Why doesn’t stomach acid burn right through us?

Summary

Brains On! Science Podcast for Kids

Episode: Why doesn’t stomach acid burn right through us?
Date: February 10, 2026
Host: Molly Bloom
Kid Co-host: Wesley from Columbia, Missouri

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Episode Overview

This episode tackles the fascinating question: “Why doesn’t the acid in our stomach burn a hole right through us?” Host Molly Bloom and her kid co-host, Wesley, take listeners on a journey inside the stomach to understand how such a powerful, dangerous substance can break down food—without harming the stomach itself. Alongside fun games, animal facts, and science history, the hosts explore the stomach’s defenses and highlight just how amazing our digestive system really is.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is Stomach Acid and How Strong Is It?

• Stomach acid, aka gastric juice, is a potent mixture made up of hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes, water, and other components.
• “Not only does it break down food, but outside of the body it can burn skin. Given enough time, it can even dissolve some metals like zinc.” – Molly (03:55)
• The human body produces 3–4 liters (about two big party-sized soda bottles) of this acid every day.
  —[04:16]

2. Why Doesn’t Stomach Acid Burn Through Our Stomachs?

Guest: Mark and his "Organophone" invention (lets them “call” the stomach for an interview!)

• The stomach protects itself using mucus, which lines its walls and acts as a shield.
• This mucus is rich in bicarbonate, which neutralizes acid and prevents tissue damage.
  • “There are these glands in me that make a lot of mucus. And that mucus acts like a shield protecting my walls from all that nasty acid. Plus, the mucus is full of stuff called bicarbonate.” – “Stomach” (08:16)
• Stomach cells are constantly shedding and regenerating. The lining of the stomach is replaced every few days, giving the stomach a fast-repair “armor”.
  • “Mine sort of sacrifice themselves constantly. They fall off the walls of me, the stomach… In fact, the entire lining of the stomach is replaced every couple days.” – “Stomach” (09:26, 09:53)
• Bicarbonate in the mucus acts like a natural baking soda:
  • “Bicarbonate is super alkaline. And when you mix acids and alkaline stuff together, they sort of cancel each other out.” – Mark (08:55)

Notable Memorable Quote:

“Oh Molly, I have my ways. And by ways I mean mucus.” — “Stomach” (07:50)

3. Fun and Games: Mystery Sound and Digestion Across the Animal Kingdom

• Regular segments like the Mystery Sound keep engagement high, with kids guessing real-world sounds ([11:38–12:38], [26:55]).
• Game Show Segment – Digestion Suggestion explores unusual animal digestion:
  • Cows: Eat food, regurgitate, chew again ("chewing cud"). — [16:25]
  • Ostriches/Birds: Swallow rocks to grind food in their gizzard. — [17:10]
  • Egg-Eating Snakes: Swallow eggs whole, crack them internally, and regurgitate the shells. — [18:09]
  • Vultures: Eat rotting meat, have super-strong stomach acid to kill germs. — [18:57]

Memorable Moment:

“If you could have the power to digest anything in the world, what would you want and why?”
— Molly (20:04)
“If I got to eat a microphone and then spit it back out like the cow, would I just get a really loud voice for a long time?”
— Wesley (20:10)

4. History of Stomach Science

• The story of Alexis St. Martin and Dr. William Beaumont (1822):
  • St. Martin’s stomach wound never fully healed, creating a “window” into his stomach.
  • Beaumont used strings to place and remove food from St. Martin’s stomach, learning about digestion by direct observation. — [24:10–25:10]
  • Questions raised about the ethics of these early experiments: Was it right to experiment on someone in exchange for food and shelter? — [25:15–26:08]
• Modern standards now require experiments to be ethical, safe, and approved by review boards.

