The BrainFood Show

Chronic fatigue and weakness. Dizziness. Swollen limbs. Sudden, excruciating pain in the chest, back, legs, and arms. Uncontrollable, painful erections or priapism. Tissue necrosis. Organ damage. Increased susceptibility to bacterial infection. Death at a young age from stroke, heart attack, or organ failure. These are but a few of the awful symptoms of Sickle Cell Disease, also known as Sickle Cell Anaemia. Resulting from a defective gene that causes sufferers’ blood cells to collapse into a distinctive crescent shape, this inherited disorder afflicts nearly 8 million people worldwide and kills over 34,000 every year, with most sufferers hailing from - or tracing their ancestry to - tropical regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, Sickle-Cell Anaemia is often seen as a predominantly “Black disease”, tragically affecting access to care for millions of sufferers. But while this affliction causes untold suffering worldwide, condemning millions to a lifetime of pain - and, in many cases, an early grave - there is a silver lining: an unexpected evolutionary advantage that has allowed Sickle Cell Anaemia to persist for thousands of years. Join us as we take a deep dive into one of the world’s most fascinating yet overlooked diseases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we discuss the interesting story of who came up with the unit of measurement called horsepower and why it got applied to engines. We also discuss the late 19th century dominance of the electric car and why and when that changed. Next up we look at the mildly humorous story of who got the first known speeding ticket, as well as the much less humorous story of the first person killed in a car accident. Finally we finish up by talking about a little-known fascinating fact about James Doohan (Scotty from Star Trek). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we discuss the surprisingly long history of the automobile, then move on to discussing what is generally considered the first “modern” car, the Model 3, made by Karl Benz, and how is amazing wife ultimately saved him and the vehicle from obscurity through her extreme audacity and faith in his invention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 9, 1959, the newly-formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, introduced the world to a new breed of heroes: the Mercury Seven, America’s first astronauts. Selected from a pool of over 500 military test pilots, these men represented the best the nation had to offer, and its best hope in the intensifying Space Race against the Soviets. Almost immediately, the Mercury Seven became national heroes: on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard would became the first American in space, while on February 20, 1962, John Glenn would become the first American to orbit the earth, a feat which catapulted him to superstardom. But among these early pioneers was an astronaut who, while less well-known to the public, would become a legend in the aviation community. His name was Gordo Cooper. Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. is probably best remembered for his portrayal by actor Dennis Quaid in the 1983 film The Right Stuff. In the film, Cooper is portrayed as a cocky fighter jock with an easy smile and the catchphrase “Who’s the best pilot you ever saw? Well, you’re looking at him.” However, the real Coope was considerably more soft-spoken and taciturn than his Hollywood counterpart. Born on March 6, 1927, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Cooper first learned to fly in his father’s biplane, soloing at age 12 and earning his pilot’s license at 16. As the Army and Navy flying schools were no longer taking candidates, Cooper instead joined the Marine Corps, but WWII ended before he could see active service. After living in Hawaii where he met his first wife Trudy Olson, Cooper finally received military flight training at Williams Air Fire Base in Arizona and in 1950 was posted to Landstuhl Air Base, West Germany. In 1956, Cooper attended the US Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California and spent the next three years test-flying high-performance jet aircraft. Author: Gilles Messier Host: Simon Whistler Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humans being horrible to other humans is nothing new. Think of the most brutal thing you can possibly imagine, and it’s almost certain not only has some human done that to another human, but probably some nation did it as a general policy to other humans. Possibly even for the amusement of the masses. And as ever, one of the few universal truths, beyond that Star Trek the Next Generation is the greatest thing humans have ever produced, is that the past was the worst. Nowhere is this perhaps better illustrated than what we are going to do an extremely deep dive into today because it’s an