Info

Look It Up

If you've ever wondered whether animals could be ambidextrous, or what happens when you put a gun in a refrigerator, or what Presidents of the United States do after their terms end, this podcast will relieve you of the effort of having to look it up yourself. Look It Up is a podcast for the indiscriminately curious. Establish contact by email at thelookituppodcast@gmail.com.
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
Look It Up
2020
May


2017
October
September
January


2016
September
August
July
June
January


2015
October
September


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: 2017
Oct 11, 2017

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 

 

Sep 22, 2017

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.

Jan 6, 2017

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.

Jan 6, 2017

These images accompany the "Voronoi school districts" segment in Episode 11.

Missoula - all layers

Above: Missoula, MT. Bottom layer Google Maps, middle layer Voronoi, top layer actual school districts.

Missoula - Voronoi only

Above: Missoula, MT. Bottom layer Google Maps, top layer Voronoi.

Santa Rosa - all layers

Above: Santa Rosa, CA. Bottom layer Google Maps, middle layer (colour) actual school district boundaries, top layer Voronoi.

Santa Rosa Voronoi

Above: Santa Rosa, CA. Bottom layer Google Maps, top layer Voronoi.

1