SciShow Tangents – Details, episodes & analysis

Here in the remote vistas of the Tangents jungle, observe a group of mighty science communicators expertly stalking their primary prey: knowledge. Ever so tantalizing to behold, knowledge lounges in the shade of a fern, oblivious to the danger sneaking up behind it, ready to strike at a moment's notice! Truly, these must be the most fearsome of all predators!

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces! 

Head to www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter! A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[This, That, or the Other: Munch Squad]

Barnacle and crab-eating animal in North American oceans

Bird-eating ungulate in captivity 

Small mammal that ate raptor’s meat meal instead of being eaten

https://new.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/29-01_Courbis.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340941147_Do_lowland_tapirs_Tapirus_terrestris_eat_meat_Evidence_of_carnivory_in_a_large_South_American_herbivore

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10344-015-0980-y

https://bioone.org/journals/annals-of-the-entomological-society-of-america/volume-105/issue-1/AN11057/Opportunistic-Carnivory-by-Romalea-microptera-Orthoptera-Acrididae/10.1603/AN11057.short

[Fact Off]

Late-stage bamboo shark embryos have electroreception within their egg case 

Collaborative hunting gestures in coral reef residents (e.g. groupers or coral trout and moray eels)

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0040431

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2781

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(14)00885-9

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/04/24/groupers-use-gestures-to-recruit-morays-for-hunting-team-ups/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of pollutants in the food web (including humans)

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/toxic-killer-whales

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969722022549  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10212926/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412021002671

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-013-1722-x

https://www.acs.org/pressroom/tiny-matters/plastic-micro-plastic-everywhere-what-does-it-do-and-why-should-we-care.html

Patreon bonus: Sharks have cartilaginous skeletons 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557576/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0944200606000080?via%3Dihub

https://magazine.scienceconnected.org/2015/12/preserving-soft-skeleton-backs-without-bones/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jfb.14444

https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/221/24/jeb188318/20570/Mechanical-behavior-of-shark-vertebral-centra-at

[Butt One More Thing]

Coprolites show that Smok wawelski (an archosaur from the Late Triassic) was eating bones

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-37540-4

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/838032

For those who want a megadose of Tangents shenanigans, this compilation is for you! In the many seasons of Tangents we've covered lots of interconnected topics, and now you can listen to them back-to-back like the best podcast many-feature ever. This compilation has been handcrafted from premium ingredients, sifted and whisked together with care, and baked to podcast easy listening perfection. Bon Appetite! 

Original episodes: 

S1 E5 - Eggs, original airdate: December 11, 2018 

S2 E18 - Sugar, original airdate: March 10, 2020 

S2 E26 - Salt, original airdate: May 5, 2020 

S2 E38 - Milk, original airdate: August 18, 2020 

S3 E44 - Yeast, original airdate: January 18, 2022 

Sources for each episode can be found in the descriptions of the original episodes. 

Want more SciShow Tangents? Check out hundreds more episodes of our podcast here: https://scishow-tangents.simplecast.com, or wherever you get your podcasts! 

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to find great SciShow Tangents merch! 

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible! 

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

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

Humanity is bound together by so many qualities, and in this episode, we add Being Goopy to the list. What does that have to do with glue? A whole lot, it turns out - cue some ominous foreshadowing....Memento goopy! 

SciShow Tangents is on YouTube! Go to www.youtube.com/scishowtangents to check out this episode with the added bonus of seeing our faces! 

Head to www.patreon.com/SciShowTangents to find out how you can help support SciShow Tangents, and see all the cool perks you’ll get in return, like bonus episodes and a monthly newsletter! A big thank you to Patreon subscribers Garth Riley and Glenn Trewitt for helping to make the show possible!

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy some great Tangents merch!

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

[Secret Ingredient]

Fibers mixed with water to make adhesive 

https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/1/1/pgac026/6549457

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/945194

Adhesive inspired by animal protein

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/945194

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.1c10936

Chinese bricks made with gluey substance

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/chinese-architecture

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eem2.12143

[Trivia Question]

Year that the first adhesive stamp Penny Black was mailed

https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/how-a-single-postage-stamp-birthed-the-information-age

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/first-piece-of-mail-sent-using-a-stamp-auction-180983619/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-story-of-the-first-postage-stamp-14931961/

[Fact Off]

Reversible glue made with caffeic acid exposed to certain UV light wavelengths 

Blood albumin glue used in plywood and pre-plastic resin objects

https://extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-154.pdf

https://foodeng.wisc.edu/images/publications/2010-9.pdf

https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/fluidsengineering/article-abstract/54/11/15/1162589/Blood-Albumin-and-the-Woodworking-Industry?redirectedFrom=PDF

https://plastiquarian.com/?page_id=14216

[Ask the Science Couch]

