Pushing daisies. Kicked the bucket. Bought the farm. Six feet under. Crossed over. Passed away. Shuffled off this mortal coil. It is said that the more important - or taboo - a concept is to a society, the more euphemisms that society will have for it, and death is no exception. Death is central to the human experience, with every culture on earth having developed elaborate rituals to mourn the deceased and help them go gentle into that good night. But…what is death, anyway? How is it actually defined? Author: Gilles Messier Host/Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila 0:00 Intro 2:45 How the Ancients Determined Death and the Disturbing Frequency of Burying People Alive 6:21 Changing the Game WITH SCIENCE! 9:22 So Where Does That Leave Us with the "When are They Dead?" Question? 29:44 What Killed George Washington and the Last Minute Pitch to Re-Animate His Days Old Dead Body Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever wonder what the difference between dynamite and TNT is or how they were invented? Well, wonder no more! Despite what the likes of AC/DC and Wile E. Coyote might have you believe, dynamite and TNT are very different substances with distinct properties. So what’s the difference between TNT and Dynamite? And just who invented them? Well, let’s find out as we dive into the fascinating and destructive history of these high explosives, and along the way in the Bonus Facts we’re also going to look at the truth about why there is no Nobel Prize for mathematics, which is likely to be different from what seemingly every mathematics professor the world over will tell you because, well, they are mathematicians, not historians. But to begin with, for much of modern human history, the only practical explosive available was black gunpowder, a mixture of charcoal, sulphur, and potassium nitrate AKA saltpetre. As covered in our previous video Who Invented Gunpowder, this mixture was likely discovered in China around the 9th Century C.E, making its way west across the Middle East to Europe by the 13th. Initially used in fireworks, it did not take long for gunpowder to find military uses, leading to the development of artillery and handheld firearms. It was also packed into various closed casings to produce explosive charges such as hand grenades, buried mines for breaching the walls and doors of fortifications, ‘torpedoes’ for defending harbours against ships, and shells and bombs for cannons and mortars. But while gunpowder completely changed the face of warfare, quickly rendering - for example - castles and plate armour obsolete, it also suffered from several serious drawbacks. For example, burning gunpowder produced large quantities of thick, white smoke... Author: Gilles Messier Host/Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the episode today, we're looking at the rather disgusting ingredients of Worcestershire sauce and how it's made. Whether honey is vegan. How Cereal became part of a complete breakfast. What started the cops eating doughnuts stereotype. Who invented the Food Pyramid. How Napoleon helped invent margarine. Why Asian nations use chopsticks. The difference between brown and white eggs. How people used to use frogs to keep milk from spoiling. The corrupt individual that gave us Monterey jack cheese. And finally the Cornell professor who gave the world the chicken nugget. 00:00 What is in Worcestershire Sauce and Why is It Called That? 04:44 Is Honey Vegan? 09:45 How Did Cereal Become “Part of a Complete Breakfast”? 23:43 What Started the “Cops Eating Doughnuts” Stereotype 27:01 Who Invented the Food Pyramid? 36:20 Napoleon and the Invention of Margarine 42:30 Why Do Asian Nations Use Chopsticks? 45:50 The Difference Between Brown and White Eggs 51:07 Frogs and Milk- How to Keep Milk from Spoiling Without Refrigeration 53:50 The Corrupt and Ruthless Californian Who Gave us the Name for “Monterey Jack” Cheese 01:01:31 The Cornell Professor Who Gave Us the Chicken Nugget Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this art documentary, we are diving into the fascinating, and often insanely expensive, ways artists made the colors they used in their paintings by going on site and discussing it with various experts in the field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At 8:15 AM local time on August 6, 1945, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay of the U.S. Army Air Forces’ 509th Composite Group dropped a single bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Nicknamed Little Boy, the bomb detonated at an altitude of 580 metres or 1,900 feet, unleashing the explosive equivalent of 15,000 tons of TNT. The immediate fireball and blast wave obliterated buildings out to a radius of 1.6 kilometres or one mile, while the resulting firestorm destroyed nearly 11 square kilometres or 4.4 square miles of the city. By the end of the year, around 150,000 civilians of all ages had been killed as a result of the blast, while thousands more succumbed to injuries and radiation poisoning over the following years. The atomic bomb had made its terrifying combat debut. But while Little Boy was fuelled by 64 kilograms or 141 pounds of highly-enriched Uranium, astoundingly only 1.5% of this material or 800 grams actually participated in the nuclear reaction, while a scant 0.7 grams was converted to pure energy. That’s right: a piece of Uranium lighter than a paperclip obliterated an entire city. Such is the astounding power of nuclear fission, which is so much more efficient than any chemical reaction that a single kilogram of Uranium burned in a nuclear reactor can produce as much energy as 3,000 tons of coal. But…how? What makes nuclear fission so extraordinarily powerful? How does it all work? Well, let’s dive into the fascinating process and science that allows us to unlock the incredible amount of energy that lies within all matter. Author: Gilles Messier Editor/Host: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila 0:00 Intro 1:41 What's Really Going on With the Fundamental Building Blocks of All Matter 10:26 Why is There So Much Energy in Matter? 