The Untold Story of the Christmas Tree & The New Rules of Eating Out

Something You Should Know

Mike Carruthers | OmniCastMedia

Science, Education, Health & Fitness, Social Sciences, Self-improvement

4.6 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A yawn spreads quickly. You see someone yawn, you think about yawning, or you even read the word “yawn”—and suddenly you’re doing it too. This episode begins by looking at why yawning is so contagious, what theories actually hold up, and what science still can’t explain. https://www.livescience.com/human-behavior/why-is-yawning-contagious A Christmas tree seems like such a natural part of the holiday season, but the tradition behind it is rich, surprising, and deeply woven into American history. Why an evergreen? Where did the practice originate? How do they select the giant tree for Rockefeller Center every year? Here to explain the story and the symbolism behind the Christmas tree is Trent Preszler, professor of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University and author of the book Evergreen: The Trees That Shaped America. (https://amzn.to/43NUVSj). Dining out today is nothing like it was just a few years ago. Prices are higher, tipping culture has shifted, customer expectations are changing, and restaurants face tighter margins than ever. Adam Reiner joins me with a behind-the-scenes look at what’s really happening in the industry and offers practical advice for getting the best experience when you eat out. Adam is a food writer whose work has appeared in Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and New York Magazine, and he’s author of The New Rules of Dining Out (https://amzn.to/3Xhg0kf). You would think eating food should satisfy you—yet some foods do the opposite. Highly processed foods digest so quickly and trigger such different responses in your body that they can actually leave you hungrier. I explain what the science shows and why these foods can lead to overeating. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/eating-highly-processed-foods-linked-weight-gain PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! AURA FRAMES: Visit ⁠⁠⁠https://AuraFrames.com⁠⁠⁠ and get $45 off Aura's best selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code SOMETHING at checkout. INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ right now! DAVID GREENE IS OBSESSED: We love the "David Greene Is Obsessed" podcast! Listen at ⁠ https://link.mgln.ai/SYSK⁠ or wherever you get your podcasts. QUINCE: Give and get timeless holiday staples that last this season with Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Quince.com/sysk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! DELL: It’s time for Cyber Monday at Dell Technologies. Save big on PCs like the Dell 16 Plus featuring Intel® Core™ Ultra processors. Shop now at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://Dell.com/deals ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AG1: Head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://DrinkAG1.com/SYSK ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get a FREE Welcome Kit with an AG1 Flavor Sampler and a bottle of Vitamin D3 plus K2, when you first subscribe! NOTION: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Notion brings all your notes, docs, and projects into one connected space that just works . It's seamless, flexible, powerful, and actually fun to use! Try Notion, now with Notion Agent, at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://notion.com/something⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PLANET VISIONARIES: In partnership with Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative, this… is Planet Visionaries. Listen or watch on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today on Something You Should Know, yawning is contagious, but do we really know why?
0:08.0	Then the fascinating story of Christmas trees, and are they any different than normal evergreen trees?
0:15.0	Fascinating thing is that Christmas trees are the same species that if you just let them grow, they'll be 100 feet tall and can be con lumber.
0:22.6	They're just raised differently. So the cultural practices on Christmas tree farms are fine-tuning those trees to make them look good for Christmas.
0:30.6	Also, did you know eating some foods can actually make you hungrier?
0:35.6	And the new reality of dining out why it's so
0:39.3	expensive and what you don't see behind the scenes.
0:43.3	Nothing that you ask for in a restaurant is ever easy.
0:46.3	The natural state of a restaurant is chaos, and all of the people that are working behind the scenes,
0:51.3	their job is to try to guard you as the guest from the chaos behind the scenes.
0:56.6	All this today on Something You Should Know.
1:01.6	Of the Regency era, you might know it as the time when Bridgeton takes place, or is the time when Jane Austen wrote her books.
1:10.0	The Regency era was also an explosive time of social change, sex scandals, and maybe the worst king in British history.
1:18.0	Vulgar History's new season is all about the Regency era, the balls, the gowns, and all the scandal.
1:24.1	Listen to Vulgar History, Regency Era, wherever you get podcasts.
1:31.6	Something You Should Know. Fascinating Intel. The world's top experts. And practical advice you can use in your life. Today, something you should know with Mike Carruthers.
1:44.5	I think we've all experienced the fact that yawning can be contagious, but why?
1:51.0	That's what we're going to start with today.
1:52.9	Hi, I'm Mike Carruthers.
1:54.2	Welcome to something you should know.
1:56.9	So the reflex to yawn has its roots in physiology, tiredness, boredom, maybe even brain temperature.
2:04.6	But the contagious part of yawning, that's a real mystery.
	...

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