1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,120 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, it's Mango here. With summer winding down, we 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: are taking a little break, but we will be back 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: with brand new episodes starting September ninth, and we have 4 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: been working hard on so many fun episodes this summer. 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: I cannot wait for you to listen to them. In 6 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: the meantime, we are re airing our countdown of the 7 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: twenty five greatest science ideas of the past twenty five years. 8 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 1: This list was so joyous to make. Mary and Gabe 9 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,639 Speaker 1: did all this extra research for it. We pulled in 10 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: contributors for various places. We got incredible songs written for 11 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:37,639 Speaker 1: the show. The whole thing is bizarre and delightful and 12 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: fascinating and joyous, and honestly, I just hope you enjoy 13 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 1: it half as much as we enjoyed making it. Let's 14 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: dig in. You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production 15 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. Guess what Will? 16 00:00:58,560 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 2: What's that? Mango? 17 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: So what's funny? 18 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 2: You know what's funny? Your headband is funny? But sorry 19 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 2: it interrupt Go ahead. 20 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: Well, we've been friends for a little over twenty five 21 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: years now. 22 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,839 Speaker 2: I think we actually known each other for twenty seven years. 23 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 2: Now if I'm not mistake, Ye, but I said friend, right, gotcha, gotcha. 24 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: But think of all the fun things that have happened 25 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: in the last twenty five years, right like this, the 26 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: launch of the iPod, thousands of songs in your pocket. 27 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 1: Social media exploded with Facebook, people started dancing Gungnam style, 28 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: and we're taught how to duggy for some reason. There's 29 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: planking and photos that became a fad, and Lady Gaga 30 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: wore a meat dress to the MTV video War. 31 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 2: I think that summed it up. I think you actually 32 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 2: covered everything. 33 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I mean we also had a black president, 34 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: our first black president, gay marriage became legal, and people 35 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: challenge each other with ice buckets. But for me, everything 36 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: really starts with that meat dress. 37 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, and don't forget we launched a little magazine from 38 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 2: our DRM room called Mental Flaws back in the year 39 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 2: two thousand. 40 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. I can't believe it's been almost twenty five years 41 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: since that first issue hit newsstands. But this week's super 42 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,919 Speaker 1: special edition of Part Time Genius is all about celebrating 43 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: this last quarter century. Every day this week, we're gonna 44 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: be counting down the twenty five greatest science ideas of 45 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: the past twenty five years, and we are sending out 46 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: lots of fun prizes to our listeners too. 47 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 2: But I've just got one question for you, mego, why 48 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 2: are you wearing a Valor tracksuit and a homemade headband? Again, 49 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 2: I don't really understand what's happening. 50 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: Here because I am pomp Oh got it? Okay, so 51 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: let's dive in. 52 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 2: Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to part time genius Pearson. 53 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 2: And of course I'm here with my friend Mangush hot 54 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 2: ticketter and over there tending to what I thought was 55 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 2: a Bob Ross chia pet but is actually a vintage, 56 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:13,239 Speaker 2: discontinued Albert Einstein chia pet is our pal and producer 57 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 2: Dylan Fagan and Mango. I think Einstein with sprouts for 58 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 2: his hair is exactly the energy we're trying to pull 59 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 2: for this week's twenty five list. 60 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right. Well, so I kind of want to 61 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: start by having you tell our listeners about how we 62 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: became friends, because I was definitely trivia obsessed as a kid. 63 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: I think I've mentioned that when cable came to my 64 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: neighborhood in third grade, my friends and I were obsessed 65 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: with doubledare and every day in the summer, we would 66 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: practice drilling each other with trivia questions and setting up 67 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: these challenges all over our houses and the creek in 68 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: the backyard, and you know, we're just trying to get 69 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 1: ourselves physically prepped for this thing. We want to be 70 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: ready in case a producer just called us up to 71 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: be on the show. But you were obviously obsessed with lists. 72 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 2: I was very much obsessed with liss. I think this 73 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 2: started when I was probably eleven or twelve years old. 74 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 2: I just love making lists. They all started as pretty basic. 75 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 2: It's like, here's my list of presidents, here's my list 76 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 2: of state capitals, and then it got a little weirder 77 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 2: over the years. It was like, here's a list of 78 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:16,919 Speaker 2: my favorite left handed artists and favorite you know books 79 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 2: with more than four hundred pages or whatever it might 80 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 2: have been. It was just fun to keep lists, and 81 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 2: people would ask like, why do you do this, And 82 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 2: I didn't really know the answer, other than it just 83 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,919 Speaker 2: felt good to collect this information, you know, and to 84 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 2: just know this information, so anyway was what I did. 85 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: I love it, and so when we started Mental Fluss, 86 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: we were definitely list obsessed. And one of my favorite 87 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: annual things that we do was we would declare the 88 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: most important books of the last twenty five years for 89 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: the most important music of the last twenty five years 90 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,719 Speaker 1: of TV shows, and the lists were always so fun 91 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: and totally unexpected. You came away just appreciating all these 92 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: other amazing things. I don't know about you, but I 93 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:57,839 Speaker 1: think for me, part of the reason I wanted to 94 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 1: do a big science list this week was because right now, 95 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: you know, there's so much talk about AI and gene 96 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: therapies and those kind of dominate the headlines. Yeah, but 97 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,720 Speaker 1: I also love the weird, fun inventions and kind of 98 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: the joy of Obama at the Science Fair shooting rockets 99 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: and things, And you know, science is obviously nerdy, but 100 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: it's also cool and weird and fun, and I thought 101 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: it would be just really fun to celebrate it. 102 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 2: That sounds good, But I feel like before we dive in, 103 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 2: we really have to talk about the process and everything 104 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 2: that goes into how we choose a list like this. 105 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:36,159 Speaker 2: So before we jump in, do you want to start 106 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,600 Speaker 2: by giving a little rationale of how we chose all 107 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 2: of these things? 