Learn about whether our ancient ancestors were healthier than we are; why Neptune is sometimes further away from the sun than Pluto; and how to know if you’re an echoist, which is the polar opposite of a narcissist. 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: Were Our Ancient Ancestors Healthier Than We Are? — https://curiosity.im/2MxswKZ Pluto and Neptune Swap Places Every 248 Years — https://curiosity.im/2K4ToA6 Are You an Echoist? Take This Quiz to Find Out — https://curiosity.im/2RiaPxK 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 whether our ancient ancestors were healthier than we are; why Neptune is sometimes further away from the sun than Pluto; and how to know if you’re an echoist, which is the polar opposite of a narcissist.
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/find-out-if-youre-an-echoist-pluto-swapping-with-neptune-and-our-ancestors-healthy-living
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 our ancient ancestors were healthier than we are; why Neptune is sometimes further away from the sun than Pluto; and how to know if you’re an echoist, which is the polar opposite of a narcissist.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Were Our Ancient Ancestors Healthier Than We Are? — https://curiosity.im/2MxswKZ (Ashley)
The notion that you should eat healthy and get more exercise is all the rage these days. And there’s an idea that humans didn't evolve for our modern lifestyles, which is helping drive these trends — from herbal remedies to the Paleo diet. But the human race survived for thousands of years without easy access to food or hot pilates classes at the local gym. So have you ever wondered: were our ancient ancestors healthier than we are? The answer is complicated, but here’s what we know. In 2017, Georgia Tech researchers analyzed the DNA of humans from a wide range of time periods, dating all the way back to 50-thousand years ago. Then, they compared these genes to modern variants that we know cause diseases, to see how "genetically healthy" each sample was. And they concluded that things are about the same for modern people as they were for ancients, with similar risks for hereditary disease and percentiles for a thing called genetic risk score. Of course, whether or not our genes are similar to ancient humans, you could still argue that our lifestyles are less healthy. Hunter-gatherer civilizations had fewer cavities than we do, since the advent of farming brought sugar and carbohydrates into our diets that scientists believe changed the bacteria in our mouths. And it’s a myth that our ancestors rarely lived long lives; although infant mortality was higher, most humans who survived childhood lived to the ripe old age of 70. So like I said: the answer to the question of who was healthier is a complicated one. There is one thing we could look to our ancestors for, though, and it has to do with processed food. We saw a population boom when our ancestors learned to cook, since cooked food takes less energy to digest and gives us nutrients we can absorb more easily. But as we’ve gotten better at processing food, nutrients and calories are getting TOO easy for our bodies to take in — and that’s leading to weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes. The challenge these days is to make our ancient dependence on cooked food healthier. Just like our ancestors, you can eat your grains, fruit, and even dairy, and cook them if you like — just also listen to modern nutrition experts. After all, we all want to stay healthy. And that’s not just a passing trend.
Pluto and Neptune Swap Places Every 248 Years — https://curiosity.im/2K4ToA6 (Cody)
Let’s fast-forward from ancient history to recent history. If you were alive between 1979 and 1999, then for a few years of your life, the farthest planet away from the sun in our solar system was not Pluto, but Neptune. We’re gonna set aside the whole “is Pluto a planet” debate for this story, because however you want to categorize it, the fact is that Pluto and Neptune actually swap places every 248 years. That happens to be the amount of Earth years it takes for Pluto to orbit the sun, by the way, which is kinda funny since Pluto has only traveled about three-tenths of its way around the sun since we discovered it in 1930. Anyway, the reason it likes to trade places with Neptune is because of its elliptical orbit around the sun. We usually measure a planet’s distance from the sun using AU, or astronomical units. One AU is the average distance between the Earth and the sun: about 93 million miles, or 150 million kilometers. Earth has a PRETTY circular orbit around the sun; our closest point is zero-point-nine-eight AU, and our farthest point is one-point-zero-one AU. That’s a range of just three-hundredths of an AU. Neptune’s orbit is almost as circular as ours, with its closest and farthest points ranging from 29-point-eight AU to 30-point-four AU, or a difference of just over one half of one AU. But Pluto’s distance from the sun ranges from 29-point-seven to 49-and-a-half AU. That means that every single time Pluto makes an orbit, its closest point comes in a tenth of an AU closer than the ice giant next door. And when it’s furthest way, it is FAR away. One more weird thing about the planet that you can bring up the next time you need to change the subject to get out of one of those “is Pluto a planet” debates.
[ARM & HAMMER]
ASHLEY: Today’s episode is sponsored by Arm & Hammer, and their new Cloud Control Cat Litter.
CODY: Speaking of cats, what’s new with your cat Aglet?
ASHLEY: [ad lib]
ASHLEY: As great as that is, though, one thing I don’t love doing is cleaning up Aglet’s litter box. That’s why Arm & Hammer created new Cloud Control litter. There's no cloud of nasties when I scoop ... it is 100% dust-free, free of heavy perfumes, and helps reduce airborne dander from scooping.
CODY: That way, what happens in the litter box, STAYS in the litter box. New Cloud Control Cat Litter by Arm & Hammer. More Power to You.
Are You an Echoist? Take This Quiz to Find Out — https://curiosity.im/2RiaPxK (Ashley)
Do you know anyone who shuns the spotlight at all costs, detests praise or compliments, and never expresses their own needs? That's what some psychologists call an echoist, and it’s the polar opposite of being a narcissist. If you’ve been subscribed to Curiosity Daily for a while, then you DEFINITELY have learned a lot about narcissism, so today let’s get into the flip side. Both of these personality traits come from a story in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. It goes like this: Echo was a talkative wood nymph who would amuse Zeus's wife Hera with her chatter. One day, with his wife distracted, Zeus snuck down to Earth to carouse with the other nymphs. When Hera found out, she claimed Echo was in on the plan, so she cursed her; from then on, Echo could only repeat the words she heard. She'd never speak for herself again. One day, Echo happened upon the gorgeous face of Narcissus as he was strolling through the woods. She fell in love instantly, and tried to wrap her arms around him — but Narcissus, who had sworn off love, rejected her. The gods cursed Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection when he gazed into a pool of water, and all he could do was sit there pining for himself, saying "Alas, alas" — with Echo repeating "alas, alas" from the woods nearby. He was in love with himself, and she could only echo his desires, never voice her own.
Just like in Ovid's story, narcissists and echoists are counterparts. A lot of times, echoists learn their behaviors from interactions with a narcissistic parent, partner, or friend. A narcissist's emotional outbursts and lack of empathy can lead the people around them to shy away from attention or voice their needs to avoid negative consequences; hence, echoists. Statistically, you're probably not a pure echoist or a pure narcissist — they're just two ends of a spectrum, and most of people will end up somewhere in the middle. If you’re curious where you fall on the spectrum, you can take a research-backed quiz from researcher Craig Malkin, author of the 2016 book “Rethinking Narcissism.” We’ve got a link to the quiz in our full write-up on echoism, which you can find on curiosity-dot-com and on our free Curiosity app for Android and iOS. As with all online tests, take your results with a grain of salt. But if your results trouble you, or if you feel like you can’t voice your needs or enjoy praise from others, then it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist. We hope it can make your everyday life a little happier.
CODY: You can read about today’s stories and more on curiosity-dot-com!
ASHLEY: Today’s episode was brought to you in part by our Patrons. Special thanks to Mary Rose, Maksmillian Dikarev, Mark McCullough, John Friesen, Durant, and Chase for supporting our show. You can also support Curiosity Daily at patreon-dot-com-slash-curiosity-dot-com, all spelled out.
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!