Let Me Google That
329 episodes - English - Latest episode: 26 days ago - ★★★★ - 109 ratingsFascinating fodder to fuel your next trip down a Wikihole. New episode every Sunday! Brought to you by Water Cooler Trivia (watercoolertrivia.com). *Content Warning* Language, comic mischief, & weird stuff! Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
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Episodes
How Disease Eradication Works
April 18, 2021 08:06 - 9 minutes - 6.48 MBWhat does it take to get rid of an infectious disease forever? Could we ever eradicate COVID? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Can plants see?
April 04, 2021 06:00 - 5 minutes - 5.35 MBPlants do have senses—in a sense. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
Can Plants See?
April 04, 2021 06:00 - 5 minutes - 4.28 MBPlants do have senses—in a sense. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
The Man Who Stuck His Head in a Particle Accelerator
March 28, 2021 08:07 - 6 minutes - 3.83 MBAnatoli Bugorski stuck his head in a particle accelerator and LIVED — but that's not even the strangest part of this story. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Spiro Agnew
March 21, 2021 08:02 - 4 minutes - 2.34 MBI have no logical explanation for this but my first thought upon waking today was SPIRO AGNEW! Was not expecting this Wikihole to lead to Frank Sinatra, but here we are. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
A Lil' Mars Music
March 14, 2021 08:02 - 6 minutes - 4.78 MBThis week our friend Chelsea Gohd aka Foxanne, senior writer at Space.com and an analog astronaut, is here to talk about how she recorded a song with the first sounds ever from Mars with some help from the Perseverance Rover. Be sure to check out her debut EP: It's real (I knew it). --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Foods That Can Poison/Kill You
March 07, 2021 09:02 - 5 minutes - 2.9 MBYou might want to reconsider that slow cooker recipe with red kidney beans. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Ribena
February 21, 2021 08:58 - 4 minutes - 3.08 MBIn the early 1900s, the U.S. banned blackcurrants because the seeds were vectors for a fungus that threatened the logging industry. That means that most Americans have never tasted blackcurrant. Which means they've never experienced RIBENA. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Who Invented Silly String?
January 24, 2021 08:56 - 3 minutes - 2.01 MBLike many great inventions, Silly String was an accident: it was meant to be spray-on casts.
Can You Erase Someone From History?
January 10, 2021 09:07 - 3 minutes - 2.22 MBYou might want to, but is it possible? Or advisable? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
SNURFING
December 27, 2020 08:56 - 2 minutes - 1.9 MBYou can never unlearn that "snowboarding" began as "SNURFING." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Operation Tamarisk
December 06, 2020 09:00 - 3 minutes - 2.21 MBCold War-era dumpster diving at Soviet HQ revealed they were wiping their butts with intel. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
A COVID Thanksgiving: Self-Disinfecting Silver
November 22, 2020 09:00 - 5 minutes - 3.02 MBAhead of Thanksgiving in the age of COVID, we’re revisiting a podcast of holiday seasons past to ask an important question: Does your Nana's sterling silver really disinfect itself?
Banshees
October 25, 2020 08:00 - 3 minutes - 1.96 MBAhead of Halloween, let's learn all about banshees & the not-so-subtle art of keening. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Saturday Night Massacre
October 18, 2020 07:19 - 5 minutes - 3.16 MBOn the night of October 20, 1973 (a Saturday), a series of events unfolded that culminated in what became known as Watergate. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Can Licorice Kill You?
September 27, 2020 07:21 - 4 minutes - 3.58 MBThe most popular use of licorice is *not* for candy, though it can be dangerous if you eat enough of it. (ALSO: Sorry for the audio, I need a new pop screen for my mic!) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
The Penguin That Never Existed
September 20, 2020 10:01 - 2 minutes - 1.64 MBIn the '80s researchers identified a new penguin…or did they? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
The Poison Squad
September 06, 2020 08:00 - 5 minutes - 3.48 MBSeptember is #FoodSafetyEducationMonth so let’s celebrate by remembering the men who volunteered to get food poisoning for science. #poisonsquad
A Brief History of Yellow School Buses
August 30, 2020 07:22 - 7 minutes - 4.32 MBTurns out yellow school buses have quite a history. And only require seat belts in one state!
Why Do We Wink?
August 23, 2020 09:20 - 5 minutes - 3.1 MBWhy do we do this THING with our ONE EYE (that is ... those of us who can wink).
Atomic Gardening
August 10, 2020 07:49 - 5 minutes - 5.04 MBThe #atomicbomb gave radiation a bad name, so scientists made "gamma gardens" a thing. ☢🌻 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
Fictional Colors
August 03, 2020 05:52 - 4 minutes - 2.62 MBSince August is #NationalCrayonCollectionMonth this seems like a good time to talk about FICTIONAL COLORS. 🖍
Roanoke
July 20, 2020 07:53 - 6 minutes - 6.12 MBThe entire colony of Roanoke ghosted 430 years ago and we still don't know what happened to them. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
Can dogs really smell fear?
July 06, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutes - 7.35 MBCan animals really smell fear? Can *humans* smell fear? And if the military were to, say, use pheromones to psych out enemy troops would that count as biochemical or psychological warfare? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
Tunguska
June 29, 2020 10:00 - 16 minutes - 9.33 MBThe largest impact event in recorded human history was 1,000 x the strength of the atomic bomb & destroyed *80 million* trees in the Siberian wilderness. But what was it?
Legal Obscenity
June 22, 2020 09:43 - 8 minutes - 8.3 MBOn June 21, 1932, the landmark SCOTUS ruling in Miller v. California redefined what makes something legally obscene. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
The Fenn Treasure
June 15, 2020 09:00 - 16 minutes - 13.5 MBLast week the mysterious #FennTreasure was found deep in the Rocky Mountains after a decade of intriguing puzzles, poetry, and DEATH. ☠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Shampoo
June 08, 2020 09:37 - 4 minutes - 3.26 MBSo, when did humans start in with the whole "rinse, lather, repeat" nonsense?
The Chase Vault
June 01, 2020 09:00 - 4 minutes - 2.49 MBWhenever someone died and the family opened the mausoleum, they’d find the coffins inside had MOVED.
Where is JFK's Brain?
May 25, 2020 09:00 - 5 minutes - 2.89 MBJFK'S birthday is on Friday, so in his honor ... consider that Gallup polls since 1963 show most Americans believe JFK’s assassination was part of a conspiracy. And that it did not help that JFK's brain went missing after the autopsy. See: Wikipedia of JFK assassination conspiracy theories. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Did This Woman Give Birth to *69* Kids?
May 11, 2020 09:10 - 6 minutes - 3.77 MBHappy Mother's Day! Did this woman really have ~69 children? Is that humanly possible? Also...why? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
CAMEL 🦒LEOPARDS
May 04, 2020 08:36 - 13 minutes - 9.15 MBEverything you never knew you wanted to know about giraffes: the even-toed ungulates formerly known as CAMELEOPARDS. Did you know that young male giraffes practice mating. . .with each other?
Who Invented 7UP?
April 27, 2020 08:06 - 7 minutes - 4.82 MB7UP wasn't just ANY lemon-lime soda, it wanted to be *the* lemon-lime soda. Adding lithium probably helped. As did the enduring mystique around its name. Oh, and the whole "upside down" thing in the early 2000s. . .
What Even IS Plastic?
April 20, 2020 08:13 - 9 minutes - 6.38 MBWhy not celebrate #EarthDay this week by having a lil' ocean with your plastic?
The Waffle House Index
March 30, 2020 08:24 - 6 minutes - 5.28 MBApparently, the so-called Waffle House Index annoys the shit out of FEMA. #covid19
Cough Medicine
March 16, 2020 07:51 - 5 minutes - 3.43 MBSeems like a good week to talk about the risk of cough medicine, eh? #covid19 #coronavirus Read more: FDA panel says risk of opioid use in kids’ cough medicines outweighs benefits (STAT News, 2017)
Who Invented Coffee Filters?
March 09, 2020 07:58 - 10 minutes - 10 MBDid you brew your coffee in a paper filter this morning? You have a fed-up German housewife named Melitta to thank for that! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
The Urantia Book
March 02, 2020 09:31 - 7 minutes - 5.1 MBHappy #ReadAcrossAmericaDay! Why not celebrate by reading a mysterious 2,000-page spiritual tome supposedly bestowed upon humanity by celestial beings and that we don't know the author of?
Self-Experimenting Med Student Wins Nobel Prize (eventually).
February 10, 2020 10:00 - 5 minutes - 2.95 MBFor #ValentinesDay take your display of love to the next level and catheterize your own heart like Werner Forßmann. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Can you really work yourself to death?
February 03, 2020 10:00 - 5 minutes - 5.09 MBSpoiler: Um, yeah. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
"Fake" Banana Flavor
January 27, 2020 10:00 - 3 minutes - 3.61 MBActually, that weird not-quite-banana flavor isn't fake! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
England's Biracial Queen
January 13, 2020 10:00 - 13 minutes - 9.38 MBBefore Meghan Markle, Queen Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz shook up the ultra-white House of Windsor. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
Disqualifying the Positive
January 06, 2020 10:00 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MB*Disqualifying the positive* is a kind of cognitive distortion where you explain away good things that happen because they don't fit into your *grand unified theory of negativity* — but it's a little more nuanced than that. (NOTE: This episode was originally recorded in 2018!) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
A Tiny History of Confetti
December 30, 2019 10:00 - 4 minutes - 2.79 MB"There was malice in the thrust," — NYT report c. 1906 on aggressive confetti throwing.
The Physics of Figure Skating
December 09, 2019 11:00 - 6 minutes - 4.98 MBStep 1. Listen to today's episode on the physics of figure skating. Step 2. Use @disneyplus to watch Ice Princess (2005) Step 3. GO FOR THE GOLD 🥇⛸️
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons
November 25, 2019 10:00 - 5 minutes - 3.31 MBImagine buying a balloon that costs more than a house. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
What is Gender?
November 18, 2019 10:00 - 6 minutes - 5.81 MBGuest host Vieno from Trans Field Guide podcast is here to explain what gender is (and isn't) in celebration of #TransAwarenessWeek! You can learn more at transfieldguide.com. Follow them on Instagram @transfieldguide1 and www.facebook.com/TransFieldGuide/🌈 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letmegooglethat/support
The Glowing Civil War Soldiers Mystery
November 11, 2019 10:00 - 6 minutes - 5.57 MBThe phenomenon of "angel's glow"—a centuries-old mystery—was solved by...a group of high schoolers. 💅✨ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support
How "Monobosom" Beget the Modern Bra
November 04, 2019 10:41 - 6 minutes - 5.73 MBFed up with "monobosom," Caresse Crosby (aka Mary Phelps Jacobs/Polly Jacobs) received the first U.S. patent for the "brassiere" in early November of 1914. She also ghostwrote porn, founded the press that published Bukowski, & had a dog named "Clytoris." --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/letmegooglethat/support