108 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, totally so, Gabe, Mary, our friend Lucas Riley, They 109 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: helped us look up a whole bunch of ideas and 110 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 1: then we pare them down to things that truly delighted 111 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: or impressed us ideally both of those things. And then 112 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: you and I picked a bunch and researched some more. 113 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: And now's the fun part where we get to like 114 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: take turns presenting the ideas. Plus we are sending part 115 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:03,840 Speaker 1: time genius certificates to all of the winners, which they 116 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: can put on their refrigerators. 117 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 2: All of the winners. 118 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, and also atomic fireballs, the most sciencey candy we 119 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: could find in honor of this week's Signs special. 120 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,600 Speaker 2: You know, it's funny that we're choosing fireballs because, as 121 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 2: my kids know, I love fireballs. So we have this 122 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 2: special cabinet at our house just outside the kitchen called 123 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 2: the Center of Excellence, and it's basically where all of 124 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,599 Speaker 2: my candy obsessions get to be stored because I'll fall 125 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 2: in love with the candy. We were at a great 126 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:33,479 Speaker 2: sushi restaurant and I love the little treats they bring 127 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 2: you at the end of it, and I decided I 128 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 2: needed to order those in bulk. I ordered some atomic 129 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 2: fireballs in bulk, and then I move on to the 130 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 2: next thing, but we just keep them in that collection. 131 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,480 Speaker 2: So it's a big prize, and we're giving out prizes 132 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 2: on our insta all week as well. 133 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: Right, yeah, so Mary is running contest for us all 134 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,240 Speaker 1: week and has a bunch of ridiculous swag to send out. 135 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 1: She and the first who manages are social media our 136 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: friend Calypso, so after you listen, head over to our 137 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 1: Instagram at part time Genius and go win some stuff. 138 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 1: Wet to send it out. But that is way too 139 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 1: much set up. Let's just get into. 140 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 2: It all right, Okay, So don't let the number fool you. 141 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 2: Our list is kicking off with an innovation that happens 142 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 2: to tackle one of the biggest problems in all of society, 143 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 2: and that is how to get ketchup out of a bottle. Now, 144 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 2: as we all know, there is nothing more frustrating than 145 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 2: holding a ketchup bottle at a forty five degree angle 146 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 2: over your food, shaking it vigorously and having absolutely nothing 147 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 2: come out. And for years there were only two solutions. 148 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:34,680 Speaker 2: People would jam a knife in a bottle. I feel 149 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 2: like you don't see that as much anymore. You remember 150 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 2: chaing as a kid. I feel like people just would 151 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 2: put that knife in there and then give it a stir, 152 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 2: and they hope the ketchup would start flowing. Also, there's 153 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 2: the smack the number trick, where people figured out that 154 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 2: if you give the number fifty seven on the side 155 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 2: of a glass bottle of hinds a nice wallap, it 156 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 2: would get the ketchup moving. But of course the problem 157 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 2: with both of those is that you could end up 158 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 2: with way too much ketchup on your fries. 159 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's kind of a ketchup canon that we've all experienced. 160 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,119 Speaker 2: It's exactly right, and one of the biggest leaps forward 161 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 2: for all of humanity and our quest board an appropriate 162 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 2: amount of ketchup was the upside down ketchup bottle. 163 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: Right, so you are obviously talking about the ketchup bottles 164 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,119 Speaker 1: where the dispenser is on the bottom and it's sitting 165 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: on there and the gravity is just kind of pulling 166 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: it down. 167 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 2: Right, That's exactly right. That bottle, or rather the valve 168 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 2: in it, was invented by a gentleman named Paul Brown. Now, 169 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 2: his idea wasn't specifically for ketchup. He just thought a 170 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 2: better valve would work for most liquids from dish detergent, 171 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 2: to hand sanitizers, to whatever it may be. This is 172 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 2: in the nineteen nineties, So Paul Brown had this dream, 173 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 2: but he really struggled to make it a reality. He 174 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 2: made one hundred and eleven different prototypes, Wow, maxed out 175 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 2: a bunch of credit cards, borrowed money from his folks 176 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,079 Speaker 2: to you know, make a better valve for dispensing liquid. 177 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: And while trying to make this valve, like, what was 178 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: he trying to solve for exactly, well, he realized. 179 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 2: That to make a better squeeze bottle, you wanted the 180 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 2: nozzle to open when you place pressure on it, but 181 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 2: then you need it to completely close up when the 182 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 2: pressure is removed, so there's no accidental leaking from this anyway. 183 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 2: After years of failures, his one hundred and twelfth prototype work, 184 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 2: and once he'd perfected his valve, everyone came calling, including NASA, 185 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 2: who saw I use for the valve in space and 186 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,679 Speaker 2: was trying to make leak proof cups for astronauts. 