Mystery sound extravaganza
Chris Hsu for APM
Sounds abound all around. Do you think your ears are up to the task? We have an episode chock full of nothing but mystery sounds to challenge and stretch your listening powers.
(Also, did you hear that the Brains On! store is open? We couldn’t be happier with the t-shirts and other goodies we have to offer. Have a look!)
Spoiler alert below this photo! Proceed with caution!
January 1926: A cat wearing headphones to listen to a radio.
Monty Fresco/Getty Images
Alright, ready for that spoiler? Here you go:
Here’s a lyrebird in action:
Interested in making your own telegraph like you heard in the show? Here’s how.
The telegraph made by Peter and his family.
Molly Bloom
Audio Transcript
Download transcript (PDF)
MOLLY BLOOM: Hi, Brains On! listeners. Before we start the show, we just wanted to let you know that we finally have t-shirts for sale. There are a few really cool designs, including one for the dinosaur lovers out there, and another for all of you space enthusiasts. You can head to BrainsOn.org/Shop to check them out. That's BrainsOn.org/Shop. You can rock a rad new shirt and support this podcast at the same time. Thanks. Now, onto the show.
KINNARI SETTY: You're listening to Brains On!, where we're serious about being curious.
SUBJECT 1: Brains On! Is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
KINNARI SETTY: The world can be a very noisy place.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here's just a sampling of the sounds from my morning.
[ALARM RINGING]
[TOILET FLUSHING]
[BRUSHING]
[BEEPING]
[CRUNCHING]
[ZIPPING]
[DOOR SHUTTING]
[JINGLING]
[BEEPING]
[HORN HONKING]
KINNARI SETTY: It's easy to take them for granted. but these sounds are everywhere. Some are beautiful--
[BIRDS CHIRPING, WATER RUNNING]
Others, not so much.
[HORNS HONKING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Today, we're going to test how closely you've been listening to the world around you with our annual Mystery Sound Extravaganza.
KINNARI SETTY: Get your ears ready and keep listening.
MOLLY BLOOM: You're listening to Brains On! from American Public Media. I'm Molly Bloom, and my cohost today is 12-year-old Kinnari Setty from Dallas, Texas. Welcome, Kinnari.
KINNARI SETTY: Hello.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, Kinnari, you're a Brains On! listener, but you're also a writer. You've published a book?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes. Actually, two.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh my gosh. What are the names of the books?
KINNARI SETTY: The first one, City of Sol, is a fiction novel, and the second one is a book about poetry named Me Musing.
MOLLY BLOOM: Very cool. And what is your fiction novel about?
KINNARI SETTY: It's about two girls who go on an adventure to find a hidden city using a book of magic and a tree to help them along the way.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ooh, I am very intrigued. Are you working on any other stories right now?
KINNARI SETTY: Three, actually.
MOLLY BLOOM: Three?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: And so, when you write, do you imagine the sounds in your head. Like, when you are writing, do you hear what's happening in your book as you're writing?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, I picture it, like a movie.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, if a character is walking through the woods, you hear leaves crunching under their feet?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, I think that is going to make you very good at this mystery sound guessing today. So, let's not wait anymore. It's time to kick off this Extravaganza.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYS]
SUBJECT 2: Mystery sound.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here is your first sound. This one is pretty quiet, so listen closely.
[MYSTERY SOUND PLAYS]
So, do you have any guesses?
KINNARI SETTY: It's like tinfoil. Maybe some things wrap-- someone's wrapping tinfoil around something?
MOLLY BLOOM: Very good guess. Would you like to hear it again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
[MYSTERY SOUND PLAYS]
Maybe it's pouring something?
MOLLY BLOOM: Hm, pouring.
KINNARI SETTY: Because you can hear something going into another thing, because it's smashing against something else.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, are you ready for the answer?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, here it is.
GENESEE: I'm Genesee from Boston, Massachusetts, and I'm here to tell you that was the sound of my mom's iron sizzling because it touched the water. My mom was ironing her blouse when I decided to record this. The sound sends shivers up my back, because when I was little, I got burnt by one.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ouch. So we definitely need to be careful around hot irons. So, it was the sound of an iron sizzling, so you were kind of close. You heard pouring water and there was water involved. Have you ever ironed before, Kinnari?
KINNARI SETTY: I heard my mom iron before.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, now that you hear that answer, does it make sense?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent. All right, now that our ears are warmed up, let's move on to the next sound.
[MYSTERY SOUND 2 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I feel like that's wrapping something around something again, because I could hear paper crumpling, and it's like they're pouring something into a jar or something, because you could hear pieces falling.
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm-hmm. OK, so you heard some crinkling, paper, and some pouring. Do you want to hear it again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
[MYSTERY SOUND 2 PLAYS]
I feel like someone's putting cereal into a bowl.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guess. Well, let's hear the answer.
AYESHA: I'm Ayesha from Fremont, California. That was the sound of me pouring cereal into a plastic bowl. I like to eat cereal with milk and without milk. My favorite time to eat cereal is any time.
MOLLY BLOOM: You were 100% right. Hurray!
[KINNARI GIGGLES]
Awesome job. So, do you eat cereal? I'm guessing you do, since you recognize the sound.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: When do you like to eat cereal?
KINNARI SETTY: For breakfast.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes, I like cereal as dessert, sometimes, in a mug. It's very specific. OK.
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: Are you ready for your next sound?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right. This one's kind of tough.
[MYSTERY SOUND 3 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: It's like someone's hammering down some-- a nail, I think? But I could hear glass, I'm not really sure.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, so you heard, you think, maybe, it was hammering down a nail, but maybe you also heard glass. Let's hear it again.
KINNARI SETTY: OK.
