What can we learn from the most modern - but overlooked form of pollution? And can mistakes in art be something actually... good?Images we Talk About:Navajo Rug Ch'ihónít’iRamses II StatueEcce HomoThe Original Ecce Homo3 Versions of Ecce HomoLincoln Memorial MistakeTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:03:25) Light Pollution(00:48:06) Mistaeks(01:37:02) OutroSupport us with a Max Fun Membership!Join our Discord!We also learn about: Auctioning topics, the origins of pollution, pollution is old but light pollution is from the 1960s, the great stink, the biggest light polluter is the sun, old gas street lights used to be more like beacons than lights, the world’s getting 10% brighter each year, 80% of North American can’t see the milky way, Light Trespass, Sky Glow, light pollution makes telescopes worse, Tom’s parents hearing him scream WHY IS THERE BREAST MILK, the strange lights after the 1994 LA earthquake, amateur astronomers are vital to astronomy, light trapped moths, a 1917 study on lighthouses and bird migration, birds waking up 5 hours earlier, turtles also use moonlight navigation, just move your telescope and evolve your species it’s not our fault, “he glistens you philistine”, the big beautiful glow worm woman in the sky, street lights are like sugar light to plants, light pollution isn’t the biggest issue - but that can make it easy to ignore - and it has some easy wins! it’s solvable at the community level, Tom’s buoyancy broken hand mistake, oops I mixed up my therapy and podcast topic list, the beatles anomalies list, Michelangelo’s beautiful complaint letter poem, we are our own worst critic, the ASMR mistake was just an anomaly, Kintsugi, “it treats breakage as a part of the object’s history rather than an error or a failure to be covered up”, what’s the japanese word for mud covered boots, only god can make perfect fun facts, Ch'ihónít’i, releasing the thoughts from an object - a way out, the journey of Caroline’s darned jumper, how can you tell an old mistake was a mistake? hieroglyphic typos, oh shit control ankh control ankh, revealing an ancient mistake by mistake, Philadelphia isn’t real it can’t hurt you, the Jesus that was… made an anomaly by Gloria Gimenez, the misremembered story of Ecce Homo, art is this emotional roller coaster, wow don’t take Tom’s summary Caroline, Lincoln memorial myths, 1000 years from now a museum in Neo Egypt will carve out the lincoln memorial fix, I know a great art restoration person in spain if you need one, most mistakes are just forgotten, you need mistakes to learn, the mistake of starting this podcast, verbal kintsugi, anomalous jesus, we didn’t learn today that Ella was a contrarian.Sources:Britannica: Light Pollution2020 Paper: A Chronology of Global Air QualityWikipedia: The Great StinkNHM London: Increasing Light Pollution is Drowning out the Stars2023 Paper: Light Pollution is SkyrocketingScientific America: Light Pollution is Dimming Our View of the Sky2009 Paper: Missing the Dark: Health Effects of Light PollutionNational Parks Service: Connect with the Galaxy: A case for turning out the lightsCAPE 2023: What are the Effects of Artifical Light on Human Health? An Evidence Brief 2019 Paper: Effects of Light at Night on Laboratory Animals and Research Outcomes1918 Paper: The Destruction of Birds at the Lighthouses on the Coast of California2021 Paper: Characteristics of Light Pollution – A case study of Warsaw (Poland) and Fukuoka (Japan)1973 Paper: Light Pollution BBC: How light pollution disrupts plants' sensesDark Sky: Solutions to Light Pollution---The Beatles Anomalies ListMichelangelo's "Poem"KintsugiJill Ahlberg Yohe's Incredible Paper on Ch’ihónít’iPenn Museum's Ramses IIAncient Egyptian LiteracyNYTimes on Ecce HomoThe Guardian Ecce Homo CritiqueThe Art History of Ecce HomoAP on Ecce Homo a Year Later

Ellen Weatherford, host of "Spellbound and Gagged", dives into the fascinating uncanny valley phenomenon, exploring how lifelike robots can evoke discomfort in humans. The conversation mixes humor with science, touching on personal anecdotes and the psychological impacts of AI. They also discuss how perceptions vary among different groups, including children with autism. With hilarious insights on animated characters and media representation, the dialogue navigates the complex emotions intertwined with technology and human attraction to the non-human.

The hosts dive into a playful Q&A, tackling whimsical topics like whether they'd still love each other as worms. They celebrate their favorite words from the show, discuss the evolution of their podcast format, and explore quirky hobbies that reveal surprising insights. There’s a humorous take on video games designed for social interactions and a lighthearted discussion about identity and grooming choices. The lively banter reflects on their journey, engaging listener feedback, and cultivating a vibrant community full of creativity.

Celebrate the quirky HaLearn Days with a delightful mix of fun facts! Discover the bizarre Brussels sprout tradition and the playful behavior of animals during solar eclipses. Laugh along as the hosts delve into the wacky emu wars and the surprising truths about rats driving tiny cars. Explore the strange world of microbial exchanges during kisses and the evolution of iconic horror movie masks. Plus, enjoy reflections on Santa’s influence on kids and the comedic complexities of modern text messaging. Join in for laughter and learning!

Dive into the cosmic hilarity of humanity's misguided maps of the universe! Discover the quirky origins of carrot-related propaganda, especially its WWII roots. Marvel at humorous myths surrounding carrots' impact on night vision, alongside thrilling tales of radar technology. Explore the historical drama of Hubble's discoveries that reshaped our cosmic perceptions, all while reflecting on the awkward teenage years of science. The charm of quirky carrots and their surprising role in public health messaging makes for an entertaining discussion!

It's everyone's favorite holiday: the day we ask you to submit your Q&A questions!!Go to www.LetsLearnEverything.com/questions and submit your questions about truly anything at all from the science to the serious to the silly!

In this engaging discussion, Gretchen McCulloch, a linguist and co-host of the Lingthusiasm podcast, unravels the scientific mystery behind autumn leaves changing color. She shares surprising insights on the role of climate change and animal behavior related to these vibrant transformations. The conversation takes an entertaining turn as they explore the fascinating world of swearing, examining its historical significance and the unique power of expressive language. Expect lots of laughter while debating just how versatile and therapeutic swearing can be!

Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch of Lingthusiasm joins us to casually answer all of our pressing linguistics questions with the most mind blowing facts.  Why does science use so much dang latin, and what is so unique about internet linguistics?Images we Talk About:Gretchen's Favorite FrogsTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:10:58) Latin in Science(00:54:49) Misc & Internet Linguistics(01:22:46) OutroSupport us with a Max Fun Membership!Join our Discord!We also learn about: Words that change the state of the universe, a promise is a kind of magic, “people ask me how i make a living doing linguistics and it’s very simple actually” just make podcast wagers, the language of space, space pidgin language, “that’s a great hypothesis and it’s actually hte opposite of that” sometimes the answer is imperialism! English is being used in science now how Latin was back then, the vulgate bible was latin to reach more people even the “vulgar”, you’re cousins a scribe learning latin - what are you doing a podcast? “Writing is a Technology”, writings only been invented like 4 times, writing originated as reciepts and lists, the A is an upside down ox, why invent a new letter when that means having to change the printing press - just double letter! you access computing through programming and programming is linked to language, we don’t know whether the first language was spoken or signed, french linguists once banned the discussion of the origin of language bcause it was deemed “fruitless”, it’s wild we could retrofit our brains to read and write at all, changing, linguistically accurate sesame street, “Who would know aught of art must learn, act, and then take his ease”,  Ella you have goregous tripthongs, nice try Gretchen but our 69th episode was a few back, the Mini frogs, isn’t a linguistic podcast niche? you’re saying that to me in a language, Gretchen loses her words and makes perfect sense, Gretchen went back in time to give herself this mystery book, you don’t have to be the version of yourself you imagined when you were twelve, Linguistics loves undergrad researchers to explain the youths, there’s always new linguistics to study, the kids are changing language- and that’s so fascinating, linguists and polyglots are related but not the same, what makes internet language Uniquely internety, is it really internet lingo or just AAE, the internet made people write a lot more than they used to, informal and unmediated writing is uniquely internet linguistics, people have wanted a sarcasm punctuation since at least 1575, emoji are a form of gesture, postcards were sometimes numbered like twitter threads, Gretchen did Sooo much research into the literature of sarcasm, the potential for misunderstanding is the point of sarcasm, “sarcasm is this linguistic trustfall”, pushing the boundaries of what a language can be, Solresol the musical conlang, language is everything - rainbows are language, whitespace programming language, 

