Learn about how the universe’s rate of expansion could change our understand of physics; how the saliva in your body changes to enjoy bitter flavors; and the biggest factors that determine how much you pay for a flight, along with some tips on finding the cheapest airplane tickets. 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: The Universe Is Expanding, But How Fast Is Up for Debate — https://curiosity.im/2DK9Xy5 Learning to Like Bitter Flavors Isn't Just in Your Head — It's in Your Saliva — https://curiosity.im/2DMsgTa Tuesday Is No Longer the Best Day to Book a Flight — https://curiosity.im/2DMwDxE Please tell us about yourself and help us improve the show by taking our listener survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/curiosity-listener-survey 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! Learn about these topics and more on Curiosity.com, and download our 5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable our Alexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
Learn about how the universe’s rate of expansion could change our understand of physics; how the saliva in your body changes to enjoy bitter flavors; and the biggest factors that determine how much you pay for a flight, along with some tips on finding the cheapest airplane tickets.
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:
Please tell us about yourself and help us improve the show by taking our listener survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/curiosity-listener-survey
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!
Learn about these topics and more on Curiosity.com, and download our 5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable our Alexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
Full episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/how-to-like-bitter-flavors-airplane-ticket-price-factors-and-the-physics-challenging-hubble-constant
[MUSIC PLAYING] CODY GOUGH: Hi. We've got three stories from curiositydotcom to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Today, you'll learn about how the universe's rate of expansion could change our understanding of physics, how your body changes to enjoy bitter flavors, and the biggest factors that determine how much you pay for a flight.
CODY GOUGH: Lets' satisfy some curiosity on the award-winning Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY HAMER: The universe is expanding. But how fast it's expanding is a hot topic for scientists. Almost 100 years ago, Astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding at a predictable rate, which has been called the Hubble constant. Some recent more precise measurements have sharpened his accuracy, but they may also put our current understanding of physics in limbo.
CODY GOUGH: And the reason you picked this story today, Ashley, is because the data this podcast is being released would be Hubble's 129th birthday. Happy birthday, Hubble.
ASHLEY HAMER: Happy birthday. So before we talk about the new calculations, here's how Hubble came up with the Hubble constant in the first place. It all started with giant clouds of dust and gas in space called nebulae. When astronomers found a nebula, they didn't know how far away it was. If you've ever wondered whether a light in the night sky is a satellite or a star, you know how hard it is to tell the distance of things in space.
Well, in the early 1900s, Hubble found a way to calculate their distance. That's when he realized that nebulae weren't located in our own galaxy but way beyond it. They existed as galaxies in their own right. Then Hubble compared distance measurements with each galaxy's velocity and found that the further away the galaxy was, the faster it was moving away from us. That led to the bombshell of the century. The universe was expanding.
Hubble came up with a formula to determine the speed of the galaxy and it uses the Hubble constant. Astronomers have used that ever since to judge how fast the universe is expanding. But the constant has been updated as we've gotten better technology like the Hubble Space Telescope, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, and the Planck satellite.
The original estimate was somewhere between 50 and 100 kilometers per second per megaparsec. In 2013, the number came out to 67 kilometers per second per megaparsec. But in December 2016, a group called H0 Lenses in COSMOGRAIL's Wellspring calculated the number was 72, not 67. The thing is, the fact that the Hubble constant is constantly changing could mean that there are elementary particles in play that we haven't discovered yet.
It could mean that dark energy doesn't exist but instead, there's a theoretical form called phantom energy that could exist. This all would mean new physics and a drastic change in our understanding of the universe. But for now, it's too soon to tell.
CODY GOUGH: If you're looking for bitter flavors, then you might look for coffee, dark chocolate, or an India pale ale or IPA. But have you ever wondered why some people love those flavor notes while other people can't stand them? Well, new research shows that the reason might not be in your head, it might be in your saliva. I'm not an IPA guy but I am a coffee guy.
ASHLEY HAMER: I am a both person. I like IPAs, I like coffee, I like pretty much anything bitter. I'm not a big dark chocolate person, but--
CODY GOUGH: Me neither.
ASHLEY HAMER: --I'll do it.
CODY GOUGH: Weird.
ASHLEY HAMER: I don't know. Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: I would like to learn more research into the subtle differences of these things. But overall, there were some really cool findings in this study. Now, to start out, saliva isn't just the thing that keeps your tongue moist, it's the biochemical medium of the mouth. That means that every chemical reaction that happens between your tongue and teeth is carried out against a backdrop of saliva.
