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Hey there, smarty pants. Is it chilly outside? It's freezing out here. Are you stuck indoors or are you a lucky smarty pants enjoying a warm day while the rest of us bundle up? Well, no matter what, you probably would love to have more who Smarted and less ads, right? Yes. Well then I have great news. It's time to heat up your brain with the Whosmarted Winter Warm up sound. That's amazing. From right now through January 30th, we are giving you a massive 50 off an annual Whosmarted plus subscription. That's right. It's normally $39.99, but you can grab a whole year of Smarts for just $19.98. Think about that. For about 40 cents a week, you get way less ads so you can enjoy all the episodes uninterrupted. So you can stay in the smarty zone and you get way more who Smarted. Not only do you get ad free listening, but you're also going to get bonus subscriber only episodes. But you have to hurry up. This deal is melting faster than a snowman in a sauna. It's only available directly through our website, so just head to whosmarted.com and click on Winter Warm Up Sale. Don't wait. This offer disappears on January 30th. Stay cool, stay warm, and stay smart. Go to WhoSmarted.com right now and click Winter Warm Up Sale to start getting all these benefits for around 40 cents a week and you'll be directly supporting the show. Now that's a smarty deal. Foreign. Hey there, smarty pants. Trusty narrator here. Back with another round of Smarty Q's where I answer the amazing questions sent in by curious smarty pants all over the world. We've got some great questions today, so let's jump right in. Question one comes from smarty fan Ronan in Leesburg, Virginia, who asks, why does it not tickle when you tickle yourself, but it does tickle when someone else does it? Cool question. The answer is, it's because your brain can predict your own movements. When you try to tickle yourself, your brain knows exactly what's going to happen. And the cerebellum, the prediction center of your brain, says, don't worry, we did that. So it turns off the ticklish response. But when someone else tickles you, your brain can't predict it. The sensation surprises you and your nerves react with the tickles. Your brain responds strongly to unexpected touches, which is why surprise tickles are much ticklier than self tickling. Okay, question two comes from longtime smarty friend Georgie on Spotify, who wants to know, why does your voice sound deeper in the morning and higher later in the day? Wow, another cool body question. Well, your morning voice sounds deeper because your vocal cords are swollen and relaxed after a night of sleep. Think about it. While you're asleep, you're probably not talking, so your muscles stay relaxed, your throat dries out and mucus collects on your vocal cords, otherwise known as your vocal folds. All of this can make your voice sound lower, thicker and scratchier. But as the day goes on, you drink water and you talk more. This causes your vocal folds to warm up and tighten, which in turn raises the pitch, making your voice sound clearer and higher. Question three is a fun one. Smartypants Edie wants to know how do trends like Labubus and K Pop Demon Hunters start and grow? Oh, can you say Internet culture trends like labuboos, K Pop Demon Hunters, and other wild viral jokes, including one about a certain two numbers, usually starts the same way someone posts a funny or strange video. It could be a meme sound clip, a silly word, a short animation, or a fan edit. Other people remix it and add music, make new versions, repeat the phrase, or create spinoffs. Algorithms push it on platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram. It gets lots of likes, comments and views. So what does the algorithm do? It shows it to millions more users. Kids and teens turn it into a shared language. Trends become inside jokes and everyone wants to be in on it. And it just keeps on spreading. That's why nonsense memes spread so fast. They're fun, silly and social. But in the case of K Pop Demon Hunters, it becomes a must see movie and show. And Labubu has become a must own toy. I've got six seven of them myself. All right, three cool questions down, two more to go. You're not going to want to miss them right after this quick break. And a word from our sponsors. As the trusty narrator, I've taken the smarty pants on countless adventures. I'll do anything for the fans, but off mic, I prefer to keep my adventures in the safe space of my own backyard. However, even a homebody like me can't avoid the unexpected chaos that comes with family life. Take last week, for example. My niece was staying with me when she came down with a nasty cold in the middle of the night. I couldn't leave her alone to get medicine. And that's when I remembered Doordash is there for you. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. With a few taps on my phone. I had cough syrup and tissues delivered right to my door. Doordash saved the night and my niece was back to her energetic self in no time. Oh, and did I order a little ice cream for myself. Yes, I did, and Doordash brought it right to my door. So while I may not be the biggest fan of real life adventures, I'm grateful that Doordash is always there to help me navigate life's little emergencies. When life happens, get a little order delivered with DoorDash. Order now. Hey smarty pants, Trusty narrator here. Do you love music as much as I do, but find learning how to play it a little confusing? I sure did. When I was a kid taking piano lessons, music sometimes felt like a mystery. I could press the keys, but I didn't always understand why it worked and that made it hard to learn. That's why I love what my friend Will has created. Music With Will is a live online music program for musically curious kids aged 7 to 12. Instead of just copying songs, kids discover how music actually works in a playful, creative aha moment kind of way. Will was home educated himself and music felt like a black box to him growing up. After nearly 20 years of teaching, he built a program he wishes he'd had using ear first learning with singing, listening and pattern spotting. No musical background needed at all. There's two live 60 minute lessons every month, recordings you can access anytime, and tons of flexibility. Parents and kids are loving how this is unlocking musical potential. And to get you started, Will is offering the smarty fans 10% off the already very low monthly price and you even get a 14 day free trial so you can see how awesome it is before you pay a thing. I can tell you there is no better deal for awesome kid centric music lessons and anywhere. Check it out@musicwithwill.com WhoSmarted that's musicwithwill.com WhoSmarted now back to Smarty Q. We've got an interesting question that's been asked by James and a few other smartypants who all want to know how do tardigrades survive in space? Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are some of the toughest creatures on earth. So tough in fact, that they're able to survive space being in a vacuum. Radiation, freezing temperatures and boiling heat. Whoa. Here's how they do it. First, they curl up into a ton state. A ton is like a tiny biological sleep mode. In this state, tardigrades shrink, dry out, stop eating, and stop moving. In fact, they reduce their metabolism to 0.01% of their normal metabolism. Next, they replace water with a special sugar called trehalose, which acts like armor and protects their cells from freezing or breaking. They also produce unique proteins called diceup, proteins that shield their DNA from radiation damage. And from there, they just wait it out. Once they're safe again with water, food, and better temperatures, they simply wake back up. So you could say tardigrades aren't alive in space like normal. They're paused like a video on freeze frame. So cool. Okay, we're down to our last question. This one comes from Isla in Austin, Texas, and her mom, Molly. They want to know, can your body's organs grow back, AKA regenerate? Great question, and the answer is, some parts can regenerate and some can't. Here are some things humans can regrow. Your skin, because cuts heal. Your liver can regrow up to 70%. Your blood is constantly replaced. Your bones can regrow, which is why fractures heal. Your fingernails, your toenails and hair can also regrow. And here are some things humans cannot regrow. Heart tissue, brain cells. Some are replaced, but most are not. Spinal cord, nerves, and entire organs like kidneys or lungs. So why can't you regenerate everything? It's because some organs have cells that copy themselves easily, while others have very delicate, specialized cells that can't divide. So once they're damaged, they stay damaged. However, scientists are studying stem cells, organ printing, and gene therapy to help bodies regenerate more in the future, maybe even new organs someday. And there you have it, another jam packed episode of SmartYQS. To have your question featured on an upcoming episode, simply email us@whosmartedhoosmarted.com until next time. Keep on smarting, smarty pants. Who smarted.
