Why do we like getting scared?
Milkos/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Spooky stuff may make you cover your eyes in fright, but many of us find ourselves peeking through our fingers to get another glimpse. Why are we drawn to things that make us jump?
In this episode, we'll find out how fear can actually be fun. We visit a scientist who helps design haunted houses for ultimate scares, chat with an author who writes ghost stories about how he crafts the creepy crawlies, and play a rousing game of Name That Phobia! Plus we help Gungador get rid of his hiccups and answer the Moment of Um question: "Why do raspberries have little hairs?"
Spoiler alert! To learn more about the mystery sound, click here.
Audio Transcript
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CHILD 1: You're listening to Brains On! where we're serious about being curious.
CHILD 2: Brains On! is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
MARC SANCHEZ: So here's the studio. Belle Marie and Molly will meet you.
GUNGADOR: [HICCUP]
BELLE: Whoa. Marc, Sanden, what was that?
MARC SANCHEZ: Gungador?
GUNGADOR: Hi. [HICCUP] It me.
MARC SANCHEZ: Gungador, your burps usually don't sound like that.
GUNGADOR: [HICCUP]. Not burps. Hiccups. [HICCUP] Gungador has been hiccuping for-- [HICCUP] all week.
BELLE: Is that healthy?
GUNGADOR: Internet say [HICCUP] it probably fine.
MARC SANCHEZ: You want us to try scaring you? That usually ends my hiccups.
GUNGADOR: [LAUGHS] Good one, Marc. [HICCUP] That's why these hiccups last so long. No one can scare Gungador. Gungador un-scardiest monster ever.
MARC SANCHEZ: Come on, you've got to be scared of something.
GUNGADOR: Nope. Nothing is scary. Not scared of spiders on face, not scared of bumpy airplane rides. Definitely not scared of looking down from tall cliffs.
MARC SANCHEZ: We might have some other ideas for you.
BELLE: Yeah. I'm heading into the studio for a show all about getting scared. I bet I can help afterward.
MARC SANCHEZ: See you, Belle. Now let's look at some other ideas for you in the meantime, Gungi.
GUNGADOR: [HICCUP]
MARC SANCHEZ: Hmm, what about if elevator sent you to a super tiny, deep dark cave where you'd be all alone except for total, complete darkness, bats, dripping water, and your own thoughts?
GUNGADOR: Not scary. Gungador loves napping in caves. Best circadian rhythm reset ever.
MARC SANCHEZ: What about those sugar-free pudding cups that are tan and no one knows what flavor they really are?
GUNGADOR: Gungador love all pudding. [HICCUP]
MARC SANCHEZ: How about a scary movie marathon without any fried pickles to keep you company?
GUNGADOR: No way.
MARC SANCHEZ: How about standing on a stage in front of everyone you know and improvising an opera?
[OPERA MUSIC PLAYS]
GUNGADOR (SINGING): Nice try. Still have hiccupings.
[MUSIC PLAYS]
MOLLY BLOOM: This is Brains On! from American Public Media. I'm Molly Bloom and my co-host today is Belle from Los Angeles, California. Hi, Belle.
BELLE: Hi. Thanks for having me.
MOLLY BLOOM: Thank you for being here. So today's episode was inspired by this question.
CHILD: Why is it that when you see something scary and try not to look at it, you keep wanting to look back at it?
MOLLY BLOOM: So, Belle, do you like being scared?
BELLE: Yes, I do.
MOLLY BLOOM: Why do you think you like it?
BELLE: Personally, I like getting scared because it kind of gives me like a sense of safety or something. Like if you kind of predict that something scary is going to happen, then it won't be as bad as if you have a false shield of thinking everything's going to be very happy.
MOLLY BLOOM: So you're preparing yourself mentally for scary things?
BELLE: Yeah, you're just preparing yourself.
MOLLY BLOOM: Got it. So I know that you like ghost stories. Do you feel like reading a ghost story is different than watching a movie?
BELLE: Yes, very much. The thing about me is I love to read scary stories, but as soon as someone says, hey, let's watch a movie, then I get freaked out and don't want to because I'm terrified. Because usually when I read books, they don't have that much visuals so your mind's able to make up what you think it'll look like, and your mind's probably making up something that can make you feel better about it. But if you're watching a movie, then you can't control what the monster looks like so it's even more terrifying.
MOLLY BLOOM: So why do you like ghost stories in particular?
BELLE: I like ghost stories in particular because most of them can come from very a long-- a long time ago, or they can come from modern times like right now. Like, there's some right now that are like, oh, ghosts that haunt the movie theater. And then there's some that go way back like, oh, this ghosts haunt this historical landmark. And so sometimes if you find history really boring, what I like to do is I just search up scary parts of it and then that will usually get me interested in that period of time.
MOLLY BLOOM: Nice. So you look up ghosts from a period of time, and then you can learn about history while scaring yourself a little bit.
BELLE: Yeah. Usually scary movies about a long time ago-- I get interested and then I want to search it up more. And so then I end up just having all these strange facts in my head that I tell everyone, and they don't know where I learned them from.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's awesome. Well today we're going to learn more about why some of us delight in fright. But first I feel like we need to set the mood. Right, Belle?
BELLE: Totally.
MOLLY BLOOM: Harvey?
[BEEP]
HARVEY: Yes, Molly?
MOLLY BLOOM: Activate Halloween mode.
HARVEY: Sure, Molly.
[BEEPING]
[SPOOKY MUSIC PLAYING]
I've dimmed the lights and cued the fog. The studio is creepy and smells like wet dog. Mwah-ha-ha-ha. Let me know if you need anything else.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's more like it. Now we all have different things that give us the heebie-jeebies.
BELLE: Some people get squeamish around bugs or rodents.
MOLLY BLOOM: Others are wigged out by werewolves or vampires.
BELLE: But what if you are the scary thing? Like, what if you're a monster? What would scare you?
MOLLY BLOOM: We asked our listeners, and they had some hair-raising ideas.
LISTENER 1: I like to scare a monster by hugging it.
LISTENER 2: I would hide behind a rock with a flashlight, jump up, and shine the flashlight in his face.
LISTENER 3: I have a Nerf gun. It really hurts, so I will use that.
LISTENER 4: I would show it to a unicorn and the unicorn would spray a bunch of pink stuff out of his horn.