[MYSTERY SOUND 3 PLAYS]
I would say either someone hammering down a nail, or maybe someone trying to mold something, like maybe make something out of glass.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guesses. Well, let's hear the answer.
PETER: My name is Peter, and I live in Virginia. That was the sound of me tapping out SOS on the telegraph I made with my dad.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, tapping, not that different than hitting a nail. So, you were-- I would say were close. Do you know what SOS is?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes. When you're in danger, you either-- that's Braille, wasn't it?
MOLLY BLOOM: It's a Morse code. So yeah, basically what it is is you're using the letter S and the letter O and the letter S spelled in Morse code, which is 3 dots for an S, and three dashes for an O. So, the dots are short, and the dashes are long. So, it's dot-dot-dot, dash, dash, dash, dot-dot-dot. And actually, SOS doesn't stand for anything. It's just that it was agreed to be the international distress call, because it was easy to repeat and easy to understand. The telegraph was the first way for people to reliably send messages over long distances, and they would use this Morse code, which is an entire alphabet made up of different configurations of these dots and dashes.
KINNARI SETTY: I did not know that.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, isn't that cool? So, but now we know we have cell phones and emails and telephones. So I asked Peter why he and his dad wanted to build a telegraph.
PETER: We thought it would be fun to make, and it was a little challenging.
CLARA: Peter's very interested in history.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, and that is his sister, Clara. She helped too.
PETER: Yeah, and we went to a train museum and we learned how trains use telegraphs to communicate. And so, they had a little sheet handout that told you how to make a very basic telegraph.
CLARA: You get a nail and you wrap some wire around that nail to make a magnet.
PETER: And you wrap the wire around it about 100 times, so the nail that has the wire wrapped around it has a piece of ferrous metal that goes over it, that's hitting it.
MOLLY BLOOM: Peter is describing what is known as the sounder, and by wrapping that wire around the nail, they're making an electromagnet. The way you get the sounder to actually make a sound is by hitting another part of the telegraph called the key. The metal key and the sounder are both connected by wires to a battery. When you push down on the metal key to connect it with one end of the wire, it creates a circuit, making the nail magnetic, and pulling the piece of metal on the sound or down to hit that nail, and that makes the sound that you hear.
[MYSTERY SOUND 3 PLAYS]
If you want to try building your own simple telegraph, we have a link to the instructions on our website. It's BrainsOn.org. OK, one more sound before we take a quick break. Here it is.
[MYSTERY SOUND 4 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: It's a chicken.
MOLLY BLOOM: It's a chicken?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: You sound very sure about this. Do you want to hear it again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, let's hear it one more time.
[MYSTERY SOUND 4 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I could you hear someone beating down something, like the chicken's eating something, and running around.
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm-hmm. Let's hear the answer.
[? SIERRA: ?] I'm [? Sierra ?] from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and that was the sound of my chickens eating. I have five-- Leia, Peep, Agnes, Rhonda, and Fluffy. I give them water, and I feed them, and I help my mom clean out the coop.
MOLLY BLOOM: So you were 100% correct. That was chickens eating. Well done, you are very good at this.
KINNARI SETTY: Thank you.
MOLLY BLOOM: So have you ever seen a chicken up close before?
KINNARI SETTY: Not in real life, actually.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, Kinnari, you are really doing amazingly so far, and we want to give your ears a break. So, we're going to be back with more mystery sounds in just a bit.
[TRUMPET PLAYING]
KINNARI SETTY: One of the most buzzed-about topics here at Brains On! is gas.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, yes. We have released not one, but two episodes about farts.
KINNARI SETTY: One in humans, and one about animals.
MOLLY BLOOM: And people can't get enough.
KINNARI SETTY: So with that in mind, we are giving you a chance for more.
MOLLY BLOOM: We have 10 copies of the book Does it Fart? to give away. Dani Rabaiotti and Nick Caruso wrote this query into animal gas, and they were actually guests on our animal fart episode when they were doing research for the book.
KINNARI SETTY: If you're over 18, you can go to BrainsOn.org/Giveaway and enter for a chance to win.
MOLLY BLOOM: But hurry, you have only until midnight central time on Friday, April 6, to enter for a chance to win.
KINNARI SETTY: That's BrainsOn.org/Giveaway.
MOLLY BLOOM: This show would not be possible without our listeners and all the amazing mystery sounds they send to us.
KINNARI SETTY: If you have one you want to send in, just email it to Hello@BrainsOn.org.
MOLLY BLOOM: You can also send drawings, ideas, high fives, and questions to that same email address.
KINNARI SETTY: That's what Julian did.
MOLLY BLOOM: He sent us this question. "Why do bugs rub their hands together when they land on something?" We'll have an answer to that question during our Moment of Um at the end of the show, as well as the most recent group of kids to join Julian on the Brains Honor Roll.
KINNARI SETTY: Keep listening.
You're listening to Brains On from American Public Media. I'm Kinnari Setty.
MOLLY BLOOM: And I'm Molly Bloom. OK, Kinnari, are your ears ready for another round of mystery sounds?
KINNARI SETTY: Absolutely.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, let's do it. Here is your next sound.
[MYSTERY SOUND 5 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I feel like it's someone dropping out pencils on the floor, or from a pouch.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guess.
KINNARI SETTY: Or maybe really light wooden blocks.
MOLLY BLOOM: That is a really good guess. Do you want to hear it again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, let's hear it.
[MYSTERY SOUND 5 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah, I'm going to stick with my answer.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, you're sticking with pencils falling out. All right, here is the answer.
ALITA: Hi, my name is Alita, and I live in Portland, Oregon. That sound you just heard was the sound of me rummaging through my pencils. I like that sound because I get excited that I'm going to color something really fun. Bye!
