Monster Month: Ghosts!

It’s ba-ack! Fear Month is back from the dead in a hideous new form: Monster Month! This week we’re busting out the Ouija board and summoning forth some Ghostly science knowledge from beyond this earthly plane! 

Follow us on Twitter @SciShowTangents, where we’ll tweet out topics for upcoming episodes and you can ask the science couch questions! 

While you're at it, check out the Tangents crew on Twitter: Stefan: @itsmestefanchin Ceri: @ceriley Sam: @slamschultz Hank: @hankgreen

If you want to learn more about any of our main topics, check out these links:

[Truth or Fail]

Bioluminescent/reflective animals

https://www.owlpages.com/owls/articles.php?a=18

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2014.0206

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/07/150724-fireflies-glow-bugs-summer-nation-science/

Marsh gases

https://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i38/George-Washington-Scientist.html

https://www.popsci.com/jack-o-lanterns-marsh-lights/

https://discovernjhistory.org/magical-mud-microbes-and-methane/

https://www.nj.gov/state/historical/it-happened-here/ihhnj-er-first-science-ex.pdf

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/rocky-hill-experiment/

Pepper's ghost illusion

https://cosmosmagazine.com/physics/the-science-behind-the-pepper-s-ghost-illusion/

http://www.theatrecrafts.com/pages/home/glossary-of-technical-theatre-terms/more-about-peppers-ghost/

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/aekye5/the-science-behind-the-worlds-most-convincing-ghost-effect

[Fact Off]

Feeling of presence ghost robot

https://www.wired.com/2014/11/robot-ghost/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-robot-messes-with-your-brain-until-you-feel-a-ghostly-presence/

Ghost fleas and mercury

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/ghost-fleas-bring-toxic-mercury-depths-prairie-lakes

https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/26294/20200701/ghost-fleas-act-mercury-elevators-bring-toxin-up-depths-lake.htm

[Ask the Science Couch]

EMF readers

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/11/the-broken-technology-of-ghost-hunting/506627/

https://www.livescience.com/4261-shady-science-ghost-hunting.html

https://io9.gizmodo.com/meet-the-emf-meter-the-little-tool-that-ghost-hunters-5875212