5. Review and Recap of Key Takeaways

• Stomach acid is extremely strong, able to break down food—and dangerous outside the body.
• The stomach protects itself with a thick mucus layer and neutralizes acid using bicarbonate.
• Stomach lining regenerates every couple of days, quickly repairing any acid damage.
• Many animals have incredible adaptation to digest different foods—from regurgitating partly digested food to eating rocks or eggshells.
• Ethical science has come a long way since early experiments.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mucus as a hero:

  “Mucus is the absolute queen… I’m team Mucus all the way.” – Molly (08:01)

• Stomach’s voice:

  “Hey, I want food. Give me grilled cheese. I’m hungry.” – Wesley (03:08)

• Fun with beans:

  “All of me loves beans. Beans, frijoles, black and pinto we love them at the table, we love them on the go Beans, frijoles, pinto and black Like a song in the mouth and music in the back.” – Mark & Cast (11:15)

• On science ethics:

  “Today, scientists who want to do an experiment are supposed to explain it to a group of other scientists. And those other scientists make sure that the experiments are ethical, which means it is safe, fair, and no one is treated badly.” – Molly (26:01)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:16–00:36: Introduction to stomach acid's power
• 02:11: Main question—“How does your stomach acid break down your food but not hurt your stomach?”
• 03:55: Explanation of stomach acid’s strength
• 06:23–09:53: Organophone segment; “interview” with the stomach; mucus & bicarbonate explained
• 15:14: Introduction to digestion in the animal kingdom game
• 24:10: Story of St. Martin & Dr. Beaumont—early human stomach research
• 26:01: Ethics of experimentation explained
• 26:31: Summary of the stomach's protective mechanisms

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Tone & Language

The episode maintains a friendly, playful, and accessible tone, featuring jokes, puns, fictional “interviews,” and kid co-host contributions. Technical terms are broken down with analogies and humor, making complex biology understandable and fun for young listeners.

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Engaging for All Ages

“Brains On!” balances solid science, memorable stories, and interactive fun, ensuring that both kids and adults stay curious—and better informed about just how amazing our insides are!

Transcript

[A]

Lemonade.

[B]

Brains on Universe. You're listening to Brains on. Where we're serious about being curious.

[A]

Inside you, there is a squelchy, churning pit of liquid. A liquid so dangerous it would burn your hand if you touched it.

[B]

In fact, this super sludge can dissolve all kinds of things, even metal. And your body makes a lot of it every day.

[A]

Metal? We're talking about stomach acid. It's powerful and dangerous.

[B]

So why doesn't it burn a hole right through our bodies?

[A]

Turns out our bodies have equally powerful defenses. We're gonna learn all about it.

[B]

Plus, imagine if eating rocks was good for you. For a certain animal, it is.

[A]

Find out which animal. Coming up. Hi. Have you ever had this happen?

[B]

I have so many questions. If only there's a podcast that answered them.

[A]

Of course you haven't, because you have Brains On. We're here for all the things you.

[B]

Wonder about, like why do dogs sniff each other's butts? What's up with crushes? Why do we have them? Could you dig a hole through the earth?

[A]

We've answered all of those and more. If this kind of curiosity quenching matters to you, support it by joining smartypass. Head to smartypass.org. you'll also get bonus episodes ad free versions of Brains On, Forever Ago and Smashboom Best, plus invites to online hangouts with our crew.

[B]

Plus, you'll know that you're supporting something good, something that helps kids and families thrive and something that answers important questions like do fish fart?

[A]

We've got an episode answering that. So support this kind of work by joining Smarty. Pass. Thank you.

[B]

Brains On.

[A]

You're listening to Brains On. I'm your host, Molly Bloom, and my co host today is Wesley from Columbia, Missouri. Hi, Wesley.

[B]

Hi, Molly.

[A]

So, Wesley, you inspired this episode with your question about stomach acid. What was that question?

[B]

How does your stomach acid break down your food but not hurt your stomach?

[A]

Such a good question. I love it so much. So how did you come up with it?

[B]

I was just sitting on the couch after I ate, and it just came into my mind.

[A]

Couches are such a good place for ideas. So what do you think stops it from burning through us?

[B]

Um, I think that mucus, like the stuff in your nose, stops it.

[A]

Very good idea. So what foods make your stomach happy?

[B]

Would you say grilled cheese? Hot dogs? Pizza?

[A]

So all the delicious foods. Is there a food that your stomach does not like?

[B]

Most vegetables.

[A]

Got it. Is there any vegetables your stomach's like, yeah, I could do that?

[B]

I don't think so.

[A]

So if Your stomach could talk. What do you think its voice would be like?

