On Earth, water gets evaporated by the sun from the planet’s surface, and then drops back down from the clouds when it rains. That’s a great source of water, but..is that water safe to drink?  We asked environmental researcher Dr Jonathan Sexton to help us find the answer. Got a question in your bRAIN? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help filter out the answer.

Let’s say you want to measure something really, really, really tiny. How do you do that? With inches? Centimeters? Millimeters? What if it’s so tiny you can’t even see it? Particle physicist Jessica Esquivel helps us solve this teeny tiny mystery! Got a question that seems too big to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try to measure up!

Black holes are areas in outer space that have gravity so strong that not even light can escape its pull! Some black holes are formed from stars…so how does a star go from a burning ball of gas to a light-swallowing void?  We asked UCLA astrophysicist Dakotah Tyler to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really pulled you in? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you gravitate towards the answer.

Whether you’re a fan or not, one thing is for sure - most of us have had an encounter with a daddy long legs. They’ve got super duper long legs, and a TON of nicknames, including cellar spider, carpenter spider, daddy long-legger, vibrating spider, gyrating spider, long daddy, and skull spider. But why are their legs so long? Guilherme Gainett helps us solve this mystery. Got a question crawling around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help figure it out!

Fireworks are loud and exciting! You light a fuse and the firework rockets up into the air, and then BLAM! It explodes into colorful, sparkling bouquets of light. How the heck does a firework do that? We asked chemist David Chavez to help us find the answer. Got a question exploding in your noggin? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we certainly won’t reFUSE it!

Batteries power lots of stuff that people use everyday, like cellphones, toys and laptop computers. Some batteries can even be recharged after they run out of juice. But how do batteries store electricity? We asked chemistry professor James McKone to help us find the answer.  Got a question that’s got you all charged up? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll run a whole battery of tests to find the answer. 

It seems universal that when a person - old or young - is tired, they rub their eyes. It’s even a way that babies communicate to their adults that they are ready for bed. Are we just born understanding that signal? Or is there something going on with our eyes that they need to be rubbed when we’re sleepy? Otolaryngologist Dr. Laura Orvidas helps us understand the connection in this episode. And stay tuned for the week of May 30, when all of our episodes will be sleep-themed. It’ll be a real...

Have you ever turned on a light and wondered, “How does that thing light up, anyway?” Us, too! We asked Tim Pula of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to help us find the answer. Got a question that has you glowing with joy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help illuminate an answer for you!

Ostriches are super neat! They’re the world’s heaviest birds, and they lay the largest eggs of any bird on Earth. They grow up to 8 feet tall, and can run as fast as 45 miles per hour. But you know what they don’t do? They don’t stick their heads in the ground to hide! There are a few reasons why this misunderstanding is so popular, and Sushma Reddy from the Bell Museum helps us understand. Up to your neck in questions? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find someone who can...

Sometimes, doctors use something called anesthesia to help them treat patients. Anesthesia can be different substances, but they all prevent our bodies from feeling pain during a medical treatment or surgery. So how does anesthesia stop us from feeling pain? We asked Dr. Kaveh Hoda to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s topical? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find a painless answer!

We all have a belly button. Right there, in the middle of our belly, there’s a nub. Some go in, some stick out, but what exactly are they for? We asked pediatrician Emma Gerstenzang to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s hard to stomach? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help digest the answer for you!

Have you ever woken up in the morning with the corners of your eyes filled with crud? Sleepy sand? Eye goblins? Dozy dust? Bed boogers? Why do our eyes make this stuff, anyway? And why does it build up when we’re asleep? We asked Yale eye doctor Soshian Sarrafpour to help us get to the bottom of this issue. Got a question that you can’t keep a lid on? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find someone who can answer it in the blink of an eye.  

Bug spray helps us keep mosquitoes and other insects away. But how does it work? We asked insect expert Meredith Cenzer to help us find the answer. Got a question buzzing around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll bug some experts until we get an answer!

A mosquito bites you. Your grandma knits you a scratchy blanket. Your friend tickles you with a feathery cat toy. What do all of these things have in common? They make you itch! Listener Samantha was wondering just why that is, and neuroscientist Sonali Mali says she’s always wondered the same thing, so that’s why she studies it! Got a question tickling at your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, because we’re just itching to help you find the answer!

Antibiotics are a kind of medicine that a doctor might give you to help you fight off an infection. But there are also things called probiotics in food and vitamins. So what’s the difference between probiotics and antibiotics? We asked Dr. Kaveh Hoda to help us find the answer. Got a question that your gut tells you is a great one? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll send you a small-batch, artisanally fermented answer!

Music boxes are hand-cranked toys that play a tinkly little tune. How do they make their music? We asked music box maker Richard Upchurch to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s making you cranky? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find a harmonious answer.

Pugs! They’re adorable! The internet loves them for their sassy personalities and squishy faces. But how did the pug’s face get so smushed? Why are pug noses different from terrier sniffers or German shepherd snoots? We asked animal geneticist Jeffrey Schoenebeck to help us sniff out the answer.  Got a question that’s right in front of your schnozz? Send it to us atBrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find someone who NOSE the answer.

Have you ever played with a Magic 8-Ball? They’re black and white toy balls – but with a twist! People ask the Magic 8-Ball a question, shake it, and it gives you an answer!   How do these toys work? And when were they invented?  We asked Chris Bensch, head curator of the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, NY to help us out.  Got a question that you’re toying with?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll shake up an answer.

Our mouths have a lot going on. They have teeth and a tongue and they help us talk and eat. But what about saliva? It seems important, right? How do our bodies know to make it? We asked otolaryngologist Dr. Laura Orvidas to help us learn all about saliva.  Got a question that you just can’t lick? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer.

Flannel is a soft, comfy fabric used to make shirts, cozy winter bed sheets and all kinds of other stuff. But how is it made?  We asked fabric expert Susan Brown to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s got you woolgathering? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you weave your way to the right answer! 

A volcano forms when the hot melted rock deep under the Earth’s crust bubbles to the surface and breaks through. Sometimes, a volcano will go from active to dormant, meaning it doesn’t erupt anymore. How does that happen? We asked geochemist Kelsey Woody to help us find the answer. Got a question of seismic proportions? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a MAGMAnificent answer!

If sharks were around in the time of dinosaurs, how are they still here today when dinosaurs have gone extinct? Were some just really, really good at hiding from the asteroid that hit Earth? For this episode, we talked to Karen Chin, a professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado.  Got a question you want to sink your teeth into? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll try our best to fin-ish what you started!

A volcano forms when the hot melted rock deep under the Earth’s crust bubbles to the surface and breaks through. Sometimes, a volcano will go from active to dormant, meaning it doesn’t erupt anymore. How does that happen? We asked geochemist Kelsey Woody to help us find the answer. Got a question of seismic proportions? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a MAGMAnificent answer!

A lot of people like root beer! But it’s kind of hard to describe, right? It’s really got a unique taste. We asked Ashley Rose-Young, a historian from the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, to help explain exactly what the flavor of root beer is, and share a little of the history behind this yummy drink.  Got a question that’s poppin’ around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help get to the root of the issue.