MOLLY BLOOM: You were right again. Kinnari, I am amazed.
KINNARI SETTY: Thank you.
MOLLY BLOOM: Do you color a lot?
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: I'm wondering, when you write your stories, do you ever illustrate or make sketches when you're writing?
KINNARI SETTY: I'm not that great at drawing, so, no.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. Does it ever help you to imagine things, even to just make a stick figure? Or is it all just in your mind?
KINNARI SETTY: I imagine drawing it in my mind, but not actually on the paper.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, I wish I could draw well. I'm always in awe of people who can make amazing drawings. Because I can see them in my head, but they just don't come out of my pen the way I want them to.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Are you ready for the next one?
KINNARI SETTY: Absolutely.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, let's hear it.
[MYSTERY SOUND 6 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: That's like turning a knob of a timer.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, turning the knob of a timer. Excellent guess. Let's hear it again.
[MYSTERY SOUND 6 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I am going to stick with my answer, because the person who is turning it stopped for a second, and that's usually to place your hand again.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, reposition your hands you can turn it?
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guess. All right, let's hear the answer.
LORELEI: I'm Lorelei Ladd from Petaluma, California. That was the sound of me spinning the chain on my bike by turning the pedals. The clicking sound is the chain moving through the large and small metal disks with pointy teeth, called sprockets. The chain is moved by the pedal moving the sprocket, pulling the chain around the rear sprocket that turns the back wheel.
I've been riding a BMX bike for three years, since I was seven years old. A BMX bike is usually lighter and slightly smaller than a normal bike. And mine has a gyro mechanism at the bottom of the handlebars that allows the handlebars and the front tire to move in a full circle when doing jumps. It's my favorite bike, because it's really fast and much more fun than running or walking.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, you were definitely close. She was turning something, but it was a pedal, not a timer.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Do you ever ride bikes?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, I do, in the summer.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, now that you hear that explanation, have you heard that sound on your bike before?
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah, now it makes sense.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, it is time for the next mystery sound. Are you ready?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
[MYSTERY SOUND 7 PLAYS]
Oh, that's hard.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, this is a tricky one.
KINNARI SETTY: I don't know, but I feel like I heard a cat.
MOLLY BLOOM: A cat?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes. And, I don't know, maybe the cat's playing with its claws on some mesh material, because of the sound. A wire, maybe?
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, so you think maybe a cat is messing with something.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. Good guess, let's hear it one more time.
[MYSTERY SOUND 7 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: You'll stick with the cat messing with something?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, I think the sound is tricky, because, I think, unless you've had this exact experience, you're probably not familiar with this particular sound. So, let's hear the answer.
ALEXANDER: I'm Alexander from Colonia, New Jersey. That was the sound of me getting my short cast. The doctor was unrolling a sticky kind of tape over my broken arm. And since the tape was on a hollow tube, it made this cool kind of popping sound, like Pop Rocks. The worst thing about having a cast is when you have itches. The itches are really itchy once you let them sit there, and then you can't itch them, and it's really itchy then.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, not quite a cat messing with something, but it was a cast. So, just one letter off there. Have you ever had a cast before?
KINNARI SETTY: No.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, me neither. So, I think unless you've gotten a cast on your arm or leg, you probably would not be familiar with that particular kind of tape that's used on the cast. But it makes a really cool sound, right?
KINNARI SETTY: It does.
CHARLOTTE: Ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba, brains on!
ALEXANDER: Ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba brains on!
WILLIAM: Ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba brains on!
ALL: Ba-ba Ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba brains on!
MOLLY BLOOM: Thanks to Alexander, his brother, William, and cousin, Charlotte, for making us their very own version of one of our signature sounds. OK, now, Kinnari, on to the next sound. And this one is also kind of quiet, so get ready.
[MYSTERY SOUND 8 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I could hear a spray. Maybe a garden hose, or a sprinkler? Or maybe chalk. I'm not completely sure.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, chalk, good guess. Do you want to hear the sound again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, here it is.
[MYSTERY SOUND 8 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: There's a tiny clicking sound, so maybe you're just drawing straight lines with chalk, and you're reaching the end of the board or something.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guess. I think we're ready for the answer. So, here it is.
MATILDA: My name is Matilda Snyder. I'm nine years old, and I'm from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. That was the sound of me rosining my violin bow. Rosin is made from tree sap, and it looks sort of like amber. It's yellowish-orange, and it's in a wooden holder or plastic, and it makes it easier for you to get a good grip on it. When you put rosin on a bow, you slide the cake of rosin up and down the hairs of the bow.
You need rosin so that it doesn't-- so that the bow doesn't slide all around the violin. Rosin adds friction, and it helps it grip the strings. I've played violin for four years. The most challenging part of playing violin is probably that it gets really frustrating at times. You have to practice the same thing over and over again, every day, and that can get pretty frustrating. My favorite part of playing violin is when I finally get something right after I've been trying for a while. It feels really good.
[VIOLIN PLAYING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Beautiful playing. So, you are not that far off. She was rubbing rosin up and down the violin bow in a straight line. And when it hit the end, she went back the other way. So, you were pretty close, I would say. So, do you play any instruments?
KINNARI SETTY: I play the cello, and we rosin our bow, too.
MOLLY BLOOM: Now that you hear that, does it make sense?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, we are almost out of mysteries. We have only one more sound for you. And this one is from a scientist working in Australia. Here it is. It's really short, so get ready.
[MYSTERY SOUND 9 PLAYS]
I think we should probably hear that one again, because it is so short.
[MYSTERY SOUND 9 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: OK, a cloth bag. It's like when you scratch on it, you hear that sound. Maybe a mouse?
