Why am I allergic to raw egg but not cooked egg?

Some people have allergic reactions to foods like peanuts, sesame, and raw eggs. But when people with egg allergies eat cooked eggs, there’s no reaction. What’s up with that? We asked pediatrician Liz Placzek to help us find the answer.
Have you hatched a really great question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find EGG-xactly what you need. 

Why am I allergic to raw eggs but not cooked eggs?

How do mood rings work?

Have you ever heard of a mood ring? It’s a little piece of jewelry that supposedly tells you what kind of a mood you’re in. But how the heck can it know? We asked scientist Edwin Thomas to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s getting you in the mood to learn? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help w-ring out an answer.

Why do we have weird dreams when we’re sick?

When you’re sick, it’s important to get plenty of rest to help your body heal. But it can be hard to sleep when your brain keeps showing you bizarre fever dreams (Like being chased by a giant fireball! Or swimming in nacho cheese!) Why do we have strange dreams when we’re sick, anyway? We asked dream researcher Michael Schredl to help us find the answer.
Got any burning questions? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll search feverishly for the right answer!  

Why do we have weird dreams when we're sick?

Are brains really pink?

Quick, picture a brain! Did you imagine a rosy-colored little meatball? Us too! But are brains actually pink when they’re inside our skulls? We asked brain expert Gwenaëlle Thomas to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s giving you a real headache? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll wrap our brains around it!

Where does the waste go on airplanes?

Have you ever used an airplane toilet? You go in, do your business, press the flush button, and WHOOOOSH! Everything disappears in a split second. But where does all the waste disappear to? We asked Shannon Baldioli from the National Air and Space Museum to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s too good to waste? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll make it our number one priority!

Where do poop and pee go on airplanes?

Could you make a candle out of earwax?

There are all kinds of candles out there: beeswax candles, soy candles, and of course – birthday candles! But what about … earwax? Could you make a candle out of that gunky yellow wax in our ears? We asked candle expert Todd Wambach to help us find the answer.
Got a question that has you waxing poetic? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – we’re all ears! 


Does space affect an astronaut’s digestion?

We chew our food, swallow it, and our stomach goes to work on digesting! Our bodies absorb the nutrients they need and then we poop out the rest. Here on Earth, the whole process takes somewhere between one to three days. But what about in space? Do astronauts digest food as quickly as they do on Earth? We reached out to space scientist and science communicator Maggie Aderin-Pocock to get the answer!

Got a question you’re chewing  on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we'll spit out the answer.

We chew our food, swallow it, and our stomach goes to work on digesting! Our bodies absorb the nutrients they need and then we poop out the rest. Here on Earth, the whole process takes somewhere between one to three days. But what about in space? Do astronauts digest food as quickly as they do on Earth? We reached out to space scientist and science communicator Maggie Aderin-Pocock to get the answer!
Got a question you’re chewing  on? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we'll spit out the answer.

Why are some dogs so small and some so large?

Dogs come in so many different sizes, from the tiniest teacup terrier to the giant Great Dane. How did we get such a delightful assortment of these furry best buddies? We asked Brains On producer and archaeologist Anna Goldfield to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s been hounding you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll make sure to bark up the right tree! 

Why are some dogs so big and some dogs so small?

How does the earth support heavy buildings?

Did you know the tallest building in the world is a skyscraper in Dubai called the Burj Khalifa? It has 163 floors and weighs as much as 100,000 elephants! But how can the Earth even support such a huge building?! Why doesn’t the ground just collapse underneath it? We asked geologist Rónadh Cox to help us find the answer.

Got a question that’s weighing heavily on your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help build you up with a great answer! 

Did you know the tallest building in the world is a skyscraper in Dubai called the Burj Khalifa? It has 163 floors and weighs as much as 100,000 elephants! But how can the Earth even support such a huge building?! Why doesn’t the ground just collapse underneath it? We asked geologist Rónadh Cox to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s weighing heavily on your mind? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll help build you up with a great answer! 

Why is the moon white and why does it have different shapes?

Some planets have lots of moons. Others have none. Earth has just one moon, but it’s a really great one. It can glow bright and white and sometimes it’s shaped like a big round ball. Other times it’s skinny like the white tip of a fingernail. Makes you wonder, why does the moon look the way it does? We asked Preston Dyches from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to help us find the answer.
Got a question orbiting around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll illuminate an answer.


Did dinosaurs fart?

You fart. I fart. Your dog farts. We all fart! Or do we…? Birds don’t fart, and they’re the closest living descendants of the dinosaurs. So, did dinosaurs fart? We asked paleontologist Kallie Moore to help us find the answer.
Got a question rumbling around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we'll find you an answer TOOT-suite!

What was the very first dinosaur?

Dinosaurs went extinct around 65 million years ago after an asteroid crashed into Earth. So we know when dinosaurs disappeared from the planet, but when did they appear? What was the first dinosaur, and how long ago did it live? We asked paleontologist Kallie Moore to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s got you full of veloci-RAPTURE?  Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll TRY(ceratops) to answer it!

How do we know what dinosaurs sounded like?

