air traffic controller, who helps us understand if airplanes have a need for speed. Got a question you need answered fast? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try our plane old best to get it answered!

Most of us know that we have a heart. We know that it beats - sometimes faster, sometimes slower. But just how many times does it beat in a day? We asked Dr. Courtney Jordan Baechler to have a heart-to-heart with us about this question. (She is also the host of the podcast Heart-to-Heart Conversations!) Got a question that you just love? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t beat around the bush!

3D glasses. Those little paper spectacles with one red lens and one blue. Put ’em on, and suddenly, POW! Images seem to leap right off the screen! Do these glasses play magical mind tricks on our brain? Do they give our eyeballs multi-dimensional superpowers? For a lens into how it all works, we talked to UW-Madison physicist Pupa Gilbert. Got a question that’s really jumping out at you? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you put it into focus.

If you could turn your hair any color in the world… what color would you choose?! Sapphire blue, hot pink, lime green, neon orange?? There are dyes out there that can turn your hair every color of the rainbow! But how exactly do they work? We asked Chemist Michelle Wall to help us understand. Got a hairy question that needs answering? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll style an answer for you!

Clothes are FUN. We strut our stuff in them. Laugh and play in them. Sometimes we love one article of clothing so much, we never want to take it off! But eventually, all clothes do have to be cleaned. We chatted with Tide Principal Scientist Jennifer Ahoni about how clothes get dirty, even when they still look spotless. Listen and learn about the secrets of body soils and invisible dirt! Got a question in your pocket? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll fashion an answer for you.

Bread! It’s good stuff, no matter how you slice it. But why do slices of bread have holes in them? Are there bread moles who tunnel through baguettes? Invisible worms in the whole wheat? Chipmunks chewing on the ciabatta? We asked food scientist David Domingues  to help us find the answer. Got a question that you knead us to look into? Send it to us atBrains On.org/contact, and we’ll find the answers where you yeast expect them!

Most of us have used a glue stick or Elmer’s, but what about the strongest glue in the WORLD? We got a fantastic question from a couple of listeners who wanted to know what the strongest glue is, so we reached out to biomedical engineer Danna Sheridan to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s sticking in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help unglue the answer!

If there’s one thing most people know about skunks - it’s that they spray! We know the spray smells bad and that we’re supposed to stay away from it. But just how do they spray? And why? We asked biologist Katelyn Amspacher to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s so tough it’s a real stinker? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help earn our stripes by finding an answer.

Continuing with our snooze fest…it’s sleep week, and today is our final episode! Sleep specialist Andrew Stiehm answers the question “Why are stuffed animals connected to sleeping?”  Got a question that you can’t bear not knowing the answer to? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an expert who isn’t too stuffy to answer!

Continuing with our snooze fest…it’s sleep week! We get so many questions from curious kids about sleeping, going to sleep, not sleeping, what happens to your body when you sleep, etc. that we decided to devote an entire week to some sweet shut eye! In today’s episode, sleep specialist Andrew Stiehm answers the question “Why do we drool when we're asleep?”  Got a question that’s so good you could just drool over it? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer!

Continuing with our snooze fest…it’s sleep week! We get so many questions from curious kids about sleeping, going to sleep, not sleeping, what happens to your body when you sleep, etc. that we decided to devote an entire week to some sweet shut eye! In today’s episode, sleep specialist Andrew Stiehm answers the question “How do we breathe while we're asleep?”  Got a question so big you’re just breathless with anticipation? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find the answer!

Continuing with our snooze fest…it’s sleep week! We get so many questions from curious kids about sleeping, going to sleep, not sleeping, what happens to your body when you sleep, etc. that we decided to devote an entire week to some sweet shut eye! In today’s episode, sleep specialist Andrew Stiehm answers the question “Why are yawns contagious?”  Got a question so big you’re losing sleep over it? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll wake up an answer!

