Most expecting women ask their doctors whether it's okay to eat blue cheese, or have the odd glass of wine, while they're pregnant. Or maybe whether to stay away from fish, because of the mercury. When she was pregnant with her daughter several years ago, though, MythBusters' Kari Byron took her maternal Q & A to a whole different level.
"I'd be going to my doctor saying, 'All right, so, when do I have to stop shooting guns because she has ears?'" recalls Byron on this week’s episode. "And the doctor would say, 'Hmm, I have never, ever had that question before. I'll get back to you.' I come back a little later: 'How far away do I need to be from an explosion of this much C-4?' 'Huh, I've never had that question asked. I have no idea, I don't even know where to refer you right now, I'll get back to you.'"
As a co-host of arguably the most successful science-based show on television, Byron has developed a reputation as a courageous and fun-loving guide to testing the truth behind so many ideas that we take for granted.
On Inquiring Minds this week, we talk to Byron about Mythbusters, bear repellents, zombie escapes, and how an artist can make you love science.
This episode also features a report by Mother Jones' Brett Brownell on our growing ability to detect extra-solar planets, and a discussion of, yes, the myth that antioxidant vitamins protect against cancer.
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