Stuff To Blow Your Mind

Explore the origins and impact of paragraph breaks in writing, the evolution of paragraphs in literature, and the disappearance of the Pilchro symbol. Discover how sleep affects our lives and the transition from hand-copied texts to electronic texts. Plus, hear updates on the podcast and mentions of sponsors.

Once more, it's time for a weekly dose of Stuff to Blow Your Mind and Weirdhouse Cinema listener mail...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smart Talks with IBM returns this September 5th. This season, host Malcolm Gladwell and a team of correspondents from Pushkin Industries explore how businesses can integrate AI into their workflows — to help them do exponentially more — drive real change, and thrive in this new era of AI.   This is a paid advertisement from IBM.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the nature and history of human whistling – including the subject of whistled languages. (originally published 08/16/2022)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe discuss the 1976 Greek horror film “The Devil’s Men,” also known as “Land of the Minotaur.” Horror legends Donald Pleasence and Peter Cushing head-up the cast, but the electronic score by none other than Brian Eno certainly deserves attention. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Jon Davies, author of “The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams,” discusses the life and works of Douglas Adams, including his famous book series 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.' The podcast explores Adams' influence on Doctor Who, his writing process, and his involvement in games, the tech industry, and the Muppets. It also highlights a new book that provides great insights into Adams' life, serving as a treat for fans and newcomers alike.

In this episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Robert discusses the Hand of Glory from European occultism… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We encounter sticky surfaces and sticky substances everyday, but what exactly IS “stickiness?” In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the physical properties of stickiness and look at some very sticky examples from the natural world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once more, it's time for a weekly dose of Stuff to Blow Your Mind and Weirdhouse Cinema listener mail...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The podcast explores the nature and history of human whistling, including whistled languages. They discuss the cultural attitudes towards whistling in ancient times, ancient music and the challenges of understanding it, werewolf stories and animal transformation myths, the cultural significance of whistling, the debated origin and cultural beliefs of the wolf whistle, superstitions surrounding whistling at sea, and the acceptability of whistling at work.