Podcast Episodes
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Why Did Everyone Used to Wear a Hat?
Season 1 Episode 85
Daniel is looking at old photographs and notices that everyone is wearing a hat. On the street, at the beach, at baseball games. Everyone.
He wants to…
1 day, 5 hours ago
Why Do Crickets Chirp All Night?
Season 1 Episode 84
Daniel is lying awake listening to crickets and wants to know why they never stop.
The short answer is that they are trying to find a mate. But the lo…
3 days, 18 hours ago
Why Are Police Cars Mostly Black and White?
Season 1 Episode 83
Daniel assumes police cars have always been black and white everywhere.
They have not. And the origin of the ones that are is murkier than most people…
6 days, 15 hours ago
Why Don't All Countries Measure Things the Same Way?
Season 1 Episode 82
Daniel's friend in England measures distance in miles but temperature in Celsius and weight in kilograms.
That inconsistency turns out to tell a much …
1 week, 1 day ago
Why Are Tires Always Black?
Season 1 Episode 81
Daniel notices that almost every tire he sees is black.
Cars. Trucks. Bicycles. Always black.
Natural rubber is not black. It is off-white -- milky and…
1 week, 3 days ago
Why Do Coconuts Have Three Holes?
Season 1 Episode 80
Daniel notices the three dark spots on a coconut.
They look like a face. Two eyes and a mouth.
They are not just for looking like a face. Those three s…
1 week, 4 days ago
Why Do Pirates Wear Eye Patches?
Season 1 Episode 79
Daniel assumes pirates wore eye patches because they lost an eye.
That is probably part of the answer. But there is a more interesting theory.
When you…
1 week, 5 days ago
Bone vs. Steel: Which Is Actually Stronger?
Season 1 Episode 78
Daniel assumes steel wins easily.
It does -- in one measurement. But the question turns out to be more interesting than a simple winner.
Steel has a hi…
1 week, 6 days ago
How Do Robotaxis Drive Without a Driver?
Season 1 Episode 77
Daniel sees a video of a Waymo robotaxi driving through San Francisco with nobody in the front seat.
He assumes it must be following GPS.
It is doing s…
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Six Bricks. 915 Million Combinations. The LEGO Story
Season 1 Episode 76
Daniel is building with LEGO and starts wondering why it feels so satisfying.
The answer turns out to involve extraordinary precision engineering, a D…
2 weeks, 2 days ago