187 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: Wow. 188 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 2: Shampoo bottlers who wanted a more convenient bottle for their 189 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:26,880 Speaker 2: soaps and shampoos also came calling on him as well, 190 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,200 Speaker 2: and eventually, after he pitched it to Hines. They saw 191 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 2: his innovation as part of a ketchup revolution. They started 192 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 2: this ad campaign about the quote waiting Man, where a 193 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 2: guy is just sitting and holding a glass Ketchup bottle 194 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 2: vertically over his meal and nothing is moving or happening 195 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 2: for like twenty seconds, and then his wife comes over 196 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 2: squeezes the perfect amount of ketchup onto his food and 197 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 2: solves the problem in a second. And the ad slogan 198 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 2: was quote, no weight, no mess, no anticipation. 199 00:09:57,240 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: It is so funny that as a society we are 200 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: so impatient that we need our ketchup immediately. Yeah, it's 201 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: just a condiment. 202 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 2: I don't know why you're you really don't get it. 203 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 2: It's super important that we get it quickly. But I 204 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 2: was actually thinking this too, to be honest, until I 205 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 2: read this Malcolm Gladwell piece on ketchup. And this was 206 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 2: a piece that he wrote for The New Yorker, and 207 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 2: in it he quotes a food professor who calls ketchup 208 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:23,079 Speaker 2: the Esperanto of cuisine because it's one of the few 209 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 2: foods that satisfies your cravings for salty, sweet, sour, bitter, 210 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 2: and dow mommy all at once. If you think about it. 211 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 2: That's actually true, and that's part of the reason the 212 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 2: world loves ketchup so much. But back to Brown. According 213 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:38,599 Speaker 2: to the patent professor, this is a website on inventors 214 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 2: and patents. Today, about seventy five percent of Hinz bottles 215 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 2: that are sold are upside down squeeze bottles. Now, it 216 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,679 Speaker 2: wasn't long before Brown paid off his credit cards and 217 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 2: paid his parents back. 218 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:52,199 Speaker 1: Of course, I mean, I do love this, but this 219 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,559 Speaker 1: invention is from the nineteen nineties, right, so like it 220 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 1: doesn't quite make the twenty five year cut off list. 221 00:10:57,320 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 2: I thought you were going to call me out for that, 222 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 2: but I'm actually not done yet. So all of those 223 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 2: lay the groundwork for the quote problem of ketchup. 224 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 1: Look at me being impatient. 225 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, you're doing that. But even though Paul Brown squeeze 226 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 2: bottle valve helped us get much more ketchup out of bottles, 227 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 2: the truth is it's hard to get the last bits 228 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 2: of ketchup out of there, and that means there's a 229 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 2: lot of food waste. But that's where some grad students 230 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 2: from MIT came in in twenty twelve, that is, within 231 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 2: the last twenty five years. Here a PhD candidate named 232 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 2: Dave Smith and a team of mechanical engineers and nanotechnologists 233 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 2: at MIT's Varnacy Research Group had been working on various 234 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,160 Speaker 2: lubricants and coatings to solve various issues. So they were 235 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 2: tackling things like how to coat an oil or gas 236 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 2: line so that there's no clogs, or how to cote 237 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 2: a windshield so that the water doesn't collect on it 238 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 2: and is more easily pushed off by your wipers. But 239 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 2: then they started wondering what would happen if they applied 240 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 2: some of their technology to consumer packaging. I think the 241 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 2: idea started with the frustration of getting honey out of 242 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 2: a bottle, you know, because there's still so much much 243 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 2: in there at that point. 244 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:05,079 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's obviously annoying. But why were they 245 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,199 Speaker 1: putting all this technology towards food bottles? 246 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 2: Well, according to Fast Company, that's one of the questions 247 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 2: they got asked the most, and the answer is that 248 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,240 Speaker 2: the market for bottles, and I'm just talking sauce bottles 249 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 2: here is a seventeen billion dollar market, and if you 250 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:21,560 Speaker 2: could solve food waste there, you could basically save a 251 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 2: million tons of food from being thrown out every single year. 252 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:25,320 Speaker 1: That's pretty incredible. 253 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, so they created this coating called liquid glide, and 254 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 2: it's really miraculous. Like if you watch the videos, the 255 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 2: Ketchup flows out of the bottle almost like a liquid 256 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 2: with nothing left in the bottle. As Professor Krippavaranasi puts it, 257 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 2: there's this fundamental friction constraint called the no slip boundary 258 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 2: condition between a liquid and a solid. And so because 259 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 2: they basically created a new surface for the liquid to 260 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 2: move on, you can get the product to slide across 261 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 2: the surface. And so he continues describing this. He says that, Aha, 262 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 2: moment meant we could get around a fundamental constraint of 263 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:57,239 Speaker 2: fluid dynamics. 264 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: That's really cool that they can take the like uncooperative 265 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: fluid like ketchup and just make a glide out. 266 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, and all the applications for this are actually pretty crazy. 267 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:09,880 Speaker 2: It is it just ketchup or honey that it affects suddenly, 268 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 2: Like you can get toothpaste out of a tube more effectively, 269 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 2: which makes that recyclable. You can use variations on medical 270 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 2: devices to get essential fluids out of bags. Like, it's 271 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 2: really remarkable. 272 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: I love that. So of course, congratulations doctor Varnossi and 273 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,880 Speaker 1: team will be sending you a part time genius certificate 274 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,360 Speaker 1: for your achievement and a handful of atomic fireballs for 275 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: your important work, and such a great price. So sitting 276 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:38,560 Speaker 1: at number twenty four is a pretty whimsical invention that 277 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:40,559 Speaker 1: maybe means more to me than it means to you. 278 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,679 Speaker 1: It is a floating hot tub boat invented in Finland 279 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: called the hot tug, which sounds a little dirty, but 280 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:50,840 Speaker 1: this floating tub is actually really wonderful. 