Barbie in Space

Unexpected Elements

BBC

Science

4.4 • 567 Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2023

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Unexpected Elements looks for the science behind the news, and this week the news is glittery and pink with the release of the Barbie movie.

The movie has very pink aesthetic, so we get philosophical about the colour pink – does it actually exist and if so, how come it isn’t in the rainbow?

We also discover how this iconic doll has performed some actual valuable science, helping cryogenic researchers design space suit technology to help future missions to the moon.

In Ask the Unexpected this week we’ve got dog science as we answer the age old joke: how does my dog smell? Terrible, obviously, but it also depends on something called the vomeronasal organ..

And there are newcomers in Germany and they’re troublemakers. We hear how an unpleasant mosquito borne virus has arrived in northern Europe and consider whether climate change might be to blame.

All that plus your emails and WhatsApps, language pedantry and an ewaste dating service.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Ben Motley, with Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Alex Mansfield and Sophie Ormiston

Transcript

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0:00.0	Oh, hello. You have chosen a BBC podcast, but before you listen to it, we thought you might
0:04.7	like our podcast too. You might. You might. It is called Sightracked with me, Nick Grimshaw.
0:09.2	And me, Annie Mack. And we talk about the week in music. All the news, all the cultural
0:14.0	happenings in the UK and beyond. And great guests. And it's on BBC Sounds. Yes, where you can
0:19.7	also enjoy lots of playlists, music mixes and
0:22.6	live radio. Everything from my six music breakfast show to Radio 3 Unwind. But obviously start
0:29.2	with our podcast sidetrack. Obviously. Obviously. So if you like music, listen on BBC
0:33.7	sounds. Whether you call it football or soccer in your part of the world, match of the day, Africa Top 10 is the podcast from the BBC World Service ranking the best African players. This guy is recognized as the best in the world. Teams. The ball coming turn, boom. And the biggest moments in African football. The whole world remembers that. Remember that yet? It's not just African fans. Match of the Day, Africa Top 10. Find it wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
1:00.6	A story about nature fighting back appeared recently, and it made me laugh out loud.
1:06.6	In cities around the world, strips of metal spikes are applied to our old buildings and statues
1:11.6	because those columns of classical architecture are also tempting nesting sites for birds.
1:18.8	But the birds are not to be put off, according to some Dutch researchers,
1:22.6	who have discovered nests made out of anti-bird spikes. One man's spike is another man's, or should I say
1:31.0	birds, acceptable twig substitute. In a week of record high temperatures and flash floods,
1:37.8	it's good to know other species are adaptable. And at face value, it's just a joyful discovery.
1:46.5	I'm Marnie Chesterton from the BBC World Service. This is Unexpected Elements. Speaking of Joy, let me introduce this week's team.
2:05.5	In Berlin, we have Kai Kupfer Smit.
2:07.3	Hello, Kai.
2:08.5	Hello, Manny.
2:09.3	And in Johannesburg in South Africa, we have Candice Bailey.
2:12.7	Candice, welcome.
2:13.8	And do me long, Marni.
	...

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