Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
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howstuffworks.comEpisodes
SYSK Selects: The Unsolved Mystery Disappearance of the Sodder Children
In 1945 a house fire took the lives of five children - except that their bodies were never found. In this classic episode, dive into the longstanding mystery of the odd circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the Sodder children.
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2021-04-10Link to episode
Muzak: Easy Listening Goodness
Muzak got a bad reputation as bland garbage music. We aim to set the record straight.
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2021-04-08Link to episode
Short Stuff: Venus de Milo
Step into today's short stuff to learn all about the armless wonder!
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2021-04-07Link to episode
Havana Syndrome: ¿Qué Diablos?
In 2016, diplomats at the American embassy in Cuba began suffering weird neurological symptoms after hearing strange noises. Some say it was a sonic attack using a secret weapon, but the Havana Syndrome remains a baffling scientific mystery to this day.
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2021-04-06Link to episode
SYSK Selects: How Circus Families Work
Don't be confused - this one is about actual circus acts made of family members, not the controversial comic strip. Step right up to this classic episode.
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2021-04-03Link to episode
How the Titanic Worked: Part Two
After the Titanic sank recriminations and blame followed, sometimes ruining careers unjustifiably. As the decades wore on and she was found almost 2.5 miles down, history rehabilitated some people. The question still remains how to preserve the ship.
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2021-04-01Link to episode
Short Stuff: What's the oldest book?
In order to figure out what the oldest book is, one has to define what a book actually is. Listen in as we discuss this debatable topic.
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2021-03-31Link to episode
How the Titanic Worked: Part One
When the Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage in April 1912, the world was divided into two types of people: those who considered her unsinkable and those who weren?t so sure about that. Both types were aboard when she went down with 1500 souls.
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2021-03-30Link to episode
SYSK Selects: What was the Philadelphia Experiment?
The Philadelphia Experiment is a bad movie from the 1980s, and also the conpiracy theory that refuses to die, despite virtually zero evidence of its occurance. Learn all about this strange non-event in this classic episode.
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2021-03-27Link to episode
Space Junk, Ahoy!
The orbits hundreds to thousands of miles above Earth are littered with garbage. Space garbage, sure, but it?s still garbage. Littering in space is bad enough but it poses practical problems too ? like space junk crashing into satellites or astronauts.
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2021-03-25Link to episode
Short Stuff: Cellphones on Airplanes
Are we finally at the place where we can make cell phone calls on airplanes? PLEASE NO! Listen in to find out.
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2021-03-24Link to episode
What is biophilic design?
Biophilic design is all about bringing the outside in. But it's also much more than that. Open your windows and have a listen!
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2021-03-23Link to episode
SYSK Selects: How Lighthouses Work
People have been burning fires on cliffs as long as other people have used boats, but after the Age of Exploration, lighthouses took their unmistakable form and the great stories of the people who kept the lights around the world began. Learn all about them in this classic episode.
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2021-03-20Link to episode
The Texas City Disaster of 1947
In 1947 the port town of Texas City, Texas became the site of the largest industrial disaster in American history. An enormous explosion blew ships out of the water, created a tidal wave that flooded the town, and killed hundreds of people instantly.
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2021-03-18Link to episode
Short Stuff: Brazilian Jars
In the 1970s big news was made when some underwater artifacts were found in a bay by Rio de Janeiro that would have rewritten history. Then it just kind of petered out.
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2021-03-17Link to episode
The Parrot Episode
If you think parrots are simply mimics that fly, you're wrong. Tune in and learn about these colorful friends today.
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2021-03-16Link to episode
SYSK Selects: Please Listen to How Plasma Waste Convertors Work
There is a way to not only sustainably get rid of our household waste, but also produce enough energy from it to power the process and even create electricity for the grid. The future is here. Learn all about it in this classic episode.
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2021-03-13Link to episode
Karaoke: Tuesday Night Fever
Listen in and learn all about the fascinating history of everybody's favorite pastime... karaoke!
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2021-03-11Link to episode
Short Stuff: Tooth Fairy: Not Real
Today we break down the history of everyone's favorite home invader, the tooth fairy.
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2021-03-10Link to episode
Dragons: As Real as Mermaids
Dragons are like mermaids in that they're not real. And that's about where the comparison ends. Learn all about dragons today.
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2021-03-09Link to episode
SYSK Selects: Mermaids: Not a real thing
Mermaids aren't real. That much we know. But the history and lore of these magical and sometimes menacing creatures of the sea is pretty interesting stuff. Learn all about these half women/half fish in this classic episode.
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2021-03-06Link to episode
Why is the Equal Rights Amendment still not ratified?
The United States is one of only 28 countries in the world that doesn?t have equal protection for women under the law enshrined in its constitution. There was a moment in the 70s where it came very close, but then the conservative movement was born.
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2021-03-04Link to episode
Short Stuff: Dog Suicide Bridge
A bridge at the town of Dumbarton in Scotland has a terrible reputation as a site where dogs inexplicably leap to their death on the rocks 50 feet below. There is no shortage of theories why, but none fully explain it.
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2021-03-03Link to episode
Is the Free Radical Theory of Aging Wrong?
In the 1990s we thought we?d identified the root cause of aging: nasty molecules called free radicals that wreaked havoc on our cells. Even better, we?d figured out how to counteract them with loads of antioxidants. Then science started raising questions.
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2021-03-02Link to episode
SYSK Selects: Bridges: Nature Abhors Them
From prehistoric logs across streams to the 102-mile Kunshan Grand Bridge, nature works ceaselessly to take down spans. In this classic episode, learn about the fascinating ins and outs of bridge design and building and the mind-boggling challenges structural engineers face.