[B]

I think its voice would be like, hey, I want food. Give me grilled cheese. I'm hungry.

[A]

Straight to the point. I'm hungry. Give me a grilled cheese. I think mine's like, hello. I don't know, maybe it's more like hello. Brains on. So today we're exploring the wonderful world inside our stomachs.

[B]

Yeah, we know our bellies are full of super powerful stomach acid.

[A]

Stomach acid is also known as gastric juice. This soup of stomach stuff is made up of a couple things.

[B]

There are digestive enzymes.

[A]

These are special chemicals made by your body. They help break down food.

[B]

And then there's hydrochloric acid.

[A]

This is a very powerful acid. Not only does it break down food, but outside of the body it can burn skin. Given enough time, it can even dissolve some metals like zinc.

[B]

There's also water and some other things in stomach acid.

[A]

Every day your body makes a lot of this stuff. Like three to four liters of it.

[B]

Picture one of those big party sized bottles of soda. Your body could make two of those full of stomach acid every day.

[A]

Like we mentioned before, it really makes you wonder.

[B]

If this stomach acid is so strong it can dissolve meat, why doesn't it dissolve us? We're basically meat too.

[A]

To get to the bottom of this belly busting question, I asked Mark to stop by.

[C]

That's right. And I'm here now. I made the perfect invention to help us get answers. Ta da.

[B]

It looks like a megaphone with a bunch of coils and blinky lights.

[C]

It's the organophone. It lets you phone any organ. Huh, Molly. It's a device that lets you call your body parts. You just dial them up here on this keypad and when they pick up, you can ask them questions. I even made a jingle for it. You're never alone with the organophone. You can call the spleen or ring up the heart. Chat with a lung large, a small intestine. It's the organophone.

[A]

I love that jingle so much.

[C]

Why thank you.

[B]

Can we talk to the stomach?

[A]

Of course.

[C]

My stomach is super chatty here. Let's give him a call. Mark, you silly dude. What is up my guy? I mean, besides the esophagus. He's always on top of me. Yo, I swallow food. Hey, Tum Tum. We just wanted to ask you about stomach acid. You got a sec? Sure. I was just doing some stomach crunches, but I can hit pause on that.

[B]

Stomach crunches? You mean sit ups?

[C]

Well, not quite. Stomach crunches are when I nosh on a bunch of crunchy things. Oh yeah, I had crispy tacos for lunch. Yeah, you did. Extra beanie, just how I like it.

[A]

Me too.

[C]

Belly five. That's when I slap my belly. Hey, I felt that. Right back at you, bud.

[A]

So, Mark, Stomach, tell us how you handle all that stomach acid.

[C]

Of course, Molinator, check it out. So when Mark is eating, he starts by chewing up his food. Nom nom, nom, nom. That makes it all mushy and wet. Then it's swallowed by the esophagus. Yo, I'm a muscular tube. Yeah, you are, bro. When the food gets to me, that's when stomach acid starts doing its thing.

[B]

So the stomach er. Do you start making the acid when the food is swallowed?

[C]

Actually, stomach acid is made even before you eat. We need to be ready down here. Sometimes just thinking about eating, like looking at a delicious plate of fiber filled bean tacos or will get my juices flowing. Yeah, that way the digestion party can start the second those tasty tacos touch down in Belly Town, the acid in meat is strong. It helps dissolve the food into a slush. It can even kill a lot of nasty germs. There are also enzymes in the mix that can help break down proteins in things like meats and beans. Stomach, I think you're being a little modest. You also help break down food by churning it up and squeezing it.

[A]

Right.

[C]

Well, you know, I don't like to brag, but that is my digestive dance. Squeeze and churn, squeeze and churn.

[A]

Sounds like a lot of action, but how come you aren't hurt by all that acid?

[C]

Oh, Molly, I have my ways. And by ways, I mean mucus.

[B]

Mucus. I knew it was gonna be that.

[C]

Yep. Or as I like to call it, liquid gold.

[A]

100% agree. Mucus is the absolute queen in your nose. It helps keep the air you breathe warm and moist. It traps germs and dust and other allergy causing things. It's nature's glue trap. I'm team Mucus all the way.