There's so much happening that Purdue University has an entire institute called SPIT which stands for Saliva, Perception, Ingestion, Tongues. And the head of that lab is Dr. Cordelia Running who wanted to figure out why people develop the ability to enjoy bitter food more as they get older.
I mean, little kids aren't usually crazy about the taste of coffee after all. Dr. Running and her team had a suspect in this tasty mystery. Bitter foods like dark chocolate get their biting taste from chemicals called polyphenols. In a new study, participants alternated diets for six weeks. Every other week, they drank polyphenol-rich chocolate almond milk a few times a day. And during the chocolate-consuming part of their diet cycle, participants began to naturally produce a new kind of protein in their saliva. One that easily binds and captures those polyphenols.
At the same time the protein started to show up, the participants reported that they enjoyed the drink more and experienced it as less bitter or astringent. In a nutshell, that's why you quote unquote, "get used to bitter flavors." And here's a practical application for beer drinkers. According to a new report for Purdue SPLIT Lab, even those of us who prefer crisp pilsners and rich stouts might benefit from trying more IPAs.
In time, the bitter flavors can actually change the way we experience taste. Anyway, long story short, flavor influences diet but diet may also influence saliva, which in turn may influence flavor. Cheers.
ASHLEY HAMER: Today's episode is sponsored by Purple Mattress.
CODY GOUGH: Sleep is important. It affects the quality of your daily life. And here's a not so fun fact. A lack of sleep makes you eat more. It's tough to stick to a diet when your body is just screaming at you for more calories. So try a Purple Mattress.
ASHLEY HAMER: 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. The Purple material feels unique because it's both firm and soft at the same time. So it keeps everything supported, but it still feels really comfortable. It's also breathable, so it sleeps cool. And you'll get used to it without needing your body to change your saliva either.
CODY GOUGH: With Purple Mattress, you can get 100-night risk free trial, and if you're not fully satisfied, you can return your mattress for a full refund.
ASHLEY HAMER: You'll also get free shipping and returns and it's backed by a 10-year warranty so you have one more reason to sleep easy.
CODY GOUGH: 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 474747.
ASHLEY HAMER: The only way to get this free pillow is to text "curious" to 474747.
CODY GOUGH: That's C-U-R-I-O-U-S to 474747. Message and data rates may apply.
ASHLEY HAMER: Lots of people travel around the holidays. So here's a pro travel tip. Tuesday is no longer the best day to book a flight. In fact, the day you buy your ticket is definitely not the biggest factor in how much you pay.
CODY GOUGH: So what is the best day?
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, we're going to talk about it.
CODY GOUGH: OK. Fine. I'm really excited. I like flying.
ASHLEY HAMER: Don't want to give it away.
CODY GOUGH: Gosh.
ASHLEY HAMER: So the best day to book your flight varies depending on who you ask. A 2017 study by cheapair.com found that on average, no day of the week is better than any other to book a flight. The prices vary by less than 1%. There used to be more human intervention where managers could create flash sales. And a lot of the time, they were on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But that changed thanks to computers.
Humans are predictable, but algorithms can react to the market in real-time. But there are decisions you can make that will leave an impact on your wallet. One huge factor is how far ahead of time you book. CheapAir found that a single flight's lowest fare changes an average of 71 times, going up and down by an average of $33 about every four and a half days.
That study also found that the best time to book a flight is between three weeks and three and a half months in advance of travel since fares tend to be within 5% of their lowest. You should book a little further in advance for spring and summer travel when demand is high.
A study from Expedia and the Airlines Reporting Corporation found something similar. For most routes, the lowest prices are found 30 days or more ahead of the departure date and rise sharply after that. All of the studies found that there's no benefit to waiting until the last minute. By and large, you'll end up paying hundreds more than you need to.
The other big factor is when you actually travel. According to the CheapAir study, the cheapest days to fly are Tuesday and Wednesday when you'll save an average of $73 per ticket. Sunday is the most expensive. The Expedia study found that the cheapest day to travel domestically depends on the airport, but internationally, Thursday and Friday are best.
The results are clear. If you're looking to save money on air travel, it's best to plan ahead and be flexible in your travel dates. Safe travels.
CODY GOUGH: Read about today's stories and more on curiositydotcom.
ASHLEY HAMER: Join us again tomorrow with the award-winning Curiosity Daily, and learn something new in just a few minutes. I'm Ashley Hamer.
CODY GOUGH: And I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: Stay curious.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER: On the Westwood One Podcast Network.