Cryptids may be spooky, but what about the spooky animals that turned out to be... real?? And what makes a good spooky story? Could it be something secretly... heartwarming??Timestamps:(00:07:15) Intro(00:04:21) Former Cryptids(00:54:25) The Art of Spooky Stories(01:52:33) OutroSupport us with a Max Fun Membership!Join our Discord!We also learn about: Caroline have you never met a vampire? that was from episode number Four Three, what’s spookier than having to be known, Ella met Tom the true Cryptid, the cryptid museum was research, formerly the cryptic mascot: the Okapi, komodo dragons inspired king kong, 60 iron tipped teeth (like beavers), dragon virgin birth, yes queen life finds a way, squid squads on the hunt, only photographed in 2004, 20 years ago - don’t say that, 8 fully controllable giant tentacles, “I’m learning!” as it drags you down to the bottom of the ocean, save the whales because we need them on our team for the kraken wars, you know what’s not a cryptid? western hegemony, the head of a fox and the tail of a monkey, so many names for the jackalope across the world, are jackalopes cancer??? the Jackalope and HPV vaccine are zero degress of separation away, Ella writes a sappy ending for Tom, Ella watched The Ring at 6, being retold Evangelion in an art class, a meteor made of vampires, King’s 3 kind of scary, “don’t you like to feel the shivers?”, evangelical horror, Zhiguai - accounts of the strange, a story of a beautiful harp player, creepypastas, Ella formaly apologize for her cocktober misstep, “I see you sluts out there and I don’t want to do you any disservice, two sentence horror, the artistry of Telling a scary story, maybe the real spooky story was the friends we made along the way who were dead the whole time.SourcesGuardian: Komodo DragonsESA Journals: The Okapi of the ApadanaBBC: Facts About Komodo DragonsScientific American: Iron Tipped TeethNew Yorker: The Squid HunterBBC Science Focus: Giant SquidWiki: Giant SquidOn the Track of Unknown AnimalsThe Strange Adventures of Andrew BattellPBS: Fantastic CreaturesEvolutionary Anthropology: Discovering GorillaCambridge University Press: Hanno and GorillaeNature: The First Description of a KangarooNational Geographic: The Myth of the Komodo Dragon’s Dirty MouthShope OG paperRoyal Society Paper: Shope Papilloma VirusThe Scientist: On the Trail of the Jackalope---NYTimes Story on Exxon and Climate ChangeA History of HorrorTimothy Beal Paper on Evangelical HorrorPliny The Elder's Ghost StoryLiu Ming Ming on ZhiguaiThe Story of LiangGan Bao In Search of the SupernaturalRetelling Urban Legends StudySCP Antimemetics DivisionJSTOR Daily on Alvin Schwartz's ProcessCRR Library on Alvin Schwartz Language Arts Interview

For our birthday this year, we've each gifted a topic for one another! For Caroline, an environmental hot take: can invasive species ever be... good? For Tom, an entire topic about one of his favorite hobbies: rock climbing! And for Ella, interviews from the Ig Nobel Laureates this year.Support us with a Max Fun Membership!Join our Discord!Timestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:09:04) Good Invasive Species(00:46:31) Rock Climbing(01:18:05) Ig Nobel Interviews(02:01:14) OutroWe also learn about: In podcast years we’re 60, Ella’s party hat, what’s your favorite color and least favorite invasive species, it’s my birthday also, the zebra mussel, Humanity: “Hubris et Brevi Perspicacia”, canetoads that can’t even reach the beatles, maybe Ella is biased being part of the largest invasive species: the brits, not all non-native species are invasive, the neutral long island wall lizards, should I stan or cancel the grass? you can’t get rid of the nonnative birds in hawaii without killing the native plants, knowing beneficial non-native species helps us triage the real problems, Caroline’s thesis was on this??? a traditional LLE answer: It’s Complicated, Tom simply screams, duck roll, GTA IV Trailer, songs when he was born, but how does this involve scientology? what makes us human, Live from the Ig Nobels, “Don’t Die”, sometimes you need to remember to breathe, “I mostly just watch clips on Lateral”, Blue Zones, Dr Saul Newman’s Poem, Skinner’s pigeon guided missiles somehow missed Ella, minority report for pigeons, “I’m from New York Most of the Times”, vortex energy capture, The Water Swims the Fish took years, a long winded way to say just keep swimming, the silly in the science, Tom rips up Caroline’s gift.Sources:Canal & River Trust: Zebra MusslesNational Museum Australia Cane Toads in AustraliaWikipedia: Beavers in PatagoniaScientific American: Hawaiian BirdsThe Conversation: Some ‘invasive species’ can help native ecosystems thrive.The Hawaii VINE projectHofstra University: Italian Wall LizardsTrends in Ecology and Evolution: Valuing the contributions of non-native species to people and natureBrown University Press ReleaseBrown Daily Herald: Rebuttal---Rock Climbing sources coming soon!---Ig Nobel Ceremony 2024Max Planck Institue on Blue ZonesUCL on Saul Newman's WorkPre-print of Saul Newman's PaperSmithsonian Mag on the Pigeon ProjectNIH on Operant ConditioningAPA Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century SurveyJulie Vargas Queens University Belfast InterviewJimmy Liao's Dead Trout Paper