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: Your Weight Has a "Set Point" That Your Brain Thinks Is Best The Most Exclusive Museum in the Galaxy May Be on the Moon 5 Life Lessons from Karl Meltzer, the Runner Who Set an Appalachian Trail Speed Record Additional resources discussed: A note on the effect of the full moon on the activity of wild maned wolves, Chrysocyon brachyurus | ScienceDirect Why Do Wolves Howl? And Other Top Wolf Questions Answered | Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute 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:
Additional resources discussed:
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/your-brain-doesnt-want-you-to-lose-weight-the-moon-museum-life-lessons-from-runner-karl-meltzer-and-wolves-dont-howl-at-the-moon
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 a tiny museum that might be on the moon, why your brain doesn't want you to lose weight and how to work around it, and some life lessons from Karl Meltzer, the runner who set an Appalachian Trail speed record.
CODY GOUGH: We'll top off this Sunday with a sprinkle of curiosity, where we dig into a question from an awesome listener like you.
ASHLEY HAMER: Today's question comes from Dave who asks, do wolves really howl at the moon? Stay tuned for the answer.
CODY GOUGH: Let's satisfy some curiosity.
ASHLEY HAMER: Cody, do you tend to have a hard time losing weight?
CODY GOUGH: I've always had a fast metabolism, but boy, has it gotten slower over the years.
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, that'll happen.
CODY GOUGH: High school was out of control when I ran cross country.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah, I bet.
CODY GOUGH: It was like, let's go to Taco Bell and it's been $15. Do you know how much food $15 can buy you at Taco Bell?
ASHLEY HAMER: A lot of food I'd imagine.
CODY GOUGH: I would eat all of it and I was, as my mom said, skinny is a drip.
ASHLEY HAMER: Teenagers.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah. People hated me. I've had a harder time gaining weight.
ASHLEY HAMER: Oh, like muscle and yeah.
CODY GOUGH: Putting on muscle mass is very difficult for me. I don't know about you.
ASHLEY HAMER: It's not difficult for me.
CODY GOUGH: To put on muscle mass?
ASHLEY HAMER: I put on a lot of muscle mass very easily, actually. For a lady--
CODY GOUGH: I know you're jacked and you can beat me up, but you don't have to rub it in my face.
ASHLEY HAMER: But it's bad for running, like you need to be lighter on your feet.
CODY GOUGH: Sure, yeah, yeah.
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, if you're listening and you have a hard time losing weight, then you're not alone. 80% of people who lose weight regain it within a year. Today you'll learn one of the reasons why.
Your brain doesn't want you to lose weight and it'll do everything it can to keep it from happening. You know how your body temperature is usually pretty close to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit? When you get hot or cold, your body kicks in mechanisms to regulate your temperature. The same thing happens with your weight.
Your weight has a thing called a set point that your brain thinks is your healthiest. Let's say you start cutting your calories. You'll probably lose weight, often in the form of fat. When you lose fat, it decreases your levels of leptin, one of the hunger hormones that generally makes you feel full.
Your brain notices that decrease and goes on the defensive by increasing your hunger to make you eat more and by slowing your metabolism to conserve energy. That increase in hunger is why dieting can make those stale snacks you've had in the pantry forever suddenly look unbelievably appealing.
But the slow down in your metabolism is harder to notice. There's something called non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, that describes the energy you use for everything that's not sleeping or working out. Things like walking to the kitchen, doing yard work, playing with your phone, or even fidgeting. When you eat less your NEAT reduces in ways that probably go under the radar.
You might be a little less fidgety or walk to the kitchen just a little less boisterously. That's your body conserving energy. So how do you fight your brain? It's a pretty boring answer, but here it is. Eat fruits and vegetables, unrefined grains, and plenty of protein. Aim for slow, steady weight loss. Instead of trying to drop 10 pounds before summer, try to eat a vegetable with every meal or cut out alcohol on weekdays.
Get plenty of sleep, regular exercise, and try to keep your stress levels under control. The key is to keep your body comfortable with the process so it doesn't sabotage your efforts. If you're kind to your body, your body is more likely to be kind back.
CODY GOUGH: No more crash diets?
ASHLEY HAMER: No more crash diets.
CODY GOUGH: Ashley, do you like museums?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah, I like them OK.
CODY GOUGH: Yeah?
ASHLEY HAMER: We have some great ones in Chicago.
CODY GOUGH: We have really great ones in Chicago. When you go to different cities do you ever think about stopping by the--
ASHLEY HAMER: Oh yeah, for sure.
CODY GOUGH: Really?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: Art museums, history museums, what's your jam?
ASHLEY HAMER: I do love me as science museum. Is that predictable?
CODY GOUGH: I'm shocked.
ASHLEY HAMER: [LAUGHS]
CODY GOUGH: That's so unlike you. So unlike you.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah, but I'll do an art museum here and there.
CODY GOUGH: I like any museum with a good exhibit. There aren't museums you can go to and, if they don't have a thing, like a special exhibit, then I can be a little lukewarm. But if they've got one artist or something.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: I saw an exhibit on Hieronymus Bosch in Madrid. He's a painter who was kind of surrealist before surrealism was a thing. It was really cool. Best museum experience I've had.
ASHLEY HAMER: Awesome.
CODY GOUGH: And for the museum lovers that are listening to this podcast, how would you like to visit the smallest, most exclusive museum in the world? Well, you might have to go out of this world to get there. The astronauts on the Apollo 12 mission allegedly left a souvenir on the moon when they stopped there in 1969. And now it's known as "The Moon Museum."
Specifically, The Moon Museum is a ceramic wafer, basically a ceramic tile, with six works of art printed on it. An American sculptor named Forrest "Frosty" Myers came up with the idea and pitched it to NASA, but he never got a response. Myers was really into the idea though, so he got in touch with a nonprofit who hooked them up with scientists from Bell Laboratories to construct 18 wafers.
He commissioned small sketches from six artists, including himself, then set his sights on actually getting one of the wafers attached to the Moon Lander. Yes, this art museum was technically a stowaway. Myers had some contacts in an aircraft corporation that was working on the Intrepid Lander project. And on November 12th, he got a telegraph confirming the chip had supposedly made it onto the Lander.
It's really small. It's about as thick as mechanical pencil led, and it's 3/4 of an inch by half an inch. So what's on it? A sketch of Mickey Mouse by Claes Oldenburg, a black box created by David Navarros, and a tiny diagram made by John Chamberlain, both inspired by circuitry. A single line in the upper center by Robert Rauschenberg and a sketch by Andy Warhol.
He claimed it's a stylized version of his initials, but we'll let you be the judge of that. You can peruse the museum today in our full write up on Curiosity.com and on the Curiosity app for Android and iOS.
ASHLEY HAMER: Cody, have you ever been to the Appalachian Trail?
CODY GOUGH: No, I don't think so, have you?
ASHLEY HAMER: No. It's a total bucket list item for me, though.
CODY GOUGH: Really?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: Are you going to do the whole thing?
ASHLEY HAMER: I don't know about that. But I have been watching some of the runners who have done the entire thing with total are. It's very impressive what they can do.
CODY GOUGH: You're already Boston Marathon qualified, now next is the Appalachian Trail.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah? What's 2,000 miles after 26.2 miles?
CODY GOUGH: Why not? Yeah.
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, today we've got some life lessons from one of those runners, Karl Melzer, the runner who set an Appalachian Trail speed record. The Appalachian Trail stretches from Maine to Georgia, and is the longest hiking only foot path in the world, at a whopping 2,190 miles. Meltzer set the speed record in 2016 when he finished the trek in 46 days, eight hours, and seven minutes. Although it's been broken since then, we wanted to share five life lessons he put out there after his big accomplishment.
First, focus on what you can control and forget what you can't. He said thinking about hiking eight miles until his next break point was a lot less daunting than thinking about hiking more than 2,000 miles. Second, stay positive no matter what. He tried not to think about negatives or injuries during the hike. Third, enjoy the ride.
Meltzer said he was, quote, sort of obsessed with the trail, end quote, and enjoyed the journey, which is very different than just enjoying the destination. Life lesson number four, show up. When you're running more than 45 miles a day, you've got to get going in the morning. Meltzer said it's OK to stop, but only after you start. Sometimes it's hard to get out of bed at 5:00 AM, but you might feel better once you get going.
And finally, practice gratitude. He said it can boost your mood to be nice to people and show gratitude, and whenever he was feeling down, he'd think about his crew and thank them. We've written about the research backed benefits of appreciation and gratitude in the past. We hope Meltzer's tips motivated you. Now get out there and break some records.
CODY GOUGH: It's time for the listener question. This one comes from Dave who asks, do wolves really howl at the moon? Also, why does Ashley hate personality tests so much? Why do you hate personality tests so much, Ashley?
ASHLEY HAMER: I don't hate personality tests, I hate personality tests that pass themselves off as evidence-based but aren't. Because they're really-- they're lying to us.
CODY GOUGH: You like science-based tests.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah, well, it's not just that I like science-based tests, it's that I like it when a test claims that it's real, that what it finds is really scientifically accurate and it is. Because the Myers-Briggs test is not.
CODY GOUGH: Well, that answers that question.
ASHLEY HAMER: [LAUGHS]
CODY GOUGH: Wow. Remember me to stop sharing BuzzFeed links with you.
ASHLEY HAMER: BuzzFeed is just fine.
CODY GOUGH: Is it? I don't know. You already know you're a Ravenclaw, so--
ASHLEY HAMER: Right.
CODY GOUGH: --what good are they? Anyway, thanks for your questions, Dave. Back to your main question. No, wolves don't really howl at the moon. They are more likely to howl at night, but that's just because they're mostly nocturnal. Studies show that they're actually less active during a full moon, possibly because their prey doesn't come out as much when the moonlight ruins their cover of darkness.
They might not howl to celebrate the moon rise, but they do howl for a lot of other reasons. To attract a mate, to assemble their pack, to bring a lost wolf home, to signal alarm, or to scare off enemies. And that's before we get into the barks, growls, and whimpers. Still, there is a really, really long standing association between wolves and the moon.
Both the Greek and Roman goddesses of the moon were accompanied by dogs. And in Norse and certain Native American mythology, wolves are responsible for the moon's behavior. Thanks for your question, Dave. And thanks for researching the answer, Ashley, because that was all you.
ASHLEY HAMER: You're welcome. Read about these stories and more today on Curiosity.com
CODY GOUGH: Join us again tomorrow for Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY HAMER: And don't forget that you can get every story delivered straight to your inbox when you sign up for our email newsletter. Visit Curiosity.com/email and sign up today. It's free and you can opt out at any time. One more time, that's Curiosity.com/email.
CODY GOUGH: I'm Cody Cough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Stay curious.
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