LISTENER 5: I would scare a monster by saying, I know you're not there, monster, and saying boo!
LISTENER 6: I like to scare a monster by knocking a tree on it.
LISTENER 7: By believing that they're not real so I wouldn't worry about them.
LISTENER 8: I would scare a monster by pretending to be Hulk.
LISTENER 9: I think fire would scare a monster because zombies don't like fire.
LISTENER 10: I would put on the thunderstorm and the lightning would scare it.
MOLLY BLOOM: That was Mia, Nora, [INAUDIBLE], Silas, [? Ianna, ?] Miriam, Zach, Levon, Max, and Jack. Let's hear one more suggestion about how we might scare a monster.
MARGEE KERR: The first thing that comes to my mind is, I would tickle it. Because in my mind I'm imagining a massive 50 foot kind of Goliath, and I think I would probably sneak up and then tickle his foot or tickle him somewhere that he can't figure out where. And from experience, I think he would probably be pretty terrified.
MOLLY BLOOM: That voice of experience is Margee Kerr.
BELLE: She's a sociologist who studies fear.
MOLLY BLOOM: Her research lab is a haunted house. Literally. She does her research in one of those Halloween-type mazes where there's people in costumes and cobwebs and spooky decorations.
BELLE: It's perfect because she can study people's reactions when they're choosing to be scared.
MOLLY BLOOM: Just like when you or I decide to read a spooky story or ride a tall roller coaster. It's scary, but we're expecting to be scared.
BELLE: Margee says that there are three main parts to this kind of fear.
MOLLY BLOOM: First, there's the physical part.
BELLE: That's what happens in our bodies.
MOLLY BLOOM: Then there's the psychological part.
BELLE: That's what happens in our minds.
MOLLY BLOOM: And lastly there's the social part.
BELLE: That's how other people affect our feelings.
MOLLY BLOOM: So let's start with the physical. Say you're watching a movie and the main character is trapped. On one side there's a steep cliff. On the other side, a hungry bear.
[GROWL]
BELLE: As you watch, you might get a little scared. Your heart might start beating faster and your breathing might speed up.
MARGEE KERR: And what's happening is our body is essentially reprioritizing everything to make sure that we are going to be essentially strong, fast, or able to get away, to run, to hide.
MOLLY BLOOM: This is called the fight or flight response because your body is gearing up to either fight that threat or take flight and run.
[GROWL]
BELLE: When this happens, our bodies speed up our breathing so we have more oxygen, and any available sugars get sent straight to our muscles so we can be as strong as possible.
MOLLY BLOOM: And our bodies send out a rush of hormones called endorphins. These help to dull any pain if we get hurt.
MARGEE KERR: It's kind of thinking of it like putting the pedal to the metal. So our body is ready to go.
BELLE: But then you remember this is only a movie and you're not actually endangered.
MOLLY BLOOM: Margee says that's when the fun part of fear kicks in, and when your mind plays a bigger role.
MARGEE KERR: So when we know we're not actually going to be eaten by a bear or fall off of a cliff, the changes in our body can actually make us feel really energized and powerful and grounded in the moment. We're not thinking about any homework or bills. Or any of those to-do lists are just gone. So we're going to be focused on just the here and now.
MOLLY BLOOM: So you get all the boosts of facing a threat without the danger. It's no wonder people's moods go up after experiences like this.
BELLE: And get this. Scares can also boost our confidence.
MARGEE KERR: We can use these kinds of experiences as a way to almost practice being scared. To say, OK, I'm afraid of heights but I'm going to try riding this roller coaster. I know that it's going to be safe. You make it through and, you know, you've got a little more confidence that you can-- you can handle the changes that are happening in your body. You can feel that anxiety and know you're going to be OK.
MOLLY BLOOM: So we have covered the physical and mental parts of chills and thrills. So how about the social?
BELLE: Margee says a scary experience often brings people closer together.
MARGEE KERR: Usually when we're doing scary things, they're with friends. So we're going to the movies with friends, we're going to haunted houses with friends, or amusement parks, or even just going out into the woods and running around. These are all social experiences, and when we do scary things together it creates stronger social bonds with the people that we trust and like to be around.
And part of that is because when we're scared, we're going to form really strong memories about that experience. Years from now these are the stories that you tell around the fireplace, that you reflect on and kind of get a feeling of nostalgia. So it really can bring people together and create those strong social bonds and just end up as really good memories.
MOLLY BLOOM: It's coming. It's creeping toward us. It's about to strike. It's the--
[EERIE MUSIC]
BELLE (WHISPERING): Mystery sound.
MOLLY BLOOM: Are you ready, Belle?
BELLE: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here it is.
[LOW HUMMING SOUND, NOTES PLAYING]
What is your guess?
BELLE: I think it's just an organ that they play in church or something similar to that.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent. Excellent guess. Well we're going to be back a little later in the show to see if you were able to scare the answer up.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Has all this talk of scary stuff made you think of a monster?
BELLE: How about sending us a drawing of what a monster might look like?
MOLLY BLOOM: You get to make up all of its monster traits, too.
BELLE: It could be scary or hairy. It can have bangs or fangs. It could be blue or purple or rainbow.
MOLLY BLOOM: It could be a bowl of rice with googly eyes.
BELLE: Really? Yeah, why not? We want to see whatever monster you dream up, food-related or otherwise.
MOLLY BLOOM: Go to brainson.org/contact and upload your drawing.
BELLE: That's also where you can send your mystery sounds, show suggestions, and questions.
MOLLY BLOOM: Just like this listener.
LISTENER: My question is, why do raspberries have little hairs on them?
BELLE: We'll hear the answer to that question at the end of the show.
MOLLY BLOOM: Plus, we'll hear the latest group to be inducted into the Brain's Honor Roll.
BELLE: So keep listening.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
OLIVER: I would scare a monster by setting off a flare in front of it to make-- to make it curious and then set off a flare behind it to scare it.
SYDNEY: I would scare a monster by turning on a thousand night lights at the same time.
RANDALL: I would use a costume that looks like an animatronic Chuck E. Cheese from the Chuck E. Cheese place.
LUIS: I would just go to sleep.
RENEE: Pepper spray. It scares anyone.
BROOKE: I would scare a monster by hiding in the bushes, jumping out, and tackling the monster and spray silly spray all over, head to toe.
