How Do You Grow a 3,000-Pound Pumpkin?

Brown recluse spiders rarely bite humans, and when they do, it only causes a reaction in about 10 percent of cases. Learn how to identify brown recluses and what their bites do in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/brown-recluse-spider-bite.htm (If your urine turns black, seek medical treatment immediatly.)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Voting is an incredibly important way to make your voice heard, but it's very rare for a candidate to win or lose by just one vote. Learn how rare -- and about a few times that it's happened -- in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/can-single-vote-change-election-outcome.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The largest pumpkins in the world now weigh well over a ton, and the record gets broken just about every year. But how (and why) would you go about growing one? Learn how competitive gourd growing works in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://home.howstuffworks.com/grow-giant-pumpkin.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every movement our bodies make -- from waving at a friend to pumping blood -- is goverened by complex electrochemical handshakes among our nerves and our muscles. Learn how voluntary, involuntary, and reflexive movements work in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/musculoskeletal/muscle.htm; https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/nerve.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After years of trench warfare in WWI, France built a line of massive underground bunkers and other defensive fortifications along hundreds of miles of its border. Learn how the Maginot Line worked -- and why it failed to stop the Nazi invasion -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/world-war-ii/maginot-line.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some U.S. cities and states have officially changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day. Learn why -- and why some Americans disagree with the change -- in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-other/columbus-day.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The English-language terms for different baked goods vary based on where English is being spoken. Learn why an American cookie is a British biscuit, an American biscuit is a British scone, our muffins have nothing to do with each other, and pudding doesn't have to involve pudding at all in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/great-british-baking-terms-know-scones-from-biscuits.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When dark spots appear on the surface of the Sun, we're actually seeing the result of massive distortions in solar magnetic fields caused by roiling plasma -- and they appear in regular(ish) 11-year cycles. Learn what we know (and don't know!) about sunspots in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/sunspot.htm/printableSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A sunken continent called Lemuria was first proposed as a scientific explanation for lemur populations in the mid-1800s, but it quickly became part of the mythology of Theosophist mystics and Tamil cultural activists alike. Learn the truth and myths behind Lemuria (plus what Darwin had to do with it) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/lemuria.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty's castle -- the centerpiece of Disneyland and the Disney logo -- on a real castle in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Learn about Neuschwanstein Castle's strange and tragic history in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/neuschwanstein-castle.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.