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The Rest Is Science

Nikola Tesla Fell In Love with a Pigeon

6/3/202636 min

What do lightning, wireless electricity, Cambridge dining etiquette, hypnosis, and a lovestruck pigeon have in common? The answer is (of course) Nikola Tesla. In this episode of The Rest Is Science: Field Notes, Michael and Hannah experience a real Tesla coil, exploring the spectacular physics behind one of Tesla's most famous inventions. Why do these devices create miniature lightning storms? How did Tesla dream of delivering wireless electricity to the entire planet? But there was a stranger side to Tesla's life too, from his fear of pearls to the heartfelt story of the white pigeon he claimed to love "as a man loves a woman." Plus, your questions: the science of hypnosis, the oldest symbols still in use today, why Cambridge professors have personal napkin rings, and whether ‘nothing’ can ever truly exist.

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Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek Animator: Sam Benson Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe Producer: Simona Rata Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter Head Of Digital: Samuel Oakley Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clips

Hypnosis Acid Test Refusal
Tesla’s Earth-Power Ambition
First Spark Surprise
AI Echoes Electricity Revolution
Ham Sandwich Logic Lesson

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Michael Stevens· Host0:00

    Hello, and welcome to The Rest is Science. I'm Michael Stevens.

  2. Hannah Fry· Host0:02

    I'm Hannah Fry, and this is an episode of Field Notes, which is where Michael and I empty our houses of any old scientific-linked crap that we've got lying around and bring it to you for your entertainment.

  3. Michael Stevens· Host0:12

    You're welcome.

  4. Hannah Fry· Host0:13

    I'm speaking out of turn here. These are all carefully curated objects that, uh, that are genuine scientific interest.

  5. Michael Stevens· Host0:19

    Very true.

  6. Hannah Fry· Host0:19

    Um, and today I'm bringing in an object that was given to me as a gift by Romesh Ranganathan.

  7. Michael Stevens· Host0:24

    Oh.

  8. Hannah Fry· Host0:24

    It's right here.

  9. Michael Stevens· Host0:25

    The comedian.

  10. Hannah Fry· Host0:26

    The comedian, the, the brilliant comedian. He, um, he gives a gift to, uh, every guest who appears on his podcast. This is what he gave me. Uh, I would say it is somewhere between extremely boring and potentially lethal. So, um- I love that ... that's what we've got coming up. [Instrumental music] This episode is brought to you by Cancer Research UK.

  11. Michael Stevens· Host0:53

    Here's something strange. Your DNA contains more ancient viral fragments than genes. The genes that build our cells make up only 2% of our DNA, and for years, that is what scientists focused on. They treated the rest, the ancient viruses and stuff, as junk.

  12. Hannah Fry· Host1:13

    But now we know that that hidden majority, sometimes called the dark genome, influences how our biology works and how diseases like cancer behave.

  13. Michael Stevens· Host1:24

    It's a reminder that progress rarely comes as a single breakthrough. It builds gradually. Cancer

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