In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories to help you learn something new in just a few minutes: This Is How Your Friendships Differ in Your 20s and 30s This Secret Airline Flies Nonstop to Area 51 Every Day These 4 Words Can Double Your Chances of Getting What You Want Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day withCody Gough andAshley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories to help you learn something new in just a few minutes:
Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
Full episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/how-your-friendships-change-a-secret-airline-to-area-51-and-magic-words-to-get-what-you-want
CODY GOUGH: Hi, we've got three stories from curiosity.com 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 friendships are different in your 20s and your 30s, a secret airline that flies nonstop to Area 51 every day, and four words that can double your chances of getting what you want.
CODY GOUGH: But satisfy some curiosity. So, Ashley, have you noticed that your friendships kind of change between your 20s and your 30s?
ASHLEY HAMER: Have I? Yes, very much so.
CODY GOUGH: Really?
ASHLEY HAMER: I have no friends left.
CODY GOUGH: Really?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah, I mean, I used to run with a pretty big crowd, and they're dwindling.
CODY GOUGH: Well, that is normal.
ASHLEY HAMER: That is so good to hear.
CODY GOUGH: In fact, that could be a good sign.
ASHLEY HAMER: Oh.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah. Curiosity follows research on how habits change over time. And according to a recent study published in psychology and aging, the quality and quantity of your friends are kind of supposed to change over time. The researchers found that having more friends in your 20s and having a smaller group of higher quality friends in your 30s are actually predictors of well-being later in life.
The study took place over 30 years, and participants who had more social interactions at age 20 and higher quality social connections at age 30 reported better well-being at age 50. A study the following year from Aalto University in Finland and the University of Oxford in England found that around age 25 is when friends start getting cut from the team.
So in your early 20s, men and women are more socially promiscuous, making lots of friends and meeting lots of new people. And then your casual circle shrinks as you get older, possibly thanks to evolution. Because we're primed to start thinking of our families and raising children and nailing down stronger relationships means you've got extra hands to help out with the kids, which is called the grandmother effect.
ASHLEY HAMER: Or maybe you start focusing more on your career, and you can't go out to the bars late every night. And you can only afford to hang out with a friend once in a while. And so you have fewer friends that way. That's kind of what's happening to me.
CODY GOUGH: I was going to say this sounds like it's from personal experience.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: So don't lose sleep if you don't have as many friends as you used to.
ASHLEY HAMER: That is such a relief. So, Cody, have you ever seen a UFO?
CODY GOUGH: I mean, I've seen flying objects, and I haven't known what they are. But I don't think I've seen a flying saucer-type UFO.
ASHLEY HAMER: That's a good answer, because we've all seen UFOs. It's anything that's unidentified and flying, right? Well, of course, there is a subset of people who believe that there are flying saucers visiting us, right? And central to their theories is a little place called Area 51.
CODY GOUGH: Yes, Area 51.
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, it turns out that there are things flying in and out of Area 51 every day, and you can actually see them. They are not unidentified. They are real planes.
So quick background. Area 51 is a highly classified government location in Southern Nevada that, according to files released by the FBI, dates back to 1955. You're probably familiar with rumors that it became the site of secret alien research after a UFO crashed nearby in Roswell, New Mexico. The US government has admitted that Area 51 is a real place. They did that in 2013. But they say it's a facility for their spy plane program.
CODY GOUGH: They say.
ASHLEY HAMER: They say that. Well, it would make sense. Anyway, several times a day, a small fleet of 737s fly in and out of a restricted terminal at the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. These planes only display a registration number and a single red stripe on a white fuselage, and they're known as Janet Jets.
The airline isn't named Janet, and the planes aren't actually called Janet. The name comes from aviation nerds, who figured out that Janet is the call sign given to these jets when they're flying in civilian airspace. But once these Janet Jets enter the super restricted airspace nearby, the jets change frequencies and get totally different names.
If you're at the McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, you can actually see six Janet Jets taking off and landing in the Gold Coast terminal, which is right next to some parking lots. And they go to lots of sites inside the secretive Nellis Air Force range, which includes the Nevada National security site and Area 51.
CODY GOUGH: Weird.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. That's about all we know. But in January 2018, there was a job posting for a flight attendant aboard a Janet jet.
CODY GOUGH: What?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. The requirements included that you must be levelheaded and clear thinking while handling unusual incidents and situations, like severe weather conditions, including turbulence, delays due to weather or mechanicals, hijackings, or bomb threats, not to mention quote, "active top secret clearance highly desired," end quote.
CODY GOUGH: Wow.
ASHLEY HAMER: I think that last part would really disqualify a lot of us.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah.
ASHLEY HAMER: Unfortunately.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah. Have you ever been to the McCarran International Airport?
ASHLEY HAMER: Does it have a bunch of slot machines and stuff? Is that just a regular airport that you can fly into?
CODY GOUGH: Yeah.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah, yeah, I've been there. It's weird.
CODY GOUGH: Maybe the slot machines are there to avert your eyes from the Janet jet.
ASHLEY HAMER: The entire reason that Las Vegas exists is to make people stop looking at Area 51. We just nailed it.
CODY GOUGH: That was a joke for those of you getting ready to write us an email saying, no, here's where Las Vegas came from. You can read more about that on curiosity.com. All right. Ashley, do you know the four magic words to getting what you want?
ASHLEY HAMER: I have dollar bills.
CODY GOUGH: I have one that's a little more universal.
ASHLEY HAMER: All right.
CODY GOUGH: Curiosity loves life hacks, so we researched one that everyone can use. And the next time you ask someone for something, try adding these four magic words to the end of your request-- "but you are free" or "but you are free to refuse."
ASHLEY HAMER: Huh.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah, it's a simple psychology hack. In 2013, communication researcher Christopher Carpenter published a meta-analysis of research on the "but you are free" compliance-gaining technique. In one of the original experiments, researchers found lone shoppers in a shopping mall. And they were like, sorry, sir or madam, would you have some coins to take the bus, please?
But sometimes, they added, but you were free to accept or refuse. And with that little phrase, "but you are free", not only were shoppers more likely to give money, but when they did give money, they gave twice as much money towards the bus fare. So that might be because you're kind of taking away the ability for the person to say no, in a way. That's why the exact wording doesn't matter.
Some research also tried the phrase, but obviously do not feel obliged but was just about as effective, but it's a bit worthier. So give it a shot next time you want something. You can read about all of these stories and so much more on curiosity.com. What can you learn about this weekend?
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, you'll learn 15 ways you're doing your laundry wrong, the best sleeping position according to science, and how to make reservations at the first hotel in space.
CODY GOUGH: Plus, the perks of procrastination. Yes, perks. What it takes to have emotional intelligence and the strange origins of Mother's Day.
ASHLEY HAMER: They're strange.
CODY GOUGH: And so much more. Join us again Monday for the Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Have a great weekend and stay curious.
CODY GOUGH: But you are free to do otherwise.
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