Get ready for a snooze fest because it’s sleep week! We get so many questions from curious kids about sleeping, going to sleep, not sleeping, what happens to your body when you sleep, etc. that we decided to devote an entire week to the art of the slumber! In today’s episode, sleep specialist Andrew Stiehm answers the question “What makes us sleepy?”  Is the act of searching for a question making you feel exhausted? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t sleep on the answer!

Listener Graham wanted to know what solar flares are and what causes them, so we reached out to NASA Heliophysicist Nicola Fox to help us figure out why these bright flashes on the sun’s surface occur. Got a question that’s been flaring up in your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help make you brighter!

Let’s say you want to measure something really, really, really tiny. How do you do that? With inches? Centimeters? Millimeters? What if it’s so tiny you can’t even see it? Particle physicist Jessica Esquivel helps us solve this teeny tiny mystery! Got a question that seems too big to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try to measure up!

Whether you’re a fan or not, one thing is for sure - most of us have had an encounter with a daddy long legs. They’ve got super duper long legs, and a TON of nicknames, including cellar spider, carpenter spider, daddy long-legger, vibrating spider, gyrating spider, long daddy, and skull spider. But why are their legs so long? Guilherme Gainett helps us solve this mystery. Got a question crawling around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help figure it out!

It seems universal that when a person - old or young - is tired, they rub their eyes. It’s even a way that babies communicate to their adults that they are ready for bed. Are we just born understanding that signal? Or is there something going on with our eyes that they need to be rubbed when we’re sleepy? Otolaryngologist Dr. Laura Orvidas helps us understand the connection in this episode. And stay tuned for the week of May 30, when all of our episodes will be sleep-themed. It’ll be a real “snooze fest”! Got a question you’ve been eyeing? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t sleep on the answer!

Ostriches are super neat! They’re the world’s heaviest birds, and they lay the largest eggs of any bird on Earth. They grow up to 8 feet tall, and can run as fast as 45 miles per hour. But you know what they don’t do? They don’t stick their heads in the ground to hide! There are a few reasons why this misunderstanding is so popular, and Sushma Reddy from the Bell Museum helps us understand. Up to your neck in questions? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find someone who can answer it in the shake of a tailfeather! 

Have you ever woken up in the morning with the corners of your eyes filled with crud? Sleepy sand? Eye goblins? Dozy dust? Bed boogers? Why do our eyes make this stuff, anyway? And why does it build up when we’re asleep? We asked Yale eye doctor Soshian Sarrafpour to help us get to the bottom of this issue. Got a question that you can’t keep a lid on? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find someone who can answer it in the blink of an eye.  

A mosquito bites you. Your grandma knits you a scratchy blanket. Your friend tickles you with a feathery cat toy. What do all of these things have in common? They make you itch! Listener Samantha was wondering just why that is, and neuroscientist Sonali Mali says she’s always wondered the same thing, so that’s why she studies it! Got a question tickling at your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, because we’re just itching to help you find the answer!

Pugs! They’re adorable! The internet loves them for their sassy personalities and squishy faces. But how did the pug’s face get so smushed? Why are pug noses different from terrier sniffers or German shepherd snoots? We asked animal geneticist Jeffrey Schoenebeck to help us sniff out the answer.  Got a question that’s right in front of your schnozz? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find someone who NOSE the answer.

Our mouths have a lot going on. They have teeth and a tongue and they help us talk and eat. But what about saliva? It seems important, right? How do our bodies know to make it? We asked otolaryngologist Dr. Laura Orvidas to help us learn all about saliva.  Got a question that you just can’t lick? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer.

A lot of people like root beer! But it’s kind of hard to describe, right? It’s really got a unique taste. We asked Ashley Rose-Young, a historian from the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, to help explain exactly what the flavor of root beer is, and share a little of the history behind this yummy drink.  Got a question that’s poppin’ around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get to the root of the issue.

There are lots of reasons to sneeze - you have a cold, you get a whiff of pepper or someone tickles your nose with a feather! But why is it that dust makes us sneeze? We asked otolaryngologist Laura Orvidas to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s gathering dust in your brain? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you sniff out the answer.

If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of breaking a bone, it’s not the most fun. But can muscles break in the same way bones can? One listener was wondering about this, and physical therapist Karen Litzy helps us get a leg up on the issue.  Do you have a question you’d like to ask? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer!

Are you left-handed or right-handed? Chances are you’re right handed, because more people are (though if you’re left-handed, that’s cool too!). So why are more people right-handed? We asked paleontologist Alexander Claxton to help us get to the bottom of this question.  Got a question whose answer you can’t quite put your finger on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help point out the answer.

An inevitability of life is that humans have to go to the dentist. Some people love it, some hate it! But taking care of our teeth is super important. Do our kitty friends have to do the same thing? Large animal surgeon Whitney Cutrone answers this very question. Got a question that’s got some bite? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer right meow!

Lots of plants are smooth to the touch, and some are even soft and feathery like flowers! So why are cactuses prickly and sometimes even painful? We asked botanist Rachel Jabaily from Colorado College to answer this spine-tingling question.  Got a question that’s prickling at your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help sharpen you up.

If you’ve ever stood up quickly and felt a little wobbly and tingly in your legs, you might be familiar with the sensation of having a body part that has fallen asleep! Why does that happen and how can we fix it? Otolaryngologist Karen Litzy helps us get to the bottom of this mystery.  Got a question that you just can’t stand not knowing the answer to? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you get a leg up on that topic!

You don’t see most horses wearing pants, jackets or hats but one thing is for sure - they’re almost always wearing shoes! You know, those u-shaped things attached to their hooves. Why is that? Large animal surgeon Whitney Cutrone helps us find the answer.  Are you saddled with a big equestrian? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get to the mane issue.

If you plant certain seeds in the right condition - a plant or tree might grow. But what happens if you plant a popcorn kernel? Will a bowl of popcorn grow right out of the ground? We needed to know, so we asked Phil Fox of Popcornopolis to help us find the answer.  Are you searching for a kernel of truth? Send your question to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and you butter believe we’ll help find the answer.

So there’s this big, bumpy muscle inside of our mouths and we know it’s important and that we have to take great care of it. But what’s it even for? We asked Otolaryngologist Laura Orvidas from the Mayo Clinic to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s got you all tongue tied? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll muscle an answer out of an expert.

Mammals have hair to help keep warm in the cold, and in some cases - to look awesome! But why do raspberries have those little hairs all over them? They don’t get cold - do they? We asked Emily Hoover from the University of Minnesota to help us understand. Got a question that’s berry hard to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll pick an expert to answer it!

Is it the wings? Is it the feathers? Is it how light they are? If you’ve ever wondered why birds can fly, this is the episode for you! We asked ornithologist Drew Lanham to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’re egg-cited about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll do more than wing it.

In the United States, you can’t get a tattoo until you’re 18 years old. If that seems unfair, just think about it - it’s permanent! As in…forever and ever! For all time! So how does it actually stay on your skin? We asked dermatologist Roopal Kundu to help us find the answer. Got a question that feels like it’s permanently etched in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help (th)ink of an answer.

Sloths are really, really good at hanging upside down. They practically make it seem effortless! Why is that? Do they love it? Is the world just more fun from that angle? We asked zoologist Lucy Cooke to help us figure it out. Got a question that’s clawing at your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and hang in there - we’ll help you find the answer.

Nails – we clean them, trim them, paint them, and sometimes even wear fake ones! But why do we have them in the first place? We talked to paleontologist Alexander Claxton about the evolutionary reasons behind having nails. Got a question that you just can’t nail down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help point afinger at the answer.

For the most part, flowers smell really great, right? They give off scents that are sweet, syrupy, perfumy and fresh. But they don’t all smell the same. We asked botanist Josh Felton from Colorado College why that is. Got a question you’d like to sniff out? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find a budding expert to give the answer.

Whale sharks are big. They’re the biggest fish in the whole ocean! Have you ever wondered how they got so big? We asked shark expert Amani Webber-Schultz to help us find out.  Do you have an ocean-sized question sloshing around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll SEA what we can find!

If you’ve ever had a ball tossed at your face, you probably flinched, tried to knock it away from your face, or jumped out of the way, right? That’s called a reflex, and most humans have them including tiny babies. We asked physical therapist Karen Litzy why that is. Got a question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer! 

Owls are amazing. Most are nocturnal and hunt at night. They have incredible eyesight. And a group of them is called a parliament! One of our listeners was wondering how far they can turn their heads around. We asked Lauren Smith from the Owl Research Institute to help us find the answer. Got a Moment of Um question that’s turning you upside down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get it all sorted out.

Have you ever noticed how we usually wear lighter colors in the warmer months, and darker colors once it gets cold? Like how your black shirt is perfect at keeping cozy in the winter, but far too sweaty for the summer. But why is that? We asked physicist Dr. Desiré Whitmore, aka the Laser Chick, to help us understand why black absorbs heat.  Got a Moment of Um question that’s absorbing your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help answer it.

Maybe you’ve never thought twice about rocks, but there has to be a reason that they are covering the Earth’s surface right? We just had to know how they got here, so we asked rock expert Mary Leech to help us find the answer. Got a question that really rocks? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help unEarth the answer.

Have you ever experienced the term "time flies when you’re having fun"? It’s an unfortunate reality of life that time seems to crawl by when we’re waiting for something to happen, and go too fast when we’re having a blast. We asked Ruth Ogden, a psychologist at John Moores University, why this happens. Is there a question you’ve been pondering for a minute? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll set aside the time to get it answered.

If you’ve ever been caught in the rain, it probably wasn’t a big deal, right? Lucky for us, rain typically falls from the sky in small droplets. Listener Joe was wondering why that is, so we reached out to Monique Robinson of Mississippi State University to help us find the answer. Got a Moment of Um question that’s raining on your parade? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help weather the storm.

Let’s say you’re watching a bunch of people run a marathon. The runners are pumping their legs, sure. But they’re also swinging their arms. Why is that? And why do we swing them when walking too?  We asked Rachel Adenekan of Stanford University to help explain why that swinging motion is so universal.  Got a Moment of Um question that’s keeping you at arm’s length? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll point a finger at the answer.

In fall we like to change up our wardrobe from shorts and T-shirts to pants and sweaters. And guess what, trees do that too! Except they change the color of their leaves. Why is that? We asked Marlyse Duguid from the Yale School of the Environment to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s leaf-ing you stumped? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll put your mind at (for)rest.

People think alligators and crocodiles are really scary - and lots of people don’t understand the difference between them. But wildlife biologist Venetia Briggs-Gonzalez says they are very cool and helps us get to the bottom of their distinctive qualities! Got a Moment of Um question that’s chomping away at your curiosity? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help hunt the answer.

If you’ve ever taken a close look at a beehive you can see that it is covered in tiny hexagons! But why is that? We asked bee researcher Jessica Kevill to help us find the answer. Got a Moment of Um question that’s buzzing around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get it all sorted out.

Pee is super cool! It’s 95% water. It’s sterile. And it can be a window into our overall health. But why is it yellow? We asked mechanical engineer Patricia Yang to help us find the answer. Got a Moment of Um question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer.

If there’s one thing that’s generally known about sharks, it’s that they have sharp teeth. But have you heard they have to keep moving to stay alive? Why is that? In this episode we talk to shark scientist Melissa Cristina Marquez about this very question. Do you have a Moment of Um question that seems kind of fishy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll chew on the answer.