often forgotten bit of history, and even those who know something about it generally haven’t heard of many facets. This is despite the whole thing being central to one of the greatest and most studied conflicts in human history. Sponsor note:  Go to ⁠surfshark.com/BRAINFOOD⁠ or use code BRAINFOOD at checkout to get four extra months of Surf Shark VPN There's a 30 day money back guarantee, so you can try it risk free. Author: Daven Hiskey Host: Simon Whistler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Ben Franklin was remarkably successful in keeping elements of his private life very private to the point that historians can only speculate about much of it, despite having a common law marriage, he was, shall we say, noted for his overt and unabashed love of women and their company, particularly if they were educated- something he even used in argument for why women should be encouraged in education, not restricted as was so often the case in his time. In his view, women were simply even more fun to talk to and spend time with this way. Unshy about any of this, he even once penned an exceptionally detailed letter outlining why older women are much more preferable to sleep with than their younger counterparts. And that any young man seeking a lover to help with difficult to deal with urges before marriage would be wise to find himself an elderly woman to help meet these needs. Much more on this and Franklin’s rather humorous and well thought out reasoning in the Bonus Facts later. Brilliant, charming, funny, extremely sociable, Franklin was beloved by most who met him, knew how to have a good time, and seemed inclined to cast off his puritan upbringing and enjoy life to its fullest… despite also occasionally penning wise proverbs on how to live a good life that seemed to starkly contrast with some of his actual behaviors. British politician William Corbett would sum up that Franklin was “A crafty and lecherous old hypocrite whose very statue seems to gloat on the wenches as they walk the State House Yard.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start out with a follow up to a previous episode in which we mentioned Teddy Roosevelt likely helped delay the start of WWI, but then never actually said in that episode how. Next up we discuss whether the Tyrannosaurus Rex could really not see you if you didn’t move as depicted in Jurassic Park, as well as a few other interesting Jurassic Park factoids. Then we get into a little podcast feedback and finish up by discussing the interesting thing that would have actually happened in Finding Nemo when Nemo’s mother died had it been more accurate. Sponsor note:  Go to surfshark.com/BRAINFOOD or use code BRAINFOOD at checkout to get four extra months of Surf Shark VPN There's a 30 day money back guarantee, so you can try it risk free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start out by discussing the fascinating story about how the statue of Shakespeare in Central Park, New York, got there, what John Wilkes Booth’s Brother did for Abraham Lincoln’s son, the real story about why Caesar dressing is called that, and a bunch of other interesting stuff! This is part 4 of our 4 part series on Julius Caesar.  Stay tuned next time for when we talk about something completely different! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scapa Flow lies barely seven degrees below the Arctic Circle, in the cold, windswept Orkney Islands at the northern tip of Scotland. Measuring 10 kilometres wide by 8 kilometres long with an average depth of 30 metres, this natural anchorage is bounded to the north by the mainland, to the east by the islands of Burray and South Ronaldsay, and to the west by the island of Hoy. In 1904, Scapa Flow was chosen as the home base for the British Grand Fleet, allowing the Royal Navy and German Imperial Navy to glower at each other across the North Sea. It was from here that the Grand Fleet sailed to the historic 1916 Battle of Jutland, and to here that the German High Seas Fleet sailed to surrender in 1918. In the years leading up to the Second World War, Scapa Flow was thought to be impregnable, and came to symbolize the supposed invincibility of the Royal Navy itself. But in the early morning hours of October 14, 1939, a lone German U-boat succeeded in doing the impossible, penetrating the harbour’s defences, sinking a 30,000-ton battleship, and slipping away undetected. It was one of the most daring feats of the war, and one which shattered the Royal Navy’s illusion of invulnerability. This is the incredible story of the U-47 and Captain Günther Prien, “The Bull of Scapa Flow.” Author: Gilles Messier Editor: Daven Hiskey Host: Simon Whistler Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the first of April, 1945, a combined American and British Empire fleet appeared off Okinawa, the southernmost of the Japanese Home Islands. Operation