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

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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

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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!

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Would you give up your seat to a pregnant woman on the train? Would you be more likely to give up your seat to a pregnant woman if Batman was also on the train?

What do octopuses do during their free time? Are they smart, curious, and bored enough to play catch by themselves?

In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss how the presence of Batman makes people more kind to one another and whether octopuses play with toys.

Beef man origins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc-5StGiCb4

Octopus playing video: https://figshare.com/articles/media/An_adult_i_O_bimaculoides_i_Octopus_H_playing_with_test_tube_cap_/29494452?file=56034531

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:25 Lu has a hater
• 10:39 Batman study
• 21:53 Octopus study
• 31:41 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Pagnini et al., 2025. Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect. npj Mental Health Research. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-025-00171-5
• Jarmoulk et al., 2025. Evidence of play behavior in captive California two-spot octopuses, Octopus bimaculoides. PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0326379

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

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

Are ethicists ethical? One would think that people who spend their careers studying ethics must be more ethical than others. But are people with looser morals more likely to become ethicists, so that they can understand what they lack?

Why do some ancient human bones have larger enthesis (sites on the bone where tendons and ligaments attach)? Did the individuals these bones belong to run or exercise more than their peers? How can we study this using Thanksgiving dinner?

In this episode, Lu quizzes Tirth on the science of Thanksgiving dinner. The two then discuss how you can evaluate the ethics of ethicists by going to a library and how forcing turkeys to walk on treadmills can teach us about human history.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:57 Thanksgiving science quiz
• 10:39 Ethics study
• 24:15 Turkey study
• 32:40 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Schwitzgebel, 2009. Do ethicists steal more books? Philosophical Psychology. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09515080903409952
• Wallace et al., 2017. Physical activity alters limb bone structure but not entheseal morphology. Journal of Human Evolution. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248417300647

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

Video - never deep fry a frozen turkey:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KqtVCqFJsu0

Mansplaining is when a someone explains in a condescending, oversimplified, and often inaccurate manner, without regard to the fact that the explainee knows more than the explainer, usually done by a man to a woman. Why do men do it? Does mansplaining actually even exist?

Brain processing and recognition of visual imagery, such as people and objects, is thought to involve complex neuronal pathways with lots of connected brain cells each playing a role. But are multiple brain cells really necessary for this? Why don’t we just dedicate one brain cell to recognizing each important person in our life?

In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss whether mansplaining is real and why it might occur and examine evidence showing that the visual recognition of certain people and objects may be the job of one specific brain cell.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:13 How was your week?
• 5:04 Mansplaining study
• 21:38 Neuron recognition study
• 35:25 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Fokkema & Pollmann, 2024. Mansplaining explained: The role of the better-than-average effect and the interpretation bias in acts and accusations of mansplaining. Psychology of Language and Communication. https://sciendo.com/article/10.58734/plc-2024-0021
• Quiroga et al., 2005. Invariant visual representation by single neurons in the human brain. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03687

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

Why do we sometimes seek out and enjoy fear? Could it be that fear promotes sexual attraction? Is it a good idea to take your date to a horror movie or on a rollercoaster?

Carving pumpkins into Jack-o’-lanterns is dangerous and often leads to hand injuries. What’s the safest pumpkin carving tool to use this Halloween? How do you even determine this?

It’s Halloween! In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss why some houses are thought to be haunted, how situations that arouse fear also arouse other feelings, as well as how to use reanimated cadaver arms to study pumpkin carving best practices.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 3:35 Why are some houses haunted?
• 8:35 Sexy fear study
• 23:29 Pumpkin carving study
• 34:54 Let’s read some mail
• 40:04 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Dutton & Aron, 1974. Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1975-03016-001
• Marcus et al., 2004. The safety of pumpkin carving tools. Preventive Medicine. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743504000374

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

The paradox of cocaine reinforcement is one of the biggest paradoxes in science. Why is cocaine so addictive to humans? Do bees enjoy cocaine as much as us?

Why do some people prefer Apple iPhones while others prefer Android phones? Are there fundamental psychological differences between iPhone and Android users? Can you predict who uses which phone?

In this episode, Lu quizzes Tirth on different -ologies, or scientific fields of study. The two then discuss the behavior of honeybees on short- and long-term cocaine use and the differences in personality traits between iPhone and Android users.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:15 Ologies quiz
• 17:37 Cocaine bee study
• 30:46 iPhone vs Android study
• 43:34 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Barron et al., 2009. Effects of cocaine on honey bee dance behavior. Journal of Experimental Biology. https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/212/2/163/18461/Effects-of-cocaine-on-honey-bee-dance-behaviour
• Shaw et al., 2016. Predicting Smartphone Operating System from Personality and Individual Differences. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cyber.2016.0324

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

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