MOLLY BLOOM: So, a mouse or maybe a cloth bag? I think we should hear it one more time.
[MYSTERY SOUND 9 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I feel like there's something connected with helium, maybe a balloon?
MOLLY BLOOM: Is it because it's high-pitched?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, very good guessing. Here is the answer.
ANASTASIA DALZIELL: My name is Anastasia Dalziell, and I'm a scientist. That was the sound of a female superb lyrebird mimicking two trees rubbing against each other in high wind.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, that was the sound of a lyrebird. This is a bird found in Australia, and it was mimicking the sound of tree branches rubbing together. So, when you said something like rubbing on cloth, you really weren't that far off. And this lyrebird is an amazing mimic. It mimics the sounds in the natural world, like other birds, other animals.
ANASTASIA DALZIELL: I've always been interested in lyrebirds, partly because I'm a musician, so I spent a lot of time thinking about sound and music. But I was also interested in biology and in birds, and so, one way to combine an interest in music and birds is to study lyrebirds, because they're such fantastic singers.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here's a single superb lyrebird mimicking the sound of multiple kookaburras.
[SOUNDBITE PLAYS]
But it's also been known to mimic man-made sounds, too, like camera shutters--
[SOUNDBITE PLAYS]
--car alarms--
[SOUNDBITE PLAYS]
--and chainsaws.
[SOUNDBITE PLAYS]
Yes, those sounds you just heard are all made by lyrebirds. And it's spelled L-Y-R-E, not L-I-A-R. We have a video on our website, BrainsOn.org, if you want to see these birds in action. So, I asked Anastasia how do they do this.
ANASTASIA DALZIELL: We're not entirely sure. We know that they must have a very good memory, and they also have to have very sophisticated vocal apparatus. So, we have, as humans, we have a larynx, but birds have a syrinx. It's an organ that produces sound through vibrating membranes. And in birds, it's situated lower down in the chest. So, in fact, also birds are able to potentially produce two different sounds at the same time, whereas we can only produce one.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, so, we're not quite sure how they do it yet, but why do they do it, besides it just being super impressive to us humans.
ANASTASIA DALZIELL: Yeah, so that's the focus of our work at the moment. And, we do have some rather interesting ideas. The first one is to do with male lyrebirds. So, we know that male lyrebirds mimic most often and most spectacularly when females are laying eggs. So, we're pretty sure that the male lyrebirds are using the mimicry to get a mate, to attract females, or perhaps defend from other males.
But we've also started working on female lyrebirds, and they also mimic. They're really good mimics. They produce mimicry in a completely different context. So, for females, we think mimicry is important for defending nests from predators. So, when a female's nest is attacked by a predator, like a predatory bird, and female lyrebirds produce this incredible mimicry, and it's usually mimicry of scary sounds in the environment.
So, alarm calls, and the calls of hawks and things. So, we're pretty sure females are trying to use mimicry to scare off predators. But also, perhaps, to scare off other females who might want their nesting territory.
[BIRD CALL PLAYS]
MOLLY BLOOM: So, Kinnari how do your ears feel after that extravaganza?
KINNARI SETTY: Good.
MOLLY BLOOM: What tips do you have for future mystery sound guessers, since you really did such an amazing job?
KINNARI SETTY: I guess, think of a back story, maybe imagine it happening right now.
MOLLY BLOOM: I like that. So, try to visualize what could possibly be happening as you're listening to the sound.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: And remember, if you have any mystery sounds to share, you can always send them to Hello@BrainsOn.org.
KINNARI SETTY: And you can send your questions, ideas, and drawings there too.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's it for this episode.
KINNARI SETTY: Brains On! is produced by Marc Sanchez, and Sanden Totten, and Molly Bloom.
MOLLY BLOOM: We had production help this week from Jon Lambert, Lauren Dee, and Jonathan Shiflett.
KINNARI SETTY: And engineering help from Evan Clark, Bruce [? Faulkner, ?] and Veronica Rodriguez.
MOLLY BLOOM: And special thanks to Shruthi Srinivas, Lindsay Ladd, [? Aaron ?] [? Marken, ?] [? Kerri ?] [? Philhower, ?] [? Nebaha ?] [? Hahn, ?] Gregory Beatty, Autumn [? Edmonds, ?] [? Sarah ?] [? Canales, ?] and Larry Snyder.
KINNARI SETTY: Now, before we go, it's time for a Moment of Um.
SEVERAL VOICES: Um--
MOLLY BLOOM: Julian wants to know, why do bugs rub their hands together when they land on something.
LILA HIGGINS: Have you ever been at a picnic and seen a fly buzzing around? And then, all of a sudden, it lands on your tomato sandwich, and starts rubbing its legs. Hmm, what might it be doing? Well, flies rub their legs together like that because they're cleaning themselves. And they're cleaning themselves because they use their legs to taste.
My name is Lila Higgins, and I work at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and I studied bugs when I was in college. Insects have a very interesting way of sensing the world around them. And flies have really big eyes, so they can see and sense the world with their vision, but they also have different ways of sensing the world by tasting the world around them.
Just like when you're trying to eat food, imagine that you've just eaten a bunch of garlic. And then, you go to try and eat some ice cream. It's not going to taste very good. So, if a fly got dirty, it's not going to taste the same way if it hasn't cleaned its legs off in between. Flies are very fastidious cleaners, so they clean all over that body.
They even clean their eyes using those bristles that are on their legs, almost like a comb. You'll see them wiping their faces, rubbing their legs together, almost looking like they're gleefully plotting the demise of humans. But, they're actually cleaning themselves.