281 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:52,960 Speaker 2: And there's this story about why you like hot tub 282 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 2: so much. 283 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: I'm guessing I mean to be clear, I do like 284 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: hot tubs in the appropriate context. My friend Dave is 285 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: a hot tub behind his place in Idaho, and you 286 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: can sit out there when it's snowing and look at 287 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: the Grand Tetons behind you, and that is incredible. But 288 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: also there was one time when I was on a 289 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: work trip and I showed up at a hotel room 290 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 1: in a dicey neighborhood that had been booked for me, 291 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 1: and there was a giant hot tub in the middle 292 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 1: of the hotel room, and that was less appealing. 293 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, I could see maybe avoiding. 294 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: That, but as you might know, I hate cold water. 295 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: And part of the reason is that when I was 296 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: on my study of broad Trip, and this is so 297 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 1: many years ago in Tivet, we were hunting for this 298 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: anthropological evidence of a semi nomadic civilization, and there hadn't 299 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 1: been a lot of study done in this region of Tibet. 300 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: It was pretty pristine and hard for academics to get 301 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: to anyway, my friends and I saw these hots that 302 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: were set up across this little river, and we knew 303 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: we wanted to get to it, and there was a 304 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: bridge about two hours up one way and one hour 305 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: down the other way, and so my friends were like, 306 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,680 Speaker 1: we should probably just cross this river and be clear. 307 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:57,440 Speaker 1: There was snow on the ground at the time, and 308 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 1: the water was ice cold, and we didn't want to 309 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 1: get our clothes wet. So basically we got naked and 310 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: crossed this thing so we'd have dry clothes on the 311 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: other side. And I just remember getting up to my 312 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:10,480 Speaker 1: ankles and being like, I've never been this cold, oh, 313 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 1: and then getting up to my knees and being like, 314 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: I've never been this cold, and then getting to my waist. 315 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: But the current was also crazy strong, and I almost 316 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 1: slipped out some moss and somehow caught myself with the 317 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:24,840 Speaker 1: stick and it was miserable. But I just remember being 318 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: so cold for so long. And the worst part was 319 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: the huts weren't any big discovery, so it was just 320 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: like a normal settlement. But I was very angry. And 321 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: since then, I don't really go in cold water, but 322 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 1: I will go in hot water. 323 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 3: And that's where the hot tug comes in. 324 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 2: Wow, I'm with you on the cold water. I don't 325 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 2: understand people that can do the cold plunge thing. It's 326 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 2: just I don't get it. But anyway, tell me more 327 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 2: about this invention. 328 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:53,080 Speaker 1: So it is the brainchild of a Dutch furniture designer. 329 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: His name is Frank de Bruyne. And it's not just 330 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: a barrel with heat under it. So this thing is 331 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: a beautiful tooth liter eight seater jacuzzi boat. And according 332 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,120 Speaker 1: to an interview with the New York Post, Jabrun actually 333 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: grew up on a barge where his parents were skippers, 334 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: and he'd always loved campfires and nature and looking up 335 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: at the stars. And at some point he wondered, like, 336 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 1: what if you could have a mobile hot tub, Like 337 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: not just something that was parked in your backyard, but 338 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: something that would allow you to float out wherever you were, 339 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: and that could be on a lake or a fjord, 340 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: And so he created this boat with an electric motor, 341 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: so it is entirely quiet for the nature aspect. But 342 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: the hot tub contraption is also entirely stable, so you 343 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: can sit in the hot tub and then stand up 344 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: and dive off the side into like a crisp, refreshing 345 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 1: lake and you won't tip anything over. To me, it 346 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: feels like a really beautiful way to float your way 347 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: through a cold landscape. Like imagine being in one of 348 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: these off the coast of Alaska or in the Pacific Northwest. 349 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: And that's kind of de Bruyn's dream too. Right now, 350 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: the hot tubs are a cost prohibitive. They run about 351 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand to twenty thousand dollars. But his hope is 352 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,360 Speaker 1: that national parks and cities will buy fleets of these 353 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:06,399 Speaker 1: things and then rent them out to people like me, 354 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 1: you know, tourists who hate the cold but love nature. 355 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 2: That sounds pretty awesome. I'm on board mango. The next 356 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,120 Speaker 2: one for me is a discovery that deals with one 357 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 2: of my biggest pet peeves, tangled headphones and chords so frustrating, right, 358 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,400 Speaker 2: and this comes from a British scientist named Robert Matthews 359 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 2: from Aston University. So over the years people have tried 360 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,439 Speaker 2: to deal with knots in tons of ways. You can 361 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 2: very carefully coil up chords using special reels. There are 362 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 2: actually a ton of anti nodding gadgets out there, but 363 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,959 Speaker 2: Robert Matthews developed a mathematical theory which has an incredibly 364 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,919 Speaker 2: simple answer. According to his loop conjecture, one of the 365 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 2: easiest things you can do is clip the ends of 366 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 2: a chord together to form a loop. Based on his 367 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:53,360 Speaker 2: mathematical models, forming a simple loop produces a tenfold reduction 368 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 2: in the risk of knots forming in the headphone court. 