Why Is Static Worse in Winter?
Curiosity Weekly
Warner Bros. Discovery
4.6 • 964 Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2021
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Learn about why sensitive questions won’t make conversations as uncomfortable as you think; why static is worse in winter than in summer; and the “umami synergy” behind why bacon and eggs go together so well.
Sensitive questions won't make conversations as uncomfortable as you think by Kelsey Donk
- The Case for Asking Sensitive Questions. (2020, November 24). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/11/the-case-for-asking-sensitive-questions
- Hart, E., VanEpps, E. M., & Schweitzer, M. E. The (better than expected) consequences of asking sensitive questions. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 162, 136-154. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597820304003
Why is static worse in winter than summer? by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Sandy)
- Static electricity strengthens desert dust storms. (2016, July 8). Static electricity strengthens desert dust storms. Science | AAAS. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/07/static-electricity-strengthens-desert-dust-storms
- Curtis, A. (2017). FAQ - health - static electricity | Las Vegas Advisor. lasvegasadvisor.com; Las Vegas Advisor. https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/faq-health-static-electricity/
- Hamer, A. (2019, August). Here’s Why Static Shock Is Worse in Winter. Discovery; Discovery. https://www.discovery.com/science/Heres-Why-Static-Shock-Is-Worse-Winter
- Castañon, K. (2016, January 25). These Hat Hair Solutions Will Change Your Winter. Shape; Shape. https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/beauty-style/these-hat-hair-solutions-will-change-your-winter
Why do bacon & eggs just go together? Meet umami synergy by Cameron Duke
- Jake. (2015, March). Ramen Chemistry. Ramen Chemistry. http://www.ramenchemistry.com/blog/2015/2/18/umami-science-part-iii-umami-synergy
- Mouritsen, O. G., Klavs Styrbaek, Johansen, M., & Jonas Drotner Mouritsen. (2014). Umami : unlocking the secrets of the fifth taste. Columbia University Press.
- Schmidt, C. V., Olsen, K., & Mouritsen, O. G. (2020). Umami synergy as the scientific principle behind taste-pairing champagne and oysters. Scientific Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77107-w
- The timeless, complimentary taste of oysters and champagne—explained. (2020, November 18). Science.Ku.Dk; University of Copenhagen. https://www.science.ku.dk/english/press/news/2020/the-timeless-complimentary-taste-of-oysters-and-champagneexplained/
- Zareian, M., Ebrahimpour, A., Bakar, F. A., Mohamed, A. K. S., Forghani, B., Ab-Kadir, M. S. B., & Saari, N. (2012). A Glutamic Acid-Producing Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Malaysian Fermented Foods. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 13(5), 5482–5497. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms13055482
- Put The Science Of Umami To Work For You. (2015). Popular Science. https://www.popsci.com/hidden-secrets-umami/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily. |
| 0:05.0 | From Curiosity.com, I'm Cody Goff. |
| 0:07.0 | And I'm Ashley Hamer. |
| 0:08.0 | Today you learn about why sensitive questions won't make conversations as uncomfortable as you think. |
| 0:13.0 | Then we'll answer a listener question about why static is worse in winter than in summer. |
| 0:17.5 | You'll also learn why bacon and eggs go together so well. |
| 0:21.0 | Mmm, what's satisfy some curiosity? |
| 0:24.0 | Some delicious, delicious curiosity. |
| 0:27.3 | If you're like a lot of people, you tend to avoid asking questions that feel too sensitive or personal. |
| 0:34.0 | I mean, who really wants to ask a colleague how much money they make, |
| 0:37.5 | or if they've ever had an affair, kind of personal. |
| 0:41.5 | But new research shows that sensitive questions won't make conversations as awkward as you think. |
| 0:47.9 | In fact, it's avoiding these topics that can really cost you. So for a study published this month, |
| 0:55.0 | a trio of researchers wanted to find out |
| 0:57.0 | if those direct questions would actually make people feel uncomfortable |
| 1:01.0 | or if we're all just overly polite. |
| 1:04.0 | So over a series of experiments, they asked participants to chat with people. |
| 1:09.0 | Sometimes it was with strangers, other times with friends, sometimes via text, other times in person. |
| 1:16.8 | In every experiment, one group had to ask a series of personal questions, and regardless of who they were chatting with, people predicted those questions would make their partners extremely uncomfortable. |
| 1:29.0 | They would damage their relationships. Even after the conversations, the question askers still felt worried that they had made things |
| 1:36.9 | uncomfortable. Well, here's the surprising part. Those predictions and worries were always wrong. |
| 1:45.0 | For the most part, people said they were much more comfortable with the sensitive questions than the askers predicted. |
... |
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