Happy Dinosaur Week! Every episode this week explores the ancient marvels that walked the Earth millions of years ago. Fossilized bones and footprints help scientists figure out what these prehistoric creatures looked like – but how do we know what they sounded like? We asked paleontologist and science journalist Shaena Montanari to help us find the answer. Got a question that makes you want to roar in frustration? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find a dino-mite answer.   

Quick! Imagine a beaver. Did you picture a furry, water-loving creature with long teeth and a pancake-flat tail? Us, too! A beaver’s thick, wide tail is one of its most iconic features, but why does it have one? We asked naturalist and science communicator Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really gnawing at you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact – we wood love to help you answer it!

“Junk food” is a term you might have heard before that refers to foods that have a lot of calories but not much nutritional value - like cookies, candy and chips. But why does food that is often referred to as “junk” taste anything like junk, and what’s up with that term anyway? We asked registered dietitian Eva Haldis to help us find the answer. Got a question that makes you snicker? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and – donut worry – we’ll help you out. 

Human babies are born not knowing how to do a whole lot, besides eating, crying and pooping. But frog babies are born with a special power - they can jump really high! So how do they do it? We asked naturalist Lucy Lapwing to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s toad-ally confusing? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll hop to it!

Have you ever wondered why cats make that delightful, soft rumbling sound? Is it because they’re happy? Relaxed? Trying desperately to tell us it’s dinnertime? We asked animal expert Courtney Daigle to help us find the answer.    Got a question that’s just purr-fect for Moment of Um? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, because we’re feline pretty paw-sitive that we can help.