Dimetrodon Wasn't a Dinosaur -- So What Was It?
This four-legged prehistoric animal had a bony sail on its back and was probably scaly, but it was more closely to related to mammals than i...
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BrainStuff
Whether the topic is popcorn or particle physics, you can count on BrainStuff to explore -- and explain -- the everyday science in the world around us.
Episodes
20 of 2,740 episodesBrainStuff Classics: How Does Samhain Work?
Samhain is a pagan holiday -- celebrated between the fall equinox and winter solstice -- that helped form modern, secular Halloween celebrat...
What Really Happened at the 'Amityville Horror' House?
After a tragic set of murders in 1974, the next residents at a grand old house in Amityville, New York, claimed the home was demonically hau...
How Is Chocolate Made?
From the seed of a tropical tree to creamy candies, it takes a lot of science to turn cacao into chocolate. Learn how cacao is farmed, ferme...
Was James Dean's Final Car Cursed?
After James Dean died in a car crash at 24 years old, the remains of that car -- a silver Porsche 550 Spyder -- were implicated in a series...
BrainStuff Classics: Does the Community of Lily Dale Reconnect the Living and the Dead?
Spiritualism is a 19th-century belief system that holds that the living can communicate with spirits of the dead through mediums. Learn abou...
How Did the Philadelphia Experiment Work?
The Philadelphia Experiment is a fringe theory that says a secret military project made a WWII ship disappear (or time travel, or eat some o...
Can Your Hair Really Turn White Overnight?
Tales of some great shock or fright suddenly turning a person's hair white go back thousands of years. Learn what researchers think is reall...
Why Are Brown Recluse Spiders Not All That Scary?
Brown recluse spiders rarely bite humans, and when they do, it only causes a reaction in about 10 percent of cases. Learn how to identify br...
BrainStuff Classics: When Has a Single Vote Decided an Election?
Voting is an incredibly important way to make your voice heard, but it's very rare for a candidate to win or lose by just one vote. Learn ho...
How Do You Grow a 3,000-Pound Pumpkin?
The largest pumpkins in the world now weigh well over a ton, and the record gets broken just about every year. But how (and why) would you g...
How Do Your Nerves Tell Your Muscles to Function?
Every movement our bodies make -- from waving at a friend to pumping blood -- is goverened by complex electrochemical handshakes among our n...
Why Did the Massive Maginot Line Fail to Stop Hitler?
After years of trench warfare in WWI, France built a line of massive underground bunkers and other defensive fortifications along hundreds o...
BrainStuff Classics: Why Are Some Americans Cancelling Columbus Day?
Some U.S. cities and states have officially changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day. Learn why -- and why some Americans disagree wi...
American Versus British English: What Are Biscuits, Muffins, and Pudding?
The English-language terms for different baked goods vary based on where English is being spoken. Learn why an American cookie is a British...
How Do Sunspots Work?
When dark spots appear on the surface of the Sun, we're actually seeing the result of massive distortions in solar magnetic fields caused by...
Did the 'Lost Continent' of Lemuria Really Exist?
A sunken continent called Lemuria was first proposed as a scientific explanation for lemur populations in the mid-1800s, but it quickly beca...
BrainStuff Classics: How Did a Mad King Design Disney's Castle?
Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty's castle -- the centerpiece of Disneyland and the Disney logo -- on a real castle in the Bavarian Alps of...
Could the Bird Flu Cause a Human Pandemic?
Since the early 2000s, the H5N1 bird flu has sickened wild and domestic birds around the world -- and sometimes humans and other mammals, to...
Where Do Butternut Squash Come From?
Humans started domesticating edible gourds thousands of years ago, but one of today's most popular varieties has been around for less than a...