Why Do We Say 'Close, But No Cigar'?

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

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

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. 

How did factory workers in the 1920s pass the time while rolling cigars?  Chris is on a mission to prove his creative genius as he interviews a man from 1925 Florida who proves that the key to making the perfect Cuban cigar isn’t in the tobacco, it’s in the art of storytelling. S ... Show More

Why is Neil trying to smoke a cigar in the studio? Learn an English expression about almost succeeding 

The Washington Post published an article revealing that the CIA secretly owned and operated an encryption company for decades. How did that happen and what does it mean? And what lessons should we learn from it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Saviez-vous qu'on fumait notre première cigarette à 14 ans et demi ? Saviez-vous qu'au bout de 48h d'arrêt on retrouvait le goût et l'odorat ? Voici 5 choses à savoir... sur le Tabac. Hébergé par Audion. Visitez https://www.audion.fm/fr/privacy-policy pour plus d’informations. 

Why are some words funnier than others? Well, one man has sought to figure that out. We'll tell you all about him and his project in today's episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

We've seen them in movies, but how close are we to having nanorobots in reality? And what will we do with them? We'll be unpicking the tiny details of nanotechnology! Plus in the news this week: as Omicron cases continue to rise, what can we learn about it from South Africa? Rese ... Show More

We humans are smart, to be sure, but if we’re so smart then how come we can’t figure how we got so smart in the first place? Think about that! We sure did and we go over some theories in this super interesting episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

#150 Peppermints. They seem innocent enough right? But if that's the case, then what common thread do they share with cigarettes? Don't worry, it's not an inherently bad connection. The common ingredient is one simple thing, menthol. Let's talk about it. References from this epis ... Show More