JOANNA: If someone grabs my arm or something like that, well, I'd get my other arm that's free and, like, chop. Then he'll let go.
RACHEL: I would make little scuttling noises as I'm coming up to it like this. [SCUTTLING NOISE] And then I would jump out from behind it to scare it once it's already creeped out.
BELLE: You're listening to Brains On! From American Public Media. I'm Belle Marie.
MOLLY BLOOM: And I'm Molly. You just heard from Oliver, Sydney, Randall, Luis, Renee, Brooke, Joanna, and Rachel tell us how they would scare a monster. That's because today we're talking about why we like to scare ourselves.
BELLE: And it looks like-- wait, why is someone giving you one of those old-timey microphones with a super long skinny handle?
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, this? This is our official game show mic because it's time for Name That Phobia.
[APPLAUSE]
That's right, Belle. You're the next contestant on Name That Phobia, the game show where contestants guess what a phobia is based on its scientific name. A phobia is an extreme fear of a specific situation or thing. So aulophobia is a fear of flutes.
[FLUTE PLAYS]
If you need a hint, I'll be here for help. Belle, are you ready?
BELLE: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, let's play. Your first phobia is arachnophobia. Is it the fear of A, tennis rackets, B, spiders, or C, fear itself?
BELLE: B, fear of spiders.
MOLLY BLOOM: You sound very confident. Have you heard of that one before?
BELLE: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, you are 100% correct. Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. All right, time for our second phobia. It's called coulrophobia. Do you think coulrophobia is the fear of A, catching a cold, B, hot coals, or C, clowns?
BELLE: I'm just going to go ahead and guess C, fear of clowns.
MOLLY BLOOM: Why do you think it might be fear of clowns?
BELLE: It just sounds similar to the name of clowns, so I'm just going on a whim and guessing it's C.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, you are correct. Someone with coulrophobia has a fear of clowns. OK, moving on to our third phobia. And this one's a doozy, folks. It's arachibutyrophobia I'll say it again. Arachibutyrophobia. What do you think arachibutyrophobia fear? Is it A, dancing spiders, B, getting peanut butter stuck on the roof of your mouth, or C, pop quizzes? And if you'd like a clue, I can give you one.
BELLE: Can I have a clue?
MOLLY BLOOM: A person with arachibutyrophobia probably prefers sandwiches with a little bit of crunch.
BELLE: Hmm. I'd say that's B, getting peanut butter stuck to the top of your mouth?
MOLLY BLOOM: Correct again. All right, it's time for our fourth and final phobia, dentophobia. Belle, do you think dentophobia is the fear of A, knock-knock jokes, B, dentists, or C, brown bears?
BELLE: Ooh, it's hard between B and C. I'm going to say B, fear of dentists.
MOLLY BLOOM: You nailed it. Dentophobia is a fear of dentists. Well thanks for playing Name That Phobia. You got them all 100% correct. Don't forget to pick up your fabulous party prizes in the swag shop on the eighth floor.
BELLE: Thank you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE]
MOLLY BLOOM: Belle, do you remember Margee Kerr from the beginning of the show?
BELLE: Yeah. She's a scientist who studies why people like to be scared. The one who does her research in haunted houses and mazes?
MOLLY BLOOM: Right. And because of that, haunted house designers sometimes turn to her for help. After all, her work gives her a really good sense of how to give people very specific kinds of scares.
MARGEE KERR: I start usually with a sensation that I want to incite. So if I want to give people a sense of goosebumps-- so I want to try and activate the sensory network on their skin-- and so I think about different ways I can do that. Maybe you can do that with different types of textures that you can put on the walls.
And then I think, oh, well you have to figure out a way to make sure that they bump into the wall. And so I build out from the stimuli. You know, my end goal is always to have it be a positive experience. I never want to actually scare people in a way that they are going to leave crying or being upset or feeling anything other than positive.
So a lot of my designs have always been more of-- almost kind of like a hero's journey. And when you look at a hero's journey, it involves a lot of fear, a lot of confronting the unexpected, and the challenging and the risky, but ultimately making it through.
MOLLY BLOOM: That phrase, hero's journey-- it's a classic type of story where a hero goes on an adventure, learns something, and comes out wiser in the end.
BELLE: Think about Harry Potter trying to conquer Voldemort, or Charlotte the spider trying to help Wilbur in Charlotte's Web, or even Jack and the Beanstalk.
MOLLY BLOOM: All classics. Next we'll check in with a writer who works on scary stuff every day.
BELLE: Joining us to talk about how to write a scary story is J.A. White.
MOLLY BLOOM: Jerry is the author of the Thickety series of books as well as Nightbooks.
BELLE: His newest book is the first of a three-part series called Shadow School. Welcome, Jerry.
J.A. WHITE: Thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited to be here.
BELLE: How did you get interested in writing spooky material?
J.A. WHITE: When I was little I just found myself always, you know, curled up in the corner Reading a scary book. And then I took great delight in making up scary stories and scaring my friends. So I think for me it was always more fun to tell scary stories and try to give people nightmares or make them scream. So that was my childhood.
BELLE: I understand that. Why do you think people like to read spooky stories?
J.A. WHITE: So I think that when it comes to spooky stories there's something very exciting about being scared, but in a safe way. Because you know that nothing bad is actually going to happen to you. If you ever get too scared, you can just close the book. So it's a really-- it's a nice, safe way to be scared.
BELLE: Mhm. Do you have any ideas to how someone can overcome their fears?
J.A. WHITE: Well I think that reading scary stories could definitely help, because then you are feeling the same things that those characters are. So that if a character in a scary story learns how to conquer his or her fear, you're in a way learning how to conquer your fear because you're seeing them-- you're seeing the world through their eyes.
BELLE: What do you think makes a good scary story?
J.A. WHITE: I think primarily you have to be very invested in the characters and feel as though all the scares are happening to you. So that would be first and foremost in my mind.
BELLE: That's a good answer. I like that. Where do you get your inspiration to write scare stories from? Do you just read other books and kind of get inspired by the ideas, or do you come up with them on your own, or do they come from like real life experiences?
J.A. WHITE: One place is, horror has this long heritage, so-- and I've read a lot of spooky stories. But then I'll attempt to put my own twist on it. So Shadow School for example, I wanted to write a ghost story, and so where I started from was, well there's been a lot of ghost stories. How can I make mine a little different?
So that's sort of a fun game-- is to take one of these traditions and spin it a little. So a lot of times it's just letting my imagination sort of do its thing, and usually it takes me to some pretty dark, fun places.
BELLE: That's good inspiration to start writing. Thanks for coming on, Jerry. I enjoyed listening to your answers.
J.A. WHITE: And I enjoyed answering them, Belle. Thanks so much for all your great questions.
(OPERATIC SINGING) Brains On! [COUGH]
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, Belle, are you ready to hear that mystery sound one more time?
BELLE: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here it is.
[LOW HUMMING SOUND, NOTES PLAYING]
All right, what is your guess?
BELLE: The beginning sounds like a very large boat, and I don't know if the organ's part of it or if it's just an effect. But I'd say it's still like a giant organ that they usually play in horror movies or something like that.
MOLLY BLOOM: That is a very good guess, and you are 100% correct. And that very first sound that you heard that sounded a little bit like a boat is actually just part of the organ. It's a very low note, so when they play those really low notes it sounds like very big and strong like that because organs are super cool. For the background on this sound, we caught Mark Steinbach at the organ he plays. He's an organist at Brown University.
MARK STEINBACH: We're way up in the balcony which is about 50 feet off the ground. And there are pipes that are 16 feet in length above us, and then the organ case is as deep as a big living room and wide as three living rooms. And it's two stories high, full of pipes. So when you look at a pipe organ, you're only seeing a small fraction of how many pipes are really inside.
And I'm sitting at a big keyboard-- we call it a console-- with three keyboards, and there's also a pedal board. And I'm wearing my organ shoes which are special dance shoes so I can maneuver the pedals and push all the right buttons.
MOLLY BLOOM: If you imagine looking up at the balcony as Mark plays, you'd see him sitting at this triple-decker keyboard. Dozens of giant golden pipes above the keyboard stretch up to the ceiling. They carry sound all through the room.
BELLE: I remember when I was little I threw a haunted house in my room, and I had a keyboard so I just put it on the organ mode and I just played all the really low notes because I thought it sounded really creepy and I liked it.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's really cool.
[ORGAN MUSIC PLAYS]
Mark agrees. The organ can be a very creepy instrument.
MARK STEINBACH: It's dark, it's mysterious. You can't see the organist, frequently, playing. And you're only seeing a few of the pipes that are playing, so a lot of the instrument is very mysterious as opposed to an orchestra which would be in front of you.
MOLLY BLOOM: So every year he plays a Halloween concert for students at Brown.
MARK STEINBACH: My students bring me in in a coffin every year. The story is now I rise from the dead every year to play this recital.
BELLE: That's one way to enter a room-- in a coffin.
(SINGING) Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba Brains On!
BELLE: Gungador, we have some new ideas for you.
GUNGADOR: No need. [HICCUP] Gungador kind of likes hiccups. Hiccups show how un-scarable Gungador is. So tough and brave.
MARC SANCHEZ: Just humor us. What about tickles? Are you scared of those? Fire?
BELLE: Hugs and rainbows?
GUNGADOR: Uh-- [HICCUP]
MARC SANCHEZ: Are you sure there's nothing you're afraid of?
GUNGADOR: Hmm. [HICCUP] Well, Gungador sometimes not sure Gungador is scary enough monster. Other times worry that sea level rise will wreck monster habitats for endangered monsters, but maybe natural disaster ruins everything before that. Sometimes Gungador can't find matching socks to wear. What if Gungador's friends really not like him? Also, Gungador not always sure what to do with eyebrows. Where should Gungador put hands when taking photos? Overall, hard to be sure everything will be OK.
BELLE: Uh, Gungador? It sounds like you're scared all the time.
GUNGADOR: No.
MARC SANCHEZ: It definitely sounds like that.
GUNGADOR: Maybe you scared all the time. Not me. Gungador tough, strong monster.
MARC SANCHEZ: We know you're tough. But it's also OK to have fears. They're normal.
MAN: Yeah. And it often helps to talk about them instead of pretending they aren't there.
BELLE: Wait. Gungador, you haven't hiccuped once since you started telling us your fears.
GUNGADOR: Hm. Gungador does feel better.
MARC SANCHEZ: Yeah. Maybe what really scares you is talking about your feelings.
GUNGADOR: Or maybe those weren't hiccups after all. Probably burps. Still un-scardiest monster ever.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
BELLE: Our bodies and minds react to fear as if we're in danger even if we know we're not in danger.
MOLLY BLOOM: Our hearts race, our breathing changes. It's part of the flight or flight reaction.
BELLE: Going through a scary experience with a friend helps create a strong bond and memories.
MOLLY BLOOM: If you want to make your own scary story, think about writing a hero's journey where the main character has to overcome fears to triumph. That's it for this episode of Brains On!
BELLE: Brains On! Is made by Sanden "Rotten" Totten, Marc "In the Dark" Sanchez, and Molly Blooo-oom.
MOLLY BLOOM: Menaka Wilhelm "Scream" is our fellow. We had engineering help from goblins Veronica Rodriguez, Corey Schreppel, and Ben Tolliday, Elyssa Dudley, Rosie DuPont, Babette Thomas, Kristina Lopez, and Ruby Guthrie helped with all the stranger things while giving us production support. Special spooky shout-outs to Mark Norris, John Miller, Sam Choo, RT [INAUDIBLE], and Pedro [? Estrada. ?]
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
BELLE: And before we go, it's time for a Moment of Um.
ELEANOR: Hi. I'm Eleanor from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and my question is, why do raspberries have little hairs on them?
EMILY HOOVER: So all those little hairs on those fruit are not really hairs but just remnants of flower parts that are left over from when they were in bloom. My name is Emily Hoover and I am the head of the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota. Raspberries are such an interesting fruit. If you've ever held them between your finger and your thumb and you roll them, they kind of come apart into little-- I like to think of them those little red jewels. And each one of those little red jewels is actually an individual fruitlet.
So each one of them has their own individual seed, and each one therefore has its own individual flower parts that allowed that seed to develop. Those flower parts are called pistols. So that's the female part of the flower. They had a very important purpose when the flower was in bloom-- to attract bees to transfer pollen onto those pistols so that we could get seeds to develop. But once the pistol dries up-- and we look at them as little hairs on those raspberries-- they don't have any further function.
