What’s the strangest fact you discovered this week? Whatever it may be, rest assured that listening to PopSci's popular podcast will provide you with something even more bizarre. "The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week" releases episodes bi-weekly on Wednesdays and can be found on platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and others where you typically tune into podcasts. It promises to become your go-to resource for [...]
What's the strangest fact you discovered this week? Whatever it may be, we guarantee your response will become even more peculiar after listening to PopSci ’s hit podcast . The Oddest Fact I Discovered This Week hits Apple , Spotify , YouTube , and wherever else you tune into podcasts every alternate Wednesday morning. It has become your go-to destination for bizarre scientific trivia, statistics, and Wikipedia rabbit holes curated by the magazine’s editors. Popular Science If you enjoy the tales in this post, we assure you'll be fond of the series.
FACT: A seismic "thud" once shook the globe
By Sara Kiley Watson
On September 16, 2023, tremors rippled across the globe and continued unabated for nine days. This event began in Eastern Greenland; however, within one hour, the effects were felt worldwide. strange hums It had disseminated throughout the Earth’s crust and ultimately made its way to the distant reaches of Antarctica. Worldwide, seismic monitoring stations, which we generally employ for tracking earthquakes and similar events, began illuminating in reaction. However, the signal received by the seismologists bore little resemblance to the usual swift spikes. a collision-style sound often associated with earthquakes Instead, every 90 seconds, you would hear a single "donk," which appeared quite unusual when plotted on a chart.
The cause? A chain reaction set off by climate change began with it . A melting glacier could no longer support a mountaintop in a fjord in East Greenland, and when that mountain top came crashing down it created a mega-tsunami about 650 feet tall. That tsunami then created a rocking seiche, or a standing wave, which was stuck going back and forth inside the narrow fjord. This back and forth motion made the whole planet shake. Luckily, there were no casualties in this remote corner of the world, but it’s another spooky reminder of how climate change can make for strangeness that sends the whole world buzzing.
FACT: It’s highly unlikely that you can become resistant to poisoning.
By Trace Dominguez
My all-time favorite question on "That’s Absurd, Please Elaborate" was submitted by a listener called Tessa via Spotify. Her query revolved around an unforgettable moment from "The Princess Bride": how long did it take for Wesley to develop resistance to iocane powder? Think about that classic exchange involving poisoned wine, a clever duel of minds, where one character collapses only for the other to nonchalantly disclose years of gradually ingesting small amounts of poison as part of their strategy.
I dove extremely deep into this topic—like, 40 minutes of absurd scientific exploration deep—to find out whether it’s possible to develop immunity to a toxin. Because I needed to know if you truly could achieve that.
This week on Weirdest Thing, I explore the fascinating history of Mithridates VI—the so-called Poison King—who supposedly consumed tiny doses of poison every day to build up an immunity (and yes, this likely didn’t work as he might have thought). not A fantastic guy here). I delve into the science behind what toxins and venoms truly are, exploring how they impact the body uniquely and examining if it’s possible to strengthen your immune system against them.
Spoilers: Poisons such as arsenic and cyanide affect your system in ways that cannot be easily overcome. However, venoms—a category which includes those produced by the highly venomous inland taipan snake (naturally found in Australia)—present an entirely distinct scenario. These substances provoke immune reactions, thereby offering potential grounds for developing resistance... provided extreme caution is exercised.
To get the full deep dive on poison (and venom) immunity, Take a look at my program "That’s Absurd." Could you provide more details? .
FACT: Urination could potentially trigger imitation behavior in chimpanzees.
By Rachel Feltman
Urination frequently appears on "The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week." We've discussed this topic. folks selling it . We’ve talked about doctors drinking it We've discussed the reasons for your actions. can't resist letting it out as soon as you arrive home after doing chores . We’ve even talked about how some bugs can use “super propulsion” to launch their urine out like little missiles This week's episode delves into the behavior of humans frequently going to the restroom in groups, which doesn’t occur with chimpanzees.
A recent study from Japan has revealed new behaviors in one of our nearest animal kin: contagious peeing. Researchers at the Kumamoto Sanctuary observed 20 captive chimpanzees for more than 600 hours, recording over 1,300 individual urination events. They found a statistically significant phenomenon of chimps being more likely to pee right after seeing other chimps go.
This clustering of urination events wasn’t random. Chimps were more likely to pee if they were within visual range of a peer who’d just done the same, and higher-ranking individuals were more likely to set off a chain reaction. Surprisingly, though, the likelihood of simultaneous peeing didn’t seem to depend on how socially close the chimps were, which sets this behavior apart from better-known contagious behaviors like yawning .
Contagious yawning, common in humans and other social animals, is thought to be linked to social bonding, empathy , and group coordination—but the evolutionary driver behind contagious peeing remains unclear. The researchers offered a few ideas: it might be a way of preparing for a group activity (“everyone go before we get back on the road!”), or it could help keep scent markers concentrated in one place, reducing the chances of predators catching a whiff. But we can’t know for sure!