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.

Why do beans give us gas?

Beans are delicious. From edamame to lentils, there’s a bean for everyone! But they can also make us a little tooty. Why is that? We asked pediatrician Wendy Hunter to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s a real gas? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll rip a good one (answer, that is)! 

Why don't scars fade?

If you get a cut or scratch that goes deep enough into your skin, your body will form a scar. But why don’t scars themselves heal and go away? We asked dermatologist Liz Farhat to help us find the answer.
Got a question that cuts deep? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help stitch together an answer.  

Why don’t scars go away?

How do boomerangs return?

A boomerang is a specially curved wooden throwing stick that was originally used as a hunting tool by Indigenous Australians. Nowadays, you can find toy versions along with the real thing, and if you throw them just right, they’ll curve around in the air and head right back to you. At least…it works for some people. So how exactly does a boomerang fly? We asked boomerang champion Logan Broadbent to help us find the answer.
Got a question that keeps coming back to you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll booma-wrangle some answers for you. 

What do you do when you find a fossil?

Make no bones about it – fossils are super cool! But what do you do if you find a fossil? We asked Jingmai O’Connor, the Associate Curator of Fossil Reptiles at the Field Museum in Chicago, to help us find  the answer.
Got a question that’s buried in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help dig up the answer!

What happens when paleontologists find a fossil?

What is plastic made of?

Plastic is a part of so many of the things we use every day. But just what IS it? We asked University of Minnesota professor Frank Bates to help us find the answer.
Got a question you’ve been bottling up? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll pla-stic to the topic. 

How does pasta turn from hard to tender?

Pasta is delicious, whether it’s rigatoni, linguine, macaroni or any shape at all! When you buy pasta from the store, it’s usually hard, crunchy, and dry. But after cooking it, the pasta is tender and toothsome! How does that work? We asked cookbook author and cooking teacher Julia Turshen to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s spa-GHETTING you all worked up? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll explore the PASTAbilities to find the answer

How are our brains different from other animals?

Have you ever looked at an animal and wondered what they were thinking? Us, too! What’s going on in a bobcat’s brain, a newt’s noggin, or a mouse’s mind? We asked science writer and author of Innovative Octopuses, Half-Brained Birds, and More Animals with Magnificent Minds Christina Couch to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s a real thinker? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll enter our  mind palace to find the answer! 

Have you ever looked at an animal and wondered what they were thinking? Us, too! What’s going on in a bobcat’s brain, a newt’s noggin, or a mouse’s mind? We asked science writer and author of Innovative Octopuses, Half-Brained Birds, and More Animals with Magnificent Minds Christina Couch to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s a real thinker? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll enter our mind palace to find the answer! 

How are our brains different from other animals' brains?

Do zookeepers work at night?

If you go to the zoo during the day - you can see that things are hopping! Animals are being cared for, people are milling about, and there’s a lot of action to observe. But what happens at night? Who takes care of the animals then? Or is everyone just sleeping? We asked Nancy Hawkes, Director of Animal Care at Woodland Park Zoo to help us find the answer.
Got a question that’s zookeeping you up at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find the truth – we won’t be lion! 

Why does corn have hairs on it?

Have you ever peeled the leaves off of an ear of corn and noticed the white hairy-looking stuff tucked inside? What is that, anyway? We asked chef and cookbook author Kenji Lopez-Alt to help us find the answer.
Got an a-MAIZE-ing question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer that’s a cut above the rest! 

Why does corn have hairs on it? 

Where does pepper come from?

Black pepper is in just about everyone’s kitchen. It’s salt’s best buddy. It comes in shakers, grinders, and little paper packets. But where does black pepper come from?  We asked historian Jenna Schultz from the University of St. Thomas to help us find the answer.
Want to pepper us with questions? Drop us a line at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll serve you some freshly-ground facts. 

Why do donuts have “nut” in the name?

If you ask us, donuts are one of the most delicious treats in the world. Chocolate frosted with rainbow sprinkles, cinnamon twists, powdered sugar, strawberry jelly-filled, we love them all! But why are they called donuts? We asked food historian Sarah Lohman to help us find the answer.
Got a question that has you feeling glazed and confused? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer you like a hole lot.

Why is cotton so fluffy?

Cotton is soft and strong. It comes from cotton plants, and gets turned into everything from t-shirts to cotton balls. But why is cotton so fluffy? We asked biologist Candace Haigler to help us find the answer.
Got a question threading through your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help spin up an answer for you. 

How is couscous made?

Couscous is a delicious fluffy, starchy food that people enjoy all over the world. You can find the dried version in stores, but what if you wanted to make it fresh? How does couscous actually get made? We asked cookbook author Kenji Lopez-Alt to help us find the answer.
Hungry for answers to your questions? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll dish up an answer! 

How is couscous made? 

Why do people stop growing taller?

Kids grow super fast and get taller and taller and taller and then – all of the sudden they stop! How do our bodies know when it’s time to stop? Why don’t we just keep growing until we reach the sky? We asked Dr. Frank Rhame to help us find the answer.
Got a question that you think is a tall order? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll answer it shortly. 

Why can’t we feel our hair growing?

Heads up! Your hair is always growing. Like your fingernails, hair is a part of our body that will grow and grow unless you cut it. But how come we don’t feel it growing? We asked pediatrician Dr Wendy Hunter to help us find the answer.
Got a question that has you tearing your hair out? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help comb through research for the answer.

Do plants have DNA?

DNA is the secret recipe that makes you…YOU! The color of your hair…whether you like cilantro…so many traits have something to do with this microscopic, spiralized instruction manual in your cells. But what about plants? Do they have DNA, too? We asked biologist Candace Haigler to help us find the answer.
Question gotcha twisted? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help decode it for ya!

How do flat rocks skip across water?

Throwing a flat rock juuust right so that it skips across the surface of a pond or river is super satisfying. How many hops can you get? Two? Seven? Sixty-five? But how does the right kind of throw cause a rock to NOT sink as soon as it touches the water? We asked Jon Lambert of Splash Lab to help us find the answer. 
Got questions skipping through your brain? Send your questions to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll throw you some answers. 

How do flat rocks skip across water? 

Why do flightless birds have wings?

Fish swim. Frogs hop. Birds fly. Well, not all birds. Penguins and ostriches, for instance, can’t spread their wings and soar. So then, why do they have wings?  We asked paleontologist Jingmai O’Connor to help us find the answer.
Is there a question that’s got your tail feathers all in a twist? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find a reliable answer – we promise not to wing it!


All Episodes

Would a poisonous snake die if it bit itself?

What are birthmarks?

What makes dolphins so smart?

Do we sneeze in our sleep?

Do lizards smell with their tongues?

Do we have our own gravity?

Why do beans give us gas?

Why don’t scars go away?

How do boomerangs return?

What happens when paleontologists find a fossil?

What is plastic made of?

How does pasta turn from hard to tender?

How are our brains different from other animals' brains?

Do zookeepers work at night?

Why does corn have hairs on it?

Where does pepper come from?

Why do donuts have “nut” in the name?

Why is cotton so fluffy?

How is couscous made?

Why do people stop growing taller?

Why can’t we feel our hair growing?

Do plants have DNA?

How do flat rocks skip across water?

Why do flightless birds have wings?