Humans recognize each other’s faces. Chimps recognize each other’s butts. However, do chimps recognize human butts? Do humans recognize human butts? Do humans recognize chimp butts? All these questions must be asked.

Getting surgery, even minor procedures, triggers anxiety. Do clowns help kids relax pre-surgery? Is there room for clowns in pediatric operating rooms?

In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss historic science gaffes, how human faces are quite similar to chimpanzee butts, and whether clowns can be good anxiolytics for children.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:55 Dave talk
• 5:27 Historic science gaffes quiz
• 19:22 Chimp butt study
• 36:49 Clown studies
• 50:29 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Kret & Tomonaga, 2016. Getting to the Bottom of Face Processing. Species-Specific Inversion Effects for Faces and Behinds in Humans and Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes). PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0165357
• Vagnoli et al., 2005. Clown doctors as a treatment for preoperative anxiety in children: a randomized, prospective study. Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-0466
• Golan et al., 2009. Clowns for the prevention of preoperative anxiety in children: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatric Anesthesia. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1460-9592.2008.02903.x

You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found!

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Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ

Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

Dog food quality has risen over the years, and its ingredients are not too different from that of pâté, or liver mousse, a French delicacy. The question, then, must be asked: can people taste the difference between dog food and pâté?

Driving under the influence of marijuana is dangerous and illegal, but what about bicycling? Is it safe to ride bikes after cannabis use?

Happy 2026! In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss whether blind taste testers can tell the difference between dog food and pâté, liverwurst, or SPAM, and whether cannabis users can safely navigate through traffic on a bicycle while stoned.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:45 New Year’s celebrations and resolutions
• 8:04 Dog food study
• 20:17 Weed study
• 30:16 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Bohannon J et al., 2009. Can people distinguish pâté from dog food? AAWE Working paper No. 36 – Economics. https://wine-economics.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AAWE_WP36.pdf
• Hartung et al., 2016. The effect of cannabis on regular cannabis consumers’ ability to ride a bicycle. International Journal of Legal Medicine. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00414-015-1307-y

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
• Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ

Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

Kids swallow little toys and other things they’re not supposed to all the time. Is it dangerous to swallow Legos? How long does it take for a swallowed piece of Lego to pass? There’s only one way to find out.

Why do some men have beards? Do beards signify virility and manliness? Do bearded men have higher power levels?

In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss the rich history of self-experimentation in medicine, how long it takes Legos to pass through the digestive tract, and whether bearded men fight better.

Please vote for our show on the pod radar before Monday 12/22! https://thepodradar.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

3:12 Hate caller follow-up

7:59 The rich history of self-experimentation

16:42 Lego swallowing study

23:23 Beard study

36:11 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Tagg et al., 2018. Everything is awesome: Don’t forget the Lego. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpc.14309

• Dixson et al., 2018. Contest competition and men's facial hair: beards may not provide advantages in combat. Evolution and human behavior. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513817302660
• Beseris et al., 2020. Impact Protection Potential of Mammalian Hair: Testing the Pugilism Hypothesis for the Evolution of Human Facial Hair. Integrative organismal biology. https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/2/1/obaa005/5799080

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

Theme music by Dasein: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ

Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)