Learn about the scientific reason why Australia has bubblegum pink lakes; why immortality is mathematically impossible; and how often you should wash your sheets, towels, and basically everything you own. 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: Here's the Real Reason Why Australia Has Bubblegum Pink Lakes — https://curiosity.im/2sGc7Y1 Sorry, Immortality Is Mathematically Impossible — https://curiosity.im/2sAemf2 You Should Wash Your Sheets, Towels, and Basically Everything More Often — https://curiosity.im/2swPVPR 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! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom 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 the scientific reason why Australia has bubblegum pink lakes; why immortality is mathematically impossible; and how often you should wash your sheets, towels, and basically everything you own.
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! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom
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/wash-your-towels-and-sheets-more-often-immortalitys-math-problem-and-australias-pink-lakes
CODY: Hi! We’ve got three stories 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 why Australia has bubblegum pink lakes; why immortality is mathematically impossible; and how often you should wash your sheets, towels, and basically everything you own.
CODY: Let’s clean up and satisfy some curiosity.
Here's the Real Reason Why Australia Has Bubblegum Pink Lakes — https://curiosity.im/2sGc7Y1 (Cody)
Recent research may have uncovered the reason why Australia has lakes that are bubblegum pink. Yeah, you heard that right. They don’t TASTE like bubblegum, but Australia does, in fact, have lakes that have a vivid pink color. The most famous of these lakes is probably Lake Hillier [Hilly-er], which is located off the southern coast of Western Australia, on Middle Island. In the past, people speculated that the color could be due to its high salt content or from microalgae. But here’s something you might’ve missed: in 2015, a team of researchers from the eXtreme Microbiome Project decided to investigate the exact cause of this pink anomaly. They collected water samples, then performed DNA analysis on what they found. They found 10 species of salt-loving bacteria and several species of algae that were some shade of pink or red. A single species of bacterium called Salinibacter ruber [SAY-lin-oh-back-ter RUBER] was responsible for 33 percent of the DNA collected. Scientists suspect that THIS bacteria is the most likely source of the beautiful pink color, not microalgae. Looks like Mother Nature can't trick us for too long! Despite bacteria being the reason for the strawberry milk color, Lake Hillier is totally safe to swim in. In fact, the lake's high salt content likely makes the water so dense that you'd be able to float really easily, the way you would in the Dead Sea. So why you don't see more Tinder profile pics with people swimming in the cotton-candy colored water? Simple: it’s tough to get to Lake Hillier. It’s on a tiny island that you can only get to with a boat or helicopter. But if you CAN get there, then dive into that pool of pink and you'll be fit for a photo op. And if you’re thinking to yourself “the lake can’t be THAT pink,” then check out the photos in our full write-up on Curiosity-dot-com. Am I right, Ashley?
Sorry, Immortality Is Mathematically Impossible — https://curiosity.im/2sAemf2 (Ashley)
According to researchers at the University of Arizona, you’re probably not going to live forever. Because according to them, immortality is impossible. Sorry to burst your bubble, Cody. [ad lib]
ASHLEY: The whole immortality thing might sound obvious, but it’s really NOT, when you think about it. Evolution is all about helping organisms produce more offspring. If a trait makes an animal more likely to die, then that trait SHOULD eventually disappear, and get replaced by traits that help them live. But even if you never suffer from a single disease or injury, you're still going to die of old age. So it’s actually a pretty valid question to ask: why hasn't evolution put a stop to aging? Evolutionary biology researchers at the University of Arizona say that aging is the price of admission into the multicellular organisms club. The problem of immortality comes down to the two things that happen to aging cells: they either slow down or speed up. You can see cells slow down as you go gray, for example, because your hair cells stop producing pigment. But people get worried when cells speed up their growth rate. That can cause cancer cells to form. Cancer is scary, sure, but cancer cells are just as much a part of aging as gray hair or wrinkles. It's just when they cause symptoms that they become a problem. For example, half of men over the age of 60 have prostate cancer, but it usually doesn't develop into anything harmful, and most end up dying of some other cause. According to the researchers, if you found a way to keep your cells from slowing down, then fast-growing cancer cells would take over and kill you. And if you found a way to keep your cells from speeding up, then sluggish, poorly functioning cells would accumulate and kill you. The researchers said in a press release, quote, “Aging is mathematically inevitable. There’s logically, theoretically, mathematically no way out,” unquote.” Sorry, but being multicellular means your cells will compete with each other. Throw off that balance, and you make things worse. We can lengthen human life, but we can't stop death. And that makes it even more important to embrace the time you've got!
You Should Wash Your Sheets, Towels, and Basically Everything More Often — https://curiosity.im/2swPVPR (Both)
CODY: Alright, listener, let’s be honest. How often do you wash your sheets and towels?
ASHLEY: How about your sports bras or yoga pants? Look, we know adulting can be hard. But you should probably be washing those personal items a LOT more than you might think.
CODY: Today is gonna be one of those “we’re not your parents, but we might kinda sound like them” kinda stories. But I promise, you’ll thank us later! Annnnnd so will everyone around you. And I’m gonna start with something we all probably use every day: your bath towel. If you’re like me, you probably wash it once every, I dunno, week or so? Well, that’s not what Philip Tierno [tee-YEHR-no] says to do. He’s a microbiologist from New York University, and he insists that you re-use that towel three time, MAX — and that’s only if your towel hangs completely dry between uses. If your towel is still damp when you want to use it, it needs to be washed.
ASHLEY: He also says you could catch some pretty bad microorganisms if you’re thinking about sharing your towels with your significant other. So it might be time to invest in some of those “his” and “hers” towels. Cody, you don’t have those, do you? [ad lib]
CODY: Anyway, now let’s move into your bedroom (I hope that didn’t come off as too forward). Your bed sheets can pick up lots of nasty stuff, like animal dander, pollen, cosmetics like oils and creams, and dust mites. Natural debris is also weighing down your pillows with fungus, and all that stuff can create an allergy-aggravating combination.
ASHLEY: Here’s a fun fact: humans produce more than 26 gallons of sweat in their beds each year. That’s why Tierno says you really should wash your sheets an average of once a week. And if you don’t use a top sheet, then that goes for your comforter, too.
CODY: Let’s move on to an increasingly popular clothing item: yoga pants. There’s technology in athletic clothing that helps whisk away your sweat. But that same material is also hanging on to dirt and oil. In other words, just because your yoga pants are dry, it doesn't mean they're clean. Dermatologist Dierdre Hooper told Shape that bacteria and yeast will stick around, and possibly multiply, even when the clothes are dry. So wash them after every wear. Your yoga classmates will thank you.
ASHLEY: So ladies, now let's discuss those bras. If you only wash your bras every couple of weeks or so, you're not alone — but you need to re-think your strategy. Dermatologist Josh Zeichner recommends to Shape that women wash their bras after five wears. Just five. And sports bras? They should be washed every. Single. Time. Like your yoga pants, you can't always tell when your sports bras are building up sweat. So let's try to stay clean!
CODY: And NOT smelly.
ASHLEY: Today’s ad-free episode was brought to you by our Patrons. Special thanks to Katrina Constantine, Braeden Johnson, Doug Hensch, Kyle Hewitt, Ben Urick, and Reid for your support on Patreon. We really appreciate it!
CODY: To learn more about how you can support Curiosity Daily, please visit patreon-dot-com-slash-curiosity-dot-com, all spelled out.
ASHLEY: Join us again tomorrow for the award-winning Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m [NAME] and I’m [NAME]. Stay curious!