MOLLY BLOOM: Clean hands, full heart, I'm ready for this latest group of names to be added to the Brains Honor Roll. These are the kids who power our show by sharing their amazing ideas with us. Every episode of Brains On! comes from an idea provided by you. You make us look good.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[LISTING HONOR ROLL]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
Brains On! is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
KINNARI SETTY: We'll be back soon with more answers to your questions.
MOLLY BLOOM: Until then, you can keep up with us on Instagram and Twitter. we're @Brains_On, and we're on Facebook too. And if you're interested in that book giveaway, head to BrainsOn.org/Giveaway to enter.
KINNARI SETTY: Thanks for listening!
KINNARI SETTY: You're listening to Brains On!, where we're serious about being curious.
SUBJECT 1: Brains On! Is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
KINNARI SETTY: The world can be a very noisy place.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here's just a sampling of the sounds from my morning.
[ALARM RINGING]
[TOILET FLUSHING]
[BRUSHING]
[BEEPING]
[CRUNCHING]
[ZIPPING]
[DOOR SHUTTING]
[JINGLING]
[BEEPING]
[HORN HONKING]
KINNARI SETTY: It's easy to take them for granted. but these sounds are everywhere. Some are beautiful--
[BIRDS CHIRPING, WATER RUNNING]
Others, not so much.
[HORNS HONKING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Today, we're going to test how closely you've been listening to the world around you with our annual Mystery Sound Extravaganza.
KINNARI SETTY: Get your ears ready and keep listening.
MOLLY BLOOM: You're listening to Brains On! from American Public Media. I'm Molly Bloom, and my cohost today is 12-year-old Kinnari Setty from Dallas, Texas. Welcome, Kinnari.
KINNARI SETTY: Hello.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, Kinnari, you're a Brains On! listener, but you're also a writer. You've published a book?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes. Actually, two.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh my gosh. What are the names of the books?
KINNARI SETTY: The first one, City of Sol, is a fiction novel, and the second one is a book about poetry named Me Musing.
MOLLY BLOOM: Very cool. And what is your fiction novel about?
KINNARI SETTY: It's about two girls who go on an adventure to find a hidden city using a book of magic and a tree to help them along the way.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ooh, I am very intrigued. Are you working on any other stories right now?
KINNARI SETTY: Three, actually.
MOLLY BLOOM: Three?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: And so, when you write, do you imagine the sounds in your head. Like, when you are writing, do you hear what's happening in your book as you're writing?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, I picture it, like a movie.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, if a character is walking through the woods, you hear leaves crunching under their feet?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, I think that is going to make you very good at this mystery sound guessing today. So, let's not wait anymore. It's time to kick off this Extravaganza.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYS]
SUBJECT 2: Mystery sound.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here is your first sound. This one is pretty quiet, so listen closely.
[MYSTERY SOUND PLAYS]
So, do you have any guesses?
KINNARI SETTY: It's like tinfoil. Maybe some things wrap-- someone's wrapping tinfoil around something?
MOLLY BLOOM: Very good guess. Would you like to hear it again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
[MYSTERY SOUND PLAYS]
Maybe it's pouring something?
MOLLY BLOOM: Hm, pouring.
KINNARI SETTY: Because you can hear something going into another thing, because it's smashing against something else.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, are you ready for the answer?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, here it is.
GENESEE: I'm Genesee from Boston, Massachusetts, and I'm here to tell you that was the sound of my mom's iron sizzling because it touched the water. My mom was ironing her blouse when I decided to record this. The sound sends shivers up my back, because when I was little, I got burnt by one.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ouch. So we definitely need to be careful around hot irons. So, it was the sound of an iron sizzling, so you were kind of close. You heard pouring water and there was water involved. Have you ever ironed before, Kinnari?
KINNARI SETTY: I heard my mom iron before.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, now that you hear that answer, does it make sense?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent. All right, now that our ears are warmed up, let's move on to the next sound.
[MYSTERY SOUND 2 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I feel like that's wrapping something around something again, because I could hear paper crumpling, and it's like they're pouring something into a jar or something, because you could hear pieces falling.
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm-hmm. OK, so you heard some crinkling, paper, and some pouring. Do you want to hear it again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
[MYSTERY SOUND 2 PLAYS]
I feel like someone's putting cereal into a bowl.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guess. Well, let's hear the answer.
AYESHA: I'm Ayesha from Fremont, California. That was the sound of me pouring cereal into a plastic bowl. I like to eat cereal with milk and without milk. My favorite time to eat cereal is any time.
MOLLY BLOOM: You were 100% right. Hurray!
[KINNARI GIGGLES]
Awesome job. So, do you eat cereal? I'm guessing you do, since you recognize the sound.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: When do you like to eat cereal?
KINNARI SETTY: For breakfast.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yes, I like cereal as dessert, sometimes, in a mug. It's very specific. OK.
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: Are you ready for your next sound?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right. This one's kind of tough.
[MYSTERY SOUND 3 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: It's like someone's hammering down some-- a nail, I think? But I could hear glass, I'm not really sure.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, so you heard, you think, maybe, it was hammering down a nail, but maybe you also heard glass. Let's hear it again.
KINNARI SETTY: OK.
[MYSTERY SOUND 3 PLAYS]
I would say either someone hammering down a nail, or maybe someone trying to mold something, like maybe make something out of glass.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guesses. Well, let's hear the answer.
PETER: My name is Peter, and I live in Virginia. That was the sound of me tapping out SOS on the telegraph I made with my dad.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, tapping, not that different than hitting a nail. So, you were-- I would say were close. Do you know what SOS is?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes. When you're in danger, you either-- that's Braille, wasn't it?
