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: What's Safer: Artificial Tanner or Sunbathing? The Deadly "Palm of Christ" Is Considered the Most Poisonous Plant on Earth How Did Steve Jobs Fake the First iPhone? If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please considersupporting 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 onCuriosity.com, and download our5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable ourAlexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
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:
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/sunless-tanners-the-most-poisonous-plant-on-earth-and-how-steve-jobs-faked-the-first-iphone
[MUSIC PLAYING] 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 the most poisonous plant on earth, the story of how Steve Jobs faked the first iPhone, and we'll answer the question, what's safer, artificial tanner or sunbathing?
CODY GOUGH: Let's satisfy some curiosity. Ashley, have you ever gone tanning as like an activity with getting a tan as your goal?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yes. I'm embarrassed to say. But not like recently.
CODY GOUGH: Don't be embarrassed.
ASHLEY HAMER: I mean, you should. It's bad.
CODY GOUGH: Is it?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yes.
CODY GOUGH: Even with sunscreen?
ASHLEY HAMER: I mean, just generally it should not be your goal to let the sun damage your skin like that.
(TOGETHER) [CHUCKLES]
ASHLEY HAMER: We all need to just stop thinking tans are cool.
CODY GOUGH: But they kind of are.
ASHLEY HAMER: I mean, yeah. They are.
CODY GOUGH: It's a really, [CHUCKLES] really hard habit to shake.
ASHLEY HAMER: It is.
CODY GOUGH: Well, there's some new tanning research we're going to get into today, but you'll have to pay attention to this because a new report from JAMA Dermatology says that artificial tanner will not cause cancer like sun exposure will, but people who use artificial tanner are about as likely to develop cancer as people who sunbathe. Wait. What?
Let's back up. Artificial tanner does not as a product cause cancer. If you want to risk free tan, then just use artificial tanner. But here's the problem. For the report, researchers looked at hundreds of participants who use sunless tanner. Well, those people who used sunless tanner were also more likely to use tanning beds, reported recent sunburn, avoid protective clothing, or stay out in bright sunlight.
It's not so much that sunless tanner causes skin cancer, but that it's a symptom of a larger desire for people to get a tan. If you want a tan so badly, you'll use a sunless tanner, then you might want it badly enough to do other stuff to get it too.
You can read about how sunless tanner actually works today in our full write-up on curiosity.com and on the Curiosity app for Android and iOS. But a big takeaway is that if you really love tanning, don't just settle for saying, sometimes I use sunless tanner, so I'm fine. It's still important to wear sunscreen and avoid overexposure to the sun when you do go outside so you don't get burned.
ASHLEY HAMER: I feel like we're on a roll with our references to Breaking Bad, Cody. So do you remember ricin in that show?
CODY GOUGH: Yes. The super, super poisonous substance.
ASHLEY HAMER: That's very bad.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah. That's breaking bad? [CHUCKLES]
CODY GOUGH: Dun, dun, dun.
ASHLEY HAMER: [CHUCKLES] Well, ricin is a real thing, and it's really poisonous, as in 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide and 12,000 times more poisonous than rattlesnake venom. And you can find it in the seeds of the most poisonous plant on earth. And that plant is shockingly common.
Today we wrote about Ricinus communis. It has a few nicknames, including castor oil plant, ricinus, and palm of Christ. It has small brown seeds called castor beans that are unquestionably among the most deadly seeds on earth because they contain ricin. Swallowing four to eight seeds will lead to burning sensations in your mouth and throat and extreme abdominal pain. You'll get worse symptoms after that, and you could be dead within three to five days.
There's no ricin vaccine, and this stuff damages literally all of your organs. The CDC says you should just avoid ricin in the first place. A dose of purified ricin powder the size of a few grains of table salt could kill an adult person.
Like we said earlier though, these plants are shockingly common. Some people even grow them in their houses since they're kind of pretty, and they're also useful. About a million tons of castor oil seeds are grown worldwide, and they're used for lots of different products and materials-- paint, varnish, lubricant for jet engines, nylon, transparent soap, contraceptives, and is a potential alternative energy source.
