Oh hey, it's the bobby pin hiding in your hair overnight. Oh, hey, it's the woman on the swamp tour who won't stop screaming yehaw. Oh, hey, it's a 13-year-old poodle and a baby bjorn. Oh, hey, it's yesterday's medication in your jeans pocket. Oops. Oh, hey, it's that festival bracelet you're still wearing on Monday. Oh, hey, it's the fish soup that you spilled all over the kitchen, which actually did happen to me.

Oh, hey, it's your aunt who always carries Kleenex.

Oh, hey, it's the bowl that's chipped, but not chipped enough to throw it away. Oh, hey, it's the guy at the falafel truck who gives you extra hummus, Allie Ward. What the hell was all that? It was a year's worth of openings.

And if you hadn't memorized all of them, you are definitely in the right place for an episode of in case you missed it.

This one is like tapas. It's small plates that

will leave you hungry for more. So we wanted to put this out because 2025 was a bit of a blur,

and we're in kind of a storm of distraction. There's so much good science and really charming, heartwarming stories that you may not have heard.

So our esteemed editors, Jacob, Mercedes, pulled the best bits from last year so you can refresh your memory, catch up.

You can send this to a friend who maybe needs a sample of ologies to get hooked.

Oh, and if you need kid-friendly episodes, we have them in their own feet.

They're called Smologis, S-M-O-L-O-G-I-E-S, and you can get them for free wherever you get podcasts. So we'll get right into it, but first thank you so much to patrons of the show who submitted questions for all of these episodes and who support Ologies for as little as a dollar a month via Patreon.com slash Ologies.

Thank you to everyone out there in Ologies merch from Ologiesmerch.com.

We have a special announcement this episode about some new merch. And thanks always to folks who,

for zero dollars, just make my day, usually, by leaving reviews for me to read, such as this fresh one from Goodshot

Jansen, who wrote, I hope for a future where everyone embraces the active science championed by

good old AdWord. Good shot Jansen, good review. I thank you. Onward. Let's get into some of the

best bits with the loveliest guests, because it's not just what we learned,

but you know what? It's the friends we made along the way in this 2025 best of episode

of, in case you missed it, with 10 of your favorite or soon-to-be-favoredologists. So ethnologist, David Ian Howe told us how wolves become things like poodles from loitering to nibble our mastodon leftovers and then evolving from wild beasts into our hairy, stinky little children.

Now on that topic, Ruben Clasmo, Minty McGee, Stacey Pinkowitz, Harper Atlas, and Jaden Gildenstern want to know

what is the deal with the smell of dog paws? It brings me instant joy and calm. Why do they

smell like corn chips? Why do they smell like Fritos? Why, why? Everyone wants to know.

...