If you’ve ever banged your knee pretty badly, you might have noticed the knee swells up to larger than its normal size. To ease your pain and make the swelling go down, maybe someone handed you an ice pack. But why is it ice that does the trick to reduce swelling, and does anything else work? We asked physical therapist Karen Litzy to help us find the answer. Got a Moment of Um question that’s making your brain swell? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get it all sorted out.

Earth is always moving around the sun, but does the sun move too? Or is it fixed in one place in the cosmos? In this episode, we talk to astrophysicist Brittany Kamai to get to the heart of this issue! Do you have a Moment of Um question that’s burning in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help shine a light on the answer.

Have you ever stayed up late talking to your friends while watching movies, or yelled for your teammates at a soccer match, or screamed at the top of your lungs walking through a haunted house? Maybe you woke up the next day with a hoarse, scratchy voice that you didn’t even recognize. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Jennifer Long, an otolaryngologist, about why we lose our voice when we yell or talk loudly. Do you have a Moment of Um question that’s so good it makes you want to scream? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help vocalize the answer.

Have you ever been tempted to lick something frozen? Hopefully not, because your tongue could get stuck!  But don’t worry, we talked to engineer Alexis Noel all about why our tongue sticks to ice, and what to do about it if that happens to you! Do you have a Moment of Um question that’s so good it’s giving you the chills? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help unfreeze your brain.

Bees are incredible! There are 20,000 species, and so much to learn about them. But have you ever wondered why they are black and yellow? Such a specific color palette, right? We asked Entomologist Dan Cariveau to help us find the answer. Got a Moment of Um question that’s buzzing around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you BEE informed.

Shells come in so many amazing shapes and sizes -  spirals, sand dollars, sundials, ones that whirl around, ones that twirl around, ones that twist to the side and some that even look like cookies! Our listener Lily had a great question about these shapes, and Mike Sanchez, a Naturalist at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, helps us get to the bottom of this twisted subject! Got a Moment of Um question whose shell you just can’t crack? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get to the bottom of it.

You might have heard a rumor that snails have a big reaction when you pour salt on them. But curator Tim Pearce from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History wants you to know that it’s cruel to do so. And he’ll tell you why!  Got a Moment of Um question that wants to come out of its shell? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help slug out an answer.

Even though fish can be very small, it’s obvious that they have mouths. But what’s inside that mouth? Tiny teeth? A little tongue? A uvula hangy ball at the back of their throat? Tierney Thys, a marine biologist and National Geographic explorer, helps us understand at least one element of a fish’s mouth - whether they have tongues!  Got a burning Moment of Um question that you just can’t lick? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you get a taste for knowledge!

We already know that bats are amazing creatures. They are the only mammals that can fly. The bones in their wings resemble our fingers. They account for about one in five of all mammals living on the planet. And some can fly up to 99 miles per hour! But have you ever asked yourself why the heck they sleep upside down? We asked biologist DeeAnn Reeder to help us find the answer. Got a Moment of Um question that’s turning you upside down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get it all sorted out.

We know why candles melt - from being lit, of course! But where do candles go when they melt? Do they just disappear into thin air? We asked scientist Fabien Goulay from West Virginia University to help us understand. Got a flicker of a Moment of Um question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you light up an answer.

Have you ever stared in the bathroom mirror and flicked the light on and off and watched what happens to your pupils? They get bigger, then smaller, then bigger, then smaller, right? One of our listeners was wondering what happens to our pupils when we close our eyes. Since we can’t see through our own eyelids, we called on Sasha Strul, University of Minnesota Pediatric Ophthalmologist, to help us discover the answer. Do you have a Moment of Um question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help open your eyes to the answer.

It’s one thing to watch a storm roll in from the safety of your own home, but what if you’re out in the middle of the ocean and things start to head in a stormy direction? Jonathan Smith, a faculty research assistant at University of Maryland, will help us understand what happens when lightning strikes water. Do you have a strikingly good Moment of Um question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help spark an answer!