Iceberg, the final naval battle of the Second World War, was about to begin. As hundreds of aircraft roared overhead and enormous shells fired from battleships pounded the shore, landing craft streamed ashore carrying tens of thousands of troops into battle. The battle for Okinawa is remembered as among the most savage of the Pacific Campaign, marked by extreme resistance by Japanese soldiers and civilians alike. Equally savage was the aerial battle which raged over the invasion fleet, as pilots of the Japanese Special Attack Units - better known as the kamikaze - brought their bomb-laden aircraft screaming down into the Allied ships. While by this time Allied sailors had weathered kamikaze attacks for nearly six months, the Battle of Okinawa brought with it a terrifying new threat. Just after 7:00 PM on April 1, the crew of the Colorado-class battleship USS West Virginia - a veteran of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor - saw a tiny white aircraft screaming towards them at terrifying speed, a fountain of flames streaming from its tail. Though West Virginia’s gunners quickly filled the sky with a wall of tracers, the aircraft rocketed through the defensive screen and slammed into the battleship just forward of her No.2 gun director, setting off a massive explosion that killed four sailors and wounded seven. West Virginia had been struck by a Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka. Effectively a manned, rocket-propelled bomb designed for a single, one-way mission, the Ohka was one of the most ghoulish weapons of war ever devised and a perfect distillation of the sheer desperation which fuelled late-war Japan. But while the kamikazes have become infamous, less-well known is that halfway across the world, the Allied fleet which invaded Normandy in June 1944 nearly suffered a similar fate at the hands of Imperial Japan’s Axis ally, Nazi Germany. In the desperate, dying days of the Third Reich, the Nazis attempted to assemble its own kamikaze squadron, whose pilots, like modern-day viking berserkers, were to ram their jet-powered flying bombs into enemy ships and bombers, inflicting - it was hoped - such horrific casualties that the Allies would be forced to sue for peace. Thankfully, however, lack of resources and ideological differences among the German high command prevented this insane plan from being carried out. This is the story of Leonidas Squadron, the forgotten Nazi kamikazes. Author: Gilles Messier Host: Simon Whistler Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anybody reading remember the film Jingle All The Way, you know the one where Arnold Schwarzenegger body checks his way through a crowd of harried single mums, is an accessory to a bomb threat and physically assaults like 4 retail workers, all for the chance to get his hands on that year's hottest toy? Of course you do. That film is great. Okay so let’s talk about the time all of that happened for real, here in our world. Only instead of a turbo-tastic action figure with Booster accessory (don’t worry, there’s always plenty of Boosters left) we’re talking about a foot tall vibrating Elmo plush. This is the story of Tickle Me Elmo and how the cutesy red muppet indirectly caused a whole heap of problems including, as alluded to, a bomb threat, irate mob bosses and even an Elmo-knapping. Author: Karl Smallwood Editor: Daven Hiskey Host: Simon Whistler Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start out by discussing in more detail the events surrounding Caesar’s momentous decision to cross the Rubicon, then jump into the real story of what happened on the Ides of March which isn’t exactly the one popular history remembers largely thanks to the notable play by Shakespeare. Over the course of the episode we also discuss why likely most every quote you’ve ever read from Socrates was not actually something Socrates said, among other tangents. And just a small correction: “Sherlock” not “Shakespeare” (You’ll know when you get there.) This is part 3 of our 4 part series on Julius Caesar.  Stay tuned next time for when we look at a variety of interesting facts related to what we’ve discussed in parts 1-3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start out by discussing how a teenage Julius Caesar became the head of his rather prominent family. We then move on to his little month-long or so pirate adventure and finally discuss where exactly the Rubicon was, which interestingly enough is only something that has been relatively recently discovered. This is part 2 of what will be a 4 part series on Julius Caesar.  