logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2017
44m 1s

Optography: Image in a Dead Man's Eye

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

Pseudoscience often enters our world where magic fails us, seeming to make the impossible possible via the invocation of actual scientific and technological marvels. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian explore the unmistakably necromantic world of optography, a 19th century notion that the last images seen by the dead might be retrieved from the flesh and fluid of the eye.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
Weirdhouse Cinema: The White Reindeer
In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe discuss the 1952 Finnish folk horror film "The White Reindeer," starring Mirjami Kuosmanen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
1h 17m
Jul 10
The Manta Ray, Part 3
In this series of episodes from Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the majestic manta ray. In this episode, learn all about their parasites, brains and cleaning stations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
1h 1m
Jul 9
The Monstrefact: Monster Mantas of Chilean Folklore
In this episode of STBYM’s The Monstrefact, Robert discusses a pair of creatures from Chilean folklore that may connect to observations of the manta ray…See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
5m 54s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
How Far Can the Human Eye See?
The human eye is basically only limited by the curvature of the Earth and stuff that gets in its way. (Well, and various medical conditions.) Learn how far we can see in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/question198.htmSee omnyst ... Show More
8m 14s
Oct 2018
Would You Really Stay Conscious After Being Decapitated?
For everything we know about the human brain, consciousness is still mysterious. Could reports of people remaining conscious after being executed by decapitation be true? Learn what science has to say in this episode of BrainStuff.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www ... Show More
6m 55s
Oct 2021
Research Bias: Sort It Out, Science
There’s a sticky issue scientists have to deal with – science is carried out by humans. We humans have flaws (and how) and they can end up in our work. Fortunately, science is waking up to research bias. In the meantime, here’s what to look out for. Learn more about your ad-choic ... Show More
53m 2s
Oct 2022
Why Are Graveyards Scary?
Cemeteries and other places where we inter or honor the dead are often at least a little unsettling. Learn about the psychology and philosophy behind this phenomenon in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/afterli ... Show More
8m 5s
Aug 2021
Chiara Marletto, "The Science of Can and Can't: A Physicist's Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals" (Viking, 2021)
There is a vast class of things that science has so far almost entirely neglected. They are central to the understanding of physical reality both at an everyday level and at the level of the most fundamental phenomena in physics, yet have traditionally been assumed to be impossib ... Show More
1h 8m
Jul 2020
The Marvelous Mystery of the Muon Magnetic Moment
Can physicists discover new particles by watching how muons wiggle in magnetic fields? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
42m 12s
Nov 2020
What's it like to fall into a black hole?
Take a cosmic field trip with Daniel and Jorge, as they guide you on a thought experiment into the heart of the most mysterious objects in the Universe. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
48m 10s
Sep 2023
The Tiny Worm At The Heart Of Regeneration Science
A tiny worm that regenerates entire organs. A South American snail that can regrow its eyes. A killifish that suspends animation in dry weather and reanimates in water. These are the organisms at the heart of regeneration science. But exactly how they do these things is still a m ... Show More
14m 47s
May 2023
Invisible Photology (INVISIBILITY CLOAKS) with Greg Gbur
Invisibility cloaks. Transparent frogs. Stealth bombers. Gorilla mischief. Theoretical optical physicist and Invisible Photologist Dr. Greg Gbur joins Alie to chat about light, illusions, secret technology, science fiction inspiration, terrible camouflage, great movies, historica ... Show More
1h 20m