Learn about why people around the world keep their milk at different temperatures; a diet that’s good for your health and for the health of the planet; and, a cognitive bias that might make you think that everyone agrees with you. In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: Why Most of the World Buys Their Milk at Room Temperature — https://curiosity.im/2EGslG2 The Diet That's Good for Your Health and the World's — https://curiosity.im/2u3LQTU Think Most People Agree With You? You Might Be Fooling Yourself — https://curiosity.im/2EFDcA0 If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Learn about why people around the world keep their milk at different temperatures; a diet that’s good for your health and for the health of the planet; and, a cognitive bias that might make you think that everyone agrees with you.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom
Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/a-diet-thats-good-for-you-and-the-world-milk-temperatures-and-the-false-consensus-effect
CODY: Hi! We’re here from curiosity-dot-com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about why people around the world keep their milk at different temperatures; a diet that’s good for your health and for the health of the planet; and, a cognitive bias that might make you think that everyone agrees with you.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Why Most of the World Buys Their Milk at Room Temperature — https://curiosity.im/2EGslG2 (Ashley)
If you’ve traveled around the world, you may have noticed that we refrigerate milk here in the U.S., but people in most of the rest of the world buy their milk at room temperature. If you’ve ever wondered why, then you’ve come to the right podcast. The answer comes down to the way the milk is processed. Most milk is pasteurized, which means it's heated to a temperature high enough to kill bacteria that might make you sick. In the 1920s, a company in the United Kingdom came up with a way to pasteurize milk continuously, instead of in individual batches, which made for a cheaper and more efficient process. High-temperature short-time pasteurization, or HTST, is what the U.S. and Canada still use today. Other than bagged milk, which I’m not gonna get into. But in the 1960s, the packaging company Tetra-Pak came up with a new technique. Ultra-high-temperature, or ultra-heat-treated pasteurization, heats the milk to an even higher temperature than HTST. The result is milk that stays fresh and shelf-stable outside of the fridge for about three months — way beyond the seven-to-ten refrigerated days of HTST. That's what the majority of the world uses, and why you can find milk out on the shelves in many countries. Okay, so why on EARTH would you settle for milk that expires after a week instead of milk you can just leave sitting out for several months? Well, for one thing, the high temperatures make the long-lasting milk taste a bit more “cooked” than HTST milk. The Italian company Parmalat tried selling their milk on American shelves in the early 1990s and failed spectacularly, and the flavor might be the reason why. Honestly, though, the failure was probably cultural. Americans refrigerate a lot of things other countries don't, like bread, butter, and even eggs. We also put more ice in our beverages, and we drink our beer and white wine at a colder temperature. Still, times are changing. Shelf-stable milks like soy milk and almond milk are getting more and more popular, so Americans are getting more comfortable buying their milk off the shelf. The revolution is coming, and it is unrefrigerated. [ad lib about weird things we refrigerate]
The Diet That's Good for Your Health and the World's — https://curiosity.im/2u3LQTU (from Sunday) (Cody)
Researchers have come up with a diet that’s good for your health AND for the health of our planet. And don’t worry, it includes a little bit of dairy — whether you refrigerate it or not. This is important because by one estimate, food production causes up to 30 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world, and we use about 40 percent of all land for agriculture. That’s why Harvard public health professor Dr. Walter Willett led a committee to figure out what we need to eat to keep ourselves AND the Earth healthy. The final report was a collaboration between 37 scientists from 16 countries. And they came up with a thing they call a “Great Food Transformation”—away from processed food and red meat, and towards a diet rooted in plants. But don’t worry, fellow meat-eaters: they don’t recommend pure vegetarianism. Instead, their proposed diet is pretty close to the Mediterranean diet, which is traditional in countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Dr. Willett and his team call their diet the “Planetary Health Diet.” And they argue that it would help alleviate six sustainability issues related to agriculture, including climate change, biodiversity collapse, and even water usage. They argue it could also meet the needs of our growing global population, which could hit 10 billion by the year 2050. Okay, so what’s the diet? Pretty simple: more whole grains, less starch and sugar. Daily calories come mainly from rice, wheat, and corn; unsaturated oils like olive oil; and a little bit of dairy, like I mentioned earlier. It's heavy on fruits and veggies, too, in volume if not in calories. All meat is optional, but if you insist, then go for chicken and fish over red meat. You can also have some sugar, but you only get 120 calories a day from sweeteners — meaning, a can of Coke will put you over your daily limit. Now, this diet isn’t without its critics: first off, some people can’t afford to eat the way they “should” be eating, and for another thing, the whole report was funded by a billionaire animal rights activist, which MAY have biased its findings against meat-eating. Still, though, the team and its critics can agree that the way we eat now isn’t healthy for us OR for our planet. The precise path forward is up for a debate, but the Planetary Health Diet may be a good place to start.