MOLLY BLOOM: It's a Morse code. So yeah, basically what it is is you're using the letter S and the letter O and the letter S spelled in Morse code, which is 3 dots for an S, and three dashes for an O. So, the dots are short, and the dashes are long. So, it's dot-dot-dot, dash, dash, dash, dot-dot-dot. And actually, SOS doesn't stand for anything. It's just that it was agreed to be the international distress call, because it was easy to repeat and easy to understand. The telegraph was the first way for people to reliably send messages over long distances, and they would use this Morse code, which is an entire alphabet made up of different configurations of these dots and dashes.
KINNARI SETTY: I did not know that.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, isn't that cool? So, but now we know we have cell phones and emails and telephones. So I asked Peter why he and his dad wanted to build a telegraph.
PETER: We thought it would be fun to make, and it was a little challenging.
CLARA: Peter's very interested in history.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, and that is his sister, Clara. She helped too.
PETER: Yeah, and we went to a train museum and we learned how trains use telegraphs to communicate. And so, they had a little sheet handout that told you how to make a very basic telegraph.
CLARA: You get a nail and you wrap some wire around that nail to make a magnet.
PETER: And you wrap the wire around it about 100 times, so the nail that has the wire wrapped around it has a piece of ferrous metal that goes over it, that's hitting it.
MOLLY BLOOM: Peter is describing what is known as the sounder, and by wrapping that wire around the nail, they're making an electromagnet. The way you get the sounder to actually make a sound is by hitting another part of the telegraph called the key. The metal key and the sounder are both connected by wires to a battery. When you push down on the metal key to connect it with one end of the wire, it creates a circuit, making the nail magnetic, and pulling the piece of metal on the sound or down to hit that nail, and that makes the sound that you hear.
[MYSTERY SOUND 3 PLAYS]
If you want to try building your own simple telegraph, we have a link to the instructions on our website. It's BrainsOn.org. OK, one more sound before we take a quick break. Here it is.
[MYSTERY SOUND 4 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: It's a chicken.
MOLLY BLOOM: It's a chicken?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: You sound very sure about this. Do you want to hear it again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, let's hear it one more time.
[MYSTERY SOUND 4 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I could you hear someone beating down something, like the chicken's eating something, and running around.
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm-hmm. Let's hear the answer.
[? SIERRA: ?] I'm [? Sierra ?] from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and that was the sound of my chickens eating. I have five-- Leia, Peep, Agnes, Rhonda, and Fluffy. I give them water, and I feed them, and I help my mom clean out the coop.
MOLLY BLOOM: So you were 100% correct. That was chickens eating. Well done, you are very good at this.
KINNARI SETTY: Thank you.
MOLLY BLOOM: So have you ever seen a chicken up close before?
KINNARI SETTY: Not in real life, actually.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, Kinnari, you are really doing amazingly so far, and we want to give your ears a break. So, we're going to be back with more mystery sounds in just a bit.
[TRUMPET PLAYING]
KINNARI SETTY: One of the most buzzed-about topics here at Brains On! is gas.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, yes. We have released not one, but two episodes about farts.
KINNARI SETTY: One in humans, and one about animals.
MOLLY BLOOM: And people can't get enough.
KINNARI SETTY: So with that in mind, we are giving you a chance for more.
MOLLY BLOOM: We have 10 copies of the book Does it Fart? to give away. Dani Rabaiotti and Nick Caruso wrote this query into animal gas, and they were actually guests on our animal fart episode when they were doing research for the book.
KINNARI SETTY: If you're over 18, you can go to BrainsOn.org/Giveaway and enter for a chance to win.
MOLLY BLOOM: But hurry, you have only until midnight central time on Friday, April 6, to enter for a chance to win.
KINNARI SETTY: That's BrainsOn.org/Giveaway.
MOLLY BLOOM: This show would not be possible without our listeners and all the amazing mystery sounds they send to us.
KINNARI SETTY: If you have one you want to send in, just email it to Hello@BrainsOn.org.
MOLLY BLOOM: You can also send drawings, ideas, high fives, and questions to that same email address.
KINNARI SETTY: That's what Julian did.
MOLLY BLOOM: He sent us this question. "Why do bugs rub their hands together when they land on something?" We'll have an answer to that question during our Moment of Um at the end of the show, as well as the most recent group of kids to join Julian on the Brains Honor Roll.
KINNARI SETTY: Keep listening.
You're listening to Brains On from American Public Media. I'm Kinnari Setty.
MOLLY BLOOM: And I'm Molly Bloom. OK, Kinnari, are your ears ready for another round of mystery sounds?
KINNARI SETTY: Absolutely.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, let's do it. Here is your next sound.
[MYSTERY SOUND 5 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I feel like it's someone dropping out pencils on the floor, or from a pouch.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guess.
KINNARI SETTY: Or maybe really light wooden blocks.
MOLLY BLOOM: That is a really good guess. Do you want to hear it again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, let's hear it.
[MYSTERY SOUND 5 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah, I'm going to stick with my answer.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, you're sticking with pencils falling out. All right, here is the answer.
ALITA: Hi, my name is Alita, and I live in Portland, Oregon. That sound you just heard was the sound of me rummaging through my pencils. I like that sound because I get excited that I'm going to color something really fun. Bye!
MOLLY BLOOM: You were right again. Kinnari, I am amazed.
KINNARI SETTY: Thank you.
MOLLY BLOOM: Do you color a lot?
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: I'm wondering, when you write your stories, do you ever illustrate or make sketches when you're writing?
KINNARI SETTY: I'm not that great at drawing, so, no.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. Does it ever help you to imagine things, even to just make a stick figure? Or is it all just in your mind?
KINNARI SETTY: I imagine drawing it in my mind, but not actually on the paper.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, I wish I could draw well. I'm always in awe of people who can make amazing drawings. Because I can see them in my head, but they just don't come out of my pen the way I want them to.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Are you ready for the next one?
