Learn about how the way you talk could change your ability to learn; two of the biggest myths about wine; and why the manchineel tree is the most dangerous tree in the world. Please support today’s sponsor, WSJwine! Order now and they’ll add to your case 2 bonus California Cabernets and 2 Dartington Crystal glasses. https://www.wsjwine.com/0842005 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: All of Your Relationships Are Affected by Your Code-Switching — https://curiosity.im/2I5diaB Do You Believe These 5 Wine Myths? — https://curiosity.im/2I681Qc You Should Avoid the Poisonous Manchineel, aka the "Tree of Death," at All Costs — https://curiosity.im/2I4NICw 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 how the way you talk could change your ability to learn; two of the biggest myths about wine; and why the manchineel tree is the most dangerous tree in the world.
Please support today’s sponsor, WSJwine! Order now and they’ll add to your case 2 bonus California Cabernets and 2 Dartington Crystal glasses. https://www.wsjwine.com/0842005
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/wine-myths-the-case-for-code-switched-classes-and-the-most-dangerous-tree-in-the-world
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 how the way you talk could change your ability to learn; two of the biggest myths about wine; and the most dangerous tree in the world.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
All of Your Relationships Are Affected by Your Code-Switching — https://curiosity.im/2I5diaB (Ashley)
You know how you change the way you talk depending on who you’re talking to? I mean, you probably don’t talk to your parents or your boss the same way you talk to your friends or your siblings. Well the term for that is code-switching, and you might be surprised by exactly how powerful of an effect it has on the world. For this study, I want to focus on code-switching in educational settings. Your “code” isn’t just what you say; it could be a dialect of the dominant language, like African-American English, or Black English, as it’s called by linguist and author John McWhorter. Because code-switching is so important, some experts have suggested it's worthwhile to explore code-switched classes, similar to ESL classes that cover both the material and the English words for the material. One reason comes from communication sciences professor Julie Washington: she says there's strong evidence that students who have more than one dialect in their heads outperform those who only speak one language or dialect. Washington says that a lot of kids who speak Black English learn to code-switch towards the end of kindergarten, and others towards the end of first or second grade. But after that, she says code-switching isn't going to happen unless you teach it — and it’s a pretty important thing to teach. By the end of fourth grade, students that can code-switch score about one full grade higher in reading than their classmates who didn't pick it up. In fact, some of her research has shown that this reading gap is strongest in places where the dialect is furthest from phonetic English. Sometimes, the pronunciation has moved so far away from the original spelling that kids who speak this dialect may have a hard time seeing how the letters they're learning form the words that they know. They literally may end up having a similar experience to kids whose first language isn't English. Makes sense that the kids who learn to code-switch would outperform the ones who didn't. It's well-documented that bilingual brains are often healthier — and maybe that knowledge should be updated to include speakers of multiple dialects, too. There’s some more great research on this, so feel free to read more in our full write-up on curiosity-dot-com, or on our free Curiosity app for Android and iOS.
Do You Believe These 5 Wine Myths? — https://curiosity.im/2I681Qc (Both)
ASHLEY: Wine can be confusing.
CODY: Seriously. Like, does it matter which glass I use? Which wine are you supposed to drink with steak again? And are you allowed to put red wine in the fridge?
ASHLEY: Right! Well don’t worry, because today we’re gonna bust a couple of the biggest myths in the wine world, and tell you how to make it even easier to enjoy great wine.
CODY: This story is sponsored by WSJwine. WSJwine is a partnership between The Wall Street Journal and the world's leading direct-to-home wine merchant. And you’ll want to stick around, because after we bust these myths, we’ll tell you how to make it even easier to enjoy great wine.
ASHLEY: And WHILE we bust these myths, we may or may not be sampling some wines from WSJwine. Just to help us illustrate our points.
CODY: We’re journalists, after all.
ASHLEY: The first myth is that you’re supposed to chill white wine and not red wine. In reality, room temperature is likely too warm for red wine and your fridge is likely too cold for white. Before you drink it, try taking 20 minutes to chill your red wine or to leave your white wine out of the fridge, and your experience will be the bees knees.
