Learn about how to hack your sleep to help solve your problems; why the holes in violins are shaped the way they are; and why static shock is worse in the winter. 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: Science Says 'Sleeping on It' Really Can Help You Solve a Problem — https://curiosity.im/37uWrd0 Why Are the Holes in Violins Shaped That Way? — https://curiosity.im/2KLtz6u Here's Why Static Shock Is Worse in Winter — https://curiosity.im/2qF2Txv 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 how to hack your sleep to help solve your problems; why the holes in violins are shaped the way they are; and why static shock is worse in the winter.
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/evolution-of-the-violin-hole-why-static-shock-is-worse-in-winter-and-how-sleeping-on-it-solves-problems
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 how to hack your sleep to help solve your problems; why the holes in violins are shaped the way they are; and why static shock is worse in the winter.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Science Says 'Sleeping on It' Really Can Help You Solve a Problem — https://curiosity.im/37uWrd0 (from 11/7, due 11/21) (Cody)
Have you ever gone to sleep with a problem and woken up knowing the solution? There’s a reason for the phrase “Just sleep on it”. It seems to work! Creatives and even scientists have sworn by it, and there are credible stories about overnight inventions. And now, there’s some good science to back it up — along with a methodology you could even try yourself at home!
For a new study published in Psychological Science, Northwestern University psychology researchers gave puzzles to 57 people and paired each one with a different sound. The sound looped for two minutes while the participant tried to solve each puzzle, which just kept coming until they failed to solve six of them. Then they were quizzed on which sound matched with which puzzle, and they were given a sleep-monitoring device and sent home.
That night, the sleep-monitoring device analyzed their sleep stages. When they drifted into slow-wave sleep, the device played the sounds paired with some of the puzzles they couldn't solve. The goal was to activate their memories of those puzzles during sleep.
Sure enough, when they got back to the lab first thing in the morning, the participants were able to solve more of the puzzles - 31.7 percent that corresponded to their sleep sounds and 20.5 percent of the others. The puzzle sounds led to a 55 percent improvement, which suggests that the problems your brain returns to while you're sleeping are easier to solve in the morning.
So, if you’ve got a problem — whether it's work related or a relationship issue — think about the problem while listening to some music or nature sounds. Then play those sounds just before you go to sleep, and leave them playing while you sleep. When you wake up your problem could be solved. No guarantees, but it’s worth a shot, right?
Why Are the Holes in Violins Shaped That Way? — https://curiosity.im/2KLtz6u (due 11/21) (Ashley)
Have you ever wondered why the holes in violins are shaped the way they are? You know: the little f-shaped curves on either side of the strings. Well, they didn't come about by design, but by generations of design accidents. And according to MIT researchers, the way the modern violin's sound holes came to be is nothing short of technological evolution.
Nicholas Makris is a professor of mechanical and ocean engineering at MIT, and he also happens to be a lute player. And he was asked whether the elaborate carvings in his lute make any difference to the instrument's sound. Makris modelled airflow through two different holes — one round, and the other elaborate like his lute’s — and found that that air flowed fastest near the edges. And the faster the air moves, the more powerful the sound. So, more edges, more powerful sound.
Further study of violins from the 10th century to the 18th century found that as sound holes evolved from simple circles to half-moons to decorative "C" shapes to the "f-holes" that violins bear today, the edge-to-center ratio increased, which led to increased sonic power. The sound amplified by the 18th-century violin's f-holes was roughly double that of the 10th-century round holes. But we know that because of modern technology. How did luthiers hit upon these shapes hundreds of years ago?
The answer is: they didn’t. After measuring hundreds of instruments, the study concluded that the differences from instrument to instrument were so small, they could reasonably be explained by human error. Which meant that just like mutations in DNA sometimes give rise to useful traits, errors in craftmanship gave rise to more powerful-sounding instruments.
If a luthier made an instrument that sounded better than the others, they'd probably try to repeat what they did the next time around. These changes would be small from instrument to instrument, but over the centuries, it could turn a circle into a c-shaped hole and a c-shaped hole into an f-shaped hole.
(If time) And if you’re wondering: If f-holes are so perfect, why have guitars mostly kept the single round hole? The answer to this is complex enough for its own segment, but in essence, guitars didn't have the "evolutionary pressure" to be powerful that violins did.
[MOVA GLOBES]
CODY: Today’s episode is sponsored by Mova Globes: rotating globes powered by light and earth’s magnetic field.
ASHLEY: Mova Globes don’t use any batteries or cords; instead, hidden magnets make them move. And these globes weren’t made by an evolutionary accident: they were made using a technology that’s the first of its kind, which makes the globes turn on their own when they’re exposed to ambient light.
CODY: There are 40 different designs of Mova Globes, including world maps, outer space, and even famous works of art, where paintings from artists like Van Gogh and Monet are carefully recreated to transform a flat painting into a 3-dimensional work of art.
ASHLEY: No matter which design you choose, Mova Globes are the perfect decor for a conversation starter — not to mention a great gift for the person who has everything. And right now during their special holiday promotion, you can get 15 percent off everything, PLUS free shipping!
CODY: This is their biggest deal of the year. So please visit Mova Globes, M-O-V-A-globes, dot-com-slash-curiosity and use coupon code CURIOSITY, that’s C-U-R-I-O-S-I-T-Y, for 15 percent off your purchase, PLUS free shipping. One more time, that’s Mova-globes-dot-com-slash-curiosity, code CURIOSITY.
Here's Why Static Shock Is Worse in Winter — https://curiosity.im/2qF2Txv (due 11/21) (Ashley)
It happens every year: One day, you're safe to touch doorknobs, pet cats, and open car doors, and the next, you can't get near anything without the ZAP! of static electricity. What is it about winter that makes static shock so much worse? And is there anything you can do to avoid being ZAPPED?
Well first, you have to understand that static electricity is a buildup of electric charge. Certain materials create more static electricity than others — some give up electrons, giving the materials a positive charge, and some attract electrons, giving them a negative charge.
So like, when you rub a balloon on your hair, your hair gives up electrons, giving it a positive charge, to the latex in the balloon, giving it a negative charge.
And everyone knows that opposites attract, so naturally, your hair sticks to the balloon.
But collect enough static charge, and those electrons will be in dire need of somewhere to go. Touch a more highly conductive surface than the balloon, like a metal doorknob, and ZAP, they escape all at once.
But why does winter make it worse? Well, the more freely the electrons can travel, the less they collect in once place. They can’t pass easily through the air, which is an insulator. Once you add water vapor, though? The game changes. Suddenly electrons are travelling through water wherever they like, so no build up and no static shock.
Of course, although warm air holds more water than cold air, warming up your indoor air doesn't make it any wetter. In fact, it makes the air even drier, which makes static shock worse than ever.
So how do you avoid the extreme static shock that winter time brings? Buy a humidifier. By pumping water vapor into your warm winter home, you can keep those electrons happy with a place to roam free again, and stop them zapping you.
CODY: So did anything SHOCK us about today’s episode?
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Today’s stories were written by Ashley Hamer and Kelsey Donk, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity.com.
ASHLEY: Scriptwriting was by Cody Gough and Sonja Hodgen. Curiosity Daily is produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!