Learn about why hand dryers are blowing bacteria all over your hands; body parts you probably don’t know you have; what different colors mean around the world; and whether it’s possible to lose your foreign accent. 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: Hand Dryers Are Blowing Bacteria All Over Your Hands — https://curiosity.im/2DLabEV 5 Body Parts You May Not Know You Have — https://curiosity.im/2DMmsZP Colors Mean Wildly Different Things Around the World — https://curiosity.im/2DKb00Z Additional resources discussed: Accents Are Forever | Smithsonian.com Retaining an Accent | Psychology Today Please tell us about yourself and help us improve the show by taking our listener survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/curiosity-listener-survey 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!
Learn about why hand dryers are blowing bacteria all over your hands; body parts you probably don’t know you have; what different colors mean around the world; and whether it’s possible to lose your foreign accent.
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:
Additional resources discussed:
Please tell us about yourself and help us improve the show by taking our listener survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/curiosity-listener-survey
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/why-hand-dryers-blow-bacteria-color-meanings-around-the-world-losing-your-foreign-accent-and-lesser-known-body-parts
CODY GOUGH: Hi. We've got the latest and greatest from curiositydotcom 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 why hand dryers are blowing bacteria all over your hands, body parts you probably don't know you have, and what different colors mean around the world. We'll also answer a listener question about whether it's possible to lose your foreign accent. Stay tuned for the answer.
CODY GOUGH: Let's satisfy some curiosity on the award-winning Curiosity Daily. Have you used a public restroom lately? Well, according to recent research, hot air hand dryers are basically the last place they want you to put your hands. This is why I always bring my own paper towels into the bathroom here at work.
ASHLEY HAMER: Do you really?
CODY GOUGH: Yes.
ASHLEY HAMER: Wow. I just learned something new about you.
CODY GOUGH: It's actually mostly because of the noise. The excruciating, earsplitting noise of a screaming hand dryer. I have strong feelings about this clearly. Well anyway, this comes from a new study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. It says the jets from hot air dryers are pulling in bacteria from the bathroom air and blowing it out again all over your hands.
For this study, researchers used hot air dryers on a variety of Petri dishes with no hands involved. Some sat undisturbed for 2 minutes beneath an inactive hand dryer, and others were directly exposed to 30 seconds of the hot air. The ones that had sat in peace grew a maximum of one colony of bacteria. But those exposed to a blast from the hand dryer, most grew about 18 to 60 colonies, and some had as many as 254.
The researchers were able to cut down on colonies by about 75% when they installed HEPA filters or high energy particulate air filters. Anyway, the science is kind of obvious when you think about it. That air in the dryer has to come from somewhere, and bathroom air is, well, gross. Toilets with no lid have been known to spread bacteria over a 65 square foot area, which is why I always close the toilet lid before I flush it home. This is true.
ASHLEY HAMER: I'm learning so much about you.
CODY GOUGH: But at least the experiment with the filters showed that the bacterial colonies aren't spreading inside the dryers themselves. Now to be clear, you should use a hand dryer if it's your only option since it's a lot easier for bacteria to survive on wet hands. So you do at least want them dry. And also, most of the bacteria the team discovered on the dishes were either harmless or benign for healthy people. And finally, their experiment was carried out in a scientific research facility, where many other people were working with bacteria on a daily basis. So a lot of the bacteria tracked in this study came from a scientist's lab, not the bathroom.
Still though, paper towels rank the best for both maximum dryness and maximum bacteria reduction. And as far as eco friendliness goes, they're about even with traditional hand dryers. As for me, I am happy to wash my hands of my association with air dryers.
ASHLEY HAMER: You probably know that you've got a heart, a liver, a stomach, and a brain. You might even know the names of most of your bones and muscles. But the human body is really complex. So we've come up with a list of a few important body parts that you might not even know you have. So let's start with your mesentery. This is basically the seat belt for your guts. Your skin, bones, and muscles hold your organs in, but the mesentery is what holds them up. We used to think this organ was just a collection of membranes. But now we know it's one continuous structure.
Next up is another important one, your thymus. This is basically your immunity factory. Your thymus is a small organ located beneath your breastbone. And while you may not have heard of it, it plays a pivotal role in keeping you healthy. It's part of both the lymphatic system, which transports immune cells throughout your body, and the endocrine system, which deals with the chemical messengers known as hormones. The thymus is the source of T cells. In fact, the T stands for thymus. T cells are a type of white blood cell that regulates your immunity and hunts down any illness-causing invaders.
