Look It Up is a podcast for the curious. On this episode: can you microwave clothes to dry them? Are humans to ants as mountains are to humans? And a brief discussion on meringue safety.
Sources: bit.ly/microclothes, bit.ly/duckmolt, bit.ly/meringues1, bit.ly/meringues2. Outro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqJQUYQphZM
Look It Up is a podcast for the curious. On today's episode: are farmers given enough incentive to leave fields fallow? How does Amtrak stay in business? And otters.
Sources:
Farming subsidies (Grist): bit.ly/farmingsubsidie. USDA Conservation Reserve Program (AgWeb): bit.ly/crpsubsidies. Average expected crop yields: bit.ly/potatopounds.
History of Amtrak subsidies: bit.ly/amtraksubsidies. Amtrak budget starting 2015: bit.ly/amtrakbudget15. Supplementary amtrak data (Federal Railroad Administration): bit.ly/amtrakfra.
Baking yeasts: bit.ly/activedryyeast. Otters (Aquarium of the Bay): bit.ly/liuotters.
On this week's episode: do school district boundaries follow the lines suggested by a Voronoi diagram? What are the origins of the Prairie Home Companion song about rhubarb pie? Are some types of blankets warmer than others?
0:42 - Voronoi school districts
3:09 - Rhubarb pie
7:06 - Shorts
7:40 - Blankets
9:33 - Sources
10:05 - Lev Theremin playing the theremin
Sources: supplementary images for "Voronoi school districts," bit.ly/liuschools1. School district boundaries, bit.ly/liuschools2. Prairie Home Companion, prairiehome.org. A book about Lawrence Tibbett, bit.ly/liulawrence.
These images accompany the "Voronoi school districts" segment in Episode 11.
Above: Missoula, MT. Bottom layer Google Maps, middle layer Voronoi, top layer actual school districts.
Above: Missoula, MT. Bottom layer Google Maps, top layer Voronoi.
Above: Santa Rosa, CA. Bottom layer Google Maps, middle layer (colour) actual school district boundaries, top layer Voronoi.
Above: Santa Rosa, CA. Bottom layer Google Maps, top layer Voronoi.