While not all bacteria that lurk in our homes are dangerous, some can transmit viral diseases and various infections, and some of which can be quite serious. These bacteria hide in every room of your home, but they are most prevalent in the kitchen. Yep, you heard it right. Contrary to popular belief, it is the kitchen and not the bathroom that is the most contaminated room in the house.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In these times of health crisis and containment, teleworking is on the rise. At home, some people tend to neglect their dress code. So the question is, does working in pajamas have consequences on the quality of our work? For many people, working at home does not imply the same dress codes. Many of us consider feel is no need to be dressed up to sit at the computer, especially if there are no video-conferences involved. So why not even stay in pajamas?   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and...

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Great Wall of China is the largest construction undertaken by man. Built, for the most part, between the 3rd century BC and the 17th century AD, it was intended to protect a unified China from invasions from the north. According to the latest official estimates, the Chinese Wall extends over 20,000 kilometers. The Great Wall is composed of walls averaging a height of six to seven meters, and also features ditches and natural barriers such as rivers...

Published in a specialized newspaper, a recent article echoes a Taiwanese study, which claims the consumption of wine would protect against Covid-19. Unfortunately for all our wine drinkers out there, this claim is anything but true. The study insists on the role of two natural components of wine, tannins, a biochemical found in grape skin or seeds, and polyphenols, an organic compound found in many plants. In addition to their antioxidant virtues, polyphenols are believed to disrupt the...

The strange phrase "zero stroke" refers to a mental disorder that seems quite astonishing, earning it’s position in today’s You’ll Die Smarter episode, and not on a health podcast. So what is it all about? Zero stroke is a suspected mental disorder, diagnosed by doctors in Germany during the hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic (between 1921 and 1924). And this disorder was mainly characterized by the urge of patients to write endless rows of zeros. Yes, the number 0. How can this urge be...

The global symbol for "Peace and love" was invented in 1958. It was created at that time by the British graphic designer Gerald Holtom as part of protests against a nuclear weapons factory. This graphic designer, a graduate of the Royal College of Arts in London, was very involved in the movement. Holtom proposed that the protesters carry flags and posters with his logo during a peaceful march. This march had around 5000 people and took the protesters on a walk from Trafalgar Square in London...

The protests in Tiananmen Square were immortalized by a photo that has become iconic. You may have seen this famous photo depicting a man with plastic grocery bags in his hands and standing in front of a line of tanks.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You may have heard that, over time, couples end up looking alike. It has been said that by living together and sharing common activities, the faces of couples begin to resemble one another. This resemblance of couples who have been living together for a long time is a common statement, and sometimes supported by psychologists.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have you ever noticed that most male pilots are clean-shaven? Or if they have facial hair it is often a simple moustache? In fact, it is extremely rare to see a male airline pilot with a full beard, and there is a very special reason for this. And it has nothing to do with fashion. Let me explain.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I’m sure you’re familiar with revolving doors. These types of doors that work like a turnstile are often found at the entrance of department stores and large hotels. Consisting of several wings, usually glazed, the user pushes a wing, causing the entire door to turn. By walking with the turning wings, the user then exits the dial on the other side. Interestingly, the direction of rotation doors is usually counter-clockwise.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Yes it did, but also no, it didn’t. Before we get into specifics, what was the red phone? The red phone was said to be a direct line of communication between the Pentagon and the Kremlin in Russia, set up in August 1963 after the Cuban missile crisis of the previous year. This episode was, as you may know, a kind of paroxysm of the Cold War. The Americans and Russians were never as close to war as they were when Moscow pointed missiles from Cuba at the United States.    See acast.com/privacy...

You may have noticed that maintaining eye contact while speaking can be difficult, even though verbal processing seems like it should be independent. Still, many people frequently look away from their conversers while chatting. So is there an interference between the two processes? Well actually, yes. There is scientific evidence supporting that it is more difficult for us to look someone directly in the eye when having a conversation.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out...

You may have experienced this feeling: you are stuck in a traffic jam or at the bank, in a line that doesn't move forward. You find yourself thinking that you made the wrong choice, and if you had chosen a different line or lane, it would be moving faster. Two medical researchers in Canada have looked at this phenomenon to see if there is any validity to this feeling. Is there a psychological basis for it, or is it the result of real observation? The result: this thought comes from an...

