BrainStuff

The English-language terms for different baked goods vary based on where English is being spoken. Learn why an American cookie is a British biscuit, an American biscuit is a British scone, our muffins have nothing to do with each other, and pudding doesn't have to involve pudding at all in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/great-british-baking-terms-know-scones-from-biscuits.htm
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When dark spots appear on the surface of the Sun, we're actually seeing the result of massive distortions in solar magnetic fields caused by roiling plasma -- and they appear in regular(ish) 11-year cycles. Learn what we know (and don't know!) about sunspots in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/sunspot.htm/printable
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A sunken continent called Lemuria was first proposed as a scientific explanation for lemur populations in the mid-1800s, but it quickly became part of the mythology of Theosophist mystics and Tamil cultural activists alike. Learn the truth and myths behind Lemuria (plus what Darwin had to do with it) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/lemuria.htm
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Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty's castle -- the centerpiece of Disneyland and the Disney logo -- on a real castle in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Learn about Neuschwanstein Castle's strange and tragic history in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/neuschwanstein-castle.htm
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Since the early 2000s, the H5N1 bird flu has sickened wild and domestic birds around the world -- and sometimes humans and other mammals, too. Learn how this strain of avian influenza works (and why it seems unlikey to cause a pandemic, but researchers are still watching it closely) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/bird-flu.htm
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