The Sticky Song

Curious Cases

BBC

Science

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 September 2017

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why do songs get stuck in our heads? And what makes some tunes stickier than others?

Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate 'earworms', those musical refrains that infect our brains for days. Every morning 6Music DJ Shaun Keaveney asks his listeners for their earworms, and Hannah finds out which tunes keep coming back.

Adam asks Dr Lauren Stewart, from Goldsmiths University, to reveal the musical features that make some songs catchier than others.

And they find out why, in times of crisis, an earworm may just save your life.

Producer: Michelle Martin.

Transcript

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0:00.0	MUSIC
0:06.0	I'm Dr Adam Rutherford.
0:07.3	And I'm Dr Hannah Fry.
0:08.6	And you are going to send us your everyday mysteries.
0:11.5	And we are going to investigate them.
0:13.5	Using the power of science.
0:15.7	Science.
0:17.2	I like it.
0:21.8	Hello to the Curios.
0:23.2	Oh, it's nice to see it.
0:24.8	I know the Curios, the very, very special pod listeners
0:28.7	for the Curious cases.
0:30.6	You are so welcome.
0:31.8	Here's so welcome.
0:32.8	Sounds like a sweet treat.
0:34.1	The Curios.
0:35.2	Yeah.
0:35.8	You are our sweet treats.
0:38.3	I think we may have stretched this metaphor a bit too far.
0:41.0	Anyway, this is the podcast, obviously,
0:43.2	because you people are listening to it.
0:44.4	You're very special people.
	...

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