Worms! Some of us love them - some of us are terrified of them! But have you ever wondered how they get their rest? Physicist Daniel Gonzales is the expert on all things worms and sleep and he’s here to fill us in.  Got a Moment of Um question for us that’s been slithering around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find the answer.

One of the best things about looking up at the night sky is gazing at our big, beautiful moon. But why do we get to have all the fun? Can a moon have its own moon? Harvard graduate student Chantanelle Nava helps us understand.  Do you have a Moment of Um question for us that’s totally far out? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find the answer.

If you’ve ever hugged a tree (and we hope you have!) you’ll know that the outside of a tree can be bumpy, prickly, and can even scrape your skin. That’s because trees are covered in tree armor – otherwise known as bark. One of our listeners wanted to know what tree bark is made of, so we asked forest ecologist Diana Macias to explain. Do you have an evergreen question for Moment of Um? Leaf it for us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try to find the answer.

If you’ve ever jumped right out of your seat when watching a scary movie, you know that sometimes your body has a reaction to being surprised or frightened. One of our listeners wanted to know why that happens, and we asked neurologist Sarah Benish to help us understand. Got a startlingly good Moment of Um question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try to be brave enough to find the answer.

We’ve all suffered with chapped lips in the winter: itchy, flaking, sometimes even bleeding. Yikes! One of our listeners wanted to know how this happens, so we asked dermatologist Roxana Daneshjou to explain.   Got a Moment of Um question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll ask around for the answer.

Most of us have some experience with allergies: maybe it’s pollen or a pet that makes us sneeze, or maybe there are certain foods we can’t eat. But do other creatures have allergies too? Are fish sniffling and sneezing underwater? We asked biologist Laura Zimmerman to help us understand.   Got a Moment of Um question for us? Go to BrainsOn.org/contact to send it to us, and we’ll go fishing for the answer.

We’ve all seen pictures of the planet Saturn, with its beautiful rings. But what if the Earth had rings? Could you look out your window and see them? We asked planetary scientist Linda Spilker to help us imagine what that might look like.  Got a Moment of Um question taking up space in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and you could hear the answer on a future episode!

You might not think about your eyebrows much, but if they weren’t there, you’d definitely notice! So how did those patches of hair come to be above our eyes? Why can we wiggle them? What are they for? We asked Penny Spikins, Professor of Human Evolution at the University of York in the UK, to help us answer our questions.   If there’s a question that’s made you raise your eyebrows, we can help with that! Submit your Moment of Um question at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find the answer.

Do you know why it doesn’t hurt to get a haircut? Because the hair on your head is actually dead. But if it’s dead, how does it grow? Dermatologist Roxana Daneshjou explained it to us.  Send your hairiest questions for Moment of Um to BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll comb for the answers.

Air – we can’t breathe without it, we can’t live without it, we know it’s made up of molecules, so why is it invisible? Chemist Vicky van der Geer-Bock will help us answer this question. If there’s a question whose answer feels invisible to you, we can help with that! Submit your Moment of Um question at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help find the answer.

Have you ever been walking around when you notice that your shoelaces have come untied, even though you just tied them? What’s up with that? We asked engineer Christine Gregg to help us understand.  Send us your questions for Moment of Um at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll do all the footwork to find the answer.

In the winter, most of us are used to seeing bare tree branches  – but some trees, like firs, pines, and spruces, don’t usually lose their needles when it gets cold. We asked forest ecologist Diana Macias to help us understand why.   Got a Moment of Um question for us? Go to BrainsOn.org/contact to send it to us, and we’ll root around for the answer.

