The BrainFood Show

4.9 (1.4K)
History
Updated Daily

In this show, the team behind the wildly popular TodayIFoundOut YouTube channel do deep dives into a variety of fascinating topics to help you feed your brain with interesting knowledge.

15h ago

Anne Frank's Much More Scandalous Original Diary

On June 12, 1942, Anne Frank received a diary for her 13th birthday. But you all undoubtedly know a lot about that already. What you might not know is that the popular public version of that diary has been greatly censored because, as young teens are wont to do, Anne talked about her nether regions and sex- a lot. In fact, the version of Anne Frank’s diary many of you are likely familiar with, depending on the publisher, has had upwards of 30% of the original content removed. While sometimes this is done to streamline Frank’s prose, most of the time the edits were made to avoid offending people with more conservative sensibilities. For example, entire pages of Frank’s original diary were filled with detailed descriptions of the changes... Author: Karl Smallwood Editor: Daven Hiskey Host: Simon Whistler Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1d ago

How Long Can You Live After Dying?

Pushing daisies. Kicked the bucket. Bought the farm. Six feet under. Crossed over. Passed away. Shuffled off this mortal coil. It is said that the more important - or taboo - a concept is to a society, the more euphemisms that society will have for it, and death is no exception. Death is central to the human experience, with every culture on earth having developed elaborate rituals to mourn the deceased and help them go gentle into that good night. But…what is death, anyway? How is it actually defined? Author: Gilles Messier Host/Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2d ago

How was William Wallace Actually Captured?

William Wallace was one of those to lead Scotland’s battle for freedom from England after King Edward I of England declared himself Lord Paramount of Scotland in the late 13th century. Wallace was finally caught on August 5, 1305, and brought to London for trial and execution. From the 15th century minstrel “Blind Harry” to modern times with the blockbuster film “Braveheart” (both accounts being wildly inaccurate), William Wallace’s acts to try to free Scotland have captivated people for centuries. Born in Scotland around 1270, Wallace was from a family of minor Scottish nobility. During his formative and early adult years, Scotland was ruled by King Alexander III and the country enjoyed an era of peace and stability. However, the King died suddenly in 1286, leaving a four-year-old granddaughter, Margaret, Maid of Norway, as heir to the throne. (She would ultimately be engaged to King Edward I of England’s son.) However... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
3d ago

What's the Difference Between Dynamite and TNT?

Ever wonder what the difference between dynamite and TNT is or how they were invented? Well, wonder no more! Despite what the likes of AC/DC and Wile E. Coyote might have you believe, dynamite and TNT are very different substances with distinct properties. So what’s the difference between TNT and Dynamite? And just who invented them? Well, let’s find out as we dive into the fascinating and destructive history of these high explosives, and along the way in the Bonus Facts we’re also going to look at the truth about why there is no Nobel Prize for mathematics, which is likely to be different from what seemingly every mathematics professor the world over will tell you because, well, they are mathematicians, not historians. But to begin with, for much of modern human history, the only practical explosive available was black gunpowder, a mixture of charcoal, sulphur, and potassium nitrate AKA saltpetre. As covered in our previous video Who Invented Gunpowder, this mixture was likely discovered in China around the 9th Century C.E, making its way west across the Middle East to Europe by the 13th. Initially used in fireworks, it did not take long for gunpowder to find military uses, leading to the development of artillery and handheld firearms. It was also packed into various closed casings to produce explosive charges such as hand grenades, buried mines for breaching the walls and doors of fortifications, ‘torpedoes’ for defending harbours against ships, and shells and bombs for cannons and mortars. But while gunpowder completely changed the face of warfare, quickly rendering - for example - castles and plate armour obsolete, it also suffered from several serious drawbacks. For example, burning gunpowder produced large quantities of thick, white smoke... Author: Gilles Messier Host/Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Samuel Avila Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
4d ago

