Brain Junk

Series produced by Trace Kerr

Series image

Everything you never knew you wanted to know. We guarantee, you won't be bored.

Amy Barton and Trace Kerr shake up science, history & culture in this once a week show. We hunt for off the wall, totally unexpected answers to questions and bring them to you in two to ten minute short, "Brain Storms" or longer twenty to thirty minute episodes.
We dive into questions like: What are Supernumerary teeth? Do ants pass the Mirror Test? Why do kids in Denmark murder their birthday cakes?
Brain Junk is a fun ride for adults and kids who want to know.


137 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
106: Civil War Candy
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Necco Wafers and Jelly Beans were candies citizens were urged to "send to the troops" during the Civil War. Easy to transport and not likely to mel...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Apr 29, 2020
  • Length: 04:05
  • Purchases: 1
105: Prohibition Cow Shoes and Hollow Canes
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
From 1920 to 1933, the United States had a ban against the sale and import of alcohol. Almost immediately the whole nation began to find innovative...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Apr 29, 2020
  • Length: 03:27
  • Purchases: 1
103: Mysterious Duck Feet
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
It's freezing but that flock of ducks is standing barefoot on an icy pond. Why don't they have frostbite? Turns out, ducks (any many other birds) h...

  • Added: Mar 20, 2020
  • Length: 04:37
101: Jimmy Legs
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
The term Jimmy Legs describes both a syndrome and the restless leg bumping up and down that some of us do when nervous or full of energy. Let's fin...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Mar 03, 2020
  • Length: 03:36
  • Purchases: 1
99: Drunk on Pizza
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
What happens when you cross a intestinal invading fungus or bacteria with carbohydrates? You get very very drunk. Trace explores the weird world of...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 20, 2020
  • Length: 04:13
  • Purchases: 1
98: Tenterhooks
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
If you're thinking, wait, I thought it was tenderhooks, you're not alone. Amy explains this early 18th century idiom that describes having a sense ...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 20, 2020
  • Length: 03:13
  • Purchases: 1
97: The 6888th All WOC Postal Battalion
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
On Feb 3rd, 1945, The all women of color, Six-Triple-Eight, was sent overseas to clear a two year backlog of mail. They were told it would take six...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 05, 2020
  • Length: 04:25
  • Purchases: 1
95: Rat Operated Vehicle
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Can living in a more enriching environment increase your ability to learn and make you more relaxed? Dr. Kelly Lambert set out to answer this quest...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Jan 21, 2020
  • Length: 05:00
  • Purchases: 1
94: Hand Stitched Computers
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
During the 1960s when we were racing to the moon, computing tech made a huge leap. Computers had to be small to fit in the Apollo capsules and it w...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Jan 19, 2020
  • Length: 04:51
  • Purchases: 1
93: Farting Herring
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Welcome to our funniest episode yet. Scientists avert international tension between Sweden and Russia, learn something we didn't know about herring...

  • Added: Jan 13, 2020
  • Length: 04:37
90: Full Moon Killers
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Barn owls come in three colors, a tawny brown, a mix of brown a white, and all white. It didn't make sense to researchers how a white owl could be ...

  • Added: Jan 06, 2020
  • Length: 06:15
89: Jiu Jitsu Suffragettes
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
That's right. Way back in the early 1900s, when women were protesting for the right to vote, there was a four-foot eleven-inch woman teaching the S...

  • Added: Jan 06, 2020
  • Length: 09:26
88: Get Smart, Dogs vs Cats
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Who is the brightest, the most likely to crush the SAT, the one pet who has the brains to out think them all? Is it your cat or your dog?

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 03, 2019
  • Length: 04:44
  • Purchases: 1
87: Licorice or Liquorice?
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Either way you spell it, you either love that black candy or can't get away fast enough. Amy dives into why.

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 03, 2019
  • Length: 06:27
  • Purchases: 1
85: Two Penny Hangover
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
In the late 19th century, London had the beginnings of homeless shelters. They weren't always comfortable (try sleeping in a four-penny coffin), bu...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 04:42
  • Purchases: 1
84: FDC Willard, Physicist
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Trend setting science from 1975. We can't tell you anything else, it would spoil the surprise!

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 05:11
  • Purchases: 1
82: Talking Eggs
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Before they even hatch, Yellow Legged Gull chicks seem to be communication to their nest mates. Amy dives into the how and why.

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 04:58
  • Purchases: 1
81: Victorian Pineapple Rental
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Would you pay eight-thousand dollars to impress your friends with a pineapple? No? Well, the Victorians did.

  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 08:19
80: Weather; Whether You Like It or Not
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
What do those rain percentages they give you on the news really mean? Why does the snow in Europe sometimes turn orange? Have you ever heard of a f...

  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 15:41
79: Pt. Roberts
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
When the US and Canadian governments decided the border between our two countries, a few places got left on the "wrong" side of the line. Those pla...

  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 08:03

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