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2021-02-27Link to episode
How Bruce Lee Worked
Bruce Lee may have introduced more Westerners to Asian culture than any person in history. And, because he died young just as he became an international superstar, he?s become a legend. Josh and Chuck try to uncover the man underneath.
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2021-02-25Link to episode
Short Stuff: The Body in the Cylinder
In 1945, residents of a Liverpool neighborhood found a desiccated body in a long cylinder they?d been using for years using as a bench. It launched a mystery that?s still alive today.
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2021-02-24Link to episode
What Will Farming 4.0 Look Like?
The human population is expected to increase by a couple billion people in the next 30 years and those who are paying attention are wondering exactly how we?ll feed all those extra mouths. Will going high tech or getting back to nature save us?
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2021-02-23Link to episode
SYSK Selects: How Chili Peppers Work
Born and raised in South America, chilis were the earliest crop domesticated in the continent and among the first items brought back to Europe by Columbus. Today people are really, really into them. Find out all about 'em in this classic episode.
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2021-02-20Link to episode
How Blue Holes Work
Geologists and biologists have recently realized that the planet?s oceans and coasts are littered with a unique type of ecosystem called blue holes, submerged sinkholes that were once dry caves. They are turning out to be weird and amazing places.
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2021-02-18Link to episode
Short Stuff: Freedom House Ambulance Services
As part of Black History Month, we wanted to share the little known story of the Freedom House Ambulance Service. Listen in to learn all about this seminal group of EMTs.
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2021-02-17Link to episode
The Disappearance of Lars Mittank
In 2014, a young German man walked into an airport in Bulgaria with a flight booked, then suddenly ran out leaving all his posessions behind, never to be heard from again. This is the story of Lars Mittank.
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2021-02-16Link to episode
SYSK Selects: Why Are So Many Disembodied Feet Washing Ashore In British Columbia?
Between 2007 and 2016, 17 disembodied feet - still wearing shoes - have washed ashore between Washington and British Columbia. What's behind the sudden influx of Vancouver's mystery feet? Find out in this classic episode.
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2021-02-13Link to episode
How Housing Discrimination Works
Owning a home in the US is a way to pass wealth down from one generation to the next and lift families into a comfortable life down the road. But there have been barriers to buying homes that Black Americans have faced from the time of slavery to today.
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2021-02-11Link to episode
Short Stuff: How California Got Its Name
California is a pretty cool name. And the story about where it came from is even cooler.
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2021-02-10Link to episode
Sacagawea: Impressive Teen
Sacagawea was only 16 when she joined the Corps of Discovery. That is one seriously impressive teenager.
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2021-02-09Link to episode
SYSK Selects: Earwax: Live With It
Despite tons of people using cotton swabs each day to clean the earwax from their ears, cerumen (as earwax is clinically known) is actually quite beneficial to the health of your ears - and even kind of ingenious as your body's defense goes. Learn more in this classic episode.
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2021-02-06Link to episode
The NAACP
The NAACP has long been one of the most robust and effective non-profits in the USA. And while it has faded a bit from its glory days, it still remains a vital cog in the battle for equality.
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2021-02-04Link to episode
Short Stuff: Balloonfest
In 1986 Cleveland released more than a million helium balloons at once! It didn?t go at all according to plan!
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2021-02-03Link to episode
How Groundhog Day Works
You know Groundhog Day ? the holiday on February 2 when you wake up and have to go through the same day over and over again. It turns out the holiday has deep roots in a pagan past, and has survived in a surprisingly similar form.
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2021-02-02Link to episode
SYSK Selects: Maggots: Good For Healing Wounds, Turns Out
Cultures around the world over the years have been inspired by, then repulsed, then inspired by maggots' ability to heal persistent wounds. We are in an inspired-by phase right now. Learn more in this classic episode.
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2021-01-30Link to episode
How Hydropower Works
Humans have been stealing energy from flowing water for at least two thousand years. It wasn?t until the advent of electricity that things really got cookin?. All we need to do now is to work out the harmful environmental impacts of this green energy.
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2021-01-28Link to episode
Short Stuff: Vantablack
How black is vantablack? About as black as you could imagine.
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2021-01-27Link to episode
The KKK: Loathsome Cosplay Rednecks
The history of the KKK is rooted in hatred and racism, and it still is today. Learn all about these loathsome rednecks today.
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2021-01-26Link to episode
SYSK Selects: How Blimps Work
After newsreels captured the Hindenburg erupting in fire in 1937, the promising development of airship aviation was cut short. Today companies and militaries are taking another look at blimps and the unique qualities that may revive them. Learn all about it in this classic episode.
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2021-01-23Link to episode
Finding the Fenn Treasure
In 2010 an eccentric art dealer hid a treasure chest with $2 million in valuables somewhere in the Rocky Mountains and published a poem with clues on where to find it. Hence began the most famous treasure hunt in modern times.
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2021-01-21Link to episode
Short Stuff: Necco
If you think Necco Wafers are the most disgusting candy on the planet, you are not alone. But it turns out there?s a rich history behind those chalky discs that make them fascinating, if horrible.
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2021-01-20Link to episode
What does a tire company know about food?
The Michelin Guide is an institution. But why does the famous tire manufacturer even put this restaurant guide out? Listen in to find out.
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2021-01-19Link to episode
SYSK Selects: What Was the Deal With the Hatfields and McCoys?
It was America's most famous family feud, but the history of the Hatfields vs the McCoys is fraught with bias and inaccuracies. Dig into a disagreement in 19th-century Appalachia that became a very big deal around the world, in this classic episode.
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2021-01-16Link to episode
The Science of Cute
If you took our advice and looked up baby beavers a few episodes back, you probably found them sooooo cute you couldn?t stand it. Or you just wanted to eat them up, which is weird if you think about it. Friend, prepare for the science on that!
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2021-01-14Link to episode