Why do coconuts have water? This question came from a reader submission (thanks Akaal!). Has a curious question stumped you lately? Feel free to submit your own question here: Submit your question π The short answer Coconuts carry water because theyβre designed to launch a seed with an immediately usable food reserve. This liquid endosperm supports early growth, while the meat provides sustained fuel as the seedling develops. π The long answer Coconuts are an unusual fruit (yes, they are a...
10 days agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
Why does alcohol make you feel warm? π The short answer Alcohol feels warming because ethanol lowers the activation threshold of heat-sensitive receptors, fooling your nervous system into thinking youβre overheating. Your body then attempts to cool itself by dilating blood vessels and sending warm blood to the skinβs surface. π The long answer Normally, a beverage needs to be warm to make you feel warm β but not alcohol. Whether it's a burning sensation from taking a shot or a more gentle...
17 days agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
What does "feels like" temperature mean? This question came from a reader submission (thanks Nikilah!). Has a curious question stumped you lately? Feel free to submit your own question here: Submit your question π The short answer βFeels likeβ temperature reflects how wind and humidity change how cold or hot the air feels to the human body. Wind chill increases heat loss in cold conditions, while the heat index reflects how humidity interferes with sweating in hot weather. π The long answer...
24 days agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
How do record players work? This question came from a reader submission (thanks Leah!). Has a curious question stumped you lately? Feel free to submit your own question here: Submit your question π The short answer Record players work by dragging a needle through grooves in a spinning vinyl record, where tiny vibrations are converted into electrical signals, amplified, and turned back into sound by speakers. π The long answer In high school, I decided to buy an old record player at a garage...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 6 min read
Why is orange hair called red? This question came from a reader submission (thanks anonymous!). Has a curious question stumped you lately? Feel free to submit your own question here: Submit your question π The short answer Orange hair is called red because the word orange didnβt enter English until the fruit did, which was after the term redhead was already established. π The long answer About 2% of the world's population has red hair, which means that ~40 people subscribed to this newsletter...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
How does the Doppler effect work? This question came from a reader submission (thanks Rodrigo!). Has a curious question stumped you lately? Feel free to submit your own question here: Submit your question π The short answer The Doppler effect is when waves like sound or light seem to change frequency because the source or observer is moving. As the source of a wave (e.g. an ambulance siren) moves closer, its waves compress and create a higher frequency; as it moves away, the waves stretch...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
How does general anesthesia work? This question came from a reader submission (thanks Ana!). Has a curious question stumped you lately? Feel free to submit your own question here: Submit your question π The short answer General anesthesia works by disrupting how brain cells communicate, leading to unconsciousness, immobility, and pain relief. While the exact mechanism is still unclear, anesthetics appear to either flood neurons with charged molecules or block them entirely, breaking down...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 6 min read
Longtime readers of Today You Should Know may recognize this question β it's a repeat! It's been a busy season of life lately. So I thought I'd resend this previous newsletter, which I bet is the only email in your inbox that touches on both birds and quantum physics. All my best, π Caitlin How do birds navigate during migration? This question came from a reader submission (thanks Tej!). Has a curious question stumped you lately? Feel free to submit your own question here: Submit your...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
Who decides which emojis get made? π The short answer The Unicode Consortium's Emoji Subcommittee accepts new emoji proposals from the public every year and evaluates them based on strict criteria, including how useful, recognizable, and broadly relevant the emoji would be. π The long answer I'm going to take a wild guess that you've used an emoji today. But actually, the guess isn't that wild π β 92% of the worldβs online population uses emojis*. Currently there are 3,953 emojis when all...
2 months agoΒ β’Β 6 min read