CODY: Speaking of which, I’m enjoying a South African wine called the Bees Knees Chenin Blanc Viognier [Shen-in Blahnc VEE-uhn-YAY] from WSJwine, and I don’t know if it’s the wine itself or the fact that we pulled it out of the fridge 20 minutes ago, but it’s SO GOOD. What’s not so good is the other major myth we’re gonna bust today, and that’s the idea that certain wines require certain glasses. This myth came from the Riedel [REEDLE] glassware company in 1973 when they created a line of variety-specific glasses that they claimed would help you smell and taste the wine in different ways. Scientists have looked into this, and most research says the effects on taste are minimal at best.
ASHLEY: The other wine we’re trying in-studio today is a Raymond Vineyards “The Inaugural” Cabernet Sauvignon from California, and it tastes great just with these stemless wine glasses WSJwine included. And Cody, I know we said the glass doesn’t matter, but could you please not drink straight from the bottle? It’s tacky.
CODY: Okay, fine. [samples] Yeah, you’re right though. This is super good.
ASHLEY: Anyway, now that you know the truth behind these wine myths, you should check out WSJwine’s Discovery Club. You’ll get 12 expertly selected wines reserved for you every 3 months. And you can get exclusive savings of at least 20 percent on future club cases.
CODY: You can customize your selections and you’ll get tasting notes on every wine. You can also give advance notice if you want to delay delivery or skip cases, and you’re free to cancel any time. The WSJwine Discovery Club is perfect for wine fans looking to expand their horizons and increase their knowledge.
ASHLEY: Start by tasting their Top 12 wines, with your choice of reds, whites, or a mix of both. Order now and they’ll add to your case 2 bonus California Cabernets — the same Raymond Vineyards varieties Cody and I were just tasting — and 2 Dartington Crystal glasses. We’ll put a link to WSJwine in today’s show notes.
You Should Avoid the Poisonous Manchineel, aka the "Tree of Death," at All Costs — https://curiosity.im/2I4NICw (Cody)
Wine is delicious. Know what’s NOT delicious? The poisonous manchineel [man-shin-KNEEL], aka the “tree of death.” In fact, you do not want to eat, touch, or even inhale the air AROUND this tree. It is the most dangerous tree in the world. So listen up before you plan your next trip to Central America, the Caribbean, northern parts of South America, or tropical regions of North America, including South Florida. Because that’s where this plant calls home. The tree is a beachy, tropical plant that pretty much looks like any other, save for its abundance of shiny green fruits. But the tree oozes a thick, milky sap that seeps out of everything — the bark, the leaves, and the tempting little death apples that dangle off the branches. And that sap is made up of a slew of horrible toxins that will give you severe burn-like blisters. The toxin in the sap that causes the most serious reactions is a poisonous organic compound called phorbol [FOUR-bull]. And the stuff is water soluble, which causes problems when it rains. Find yourself hiding from a rainstorm underneath a manchineel, and the rain from the sky will wash the toxic, phorbol-riddled sap down through the leaves onto your bare flesh, putting you in a world of pain. Same with eating the fruit, though ingesting the stuff comes with the side effect of possible death. Now, before you go campaigning for death to all manchineel trees, keep in mind they're not all bad. Consider cute patio chairs. Caribbean carpenters have used wood from these trees in furniture for centuries. The trees also play an important role in Central American ecosystems. The large, shrubby manchineel grows into dense, protective walls that prevent coastal erosion on the region's tropical beaches. Hey, what's good for the beach is good with us. Just remember: for all its raw beauty, nature can be pretty scary, too. Next time I’m on vacation and I’m looking for a treat, I’ll skip the manchineel fruits and stick with wine, thanks.
ASHLEY: Read about today’s stories and more on curiosity-dot-com!
CODY: Today’s episode was brought to you in part by our Patrons. Special thanks to Katrina Constantine, Bob Buckley, Dan Paterniti, Ben Urick, Angie, and Emily for supporting our show. You can help support our podcast at patreon-dot-com-slash-curiosity-dot-com, all spelled out. There’s also a link in today’s show notes.
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!