October 13, 2014

EP. 50 — Babies: Cuddly Idiots or Evil Super-Geniuses?

We love babies, and we’re also horrified by all that they imply. Babies can’t eat on their own or hold their heads up, and they go to the bathroom in their pants like drunken little monsters. But science is beginning to show that there may be a lot more going on in their heads than we had previously thought. Scientists have found that babies are surprisingly good at emotional manipulation. Even more frightening,they’ve found evidence of racism in babies. It gets crazier: the very scent of a baby is a powerful drug with mind-altering effects on their parent’s brains.

 

In a live taping at the LA Podfest, Cracked writers Jack O’Brien, Dan O’Brien, Soren Bowie and Michael Swaim discuss the weird things we don’t know about the psychology and physiology of babies. Did you know babies have extra bones? Or that babies from different countries cry in different languages? Throw on your headphones and click play above to learn all that and much more.

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Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/5-parts-u.s.-economy-that-are-stranger-than-you-think

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Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/9-times-pop-culture-accidentally-taught-people-to-save-lives/