Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Do I Cough When I Clean My Ears?

Learn about how Arnold’s ear-cough reflex can make you cough when you clean your ears; why it’s important to teach your kids about giving when they’re learning about money; and a hidden letter in the alphabet that you already sing.

February 19, 2021

Episode Show Notes:

Why do I cough when I clean my ears? by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Rachita)

Teaching Kids about Money? Don't Forget Giving by Sonja Hodgen

There's a hidden letter in the alphabet song, and you already sing it by Cameron Duke

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Up

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Are There Bubbles in my Day-Old Water?

Learn about why bubbles appear in your water overnight; the “other-contingent extravert,” a new type of extravert that’s only outgoing in certain situations; and why food sticks to nonstick pans.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Multitasking Keeps You Snacking

Learn about how rats might not have been all to blame for the bubonic plagues and why we’re more prone to mindlessly eat while we multitask.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why April Fool’s Day Exists

Learn about what the “frenemy effect” can teach us about bullying; the surprising ability of marmosets to eavesdrop on each others’ conversations; and why April Fool’s Day may have originated from an out-of-date calendar.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Toilet Paper Is White

Learn about Starlink’s unintended consequences for astronomy from astrophysicist Vivienne Baldassare, NASA Einstein Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University. Then, learn why toilet paper is white.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Are Spacesuits White?

Learn why spacesuits are white, and how to avoid drama by breaking the Karpman Drama Triangle. Then, test your podcast knowledge with this month’s Curiosity Challenge trivia game.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Does February have 28 Days?

Learn about why February only has 28 days; why early birds and night owls aren’t the only two chronotypes; and why the anchoring effect says you should always make the first offer when you’re negotiating.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Cannabis Gives You the Munchies

Learn about why cannabis gives people the munchies; the Bicameral Mind theory that says the ancient Greeks lacked consciousness; and the evolutionary reason why you listen to songs on repeat.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Song Lyrics Are Getting Simpler

Learn how a man wrote sentences using only his mind; how popular song lyrics got simpler; and the bitterness of Bitrex.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why We Call Computer Glitches “Bugs”

Learn about why Wolf-Rayet stars are the brightest stars in the sky; why immune cells in your brain may have started out in your gut; and the history of why we can thank Grace Hopper for calling computer glitches “bugs.”

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Animals Keep Evolving Into Crabs

Learn about why animals keep evolving into crabs in a principle called “carcinization,” whether water is actually wet, and if there’s any truth behind the old adage "feed a cold, starve a fever."