Brainstuff

Medical leeches are raised in captivity and help patients heal wounds. Discover how leeches and other parasites are used for medical purposes in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of the water on the planet is salty, so people have come up with various ways to turn it into freshwater. Explore three methods of desalinating water in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside the hard drive of many computers, a small arm moves across the face of the hard disk. Tune in to this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com to discover how the movement of this arm produces sound -- and why the arm must move to load files. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Space suits provide oxygen, pressurize air, and control an astronaut's temperature. Learn more about space suits in this classic HowStuffWorks podcast, one of our editors' hand-picked favorites. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A light year is a way of measuring distance -- specifically, the distance light can travel in one year. Just how far is that? Check out this classic Brainstuff podcast from HowStuffWorks' archives to learn more about astronomy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, occur when charged electrons from the sun interact with the Earth's magnetic field. Learn more about auroras and solar activity in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about melting ice caps, global warming and rising sea levels in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In many cases, it's possible to recover files that have been deleted by using your computer's Recycle Bin. Marshall Brain reveals ways to recover deleted files -- and how to erase them permanently -- in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When white light hits a film of oil floating on water, most of it passes through the film, but some of the light is reflected off the top and bottom layers of the film. Check out this HowStuffWorks podcast to learn more about light wave interference. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phone companies use generators to ensure that landline phones will work, even in the event of a power outage. Learn more about phone systems in this HowStuffWorks podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By cooling smoke, the hydrocarbons forming smoke can be condensed, thinned, and bottled in a liquid form. Learn about the process of bottling liquid smoke in this HowStuffWorks podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It only takes two wires to connect a phone, but most house wiring contains four wires. Check out this HowStuffWorks podcast to learn why. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The embalming process is designed to keep the body preserved until the funeral, but how exactly does it work and what happens to bodily fluids like blood? Get the gory details in this HowStuffWorks podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yawning is a universal human behavior, yet scientists still don't know exactly why we do it or what purpose it serves. Marshall Brain explores some of the theories behind yawning in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Safe Mode is a feature of the Windows operating system that allows users to load a limited version of the system in order to troubleshoot problems. Learn more about using Safe Mode in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The transparency of materials has to do with their molecular state. Discover how silica and heat produce the transparent material we call glass in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The massive oil spill that flooded the Gulf of Mexico should have been prevented by a fail-safe device called a Blowout Preventer, or BOP. Find out how this safety mechanism is supposed to work -- and why it didn't -- in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like many cereals, rice krispies are made by puffing grains -- in this case, rice. Find out how rice krispies and other puffed cereals are manufactured in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lowriders are vehicles that ride very low to the ground and are often equipped with hydraulics systems that allow the cars to "hop." Learn more in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hemp fibers are coarse and strong, perfect for things like rope -- hemp is also more environmentally friendly than many other crops. Listen in as Marshall Brain takes a look at the controversy surrounding hemp in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.