369 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,879 Speaker 2: That's amazing. Well, what's also sweet about his theory is 370 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:02,400 Speaker 2: that Matthews organized something called the British Not Experiment, where, 371 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,320 Speaker 2: according to Science Daily, kids at schools across the country 372 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 2: looked at this phenomena with quote various cord thickness, rigidity 373 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 2: and other parameters likely to affect nodding risk. 374 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,479 Speaker 1: I mean, tangled chords are definitely one of my biggest 375 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,639 Speaker 1: pet peeves and every year I try so many different 376 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 1: ways to make sure that my Christmas lights don't get 377 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,880 Speaker 1: tangled or chords don't get tangled. And I'm just kind 378 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: of fascinated by this idea that if you just loop 379 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: the chords, it solves the issue. 380 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,399 Speaker 2: Yeah, and Matthews points out that even though it feels 381 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,439 Speaker 2: trivial in nature, quote, the phenomena of spontaneous nodding is 382 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,959 Speaker 2: of great significance in other areas, including polymer chemistry and 383 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:43,640 Speaker 2: molecular biology. Like if you consider there's over a meter 384 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,639 Speaker 2: of DNA crammed into every one of our cells and 385 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 2: any knots can dramatically increase the risk of genetic malfunction, 386 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,000 Speaker 2: you can see how there might be some really interesting 387 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 2: applications there. Like Matthew's points to some anti cancer drugs 388 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:00,159 Speaker 2: that work by affecting not formation and cancer cells, and 389 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 2: he's hoping that the loop conjecture can lead to new 390 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 2: approaches in drug design. 391 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 1: That's amazing that you can tackle something that's annoying like 392 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:10,400 Speaker 1: headphones and it solves genetic. 393 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 2: Problems something almost as important like cancer. 394 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: Right. Yeah, well, that is pretty awesome. I know we've 395 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: got lots more to cover, from space perfumes to bird esthetics, 396 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:21,440 Speaker 1: but before we get to. 397 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 2: Any of that. 398 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 3: Let's take a quick break. 399 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 2: Welcome back to Part Time Genius, where we're talking about 400 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 2: twenty five great science ideas over the last twenty five years. 401 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 2: And I forgot mango. What number are we on? All right? 402 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:50,359 Speaker 2: Number twenty two? So mango, what do you have next? 403 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,400 Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about the sense of smell, because when 404 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:57,600 Speaker 1: it comes to memory and emotion, there is no sense 405 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,359 Speaker 1: quite as powerful as sent and for me, like a 406 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:03,159 Speaker 1: whiff of jasmine takes me to my grandmother's backyard and 407 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: there's a certain wet grass and pavement smell that reminds 408 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 1: me of monsoons and also spring in Delaware. Yeah, also 409 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:12,960 Speaker 1: lemon pledge weirdly reminds me of when my sister and 410 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: I used to have to dust wood furniture every Saturday 411 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 1: after cartoons. So are there any distinctive sense that you 412 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:20,399 Speaker 1: can think of? 413 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 2: It's funny that you mentioned your grandmother. I feel like 414 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,320 Speaker 2: everybody who you know had the benefit of being able 415 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 2: to go to a grandmother's house has a certain scent there. 416 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 2: For me, it was the smell of bacon, because my 417 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 2: granddad cooked bacon every single morning of his life, and 418 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 2: so whenever you walk into that house. You're just like bacon. 419 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:40,399 Speaker 2: I love that. 420 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: Mike Myers always talks about like how it smells like 421 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: soup whinny he thinks. 422 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 2: About old people. This was a little better than that. 423 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 1: So our next guest knows a lot about scent. It's 424 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: what he does for a living. And our pal Mary 425 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 1: actually got him on the phone. 426 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 4: I'm Steve Pierce. I've worked in the flame room fragrance 427 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 4: industry for more than four years in various roles, and 428 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,360 Speaker 4: now a consult for some companies in that industry. I'm 429 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 4: a bit of a jack of all trades, to be honest. 430 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: So Steve has a degree and applied biochemistry and says 431 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:14,880 Speaker 1: he's been interested in smells since he was a kid. 432 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: So back in the early two thousands he was approached 433 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: by a museum curator who wanted to make an exhibit 434 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:23,719 Speaker 1: about impossible smells, like smells that were so fleeting or 435 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 1: so far in the past that no one's been able 436 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: to experience them. And one of the impossible smells he 437 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,640 Speaker 1: developed for this exhibit was the scent of the Mere 438 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:35,200 Speaker 1: Space station as it fell back to Earth. The exhibit 439 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,240 Speaker 1: was a huge hit and people were fascinated. 440 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:40,040 Speaker 4: It made a bit of a splash. It was on 441 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 4: TV all the rest of it. And it was a 442 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 4: few months after that that I got this call from 443 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 4: someone at NASA. He explained his role as having to 444 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 4: smell every single component that went into the Space Shuttle 445 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,920 Speaker 4: to make sure that when astronauts were up there, there 446 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:01,159 Speaker 4: was nothing that was going to create enough an unpleasant 447 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:03,439 Speaker 4: environment for them to live and work in. 448 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:05,879 Speaker 2: So I'm trying to imagine this guy's work day, like 449 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:07,840 Speaker 2: he walked around sniffing rocket parts. 450 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess something like that. And I guess he 451 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: told Steve that NASA had a smell problem. 452 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:19,119 Speaker 4: They'd had astronauts returning to Earth who'd gone for a 453 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 4: veh killer walk outside. So they'd gone outside to service 454 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,679 Speaker 4: satellites and do all the things they do, and then 455 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,960 Speaker 4: when they got back inside, they were going through the 456 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:33,200 Speaker 4: airlock and they'd repressurized, take their suit helmet off, and 457 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:35,960 Speaker 4: then they got hit by this smell. And a number 458 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,680 Speaker 4: of them came back and said, look, we went through 459 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:43,160 Speaker 4: all this training about fitness, about psychology here, about how 460 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,920 Speaker 4: to fly things, how to service satellites, how to walk 461 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 4: in space. Nobody warned us about this smell. 