MOLLY BLOOM: Each name on this list is like a beautiful individual flower. It's the Brains Honor Roll. These are the brilliant listeners who share their fascinating questions, ideas, mystery sounds, and drawings with us.
[LISTING HONOR ROLL]
We'll be back soon with more answers to your questions.
BELLE: Thanks for listening.
CHILD 2: Brains On! is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
MARC SANCHEZ: So here's the studio. Belle Marie and Molly will meet you.
GUNGADOR: [HICCUP]
BELLE: Whoa. Marc, Sanden, what was that?
MARC SANCHEZ: Gungador?
GUNGADOR: Hi. [HICCUP] It me.
MARC SANCHEZ: Gungador, your burps usually don't sound like that.
GUNGADOR: [HICCUP]. Not burps. Hiccups. [HICCUP] Gungador has been hiccuping for-- [HICCUP] all week.
BELLE: Is that healthy?
GUNGADOR: Internet say [HICCUP] it probably fine.
MARC SANCHEZ: You want us to try scaring you? That usually ends my hiccups.
GUNGADOR: [LAUGHS] Good one, Marc. [HICCUP] That's why these hiccups last so long. No one can scare Gungador. Gungador un-scardiest monster ever.
MARC SANCHEZ: Come on, you've got to be scared of something.
GUNGADOR: Nope. Nothing is scary. Not scared of spiders on face, not scared of bumpy airplane rides. Definitely not scared of looking down from tall cliffs.
MARC SANCHEZ: We might have some other ideas for you.
BELLE: Yeah. I'm heading into the studio for a show all about getting scared. I bet I can help afterward.
MARC SANCHEZ: See you, Belle. Now let's look at some other ideas for you in the meantime, Gungi.
GUNGADOR: [HICCUP]
MARC SANCHEZ: Hmm, what about if elevator sent you to a super tiny, deep dark cave where you'd be all alone except for total, complete darkness, bats, dripping water, and your own thoughts?
GUNGADOR: Not scary. Gungador loves napping in caves. Best circadian rhythm reset ever.
MARC SANCHEZ: What about those sugar-free pudding cups that are tan and no one knows what flavor they really are?
GUNGADOR: Gungador love all pudding. [HICCUP]
MARC SANCHEZ: How about a scary movie marathon without any fried pickles to keep you company?
GUNGADOR: No way.
MARC SANCHEZ: How about standing on a stage in front of everyone you know and improvising an opera?
[OPERA MUSIC PLAYS]
GUNGADOR (SINGING): Nice try. Still have hiccupings.
[MUSIC PLAYS]
MOLLY BLOOM: This is Brains On! from American Public Media. I'm Molly Bloom and my co-host today is Belle from Los Angeles, California. Hi, Belle.
BELLE: Hi. Thanks for having me.
MOLLY BLOOM: Thank you for being here. So today's episode was inspired by this question.
CHILD: Why is it that when you see something scary and try not to look at it, you keep wanting to look back at it?
MOLLY BLOOM: So, Belle, do you like being scared?
BELLE: Yes, I do.
MOLLY BLOOM: Why do you think you like it?
BELLE: Personally, I like getting scared because it kind of gives me like a sense of safety or something. Like if you kind of predict that something scary is going to happen, then it won't be as bad as if you have a false shield of thinking everything's going to be very happy.
MOLLY BLOOM: So you're preparing yourself mentally for scary things?
BELLE: Yeah, you're just preparing yourself.
MOLLY BLOOM: Got it. So I know that you like ghost stories. Do you feel like reading a ghost story is different than watching a movie?
BELLE: Yes, very much. The thing about me is I love to read scary stories, but as soon as someone says, hey, let's watch a movie, then I get freaked out and don't want to because I'm terrified. Because usually when I read books, they don't have that much visuals so your mind's able to make up what you think it'll look like, and your mind's probably making up something that can make you feel better about it. But if you're watching a movie, then you can't control what the monster looks like so it's even more terrifying.
MOLLY BLOOM: So why do you like ghost stories in particular?
BELLE: I like ghost stories in particular because most of them can come from very a long-- a long time ago, or they can come from modern times like right now. Like, there's some right now that are like, oh, ghosts that haunt the movie theater. And then there's some that go way back like, oh, this ghosts haunt this historical landmark. And so sometimes if you find history really boring, what I like to do is I just search up scary parts of it and then that will usually get me interested in that period of time.
MOLLY BLOOM: Nice. So you look up ghosts from a period of time, and then you can learn about history while scaring yourself a little bit.
BELLE: Yeah. Usually scary movies about a long time ago-- I get interested and then I want to search it up more. And so then I end up just having all these strange facts in my head that I tell everyone, and they don't know where I learned them from.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's awesome. Well today we're going to learn more about why some of us delight in fright. But first I feel like we need to set the mood. Right, Belle?
BELLE: Totally.
MOLLY BLOOM: Harvey?
[BEEP]
HARVEY: Yes, Molly?
MOLLY BLOOM: Activate Halloween mode.
HARVEY: Sure, Molly.
[BEEPING]
[SPOOKY MUSIC PLAYING]
I've dimmed the lights and cued the fog. The studio is creepy and smells like wet dog. Mwah-ha-ha-ha. Let me know if you need anything else.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's more like it. Now we all have different things that give us the heebie-jeebies.
BELLE: Some people get squeamish around bugs or rodents.
MOLLY BLOOM: Others are wigged out by werewolves or vampires.
BELLE: But what if you are the scary thing? Like, what if you're a monster? What would scare you?
MOLLY BLOOM: We asked our listeners, and they had some hair-raising ideas.
LISTENER 1: I like to scare a monster by hugging it.
LISTENER 2: I would hide behind a rock with a flashlight, jump up, and shine the flashlight in his face.
LISTENER 3: I have a Nerf gun. It really hurts, so I will use that.
LISTENER 4: I would show it to a unicorn and the unicorn would spray a bunch of pink stuff out of his horn.
LISTENER 5: I would scare a monster by saying, I know you're not there, monster, and saying boo!
LISTENER 6: I like to scare a monster by knocking a tree on it.
LISTENER 7: By believing that they're not real so I wouldn't worry about them.
LISTENER 8: I would scare a monster by pretending to be Hulk.
LISTENER 9: I think fire would scare a monster because zombies don't like fire.
LISTENER 10: I would put on the thunderstorm and the lightning would scare it.
MOLLY BLOOM: That was Mia, Nora, [INAUDIBLE], Silas, [? Ianna, ?] Miriam, Zach, Levon, Max, and Jack. Let's hear one more suggestion about how we might scare a monster.
MARGEE KERR: The first thing that comes to my mind is, I would tickle it. Because in my mind I'm imagining a massive 50 foot kind of Goliath, and I think I would probably sneak up and then tickle his foot or tickle him somewhere that he can't figure out where. And from experience, I think he would probably be pretty terrified.
MOLLY BLOOM: That voice of experience is Margee Kerr.
BELLE: She's a sociologist who studies fear.
MOLLY BLOOM: Her research lab is a haunted house. Literally. She does her research in one of those Halloween-type mazes where there's people in costumes and cobwebs and spooky decorations.
BELLE: It's perfect because she can study people's reactions when they're choosing to be scared.
MOLLY BLOOM: Just like when you or I decide to read a spooky story or ride a tall roller coaster. It's scary, but we're expecting to be scared.
BELLE: Margee says that there are three main parts to this kind of fear.
MOLLY BLOOM: First, there's the physical part.
BELLE: That's what happens in our bodies.
MOLLY BLOOM: Then there's the psychological part.
BELLE: That's what happens in our minds.
MOLLY BLOOM: And lastly there's the social part.
BELLE: That's how other people affect our feelings.
MOLLY BLOOM: So let's start with the physical. Say you're watching a movie and the main character is trapped. On one side there's a steep cliff. On the other side, a hungry bear.
[GROWL]
BELLE: As you watch, you might get a little scared. Your heart might start beating faster and your breathing might speed up.
MARGEE KERR: And what's happening is our body is essentially reprioritizing everything to make sure that we are going to be essentially strong, fast, or able to get away, to run, to hide.
MOLLY BLOOM: This is called the fight or flight response because your body is gearing up to either fight that threat or take flight and run.
[GROWL]
BELLE: When this happens, our bodies speed up our breathing so we have more oxygen, and any available sugars get sent straight to our muscles so we can be as strong as possible.
MOLLY BLOOM: And our bodies send out a rush of hormones called endorphins. These help to dull any pain if we get hurt.
MARGEE KERR: It's kind of thinking of it like putting the pedal to the metal. So our body is ready to go.
BELLE: But then you remember this is only a movie and you're not actually endangered.
MOLLY BLOOM: Margee says that's when the fun part of fear kicks in, and when your mind plays a bigger role.
MARGEE KERR: So when we know we're not actually going to be eaten by a bear or fall off of a cliff, the changes in our body can actually make us feel really energized and powerful and grounded in the moment. We're not thinking about any homework or bills. Or any of those to-do lists are just gone. So we're going to be focused on just the here and now.
MOLLY BLOOM: So you get all the boosts of facing a threat without the danger. It's no wonder people's moods go up after experiences like this.
BELLE: And get this. Scares can also boost our confidence.
MARGEE KERR: We can use these kinds of experiences as a way to almost practice being scared. To say, OK, I'm afraid of heights but I'm going to try riding this roller coaster. I know that it's going to be safe. You make it through and, you know, you've got a little more confidence that you can-- you can handle the changes that are happening in your body. You can feel that anxiety and know you're going to be OK.
MOLLY BLOOM: So we have covered the physical and mental parts of chills and thrills. So how about the social?
BELLE: Margee says a scary experience often brings people closer together.
MARGEE KERR: Usually when we're doing scary things, they're with friends. So we're going to the movies with friends, we're going to haunted houses with friends, or amusement parks, or even just going out into the woods and running around. These are all social experiences, and when we do scary things together it creates stronger social bonds with the people that we trust and like to be around.
And part of that is because when we're scared, we're going to form really strong memories about that experience. Years from now these are the stories that you tell around the fireplace, that you reflect on and kind of get a feeling of nostalgia. So it really can bring people together and create those strong social bonds and just end up as really good memories.
MOLLY BLOOM: It's coming. It's creeping toward us. It's about to strike. It's the--
[EERIE MUSIC]
BELLE (WHISPERING): Mystery sound.
MOLLY BLOOM: Are you ready, Belle?
BELLE: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here it is.
[LOW HUMMING SOUND, NOTES PLAYING]
What is your guess?
BELLE: I think it's just an organ that they play in church or something similar to that.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent. Excellent guess. Well we're going to be back a little later in the show to see if you were able to scare the answer up.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Has all this talk of scary stuff made you think of a monster?
BELLE: How about sending us a drawing of what a monster might look like?
MOLLY BLOOM: You get to make up all of its monster traits, too.
BELLE: It could be scary or hairy. It can have bangs or fangs. It could be blue or purple or rainbow.
MOLLY BLOOM: It could be a bowl of rice with googly eyes.
BELLE: Really? Yeah, why not? We want to see whatever monster you dream up, food-related or otherwise.
MOLLY BLOOM: Go to brainson.org/contact and upload your drawing.
BELLE: That's also where you can send your mystery sounds, show suggestions, and questions.
MOLLY BLOOM: Just like this listener.
LISTENER: My question is, why do raspberries have little hairs on them?
BELLE: We'll hear the answer to that question at the end of the show.
MOLLY BLOOM: Plus, we'll hear the latest group to be inducted into the Brain's Honor Roll.
BELLE: So keep listening.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
OLIVER: I would scare a monster by setting off a flare in front of it to make-- to make it curious and then set off a flare behind it to scare it.
SYDNEY: I would scare a monster by turning on a thousand night lights at the same time.
RANDALL: I would use a costume that looks like an animatronic Chuck E. Cheese from the Chuck E. Cheese place.
LUIS: I would just go to sleep.
RENEE: Pepper spray. It scares anyone.
BROOKE: I would scare a monster by hiding in the bushes, jumping out, and tackling the monster and spray silly spray all over, head to toe.
JOANNA: If someone grabs my arm or something like that, well, I'd get my other arm that's free and, like, chop. Then he'll let go.
RACHEL: I would make little scuttling noises as I'm coming up to it like this. [SCUTTLING NOISE] And then I would jump out from behind it to scare it once it's already creeped out.
BELLE: You're listening to Brains On! From American Public Media. I'm Belle Marie.
