Movies use this one musical trick to make you feel miserable
What is the strangest thing you learned this week? Either way, we promise you’ll get an even weirder answer if you listen Popular scienceis the hit podcast. The strangest thing I learned this week comes to Spotify, YouTube, Apple and everywhere else you listen to podcasts every other Wednesday morning. It’s your new favorite source for the weirdest facts, figures, and Wikipedia spirals our editors can muster. If you like the stories in this article, we guarantee you will love the series.
FACT: This musical motif works like an emotional cheat code.
By Jess Boddy
So I played a lot of Hollow Knight: Song of Silk last year. And if you’ve played or even watched any of this game, you’ll recognize the central motif embedded throughout the game’s soundtrack. In fact, it may even sound familiar if you’ve never played Song of Silk at all. That’s because this motif is actually an 800-year-old Latin chant called “Dies irae.”
After touring the Catholic church as part of funeral requiems, he turned to secular music and eventually to cinema. Most memorable, the opening of The shiny copies the exact melody of this ancient church song. But composers also include it in less visibly threatening film scores, such as Star Wars, The Lion King, Shrekand hundreds of others. (Another more recent example is Frozen 2.)
Of course, this is also found in video games like Song of Silk-And Ancient Ring, The Witcher 3and many others. I was curious Why This often four-note pattern is so common that I interviewed a musicology professor at Berklee College of Music. It helped me understand why this motif seems so sad, both contextually, psychologically and sonically. Listen to the full episode to hear the motive and see for yourself how sad it is! (And also keep an eye out for my next YouTube video essay on the subject!)
FACT: A roller coaster ‘thoosie’ on the latest advances in amusement park technology
By Grant O’Brien
This week’s episode features special guest Grant O’Brien, who you’ve probably seen on the Dropout streaming network.
The last time Grant joined us The strangest thingwe broke the format to ask him about some weird historical gossip:
Dropout TV’s Lily and Grant talk presidential possums, Napoleon’s penis, and two-level toilets
This time we let Grant unleash on his favorite nerdy fixation: roller coasters. Watch this week’s episode to learn about the hottest new tech features in roller coaster design and why it has some notes for the people who designed Falcon’s Flight.
Front row POV of the falcon’s flight | NEW 600-foot, 155 mph roller coaster at Six Flags Qiddiya City
FACT: This disabled bird is the dominant male in his flock
By Rachel Feltman
Here’s a riddle for you: what do you call a bird with a broken beak? An alpha male, apparently.
This is the story of a kea, a species of alpine parrot native to New Zealand, named Bruce. Bruce made the media rounds a few years ago because of his unique methods of coping with the lack of a top beak. After losing this seemingly necessary part of himself, the researchers found, he found new ways to incorporate tools into his care and feeding routine. Bruce was thriving! What a wholesome story.
A new study sheds light on some arguably less adorable, but in my opinion no less inspiring, behaviors from Bruce. Long story short, this disabled parrot uses its half-beak to stab its opponents. And it works really well. In fact, researchers studying Bruce say he is the dominant male of his herd (or “circus,” to use the correct term for a group of cheeky kea) by just about every metric they could measure. Far from being sidelined because of his undeniable handicap, Bruce has basically invented a method of combat so foreign to his peers that they don’t know how to beat him.
Meet Bruce the Beak Jouster
You can read more about Bruce’s innovative punches here.
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