logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
6m 50s

How Do Oysters Make Pearls?

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

Oysters (and a few other shellfish) create beautiful pearls as a sort of bodily defense mechanism. Learn how it works in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/question630.htm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Jul 8
Why Is North Sentinel Island Totally Off-Limits?
This small island in the Bay of Bengal is home to one of the last uncontacted peoples on the planet -- and they seem to want to keep it that way. Learn how North Sentinel Island has remained independent in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuf ... Show More
9m 41s
Jul 7
How Have Obituaries Changed?
Public death notices about common people are a fairly recent development, and they've changed a lot since their inception. Learn how obituaries went from dry statements to tributes to truth in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/cul ... Show More
8m 20s
Jul 6
BrainStuff Classics: What Is the Mandela Effect?
When many people share a false memory, that's the Mandela Effect in action -- but how does it happen? Learn how our individual brains misremember stuff and how false memories can spread in this classic episode of BrainStuff.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
6m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2022
Pearls: Second Best Thing About Oysters
Pearls are super cool. And humans figuring out how to make them is even cooler. Learn all about the most interesting gemstone today!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
50m 19s
Feb 2021
Comment remonter le temps grâce à la coquille Saint-Jacques ?
Appréciées pour les qualités gustatives de leur chair, les coquilles saint-jacques font partie des mets incontournables de la gastronomie française. Précieuse et raffinée, leur chair délicate termine dans une jolie assiette, tandis que leur coquille est jetée sans ménagement avec ... Show More
2m 18s
Jun 2024
How do fish know where a sound comes from? Scientists have an answer
00:46 How light touches are sensed during sex150 years after they were discovered, researchers have identified how specific nerve-cell structures on the penis and clitoris are activated. While these structures, called Krause corpuscles, are similar to touch-activated corpuscles f ... Show More
31m 42s
Apr 2024
The World Is Your Oyster: How Our Favorite Shellfish Could Save Coastlines Worldwide
If we at Gastropod were asked to name a perfect food, the oyster would be at the top of our list. Oysters are pretty much always our answer to the question of what we'd like to eat this evening—but are they also the answer to the slow-motion disaster of disappearing coastlines wo ... Show More
50m 22s
Mar 2021
Selects: Mermaids: Not a real thing
Mermaids aren't real. That much we know. But the history and lore of these magical and sometimes menacing creatures of the sea is pretty interesting stuff. Learn all about these half women/half fish in this classic episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpo ... Show More
41m 16s
Dec 2014
How Sea Monsters Work
Legends of sea monsters are as old as humanity, and some ancient cultures even credited with creating the universe. Even today when the sea washes something odd ashore we see monsters - we understand there's much more than appears above the surface. Learn more about your ad-choic ... Show More
36m 22s
Jul 2024
From the Vault: Creature with the Crystal Skin
It is dark inside the human body, but not every denizen of the animal kingdom is such a closed book. In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss various creatures with transparent anatomical features and translucent bodies. (originally published 05/ ... Show More
47m 50s
Nov 2021
Sea squirts teach new lessons in evolution
Spineless sea squirts shed light on vertebrate evolution, and an iodine-fuelled engine powering a satellite in space.In this episode:00:45 A story of sea squirts, ancient vertebrates and missing genesWhen a PhD student set out to study the developmental pathways of a strange sea ... Show More
24m 39s
Sep 2015
Sounds of the Seas
How noisy is the underwater environment? Tom Heap dips beneath the surface to find out if man-made noise is affecting the marine life that lives below the waves.Costing The Earth begins a new series with three programmes investigating the health of our oceans. The team tackles oc ... Show More
27m 42s
May 2024
The Parrotfish, Part 1
In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the weird and wonderful parrotfish: changers of sex, poopers of sand and – if the myths and legends are true – great friends and a parent of fishes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
57m 45s