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Season 2017
Will you get a B+, C, an A-, a D+ or the dreaded F? We’ve all had that moment of sheer panic while waiting for your report card. But when you step back, it’s worth asking why do we get
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Will you get a B+, C, an A-, a D+ or the dreaded F? We’ve all had that moment of sheer panic while waiting for your report card. But when you step back, it’s worth asking why do we get letter grades at all? And whatever happened to E? Find out in this week's episode!
When did clowns get so terrifying?!?
Well, sure the answer is partly from 1980s horror movies like IT and Killer Klowns from Outer Space, but the reality is much deeper than that. From
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When did clowns get so terrifying?!?
Well, sure the answer is partly from 1980s horror movies like IT and Killer Klowns from Outer Space, but the reality is much deeper than that. From the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to 19th Century England, clowns have always been around to bring a little chaos. And the truth is, up until the late 1800s they were NEVER for kids. So while Pennywise might be back in the terrifying new IT remake, the truth is terrifying killer clowns are nothing new. Which frankly is even scarier.
2017x2
How did Makeup, WWII, & Communism Create U.S. Healthcare?
Episode overview
Where did our employer based healthcare system actually come from?
If there's one debate you can't avoid today it's what do about the US health insurance. While many countries around
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Where did our employer based healthcare system actually come from?
If there's one debate you can't avoid today it's what do about the US health insurance. While many countries around the world have some form of nationalized, government run healthcare most people in the US have their healthcare provided by their employer. Why is that the case? Well the answer has to do with a strange history of the marketing of makeup, the wage and price controls instituted by FDR during World War II, and the threat of Communism during Truman’s Presidency and the 1950's. Watch the episode to learn more.
Why do we consider an 18 year old an adult?
While you might not personally consider your average 18 year old a full-fledged adult, 18 is a pretty magic number in the US. It’s the the
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Why do we consider an 18 year old an adult?
While you might not personally consider your average 18 year old a full-fledged adult, 18 is a pretty magic number in the US. It’s the the age when you can vote, go to war, work full time, and move out of their parents house. Why is this the case? Well while you might think there’s some sort of biological or traditional explanation, that’s not the case. The age of “adult” in America has always been in flux.
It’s gone by many names, (the pound sign, the number sign, the octothorpe and the hashtag symbol) and it’s had many meanings, but what is the origin of this # mysterious symbol? Well the
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It’s gone by many names, (the pound sign, the number sign, the octothorpe and the hashtag symbol) and it’s had many meanings, but what is the origin of this # mysterious symbol? Well the truth is it goes back all the way to ancient Rome. But what’s even stranger is that the hashtag symbol can help us understand the always changing nature of the abstraction that is language itself.
How did Christopher Columbus invent the idea of “Cannibals?” While evidence of people who eat other people existed long before Columbus, the idea of tribes of “savages” in the jungle who
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How did Christopher Columbus invent the idea of “Cannibals?” While evidence of people who eat other people existed long before Columbus, the idea of tribes of “savages” in the jungle who hunt other people for food was truly birthed with Columbus. He is even the first person to ever use the word “Cannibal” to describe such people. The problem is, no such people really existed in the Caribbean islands where Columbus landed. But the myth of the savage Cannibal took on a life of its own and became a common way to excuse colonization and slavery. How did it happen? Watch the episode to find out!!!
What does World War II have to die with Godzilla and fighting robots? Well, even though Godzilla is one of the most popular monsters in the world and the giant fighting robots known as
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What does World War II have to die with Godzilla and fighting robots? Well, even though Godzilla is one of the most popular monsters in the world and the giant fighting robots known as Mecha Robots are among the most well loved anime genres the creativity that generated these brilliant creatures can be directly tied to the conditions of post World War II Japan because no art occurs in a vaccuum. Underneath the surface of fearsome monsters we can see that Godzilla is closely linked to the fears of atomic radiation and mecha robots emerged from the extremely rapid industrialization of Japan during the 1960’s and 1970’s. How did this happen? Watch the episode to find out!
