Why do I blush?
CrowdScience
BBC
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 October 2020
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Curious CrowdScience listeners have suddenly been struck by the oddity of their behaviours. Elise ponders why she blushes. Thankfully, listener David is a vascular surgeon and knows a thing or two about blushing, as he performs operations on people debilitated by constant red-dening. He has some answers for us, but asks why did blushing evolve?
In the past, red cheeks have been linked to necrophilia, repressed cannibalism, and even a de-sire for men to experience menstruation! Thankfully, research has come a long way since then, as blushing experts Peter de Jong and Corine Dijk explain.
Scientists believe that it evolved as a nonverbal signal to show someone you’re sorry or that you care about what they think. This would have important for our survival in the group, en-suring we didn’t get into a fight or get kicked out the group.
Anand Jagatia gets to grips with blushing and other bodily behaviours – including a question from Thai listener Nitcha who wonders why we yawn as well as a question from Mohamed in Ghana and Biana in Trinidad and Tobago who both asked why people scratch their heads when they think. To answer these questions, Anand’s joined by yawning researcher Andrew Gallup and Sophie Scott as well as body language expert Blanca Cobb. Produced by Graihagh Jackson for the BBC World Service.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of |
| 0:07.0 | Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.4 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:31.6 | Some podcasts are about the news. Some podcasts are about politics and science and history. |
| 0:40.0 | But my new podcast, for the BBC World Service is about losing the man I loved. |
| 0:48.0 | It's called Goodbye to All This and you can find it by searching for goodbye to all this wherever you |
| 0:56.0 | get your podcasts. |
| 0:57.0 | Come with there Ragi. |
| 1:00.0 | Give you what? |
| 1:01.0 | Come on Gloria. Come on Gloria, Gloria. |
| 1:03.0 | This is crowd science from the BBC World Service. |
| 1:08.0 | The show that's quite literally full of wonder. |
| 1:11.0 | We find the answers to things you've always wondered about. |
| 1:14.0 | I'm Anan Jagatier and on this edition we're tackling several different questions |
| 1:19.8 | about curious behaviors in humans and animals. Our first question is an easy one. |
| 1:25.6 | Who's a good girl? These are two dogs that I currently live with. Ragi and Gloria. |
| 1:33.7 | They are both good girls, but that's not really what I want to know. |
| 1:37.3 | I'm trying to see if I can make either of them yawn. |
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