Learn about why Earth twinkles from space; why pockets are so rare in women’s clothes; and whether the first life emerged on land or water. 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: Earth Twinkles From Space — https://curiosity.im/2EDDdUV Why Are Pockets So Rare in Women's Clothes? — https://curiosity.im/2EFkc4r Did the First Life Emerge on Land or in Water? — https://curiosity.im/2EFjyUz 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 why Earth twinkles from space; why pockets are so rare in women’s clothes; and whether the first life emerged on land or water.
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/why-pockets-are-rare-in-womens-clothes-why-earth-twinkles-and-where-life-originated
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 why scientists care that the Earth twinkles from space; why pockets are so rare in women’s clothes; and whether the first life emerged on land or water.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Earth Twinkles From Space — https://curiosity.im/2EDDdUV (Cody)
Stars are not the only thing in space that twinkles. Take Earth, for example. That’s right: our planet does indeed sparkle from space. And when we discovered why in May 2017, it was a lesson that could mean big things in our search for other water-rich planets. Here’s the story. Science writer Carl Sagan first mentioned the shimmer in a paper in 1993 he wrote about the discoveries of the Galileo spacecraft. He’d noticed the shimmers appear over our oceans, which makes sense because the water’s surface reflects light. But in 2015, the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite saw glimmer over land, too. It turns out that what those shimmers had in common wasn't bodies of water — it was wispy cirrus clouds full of ice crystals. When they’re in just the right position, those tiny ice particles floating high inside clouds reflect sunlight and give off a dazzling reflection. So long story short, Earth shimmers because of horizontal ice. In a way, Sagan was right when he mentioned water as the source of Earth’s sparkles — it's just that the water was frozen, and located several miles above the ocean. I should mention that stars shimmer for a much different reason; that’s due to the way our atmosphere refracts the light coming from them. As far as planets go, though, this new discovery could mean big things in the search for other water-rich planets. If spacecraft like Galileo can see glints from our planet from that far away, we may be able to see the shimmer of ice crystals on alien worlds, too. We’ll keep our eyes to the sky and let you know if we see anything worth mentioning.
Why Are Pockets So Rare in Women's Clothes? — https://curiosity.im/2EFkc4r (Ashley)
If you’ve ever wondered why pockets are so rare in women’s clothes, then you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive into some history. Back in the middle ages, both men AND women carried around little pouches that were separate from their clothes. They’d usually keep it tied to a belt or slung from a rope, and for security, you’d keep it fastened underneath your outer layers of clothing. Your clothes might have slits to give you easy access. Then, around the late 17th century, someone got the brilliant idea to sew tiny pouches right into clothing — men's clothing, that is. After all, the big hoop skirts of women's fashion at the time were the perfect place to conceal an exterior bag. They worked just fine for carrying keys, combs, and other essentials. Over the years, though, fashion changed, and women's dresses slimmed down to the point where there wasn't even room for those. In the late-18th and early-19th centuries, there was a new “empire-dress trend,” which imitated the fashion choices of Classical Greeks and Romans. This trend did away with huge petticoats and their multiple storage options. Instead, women started wearing chatelaines. They were fashionable pieces of jewelry that kept everything close at hand — but also disturbingly available to prying eyes. So much for keeping secrets in your pockets. In fact, some even suggest that ideas of revolution were behind this change. See, if women were less able to conceal what they were carrying, they'd be less capable of organizing for liberation. In fact, it wasn't long before the cause of pockets was explicitly being tied up in political movements of the time. There was a group called the Rational Dress Society, and they campaigned in the 1800s to transform women's fashion for better mobility and functionality. The society came way before most of the Suffragette Movement, but it's easy to imagine that there was a lot of crossover in the interests and goals of both groups. Pockets on women's clothing are more commonplace these days, but the same people deciding who gets pockets are usually also selling fashionable handbags. If you’re a fashion designer, though, then keep in mind: the dressmaker that puts big pockets in every gown will always find a fanbase. [ad lib]
Did the First Life Emerge on Land or in Water? — https://curiosity.im/2EFjyUz (Cody)
Maybe life began in the ocean. Maybe life began on land. Today we’re gonna wrap up by looking at evidence for both ideas — and maybe it’ll help you decide. [Ashley, are you on team land or team water? / ad lib]
CODY: Let’s start with the evidence that life came from out of the water. Some biologists say it’s a better option because the land was not a very hospitable place when the first life forms popped up. It was constantly dealing with deadly UV radiation from the sun — not the friendliest environment for a brand new baby bacteria. Instead, those biologists say that early single-celled organisms formed around jets of water from deep-sea hydrothermal vents, because those vents were rich in nutrients. Those organisms would be safe from the sun down there, and they'd have plenty of tasty minerals to munch on to boot. Now let’s get into the idea that life started on land. The scientists who believe this aren’t really worried about the damage that UV radiation could’ve caused. Instead, they say it’s the deep ocean that’s the extreme environment. On the land, there would’ve been mineral-rich hot springs and a smorgasbord of gases. To back up this claim, scientists look at the fact that surviving cells contain a lot of potassium and not a lot of sodium. The thing is, at the bottom of the ocean the ratio of those two chemicals is completely switched — down there, you’d have a lot of sodium and not a lot of potassium. And on top of that, they say the very UV radiation that scares some microbiologists could have actually been the catalyst for melding those chemicals into a self-replicating code. One more wrinkle in this debate comes from a study from March 2017 published in Nature. That says single-celled organisms might’ve arisen all of a sudden from wherever they came from, meaning that instead of taking a billion years of Earth history before bacteria started pop up, they might’ve popped up after just a couple million, or even tens of thousands, of years. So if life showed up in a fast and furious way, then would it have been more likely to do that on land or in water? Knowing where we came from (and how) could help us figure out where to look for life on other planets. But in the meantime, you can have a fun time with this timeless biology debate.
ASHLEY: We’ve got a couple Friday Fun Facts to wrap up today’s episode. But first, here’s a preview of what you’ll learn about this weekend on curiosity-dot-com.
but you can keep learning all weekend on curiosity-dot-com. This weekend, you’ll learn about how your dog’s personality can change over time;
Secrets you can find hidden in famous paintings;
A star that’s been going nova every year for millions of years;
Why hangovers get worse as you get older;
And more!
CODY: If there’s something ELSE you’re curious about, then send in a question, and we might answer your question on a future episode! You can find our contact info — and a searchable database of all our preview episodes — on our podcast website, curiosity-daily-dot-com.
ASHLEY: That’s curiosity-daily-dot-com.
Come hang out with us again Sunday on the award-winning Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m Ashley Hamer.
CODY: And I’m Cody Gough. Have a great weekend!
ASHLEY: And stay curious!