Stay tuned next time for when we look more deeply into why Caesar chose to cross the Rubicon and his rather unorthodox and bold strategy in doing so, as well as look at the true story of the Ides of March. Sponsor Note:  Go to surfshark.com/brainfood or use code brainfood at checkout to get four extra months of Surf Shark VPN. There's a 30 day money back guarantee, so you can try it risk free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People have been referencing sentient reptilian entities, sometimes humanoid, sometimes not, going back to some of the earliest written works and legends known to man. In more modern times, according to a survey done by the firm Public Policy Polling approximately 4% of Americans queried claimed they believe Lizard People are influencing world politics, with an additional 7% on the fence on this question. So how did the idea of Lizard People ruling the world start? To begin with, for those unfamiliar with our Lizard overlords, while there are a variety of versions of this conspiracy theory, the general notion is that a few different types of reptilian humanoids walk among us. Chief among these creatures are a type speculated to come from the Draco constellation, because apparently the Lizard People knew their little corner of the galaxy would look vaguely like a serpent from Earth when connecting the dots during a certain part of Earth's history, and so went ahead and spent millions of years evolving appropriately on their home planet to match. The Draconians are apparently tall, winged, reptilian humanoids who not only secretly rule over humans, but more overtly rule over other types of lizard people as well. As for those others, the second most prominent group widely held among adherents to this conspiracy are the shape shifting human/reptilian hybrids. Sponsor Note:  Go to ⁠surfshark.com/brainfood⁠ or use code brainfood at checkout to get four extra months of Surf Shark VPN. There's a 30 day money back guarantee, so you can try it risk free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Contrary to popular belief, a decent percentage of the human population has known definitely the Earth was roughly spherical for over two thousand years. Hardly impressive, as noted in our BrainFood Show podcast, bees also use this fact in their own absurdly fascinating navigation and in communicating directions to other bees. As for humans, we took a little longer to realize this, with Pythagoras (6th century B.C.) generally credited with being the first known person to have suggested a spherical Earth, though the idea didn’t exactly catch on at this point. Aristotle (4th century B.C.) agreed and supported the hypothesis with observations such as that the southern constellations rise higher in the sky when a person travels south. He also noted that during a lunar eclipse the Earth’s shadow is round. Much more definitively, the 3rd century BC head librarian at the Library of Alexandria, Eratosthenes, built on their ideas and managed to calculate the circumference of the Earth with remarkable accuracy. How? ... Sponsor Note:  Go to ⁠surfshark.com/brainfood⁠ or use code brainfood at checkout to get four extra months of Surf Shark VPN. There's a 30 day money back guarantee, so you can try it risk free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Regardless of your politics, I think we can all agree that Donald Trump is by no means a humble man, and he’d be the first to admit that the Trump Family comprises something of a rich and powerful dynasty. As it turns out though, Trump’s wealth and influence can all be traced back to a bizarre confluence of good fortune that befell, ironically, an unemployed barber who immigrant to the United States to find work- his grandfather, Frederick Trump. Born in 1869 in a small village located in what was then the Kingdom of Bavaria called, Kallstadt, Frederick (who went by the decidedly more German sounding “Friedrich” prior to moving to the states) had a fairly humble upbringing. One of 6 children, he was the son of not terribly well off grape growers in the region. Matters got worse for the family in 1877 when Fred’s father, Johannes, died at the age of 48, leaving a wife, 6 children, and quite a bit of debt. Sponsor Note:  Go to ⁠surfshark.com/brainfood⁠ or use code brainfood at checkout to get four extra months of Surf Shark VPN. There's a 30 day money back guarantee, so you can try it risk free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start out by discussing the fact that, contrary to what we speculated in a previous episode, World’s Fairs are actually still a thing. We then jump into the meat of the show, discussing whether Julius Caesar was actually born via a Caesarean operation and then look at the remarkable story of Margaret Bulkley, who is better known in history as Dr. James Barry- one of the first people to perform a Caesarean operation in which both the woman and baby survived. This is part 1 of what will be a 4 part series on Julius Caesar.  