This week, we have a very special episode all about the science behind the autonomous sensory meridian response, a.k.a. ASMR. While people who experience ASMR feel extremely pleasant and satisfying tingles when hearing their trigger sounds—which often include hair brushing, nail tapping, chewing, and whispering—another group can hear the same sounds and become filled with anxiety and rage. Eleanor, Rachel, and Amy dig into Eleanor's feature package all about these phenomena, which appears in the winter issue of Popular Science. 

The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week is a podcast by Popular Science. Share your weirdest facts and stories with us in our Facebook group or tweet at us!

Click here to learn more about all of our stories! 

If you want to see us in your town, click here to take our listener survey!

Follow our team on Twitter

Rachel Feltman: www.twitter.com/RachelFeltman

Eleanor Cummins: www.twitter.com/elliepses

Amy Schellenbaum: www.twitter.com/acsbaum

Popular Science: www.twitter.com/PopSci

Theme music by Billy Cadden: www.twitter.com/billycadden

Edited by Jess Boddy: www.twitter.com/JessicaBoddy

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/popular-science/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/popular-science/support

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices