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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.
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May 21, 2020

Timestamps:

00:55 - Filling a swimming pool with beans

06:16 - International dairy classification guide 

13:20 - Shorts: how much is in a ton of money, when can you resume wearing white if you stop on Labor Day

14:15 - Trumpet solos in Soviet movie-musicals

31:30 - Outro: Ivan Vasilievich

 

Sources: 

Alyans - Na Zare (80s Soviet synthpop)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6wl-EyhXl0

 

Bean pools - 

http://www.poolwizard.net/metric-pool-volume/

https://fina.org/sites/default/files/finafacilities_rules.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooting_Bec_Lido

 

Shorts - 

https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coin-and-medal-programs/coin-specifications

https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/centers/mrcbg/files/Eliminating%2BHDNfinalXYZ.pdf

 

Trumpet solos - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYddUl-GItk 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEXDFaTFKsg 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZzG1XbDH_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqJI09R-4ZQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO6FMIrLaSs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3WUiJziSYM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXMHsfUaFoU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTFfd8ZKKzQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2ie01PETGI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjMEfNhShh8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UslGLtDARcs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tun_ZYsnuAA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt7r8tRVoXI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knRAf2-9Zs8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LzKDH2hWJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRmZ9KIBWhA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsUOBtR75u0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIyXiiaEzjg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko8P3rbDFFg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RVSm1i0fok

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB2yiIoEtXw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzpQbxHhen4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBvOAOghu2E

 

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.

Sep 13, 2016

Look It Up is a podcast for the indiscriminately curious. On this week's episode: why do I get so cold in a hammock? Which type of transport is safest per mile traveled? Where did the names for the days of the week come from?

 

Sources: transportation statistics from the NTSB and IIHS, bit.ly/liutransport1, bit.ly/liutransport2, and bit.ly/liutransport3. Weekday etymologies on Wikipedia, bit.ly/liuweekdays.

Aug 31, 2016

Look It Up is a podcast for the indiscriminately curious. On this episode: 

0:43 - What would gymnastics look like in low gravity? 

4:19 - What is data scaping?

5:52 - Shorts: does the third-party doctrine apply to iMessage? What happens if you drive over a road flare?

6:48 - Forfeitures, a segment about the weird stuff the US Government seizes

9:09 - Sources. NASA video about movement in space suits, bit.ly/liugravity. Scientific American article on lunar Olympic gymnastics, bit.ly/liugymnastics. SLU Law Journal article about iMessage and the third-party doctrine, bit.ly/liudoctrine. US Government forfeiture website, www.forfeiture.gov.

Today's episode featured a clip from Philippe Beer Gabel's "Cats in my mind" and "Mystical Picnic" by Nutmeg, all from the Free Music Archive, freemusicarchive.org

Keep in touch on twitter (@liupodcast), or email thelookituppodcast@gmail.com.

Aug 16, 2016

On this week's episode: what are closed cities? Is there anywhere in the US that's safe from natural disasters? What is rebar for and how is it made?

 

 

Contact the podcast at thelookituppodcast@gmail.com or on twitter at @liupodcast.

Jul 26, 2016

This week: what tone languages have to do with perfect pitch, how to tell if a number is divisible by 13 (or 17, 19, etc.), and the return of Forfeitures.

Jul 15, 2016

This week: why fumigation tents look like circus tents, how easy it is to break your sternum, and how to apply for a patent in the United States. 

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