How glue adhesion/cohesion works and why glue (sometimes) doesn’t cure in the bottle

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.macromol.1c01182#

https://www.uhu.com/en-en/glue-advice/adhesive-types

https://d-lab.mit.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/D-Lab_Learn-It_Adhesives_Jul13.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0143749618300575

https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/CT07137

[Butt One More Thing]

Fibrin glue used to help seal anal fistulas

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12682544/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1782483/

Season 3 has come to a close, and the Tangents crew is taking a week off. While we scour the World Wide Web for all new, mind-blowing science facts, enjoy this classic episode about the Internet!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

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

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

It's all led up to this! We usually relegate our butt facts to the end of episodes, but this week we're giving butts the respect they deserve. 

It's butts all the way down, baby!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

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

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

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

The Season 3 finale draws ever nearer, but before we get to that big beautiful Butt episode, we need to make a detour to those nifty tools on the ends of our limbs: hands and feet!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

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

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

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

Heel-toe or toe-heel running

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31525171/

[Fact Off]

Trench foot and (possibly, tenuously) water balloons

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482364/

https://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(06)70334-9/fulltext

https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0666752

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012821606400017X

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2049243_2048654_2049039,00.html

[Ask the Science Couch]

Nail care evolution/history

https://www.britannica.com/story/how-do-monkeys-and-apes-trim-their-fingernails

https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-we-have-fingernails-and-toenails-110989

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/ancient-primates-had-grooming-claws/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248417305134

https://tedium.co/2017/02/07/fingernail-trimming-history/

[Butt One More Thing]

Bidets and poopy hands

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29709985/ 

Season 3 of Tangents is drawing to a close, and we're celebrating by taking a long, top to bottom (literally) look at bodies! To kick us off, we'll be appreciating that brain-holding, eye-having, mouth-possessing orb on top of almost all necks on Earth: the head. Thank you, the head! 

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

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

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

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

Embalming head diameter

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021929009001444?via%3Dihub

[Fact Off]

Chicken heads for rabies oral vaccines

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/12/that-time-europe-air-dropped-vaccine-loaded-chicken-heads-to-bait-rabid-foxes/417951/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1439-0450.1982.tb01237.x

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31927421/

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=mUu6o7SiSZ8C&lpg=PA71&ots=SlWS7Vyp4u&dq=getting+rid+of+rabies+switzerland&pg=PA71&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.500.9910&rep=rep1&type=pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614052/

Alligator stick hats 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/crocodiles-and-their-ilk-may-be-smarter-than-they-look/2013/12/06/1084cf28-5d2c-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/what-do-croc-tools-mean-for-dinosaur-innovation?loggedin=true

https://www.livescience.com/41898-alligators-crocodiles-use-tools.html

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/laelaps/alligators-dont-play-pick-up-sticks-to-lure-lunch/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24750-zoologger-alligators-use-tools-to-lure-in-bird-prey/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Blood-brain barrier

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4292164/

https://www.rndsystems.com/research-area/blood--brain-barrier-permeability

https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-2-the-abcs-of-intoxication/content-getting-alcohol-to-the-brain-crossing-the-blood-brain-barrier/

https://bmcneurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2377-9-S1-S3

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3494002/

[Butt One More Thing]

Amblyopsidae/cavefish head anus

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/scientist-names-blind-fish-with-neck-anus-after-his-favorite-team

https://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=3824

http://webhome.auburn.edu/~armbrjw/Amblyopsidae.pdf

The pointiest birds in the wild blue yonder finally get their due! Join us to learn all of these lethal birds killer secrets, and to discover their hidden softer sides. Some use teamwork! Some keep pets! 

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

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

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Definition]

https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-53/issue-4/0892-1016-53.4.419/Commentary-Defining-Raptors-and-Birds-of-Prey/10.3356/0892-1016-53.4.419.full  

[Trivia Question]

Alkyl mercury in goshawks

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10646-013-1128-z

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4312117?casa_token=3PPQWWTwiYAAAAAA%3A7giiI7DEJGZCee8kh5vBBGP51efUFHyxLFdfDGHESY1plAdhTZLY8F5sua8iP5JMNYzhZaNZRjWpC9gYSiKEeZo5sU_BxcEbUk38ZTwCEA37g9mOpHo&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

[Fact Off]

