Winter Olympians are allegedly gaming their suit seams for extra lift, the ocean is still capable of throwing an absolutely giant wall of water at your face with no warning, and somewhere in Queensland, a blob of pitch is taking nearly a century to prove it is technically a liquid. This week, we bounce from sports cheating to monster waves to the slowest experiment on Earth, with science doing what it does best and refusing to be tidy. We dig into ski jumping and the art of the tiny advantage, including why the groin region has become an...
Winter Olympians are allegedly gaming their suit seams for extra lift, the ocean is still capable of throwing an absolutely giant wall of water at your face with no warning, and somewhere in Queensland, a blob of pitch is taking nearly a century to prove it is technically a liquid. This week, we bounce from sports cheating to monster waves to the slowest experiment on Earth, with science doing what it does best and refusing to be tidy.
We dig into ski jumping and the art of the tiny advantage, including why the groin region has become an unexpectedly important battleground in Olympic aerodynamics. Then we hit the open ocean, where rogue waves have gone from sailor myth to measured reality, and the scariest part is how suddenly they show up.
From there, climate change delivers a curveball in Svalbard, where some polar bears are getting fatter by adapting their diets and hunting patterns. We also look at 3D printable electronic skin that lets robots feel touch, and a massive Swedish study that challenges long-held assumptions about autism and gender bias.
Finally, we pay tribute to the pitch drop experiment at the University of Queensland, a reminder that some scientists are built differently and will happily wait decades for goo to make a point.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Winter Olympics Excitement
00:19 The Science of Ski Jumping Suits
01:25 Meet the Hosts
02:18 Ski Jumping Suit Scandal
10:13 Polar Bears and Climate Change
16:21 Rogue Waves: The Ocean's Hidden Danger
29:04 The Mystery of the Unsinkable Ship
29:24 The Rise of Rogue Waves
29:42 The Record-Breaking Youclue Lit Wave
30:41 Super Rogue Waves: A New Threat?
32:08 The Physics of Waves
34:06 3D Printable E-Flesh: A Technological Marvel
38:28 Autism: A Gender Perspective
45:27 The Pitch Drop Experiment: A Slow Burn
55:41 Mailbag and Final Thoughts
SOURCES:
- https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2018/01/existence-rogue-waves
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-04/rogue-wave-kills-us-passenger-on-antarctic-cruise/101731482
- https://www.sciencealert.com/gigantic-wave-in-the-pacific-was-the-most-extreme-rogue-wave-on-record
- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/science/beal-seeds-experiment.html
- https://magazine.wfu.edu/2022/10/05/unearthing-time-in-a-bottle/
- https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-longest-running-lab-experiment-is-almost-100-years-old?
- https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-running-laboratory-experiment
- https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/85986/15-longest-running-scientific-studies-history
- https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28402709
- https://www.sciencenews.org/article/oldest-pitch-drop-experiment
- https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/05/penis-injection-doping-claims-in-winter-olympics-ski-jumping-investigated-by-wada
- Scientists share design so you can make your own 3D-printable 'eFlesh' for robots — affordable,
easy to produce, and highly-tactile robot sensor grips can be printed at home - Towards the equal recognition of autism in girls and women
- Body condition among Svalbard Polar bears Ursus maritimus during a period of rapid loss of sea
ice
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