[C]

Me too. Down here in my world, mucus is very important stuff. There are these glands in me that make a lot of mucus. And that mucus acts like a shield protecting my walls from all that nasty acid. Plus, the mucus is full of stuff called bicarbonate.

[B]

Bicarbonate. That sounds familiar. Wait, isn't that baking soda? The stuff I bake with.

[C]

Good catch, Wesley. That's right. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. And bicarbonate is the bicarbo bomb. When it comes to stopping acid, I mean, you see, bicarbonate is super alkaline.

[A]

That means it's the opposite of acid.

[C]

Correct. And when you mix acids and alkaline stuff together, they sort of cancel each other out. So the mucus has bicarbonate that helps neutralize the acid. Exactly. The bicarbonate helps stop the acid from being, so, I don't know, acidy. Plus, my other main defense is to just shed a lot of cells, cells.

[A]

Those are the little pieces we are made of. Our body's made up of tons and tons of cells, hair cells, eye cells.

[C]

Brain cells, and stomach cells. Mine sort of sacrifice themselves constantly. They fall off the walls of me, the stomach. And that helps protect the deeper parts of my walls from getting acid blasted. And those cells grow back pretty quick, too, like an armor that regenerates. In fact, the entire lining of the stomach is replaced every couple days.

[A]

Wow. So the acid in the stomach is serious stuff. But the stomach has mucus to help protect it.

[B]

And the mucus has stuff in it that helps neutralize the acid.

[A]

Also, the lining of the stomach is constantly shedding and regrowing due to the acid.

[B]

Thanks for stopping by with your new invention, Mark.

[A]

And thanks for all that info, Mark. Stomach.

[C]

No problem. And thanks for all you do, stomach. Hey, I'll keep digesting if you keep feeding me extra beanie hot and cheesy tacos. Oh, it's my bum bum calling. I wonder what's up. Hey, Mark. Stomach, about those extra beanie tacos, can you actually give it a rest? I gotta fart all that stuff out eventually and it's exhausting. I need a break.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

Sorry, dude, I didn't. Just kidding. I love tooting. Keep those beans coming. In fact, I want more. Me too. Well, that makes three of us. Yo, I like swallowing them. All of me loves beans. Beans, frijoles, black and pinto we love them at the table, we love them on the go Beans, frijoles, pinto and black Like a song in the mouth and music in the back.

[A]

Te brains.

[B]

Fun.

[A]

Wow, that was a very helpful stomach.

[B]

Totally. I really learned a lot.

[A]

I hope your ears are ready to be helpful, because it's time for the.

[B]

Mystery sound.

[A]

Are you ready for the mystery sound, Wesley?

[B]

Yep.

[A]

All right, here it is. Hmm. What is your guess?

[B]

It sounds like someone has a fork and they're banging the fork against a pan.

[A]

Totally. That's like, literally exactly what I was picturing. Let's hear it one more time. Okay. Any new thoughts?

[B]

I still think it's that? And they dropped the fork at the end.

[A]

Yeah, they're like, mic drop. That was a great drumming session I had. And they dropped it. Okay, I'm into it. We're gonna hear it again. Get another chance to guess and hear the answer at the end of the show.

[B]

Stay with us.

[A]

Hi friends. Do you have a question you'd like to hear answered on the show? Send it to us. Literally every single episode of this show comes from a question that one of our listeners have sent in to us. It is super easy. Just go to brainson.org contact no question is too big or too small. Did you hear something and you're like, is that really true? Were you hanging out and a question just like popped into your head? Do you have a thought experiment you'd like us to explore? Like if there was a lake of lemonade, would it rain lemonade? That's a real question that we got and we answered it. So head to brainson.org contact and send us your question. Thank you. Today's episode is sponsored by Bombas. People keep asking about my 2026 resolutions and you know, I've got the usual about, you know, of stuff I'd like to eat more of, I'd like to exercise more, I'd like to hang out with people I love. But there's one on the top of my list which is to get comfy. And that's where Bombas comes in. They're bringing serious comfort to all of my everyday go tos. The all new Bombas sports socks are engineered with sport specific comfort for running, golf, hiking, ski, snow, snowboarding and ball sport. This year I am going to walk a lot. I'm going to take my dog on long walks and these cushioned socks are perfect for those long walks that I'm going to be taking. Another resolution I have is to hang out with my friends more. And the new squishy Saturday suede slip on shoe is perfect for comfort on the go and stylish to boot. So when I go see my friends, they'll say, oh, cute shoes. And for every item you purchase, an essential clothing item is donated to someone facing housing insecurity. One purchased one donated with over 150 million donations and counting. Head over to bombas.com family26 and use code family26 for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O M B-A-S.com family26 code family26 at checkout. You're listening to brains on. I'm Molly. And I'm Wesley and we've learned that our stomachs are full of dangerous, burny, melty acid.