462 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: Never would have thought that space had a smell. Apparently 463 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,360 Speaker 1: NASA hadn't either, so they asked Steve if you could 464 00:22:55,359 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 1: recreate the scent of space for training purposes, and he 465 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 1: was like, sure, I'll give you try. So NASA put 466 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:03,680 Speaker 1: him in touch with some astronauts so he could get 467 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:06,040 Speaker 1: a first hand account of the space smell. 468 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,719 Speaker 4: They were pretty consistent in terms of it focusing on 469 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,679 Speaker 4: things like hot metal. They said fried steak, but I 470 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 4: kind of think that was when maybe they were near 471 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,200 Speaker 4: a barbecue which was hot metal, and they were associating 472 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 4: the fried steak and the hot metal. And one of 473 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 4: them described it as the scent of the hot metal 474 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,920 Speaker 4: when he was welding on his motorbike as a young 475 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,160 Speaker 4: man and things like this. So that was the description 476 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,520 Speaker 4: that I had to go for and try and recreate 477 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 4: that in a safe way that could be used during 478 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 4: the training. 479 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: So around the same time, some other papers came out 480 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 1: that offered all these hypotheses about what space smelled like 481 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,159 Speaker 1: based on bectroscopic analysis, and two of the notes that 482 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: got mentioned were raspberries and rum, which I've read about 483 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,360 Speaker 1: and it sounds really nice, but Steve didn't buy it. 484 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 1: None of the astronauts he'd interviewed mentioned any of those scents, 485 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: so he stuck to his brief of hot metal and meat. 486 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: And the more he thought about it, the more it 487 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,119 Speaker 1: made sense because when the astronauts were outside, their suits 488 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: were bombarded by high velocity particles and solar wind, so 489 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,160 Speaker 1: when they came back inside, they detected the odor left 490 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,119 Speaker 1: by all that energy. So we managed to recreate the 491 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 1: smell for NASA. Yeah, I mean, it took a couple 492 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:25,399 Speaker 1: of months, but he did. And unfortunately, in the time 493 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,800 Speaker 1: he was working, his NASA contact had retired or maybe 494 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: been laid off, like to this day. Steve's in shore, 495 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: which all he knew was that he called NASA to say, hey, 496 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 1: I've got your space smell, and NASA was like, we 497 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: don't know where you're talking about. Man. 498 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 4: I couldn't find anyone else to want to take it forward. 499 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 4: So it was a bit disappointing to have done that 500 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 4: work and then not be able to see it put 501 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 4: to use, so I kind of parked it. 502 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 1: The story might have ended there, but the BBC happened 503 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: to visit Steve's lab for a report on fragrance and flavor. 504 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: The reporter asked if he'd worked on anything particularly unusual, 505 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,040 Speaker 1: and Steve said, well, as a matter of fact, I 506 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,359 Speaker 1: made the scent of space for NASA and that turned 507 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,760 Speaker 1: into the kicker of the piece. And then another media 508 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 1: storm erupted, so the news traveled to this side of 509 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:18,440 Speaker 1: the Atlantic, and Steve was contacted by an American education 510 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 1: advocate who wanted to leverage the scent to raise money 511 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,439 Speaker 1: for STEM programs. Right, this is awesome. So the initial 512 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,359 Speaker 1: goal was something like, let's sell two thousand dollars of 513 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: this perfume. And in the end the project raised over 514 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:32,720 Speaker 1: six hundred thousand dollars on Kickstarter. 515 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 2: Isn't that amazing? 516 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: And the idea was that for every bottle someone bought, 517 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 1: a bottle would get sent to a school. But this 518 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:41,439 Speaker 1: meant a new challenge for Steve. 519 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 4: Before, I wasn't worried about skin contact and things like that. 520 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 4: I was just thinking people would smell it. No, that 521 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:49,399 Speaker 4: would be the end of it. Now I had to 522 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 4: go back to the drawing board and reformulate it to 523 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:56,439 Speaker 4: make sure it was completely safe in case anybody accidentally 524 00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,200 Speaker 4: sprayed it in their eye or swallowed it, or make 525 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,560 Speaker 4: sure there were no out legends in there, and so on. 526 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 1: So What's more, Steve had actually developed a second space scent. 527 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,919 Speaker 1: He met the astronaut Charles Duke at a conference, and 528 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 1: Duke had actually walked on the Moon with the Apollo 529 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: eleven crew, So naturally Steve wanted to know what that 530 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 1: had smelled like. 531 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:17,280 Speaker 4: And of course he's, well, of course you can't smell 532 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:19,119 Speaker 4: anything through the suit, and he's having a joke and 533 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 4: all that, but then he says, when you get inside 534 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 4: and you're covered in this fine dust, he starts explaining 535 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,640 Speaker 4: to everyone about it, takes his helmet off, he says, 536 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,800 Speaker 4: and all you can smell is this smell of the moon, 537 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:32,919 Speaker 4: he says. And everyone thinks he smells of cheese and 538 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:34,919 Speaker 4: makes all these jokes about it, but he says, it 539 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,040 Speaker 4: smells like spent gunpowder. 540 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:39,440 Speaker 1: So the scent of Space and the scent of the 541 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 1: Moon became available through this kickstarter. And now Steve does 542 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:44,480 Speaker 1: want to make it very clear that he is not 543 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,119 Speaker 1: involved in any of the logistics for fulfillment with this 544 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 1: Space scent product. He just made that of the stuff 545 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,479 Speaker 1: and had it shift to a distributor. But he is 546 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:56,120 Speaker 1: really happy about all the bottles that made their way 547 00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:58,639 Speaker 1: to schools and stem programs, and he told us one 548 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: of his proudest moments was meeting a dad whose son 549 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: had really severe learning disabilities, but he was fascinated by 550 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,200 Speaker 1: space and being able to smell it made it come 551 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,119 Speaker 1: to life in this incredible, vivid way. 552 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,040 Speaker 2: Oh that's so cool. I do have to ask my 553 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 2: go have you smelled this stuff? And if so, is 554 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:15,680 Speaker 2: it good? 555 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: I don't think the word is good, Maybe interesting, fascinating, meaty. 