Though North Korea has been dominating the news cycle lately, an important question to ask is why is there a North Korea and South Korea at all? While the short answer is the Korean war,
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Though North Korea has been dominating the news cycle lately, an important question to ask is why is there a North Korea and South Korea at all? While the short answer is the Korean war, the reality is that seeds for the separate Republic of Korea and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea goes back much further and has to do with the late 19th century Chinese imperialism and the formation of different resistance factions to the early 20th century Japanese annexation of Korea.
Is Poisoned Halloween Candy a Myth? Every year around Halloween, we hear the same concern: you gotta check the candy for poison because strangers put laxatives in Tootsie Rolls, Razor
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Is Poisoned Halloween Candy a Myth? Every year around Halloween, we hear the same concern: you gotta check the candy for poison because strangers put laxatives in Tootsie Rolls, Razor Blades in Apples and heroine in Snickers. But is this trick or treat dilemma an actual reality or just a clever way for your parents to steal your candy? The truth is out there (and by out there we mean in the episode that you should definitely watch).
Rubber is an extremely important part of modern living, from tires to clothes to building materials to adhesives. And though we don’t often think of it in the same league as oil or
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Rubber is an extremely important part of modern living, from tires to clothes to building materials to adhesives. And though we don’t often think of it in the same league as oil or cotton, industrialization drove the demand for rubber drove into intense competition between world powers hell bent on imperial expansion. How did it happen? Watch the episode to find out.
When it comes to giving birth, the first image that comes to mind is a woman lying down on her back, but this wasn’t always the case. In fact the origin of the position we now most
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When it comes to giving birth, the first image that comes to mind is a woman lying down on her back, but this wasn’t always the case. In fact the origin of the position we now most associate with women giving birth started as a procedure to remove gall stones in 18th century France. So how did this position become the gold standard for bringing newborns into the world? Watch the episode to find out.
The holidays are here! And that means its time, food, gifts and lots and lots of family. It’s also that time of year, when you start to take a good hard look at your family and begin to
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The holidays are here! And that means its time, food, gifts and lots and lots of family. It’s also that time of year, when you start to take a good hard look at your family and begin to wonder “Is my family weird?” Well, regardless of how you may feel about your out of town cousins, if your family is in the traditional nuclear family formation (2 parents + kids living in a single home) then you’re in a pretty common formation. But if you’ve got your family ISN’T a traditional nuclear family, then you’re in a pretty common formation. So why does America elevate the nuclear family above other family forms? Watch the episode to find out!
Where do artificial flavors come from? Well whether it’s your average store bought yogurt, granola bar, or even butter, a lot of food we eat today is full of artificial flavoring. Why
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Where do artificial flavors come from? Well whether it’s your average store bought yogurt, granola bar, or even butter, a lot of food we eat today is full of artificial flavoring. Why did this happen? Well it actually has to do with the strange history of vanilla (yes! boring old vanilla) and the human perception of taste. How does it all work? Watch the episode to find out!
Today, we think of computer science as a field dominated by men, but the women have a long and important history in the field. In fact women were many of the very first computer
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Today, we think of computer science as a field dominated by men, but the women have a long and important history in the field. In fact women were many of the very first computer programmers, played a hugely important part in the development of computing during World War II and the space race, and ran the one of the first computer software companies. So what changed? Watch the episode to find out!
It’s the holiday season and we all know that means seeing old St. Nick in his big red suit. But have you ever stopped to wonder why he doesn’t wear any other color? Because he used to be
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It’s the holiday season and we all know that means seeing old St. Nick in his big red suit. But have you ever stopped to wonder why he doesn’t wear any other color? Because he used to be seen wearing blue suits, purple suits, yellow suits and sometimes he was even skinny! So how did we end up a jolly bearded Santa who only dresses in red? Watch the episode to find out.
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