Stay tuned next time for when we jump into his life more directly by discussing a rather hilarious pirate adventure he had as a young man. Sponsor Note:  Go to ⁠surfshark.com/brainfood⁠ or use code brainfood at checkout to get four extra months of Surf Shark VPN. There's a 30 day money back guarantee, so you can try it risk free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Brain Food Show podcast, we wrap up our discussion (for now) on one of the more remarkable individuals in modern history- Theodore Roosevelt. In particular we look at the truth about how and why the Teddy Bear was named after him and a boatload of fascinating Teddy Roosevelt facts conclusively demonstrating he was more awesome than we could ever hope to be. And as a little bonus to the Bonus Facts at the end, we discuss what the famous song The Rose has to do with the undisputed greatest show of all time- Star Trek the Next Generation. (Also we very casually allude to the fact that Teddy Roosevelt probably helped delay WWI by several years, but then completely forget to mention HOW he did it later on. We’ll remedy this in an upcoming episode. And let’s be honest, there’s always more interesting stuff to talk about concerning Teddy Roosevelt, so I’m sure we’ll come back to him for more episodes at some point in the future as well.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At 11:15 PM on August 3, 1958, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower received a historic radio message: “Nautilus 90 North.” U.S.S. Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, had just reached the North Pole while sailing beneath the Arctic ice cap. Known as Project Sunshine, this submerged voyage to the top of the world was designed to show off the superiority of nuclear power for naval propulsion and salvage American pride following the Soviets’ launch of Sputnik 1, the world’s first artificial satellite, the year before. It was also the triumphant culmination of a decades-long dream. For while Nautilus’s atomic power plant ultimately allowed her to succeed in her mission, she was not the first submarine - or even the first vessel named Nautilus - to attempt an Arctic voyage. Nearly three decades earlier a maverick Australian explorer, sailing in a far cruder war-surplus submarine, also set out to conquer the Pole from beneath. But while this now-forgotten expedition was beset with misfortunes and ultimately met with failure, its mission was bold and visionary and set the stage for a century of Polar exploration. And the man behind it all? Few humans in history can match his exploits in adventure. This is the incredible story of a man whose life was like something out of a movie, Sir Hubert Wilkins, and the doomed voyage of the Nautilus. Though largely forgotten today, Sir George Hubert Wilkins was an extraordinary figure straight out of an adventure novel, packing several normal lifetimes of experiences and accomplishments into an eventful 70 years. Born on October 31, 1888 in Mount Bryan East, South Australia, the thirteenth child of sheep farmer Henry Wilkins and his wife Louise, young George lived and worked on his family’s sheep station until the age of 15, when he left home to study mechanical and electrical engineering at the Adelaide School of Mines. In his spare time, he immersed himself in the relatively young arts of photography and cinematography. In 1908 at the age of 20, Wilkins left Australia as a stowaway aboard a ship bound for Africa, kickstarting his life of adventure. Author: Gilles Messier Host: Daven Hiskey Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February of 1958, the Ford Motor Company unveiled an extraordinary concept for the automobile of the future. Dubbed the Nucleon, the vehicle was a showcase of mid-century styling and technology, featuring sleek, futuristic lines, optional tail fins, one-piece wrap-around front and rear windscreens, electric torque converters, proximity sensors, and automatic climate control for the cabin. Oh, and for those who care about such things was powered by a miniature nuclear reactor… As Ford’s ad copy breathlessly proclaimed: “A glimpse into an atomic powered future when car drivers might select their own horsepower is proceeded by the Nucleon…developed by advanced stylists in the Ford Motor Company Styling office to probe possible styling influences of atomic power in automobiles. The model features a power capsule, suspended between twin booms at the rear, which would contain a radioactive core providing motive power…. Power output of the car could be controlled at the driver’s option, much as the intensity of the reaction in a nuclear pile is controlled. Cars like the Nucleon might be able to travel 5,000 miles or more, depending on the size of the core, without recharging. At that time, they would be taken to a recharging station, which advanced stylists envision as largely replacing the present-day service station.” This is the story of the brief and bonkers rise and fall of the atomic car. Author: Gilles Messier Host/Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices