Recreational Science

Scientafic
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Science

RecSciPod: the podcast where funny scientists discuss funny science. Hosted by Lu and Tirth, two goofs (with MD/PhDs) who love to talk science and make each other laugh. In each episode, the two tell each other about one of the funniest, wackiest, and most provocative studies they stumble upon. Join us for an amusing mix of science and comedy, because the silly, weird, and ridiculous science experiments of today might just lead to the great discoveries of tomorrow! Visit our website for transcripts, article archives, and more: https://scientafic.com/recscipod Produced by Scientafic

  1. Jun 16

    Sexist birds and intimidating runners with hills

    Does the sex of the bird affect how soon they fly away when approached by humans? What about the sex of the human? Coming across a steep hill while out jogging can be intimidating. Does being tired affect how runners perceive the size of hills? In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss how European birds are sexist towards humans and how just tricking people into believing they have to climb a hill can cause them to exaggerate its steepness. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:48 Ways to improve the podcast 7:25 Bird study 17:08 Hill study 26:44 Let’s read some mail 29:23 What did you learn today, outro Article links: Morelli et al., 2025. Sex matters: European urban birds flee approaching women sooner than approaching men. People and Nature. https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.70226 Bhalla et al., 1999. Visual-Motor Recalibration in Geographical Slant Perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-03275-014 You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found! Follow us on social media @RecSciPod! YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@RecSciPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recscipod TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@recscipod BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/recscipod.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.com/@recscipod Theme music by Dasein: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/5fNAhYtrSM9nW9GpCiDpST?si=ea49670388f24e5c YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-WQ6G62lfM Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/song/cas/1706824849 Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

    31 min

  2. Jun 2

    Kids vs traffic and food preference in fetuses

    Crossing the street alone is a difficult and dangerous task for young kids. Is it even more perilous for overweight and out-of-shape children? Kids are notorious picky eaters. When does this start? In the womb? In this episode, Lu and Tirth play another game of Family Feud But Science and discuss practical athleticism in overweight children and whether fetuses are picky "eaters." Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:38 BTS 1:48 Family Feud But Science15:00 Fat kids study 26:23 Fetuses study 35:03 Let’s read some mail 39:22 What did you learn today, outro Article links: Chaddock et al., 2012. Role of Childhood Aerobic Fitness in Successful Street Crossing. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2012/04000/role_of_childhood_aerobic_fitness_in_successful.23.aspx Ustin et al., 2022. Flavor Sensing in Utero and Emerging Discriminative Behaviors in the Human Fetus. Psychological science. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09567976221105460 Ladas et al., 2007. Colonic gas explosion during therapeutic colonoscopy with electrocautery. World Journal of Gastroenterology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4171316/ You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found! Follow us on social media @RecSciPod! YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@RecSciPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recscipod TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@recscipod BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/recscipod.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.com/@recscipod Theme music by Dasein: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/5fNAhYtrSM9nW9GpCiDpST?si=ea49670388f24e5c YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-WQ6G62lfM Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/song/cas/1706824849 Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

    41 min

  3. May 19

    The ideal booty call and a potent jet lag drug for hamsters

    What do men and women look for in an ideal partner for a one night stand, friends with benefits relationship, and marriage? What’s the best way to find out? An economics experiment, of course. Do hamsters experience jet lag? Do hamsters respond to Viagra? Does Viagra cure jet lag in hamsters? In the season 2 premier, Lu and Tirth catchup on all the life changing events that took place during the offseason and discuss giving people “mate dollars” to build their ideal mate and using Viagra to treat jet lag in hamsters. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:52 Big updates from the offseason 6:45 Booty call study 19:09 Jet lag study 26:54 Let’s read some mail 29:22 What did you learn today, outro Article links: March et al., 2018. Netflix and Chill? What Sex Differences Can Tell Us About Mate Preferences in (Hypothetical) Booty-Call Relationships. Evolutionary Psychology. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1474704918812138 Agostino et al., 2007. Sildenafil accelerates reentrainment of circadian rhythms after advancing light schedules. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0703388104 You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found! Follow us on social media @RecSciPod! YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@RecSciPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recscipod TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@recscipod BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/recscipod.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.com/@recscipod Theme music by Dasein: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/5fNAhYtrSM9nW9GpCiDpST?si=ea49670388f24e5c YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-WQ6G62lfM Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/song/cas/1706824849 Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

