Learn about whether taking a bath actually gets you clean; “dark DNA,” the genetic code that should be there, but isn’t; and why married couples used to sleep in twin beds. Please support our sponsors! Get 10% off your first order from Saturday Morning Coffee Company at SaturdayMorningCoffeeCompany.com 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: Do Baths Actually Get You Clean? — https://curiosity.im/2L2LdmX Dark DNA Is the Genetic Code That Should Be There, But Isn't — https://curiosity.im/2KZWEf7 Why Did Married Couples Used to Sleep in Twin Beds? Not for the Reason You Think — https://curiosity.im/2Lv035W 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 whether taking a bath actually gets you clean; “dark DNA,” the genetic code that should be there, but isn’t; and why married couples used to sleep in twin beds.
Please support our sponsors! Get 10% off your first order from Saturday Morning Coffee Company at SaturdayMorningCoffeeCompany.com
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:
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/dark-dna-why-married-couples-slept-in-twin-beds-and-do-baths-get-you-clean
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 whether taking a bath actually gets you clean; the genetic code that should be there, but isn’t; and why married couples used to sleep in twin beds.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Do Baths Actually Get You Clean? — https://curiosity.im/2L2LdmX (Cody)
Do baths actually get you clean? And are they better or worse than a shower? It turns out that depends on your goal. So let’s talk hygeine. There are health benefits you get from taking a bath that I’ll get into in a minute. But if your goal is to get clean, then a study by the Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community at Simmons College would probably steer you towards taking a shower.
The thing is, taking a bath CAN get you clean, but only if you do it right. For example, you’re not gonna get clean if you step into a tub that hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. The study from Simmons College found that the average bathtub may contain 100 times more bacteria than a trash can. And that’s not even including the bacteria and germs your body brings into the tub. That’s why experts recommend disinfecting showers and bathtubs twice a week, to get rid of the germs and dead skin cells left over from the last time you bathed.
They also recommend showering off before and after your bath, the same way you’d rinse off before jumping into a pool. Definitely rinse your hair with cups of clean water when shampooing instead of dipping it into the bath water. And keep the shower curtain from dangling in your bath, since that could contaminate the water with bacteria.
With these safeguards in place, you’re free to enjoy your bath and the other health benefits it has — which should not be underestimated. Research shows that a warm bath can reduce mental and emotional stress and even make you feel less lonely. A warm bath can also reduce muscle tension and increase circulation after a workout, and has even been shown to improve sports performance.
Soaking your body can also benefit your skin, as long as you keep the water temperature moderate and avoid shampoos and bubble baths that can dry it out.
So, there are many positive benefits to taking a bath, but if you’re wanting to get clean, then a refreshing shower is the way to go.
Dark DNA Is the Genetic Code That Should Be There, But Isn't — https://curiosity.im/2KZWEf7 (Ashley)
Dark DNA is the genetic code that should be there, but isn’t. And learning more about it might give us insights into one of the key ingredients in evolution itself.
We’ve figured out what genes cause things like how tall you are or what color your eyes are, but every once in a while, scientists will go searching for something we know is there, and come up empty-handed. And that’s what we call Dark DNA.
For example, evolutionary biologist Adam Hargreaves wrote about a time he was researching the sand rat. That’s a species of gerbil that’s a lot cuter than the name implies. And that species is particularly prone to type-2 diabetes. Yet Hargreaves couldn’t find a gene called Pdx1, which governs the production of insulin.
The thing is, we know for a fact that the sand rat has the gene Pdx1 since it's absolutely necessary for survival. The scientists confirmed the presence of certain chemical compounds in the sand rat's muscle tissues that are produced by the missing genes. So where were the genes?
And sand rats aren't the only animals with misplaced genes. So you know how DNA is made up of four base molecules: A, T, G, and C? Well, many genes that we know for a fact are there, but undetectable, are rich in G and C molecules, which have historically been hard for gene-sequencing technology to detect.
There was another little surprise that turned up in the gene-sequencing of the sand rat. One section of their genome seemed to be much more likely to mutate than any other part — a section that was rife with G and C molecules. So, it's probably not a huge stretch of the imagination to guess that the missing genes are somewhere in that section, even if our modern gene-sequencing technology can’t identify them yet.
So, the thing is, these "mutation hotspots" could be one of the key ingredients in evolution itself. In the case of the sand rat, the mutation hotspot that likely governs insulin production and other traits may have provided the key to its survival in the harsh desert landscape.
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Why Did Married Couples Used to Sleep in Twin Beds? Not for the Reason You Think — https://curiosity.im/2Lv035W (Cody)
Remember the Dick Van Dyke Show or I Love Lucy? I grew up watching those on Nick at Nite, like probably a lot of other people my age. And if you’re like me, you probably noticed something kinda interesting: in the main characters’ bedrooms, the husband and wife slept in separate beds. (And yeah, I know, they switched to one bed in LATER seasons of the Dick Van Dyke Show, but that’s beside the point). These shows aired in the 1950s, and I grew up BELIEVING TV producers did this on purpose to promote modesty. And there is some truth to that. But according to a new book from Lancaster University literature professor Hilary Hinds, twin beds weren’t just made-for-TV. In fact, there was once a time when sleeping in separate beds was the symbol of a forward-thinking couple. Hinds says 19th-century couples believed that sleeping in separate beds was partially a way to ward off illness. Cholera epidemics and “The Great Stink” in London led to hospital and sewer reforms, and later to reforms in individual homes. The leading idea in public health was “miasma” theory, which said diseases like cholera and typhus were caused by a miasma, a polluted air mass that came from decomposing organic matter. Health experts at the time thought getting rid of filth in homes would help get rid of diseases. Twin beds were a way to keep a channel of pure air running between two co-sleepers, and protect them from toxic quote-unquote “night air” produced by their partners. By the 1920s, twin beds had become the modern and even fashionable choice for middle-class couples. They usually had a simple, clean design, which was seen as a rejection of “old-fashioned” Victorian styles and their heavy, ornate beds. You could score points for having a progressive style, since the sleeping arrangement balanced a couple’s need to be together at night with a commitment to separateness and autonomy. Many even considered them the sign of a healthy sexual relationship, since spending eight hours in contact every night might reduce a couple's attraction "by making the married pair grow alike physically." Ideas about couples and marriage changed post World War II, as did society's feelings on their sleeping arrangements. Incomes went up, families started to live in single-family homes, and couples started having kids at younger ages. Twin beds fell out of fashion by the 1960s, bringing to an end what Hinds calls a bold experiment in 20th-century living.
ASHLEY: And now, let’s recap what we learned today. Today we learned that taking a bath can get you clean, but only if you’re in a clean tub, and you rinse off with a quick shower before and after.
CODY: And that a key component of evolution could lie in dark DNA, which is the genetic code that should be there, but isn’t.
ASHLEY: And that couples used to sleep in twin beds so they wouldn’t get each other sick, not just because of TV censors.
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Stay curious!