556 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,879 Speaker 1: I looked up Out of Space on a perfume review 557 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: website and a lot of people complained that it didn't 558 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,720 Speaker 1: smell like something you'd wear, which makes sense because that 559 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 1: wasn't the intention. But what's really interesting is several reviewers 560 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 1: mentioned that the scent made them feel a sense of 561 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:41,880 Speaker 1: loneliness or dispace there, and so we actually asked Steve 562 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:42,359 Speaker 1: about this. 563 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:46,119 Speaker 4: I wouldn't have used words like despair and loneliness, but 564 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:49,119 Speaker 4: I can understand if people are putting that concept of 565 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,560 Speaker 4: the fragrance alongside the fact that you're in an airless 566 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,480 Speaker 4: void of space and you're weightless. If he manages to 567 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,440 Speaker 4: conjure up those feelings, I can understand why they might 568 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:04,440 Speaker 4: describe it is that there's definitely a meaty element to it. 569 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 4: It is quite harsh and metallic as well. I would 570 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:09,919 Speaker 4: have said, I would have described it as that. The 571 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,199 Speaker 4: other image I had was if you've ever been the 572 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,440 Speaker 4: electrical sparks and that you get that blue flash and 573 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 4: there's that sense of burning although nothing's burning. It's almost 574 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:24,359 Speaker 4: like the ozone in the air that's created in that 575 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,479 Speaker 4: high energy impact. Those were the kind of images I 576 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:29,840 Speaker 4: was trying to recreate. I never set out to make 577 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,919 Speaker 4: anyone feel despair, but you know what, when you're working 578 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 4: on these things on your own and you're sometimes coming 579 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:38,480 Speaker 4: up against a bit of a block and trying to 580 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 4: improve it, sometimes that can feel pretty lonely as well. 581 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 1: And maybe that's the next challenge for a fragrance scientist 582 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: like Steve, like figure out a way to bottle the 583 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 1: scent of loneliness along with one that makes you feel 584 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: maybe more like you're surrounded by. 585 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:51,880 Speaker 3: People you love. 586 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:53,280 Speaker 2: That's a great idea. 587 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: Anyway, I'm sure everyone's wondering, Okay, how can I get 588 00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:58,800 Speaker 1: a whiff of this? Well, we manage to get our 589 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 1: hands on a bottle of the Space scent and a 590 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: bottle of the Moon scent, and. 591 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 2: And we squirted it on a firelall. 592 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:08,120 Speaker 1: So we are giving them away today on our Instagram, 593 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 1: So go check it out at part Time Genius to 594 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: see how you can win. 595 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:16,680 Speaker 2: I'm gonna apply. So for anyone who suffered from jet lag, 596 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 2: you know how hard it can be to try to 597 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,240 Speaker 2: get your body clock to shift time zones. It is 598 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 2: really not a pleasant process. But for a bunch of hamsters, 599 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 2: at least one thing has helped, taking viagra. You can 600 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 2: see any of this coming to do jet lag, Hamsters viagra. 601 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 2: Can you work those onto the sentence? 602 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: It's like the weirdest success Mad Live success. So why 603 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: were they giving viagra to hamster? 604 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,520 Speaker 2: What else would you give them? Mango? But anyway, it's 605 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,880 Speaker 2: really only in small doses. So, as the Smithsonian points out, 606 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 2: since nineteen ninety eight, when viagra was first approved by 607 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,480 Speaker 2: the FDA, scientists have found all sorts of other uses 608 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 2: for the drug, including for flowers. Actually, so if you 609 00:29:57,520 --> 00:29:59,960 Speaker 2: crush viagra into a vase, it can help your fresh 610 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 2: cut flowers last longer. It's also good for treating blood pressure, 611 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 2: and in two thousand and seven, a trio of Argentinean 612 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 2: scientists figured out that injecting a small amount of viagra 613 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:12,120 Speaker 2: into a hamster will help cure it of jet lag. 614 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 1: I mean, of course it has to be a small dose, right, 615 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: These are hamster. 616 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:19,640 Speaker 2: These are also scientists, so they could do whatever. But anyway, 617 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:22,320 Speaker 2: but it's basically enough viagra to affect them, but not 618 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 2: enough to get them aroused or anything like that. But 619 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,240 Speaker 2: back to the jet lag. Normally, humans tend to take 620 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,400 Speaker 2: a full day to adjust for an hour of change, 621 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:33,680 Speaker 2: So if you travel to Singapore from New York, it'll 622 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 2: take your body about twelve days to fully adjust to 623 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,800 Speaker 2: that time change. But with viagra, the hamsters were covered 624 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,640 Speaker 2: in about half of that period. And do we know 625 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:45,920 Speaker 2: why this is Well, according to the Smithsonian quote, they 626 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,840 Speaker 2: believe it happened because the drug raises levels of a 627 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:53,840 Speaker 2: molecule called cyclic guanascene monophosphate in the body. cGMP is 628 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:57,480 Speaker 2: the molecule that expands blood vessels, which helps with getting 629 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,080 Speaker 2: men excited. That's how it works from that purpose. But 630 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,960 Speaker 2: cGMP also speeds up the body's internal clock, which is 631 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,360 Speaker 2: how it combats jet lag. Anyway, the most fascinating thing 632 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:09,480 Speaker 2: about this study, or to me at least, was that 633 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 2: the viagra only worked when hamsters were traveling east. Like 634 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 2: the viagra helped if you adjusted the time zone from 635 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 2: New York to London, but if you had them going west, 636 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,920 Speaker 2: it basically had no effect. I heard viagra's the same way, so. 637 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,640 Speaker 1: That is wilds. Well, I've got another discovery about animals. 