    31 min

  4. May 12 ·  Bonus

    RecSciPod season 2 announcement

    Season 2 will premier on May 19, 2026. We're fairly sure. Probably. Who knows? You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found! Follow us on social media @RecSciPod! YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@RecSciPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recscipod TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@recscipod BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/recscipod.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.com/@recscipod Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

    1 min

  5. Apr 28 ·  Bonus

    Bacon, sports cars, rollercoasters, knuckle cracking, and more (RecSci Quick Bites)

    In this bonus RecSci Quick Bites episode, Lu and Tirth discuss a medical use of bacon, the relationship between penis size and sports cars, the effectiveness of rollercoasters in passing kidney stones, the long-term effects of knuckle cracking, surname sharing amongst economist coauthors, the jollity of visiting mall Santas, and the best scientific abstract ever written. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:57 Bacon study 3:50 Sports car study 6:48 Rollercoaster study 8:25 Knuckle cracking study 10:35 Author surname study 13:44 Mall Santa study 16:05 Best abstract ever 17:08 Outro Article links: Humphreys et al., 2011. Nasal packing with strips of cured pork as treatment for uncontrollable epistaxis in a patient with Glanzmann thrombasthenia. Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000348941112001107 Richardson et al., 2023. Small Penises and Fast Cars: Evidence for a Psychological Link. Psyarxiv. https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/uy7ph_v1 Mitchell & Wartinger, 2016. Validation of a Functional Pyelocalyceal Renal Model for the Evaluation of Renal Calculi Passage While Riding a Roller Coaster. Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2016.128/html Unger, 1998. Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers? Arthritis and Rheumatism. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1529-0131(199805)41:5%3C949::AID-ART36%3E3.0.CO;2-3 Goodmen et al., 2015. A Few Goodmen: Surname-Sharing Economist Coauthors. Economics Inquiry. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ecin.12167 Trainkaus, 2004. Visiting Santa: an informal look. Psychological Reports. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.2466/pr0.95.2.587-588 Berry et al., 2011. Can apparent superluminal neutrino speeds be explained as a quantum weak measurement? Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1751-8113/44/49/492001 You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found! Follow us on social media @RecSciPod! YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@RecSciPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recscipod TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@recscipod BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/recscipod.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.com/@recscipod Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

    19 min

  6. Apr 7 ·  Bonus

    Bad knives, self-scoping, baby size, Olympics, and more (RecSci Quick Bites)

    In this bonus episode of RecSci Quick Bites, Lu and Tirth discuss more funny studies they didn’t get to talk about at length during season one. These include making knives out of poop, performing colonoscopy on yourself, reasons why babies are so small, the happiness of Olympic medalists, the worst time to consume chili, zebra-striped mannequins, and giving it to Reviewer 2. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:50 Knife study 3:37 Self-scoping study 5:44 Babies study 7:56 Olympian study 10:57 Chili study 12:28 Zebra study 15:31 Reviewer 2 study 18:22 Outro Article links: Eren et al., 2019. Experimental replication shows knives manufactured from frozen human feces do not work. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X19305371?via%3Dihub Horiuchi & Nakayama, 2006. Colonoscopy in the sitting position: lessons learned from self-colonoscopy by using a small-caliber, variable-stiffness colonoscope. Gastointenstinal Endoscopy. https://www.giejournal.org/article/S0016-5107(05)03012-9/ Ellstrand, 1982. Why are juveniles smaller than their parents? Evolution. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1983.tb05637.x Medvec et al., 1995. When Less Is More: Counterfactual Thinking and Satisfaction Among Olympic Medalists. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.69.4.603 Gupta, 2007. Red hot chilli consumption is harmful in patients operated for anal fissure - a randomized, double-blind, controlled study. Digestive Surgery. https://karger.com/dsu/article-abstract/24/5/354/116015/Red-Hot-Chilli-Consumption-Is-Harmful-in-PatientsHorvath et al., 2019. Striped bodypainting protects against horseflies. Royal Society Open Science. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/6/1/181325/94617/Striped-bodypainting-protects-against Peterson, 2020. Dear reviewer 2: Go F’ Yourself. Social Science Quarterly. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ssqu.12824 You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found! Follow us on social media @RecSciPod! YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@RecSciPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recscipod TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@recscipod BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/recscipod.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.com/@recscipod Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

