Why don’t scars go away?
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.
18 Apr 5min
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.
17 Apr 5min
What happens when paleontologists 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!
16 Apr 6min
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.
15 Apr 6min
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
14 Apr 5min
How are our brains different from other animals' brains?
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!
11 Apr 7min
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!
10 Apr 6min
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!
9 Apr 5min