And one more body part you might not know you have is the lacrimal puncta. That's the fancy name for your teardrop holes. You have four tiny holes on the inside of your eyelids, one at the inner corner of each upper and lower eyelid. And they release tears to keep your eyes moist. You can even see the lacrimal puncta if you want to. Just gently push up on the lower corner of your eye to see the inner edge of the eyelid, and it'll be there.
We wrote about a few other body parts we don't have time to get into right now on our full write-up on Saturday. Isn't the body fun?
CODY GOUGH: There are a lot of infographics and blog posts that talk about the psychological associations of various colors out there. That helps people and brands pick the perfect palette for their product, logo, or living room wall. These posts are entertaining, but there's one serious problem. What colors mean varies wildly from culture to culture. Why does this matter?
Well, legend has it that Pepsi sales in Southeast Asia dropped in the 1950s after it changed the color of its coolers from dark to ice blue, which is associated with death in some parts of the region. Fortunately, we've got your coverage, so you avoid any colorful faux pas the next time you're traveling. I'm not going to even say what my favorite color is because now, I don't want to offend any of our international listeners.
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, people would probably be shocked in America if you said your favorite color was black.
CODY GOUGH: Because in black, it has this--
ASHLEY HAMER: Death. It's associated with death.
CODY GOUGH: What's your favorite color?
ASHLEY HAMER: Orange.
CODY GOUGH: Wow, that's quick.
ASHLEY HAMER: Easy.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah. Well, Ashley, you just checkmated yourself because orange is the new black.
ASHLEY HAMER: Oh.
CODY GOUGH: Well, back to colors with wildly different meanings. Let's start with yellow. In America, we might think about the sun, school buses, and happy emojis. What do you think of, Ashley?
ASHLEY HAMER: Sunflowers.
CODY GOUGH: There you go. Sunflowers. Cheerful, upbeat, and energizing. Well, in France, yellow signifies jealousy, betrayal, weakness, and contradiction. In the 10th century, the French painted the doors of traitors and criminals yellow. Yikes. And in China, yellow is associated with pornography. Meanwhile, visitors from many parts of Africa or Thailand might think you're a little pretentious if you wear yellow since in those regions, yellow is associated with royalty or people with a high rank.
You can read about more associations with different colors and are full write-up on curiositydotcom and on our free Curiosity app for Android and iOS. The bottom line is this. If you're hoping to make a statement with your color choice, keep in mind that it might not be read the same way to folks from different parts of the world.
ASHLEY HAMER: Today's episode is sponsored by Zola, the wedding company that will do anything for love. That's Zola, spelled Z-o-l-a.
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CODY GOUGH: One more time. Start your free wedding website and get $50 off your registry on Zola at zola.com/curiosity.
ASHLEY HAMER: We got a listener question from Tim who says, I would like to know if it's possible to learn the English language up to a level when you can be mistaken for a native. And is it also possible to get rid of your first language accent and speak a perfect British or American English? Great question, Tim.
If you're already fluent in English, is it possible to lose your accent and sound exactly like a native speaker? Well, that depends on a lot of different factors. How old you were when you learned English, how often you're around native English speakers, and how often you speak English yourself for starters.
There's a theory that after a certain age, your brain has developed to such a point that your accent is set in stone. But what age that is varies. Some say it's at just one-year-old since by the time a baby can speak, their brains are already wired with most of the language sounds they'll need. But some say it doesn't happen until age six. And others say age 12. At least one study suggests that foreign language speakers can still improve their accent long after that, as long as they practice regularly and spend lots of time around native speakers.
A researcher from the University of Alabama named James Flege recorded 160 Italian immigrants to Canada repeating English sentences. Once after being in the country for an average of 32 years and once again, 10 years later. He found that those who had used English since the first time they were recorded had the same accent as before. But those who had used the same amount of English had improved slightly. The immigrants who had used even more English in the preceding 10 years had improved their accents most of all. It goes to show that if you want to sound more like a native speaker, spend more time talking to native speakers. Practice makes perfect after all. Thanks for your question, Tim.
CODY GOUGH: We want to give a special shout-out to one of our patrons for supporting our show. Today's episode is brought to you by Dr. Mary Yancey, who gets an executive producer credit today for her generous support on Patreon. Thank you so much.
ASHLEY HAMER: If you're listening and you're inspired by the season of giving to support Curiosity Daily. Then visit patreon.com/curiositydotcom, all spelled out. Even a couple of bucks a month would be a huge help. That's less than the paper towels you're about to buy, so you don't have to use a hot air hand dryer.
CODY GOUGH: Preach.
ASHLEY HAMER: And our patrons get perks, like being able to chat with us on Discord all day, download exclusive bonus episodes, and more.
CODY GOUGH: Join us again tomorrow with the award-winning Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Staying serious.
ANNOUNCER: On the Westwood One Podcast Network.