Happy Dinosaur Week! Every episode this week explores the ancient marvels that walked the Earth millions of years ago. Fossilized bones and footprints help scientists figure out what these prehistoric creatures looked like – but how do we know what they sounded like? We asked paleontologist and science journalist Shaena Montanari to help us find the answer.
Got a question that makes you want to roar in frustration? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find a dino-mite answer.    

How did Megalodon sharks go extinct?

Megalodon was the biggest shark species that ever lived. The biggest ones were almost 60 feet long, which is longer than a school bus! These gigantic sharks went extinct millions of years ago, but why? We asked paleontologist Kallie Moore to help us find the answer.
Got a question that you megalo-don’t know how to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll hunt down an expert to explain!

Did dinosaurs lay colorful eggs?

Dinosaurs were reptiles, which means they laid eggs! But what did these eggs look like? Were they big? Small? Speckly? Colorful? We asked paleontologist Kallie Moore to help us find the answer.
Got a question you just can’t egg-nore? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help unscramble the answer!

How does an immortal jellyfish go back to being a baby?

Way out in the deep blue sea, there is a remarkable creature called the immortal jellyfish. This buoyant little blob can deal with being hurt or stressed by going from its adult form back to a baby!! Then it grows up all over again. Holy moly. How does that work? We asked science writer Christina Couch to tell us all about it. 
Got a question that’s a ten out of TENtacles? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, ‘cause we are READY for that jelly!

How does the immortal jellyfish turn back into a baby?

Why can you hear the ocean in a seashell?

The sounds of the ocean are so relaxing… the waves crashing on the sand, the gentle roar of the surf. And if you pick up a big seashell and put it to your ear, you can almost hear the ocean there too! One of our listeners wanted to know why, so we asked physicist Steve Errede to help us catch that wave. 


The sounds of the ocean are so relaxing… the waves crashing on the sand, the gentle roar of the surf. And if you pick up a big seashell and put it to your ear, you can almost hear the ocean there too! One of our listeners wanted to know why, so we asked physicist Steve Errede to help us catch that wave. 
Do you have a great question for Moment of Um? Surf on over to BrainsOn.org/contact and share it with us.

Why are we more closely related to fungi than plants?

All living things on Earth are related. To help keep track of how close those relationships are, scientists organize life on Earth into groups using a system called taxonomy. Sometimes, taxonomy can be surprising – like, did you know that humans are more closely related to mushrooms and other fungi than we are to plants? How does that work? We asked microbiologist Christine Salomon to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s in a class by itself? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that’ll really grow on you. 

Why are we more closely related to fungi than to plants?

Would a poisonous snake die if it bit itself?

We all know that bites from poisonous snakes can be really dangerous, but can a poisonous snake poison itself?  We asked snake expert Lawrie Arends to give us the factssssssssss. 


We all know that bites from poisonous snakes can be really dangerous, but can a poisonous snake poison itself?  We asked snake expert Laurie Arends to give us the factssssssssss. 
If you’ve got a Moment of Um question for us, slither your way over to BrainsOn.org/contact to submit it. 

What are birthmarks?

Our skin is pretty incredible. It protects us and helps us sense the world around us. Some people have colored patches or dots on their skin called birthmarks. We wanted to know what birthmarks actually are, so we asked dermatologist Liz Farhat to help us find the answer.
Got a question that makes you say “holy MOLE-y!” Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help spot the answer. 

What makes dolphins so smart?

Dolphins are super cool sea creatures that can swim fast, jump high, and make all kinds of nifty noises. But did you know that they also have big complicated brains like humans do? How did they get those big brains, and what do they use them for? We asked science writer Vicky Stein to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s FIN-tastic? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll set out with a great sense of porpoise to find the answer! 

Do we sneeze in our sleep?

Being asleep is kind of a funny thing, because you don’t know if you’re doing anything in your sleep – because you’re asleep! Some people talk in their sleep, others get out of bed and walk around… but do we ever sneeze in our sleep? We asked neurologist Michael Hall if it was even possible. 


Being asleep is kind of a funny thing, because you don’t know if you’re doing anything in your sleep – because you’re asleep! Some people talk in their sleep, others get out of bed and walk around… but do we ever sneeze in our sleep? We asked neurologist Michael Hall if it was even possible. 
Got a Moment of Um question that’s keeping you awake? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and you could hear the answer on a future episode!

Do lizards smell with their tongues?

The sense of smell is so powerful. Without it, we couldn’t sniff out freshly-baked muffins, stinky garbage, or smoky campfires. Some animals use their noses, others use antennae or even their feet to smell. But what about lizards? They have nostrils, but do they use them to smell? We asked lizard researcher Laura Kojima to help us answer this question. 
Got a question that you need to make scents of? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you sniff it out. 

Do we have our own gravity?

You might have heard of gravity as the force that keeps us firmly on the ground and not floating off the planet. Big things (like planets, moons, and stars) have gravity that pulls other objects toward them. But what about smaller things? Like… us? Do we have our own gravity? 

If there’s a question pulling at you like a powerful force, we can help with that!  Submit your Moment of Um question at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find the answer.

You might have heard of gravity as the force that keeps us firmly on the ground and not floating off the planet. Big things (like planets, moons, and stars) have gravity that pulls other objects toward them. But what about smaller things? Like… us? Do we have our own gravity? 
If there’s a question pulling at you like a powerful force, we can help with that!  Submit your Moment of Um question at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find the answer.

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