12:02 Artificially Inducing Fission and Why They Choose What They Choose for This 18:08 Building an Atomic Bomb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the official name of Paris–Bordeaux–Paris Trail suggests, the idea of this particular event was to see who could drive from Paris to Bordeaux and back again in the quickest possible time. For reference, this was a distance of 1,178 km or 732 miles on the roads of the day. So what was so special about this particular race? Well, for the first time in history, a large group of automobiles would be pitted against one another in a first to finish-style event, with said race kicking off on June 11, 1895. The brainchild of a group of automobile enthusiasts and journalists keen to promote the then fledgling French automobile industry, the race was seen as a way to both test the limits of cars at the time as well as test the commercial viability of motor racing as a spectator sport. Although, as we’ve previously noted, this was only a couple decades after an era in which competitive walking was one of the world’s most popular spectator sports, so the competition was pretty light. And, to be perfectly clear- we’re not talking speed walking- just regular leisurely walking for hours and hours on end… In fact, certain walking matches were known to draw tens of thousands of spectators. Yes, before YouTube, our forebears found watching people casually walking in circles for sometimes days on end without stopping great entertainment, though to be fair this was... Author: Karl Smallwood Host: Simon Whistler Producer: Samuel Avila Editor: Daven Hiskey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever wonder who invented the ballpoint pen? Well strap in, as we do a deep dive into the progression of writing, and the incredible engineering behind the surprisingly revolutionary ballpoint pen. Author: Gilles Messier Host/Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⁠⁠In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start by looking at the massive creature that has a doughnut shaped brain with its esophagus running right through the middle. Next up we begin by looking at the fascinating reason Dung Beetles do a little happy dance after they find and roll up some poop. We then move on to a myriad of fascinating facts about various ants, including their absolutely remarkable ability to find the most efficient route to something, which has in recent years been used by humans to come up with more efficient algorithms for a variety of applications. We follow all that up discussing a rather unique and hilarious way school swimming herring talk to each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the epsidoe today, we're looking at the twisting, turning, tale of Dr. Pepper and the real story behind it and what's in it. Next up, who invented toast, whether sodium actually raises blood pressure, why cashews are not sold to consumers in their shells and a variety of other interesting food related facts and stories. For the full list, check out the chapter markers below: 0:00 Who Invented Dr. Pepper? 25:31 Who Invented Toast 33:16 Fact or Myth: Sodium Raises Blood Pressure 41:59 Why Cashews are Not Sold to Consumers in Their Shells and Why Pistachios Used to Be Dyed Red 43:13 The Accidental Discovery of Saccharin, and the Truth About Whether Saccharin is Bad for You 50:06 The Origin of Competitive Eating Contests 1:05:11 Why Teachers are Associated with and Traditionally Given Apples 1:10:07 What Makes Peanut Butter Sticky? 1:13:23 The Difference Between Fruits and Vegetables 1:17:13 Why Salt Preserves Meat 1:20:59 Why Buffalo Wings Are Called That 1:25:53 Ketchup or Catsup? 1:30:23 The Difference Between Green and Black Tea 1:32:32 Why is Cottage Cheese Called That? 1:37:37 The Original Uber Eats India’s Amazing Near Century and a Half Old Dabbawala 1:48:16 Why One Bad Apple Spoils a Bunch 1:51:17 Graham Crackers Were Originally Meant to Be Part of a Diet Thought to Curb Sexual Urges 1:56:59 Grape-Nuts Contain Neither Grapes Nor Nuts 2:01:36 Why Seaweed is Sometimes Used in the Making of Ice Cream 2:06:14 The Fruit That Tastes Like Chocolate Pudding 2:12:43 Why Does the Yolk of an Overcooked Hard-Boiled Egg Turn Green? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hermann Göring was second only to Hitler in the hierarchy of the Third Reich. Commander of the Luftwaffe, acting Prime Minister of Prussia, President of the Reichstag, and Hitler’s designated successor – Göring’s Nazi resume was almost unparalleled, as were the atrocities he took part in. His brother, Albert, however, could not have been more the opposite- an unsung forgotten hero of the war, saving countless lives through his work to undermine his brother and Hitler. This is the story of Hermann and Albert Göring. Host: Simon Whistler Producer: Samuel Avila Editor: Daven Hiskey 0:00 The Devil- Hermann Goring 5:09 The Unsung Hero and Badass that was Albert Goring 9:18 "No" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices