Stuff You Should Know

Today we go down the road a bit, thumbs out, to explore the rich history of hitchhiking. 

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Few people have been more qualified to survive a plane crash alone in the Amazon for almost two weeks than Juliane Koepcke. Let?s hear her story.

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Arson investigation has changed a lot over the years. There is actual science available now, but the word still hasn't totally gotten out. Listen in today, and don't play with matches!

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It's common knowledge that famines are usually caused by major droughts: Rain doesn't fall, crops don't grow, and people go hungry. But recent research suggests that while weather may trigger famines, they may actually be more of a human-made catastrophe. Find out more in this classic episode.

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We think of estrogen and testosterone as the female and male sex hormones and they may seem kind of gross (is that just Josh?), but that simple understanding is way off. A magical biochemical dance between the two creates everything from bones to moods.

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Straitjackets aren't really a thing anymore unless you're watching a movie or TV show. Or in prison. That's the sad truth.

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The 70s were the decade of the woman in the US. America finally was coming around to the understanding women and men are equals and the government sponsored a conference to advance women?s rights. The opposition that arose changed the fabric of America.

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When Fort Knox was built in the 1930s to house America?s gold supply, it was billed as an impenetrable, impregnable, don?t-even-think-of-trying vault. But as the world has moved further away from gold, the stockpile?s lost a bit of its luster. Learn all about it in this classic episode.

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One of America?s most important ecosystems takes up more than half the state of Florida. It?s a river of grass, a cactus desert, and a saltwater bay all rolled into one. And there are alligators and crocodiles. And that?s just the beginning.

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What's the deal with knocking on wood? It's an action one takes to ensure good luck. Which doesn't exist. Yet we do it. Humans are funny that way.

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One of the things we rely on is for the companies who make the stuff we need to not stick it to us, the customer. But it?s become painfully clear that?s just what happened during the pandemic and that it?s still happening today. What can we do about it?

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In 2018, there's a man from a lost tribe still living deep in the jungles of Brazil who has been all alone since the mid 1990s. He's referred to as the Man of the Hole, and has had no face-to-face with modern humans. Who is he? We'll answer that question as best we can in this classic episode.

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It doesn't get much bigger than the Pulitzer Prize if you're a journalist. Or a novelist. Or really any kind of writer. They even give them to podcasts now. We're not holding our breath.

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The strange thing about the story of the Ramree Island Crocodile Massacre is that it didn't happen. Yet the story lives on. 

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A man with an unfulfilled vision left a huge gash in the ground near Niagara Falls. Then a chemical company came along and filled it with toxic waste. Then people came along and built homes and an elementary school on top of it. Then things went badly.

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Believe it or not, in 1985 the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb from a helicopter onto a residential building in an African-American neighborhood. The fact that this story isn't more widely known says it all. Listen and learn about MOVE in this classic episode.

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Today is part II of our tribute to one of the most iconic pieces of American culture.

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Ten percent of people ? in Japan at least ? get the urge to poop when they visit bookstores. But it wasn?t until a courageous woman stepped up and became the voice of the phenomenon now named after her that they realized they were part of a movement.

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Today we pay tribute to one of the most iconic pieces of American culture. Listen in to hear us gush about Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang. 

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For a learning disability that everyone seems to know about, dyslexia is maybe the most commonly misunderstood and controversial cognitive difficulty there is. Some people think it?s a gift, some people think it doesn?t even exist. Learn more in this classic episode.

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It started with New Hampshire couple Betty and Barney Hill, who learned under hypnosis they?d been abducted and examined by aliens in 1962. Since then, possibly millions of people in the US alone came to believe they followed in the Hills? footsteps. Why?

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There?s an ingredient in Skittles and lots of other food that Dunkin Donuts stopped using it in their powdered donuts. Skittles said they were phasing it out too back in 2016 but still haven?t and now the lawsuits flow like The Spice.

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The most reviled, hated, despised, no-good, low down, dirty rotten architectural style of all time is actually just the most misunderstood. Learn about this unfairly treated architectural movement and why it?s awesome. Learn to love brutalism.

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Breaking up is hard to do. Your brain might even think you're getting over a cocaine addiction. Learn all about the science behind break-ups in this classic episode!

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Llamas are pretty great. They smile! They also spit and if they feel overworked will just lay down. There's a lot to admire there.

