Completely Optional Knowledge Podcast
1) An Update & Exciting News!
An update on the podcast and some exciting news. Spoiler - the exciting news is a new podcast. Subscribe Now
2) Why Do Frozen Lakes and Rivers Sound So Creepy?
Brigitta Green from the perennial winter wonderland of Minnesota has a fitting question for us about ice. After a mysterious, late night howling sound caused “mass slight curiosity” on the streets of ...Show More
3) What's The Coolest Species Name?
What's the coolest or weirdest official name for a species of plant or animal? And how do they get those funny sounding Latin names anyway?
4) Why Distinguish Between Fruits and Vegetables?
Is a watermelon a vegetable? Biologically it’s logical, but does the answer depend where you live?
5) Why Do Animals See Color Differently?
Zookeeper Rick asks why why animals see color differently? Dr. Jay Neitz of the University of Washington Department of Ophthalmology says there is more than one factor that accounts for how animals p...Show More
6) Do Animals Have Rituals Around Death?
Listener Ross Wintle, driving past a cemetery near his home, wonders if animals other than humans have rituals around death? Barbara J King, professor emerita of anthropology at the College of William...Show More
7) Why Do We Laugh At Pain?
Listener Matthew Hollingshead, a skateboard enthusiast, asks why it’s so funny to watch people get hurt. We’re not necessarily talking about critical injuries, more like America’s Funniest Home Videos...Show More
8) Do Animals Have Eating Contests?
Hilah Johnson hosts a show about cooking (and, naturally, eating)and she came to us with a very on-brand question. Do animals have eating contests? We spoke to biologist Elise Huchard to get the answe...Show More
9) What's Quantum Teleportation?
Listening to Shohini Ghose talk about what would happen if a human reached light speed in Episode 16, Fred Papon of Australia wanted to know more about her research into quantum teleportation. Ghose r...Show More
10) How Do Animal Taste Buds Work?
Dallas College professor Patrick Moore, seeing his dog Abbey eating her own poo and swallowing dirty socks, wonders how animal tastebuds work. Danielle Reed, associate director of the Monell Chemical ...Show More