Episode Details

Learn about how the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest texts in the world, was first translated not by a scientist, but by an engraver’s apprentice named George Smith; how horses lost their toes; and why sperm swim differently than scientists previously thought. Some Random Guy Stumbled Upon and Translated a Legendary Ancient Text by Reuben Westmaas Damrosch, D. (2007, May). Epic Hero. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/epic-hero-153362976/  ‌Rym Ghazal. (2011, April 13). World’s oldest writing not poetry but a shopping receipt. The National. https://www.thenational.ae/uae/world-s-oldest-writing-not-poetry-but-a-shopping-receipt-1.568456  Here’s Why Horses Lost Their Toes by Ashley Hamer Hyracotherium. (2011). www.prehistoric-wildlife.com. http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/h/hyracotherium.html  ‌Biewener, A. A. (1998). Muscle-tendon stresses and elastic energy storage during locomotion in the horse. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 120(1), 73–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0305-0491(98)00024-8  About Chestnuts and Ergots On Horses.  (2013). CowboyWay.com. http://www.cowboyway.com/What/WhatAreChestnuts.htm  We were wrong about the way sperm swim by Cameron Duke Gadêlha, H., Hernández-Herrera, P., Montoya, F., Darszon, A., & Corkidi, G. (2020). Human sperm uses asymmetric and anisotropic flagellar controls to regulate swimming symmetry and cell steering. Science Advances, 6(31), eaba5168. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba5168 Wilson, C. (n.d.). Sperm have a weird way of swimming and we only noticed after 300 years. New Scientist. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.newscientist.com/article/2250415-sperm-have-a-weird-way-of-swimming-and-we-only-noticed-after-300-years/ ‌Spinning otter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1bl_V_nMxQ 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/policies/listener for privacy information.