Bald eagle cyanobacteria toxin mystery

https://www.livescience.com/eagle-killing-mystery-disease-solved.html

https://www.inverse.com/science/mystery-behind-mass-bald-eagle-deaths-solved

Screech owls & threadsnakes

https://www.audubon.org/news/what-would-screech-owl-want-blind-snake

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4218201?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

https://landscapeipm.tamu.edu/what-is-ipm/ipm-concepts/pest-identification/good-bug-bad-bug/neither/texas-blind-snake/

http://www.digimorph.org/specimens/Leptotyphlops_dulcis/

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/eastern-screech-owl

[Ask the Science Couch]

Harris’s hawks (social raptors)

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Harriss_Hawk/overview

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/harriss-hawk

https://bioone.org/journals/the-auk/volume-130/issue-3/auk.2013.120063/Reexamining-Cooperative-Hunting-in-Harriss-Hawk-Parabuteo-unicinctus--Large/10.1525/auk.2013.120063.full

[Butt One More Thing]

Anthrax in raptor cloacas

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17347404/

These little, bubbly guys help us make such perennial favorites as 'bread' and 'beer.' If you're saying to yourself "what is yeast, Alex," I got good news for you: you're right! Come learn about the microscopic fungus amung us on this week's Tangents!

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

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

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[Trivia Question]

Yeast mitotic arrest

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4255140/

[Fact Off]

Stinking hellebore flower and yeast relationship

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2871880/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527473-900-stinky-flower-is-kept-warm-by-yeast-partner/#ixzz7HEPFjzKB

Fruit fly and yeast relationship

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(14)00777-3

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0196440

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4556146/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0300962983906011

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(12)00075-9

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/fruit-flies-use-alcohol-to-self-medicate-but-feel-bad-about-it-afterwards/

[Ask the Science Couch]

History of yeast

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/yeasts

http://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Spinoza/Texts/WAW%20Moll%20Antonie%20van%20Leeuwenhoek.htm

https://books.google.com/books?id=gy_SAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA228&lpg=PA228

https://books.google.com/books?id=XILwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72

http://e-malt.com/statistics/ScientificDigest/Beginnings_of_microbiology_and_biochemistry_yeast_research.pdf

We're back, baby! And we're seeing double! Ring in the new-ish year with us as we reflect on mirrors!

Deboki is hosting a new podcast called Tiny Matters! It’s a science podcast about “the little stuff that makes the big stuff possible!” You can subscribe here! And be sure to follow her on Twitter: @okidoki_boki

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

And go to https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow-tangents to buy your very own, genuine SciShow Tangents sticker!

A big thank you to Patreon subscriber Garth Riley for helping to make the show possible!

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

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @im_sam_schultz Hank: @hankgreen

[The Scientific Definition]

Heliograph

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/04/world-war-i-in-photos-technology/507305/

https://www.nps.gov/fobo/learn/historyculture/the-heliograph.htm

https://books.google.com/books?id=RBC2nY1rp5MC&q=heliograph&pg=PA211#v=snippet&q=heliograph&f=false

Pseudoscope 

http://waywiser.fas.harvard.edu/objects/3538/combination-stereoscope-telestereoscope-and-pseudoscope;jsessionid=ADBDCEF0ECA144094F58FDB5779EB61B

https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/cinematic/3/

https://books.google.com/books?id=0_QMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA146&dq=pseudoscope&as_brr=1#v=onepage&q=pseudoscope&f=false

Etalon  

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/phyopt/fabry.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/physics-and-astronomy/etalons

https://www.osapublishing.org/ao/abstract.cfm?uri=ao-5-6-985

Reflecting circle

https://amhistory.si.edu/navigation/type.cfm?typeid=5

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstl.1801.0019

Pictures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflecting_instrument#Reflecting_circles

[Trivia Question]

James Webb Space Telescope mirrors

https://webb.nasa.gov/content/observatory/ote/mirrors/index.html

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/telescopes/en/

[Fact Off]

Enantiomers (mirror versions of chemical compounds)

https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2004/ch_4.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/space/must-all-molecules-life-be-left-handed-or-right-handed-180959956/

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/blog/2015/06/the-version-of-sugar-that-wont-affect-your-blood-glucose-levels-and-why-you-cant-have-it/

https://www.wired.com/2003/11/newsugar/

The Venus Effect (mirror sight-lines) 

https://www.bertamini.org/lab/venus.html

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Venus-effect-in-real-life-and-in-photographs-Bertamini-Lawson/c6d67537323365e8fdae3c7e1b02635c7b1901aa/figure/3

[Ask the Science Couch]

Super efficient mirrors 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-physical-proc/

https://news.mit.edu/1998/mirror

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/12/19/laser.surgery/index.html

https://physicsworld.com/a/crystalline-supermirrors-cut-optical-losses/

https://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_id=14069

[Butt One More Thing]

Mirror test IBS

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3617051/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16258235/