Hi, we're here from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes.

I'm Cody Gough.

And I'm Ashley Hamer.

Today you learn about a new material to block sound while letting in light and air,

how chimpanzees performed when scientists taught them how to play

rock paper scissors, and a trick for being more creative when you're doing multiple tasks.

Let's satisfy some curiosity.

Scientists have created a material that blocks sound while letting in light and air.

It's a new breakthrough from researchers at Boston University, and it could make it a little easier

to keep things quiet, all without blocking oxygen and sunlight.

Podcast studios of the future are going to be a lot more sunny.

Man, I can't wait.

So you might be able to soundproof your room with the right materials, but heavy materials won't cut it if you're trying to soundproof, say, a big

glass-lined building lobby without blocking all the sunlight.

That's why, B.U. researchers turned to meta materials. Those are materials that use specially engineered

quirks in their shape or composition to alter light or sound waves. For an example of

how meta materials might work, think about a magnifying glass.

The curved shape of the glass focuses the light waves into a point by bending them

or slowing them at different rates.

Those that hit the edges bend the most or slow the least. And those that hit the edges bend the most or slow the least and those that hit the

center bend the least or slow the most. Well you can do the same thing with a

composition of an object. Instead of creating a lens with a particular shape,

...