[B]

Lucky for us, they are also full of mucus that protects our stomach. And they can regrow their lining super fast when the acid damages it.

[A]

It's a very cool system, but there are lots of other neat ways to digest food, as you're about to find out. Cue the lights, prep the questions, and gimme my blazer. Because it's for a game show, This game is called digestion Suggestion. Here's how it works. I'm going to give you a suggestion for a cool way to digest food, and you have to guess what animal uses that mode of digestion. Are you ready?

[B]

Yep.

[A]

All right, let's go. Some people think this animal has four stomachs, but that's a myth. It has one stomach with four parts. It likes to eat its food quickly, then go take a break and voluntarily unswallow its food so it can chew it some more. Whose digestion suggestion is this? Is it A, a cow, B, a seal, C, a lion, or D, a dog?

[B]

I'm gonna go with A, a cow.

[A]

You are correct. Very good. Yes. So when an animal is chewing its food after it burps it back up, that's called chewing cud. Mm. All right, next question. This animal eats rocks on purpose. These little pebbles are called stomach rocks, and the animal holds them in a muscular part of the stomach called the gizzard. They use these rocks to help grind down the food they swallow. Whose digestion suggestion is this? A, an ostrich, B, a giraffe, C, a gila monster, or D, a snake?

[B]

I'm gonna go with a gila monster.

[A]

Ooh, excellent guess. But it is an ostrich. Other birds have these gizzards too, so over time, the rocks wear out and the ostrich is. Eat some more rocks. Yummy. Yummy. All right, next question. Eggs are tasty when cracked and fried, but this animal eats them, shell and all. It opens wide and swallows the whole egg. Then it uses muscles to push the egg against sharp spines inside of it that cracks the shell so the runny eggy goo can ooze out. The animal swallows the goo and then throws back up the shell. Whose digestion suggestion is it? Is it A, egg eating rhino, B, egg eating turtle, C, egg eating badger, or D, egg eating snake?

[B]

I'm going to go with an egg eating badger.

[A]

Excellent, excellent guess. But the answer is a snake. Surprisingly, they actually throw up the shells pretty much fully intact, which is incredible. And I have no idea how that Works. All right, next question. Everything about this animal is kind of ew to us, but yum to them. For starters, they like to eat stuff that's been dead for a while. It doesn't really chew its food. It swallows it in chunks and it stuffs itself with as much rotting carcass as it can. It even has a little pouch in its throat where it can store the gross meat for future meals. Whose digestion suggestion is this? A, wolves, B vultures, C, vampire frogs, or D hamsters?

[B]

I'm gonna go with a vulture.

[A]

And you are correct. Vultures have extra super strong stomach acid, which pretty much kills all the germs in the rotting animal they eat. That's how come they don't get sick from eating it. Excellent, excellent work, Wesley. Thank you for playing digestion suggestion. You did great. And your prize is not having to eat like any of these animals. Enjoy. Not eating rocks, not throwing up eggshells, not re chewing your food, and not eating rotting flesh. Congratulations. That game made me the opposite of hungry, but it sure was fun. And anything in there that really surprised you.

[B]

I'm surprised that the cow re eats its food.

[A]

Yeah, that's pretty gross. But, you know, they gotta do it. They gotta get all those nutrients out. So if you can have the power to digest anything in the world, like something that we can't eat, what would you want to eat and why?

[B]

I'm trying to think of something with a lot of protein. Hmm.

[A]

I like that.

[B]

I'm gonna say if I got to eat a microphone, then spit it back out like the coward. I just get a really loud voice for a long time.

[A]

Oh, I really like that. Excellent answer. I'm Wesley.

[B]

Can you hear me now?

[A]

Now let's hit pause on digestion for a minute and see what's new in the mailroom. It's time for the mailbag.

[D]

Heyo, Sandon with the mailbag. I'm checking your letters and emails from my new favorite room in our headquarters. It's the Bovinyl Lounge. I hang out with bovines, AKA cows, and I lounge about listening to my vinyl records, like this one. Let's hear some of your ideas for new rooms to add to our headquarters.

[B]

You should add a coffee mug farm to your new headquarters. You will be able to drink hot cocoa anytime you would like. And you don't have to wash your mug because you grow them.

[A]

Hi.

[B]

I think you should have a manatee room that you can play with manatees. And there's also the stuff that manatees need, like mango leaves. Shallow water and sea grass. Hi. I have two ideas for your new hq. I think that you should have a donut room, which has a half doughnut on the door, and in the inside, there's gonna be lots of donut furniture. For my second idea, I think you should have a party room which has all the party supplies you could imagine. And also, I think that sand is really funny.

[C]

Whoa.

[D]

I also think I'm very funny and so does Milford. She's my couch. That's a cow that I also curl up on like a couch here in the Bovino lounge. All of the furniture is bovine furniture.

[A]

Mmm.

[D]

So cozy to cuddle a cow. Okay, well, thanks to Warren, Blake, and Francis for these ideas. We'll get right on them. And by we, I mean Molly and Mark, because I've got more records to listen to. Cheers.

[A]

Brains on is fully independent. That means me, Mark and Sanon can only keep doing this when people support the shows. The best way is by joining Smarty Pass. When you do, you get access to ad free versions of all of our episodes and Smashboom Best and forever ago too. Help out by going to smartypass.org thank you. Welcome back. I'm Molly, here with Wesley.

[B]

Today we've learned that our bodies make powerful acid in our stomachs to help break down food.

[A]

Right? But our stomachs protect themselves by making a ton of magical mucus and by.

[B]

Shutting a lot of stomach lining cells and growing new ones.

[A]

So how did humans figure out what's going on in the stomach anyway? It's not like we can peek in.

[B]

There and no one has an orgnophone except Mark.

[A]

Turns out some of the first things we learned about how the stomach works came after a serious accident. It was back in 1822, the time of horse drawn carriages.

[B]

No electricity, handwritten letters, no cars.

[A]

They had gas lamps.

[B]

And some questionable ways of treating patients.

[A]

As we're about to learn, our story starts with a man named Alexis St. Martin. One day he was shopping at a general store when he was accidentally shot.

[B]

Luckily, there was a doctor nearby who could help.

[A]

His name was William Beaumont. He saved Alexis's life and allowed him to live with him as he got better.

[B]

Here's where things go weird.

[A]

Alexis got better, but his wound didn't heal like you would expect. Instead of the skin growing over the hole, it stayed open. That's called a fistula.

[B]

So basically, there was an open opening and you could see Alexis stomach working.

[A]

William the doctor thought this was super interesting. He started doing experiments with Alexis's stomach. He would tie food to a string and put it in the stomach. Part of the string was left dangling outside the opening.

[B]

Then he could pull the string to take the food out.

[A]

He'd see how it changed, and then he would put it back inside. He would do this over and over.

[B]

It was often uncomfortable or even painful for Alexis.

[A]

But William learned a lot. He wrote a whole book. And it changed how we understand digestion today.

[B]

People think what William did was questionable. Here's why.

[A]

For starters, it's not clear why he didn't try to close the wound. It certainly would have been better for Alexis if it was closed. Was it impossible to fix? Or did William leave it open so he could do his experiments?

[B]

Also, Alexis ended up working for William. He signed contracts saying you would help with chores and stuff.

[A]

Alexis got money and food and a room to sleep in. But also the contract said William would get to experiment on him.

[B]

Again, this is questionable.

[A]

People aren't sure if Alexis really wanted to be experimented on or if he just felt like he had to sign those contracts so he could survive. Today, scientists who want to do an experiment are supposed to explain it to a group of other scientists.