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Roly Poly bugs go by many names. They look like tiny armadillos. They're great for your garden. And they're crustaceans. Yeah, you read that right. 

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Multitasking isn't really possible, because of the way the human brain works. We know you think you're getting more done, but you're really working slower and with worse results than working sequentially. We promise. 

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The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, two anarchists accused of murder, was one of the first "crimes of the century." But did they do it? To this day there is speculation that they did not. Learn all about this famous case in this classic episode. 

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You know all of those cords and cables and wires that we use to connect our stuff to the electrical grid so they?ll, you know, work? Imagine a day when energy flies through the air like wifi, utterly cord-free. Well, imagine no more! That day is coming!

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Smudging is the process of wafting around the smoke of burning white sage. What is it good for? Listen in and find out.

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If you grew up outside of Africa, you might know Haile Selassie?s name from reggae music - the man who ruled Ethiopia is considered a god in Jamaica. In Ethiopia opinions are more varied. 

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In 1968, Paul Erlich published The Population Bomb, predicting coming famine and mass death. Erlich's predictions didn't pan out but his ideas launched a debate still raging today. Learn all about it in this classic episode.

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David Hahn was a kid who was really into science. So much that he built a nuclear reactor in his mother's potting shed. And it worked. 

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One of the world?s cultural treasure troves were created in West Africa. But for over a century they?ve been held in museums outside of Africa. In fact, an estimated 95 percent of Africa?s cultural heritage is kept in museums overseas.

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Charles and Ray Eames were superstar designers who dreamed up some of the most iconic pieces of furniture ever made. And they did much more than that.

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Sometimes a good idea doesn?t pan out in real life. Take Buckminster Fuller?s geodesic dome: It requires less energy to heat and cool, it?s cheap, and it?s durable enough to withstand a hurricane ? but it?s also godawful ugly and that was its undoing. Learn more with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.

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Like is a very divisive word. Purists think it's like, a filler word born in the 80s that's like, destroying the English language. Turns out none of these are like, true. 

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There?s a great origin story behind snake oil salesmen, and it has to do with just one guy who singlehandedly gave it a bad name.

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There was a brief period in America?s history ? after people left the farm to work in the city and before the government started regulating it ? when there was a total, lawless free-for-all in the food industry. Things were bad. Really, really bad.

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The Unabomber was one of the most notorious and longest lasting cases in the history of the FBI. Just because the manifesto reads like he was a fortune teller doesn't make his actions any less deplorable. Learn all about this fascinating case in this classic episode.

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Do teachers and managers give special treatment to those who they're told have great academic or professional promise? Does this create a self-fulfilling prophecy, regardless of the truth? That's just part of the fascinating Pygmalion Effect.

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Why are all school buses the same color? Because one man made it so. This is that story. 

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Whether you know it as Clue or Cluedo, the whodunnit mystery board game is one of the best of all time. Learn all about the history behind the game?s development, and strategies on how to crush your fellow players as soundly as Chuck?s wife crushes him.

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Disgust is an odd thing. It makes sense that we would feel a sense of revulsion at the thought of putting rotten meat in our mouths ? that?s pure evolution. But why would we feel the same emotion at the thought of weird sex or from hearing a racist rant? Find out more in this classic episode.

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How did the sleepy Nevada town of Las Vegas become LAS VEGAS? Well, we'll let you know over the course of about 45 minutes. 

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Wainscoting is a beloved and time-tested decorative way to spruce up your walls. But what is it anyway? Listen in to find out.

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Tune in today to listen to the story of when North Hollywood became a war zone after a brazen bank robbery. 

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We live in a time where computers can beat the best humans in the world at chess, checkers, poker and video games. But these games are really just demonstrations of how intelligent our machines are growing. They?re growing more intelligent by the hour. This classic episode features a special guest, Tech Stuff's Jonathan Strickland.

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One thing you could do is create your own language. Some people do and for lots of different reasons. LL Zamenhof created Esperanto to try to bring about world peace. It worked, but on a less-than-global scale.   

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Jumping into a cold pool after a long sauna or hot tub can be pretty great. Saunas have proven health benefits like lowering blood pressure; cold plunges are shown to reduce inflammation. Why not combine them? A bunch of safety reasons, bucko, that?s why.

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