KINNARI SETTY: Absolutely.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, let's hear it.
[MYSTERY SOUND 6 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: That's like turning a knob of a timer.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, turning the knob of a timer. Excellent guess. Let's hear it again.
[MYSTERY SOUND 6 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I am going to stick with my answer, because the person who is turning it stopped for a second, and that's usually to place your hand again.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, reposition your hands you can turn it?
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guess. All right, let's hear the answer.
LORELEI: I'm Lorelei Ladd from Petaluma, California. That was the sound of me spinning the chain on my bike by turning the pedals. The clicking sound is the chain moving through the large and small metal disks with pointy teeth, called sprockets. The chain is moved by the pedal moving the sprocket, pulling the chain around the rear sprocket that turns the back wheel.
I've been riding a BMX bike for three years, since I was seven years old. A BMX bike is usually lighter and slightly smaller than a normal bike. And mine has a gyro mechanism at the bottom of the handlebars that allows the handlebars and the front tire to move in a full circle when doing jumps. It's my favorite bike, because it's really fast and much more fun than running or walking.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, you were definitely close. She was turning something, but it was a pedal, not a timer.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Do you ever ride bikes?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, I do, in the summer.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, now that you hear that explanation, have you heard that sound on your bike before?
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah, now it makes sense.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, it is time for the next mystery sound. Are you ready?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
[MYSTERY SOUND 7 PLAYS]
Oh, that's hard.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, this is a tricky one.
KINNARI SETTY: I don't know, but I feel like I heard a cat.
MOLLY BLOOM: A cat?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes. And, I don't know, maybe the cat's playing with its claws on some mesh material, because of the sound. A wire, maybe?
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, so you think maybe a cat is messing with something.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. Good guess, let's hear it one more time.
[MYSTERY SOUND 7 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: Yeah.
MOLLY BLOOM: You'll stick with the cat messing with something?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, I think the sound is tricky, because, I think, unless you've had this exact experience, you're probably not familiar with this particular sound. So, let's hear the answer.
ALEXANDER: I'm Alexander from Colonia, New Jersey. That was the sound of me getting my short cast. The doctor was unrolling a sticky kind of tape over my broken arm. And since the tape was on a hollow tube, it made this cool kind of popping sound, like Pop Rocks. The worst thing about having a cast is when you have itches. The itches are really itchy once you let them sit there, and then you can't itch them, and it's really itchy then.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, not quite a cat messing with something, but it was a cast. So, just one letter off there. Have you ever had a cast before?
KINNARI SETTY: No.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, me neither. So, I think unless you've gotten a cast on your arm or leg, you probably would not be familiar with that particular kind of tape that's used on the cast. But it makes a really cool sound, right?
KINNARI SETTY: It does.
CHARLOTTE: Ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba, brains on!
ALEXANDER: Ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba brains on!
WILLIAM: Ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba brains on!
ALL: Ba-ba Ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba brains on!
MOLLY BLOOM: Thanks to Alexander, his brother, William, and cousin, Charlotte, for making us their very own version of one of our signature sounds. OK, now, Kinnari, on to the next sound. And this one is also kind of quiet, so get ready.
[MYSTERY SOUND 8 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I could hear a spray. Maybe a garden hose, or a sprinkler? Or maybe chalk. I'm not completely sure.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, chalk, good guess. Do you want to hear the sound again?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes, please.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, here it is.
[MYSTERY SOUND 8 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: There's a tiny clicking sound, so maybe you're just drawing straight lines with chalk, and you're reaching the end of the board or something.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent guess. I think we're ready for the answer. So, here it is.
MATILDA: My name is Matilda Snyder. I'm nine years old, and I'm from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. That was the sound of me rosining my violin bow. Rosin is made from tree sap, and it looks sort of like amber. It's yellowish-orange, and it's in a wooden holder or plastic, and it makes it easier for you to get a good grip on it. When you put rosin on a bow, you slide the cake of rosin up and down the hairs of the bow.
You need rosin so that it doesn't-- so that the bow doesn't slide all around the violin. Rosin adds friction, and it helps it grip the strings. I've played violin for four years. The most challenging part of playing violin is probably that it gets really frustrating at times. You have to practice the same thing over and over again, every day, and that can get pretty frustrating. My favorite part of playing violin is when I finally get something right after I've been trying for a while. It feels really good.
[VIOLIN PLAYING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Beautiful playing. So, you are not that far off. She was rubbing rosin up and down the violin bow in a straight line. And when it hit the end, she went back the other way. So, you were pretty close, I would say. So, do you play any instruments?
KINNARI SETTY: I play the cello, and we rosin our bow, too.
MOLLY BLOOM: Now that you hear that, does it make sense?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, we are almost out of mysteries. We have only one more sound for you. And this one is from a scientist working in Australia. Here it is. It's really short, so get ready.
[MYSTERY SOUND 9 PLAYS]
I think we should probably hear that one again, because it is so short.
[MYSTERY SOUND 9 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: OK, a cloth bag. It's like when you scratch on it, you hear that sound. Maybe a mouse?
MOLLY BLOOM: So, a mouse or maybe a cloth bag? I think we should hear it one more time.
[MYSTERY SOUND 9 PLAYS]
KINNARI SETTY: I feel like there's something connected with helium, maybe a balloon?
MOLLY BLOOM: Is it because it's high-pitched?
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, very good guessing. Here is the answer.
ANASTASIA DALZIELL: My name is Anastasia Dalziell, and I'm a scientist. That was the sound of a female superb lyrebird mimicking two trees rubbing against each other in high wind.
