Not all of us can cozy up by the fire to brave the winter weather. Curiosity.com's Ashley Hamer joins Cheddar to answer how insects survive the cold and more of your burning winter questions. She says bugs adopt a variety of tactics, from flying south, to hibernating, to suicide.
Did you know you can tell the temperature by listening to a cricket's chirps? Hamer discusses the mathematical formula that determines how cold it is based on the speed of the insect's vocal intervals.She explains when you can use this method, and why it'd ever be useful.
Finally, we ask Hamer why people get sick when the seasons change. Climate fluctuation can cause the body to react in unexpected ways, like coming down with a common cold or the flu. The podcast host also tells us why sound carries farther when it's cold outside.
Maui residents who made desperate escapes from oncoming flames, some on foot, asked why Hawaii’s famous emergency warning system didn’t alert them as fires raced toward their homes.
Water infrastructure across the country is vulnerable as climate change makes storms more unpredictable and destructive, flooding low-lying drinking water treatment plants and overwhelming coastal sewage systems.