Have you ever noticed that when you say the same word over and over, it starts to sound funny? It’s like the word loses its meaning and just becomes weird, disconnected sounds. One of our listeners wanted to know why, and we went to linguist Shohini Battasali for the answer.  Got a Moment of Um question for us? Go to BrainsOn.org/contact to send it to us, and we’ll go in search of a solution, solution, solution, solution…

When you have a pet, part of taking care of that pet is cleaning up after them. Whether it’s scooping dog doo-doo from the yard, cleaning caca from your cat’s litter box, or picking out the pellet sized poops from a hamster’s cage, dealing with dookie is part of living with animals.  But one of our listeners is wondering…do spiders poop? Paul Shamble of Harvard University helps us understand. If you’ve got a Moment of Um question that’s itching to get out, send it our way at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll scoop up the answer.

Cephalopods are a group of marine creatures who all have a big head, a set of arms or tentacles, and can squirt ink. This group includes animals like squids and octopuses, but how do you know which is which? Marine biologist Sarah McAnulty gave us a few things to look for.  If you’ve got a Moment of Um question inked in your brain, send it our way at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll search for the answer.

Goats are extremely important animals for lots of cultures around the world – they provide milk, meat, and even warm wool. Have you ever noticed that their eyes are unusual? Instead of round pupils like you and me, their pupils are shaped like horizontal lines. We asked vision scientist Martin Banks to explain why.  If you’ve got an eye-opening question for Moment of Um, send it our way at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try to find the answer. 

Tree rings are kind of like a tree’s personal diary – they record everything that happens to them - from the weather, to fires and insects. One of our listeners wanted to know how tree rings form, and if you can actually tell the age of a tree by counting the rings. We asked forest ecologist Diana Macias to help us with the answer.  Do you have a stumper of a question for Moment of Um? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get to the root of the problem.

Here at Moment of Um, we love fishing for questions, and the one we’re answering now is a great catch. It comes from Marc, in Miami Florida: When lakes form, how do fish get in them? Associate Professor Megan McPhee from the University of Alaska Fairbanks helps us get to the bottom of this topic. If you have a Moment of Um question, send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and you could hear the answer on a future episode!

Black holes are one of the strangest things in space: gravity is so strong that nothing gets out, not even light, so learning about them is a big challenge for scientists. If black holes “eat” everything around them, could one black hole eat another black hole? We talked with astrophysicist Marcos Flores to shed some light on the subject.  Are you in the dark with a Moment of Um question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and you could hear the answer on a future episode!

Narwhals are sometimes called “the unicorns of the sea” because of their giant spiral tusks. It turns out that those tusks are actually a big tooth that grows right out of the narwhal’s mouth! One of our listeners wanted to know if narwhals were born with a hole in their head for the tusk, and if not, does it hurt the narwhal when the tusk comes through? We spoke with marine biologist Kristin Laidre to get the tooth – er, the truth.  If you’ve got a whale of a question for Moment of Um, you can send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact!

Picture this: you’re outside with a friend, and you both see a little insect flying around. It’s got a small dark body, some tiny antennae, and big colorful wings. You say, “What a beautiful butterfly!” But your friend says, “No, that’s a moth!” How can you tell the difference? We got entomologist Brian Brown to give us the key.  If you’ve got a Moment of Um question fluttering around in your brain, send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll try to catch the answer.e.

Do you know how to wiggle your ears? It might seem like one of those things that some people can do and other people just can’t, but neuroscientist Steve Hackley says he thinks anyone can learn – and he’s got your instructions! Plus, he tells us why it’s potentially an important skill.  If you’ve got a question for Moment of Um wiggling around in your brain, send it our way at BrainsOn.org/contact, and you might hear the answer on an upcoming episode.

Have you ever noticed that the moon looks different at different times of the month? Not just the shape, whether it’s full and round or a tiny sliver – but the color also looks different sometimes. Maybe it’s dark orange, or silvery white, or even a bluish tinge. We asked astronomer and planetarium educator Sarah Komperud to help us understand.  Is there a Moment of Um question you’re mooning over? Launch it our way at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll look for the answer.

