Introducing “Nobody Cares”, a segment about things that probably nobody else cares about but I think are cool.
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Back at my previous company, I used to have these moments during our regular brainstorms where I would pitch a story on something I thought was fascinating. Barefoot therapy is purportedly good for your health, let’s investigate it! Or, I want to learn everything about making kefir! Or (on particularly uninspired days) did you know kale and broccoli and cabbage are all the same species of plant???
And my boss would look at me, exasperated, and say, “NOBODY CARES, DAVELLE.”
She had a point.
So I gathered up my failed ideas and brought them home to my older brother who humoured me by adding to them his own useless bits of information. It was a dynamic that kept me going because there’s nothing like the affirmation of somebody who used to torture you as a child to lessen the sting of rejection by the outside world.
Then one day, I had an idea.
“Wouldn’t it be fun if we recorded our conversations?”
My brother shrugged. He didn’t really care.
And that’s how we ended up with this. I’m currently on vacation in Europe, so I figured I’d publish one of the first recordings we did for our own amusement. In it, we talk about curious underwater inventions of questionable effectiveness.
First, we discuss the US military’s top-secret shark repellent development programme in the 1940s and 50s. Then, we dive into (hurhur, get it?) the world of gun modification, and how an average joe built his own DIY underwater firearm.
Show Notes:
For more information on shark repellent and other zany research projects conducted by the US military to keep its soldiers safe, check out GRUNT: The Curious Science of Humans at War, by Mary Roach.
Find the video of Courtland Hunt and his underwater glock, here, and the full story on Florida’s iguana infestation, here.
Theme music by Lee Zhe Ren.
Some Scuffs | Mental Health and Wellbeing in Singapore 