[B]

And those other scientists make sure that the experiments are ethical, which means it is safe, fair, and no one is treated badly.

[A]

Back then, we didn't have many ways to find out what was going on in the body. But today we have scanners and cameras that can safely take pictures of our insides.

[B]

Fancy technology for our fantastic bodies.

[A]

Our stomachs are full of powerful acids that help break down food.

[B]

But those acids can also burn skin and even melt metal.

[A]

Luckily, our stomachs make a lot of mucus that helps protect it from the acid.

[B]

And the stomach lining is replaced every couple of days, so damaged parts are fixed pretty quickly.

[A]

That's it for this episode of Brains On. Special thanks to Jeff Martin, Kerry Martin, Mark Johnson, Ken Taborski and Kim Code of the north for their help with our website. I think it's time to go back to that mystery sound again. Should we hear it?

[B]

Let's do it.

[A]

All right, here it is. Do you have any new thoughts?

[B]

I'm going to stick with my original answer.

[A]

So you thought it was someone banging on a pan, a metal pan with a fork and then dropping it at the end, Sort of like. Yeah, I did that. Yeah, Yeah, I think. I think it's a great answer. Should we find out if you were right?

[B]

I want to see.

[A]

All right, here it is.

[B]

My name is Owen Smith, and that was the sound of me flicking the tab on a soda can until it popped off.

[A]

Excuse me. Flicking a can. Wait, Flicking a tab on a soda can. That's amazing. Also so loud.

[B]

Very hard to guess.

[A]

So hard to guess. So you were correct. There was metal going on. I guess when things are mic'd up close, they sound so much louder than they do. Like when you're far away. Mm. Oh, so tricky. I'm giving you partial credit though. Cause you knew metal was happening. So partial credit for you. No credit for me. Cause I didn't even have a good guess. Well done. Way to trick us. Now it's time for the brains honor roll. These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery, sounds, drawings and high fives. Andrea from Montreal. Shepherd from Pomeria, South Carolina. Boda from Atlanta. Bennett from Baltimore. Adele from Philadelphia. Kenna from Copper's Cove, Texas. Willow from Phoenix. Alice from Bentonville, AR Cohen from Milton, Delaware Cecilia from Honolulu, Yael from Manhattan Nisha from Galway, Ireland. Juliana from San Antonio, Texas. Cora and Jude from Swoop, Virginia. Nora from Plano, Texas. Arlo from Victoria, British Columbia. Talia from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Niam from Salt Lake City. Naomi and Ezra from Lexington, South Carolina. Avi from Oak Harbor, Washington. Dominic from Richmond, California. Samantha from Sammamish, Washington. Anjali from Columbia, Maryland. Dia and Connor from Pennsylvania. Miles from Chappaqua, New York. Lena and Daphne from Southampton, Ontario. Lily from Clarksville, Maryland. Benjamin and Matthew from Okinawa, Japan. Calder and Evie from Philadelphia. Liam from Galax, Virginia Tessa from Oregon City. Jesse from Philadelphia Anna from San Jose, California Braxton from Richmond, Texas. Jesse and Aria From Panama City, Florida William from Washington, D.C. jade from Holt Summit, Missouri Kalyn from Oklahoma Juniper from Sacramento Kai from Fountain Valley, California. Calvin, Jasper, Lillian, Florence from Orem, Utah Nathaniel from Orange, California Rilla from Peekskill, New York Felix from Geelong, Australia. Elle from Minneapolis Marley from Olding, in, Germany. Gus from South Carolina Jonas from Brooklyn, New York Connor from Corpus Christi, Texas Margo from Exeter, England. Fiona and Maisie from Yorktown Heights, New York. Lincoln and Aurora from Pittman, New Jersey. Danielle and Kevin from Canaan, Connecticut. Elizabeth from Chicago Olivia from Maine Island, Canada. Nona from Portland, Oregon. Mira and Soren from Charlotte, North Carolina. Edith from Anchorage, Alaska. Maeve from Tacoma, Washington Will from Savannah, Georgia. Emma from Holliston, Massachusetts Jonathan from Golden Valley, Minnesota and Izzy from Tampa. Florid. We'll be back next week with an episode all about different generations.

[B]

Thanks for listening.