Stuff Your Dad Knows

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa and one of the famed Seven Summits. Ever wonder what happens at the top? Dean Perose will tell us all about it. Dean is the owner of Cucina in The Avenues in Salt Lake City. He summited Kilimanjaro in the fall of last year and loved it. Mount Kilimanjaro tops out at 19,341 ft (5,895 m) and is located in Tanzania. The Mountain is part of Kilimanjaro National Park. Kilimanjaro features a lot of climbing and has a very diverse ecosystem that even features glaciers and ice fields. You can start your trek from Dar es Salaam, Nairobi Kenya, or a smaller but nearer city like Arusha. The climb is not as deadly as Mount Everest, but people still can die and be seriously injured. Acute Mountain Sickness (altitude sickness) can be a real threat. Extreme altitude sickness can even be deadly. Lemosho, Machame, Marangu, Mweka, Rongai, Shira, and Umbwe area all climbing routes people use to get to the summit. Dean's experience was pretty common. His guided group took several d

Ethan Millard is joined by Jason Buck host of the Rivals podcast, former NFL defensive lineman, and Super Bowl Champion. They talk snoring. Why do people snore?  It's not just annoying, it carries real health risks. Snoring is caused by the relaxation of the tissue in your mouth and throat. Specifically the palate and uvula.  This can block the airway and flap around as you breath.  That makes the snoring sound. There are a few things that can provoke snoring.  Laying on your back might trigger it as your tongue slides back.  Obesity can bring snoring because you get a lot of extra tissue around your neck. Drugs and alcohol can play a role because they can relax the tissue even further. Some of the health risks of snoring include sleep deprivation and oxygen deprivation. Some studies also show an increased risk of stroke and damage to your arteries due to the vibration. Some people will choose a surgical remedy, but that's risky because you can get scar tissue that may further restrict the airway. There are b

Falling is a leading cause of injury death. Only car accidents kill more people. But is it possible to survive a fall from an airplane?  It's happened a few times. Popular Mechanics did a bunch of research on this, and they found some surprising things. There are a few things you can do if you fall out of the plane. First, choose a target. You have some ability to steer yourself in the air. Look for something that may help your landing. Snow, mud, swamp, etc.  Avoid concrete and avoid water. Water doesn't compress. It's very dangerous. Assume a free fall position the way you see skydivers do it. Keeping your arms and legs out will help slow you down and steer a bit. Just before impact go feet first. Your legs essentially become a crumple zone. There are actually verified stories of people who survived falls from airplane height. Vesna Vulovic was traveling over Czecholslovakia in 1972 when the DC-9 in which she was a passenger blew up. She fell 33,000 feet. She survived by landing on a snowy incline. Alan McG

Ethan Millard is joined this episode by Rebecca Cressman of FM100 KSFI in Salt Lake City. Have you ever poked your finger in there?  Really crammed it down? Feels weird, right? There's a reason for that. All placental mammals have navels. It's the point of contact for the umbilical cord which handles all nutrient and waste issues for a developing fetus. The navel is essentially a scar. When you poke your finger in there really deep, you stimulate some nerves that your brain interprets as being somewhere around your bladder. Do you have an innie or an outie? Most people have innies.  That's also what people prefer aesthetically. Whether you get one or the other has to do with the way the scar tissue forms. It's not determined by the way doctors cut or clamp the umbilical cord. Graham Barker has been collecting his navel lint (also called navel fluff) since 1984. He stores it in little jars and in 2000 the Guinness Book of World Records declared his collection to be the largest of all the navel fluff collection

Stuff Your Dad Knows host Ethan Millard talks about how you get altitude sickness and how to treat it to make sure it doesn't turn deadly. Stuff Your Dad Knows is hosted by Ethan Millard. What do you do when your children hit you up with crazy questions  Do you know the answer? Do you just pretend? Kids are smart, so this podcast empowers parents to answer those tough questions and stay at the top of the family food chain. If you want to be more efficient, just listen to the podcast with your children present. Then you don't have to be the information middle man. Family harmony is our goal! If you want to ask a question, use #stuffyourdadknows and Ethan will answer it for you! Follow him @EthanMillardKSL on Twitter. 

Stuff Your Dad Knows host Ethan Millard welcomes a new guest co host, Emily. They're... close. The two talk about whether or not cracking your knuckles is really a problem or if it's just something you can totally do with no regrets. Stuff Your Dad Knows is hosted by Ethan Millard. What do you do when your children hit you up with crazy questions? Do you know the answer? Do you just pretend? Kids are smart, so this podcast empowers parents to answer those tough questions and stay at the top of the family food chain. If you want to be more efficient, just listen to the podcast with your children present. Then you don't have to be the information middle man. Family harmony is our goal! If you want to ask a question, use #stuffyourdadknows and Ethan will answer it for you! Follow him @EthanMillardKSL on Twitter.  

Stuff Your Dad Knows host Ethan Millard is joined by KSL News Radio's Joe Davis to talk about the history and use of swear words. They also talk about how much emotion they convey, which is probably why they're so prevalent. Stuff Your Dad Knows is hosted by Ethan Millard. What do you do when your children hit you up with crazy questions? Do you know the answer? Do you just pretend? Kids are smart, so this podcast empowers parents to answer those tough questions and stay at the top of the family food chain. If you want to be more efficient, just listen to the podcast with your children present. Then you don't have to be the information middle man. Family harmony is our goal! If you want to ask a question, use #stuffyourdadknows and Ethan will answer it for you! Follow him @EthanMillardKSL on Twitter.

Stuff Your Dad Knows host Ethan Millard interviews Mike Peters of The Alarm. Afflicted with cancer, Mike has established the Love Hope Strength Foundation to promote blood transfusions and bone marrow transplant. Ethan and Mike talk about cancer, and how to take the symptoms seriously and get early treatment. They also talk about Mike's music past. He was inspired by the Sex Pistols and even asked Johnny Rotten himself what anarchy meant. Mike has toured with some major acts including U2 and Bob Dylan. Stuff Your Dad Knows is hosted by Ethan Millard. What do you do when your children hit you up with crazy questions? Do you know the answer? Do you just pretend? Kids are smart, so this podcast empowers parents to answer those tough questions and stay at the top of the family food chain. If you want to be more efficient, just listen to the podcast with your children present. Then you don't have to be the information middle man  Family harmony is our goal! If you want to ask a question, use #stuffyourdadknows and

Hiccups are a spasm of the diaphragm muscles coupled with a closing of the vocal chords. There are a few theories as to why they happen, but mostly people want to know how to make them stop. Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed way to get them to stop. You can try holding your breath, sucking a lemon. Almost anything that interrupts the spasms may work. If they persist, you may have a medical problem. Neurological damage can cause hiccups.  Christopher Sands from UK had hiccups for more than two years.  Turns out a brain tumor was the cause. A doctor successfully treated the tumor and the hiccups went away. The Guinness Book of World Records records that Charles Osborne of Ohio holds the record for longest bout of hiccups. It lasted from 1922 to 1990. Rough life. Stuff Your Dad Knows is hosted by Ethan Millard. What do you do when your children hit you up with crazy questions? Do you know the answer? Do you just pretend? Kids are smart, so this podcast empowers parents to answer those tough questions and sta

Your kid may ask you what the world's smallest animal is. That's actually a trick question. It depends on how you define "animal". For example there is a type of wasp that is smaller even than some unicellular organisms. Host Ethan Millard and visiting co host Gary Michaels of 103.5 The Arrow figured out that what kids want is the smallest animal they can relate to on some level. They figured that has to be the Etruscan Shrew, which is furry and adorable and can fit on the end of your finger. The world's largest animal is an easier thing to explain. It's a blue whale. Period. Stuff Your Dad Knows is hosted by Ethan Millard.  What do you do when your children hit you up with crazy questions? Do you know the answer? Do you just pretend? Kids are smart, so this podcast empowers parents to answer those tough questions and stay at the top of the family food chain. If you want to be more efficient, just listen to the podcast with your children present. Then you don't have to be the information middle man. Family ha

Have your children ever looked up and wondered why birds survived perching on live power lines? Have you ever wondered Ethan Millard and Taylor Powers talk about the phenomenon. No, the wire is not insulated. For the most part, power lines are not insulated and that's why downed power lines are so dangerous. The bird is not harmed because electricity flows from areas of high energy to low energy and that can be accomplished if the bird reaches out a wing and touches another line or touches the ground or the electrical pole which is rooted in the ground. Humans are hurt and killed because when they touch the line they are always touching the ground or something that is connected to the ground. Ethan and Taylor also talk about why electricity hurts your body so badly. Human tissue puts up a lot of resistance to electricity and that resistance generates heats and can burn a person badly. The current also triggers false positives in a body's own electrical impulse system, triggering muscle spasms and even stoppin

Your kids are going to want to know why people lie.  Maybe they'll want to know why YOU lie. You totally do, everyone does. In this episode, Ethan Millard and visiting co- host Rebecca Cressman of FM100.3 talk about why people lie, how people lie, and how to deal with it when your kids try it. Lying is something that happens across the animal kingdom. Wolves will conduct feints to mislead prey and killdeer will pretend to be injured to lure predators away from a vulnerable nest. Humans have a whole spectrum of deception. From the "little white lie" to exaggeration, bluffing, and others, we have lots of ways to manipulate information and belief to our advantage. There are a lot of reasons people lie. Often it's because people don't want to disappoint each other. But what do you do if someone, maybe your child, is lying and won't cop to it even when it's obvious? David J. Ley, PhD wrote in Psychology Today that sometimes a lie indicates an issue of critical importance to the person lying.  That may be the reaso

We all get them: ear worms.  The songs that get stuck playing over and over in our heads.  Ethan Millard and visiting co- host Jon Carter of 103.5 The Arrow take a look at all available information on the subject and discuss how to get rid of them when they strike. They talk about where ear worms come from and how they usually represent tunes that we like even if we won't admit it. Also discussed are some ways to combat ear worms and get them out of our heads. Dr Ira Hyman of Western Washington University believes that for most people, solving anagrams can cure an ear worm. Anagrams are words that can spell other words with the same letters.  For example, cinema and iceman. If you really suffer from ear worms, there could be a few other explanations.  You might want to talk to your doctor about OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  There is some research to suggest that ear worms are a feature of obsessive thought. You may also be suffering from "Tetris Effect", which happens when you over play video games.  Y

Your child may complain about sleeping, but this episode of Stuff Your Dad Knows will give you some ammunition. Sleep is important for cataloguing memories. It's when your brain does its filing and storage. Brian Foxx of FM100.3 joined Ethan Millard for this episode and they also discussed how people in the past slept. A few generations ago, it was much more common for people to sleep in two large blocks of about four hours separated by a waking break of a few hours. The use of street and indoor lighting prompted people to stay up later, squeezing the two blocks into one. Stuff Your Dad Knows is hosted by Ethan Millard.  What do you do when your children hit you up with crazy questions?  Do you know the answer?  Do you just pretend?  Kids are smart, so this podcast empowers parents to answer those tough questions and stay at the top of the family food chain.  If you want to be more efficient, just listen to the podcast with your children present.  Then you don't have to be the information middle man.  Family

Your kid asked for a drink of your caffeinated soda. This happens to every parent. Reflexively you say no, mumbling something about caffeine. But what if your child has a follow up question? What do you say? Can you really say that caffeine is dangerous for kids? This episode, Ethan Millard is joined by Blair Carter of FM100.3 & The Arrow 103.5FM They discuss the effect caffeine can have on your body. Caffeine does affect children's bodies, increasing their blood pressure and at higher doses, increasing their heart rate. But it's not clear what long term damage there is, if any, to children consuming caffeine. Most parents will be naturally cautious enough to object to their children ingesting high amounts of caffeine, but lots of kids will use it in small amounts. Caffeine is generally regarded as safe to use, but it is possible to fatally overdose.  Online you can buy pure caffeine powder. Some buy this as a supplement, and put it in shakes and other things. One tablespoon of pure caffeine powder will k

How long can you go without food or water? Every curious kid will eventually want to know. An easy answer can be cribbed from the survival world: The Rule of 3's 3min without air- Death 3hrs in extreme weather with no shelter or warmth- Death 3dys with no water- Death 3wks with no food- Death That's the quick answer. But not everyone's body will follow this timeline. For example, Stig Severinsen of Denmark holds the Guinness World Record for holding a breath under water. 22 minutes. Obviously that's way more than 3. There's no world record for going without food or water. But there is a lot of variation in survival. Hunger strikes can often go over a month, and one striker from India is claimed to have gone 116 days. Bhagat Singh was a revolutionary socialist and while in prison he participated in a hunger strike that was reported to have lasted 116 days. There's no way to know if he had a little help extending the effort, but he did survive it only to be executed in 1931 at the age of 23. Stuff Your Dad Kn

Ethan Millard is joined by Rebecca Cressman, midday host at FM100.3. Ethan comes from a family of big heads. They have big heads. A few of them have ridiculously big heads. It's a family trait. His parents always said "big head, big brains". Is that true? Is your brain big because your head is big? And does that make you smarter? Of course a larger brain would require more space in a larger skull, but a large head could also be caused by thicker bone or a lot of musculature. Our heads are full of muscles. That can make your head look bigger. Researchers at the University of Tennessee did a study and found that human skulls are larger than they were in 1825. Our heads have grown 1/3 inch taller and have about a tennis ball worth of extra brain space. Some scientists believe that our modern lifestyle has done this. Humans enjoy more calories and less strenuous work today than in 1825. Another theory is that because of modern medicine, more large headed babies are born. In 1825, a lot of large heads would have f

April Fool's Day is celebrated across the world. It's not always on April 1st, but most cultures have some sort of celebration in which mischief, jokes, and fun take over. Some researchers claim the practice dates to ancient Rome and the Hilaria-festival. A multi day festival that included a lot of fun, different foods, and of course, ritual flogging and whipping (what's ancient Rome without violence, right?) In this episode, Ethan Millard is joined by Heather Johnson, host of the FM100.3 podcast Be Smart Be Safe. Definitely check it out. The two talk about how participating in April Fool's Day can actually be a positive thing in your life because laughing is good for you! The Mayo Clinic says laughing can: Stimulate your organs with a larger intake of oxygen rich air, soothe tension, improve your immune system, relieve pain, and improve your mood. Ethan and Heather also note how much the media has embraced April Fool's Day. In 1998, radio hosts Opie and Anthony (then of WAAF Boston) had everyone believing Bo

The type of earwax you have indicates whether or not you have smelly armpits!  It's true! The gene that brings you wet, sticky earwax is also responsible for the excretion of a protein with your sweat under your arms. It's that protein that attracts bacteria and STINKS! Lots of people around the world actually have dry, flaky earwax. They don't have that same protein secreted under their arms and so they don't stink so much. That's just one of the interesting things covered in this episode by Ethan Millard and his guest co- host Sue Kelley of 103.5 The Arrow, Utah's Classic Rock. Believe it or not there are also a few household uses for earwax.  In the past, it's been used in sewing to keep cut thread from fraying. It was also an early ointment for small cuts.  It's even been reported to have been used as a lip balm.  Do we need to mention that none of these statements have been evaluated by the FDA etc etc...? As you could probably guess, your earwax protects your ears. It originates well inside your ear can

Your kids are going to try chewing their nails. And even though you parents do it too, you'll feel obliged to discourage your children from the habit. Ethan Millard and Brian Foxx have some ammunition for you: You can spread disease. You're putting unwashed fingers in your mouth! You can also damage the tissue around your nail and that can lead to a gross infection. You can also spread things like warts across your fingers. It's also socially damaging. People get grossed out by it. They also chat about some other interesting features of nails including that the health and features of the nail can indicate illness in other parts of the body. In fact, white stripes across the nail bed may indicate kidney problems! Your fingernails can also show if you've been poisoned or if you are nutrient deficient. Lots of people want their nails to grow faster, but human nails grow at about 3mm per month. Your middle finger will usually grow fastest and your pinkey toe will usually grow the slowest. Stuff Your Dad Knows is