The sound of crickets on a warm summer evening is just so soothing, isn’t it? All those little insects in the grass, talking to each other about… well, we don’t really know! In fact, we don’t know why they chirp at all. We asked neurobiologist Jon Lambert to tell us what’s actually going on out there at night.  If you’ve got a question that just won’t let you rest, send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll do our best to find the answer!

We’ve all seen cartoon images of a mousetrap loaded with a big wedge of delicious cheese, but is that what mice actually like to eat? Maybe they like spaghetti, or tacos, or chocolate pudding. We asked veterinarian Kate Pritchett-Cornett what we should serve next time we’re having a family of mice over for dinner.  Got another cheesy question for us? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll try to do a gouda job of answering it.

Have you ever screamed when you saw a spider in the house? First of all, don’t be scared, that spider isn’t looking for you. But second of all, did you wonder if the spider even heard you? Most of us haven’t gotten close enough to a spider to see if it has any ears at all. We asked spider expert Paul Shamble to explain how spiders hear.  If you’ve got a question about spiders or anything else, send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll do our best to find the answer.

You might have heard of gravity as the force that keeps us firmly on the ground and not floating off the planet. Big things (like planets, moons, and stars) have gravity that pulls other objects toward them. But what about smaller things? Like… us? Do we have our own gravity? If there’s a question pulling at you like a powerful force, we can help with that!  Submit your Moment of Um question at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find the answer.

Being asleep is kind of a funny thing, because you don’t know if you’re doing anything in your sleep – because you’re asleep! Some people talk in their sleep, others get out of bed and walk around… but do we ever sneeze in our sleep? We asked neurologist Michael Hall if it was even possible.  Got a Moment of Um question that’s keeping you awake? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and you could hear the answer on a future episode!

We all know that bites from poisonous snakes can be really dangerous, but can a poisonous snake poison itself?  We asked snake expert Laurie Arends to give us the factssssssssss.  If you’ve got a Moment of Um question for us, slither your way over to BrainsOn.org/contactto submit it.

The sounds of the ocean are so relaxing… the waves crashing on the sand, the gentle roar of the surf. And if you pick up a big seashell and put it to your ear, you can almost hear the ocean there too! One of our listeners wanted to know why, so we asked physicist Steve Errede to help us catch that wave.  Do you have a great question for Moment of Um? Surf on over to BrainsOn.org/contact and share it with us.

It’s always fun to sip a drink through a straw, whether it’s a frosty milkshake or an ice-cold lemonade. But did you know that the earth’s atmosphere actually plays a part in how liquid travels up a straw? Aerospace engineer Nicole Sharp explains it for us. If you’ve reached the last straw on a question you need quenched, send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact.

When it’s time to clean your kitchen or bathroom, there are lots of tools that can help you – mops, brooms, dustpans, buckets – but only one of them has its origins in the ocean. We’re talking about the versatile sponge: marine creature AND great for scrubbing dishes. But does the sponge in your sink actually come right out of the sea? Dr. Jennifer Quinlan, who studies food safety, has the answer. If you’ve got a salty question you’d like us to answer on a future Moment of Um, submit it to us BrainsOn.org/contact.

What do you think the world smells like to a snake? Do smells help them find their prey, or a safe place to rest? Can they smell danger? Can they smell pizza? We asked reptile expert Carol Spencer to help us sniff out the answer to how snakes use their noses.  Are you hot on the scent of a great Moment of Um question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact.

Are there certain sounds that you just can’t stand? Maybe it’s the sound of someone chewing, or brakes screeching on a bus. Most of us really dislike the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, but what is it about that sound that sets us on edge? We asked Adrian KC Lee, a neuroscientist who specializes in hearing, to explain why that squeal is so particularly painful. Do you have a question that sounds like a good fit for Moment of Um? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contactand we’ll take a listen.

Say hello to the Moment of Um, the new podcast from the makers of Brains On, Smash Boom Best and Forever Ago. Find the answers to those head-scratching questions that seem to pop up out of nowhere. Bite-sized episodes come out every weekday - the perfect brain snack!