The Forgotten Greatest Pirate of All Time

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start by looking at what exactly grog is, where it came from, and the origin of the name. Moving on to the main content today we’re looking at the woman who was arguably the most successful pirate of all time, dominating both land and sea in the vast region she controlled, which all ultimately saw her have one of the most impressive exits to piracy in history as well. We follow all this up with looking at the origins of a variety of sailor/pirate slang terms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 3

Can Professional Wine Connoisseurs Tell the Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Wines & Much More

In the episode today, we are looking at whether professional wine connoisseurs can tell really not tell the difference between expensive and cheap wines. How Alcohol “Proof” is Determined. Do Drunk People Really Survive Car Crashes More? Why Would You Add Antifreeze to Wine? Do Wine Makers Really Walk Over Grapes With Their Feet? Does Canadian Beer Really Contain More Alcohol Than Beer Made in the United States? How Did Oktoberfest Start? Why Isn’t Beer Sold in Plastic Bottles? Who Invented Tequila and What about the Worm? A Brief History of Beer. The interesting story behind Welch’s Grape Juice, and what Eggnog is Made Of 0:00 Can Professional Wine Connoisseurs Really Not Tell the Difference Between Expensive and Cheap Wines? 17:26 How Alcohol “Proof” is Determined 21:00 Do Drunk People Really Survive Car Crashes More? 32:10 Why Would You Add Antifreeze to Wine? 46:15 Do Wine Makers Really Walk Over Grapes With Their Feet? 51:10 Does Canadian Beer Really Contain More Alcohol Than Beer Made in the United States? 55:12 How Did Oktoberfest Start? 1:03:55 Why Isn’t Beer Sold in Plastic Bottles? 1:08:30 Who Invented Tequila and What about the Worm? 1:13:30 What is Eggnog Made Of? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 2

Who Invented Night Vision, and How Does it Work?

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Jul 1

Can Neutron Bombs Really Wipe Out All Humans But Leave the Cities Intact?

Thermonuclear weapons are messy. Capable of wiping out millions of humans in one go if detonated in a large city, but unfortunately they also destroy the city the people dwell in, making it a poor choice for a weapon for the up and coming conqueror who wishes the humans gone, but infrastructure still intact. This all brings us to the topic of today, so called enhanced radiation weapons, a special type of atomic bomb which releases a large portion of its energy in the form of neutron radiation. If pop culture is to be believed, this is one of the most insidious weapons ever developed by mankind, capable of killing all the people in a city while leaving all the buildings and other infrastructure untouched. Indeed, the weapon’s purported preference for property over human lives has led commentators in communist countries to pithily describe it as the “capitalist bomb.” But are neutron bombs actually a real thing as often depicted in entertainment - and, if so, are they really as “clean” and “surgical” as everyone seems to believe? Well, grab your welding goggles, lead underwear, don your cowboy hat and prepare to yee-haw, as we dive into the curious science and history of one of the world's most controversial weapons. Author: Gilles Messier Host/Editor: Daven Hiskey Producer: Caden Nielsen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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4.9

out of 5

1,375 Ratings

Love the banter

Mar 31

Champ08

I love the information you guys give. The banter and chemistry you two have is entertaining and keeps me invested.
Absolutely amazing

Feb 21

Renda6789

The hosts Simon and Daven manage to make topics you wouldn’t otherwise ever care about just straight up amusing and interesting. I think the fact that it really feels like they are learning it all along with you, instead of feeling like two guys just telling you about stuff they know, makes this podcast so unique and fun to listen to. The way the hosts interact with each other gives this podcast a very fun and banter-y atmosphere, unlike podcasts where the hosts sound like they would rather be doing literally anything else. Edited to add I’m slo glad they are back!
10/10

Jan 23

tee craine

Love these guys. Great show.
A must listen

Jan 23

Karly's cup of Jo

I always have to check out a Simon Whistler podcast! As always it’s entertaining and has good information. I enjoying listening to the banter between the two hosts.

In this show, the team behind the wildly popular TodayIFoundOut YouTube channel do deep dives into a variety of fascinating topics to help you feed your brain with interesting knowledge.