Episode Details

Learn about why small talk is important for coworkers during the workday; why gossip is actually pretty good for you; and how some frogs survive the winter by literally becoming “frogcicles.”  Small talk during the workday is crucial, and remote workers may not be getting enough of it by Kelsey Donk Psychology research shows “water cooler talk” can have big benefits. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/uoc--prs120120.php  Guydish, A. J., D’Arcey, J. T., & Fox Tree, J. E. (2020). Reciprocity in Conversation. Language and Speech https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0023830920972742  Gossip Gets A Bad Rap, But It's Actually Pretty Good For You by Ashley Hamer Brondino, N., Fusar-Poli, L., & Politi, P. (2017). Something to talk about: Gossip increases oxytocin levels in a near real-life situation. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 77, 218–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.12.014  Gossiping Is Good for You, Study Confirms. (2017). Vice.com. https://www.vice.com/en/article/paebgg/gossiping-is-good-for-you-study-confirms  Beck, J. (2014, November 6). Have You Heard? Gossip Is Actually Good and Useful. The Atlantic; theatlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/have-you-heard-gossip-is-actually-good-and-useful/382430/  Dunbar, R. I. M. (2004). Gossip in Evolutionary Perspective. Review of General Psychology, 8(2), 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.8.2.100  Martinescu, E., Janssen, O., & Nijstad, B. A. (2014). Tell Me the Gossip. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(12), 1668–1680. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214554916  For some frogs, surviving the winter means becoming a “frogcicle” by Cameron Duke In Alaska, wood frogs freeze for seven months, thaw and hop away. (2014, July 24). Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-alaskan-frozen-frogs-20140723-story.html  Layne, J., & Lee, R. (1995). Adaptations of frogs to survive freezing. Climate Research, 5, 53–59. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr005053  Live Science Staff. (2012, September 26). Can Frogs Survive Being Frozen? Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/32175-can-frogs-survive-being-frozen.html  Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. 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.