The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week - Two Facts and a Lie with PopSci Editor-in-Chief Joe Brown

Episode Date: September 19, 2018

The weirdest things we learned this week are weird things we've already learned! In this mini-episode, Popular Science editor-in-chief Joe Brown plays "Two Truths and a Lie" about past editions of Weirdest Thing. Play along with him and see how many you can get right! The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week is a podcast by Popular Science. Share your weirdest facts and stories with us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/weirdest_thing #weirdestthingpod Follow our team on Twitter Rachel Feltman: www.twitter.com/RachelFeltman Joe Brown: www.twitter.com/JoeMFBrown Popular Science: www.twitter.com/PopSci Theme Music by Billy Cadden: www.twitter.com/billycadden Edited by Jason Lederman: www.twitter.com/Lederman --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/popular-science/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/popular-science/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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So you probably notice that this episode is slightly shorter than our usual. That's because we are so busy putting together our fantastic live show at caveat that we didn't record a full episode this week. By the time you're listening to this, the live show will have been last Friday. I'm sure it was great, and if you missed it, I'm really sorry. We will be putting that up as an episode sometime in the next few weeks or months, so keep an eye out. And of course, we'll be back with a regular episode next week. But for today, as a little mini episode, we wanted to share with y'all a game we played, we'll play. Recording Things is Weird at our live show called Two Facts and a Lie.

So playing with us today is our editor-in-chief, Joe Brown. Wait, what? Welcome, Joe. We're going to quiz you on the contents of our podcast. Did I mention that I'm not actually free right now even that I said I was? So Joe is obviously a great sport. The game is three rounds, and I will say three facts that may or may not have appeared on the weirdest thing

I learned this week previously. Two of them will be real facts. One will be a fake fact. I think I am one episode behind, but I'm a loyal listener, as you probably are too. You know how it is. See, you're the perfect demographic for this game because

I almost made them easy for loyal listeners, but then I decided to get tricky with it. What? It just keeps getting better. Also, unlike the people playing at caveat, you are not winning any prizes, except the esteem of your staff. Jason, you are so dead. First question.

Three facts. One of them is a lie. Fact. In some parts of the world, it's considered a luxury to spend the day sending yourself on a bed of parrotfish poop. Fact. After George Washington died, his doctors filled his veins with lamb's blood in an attempt to revive him. Fact, in 1859, there were telegraph systems running on solar power. Where's the lie, Joe?

I remember the episode where we talked about how George Washington's doctor killed him by bleeding him. Many doctors, in fact. That was pretty common practice back then. Remember the lamb's blood part. I was really paying attention on that one. So I'm going to go with that one. You're right. So there was a doctor friend of George Washington.

who showed up a couple days after he died and made the case for filling his veins with lamb's blood to try to revive him. No one else was into it, and he spent the rest of his life saying that he could have done it. Is that in the podcast? Yes. I should have just shut up then. But you got it right. Yeah. You remembered the core fact of the show, which is what this game is all about.

Okay. Round two. Fact. There's a prion disease that slowly kills you. with chronic insomnia. Fact. You can get rhabdo, muscle paralysis, and eventual renal failure due to a buildup of toxins in the blood from intense exercise.

But you can also get it from eating too much turkey. Fact. Thomas Jefferson loved eating macaroni and cheese, which dates back to at least 1390. I'm going to go with rhabdo as a lie. Yes, you can get it from eating too much quail. Correct. All right.

Last round, Joe is two for three right now. Fact. Eating polar bear liver will make your skin fall off. Fact. According to one research study, the most painful place to get a bee sting is the penis shaft. Fact. Kotar delusion makes the affected person believe that they are dead. Do not exist, are rotting, or have lost their blood or organs.

I'm going to go with penis shaft. You're right. It's the third most painful place to get stung. the nostril and upper lip are worse. According to one man, the study was just one guy. So, okay. Well, Joe, I'm sorry we don't have a prize for you. Your prize is that you get to run Popular Science Magazine.

I honestly, I'm just, the prize is that I didn't come on here and embarrass myself. So thank you very much. Jason, you're still dead. All right, we'll be back next week with a new weirdest thing I learned this week. Thanks for listening, Weirdos. The Weirdest Thing I learned this week is a popular science podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, or wherever you're listening right now. And if you like the show, please rate and review us on iTunes.

It helps other weirdos find the show. You can buy our merch, including Weirdest Thing t-shirts, tote bags, and mugs at popsai.threadlist.com. Our theme music was produced by Billy Cadden. Our editor is Jason Letterman. If you have questions, suggestions, or weird stories to share, tweet us at Weirdest underscore Thing. Thanks for listening, Weirdos. Relax and let Ralph's delivery handle your grocery shopping this week. We start with only the freshest items, then review your list and carefully choose each one.

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