Curiosity Daily Podcast: Do Turkeys Really Drown in Rainstorms?

Neil Shubin is back to talk about the viruses lurking in your DNA. You’ll also learn about whether it’s true that turkeys are so dumb that they drown in rainstorms, and why domineering people don't rise through the ranks any faster.

November 25, 2020

Episode Show Notes:

Additional resources from biologist and author Neil Shubin:

Turkeys Don't Drown in Rainstorms by Ashley Hamer

Despite the stereotype, selfish, domineering people don't rise through the ranks any faster by Kelsey Donk

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Ashley Hamer and Natalia Reagan (filling in for Cody Gough). You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Up

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Your Roommate Really Doesn’t Know How You’re Feeling

Learn about how lightning strikes led to life on Earth; the self-control of cuttlefish; and your roommate’s feelings.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Is Static Worse in Winter?

Learn about why sensitive questions won’t make conversations as uncomfortable as you think; why static is worse in winter than in summer; and the “umami synergy” behind why bacon and eggs go together so well.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: What Wind Chill Really Means, Learning Skills Faster with a Workout, and the Hypatia Stone

Learn about how the mysterious Hypatia stone could change what we know about our solar system; what wind chill actually means; and how you can learn skills faster with a 15-minute workout.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Infinity in a Used Prayer Book and Vampire-Like Sea Slugs

Learn about the earliest use of infinity we’ve found; and vampire-like sea slugs that absorb other organisms’ attributes.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Curiosity in the Workplace (w/ Spencer Harrison), New Flying with Dandelions, and Physical Relationship Benefits

Learn how dandelions taught researchers a new way of flying that was previously unknown to science. Then, learn how a happy marriage can make you physically healthier. You’ll also learn about curiosity in the workplace — and some of the unseen benefits of your own curiosity — from INSEAD Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour Spencer Harrison.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: How to Talk to a Science Denier and Raining Sulfur in Sodom

Learn about how to talk to someone who denies a scientific reality; and “raining sulfur” in the Biblical city of Sodom.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Are There Really Wasps in Figs? Plus: People Like Round Numbers Even When They’re Bad

Learn about why people prefer round numbers over precise ones, thanks to a principle behavioral economists call attribute framing; and whether there really are wasps inside figs.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Pure Chance of Political Positions, Why Earth Has Oxygen, Infrared and Ultraviolet in Rainbows

Learn about why political parties may arrive at their positions by pure chance, with some help from opinion cascades; why the Great Oxygenation Event led to a bigger die-off than the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs; and, whether infrared and ultraviolet light show up in rainbows.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: The Phantom Torso Experiment Protected Astronauts in a Very Creepy Way

Learn about why we need memorials for medicine; NASA’s Phantom Torso experiment; and why we often overestimate outliers.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Metabolic Window Myths, Egg Entropy (w/ Ralph Crewe from SNaQ), and What’s in Tattoo Ink

Learn how important it really is to refuel right after a workout; and, why it’s important to learn about the chemicals in tattoo ink. We’ll also discuss a listener question about egg entropy with a special guest, Ralph Crewe from the podcast Science, News, and Q’s.