MOLLY BLOOM: So, that was the sound of a lyrebird. This is a bird found in Australia, and it was mimicking the sound of tree branches rubbing together. So, when you said something like rubbing on cloth, you really weren't that far off. And this lyrebird is an amazing mimic. It mimics the sounds in the natural world, like other birds, other animals.
ANASTASIA DALZIELL: I've always been interested in lyrebirds, partly because I'm a musician, so I spent a lot of time thinking about sound and music. But I was also interested in biology and in birds, and so, one way to combine an interest in music and birds is to study lyrebirds, because they're such fantastic singers.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here's a single superb lyrebird mimicking the sound of multiple kookaburras.
[SOUNDBITE PLAYS]
But it's also been known to mimic man-made sounds, too, like camera shutters--
[SOUNDBITE PLAYS]
--car alarms--
[SOUNDBITE PLAYS]
--and chainsaws.
[SOUNDBITE PLAYS]
Yes, those sounds you just heard are all made by lyrebirds. And it's spelled L-Y-R-E, not L-I-A-R. We have a video on our website, BrainsOn.org, if you want to see these birds in action. So, I asked Anastasia how do they do this.
ANASTASIA DALZIELL: We're not entirely sure. We know that they must have a very good memory, and they also have to have very sophisticated vocal apparatus. So, we have, as humans, we have a larynx, but birds have a syrinx. It's an organ that produces sound through vibrating membranes. And in birds, it's situated lower down in the chest. So, in fact, also birds are able to potentially produce two different sounds at the same time, whereas we can only produce one.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, so, we're not quite sure how they do it yet, but why do they do it, besides it just being super impressive to us humans.
ANASTASIA DALZIELL: Yeah, so that's the focus of our work at the moment. And, we do have some rather interesting ideas. The first one is to do with male lyrebirds. So, we know that male lyrebirds mimic most often and most spectacularly when females are laying eggs. So, we're pretty sure that the male lyrebirds are using the mimicry to get a mate, to attract females, or perhaps defend from other males.
But we've also started working on female lyrebirds, and they also mimic. They're really good mimics. They produce mimicry in a completely different context. So, for females, we think mimicry is important for defending nests from predators. So, when a female's nest is attacked by a predator, like a predatory bird, and female lyrebirds produce this incredible mimicry, and it's usually mimicry of scary sounds in the environment.
So, alarm calls, and the calls of hawks and things. So, we're pretty sure females are trying to use mimicry to scare off predators. But also, perhaps, to scare off other females who might want their nesting territory.
[BIRD CALL PLAYS]
MOLLY BLOOM: So, Kinnari how do your ears feel after that extravaganza?
KINNARI SETTY: Good.
MOLLY BLOOM: What tips do you have for future mystery sound guessers, since you really did such an amazing job?
KINNARI SETTY: I guess, think of a back story, maybe imagine it happening right now.
MOLLY BLOOM: I like that. So, try to visualize what could possibly be happening as you're listening to the sound.
KINNARI SETTY: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: And remember, if you have any mystery sounds to share, you can always send them to Hello@BrainsOn.org.
KINNARI SETTY: And you can send your questions, ideas, and drawings there too.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's it for this episode.
KINNARI SETTY: Brains On! is produced by Marc Sanchez, and Sanden Totten, and Molly Bloom.
MOLLY BLOOM: We had production help this week from Jon Lambert, Lauren Dee, and Jonathan Shiflett.
KINNARI SETTY: And engineering help from Evan Clark, Bruce [? Faulkner, ?] and Veronica Rodriguez.
MOLLY BLOOM: And special thanks to Shruthi Srinivas, Lindsay Ladd, [? Aaron ?] [? Marken, ?] [? Kerri ?] [? Philhower, ?] [? Nebaha ?] [? Hahn, ?] Gregory Beatty, Autumn [? Edmonds, ?] [? Sarah ?] [? Canales, ?] and Larry Snyder.
KINNARI SETTY: Now, before we go, it's time for a Moment of Um.
SEVERAL VOICES: Um--
MOLLY BLOOM: Julian wants to know, why do bugs rub their hands together when they land on something.
LILA HIGGINS: Have you ever been at a picnic and seen a fly buzzing around? And then, all of a sudden, it lands on your tomato sandwich, and starts rubbing its legs. Hmm, what might it be doing? Well, flies rub their legs together like that because they're cleaning themselves. And they're cleaning themselves because they use their legs to taste.
My name is Lila Higgins, and I work at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and I studied bugs when I was in college. Insects have a very interesting way of sensing the world around them. And flies have really big eyes, so they can see and sense the world with their vision, but they also have different ways of sensing the world by tasting the world around them.
Just like when you're trying to eat food, imagine that you've just eaten a bunch of garlic. And then, you go to try and eat some ice cream. It's not going to taste very good. So, if a fly got dirty, it's not going to taste the same way if it hasn't cleaned its legs off in between. Flies are very fastidious cleaners, so they clean all over that body.
They even clean their eyes using those bristles that are on their legs, almost like a comb. You'll see them wiping their faces, rubbing their legs together, almost looking like they're gleefully plotting the demise of humans. But, they're actually cleaning themselves.
MOLLY BLOOM: Clean hands, full heart, I'm ready for this latest group of names to be added to the Brains Honor Roll. These are the kids who power our show by sharing their amazing ideas with us. Every episode of Brains On! comes from an idea provided by you. You make us look good.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[LISTING HONOR ROLL]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
Brains On! is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
KINNARI SETTY: We'll be back soon with more answers to your questions.
MOLLY BLOOM: Until then, you can keep up with us on Instagram and Twitter. we're @Brains_On, and we're on Facebook too. And if you're interested in that book giveaway, head to BrainsOn.org/Giveaway to enter.
KINNARI SETTY: Thanks for listening!
Transcription services provided by 3Play Media.
