The Psychic Tear
Curious Cases
BBC
4.8 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 May 2016
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Listener Edith Calman challenges our scientific sleuths to investigate the following conundrum:
'What is it about extreme pain, emotional shock or the sight of a three year old stumbling their way through an off-key rendition of 'Away in a Manger' that makes the brain send messages to the lacrimal glands to chuck out water?"
Hannah discovers how the eye produces tears, with the help of Dr Nick Knight.
Broadcaster Claudia Hammond, author of 'Emotional Rollercoaster', explains why Darwin experimented on his children until they cried.
Adam watches a tearjerker to take part in a psychological study, but ends up getting quite angry instead.
If you have any everyday mysteries you'd like the team to solve email: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford Producer: Michelle Martin.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM |
| 0:07.1 | Welcome to the podcast of Curious Cases. This episode is called the Curious Case of the Psychic Tier. |
| 0:17.2 | We don't need the soundtrack, we can just do it ourselves. |
| 0:19.4 | The thing is, the actual truth is that we sing it almost every time we do any recording. |
| 0:23.6 | Yeah, it's a bit like in Star Wars when the actors make the lightsaber noises when they're actually on set. |
| 0:29.2 | Really? Yeah, they do. |
| 0:30.4 | It's unfortunate this is any radio because I love for people to see the dance that you have |
| 0:35.1 | but go the long as you're singing the keyway. |
| 0:37.3 | Episode two of season two of the Curious Cases of Doctors, Fry and Rutherford is called |
| 0:44.1 | the Curious Case of the Psychic Tier. Indeed. |
| 0:46.8 | It is basically asking the question and answering it, we hope, why do we cry? |
| 0:51.6 | And by Psychic Tier, we mean the emotional tier which you shed from your eye, |
| 0:58.0 | Adam and other birds, whenever you watch a zombie film. |
| 1:01.8 | Yeah, as I confess during the program, it does happen to me quite a lot. |
| 1:08.5 | Not every film. |
| 1:10.4 | No, in fact, as we will discover, it certainly didn't happen to me during the film that you made me watch. |
| 1:16.5 | I had to watch, I think the worst film I've seen, maybe this century. |
| 1:21.6 | Look, I just think, you know, it's the emotional journey of one man and his dog. |
| 1:26.0 | Anyway, we don't want to give away too much. |
| 1:28.3 | No, we don't. Anyway, here you go. |
| 1:30.0 | Here is the Curious Case of the Psychic Tier. |
| 1:38.2 | Are you alright? |
... |
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