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.
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6:36
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
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5:23
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!
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7:02
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!
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6:58
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!
Moment of Um is your daily answer to those questions that pop up out of nowhere and make you go… ummmmmmm. Brought to you by your friends at Brains On at APM Studios.
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