Scientists are even studying the compounds in the seeds to see if it may be helpful in cancer and AIDS research. How? Well, a heat treatment can eliminate its dangerous properties. That's why ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks all use this stuff for medicinal purposes too. But we're going to stay away just to be extra safe.
CODY GOUGH: Today's episode is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
ASHLEY HAMER: Everyone knows about the risks of driving drunk. You could get in a crash. People could get hurt or killed. But let's take a moment to look at some surprising statistics.
CODY GOUGH: Almost 29 people in the United States die every day in alcohol-impaired vehicle crashes. That's one person every 50 minutes. Even though drunk-driving fatalities have fallen by a third in the last three decades, drunk-driving crashes still claim more than 10,000 lives a year.
ASHLEY HAMER: Many people are unaware that driving while high can be just as dangerous. In 2015, 42% of drivers killed in crashes tested positive for drugs. Not so harmless after all, is it? And get this. From 2007 to 2015, marijuana use among drivers killed in crashes doubled.
CODY GOUGH: The truth is driving while high is deadly, so stop kidding yourself. If you're impaired from alcohol or drugs, don't get behind the wheel. If you feel different, you drive different. Drive high, get a DUI.
ASHLEY HAMER: Drive sober or get pulled over.
CODY GOUGH: Ashley, have you ever owned an iPhone?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. I owned an iPhone 3G. That was my first smartphone.
CODY GOUGH: How'd you like it?
ASHLEY HAMER: I loved it. I mean, it's your first smartphone. That's like night and day from a flip phone. Oh, my god.
CODY GOUGH: Sure.
ASHLEY HAMER: I just kept it for way too long, and then it got really slow. Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: I was surprised this whole office is pretty Android heavy--
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. They are.
CODY GOUGH: --compared to my last job. Everyone had an iPhone. I was the only person in the entire marketing department of a global consulting firm that didn't have an iPhone.
ASHLEY HAMER: Wow.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah. But I have nothing against iPhones. I'm not like an iPhone hater.
ASHLEY HAMER: Sure.
CODY GOUGH: Actually, my work phone at my last job was an iPhone, so I like both. But how do you feel about iPhones? You got to admit, the iPhone kind of changed the world. I mean, it was a big deal when it came out back in 2007, but its debut almost didn't go so smoothly.
Today we'll take a look back at the very first iPhone demo from Steve Jobs at the Macworld Expo in 2007. We're getting into it because it's a pretty cool story. And the iPhone was not the world's first smartphone, but it was really easy and intuitive to use. And it could do things other phones really just couldn't do at the time.
But that wasn't necessarily the case during the Macworld 2007 demo, which occurred six months before the iPhone hit the market. In 2013, engineer Andy Grignon revealed that the iPhone could play videos and music back at the time, but not without crashing. And opening email and a web browser in the wrong order could break your phone. Then there was limited memory. And if that ran out, then you would have to restart your phone. Grignon says he watched Steve Jobs practice the presentation hundreds of times leading up to the Expo, and not once did he get through it without a major glitch.
So how did it go so smoothly? He faked it. Engineers put together what they called the golden path, a specific set of tasks done in a specific way in order that made the phone look functional. Jobs also used a bunch of different phones. Every time one got overloaded and had to restart, he just swapped it with a new one.
And get this. At the time, AT&T was the only company that supported the iPhone when it came out. They supplied a portable cell tower that only the phones on the stage could access. So that's why the phone had a five-bar connection the whole time. The rest is history. Turns out, illusions and sleight of hand aren't just for magicians.
ASHLEY HAMER: Before we wrap up, I want to give a special shout-out to our awesome supporters on Patreon. Some of our incredible listeners have stepped up and started to help our show, and we really appreciate it. If you want to support our show, then please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/curiosity.com. That's all spelled out. If you can't pitch in on Patreon right now, then please share our show on social media, or leave us a five-star review on whatever app you're using to listen.
CODY GOUGH: That includes Amazon Alexa if you're listening as part of your flash briefing.
ASHLEY HAMER: I do it every morning.
CODY GOUGH: Read about these stories and more today on curiosity.com.
ASHLEY HAMER: Join us again tomorrow for the 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.
NARRATOR: On the Westwood One Podcast Network.
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