Tea bags are by no means new inventions, but their origins may come as a surprise to you. Contrary to what you might expect, we don't owe the invention to the famous tea-loving British Isles, but actually to an American. Tea bags date back to 1908. Technically speaking, it was a little earlier, 5 years prior, that a patent was filed for the first silk tea bag. But these tea bags were initially used for tasting. They were used to present small samples and to preserve the flavor of the tea...

The “Wicked Bible,” also known as the “Sinner’s Bible” is the reprint of the King James' Bible published in 1631, in London, by the royal printers Barker and Lucas. This English translation of the Bible was made at the request of James I of England, and this Bible replaced the previous authorized version at the time, becoming the standard Bible for the Church of England.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Champagne is a sparkling wine produced from 3 grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. It benefits from an appellation of controlled origin, which means that it can only be produced in a specific geographical area and according to specific regulations. And to drink it, there are also rules. Not binding, of course, but there are specific ways of drinking it in order to fully appreciate this drink. Among them, and perhaps the most well know, relates to the glass, as champagne...

This characteristic is very old and actually dates back all the way from the 4th century. During this time is when we first see this distinctive hollowed style on the punt, i.e., the bottom of a bottle. The primary purpose of this hollowed punt is to ensure the stability of the bottle when it is placed upright. Why not just make it flat? Fifteen centuries ago, craftsmen were unable to make bottles with a perfectly flat punt, which caused some difficulty in standing them upright. Craftsmen...

Today the mask is highly recommended in many public places and often required. It is currently considered the best personal protective wear against the Covid-19 pandemic. However, you may have seen some people wearing two masks. Is this more effective? Actually, yes, it may be. This is what a scientific study shows in any case. According to this study, the superimposition of two masks could offer protection equivalent to that of FFP2 masks, which are to date the most effective device.    See...

Before picking up their tickets, many passengers have probably wondered where the safest seat on the plane was. While there are no unbiased, official statistics about the safest seats on an airplane, there are small selection of studies show that some seats may be safer than others. For example, studies have been conducted for specialized publications that have looked into the question.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As far-fetched as it may sound, some plants can actually hear. In fact, it has been scientifically proven by researchers that plants are perfectly capable of setting up defense mechanisms responding to sound. They discovered that when the sound of a specific predators is played near the plant, their defense mechanism to fight against insects are triggered. Let’s look a little closer. These researchers first observed, how plants of the Arabidopsis genus, plants related to mustard and cabbage,...

This strange feeling, this "sick joy" that we may feel when seeing the misfortune of others, has a name: Schadenfreude. This German word literally means "joy of harm". Having been adopted into the English language, it means "to rejoice in the misfortune of others". At first glance, this feeling may appear dangerously close to sadism. Thankfully, we are not all secret psychopaths, as Schadenfreude has a key difference: it’s purely passive.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out...

Perhaps should is a strong word. Of course, you can do whatever you want when it comes to eating. Chopsticks, small forks, your hands, whatever. But, if you want to lose weight, the size of your fork just might matter. At least, that's the conclusion reached by researchers at the University of Utah. Not unlike many of the questions we answer on You’ll Die Smarter, human psychology is behind this phenomenon.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To begin, the title of our podcast is a generalization many of us are familiar with. Some British police officers actually do carry weapons beyond the traditional police baton. So exactly what is the situation? Let’s start with some numbers. In the UK, less than 5% of the police are armed. And these weapons are rarely used. For example, in 2017, out of 15,000 armed police operations, shots were fired only 7 times.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To put it briefly, it saved money. But I think that answer is a little short for us. Let’s look a little deeper into the nitty gritty of why that is. To begin with, you should know that writing dates back to approximately 3300 years BC. This is the period from which the first traces of writing have been found in the temples of the cities of Uruk, now in present-day Iraq. At that time, the Sumerians wrote on clay tablets. But this writing was composed of pictograms or symbols representing a...

If you have a cat you may have seen this strange but hilarious reaction. House cats seem to have an irrational fear of the ever-threatening cucumber. When this common vegetable is placed next to a cat or they discover it by happenstance, they’ll often leap in the air in startlement.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.