[PURPLE MATTRESS]
ASHLEY: If there’s one thing that’s just as important as eating healthy, it’s getting a good night’s sleep. And if you have trouble sleeping at night, then we have the perfect offer for you from today’s sponsor, Purple Mattress.
CODY: Who doesn’t love sleep? I mean, if you’re gonna spend a third of your life in bed, you might as well enjoy it. And the Purple mattress will probably feel different than anything you’ve ever experienced because it uses this brand new material that was developed by an actual rocket scientist. It’s not like the memory foam you’re probably used to.
ASHLEY: The Purple material feels unique because it’s both firm and soft at the same time – so it keeps everything supported while still feeling really comfortable. Plus it’s breathable so it sleeps cool.
CODY: Not to mention you get free shipping and returns, PLUS a hundred-night risk-free trial; and if you’re not fully satisfied, you can return your mattress for a full refund. Plus, it’s backed by a 10-year warranty.
ASHLEY: You’re going to love Purple. And right now, Curiosity Daily listeners will get a FREE Purple pillow with the purchase of a mattress! That’s in addition to the great free gifts they’re offering sitewide. Just text Curious to 84-888. The ONLY way to get this free pillow, is to text Curious to 84-888.
CODY: That’s C-U-R-I-O-U-S to 8-4-8-8-8. Message and data rates may apply.
Think Most People Agree With You? You Might Be Fooling Yourself — https://curiosity.im/2EFDcA0 (from Saturday) (Ashley)
Were you surprised earlier when we said that [reference earlier point about what we refrigerate], or that [reference something else]? You may have been experiencing a thing called the false-consensus effect. That’s what happens when you think that just because you and your loved ones share the same preference, you falsely assume that everyone does. It’s a cognitive bias that we thought we’d end today’s episode with. The false-consensus effect was coined by researcher Lee Ross and his colleagues in 1976. They ran a series of experiments where they asked participants how they’d respond to a conflict, and then asked how they believed other people would choose. Regardless of which option the participants chose in any scenario, they tended to think that most people would choose the same one. The participants also gave more extreme descriptions of the people who didn't choose their preferred option. They viewed their own choice as “normal,” and just assumed that most other people would make the same decision. The false-consensus effect may be a way for us to preserve self-esteem. We're motivated to think that other people share our thoughts and feelings, because if they didn't, that might suggest there's something wrong with us. Just keep in mind that the false-consensus effect usually kicks in when you’re absolutely sure. The more invested and confident you are about something, the more you assume others agree with you. The first step in fighting your brain’s biases is to know about them. So keep it in mind, and never be afraid to admit when you’re wrong. Nobody’s perfect!
CODY: That’s all for today, but you can keep learning all weekend on curiosity-dot-com.
ASHLEY: This weekend, you’ll learn about brain research that shows why you should face your fears;
Why scientists taught chimps to play rock, paper, scissors;
How to get your bartender’s attention, according to research;
The difference between every salt you can buy at the grocery store;
And more!
CODY: If there’s something ELSE you’re curious about, then send us your question! You can find our contact information on our podcast’s website, curiosity-daily-dot-com.
ASHLEY: You can also go there to search for past episodes, including all our show notes. One more time, just visit curiosity-daily-dot-com. And come hang out with us again Sunday on the award-winning Curiosity Daily to learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m Ashley Hamer.
CODY: And I’m Cody Gough. Have a great weekend!
ASHLEY: And stay curious!