MOLLY BLOOM: And I'm Molly. You just heard from Oliver, Sydney, Randall, Luis, Renee, Brooke, Joanna, and Rachel tell us how they would scare a monster. That's because today we're talking about why we like to scare ourselves.
BELLE: And it looks like-- wait, why is someone giving you one of those old-timey microphones with a super long skinny handle?
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, this? This is our official game show mic because it's time for Name That Phobia.
[APPLAUSE]
That's right, Belle. You're the next contestant on Name That Phobia, the game show where contestants guess what a phobia is based on its scientific name. A phobia is an extreme fear of a specific situation or thing. So aulophobia is a fear of flutes.
[FLUTE PLAYS]
If you need a hint, I'll be here for help. Belle, are you ready?
BELLE: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, let's play. Your first phobia is arachnophobia. Is it the fear of A, tennis rackets, B, spiders, or C, fear itself?
BELLE: B, fear of spiders.
MOLLY BLOOM: You sound very confident. Have you heard of that one before?
BELLE: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, you are 100% correct. Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. All right, time for our second phobia. It's called coulrophobia. Do you think coulrophobia is the fear of A, catching a cold, B, hot coals, or C, clowns?
BELLE: I'm just going to go ahead and guess C, fear of clowns.
MOLLY BLOOM: Why do you think it might be fear of clowns?
BELLE: It just sounds similar to the name of clowns, so I'm just going on a whim and guessing it's C.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, you are correct. Someone with coulrophobia has a fear of clowns. OK, moving on to our third phobia. And this one's a doozy, folks. It's arachibutyrophobia I'll say it again. Arachibutyrophobia. What do you think arachibutyrophobia fear? Is it A, dancing spiders, B, getting peanut butter stuck on the roof of your mouth, or C, pop quizzes? And if you'd like a clue, I can give you one.
BELLE: Can I have a clue?
MOLLY BLOOM: A person with arachibutyrophobia probably prefers sandwiches with a little bit of crunch.
BELLE: Hmm. I'd say that's B, getting peanut butter stuck to the top of your mouth?
MOLLY BLOOM: Correct again. All right, it's time for our fourth and final phobia, dentophobia. Belle, do you think dentophobia is the fear of A, knock-knock jokes, B, dentists, or C, brown bears?
BELLE: Ooh, it's hard between B and C. I'm going to say B, fear of dentists.
MOLLY BLOOM: You nailed it. Dentophobia is a fear of dentists. Well thanks for playing Name That Phobia. You got them all 100% correct. Don't forget to pick up your fabulous party prizes in the swag shop on the eighth floor.
BELLE: Thank you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE]
MOLLY BLOOM: Belle, do you remember Margee Kerr from the beginning of the show?
BELLE: Yeah. She's a scientist who studies why people like to be scared. The one who does her research in haunted houses and mazes?
MOLLY BLOOM: Right. And because of that, haunted house designers sometimes turn to her for help. After all, her work gives her a really good sense of how to give people very specific kinds of scares.
MARGEE KERR: I start usually with a sensation that I want to incite. So if I want to give people a sense of goosebumps-- so I want to try and activate the sensory network on their skin-- and so I think about different ways I can do that. Maybe you can do that with different types of textures that you can put on the walls.
And then I think, oh, well you have to figure out a way to make sure that they bump into the wall. And so I build out from the stimuli. You know, my end goal is always to have it be a positive experience. I never want to actually scare people in a way that they are going to leave crying or being upset or feeling anything other than positive.
So a lot of my designs have always been more of-- almost kind of like a hero's journey. And when you look at a hero's journey, it involves a lot of fear, a lot of confronting the unexpected, and the challenging and the risky, but ultimately making it through.
MOLLY BLOOM: That phrase, hero's journey-- it's a classic type of story where a hero goes on an adventure, learns something, and comes out wiser in the end.
BELLE: Think about Harry Potter trying to conquer Voldemort, or Charlotte the spider trying to help Wilbur in Charlotte's Web, or even Jack and the Beanstalk.
MOLLY BLOOM: All classics. Next we'll check in with a writer who works on scary stuff every day.
BELLE: Joining us to talk about how to write a scary story is J.A. White.
MOLLY BLOOM: Jerry is the author of the Thickety series of books as well as Nightbooks.
BELLE: His newest book is the first of a three-part series called Shadow School. Welcome, Jerry.
J.A. WHITE: Thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited to be here.
BELLE: How did you get interested in writing spooky material?
J.A. WHITE: When I was little I just found myself always, you know, curled up in the corner Reading a scary book. And then I took great delight in making up scary stories and scaring my friends. So I think for me it was always more fun to tell scary stories and try to give people nightmares or make them scream. So that was my childhood.
BELLE: I understand that. Why do you think people like to read spooky stories?
J.A. WHITE: So I think that when it comes to spooky stories there's something very exciting about being scared, but in a safe way. Because you know that nothing bad is actually going to happen to you. If you ever get too scared, you can just close the book. So it's a really-- it's a nice, safe way to be scared.
BELLE: Mhm. Do you have any ideas to how someone can overcome their fears?
J.A. WHITE: Well I think that reading scary stories could definitely help, because then you are feeling the same things that those characters are. So that if a character in a scary story learns how to conquer his or her fear, you're in a way learning how to conquer your fear because you're seeing them-- you're seeing the world through their eyes.
BELLE: What do you think makes a good scary story?
J.A. WHITE: I think primarily you have to be very invested in the characters and feel as though all the scares are happening to you. So that would be first and foremost in my mind.
BELLE: That's a good answer. I like that. Where do you get your inspiration to write scare stories from? Do you just read other books and kind of get inspired by the ideas, or do you come up with them on your own, or do they come from like real life experiences?
J.A. WHITE: One place is, horror has this long heritage, so-- and I've read a lot of spooky stories. But then I'll attempt to put my own twist on it. So Shadow School for example, I wanted to write a ghost story, and so where I started from was, well there's been a lot of ghost stories. How can I make mine a little different?
So that's sort of a fun game-- is to take one of these traditions and spin it a little. So a lot of times it's just letting my imagination sort of do its thing, and usually it takes me to some pretty dark, fun places.
BELLE: That's good inspiration to start writing. Thanks for coming on, Jerry. I enjoyed listening to your answers.
J.A. WHITE: And I enjoyed answering them, Belle. Thanks so much for all your great questions.
