Why some scientists say our universe is Sad Millennial Beige
In the latest episode of *The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week*, hosted by the editors of *Popular Science*, listeners are treated to a delightful exploration of bizarre scientific facts that challenge conventional wisdom. One standout revelation comes from a whimsical inquiry into the color of the universe, which was initially thought to be a vibrant turquoise. In 2002, astronomers analyzed light from over 200,000 galaxies and, through a flawed calibration process, concluded that the universe had this lively hue. However, color science expert Mark Fairchild later corrected this oversight, revealing that the true color of the universe is a muted, pinkish beige, humorously dubbed “Cosmic Latte.” This name was chosen through a public contest, where submissions like “Big Bang Buff” and “Cosmic Cream” were considered, but the winning entry resonated with the Italian roots of astronomy and the Milky Way’s connection to milk.
The episode also dives into the intriguing behavior of New York City rats, as science communicator Tom Lum discusses a recent study on their vocalizations. Researchers utilized advanced tools like thermal imaging and AI to analyze the urban rat population’s communication patterns. They found that these rats adapt remarkably to their noisy environment, even raising their voices to be heard over passing ambulances, reminiscent of how humans communicate in bustling city life. This fascinating insight into rat behavior not only highlights their social dynamics but also showcases the innovative use of technology in studying wildlife in urban settings.
Another captivating segment features the work of Tracy Sonneborn, who, in the 1960s, conducted experiments on paramecia by altering their body structures and observing the surprising inheritance of these changes in subsequent generations. His findings challenge long-held beliefs about genetics, suggesting that traits can be passed down without any alterations to DNA, a concept reminiscent of the discredited theories of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. This revelation opens up discussions about epigenetics and the complexities of inheritance, demonstrating that our understanding of biology is continually evolving. Overall, this episode of *The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week* promises to entertain and inform, making it a must-listen for anyone curious about the strange and wonderful world of science.
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FACT: “Cosmic latte” could be the aggregate color of our universe—depending on who you ask
By
Rachel Feltman
In 2002, two astronomers analyzing data from
more than 200,000 galaxies
decided to answer a question nobody asked: if you could trap all the light in the universe (from the perspective of someone on Earth) in a box and look at it in a dark room, what color would it be? They crunched the numbers and
announced the universe was a lovely turquoise
. This made perfect sense to them,
since the light of young blue stars
mixed with an ever-increasing number of older red stars could create a greenish hue.
Right? Wrong. A color science expert named Mark Fairchild caught one glaring error in the fun little thought experiment: the astronomers came up with the color using free software that had been
calibrated with the wrong white point
. Basically, their results presumed that the viewer was looking at the universe while standing in a room with neon red lighting. When they corrected the issue, the real color
turned out to be a slightly pinkish beige
—so close to white that they insisted you probably couldn’t even tell the difference.
The researchers then held a public naming contest via email (this was 2002, after all). Submissions included “Big Bang Buff,” “Cosmic Cream,” “Astronomer Green” (someone didn’t get the memo about the correction),
and the winning entry
: “Cosmic Latte.” Though “Cappuccino Cosmico” actually got more votes, they went with Latte because it means milk in Italian (Galileo’s native tongue) and connects to the Milky Way. When some folks complained that the universe is
actually
mostly empty space, which reads as black to a human viewer, the researchers basically said that, since the parts of the universe we perceive as black contain zero information,
calling the universe black would be boring and pointless
.
Listen to learn why “Primordial Clam Chowder” only got four votes (!) and what the
actual
research project this silly experiment
sprang out of taught us about star formation history.
FACT: New York City rats yell louder when ambulances pass by, and AI is helping us eavesdrop on their conversations
By
Tom Lum
This week’s episode of
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week
features science communicator Tom Lum. He’s sort of been on the show before, thanks to his
first viral TikTok
back in 2021.
Bee jet lag
, anyone?
Tom recently made a video for
Scientific American
about
new research on New York City rat communication
. He took a deeper dive into that study for this week’s episode.
Brown rats have lived alongside humans for thousands of years, and arrived in NYC when the Big Apple was just getting off the ground. But as ubiquitous as they are in the five boroughs, studying their behavior in these urban wilds has always been tricky. How do you quantitatively analyze animal movements and behavior in one of the noisiest environments on Earth?
Enter computational ecology. Researchers used thermal imaging, ultrasonic microphones, and AI models to parse countless hours of footage and isolate rat squeaks.
They found that NYC rats are…
a lot like human New Yorkers
, actually. The rodents talk constantly—yapping in groups, yapping alone, and making “human audible vocalizations from aggressive interactions in the park.” Younger rats explore in groups and move slowly like NYU freshmen, while solo rats are much quicker. When an ambulance passed by during one recording, two rats increased their volume to be heard over the siren.
The results suggest that rats have adapted to city life in ways that feel pretty familiar—and remind us that AI can actually be used for awesome academic purposes and not just scammy startups and sloppy propaganda.
You can find
more of Tom’s work on his website
. And if you’re in the NYC area, you can
catch his science game show
Our Findings Show
at Caveat on November 11
! Streaming tickets are also available.
FACT: If you flip part of this single-celled organism backwards, its offspring will be born with the same wonky body plan—and we have no idea why
By
Lauren Leffer
Imagine cutting off your hands and reattaching them backwards. If you went on to have kids one day, they would be born with their hands in the proper place, right? It turns out that’s not always how inheritance works.
We know this because, in the 1960s, a Baltimore scientist named
Tracy Sonneborn
decided to Frankenstein some parameciums (single-celled organisms covered in tiny hair-like appendages called cilia). He’d chop off part of a paramecium, rotate it 180 degrees, stick it back on, and watch what happened. Shockingly, the offspring of these collaged cells were born with the same deformities.
Despite no changes to DNA whatsoever
, flipped cilia stayed flipped for generations. And this isn’t just one guy’s weird experiment. It’s been replicated multiple times.
We still don’t really know
why
it happens, though there are some vague theories. And it’s not just parameciums, either:
more recent studies showed
that after being exposed to viruses,
worms could inherit immune proteins not coded in their DNA
for up to 100 generations.
All of this is kind of awkward for the people who write biology textbooks, because we’ve spent centuries dunking on
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and his theory of inheritance
. If you’re not familiar, that’s the idea that, to name one infamous example,
giraffes got long necks by stretching for tall leaves and passing the resulting increase in length to their offspring
. While that’s not how inheritance actually works, broadly speaking, it does seem like Lamarck might deserve some retroactive credit. Between paramecium experiments and
modern epigenetics
, we now know of a surprising number of exceptions to
our neat Mendelian genetics rules
.
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Why some scientists say our universe is Sad Millennial Beige
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