    20 min
  7. Lady bugs, toilet seats, Japan, promiscuity, and more (RecSci Quick Bites)

    Mar 20 ·  Bonus

    Lady bugs, toilet seats, Japan, promiscuity, and more (RecSci Quick Bites)

    In this bonus episode, Lu and Tirth do some RecSci Quick Bites or funny studies they didn’t get to discuss at length during season one. These include an unusual finding on colonoscopy, ergonomic toilet seats, Japan’s Phillips curve, the misuse of the word promiscuity, the deal with birds, fruit bat fellatio part 2, and a case of untreated writer’s block. This episode is part of the 4th edition of Podcasthon! This is the world’s largest podcast charity initiative, bringing together podcasters globally to raise awareness for important causes. Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ Podcasthon: https://podcasthon.org/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:27 Colonoscopy study 4:04 Toilet seat study 5:59 Japan study 7:02 Promiscuity study 8:47 Birds study 10:05 Fruit bat study 12:00 Writer’s block study 13:01 Outro Article links: Tahan et al., 2019. An Unusual Finding of a Ladybug on Screening Colonoscopy. ACG Case Reports Journal. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6791639/ Lustig et al., 2018. Beware of the toilet: the risk for a deep tissue injury during toilet sitting. Journal of Tissue Viability. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965206X17300670?via%3Dihub Smith, 2006. Japan’s Phillips Curve Looks Like Japan. Queen's Economics Department Working Paper No. 1083. http://qed.econ.queensu.ca/working_papers/papers/qed_wp_1083.pdf Elgar et al., 2013. Promiscuous words. Frontiers in Zoology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1742-9994-10-66 Baldassarre, 2020. What’s the Deal with Birds? Scientific Journal of Research and Reviews. https://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/birds.pdf Maruthupandian et al., 2013. Cunnilingus apparently increases duration of copulation in the Indian flying fox, Pteropus giganteus. PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059743 Upper, 1974. The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of “writer's block.” Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1311997 You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found! Follow us on social media @RecSciPod! YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@RecSciPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recscipod TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@recscipod BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/recscipod.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.com/@recscipod Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

    14 min

  8. Mar 10

    Swearing makes you stronger and how to potty train cows (season finale)

    How do you make yourself lift more at the gym? Have you tried swearing? Kids need potty training, but what about animals? Does potty training cows make them healthier and happier? In the season 1 finale, Lu and Tirth do a year-end review and discuss how saying your favorite swear word makes you stronger at the gym and how to potty train cows using an electric trainer. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:45 Year-end review 7:37 Swearing study 25:25 Potty training study 37:01 Is this SPAM? An update 42:43 What did you learn today, outro Article links: Jiannine & Antonio, 2023. The Effects of Cursing on Exercise Performance. Journal of Exercise Physiology online. https://www.asep.org/asep/asep/JEPonlineOCTOBER2023_Lia%20Jiannine_Jose%20Antonio.pdf Stephens et al., 2025. “Don’t Hold Back”: Swearing Improves Strength Through State Disinhibition. American Psychologist. https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2027-01514-001.html Bergsten et al., 1992. The cleanliness of cows tied in stalls and the health of their hooves as influenced by the use of electric trainers. Preventive Veterinary Medicine. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/016758779290038H You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found! Follow us on social media @RecSciPod! YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@RecSciPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recscipod TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@recscipod BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/recscipod.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.com/@recscipod Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

    45 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

RecSciPod: the podcast where funny scientists discuss funny science. Hosted by Lu and Tirth, two goofs (with MD/PhDs) who love to talk science and make each other laugh. In each episode, the two tell each other about one of the funniest, wackiest, and most provocative studies they stumble upon. Join us for an amusing mix of science and comedy, because the silly, weird, and ridiculous science experiments of today might just lead to the great discoveries of tomorrow! Visit our website for transcripts, article archives, and more: https://scientafic.com/recscipod Produced by Scientafic

Information

  • Creator
    Scientafic
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Scientafic
  • Show Website
    Recreational Science

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