(OPERATIC SINGING) Brains On! [COUGH]
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, Belle, are you ready to hear that mystery sound one more time?
BELLE: Yes.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here it is.
[LOW HUMMING SOUND, NOTES PLAYING]
All right, what is your guess?
BELLE: The beginning sounds like a very large boat, and I don't know if the organ's part of it or if it's just an effect. But I'd say it's still like a giant organ that they usually play in horror movies or something like that.
MOLLY BLOOM: That is a very good guess, and you are 100% correct. And that very first sound that you heard that sounded a little bit like a boat is actually just part of the organ. It's a very low note, so when they play those really low notes it sounds like very big and strong like that because organs are super cool. For the background on this sound, we caught Mark Steinbach at the organ he plays. He's an organist at Brown University.
MARK STEINBACH: We're way up in the balcony which is about 50 feet off the ground. And there are pipes that are 16 feet in length above us, and then the organ case is as deep as a big living room and wide as three living rooms. And it's two stories high, full of pipes. So when you look at a pipe organ, you're only seeing a small fraction of how many pipes are really inside.
And I'm sitting at a big keyboard-- we call it a console-- with three keyboards, and there's also a pedal board. And I'm wearing my organ shoes which are special dance shoes so I can maneuver the pedals and push all the right buttons.
MOLLY BLOOM: If you imagine looking up at the balcony as Mark plays, you'd see him sitting at this triple-decker keyboard. Dozens of giant golden pipes above the keyboard stretch up to the ceiling. They carry sound all through the room.
BELLE: I remember when I was little I threw a haunted house in my room, and I had a keyboard so I just put it on the organ mode and I just played all the really low notes because I thought it sounded really creepy and I liked it.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's really cool.
[ORGAN MUSIC PLAYS]
Mark agrees. The organ can be a very creepy instrument.
MARK STEINBACH: It's dark, it's mysterious. You can't see the organist, frequently, playing. And you're only seeing a few of the pipes that are playing, so a lot of the instrument is very mysterious as opposed to an orchestra which would be in front of you.
MOLLY BLOOM: So every year he plays a Halloween concert for students at Brown.
MARK STEINBACH: My students bring me in in a coffin every year. The story is now I rise from the dead every year to play this recital.
BELLE: That's one way to enter a room-- in a coffin.
(SINGING) Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba Brains On!
BELLE: Gungador, we have some new ideas for you.
GUNGADOR: No need. [HICCUP] Gungador kind of likes hiccups. Hiccups show how un-scarable Gungador is. So tough and brave.
MARC SANCHEZ: Just humor us. What about tickles? Are you scared of those? Fire?
BELLE: Hugs and rainbows?
GUNGADOR: Uh-- [HICCUP]
MARC SANCHEZ: Are you sure there's nothing you're afraid of?
GUNGADOR: Hmm. [HICCUP] Well, Gungador sometimes not sure Gungador is scary enough monster. Other times worry that sea level rise will wreck monster habitats for endangered monsters, but maybe natural disaster ruins everything before that. Sometimes Gungador can't find matching socks to wear. What if Gungador's friends really not like him? Also, Gungador not always sure what to do with eyebrows. Where should Gungador put hands when taking photos? Overall, hard to be sure everything will be OK.
BELLE: Uh, Gungador? It sounds like you're scared all the time.
GUNGADOR: No.
MARC SANCHEZ: It definitely sounds like that.
GUNGADOR: Maybe you scared all the time. Not me. Gungador tough, strong monster.
MARC SANCHEZ: We know you're tough. But it's also OK to have fears. They're normal.
MAN: Yeah. And it often helps to talk about them instead of pretending they aren't there.
BELLE: Wait. Gungador, you haven't hiccuped once since you started telling us your fears.
GUNGADOR: Hm. Gungador does feel better.
MARC SANCHEZ: Yeah. Maybe what really scares you is talking about your feelings.
GUNGADOR: Or maybe those weren't hiccups after all. Probably burps. Still un-scardiest monster ever.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
BELLE: Our bodies and minds react to fear as if we're in danger even if we know we're not in danger.
MOLLY BLOOM: Our hearts race, our breathing changes. It's part of the flight or flight reaction.
BELLE: Going through a scary experience with a friend helps create a strong bond and memories.
MOLLY BLOOM: If you want to make your own scary story, think about writing a hero's journey where the main character has to overcome fears to triumph. That's it for this episode of Brains On!
BELLE: Brains On! Is made by Sanden "Rotten" Totten, Marc "In the Dark" Sanchez, and Molly Blooo-oom.
MOLLY BLOOM: Menaka Wilhelm "Scream" is our fellow. We had engineering help from goblins Veronica Rodriguez, Corey Schreppel, and Ben Tolliday, Elyssa Dudley, Rosie DuPont, Babette Thomas, Kristina Lopez, and Ruby Guthrie helped with all the stranger things while giving us production support. Special spooky shout-outs to Mark Norris, John Miller, Sam Choo, RT [INAUDIBLE], and Pedro [? Estrada. ?]
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
BELLE: And before we go, it's time for a Moment of Um.
ELEANOR: Hi. I'm Eleanor from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and my question is, why do raspberries have little hairs on them?
EMILY HOOVER: So all those little hairs on those fruit are not really hairs but just remnants of flower parts that are left over from when they were in bloom. My name is Emily Hoover and I am the head of the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota. Raspberries are such an interesting fruit. If you've ever held them between your finger and your thumb and you roll them, they kind of come apart into little-- I like to think of them those little red jewels. And each one of those little red jewels is actually an individual fruitlet.
So each one of them has their own individual seed, and each one therefore has its own individual flower parts that allowed that seed to develop. Those flower parts are called pistols. So that's the female part of the flower. They had a very important purpose when the flower was in bloom-- to attract bees to transfer pollen onto those pistols so that we could get seeds to develop. But once the pistol dries up-- and we look at them as little hairs on those raspberries-- they don't have any further function.
MOLLY BLOOM: Each name on this list is like a beautiful individual flower. It's the Brains Honor Roll. These are the brilliant listeners who share their fascinating questions, ideas, mystery sounds, and drawings with us.
[LISTING HONOR ROLL]
We'll be back soon with more answers to your questions.
BELLE: Thanks for listening.
Transcription services provided by 3Play Media.
