Curiosity Daily

“Like Riding a Bike,” Paradoxes, That Fresh Rain Smell

Episode Summary

Learn about the special way riding a bike is stored in your memory; the crocodile paradox; and the smell of fresh rain.

Episode Notes

Learn about the special way riding a bike is stored in your memory; the crocodile paradox; and the smell of fresh rain.

The stories in this episode originally aired on these dates:

Today is Ashley Hamer’s last episode. Follow her podcast at https://www.tabooscience.show. And if you’re 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.

Episode Transcription

CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery. I’m Cody Gough.

ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about the special way riding a bike is stored in your memory; an unsolvable paradox that dates back to ancient Greece; and what causes the smell of fresh rain. We originally ran these stories in December 2018, and they’re so good, we remastered them just for you.

CODY: Plus, stick around for a brand-new recap segment at the end of today’s episode to hear our fresh takes on all of today’s stories. But right now? Let’s satisfy some curiosity.

RECAP

CODY: Hey, we’re back in 2022! Let’s do a quick recap of what we learned today.

  1. CODY: Riding a bike is like riding a bike because your motor skills are encoded in your memory in a special way. Basically, when you learn a new motor skill, there’s a cell that turns a signal from your cerebellum into a “code” that gets engraved in your memory. That means that your motor skills, or procedural memories, are encoded in a particular way that allows those memories to be easily accessed, even years later. That encoding is different for memories of facts, which is called declarative memory. 
  2. ASHLEY: The crocodile paradox is a fun example of a paradox — which means “self-contradictory or logically impossible statement.” A crocodile promises to return a child to his father if the father can predict what the croc will do next. But the kids’ dad says “you will not give my son back.” The crocodile can’t logic his way out of it, because if he actually does what the dad predicted, then he can’t keep his promise. Weird, right?
  3. CODY: That “fresh rain smell” is a stinky alcohol called geosmin. When the earth gets moist, it releases chemical compounds like plant oils — and, geosmin. Which is produced by bacteria that break down organic matter in soil. It’s basically bacteria farts. Oh, and BEFORE it rains, you might smell ozone. That’s because the electric charge from lightning splits atmospheric molecules into separate atoms that can recombine into nitric oxide, which in turn can react to other chemicals to produce a molecule made up of 3 oxygen atoms — which is ozone.

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CODY: Today’s writers were Reuben Westmaas, Joanie Faletto and Jessica Stillman. 

ASHLEY: Curiosity Daily is distributed by Discovery.

CODY: [AD LIB SOMETHING FUNNY] join us again next time to learn something new in just a few minutes.

ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!