Learn about what would happen if you sneezed with your eyes open; why bird poop is two different colors; and, the right and wrong way to think about wealth. In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following story from Curiosity.com about what would happen if you sneezed with your eyes open: https://curiosity.im/34KjE9a Additional sources: Bird droppings defy expectations | EurekaAlert! — https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-09/uota-bdd092419.php A re-evaluation of the chemical composition of avian urinary excreta | Journal of Ornithology — https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-019-01692-5 The real reason why bird droppings damage your car | The Telegraph — https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8495819/The-real-reason-why-bird-droppings-damage-your-car.html Why Is Bird Poop White? | Mental Floss — http://mentalfloss.com/article/31262/why-bird-poop-white Wealth can lead to more satisfying life if viewed as a sign of success vs. happiness | EurekaAlert! — https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-09/bu-wcl090319.php The Dual Model of Materialism: Success Versus Happiness Materialism on Present and Future Life Satisfaction | Applied Research in Quality of Life — https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11482-019-09763-8 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 what would happen if you sneezed with your eyes open; why bird poop is two different colors; and, the right and wrong way to think about wealth.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following story from Curiosity.com about what would happen if you sneezed with your eyes open: https://curiosity.im/34KjE9a
Additional sources:
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 here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/sneezing-with-your-eyes-open-how-to-think-about-wealth-and-why-bird-poop-is-2-colors
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 what would happen if you sneezed with your eyes open; why bird poop is two different colors; and, the right and wrong way to think about wealth.
CODY: Let’s place value on some curiosity.
What Would Happen if You Sneezed with Your Eyes Open? — https://curiosity.im/34KjE9a (11/7 DOC) (Cody)
When you were a kid, were you ever dared to sneeze with your eyes wide open, and were you petrified that if you did, your eyeballs might pop out? Are you curious to know if it’s really possible? What really WOULD happen if you sneezed with your eyes open? Well, don’t worry: science tells us that there’s little truth to the idea that sneezing with your eyes open is dangerous. Though to be fair, it could protect your eyes from the flying debris.
There certainly have been claims like the one in 1882, when The New York Times reported that a woman "burst an eyeball" during a sneezing fit. But those claims are almost always false. Not that sneezes aren't violent: A single sneeze can release a gust of air, pressure, and snot at up to 10 miles per hour. But experts say that the pressure is extremely unlikely to cause an eyeball to pop out, even if your eyes are open.
That's because it's not your eyelids that keep your eyes in place — it's the half-dozen ocular muscles that surround each one.
The worst that can happen is you might burst a small blood vessel, which would leave your eyes looking red and bloodshot. Excessive straining from heavy lifting, strenuous exercise, and even childbirth can lead to burst blood vessels in the eyes. But that has nothing to do with whether your eyes are open or closed.
When you’re about to sneeze, your chest tightens, your throat constricts, and you unconsciously squeeze your eyes shut in anticipation. It's possible that your eyes close in order to protect themselves from whatever irritants or pollutants the nose is expelling.
But what's more likely is that they close for no reason at all. It's just a reflex, like when a doctor taps your knee and your leg kicks out. And if you try really hard, you might even be able to overpower the reflex and sneeze with your eyes open. It may be unpleasant, but at least you'll still have two eyeballs when it's over.
Mae Rice script - Why bird poop is 2 different colors https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TEtujX0hSxKhP__bTy2BP_3aTUgui0NfB63yoFFMcUs/edit?pli=1 (Ashley)
What’s black and white and hard to clean off your car? No, it’s not zebras — at least not to my knowledge. It’s time to talk about bird poop. Why is it like that?
First, some background. Bird poop isn’t poop so much as a sludge of poop and pee. That’s why it’s black and white: the black is feces, and the white is urine. For a long time, scientists thought that bird droppings were corrosive and hard to clean up because of their high uric acid content. Just like other animals, birds break down nitrogen-containing chemicals in their food and turn it into uric acid, and for most animals, this comes out in their urine. It makes sense that bird excrement would act the same way. But there are also long-standing rumors that bird poop contains no uric acid. Which begs two questions — one, how do birds get rid of their uric acid? And two, why is bird poop so terrible for your car’s paint job, then?
Nick Crouch is a scientist at UT Austin, and he first heard these acid-free bird-poop rumors from his late colleague, Bob Folk. He had mainly studied rocks, but took a left turn in the 1960s to analyze excretions from 17 different bird species. He found no uric acid in any of them. Soon after he published his paper on the subject, though, another researcher reported uric acid in budgie droppings, and the discussion stalled.