638 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:33,920 Speaker 1: But before we get to that, let's take one last break. 639 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 2: Welcome back to Part Time Genius, where we're counting down 640 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:51,520 Speaker 2: the twenty five greatest science ideas of the past twenty 641 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 2: five years. All right, Mango, we are all the way too. 642 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: Those sesame Street numbers never get to me, and at 643 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:04,920 Speaker 1: number twenty, we're going to cover one of the most 644 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:09,760 Speaker 1: important scientific discoveries of our time, according to me, which 645 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: is why chickens like Denzel Washington more than you, more. 646 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:17,520 Speaker 2: Than I like Denzel Washington, or they like Denzel more 647 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:18,240 Speaker 2: than they like me. 648 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,680 Speaker 1: They like Denzel more than they liked Okay, God can 649 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:22,239 Speaker 1: me they. 650 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:23,719 Speaker 2: Preferred making sure I didn't know if that was part 651 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:24,280 Speaker 2: of this study. 652 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: Now, over the years, there have been lots of discoveries 653 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,240 Speaker 1: about chickens. We know that the color of a chickens 654 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:33,719 Speaker 1: eggs often coincides with the color of the bird's ear lobes, 655 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: We know that today's chickens descended from the red jungle 656 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,840 Speaker 1: fowl of Southeast Asia about eight thousand years ago, and 657 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,680 Speaker 1: they were probably first domesticated not for meat, but as 658 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:50,120 Speaker 1: early alarm systems like watchdogs. But birds, right, bird dogs. 659 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:50,520 Speaker 2: Yeah. 660 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: But perhaps most importantly, chickens can tell other chickens apart, 661 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:58,680 Speaker 1: and studies have shown they can easily identify up to 662 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,440 Speaker 1: thirty other chickens at a chicken party, but once the 663 00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:05,600 Speaker 1: numbers get to about one hundred, they get more confused. 664 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:06,560 Speaker 1: They can't keep tracked. 665 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 2: I mean, it's like people. 666 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, it feels fair. But in two thousand and two, 667 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:15,480 Speaker 1: in a paper called quote Chickens Prefer Beautiful Humans. This 668 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:21,560 Speaker 1: is actually the title of scientist Stefano Ghirlanda Listenlote, Jensen 669 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:25,760 Speaker 1: and Magnus Anquist. Don't worry, it'll be spelled properly on 670 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,640 Speaker 1: the certificates. They all discovered that much like humans, chickens 671 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:33,880 Speaker 1: are attracted to symmetrical faces, and in the experiment, chickens 672 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:37,280 Speaker 1: pecked more at screens with symmetrical faces, and these results 673 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 1: actually match the results of humans who were asked to 674 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:44,240 Speaker 1: choose between the same faces. According to Nat Geo. The 675 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:46,760 Speaker 1: study was limited in that it only tested a small 676 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,560 Speaker 1: number of chickens and humans, but the results may suggest 677 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:54,560 Speaker 1: the mutual admiration for symmetry is rooted in the nervous system. 678 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:58,440 Speaker 1: Isn't that awesome? So it's not really based on cultural influences, 679 00:33:58,520 --> 00:33:59,960 Speaker 1: but it's triggered by something in the brain. 680 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you said this was only a small number 681 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:04,720 Speaker 2: of chickens, so I'm still not quite on board with 682 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,000 Speaker 2: the idea that they like Denzel more than me. But well, 683 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,480 Speaker 2: we'll see. And actually, you know what, you know, I 684 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:12,120 Speaker 2: have chickens and chickens that lay different colored eggs. 685 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:12,520 Speaker 1: Huh. 686 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:15,319 Speaker 2: I did not know that chickens had ear lobes, much 687 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,880 Speaker 2: less ear lobes that you could use to detect what 688 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:19,799 Speaker 2: sort of eggs they would lay. But anyway, it's all 689 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:23,240 Speaker 2: super fascinating. So back to this idea of the chickens 690 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:27,000 Speaker 2: preferring symmetrical faces. Do we know the evolutionary reason for that? 691 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:27,160 Speaker 1: Like? 692 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:29,560 Speaker 2: Why do humans and chickens prefer these faces? 693 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 1: We don't know yet. But nat Geo did have a 694 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,439 Speaker 1: fun kicker to the piece. They wrote, quote, what could 695 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:38,240 Speaker 1: be more humiliating than a chicken who sees your Tinder 696 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:43,680 Speaker 1: profile and swipe's left. I think that's a good way 697 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:44,080 Speaker 1: to end. 698 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:46,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, so that is that is definitely the way to 699 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:48,160 Speaker 2: end that. We have reached the end of day one 700 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:50,720 Speaker 2: in our countdown of the twenty five best science ideas 701 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:53,440 Speaker 2: from the past twenty five years. Now, remember we got 702 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:55,319 Speaker 2: four more days to go, so be sure to tune 703 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:57,800 Speaker 2: in all week. Don't forget to enter today's giveaway on 704 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:01,160 Speaker 2: our Instagram at part Time Genius and Mengo. What's the 705 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 2: teas up for tomorrow? 706 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:06,920 Speaker 1: So we have got stories about lobsters, dolphins and bike helmets. 707 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:09,640 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, the trio, although unfortunately none of these involve 708 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,920 Speaker 1: lobsters and dolphins wearing bike helmets. But it's still going 709 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:15,640 Speaker 1: to be fun, I promise. Anyway, that's it for today's 710 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:19,800 Speaker 1: episode from Gabe, Dylan, Mary, Will and myself. Thank you 711 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:35,240 Speaker 1: so much for listening. Part Time Genius is a production 712 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:39,040 Speaker 1: of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This show is hosted by Will 713 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:43,359 Speaker 1: Pearson and Me Mongays Chatikler and researched by our good 714 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:47,680 Speaker 1: pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's episode was engineered and produced 715 00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:51,000 Speaker 1: by the wonderful of Dylan Fagan with support from Tyler Klang. 716 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:54,880 Speaker 1: The show is executive produced for iHeart by Katrina Norvell 717 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,040 Speaker 1: and Ali Perry, with social media support from Sasha Gay 718 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:02,560 Speaker 1: trustee Dara Potts and buy any Shory. For more podcasts 719 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:07,320 Speaker 1: from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 720 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:09,720 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.