Learn about what causes an equinox or a solstice; how a rare condition can give you a foreign accent; and, an 80-year Harvard study that found the greatest predictor of happiness in later life. 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: What's the Difference Between an Equinox and a Solstice? — https://curiosity.im/2EEiqk2 This Rare Condition Can Give You a Foreign Accent — https://curiosity.im/2EGBxKG An 80-Year Harvard Study Found the Greatest Predictor of Happiness in Later Life — https://curiosity.im/2EDkqt6 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 what causes an equinox or a solstice; how a rare condition can give you a foreign accent; and, an 80-year Harvard study that found the greatest predictor of happiness in later life.
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/equinox-and-solstice-science-foreign-accent-syndrome-and-an-80-year-harvard-study
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 what causes an equinox or a solstice; how a rare condition can give you a foreign accent; and, an 80-year Harvard study that found the greatest predictor of happiness in later life.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
What's the Difference Between an Equinox and a Solstice? — https://curiosity.im/2EEiqk2 (Ashley)
ASHLEY: Happy spring equinox!
CODY: Thank you! I have literally no idea what that means! [ad lib]
ASHLEY: Twice a year, the Earth experiences an equinox. Another two times per year, the Earth experiences a solstice. And you could probably think of an equinox and a solstice as opposites. During a solstice, the sun rises and appears to stop in the middle of the day for a while before it sets. That’s why the summer solstice is the longest day of the year. If you’re on the opposite side of the globe from that sunny standstill, you’d experience a winter solstice, which is the longest night of the year. On December 21 or 22, the winter solstice happens in the northern hemisphere while the summer solstice happens in the southern hemisphere. The opposite solstices happen in each hemisphere on June 20 or 21. Got that? Okay, so now for the equinox. On the equinox, day and night last for exactly the same amount of time. If you’re sick of the winter here in the northern hemisphere, then the spring equinox is good news: it means that spring has arrived. If you've been counting down the days left of summer and hit the autumnal, or fall, equinox, you've now marked the start of autumn. Right around March 21 is when the spring equinox happens in the northern hemisphere and the autumnal equinox happens in the southern hemisphere. And September 23 is right around when the opposite equinoxes hit each hemisphere. So, why do these dates exist, anyway? Well, picture the Earth as it circles the sun. Our planet doesn't sit directly upright as it rotates; its axis of rotation is actually tilted by about 23.4 degrees, always pointed in the same direction in space. Some places on our planet get more sunlight depending on where its axis is pointing. That, in turn, depends on where the planet is in its trip around the sun. For example, when it's the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth is at a point in its revolution where its axis points away from the sun and the Northern Hemisphere gets the least amount of sunlight. If you were standing at the North Pole, you wouldn't get any sunlight at all. During a solstice, the Earth’s axis is tilted directly toward or away from the sun, but during an equinox, it’s tilted directly askew from the sun. During this time, the sun is directly above the equator, which means that day and night are equal length — but not for long. It’s time for a new season, which means shorter or longer days depending on where you are. Fortunately for us, it’s time for some more sunlight. If only we weren’t so tired from Daylight Saving Time, we might be able to stay awake to enjoy it!
This Rare Condition Can Give You a Foreign Accent — https://curiosity.im/2EGBxKG (Cody)
Imagine waking up one day to find that you suddenly have a foreign accent. It might sound outlandish, but it's a very real effect of a very real thing called foreign accent syndrome. The story of the first thoroughly documented case is a wild one. It happened during World War II, when a Norwegian woman named Astrid was hit in the brain with shrapnel during a raid. She developed an accent similar to German or French, which a neurologist at the time called dysprosody. That refers to prosody, which is non-vocabulary parts of language like intonation, rhythm, and emphasis. Stuff like pronouncing my name CO-dy instead of Co-DEE. Now, it’s not like Astrid started speaking only in a monotone voice, so she still had prosidy. But it sounded very different than that of a typical Norwegian speaker. And because of the war, her friends and neighbors started to shun her — and certain shopkeepers wouldn’t even sell her anything. Remember, she had a German accent, during World War II. They legit might have thought she was a German spy. Not a fun spot to be in. The actual term "foreign accent syndrome" was eventually coined in 1982 by neurolinguist Harry Whitaker, and more than 100 case studies have been published, though it’s still pretty rare. And technically, a "foreign" accent is when a person speaks one language but uses some of the rules or sounds of another language. That’s why an accent created by foreign accent syndrome may not make you sound precisely British or French or Hungarian, but it's still a foreign accent. The cause of the condition doesn't stem from the brain trying to impersonate another accent, but rather from a person having trouble controlling muscles used to speak. Fortunately, foreign accent syndrome is sometimes treatable, but doctors can’t always pinpoint exactly where it comes from since our brains are so complex. If you want to pick up or lose an accent the safe way, then there are much more reliable ways to do it. Actor and voice coach Amy Jo Jackson recommends watching as many things possible in the language you want to imitate, or listen to podcasts. There are also websites entirely devoted to dialect sound samples, and you can find links to those and other resources in our full write-up, which you can find on curiosity-dot-com and on our free Curiosity app for Android and iOS.
An 80-Year Harvard Study Found the Greatest Predictor of Happiness in Later Life — https://curiosity.im/2EDkqt6 (Ashley)
An ongoing study out of Harvard University has found the greatest predictor of happiness later in life. And when I say “ongoing,” I mean it’s been going on since 1938 — more than 80 years! For the last eight decades, more than 700 American males have regularly checked in with the Harvard Study of Adult Development, to discover the best predictors of happiness in later life. They’ve regularly provided data about their physical and mental health, marriage, career, retirement, and sat down for in-depth interviews about their lives. The results? The study’s director boiled it down to five words: "Happiness is love. Full stop." The best predictor of happiness was the number of "warm relationships" each man had, and it was true throughout his entire life — those close with their mother in childhood earned an average of $87,000 a year more than others, and those who were close to their father showed higher satisfaction in late life. Now, a new 70-year study is focused on the children and step-children of the men from the original study. The idea is that the new study will help researchers paint a more complete picture of happiness in the modern world — as in, what makes EVERYONE happy, not just men. We’ll have a follow-up story ready for you in about… seven decades. Pencil us in!
Read about today’s stories and more on curiosity-dot-com!
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ASHLEY: To learn more about how you can support Curiosity Daily, plus get access to our archive of Patreon-exclusive shows, visit patreon-dot-com-slash-curiosity-dot-com, all spelled out. You can also find a link in today’s show notes.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow for the award-winning Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m [NAME] and I’m [NAME]. Stay curious!