Today, though, scientists have more advanced technology that might more accurately measure uric acid content. This inspired Crouch to analyze bird droppings from six different bird species, from the Great Horned Owl to the chicken. He laid out his findings in a recent paper in the Journal of Ornithology. And like Folk, he found no uric acid.
So back to our questions: one, where does that uric acid go? Crouch thinks the likely answer is that bacteria in the birds’ guts break it down before it’s excreted. And as for question two, why does bird poop scuff up your paint? Well, the answer to that comes from car care company Autoglym, which splattered cars with acidic, neutral, and alkaline bird-droppping substitutes — and found no difference in the damage they caused. They say the damage is really due to sunlight warming the paint and causing it to expand while hardening any bird droppings that might be attached. Once the paint cools again, it contracts and molds itself around the texture of the bird dropping, leaving an etched appearance in the car’s lacquer. So there you have it: bird poop is bad for your paint job, but uric acid has nothing to do with it. Though you might want to get a car wash before it cools.
--
Summary: It turns out that birds release both solid and liquid waste at the same time. The white substance is the urine. But until recently, scientists thought that everything from the reason bird poop is white to the reason it's so bad for your car's paint job came down to uric acid. New research is showing that's not true — there is no uric acid released in bird poop.
[MOVA GLOBES]
CODY: Today’s episode is sponsored by Mova Globes: rotating globes powered by light.
ASHLEY: Mova Globes don’t use any batteries or messy cords; instead, hidden magnets provide movement. These globes turn on their own when they’re exposed to ambient light, using a technology that’s the first of its kind!
CODY: There are 40 different designs of Mova Globes, including world maps, outer space, and even famous works of art, where paintings from artists like Van Gogh and Monet are carefully recreated to transform a flat painting into a 3-dimensional work of art.
ASHLEY: And their outer space collection features graphic provided by NASA and JPL, and includes planets, moons, asteroid, and even constellation designs. No matter which design you choose, Mova Globes are the perfect decor for a conversation starter — not to mention a great gift for the person who has everything.
CODY: And we have a special offer just for Curiosity Daily listeners: Please visit mova-globes-dot-com-slash-curiosity and use coupon code CURIOSITY, that’s C-U-R-I-O-S-I-T-Y, for 15 percent off your purchase.
ASHLEY: That’s right: 15 percent off! One more time, that’s Mova-globes-dot-com-slash-curiosity, code CURIOSITY.
Mae Rice - How to think about wealth https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZtcGH4YVbyrbNM8kbTeq7opE8BvFLw1AVi4HBIaIbfI/edit?ts=5dc04f21 (Cody)
Just because "money can't buy you happiness" doesn't mean money will make you miserable. New research suggests that when it comes to materialism — that is, the value you place on wealth and possessions — there’s a right way and a wrong way to approach it.
For a study published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life, researchers proposed that there are two dimensions to materialism: happiness materialism and success materialism. Both involve valuing money and consumption, but happiness materialism means you expect money to make you happy. Success materialism, on the other hand, involves viewing money and consumption as results of success — not as a path to happiness.
To measure the effects of these two mindsets, the researchers surveyed 7,500 German adults. They asked participants questions to determine their type of materialism and how much of it they had, then looked at how that related to their reported satisfaction in life, expected satisfaction in life, and their motivations for making money.
Obviously, money doesn’t buy happiness, and the researchers found that having a happiness-materialism mindset causes problems. It can make you tune out potential sources of happiness, like family and good health. It can also keep you from appreciating what you already have — if you feel unhappy, you start thinking you need a new car, which makes you even less pleased with your circumstances. Someone who believed in happiness materialism might say “I believe my life would be better if I owned certain things I don’t have.” Meanwhile, a success materialist might say, “I admire people who own expensive homes, cars, and clothes.” It’s almost the same, but success materialism acts as a more positive motivator, prompting people to plan for their financial futures and achieve key professional milestones.
Success materialism looks like the better option — it’s more likely to foster a healthy balance between satisfaction with life and striving for success. Maybe that old saying needs a tweak: Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can motivate you to do better.
--
Summary: Just because "money can't buy you happiness" doesn't mean money will make you miserable. It's all about how you view it, according to a recent study. It found that viewing wealth and material possessions as a sign of success leads to significantly higher life satisfaction than viewing wealth and possessions as a sign of happiness.
CODY: Okay, so why were we excited about today’s episode?
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Today’s stories were written by Kelsey Donk and Mae Rice, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity.com.
ASHLEY: Scriptwriting was by Cody Gough and Sonja Hodgen. This podcast was produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!