BrainStuff Classics: How Do Starling Murmurations Work?

Light and tender fried fish plated with crisp fried potatoes is a classic English comfort meal, but it's only a little over a century old. Learn the history of fish and chips in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/cultural-traditions/fish-and-chips.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lemmings are small, fierce rodents that make their home in Arctic environments -- and (spoiler alert) the idea that they kill themselves by following each other off cliffs is a myth. Learn what Disney had to do with it (and what lemmings are really like) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/lemmings.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our bodies need salt and our bodies need water, so why is drinking saltwater not good for you? Learn what salt does in our bodies and why seawater will actually dehydrate you in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-you-drink-saltwater.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tungsten's boiling point is over 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and as tungsten carbide, it's one of the hardest materials we know. Learn how it's used for everything from armor-piercing bullets to electron microscopes to ballpoint pens in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/tungsten.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Without the hippocampus, our brains have serious trouble recalling and recording certain types of long-term memories. Learn how this brain structure works in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/hippocampus.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1926, detective novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days under strange circumstances. Learn about her life and record-setting, best-selling works (second only to the Bible and Shakespeare) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/literature/agatha-christies-disappearance.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Escargot is just one of many ways that humans enjoy eating land snails -- and we've been eating them for 30,000 years. Learn about the snails in question, how they're farmed, and why it's so hard to find them fresh in the U.S. (outside of your garden, anyway) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/escargot.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Geiger counters we use to detect harmful radiation today are 100-year-old technology that works based on simple behaviors of electrons and ions. Learn about ionizing radiation and the invention of the Geiger-Müller counter (including why it clicks) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/geiger-counter.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Starlings flock in swooping, harmonious groups of thousands of birds called murmurations. Learn how these birds pull off such an amazing feat through simple actions in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/starling-murmurations.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may know him as the villain in the film 'Gladiator', but the real-life Emperor Commodus is said to have been even more cruel and megalomaniacal. Learn about his unusual upbringing, how he made himself into a gladiator and an image of Hercules, and his eventual assassination in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/commodus.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.