Moment of Um

Have you ever looked at the keyboard on a phone or computer and wondered why the letters are arranged the way they are? The English alphabet starts with A-B-C-D-E, so why do keyboards start with Q-W-E-R-T-Y? We asked historian and museum curator Kristen Gallerneaux to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s just the right type? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help spell out the answer.

It’s so satisfying to pour a glass of sparkling water. All those tiny bubbles, popping in rapid succession, creating a soothing fizz. Sparkling drinks are also called carbonated beverages. But what is a carbonated beverage? Where do the bubbles come from? We asked food scientist Adam Johnson to explain. Got a question floating around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll make sure an answer pops up!

If you plant certain seeds in the right condition - a plant or tree might grow. But what happens if you plant a popcorn kernel? Will a bowl of popcorn grow right out of the ground? We needed to know, so we asked Phil Fox of Popcornopolis to help us find the answer. Are you searching for a kernel of truth? Send your question to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and you butter believe we’ll help find the answer.

The internet has been around since the 1960s, and since then it has become a huge part of our lives. We use it to look up cool facts, send messages, order pizza…and listen to podcasts! But how does the internet actually work? We asked computer scientist Vikram Iyer to help us find the answer. Got a question written in your search bar? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help connect you with the answer!

Outer space is far from empty. There are chunks of space rock zipping around, and occasionally one of them finds its way through our atmosphere to smack into Earth’s surface. There’s usually metal contained within those space rocks…but where does the metal come from? We asked planetary geologist Paul Byrne to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s totally metal? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll STARt looking for an answer!

So there’s this big, bumpy muscle inside of our mouths and we know it’s important and that we have to take great care of it. But what’s it even for? We asked Otolaryngologist Laura Orvidas from the Mayo Clinic to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s got you all tongue tied? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll muscle an answer out of an expert.

Coffee is known for giving people energy. In fact, some say they can’t start their day without coffee! It made us wonder why coffee helps us stay awake. We asked dietician and nutritionist Maria Cruz to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s percolating in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer and spill the beans for you.

Mammals have hair to help keep warm in the cold, and in some cases - to look awesome! But why do raspberries have those little hairs all over them? They don’t get cold - do they? We asked Emily Hoover from the University of Minnesota to help us understand. Got a question that’s berry hard to answer? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll pick an expert to answer it!

There are lots of foods that are blue-raspberry flavored, like candy, popsicles, or fizzy drinks. But there’s no such thing as a blue raspberry…so where does that flavor come from? We asked food scientist Adam Johnson to help us find the answer. Got a TASTEful question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll do you a flavor and find the answer.

Sometimes people dream about similar things, like losing teeth, being chased by monsters, or forgetting to study for a test. Why are there some kinds of dreams that people share? We asked dream researcher Tore Nielsen to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s just dreamy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll share the answer with you.

Ahhh! There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night after a nightmare. Your heart is pounding, you’re all sweaty and suddenly your room seems so dark. Sometimes, you’re almost too scared to close your eyes and try to fall back asleep. What’s the point of these scary dreams anyway? Is there a reason we have them at all? We reached out to sleep scientist Ketema Paul to get the answer. Got a question keeping you up at night? Send it to us at brains on dot org slash contact and we’ll wake you up with the answer.

Have you ever had a dream that felt so real you thought it actually happened? Our brain can cook up some really vivid images while we sleep, complete with sounds and even emotions. So how do we tell the difference between dreams and real life? We asked dream researcher Tore Nielsen to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’re dreaming about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – we won’t snooze on finding the answer!

Dreams can be fun, scary or just plain weird. We typically dream for around two hours a night, but we usually don’t remember what we dreamt about. So what happens? We asked dream researcher Tore Nielsen to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s haunting your dreams at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t rest until we find an answer!

When we dream, sleep becomes storytime. You might see an old friend, go on an adventure or show up to a test without having studied. So when animals hibernate for a long stretch in the winter, do they have epic, long dream stories too? We asked dream researcher Tore Nielsen to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s keeping you up at night? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t hit snooze on finding an answer.

A thermometer is a handy dandy little device that measures temperature. We use them for lots of things, from telling us when we have a fever to making sure our roast chicken is cooked to perfection. But how does a thermometer actually measure how hot or cold something is? We asked physics graduate student Nicolas Dronchi to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s heating up your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll work feverishly to find the answer.

Is it the wings? Is it the feathers? Is it how light they are? If you’ve ever wondered why birds can fly, this is the episode for you! We asked ornithologist Drew Lanham to help us find the answer. Got a question that you’re egg-cited about? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll do more than wing it.

Have you ever noticed your tummy sometimes makes a little grumbly rumbly sound when it’s time for a snack? What’s up with that? We asked Dr. Lily Dara to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s hard to stomach? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – we’ve got a gut feeling we’ll be able to answer it!

You might have heard the word “radiation” in science class or even in superhero movies. It’s something that we’re often warned about, since too much of some kinds of radiation can be bad for our health. But what is radiation? We asked physics graduate student Nicolas Dronchi to help us find the answer. Got a question radiating from your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get up and ATOM to find the answer!

Caffeine is a chemical that occurs naturally in drinks like tea and coffee. It can make you feel wide awake and energetic, so it’s also often added to other things like sodas and energy drinks. But how do energy drink manufacturers put caffeine into their products? We asked food scientist Adam Johnson to help us find the answer. Got a buzzworthy question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find an answer faster than you can say LIGHTNING LASER LEMON LIME

Sloths are really, really good at hanging upside down. They practically make it seem effortless! Why is that? Do they love it? Is the world just more fun from that angle? We asked zoologist Lucy Cooke to help us figure it out. Got a question that’s clawing at your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and hang in there - we’ll help you find the answer.