14: Domesticating Foxes, The Oldest Potted Plant, and Crosswords

7th April 2022

Could you domesticate a fox, and what even IS domestication? What is the oldest potted plant, and, wait, what does Caroline mean by that question? And how did Tom go from hating crosswords to loving them?

Episode notes

Could you domesticate a fox, and what even IS domestication? What is the oldest potted plant, and, wait, what does Caroline mean by that question? And how did Tom go from hating crosswords to loving them?

The photo we mention of Mecta the Fox Pup

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We also learn about: the first domesticated animals, one of Darwin’s sequels, floppy ears, domestication syndrome, the fox bachelor, the neural crest cell hypothesis, our version of Behind the Bastards, cited comment critiques, we all just want to learn, I’ve never seen a plant in the middle ages, we completely misinterpret the question, ella’s old man wisdom, a plant older than america, the anxious keepers of the oldest potted plant, crosswords were a fad, we were always insufferable, relearnig ocular immunity, crossword fuckery, “thirsty” well shortz, what is and isn’t general knowledge? and bad jokes with friends.

Sources:

A New Origin Story for Dogs

Dog Domestication and the Dual Dispersal of People and Dogs into the Americas

Genomic and archaeological evidence suggest a dual origin of domestic dogs

The Silver Fox Domestication Experiment

Early Canid Domestication: interplay between behavioral genetics and development

Red Fox Genomic Regions Associated with Tame Behaviours

The “Domestication Syndrome” in Mammals: Neural Crest Cell Behavior and Genetics

The History of Farm Foxes Undermines the Animal Domestication Syndrome

The History Of Houseplants

Penjing

Kew Gardens

South African Encephalartos Species

Cycad Palm, Ursula Bucham

New York Times History of the Crossword

Margaret Farrar

Yes, You Can Write More Than One Letter in a Square

NYTimes Scumbag Controversy

The Hidden Bigotry of Crosswords

How Will Shortz Edits a New York Times Crossword Puzzle (Lorelai)

DownForAcross

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Science communicators Ella Hubber, Tom Lum, and Caroline Roper share anything and everything interesting! Each episode they teach each other about a science topic, answer a question, and learn about a miscellaneous topic. Whether it’s temporal illusions, animals in space, or the history of fanfiction, there’s so much out there, so let’s learn everything! Join us on Discord, email us, and follow us everywhere at LetsLearnEverythingPod.com.

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