Hey, smarty pants and smarty families.
So today I was supposed to bring you the sad news that this would be the last day of our special happy birthday.
50 off Who Smarted Plus subscription.
But guess what?
With Thanksgiving and Black Friday coming up, I just had to extend it another couple of weeks.
So now you have until the end of November to sign up for Who Smarted Plus and get an entire year of smarting ad free, including a brand new subscriber only bonus episode every single week.
That's right.
For just 166 a month, you'll be supporting the show and giving the gift of smarting to the smarty pants in your life, just in time for the holidays.
You can't even get a decent slice of pizza for $1.66.
So what do you say?
Go to our website, whosmarted.com, and click birthday subscribe today.
That's whosmarted.com, click birthday subscribe.
This is only available on our website at whosmarted.com.
You are smart.
And I and all your friends at Who Smarted will be glad you did.
Thanks and happy holidays.
Hey, Smarty Pants.
Welcome to another exciting episode of Smarty Q, where I, the trusty narrator, answer questions from you, the Smarty Pants.
This week, we've got some sharp ones, some spooky ones, and even a musical mystery.
Let's go.
Our first question comes from Oliver, who asks, why are shark teeth so sharp?
Fintastic question, Oliver.
Sharks need sharp teeth because they are predators that eat fish, seals and sometimes even larger prey.
Their teeth are designed to slice, tear, and grip slippery animals.
Also, sharks have multiple rows of teeth.
When one tooth breaks or falls out, another one moves forward like on a conveyor belt.
A shark might go through tens of thousands of teeth in its lifetime.
And because they're made of dentin, like your teeth, but coated in super strong enamel, they stay razor sharp for chomping.
Next, Kai in Toronto asks, why are cats afraid of water?
Believe it or not, Kai, not all cats hate water, but many do.
And here's why.
Cats evolved in dry, desert-like areas, so they didn't grow up around rivers or lakes the way some animals did.
That means swimming wasn't part of their natural survival skills.
Their fur also doesn't dry quickly, so getting wet makes them feel heavy, cold, and uncomfortable.
Plus, many cats simply don't like surprises, and a splash of water is definitely surprising.
That said, some cats actually love water, like the Turkish van breed, also known as the swimming cat.
Who knew?
Okay, our next question comes from Emmy in Toronto, who asks why, when people get married, is the man usually older than the woman.
Fascinating question, Emmy.
This tends to come down more to social traditions and averages, not biology.
Across many cultures, men often marry women who are a little younger.
Some reasons include history.
In the past, men were expected to be the main earners.
Waiting longer before marriage gave them more time to build careers or wealth. social norms.
People once believed women should marry up in age, education or money, an idea called hypergamy or biology in averages.
On average, women live longer than men, so some couples may naturally have an age gap.
Of course, today things are changing a lot, and lots of couples are the same age or the woman is older than the man.
Remember, marriage is more about love and partnership than age.
Okay, we've still got two great questions to come, including one about a spooky blood moon.
We'll answer these right after a quick break and a word from our sponsor, Squarespace's Blueprint AI thing literally built me a custom website in minutes.
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Welcome back.
Our next question comes from Spotify commenter VM Brown, who asks, what is a blood moon?
Ooh, a perfect fall question.
A blood moon happens during a total lunar eclipse.
That's when the Earth moves directly between the sun and the moon.
Instead of going completely dark, the moon looks red or orange.
Why?
Because sunlight bends through Earth's atmosphere on its way to the moon.
Our atmosphere filters out blue light and lets red light pass through, which then reflects onto the moon.
That's why it's called a blood moon.
Not because the moon changes, but because Earth's atmosphere is tinting the light.
And finally, I've had several smarty pants, including Dylan and her dad, Dave in California and Joey in Chicago, asking why do leaves change color, turn brown or curl up and fall off the trees in autumn, aka the fall?
Great question, everybody.
As you've noticed, something amazing happens every year.
Trees burst into color and then lose their leaves.
But why does this happen?
Well, for starters, trees are smart.
During spring and summer, leaves act like tiny solar panels.
They use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make food for the tree through photosynthesis.
The green color you see comes from a chemical called chlorophyll, which captures sunlight.
When fall arrives, the days get shorter and the temperatures drop.
The tree senses winter is coming, a time when there's less sunlight and water available.
So to save energy, it starts to shut down food production.
The chlorophyll breaks down and fades away.
And that's when the other colors hiding underneath, the yellows, oranges, and reds, start to show.
As the tree finishes preparing for winter, it forms a thin layer of cells between each leaf and its branch.
This layer slowly cuts off water and nutrients, which causes the leaf to dry out, turn brown and curl up.
Eventually, the connection weakens, and plop! the leaf falls off.
That's how trees protect themselves during cold months, by going into a kind of a hibernation until spring.
So Dylan Dave, Joey and all you smarty pants listening, when you see a forest glowing with fall colors or leaves crunching under your feet, you're watching trees get ready for winter.
There you have it.
Another amazing episode of SmartyQ.
If you have a question you'd like answered, just email me at whosmarted at whosmarted.com.
Until next time, keep on smarting, smarty pants.
