Learn about flyting, the Medieval version of rap battles; the chemistry behind what causes yellow pit stains, and how to prevent them; and why it takes so long to board an airplane. 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: Flyting Was the Medieval Version of a Rap Battle — https://curiosity.im/31lf9QI Yellow Pit Stains Aren't Solely Caused by Sweat — https://curiosity.im/2LBTQpY Why Does Boarding an Airplane Take So Long? (There's a Better Way!) — https://curiosity.im/2LBgRcW 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 flyting, the Medieval version of rap battles; the chemistry behind what causes yellow pit stains, and how to prevent them; and why it takes so long to board an airplane.
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/prevent-pit-stains-medieval-rap-battles-and-why-airplane-boarding-takes-so-long
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 the Medieval version of rap battles; what causes yellow pit stains, and how to prevent them; and why it takes so long to board an airplane.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Flyting Was the Medieval Version of a Rap Battle — https://curiosity.im/31lf9QI (need finalized by Fri. 8/2) (Ashley)
If you think rap battles are cool, then wait’ll you learn about rap battles from the 1500s. No, I’m not talking about the popular YouTube series “Epic Rap Battles from History.” I’m talking about flyting, as in F-L-Y-T-I-N-G. And flyting was the Medieval version of a rap battle: a type of verbal jousting where poets would trash-talk each other using lyrical barbs. The word "flyting" comes from an Old English word that means "quarrel." And flyting was a popular form of entertainment from the fifth to the 16th century. It let skilled poets show off their verbal linguistics in a friendly competition, and a lot of the time it served as entertainment for royalty. Atlas Obscura described it as "a form of highly poetic abuse." Here’s an epic roast from one poet to another that appeared in a famous piece of Scottish literature known as “The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie.” Quote:
"You call your work rhetoric with your golden lips:
No, glowering, gaping fool, you are beguiled;
You are but black-kneed 'neath your gilded hips,
Which for your villainy many a lash has soiled"
Unquote.
You’ve maybe never heard of flyting because there’s not a whole lot that’s been written about its history and development. But it’s part of a long tradition of ritualized, nonviolent combat. Other examples include Japanese Haikai, which is a series of vulgar puns; and a Nigerian game which literally transates to “making disparaging remarks.” These types of games might sound crude and immature, but compared to the ACTUAL horrors of physical violence, you have to admit it suddenly seems like a pretty civilized way to go. Of course, the modern equivalent to flyting is the rap battle. But they’re not only similar: they may even be related. At least one history professor has claimed that American slaves heard about the tradition of flyting from slave owners with Scottish ancestry. And author and music historian Elijah Wald wrote that while many roots of African culture are still carried through in rap, rhyme is not one of those elements. Instead, most history of rhyme derives from Europe and was only integrated into African American music in the 20th century. Oh, and just because this was the 1500s, don’t go thinking they lyrics were family-friendly. The work that that flyting passage I quoted earlier comes from has some REMARKABLY dirty things in it, and even includes literature’s first known use of a poop joke. At the end of the day, there may be some who thumb their nose at good old-fashioned bathroom humor. But just think of how much safer this world might be if all the United Nations had to deal with was judging whose sick burn was sicker. More taunts and fewer tanks, we say!
Yellow Pit Stains Aren't Solely Caused by Sweat — https://curiosity.im/2LBTQpY (from Friday 8/9) (Cody)
If you’ve ever had a shirt ruined by yellow underarm sweat stains, then you’ll be interested to know that more antiperspirant is not the answer. In fact, it is actually contributing to the stains. Fortunately, we’ve got some ideas for how to keep your clothes clean.
First, here’s the science: yellow underarm sweat stains come from a chemical reaction between three things; the proteins in your sweat, the cotton in your shirt, and the aluminum salts in your antiperspirant or deodorant. You can blame that same chemistry for the stiff texture that comes with those stains.
In fact, pit stains haven’t always been yellow. That’s because aluminum-based deodorants are a relatively recent phenomenon. Around the turn of the 20th century, one of the most popular antiperspirants was a product called Odorono, which, despite containing aluminium, was red in color and led to red underarm stains. When it comes to clothing artifacts from history, textile conservators run into sweat stains that are yellow, orange, red, brown, and even green. And older spacesuits have shown signs of being corroded from astronaut sweat.
So, if using more deodorant is only gonna make matters worse, what’s the solution? Well, you could try switching to a non-antiperspirant deodorant that does not contain aluminum salts, although these are less effective at keeping you dry.
If you just can’t ditch your go-to deodorant, your best solution is to tackle pit stains right after you've worn the shirt. For new, un-yellowed garments, try pre-treating with an enzymatic laundry spray. If your antiperspirant already did its damage, soak the shirt in vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or an oxygenated bleach like OxiClean. Just never use chlorine bleach, because that actually yellows in the presence of proteins like those found in your sweat. And, of course, if you’re really desperate... you could always give up wearing white shirts.
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Why Does Boarding an Airplane Take So Long? (There's a Better Way!) — https://curiosity.im/2LBgRcW (from Sunday) (Ashley)
Every traveler has at some point wondered why boarding an airplane has to take so long. Surely, in our technologically intelligent age, scientists should be able to figure out something as simple as a faster way to board. Actually, they have, but it turns out that while these methods are great in THEORY… but impractical in the real world, unless you’re a solo traveler.
The most efficient boarding method actually came from an astrophysicist named Jason Steffen. He used a computer program called a Markov chain Monte Carlo optimization algorithm, which came up with a plan to board passengers in every other row, back to front, window seat to aisle seat.
It's that buffer between rows that's the genius part of this system. There's enough room between boarding passengers that nobody would ever have to stop.
The drawback of course is that planes aren't full of solo passengers. People want to, and sometimes need to, board together. Otherwise, who’s gonna help the kiddies board? So, unfortunately this method — and every other one that involves some form of this approach — are impractical in the real world.
According to Thrillist, two airlines may have found the closest thing to a practical solution. Southwest has open seating, which is great if you’re first to board, but not so much if all the aisle and window seats are taken, and you and your loved ones are scattered around the plane.
Part of Southwest’s faster boarding might also be that they let you check two bags for free, which means that in theory, fewer people are bringing carry-ons.
Similarly, Spirit Airlines charges more for carry-on bags than they do for checked bags. Again: with fewer carry-ons, the boarding process goes more smoothly.
So, there’s still hope that one day, some airline will solve our boarding woes. Until then, just consider it part of the journey.
CODY: Let’s recap what we learned today. Today, we learned that Medeival rap battles were a thing, and we can thank “flyting” for literature’s earliest recorded poop jokes.
ASHLEY: And that your deodorant is actually causing your pit stains — which bleach can actually make even worse. Thanks, chemistry!
CODY: And that airlines can’t just plan plane boarding with math alone. But maybe fewer carry-ons could speed things along?
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Stay curious!