In April, 2010, we did a segment on the concept of the mesofact, a certain kind of data point that feels fixed even though it’s actually always slowly changing. And we’ve gone back to the idea every now and again ever since.

This hour, a look at three things about the world that changed pretty dramatically while you were thinking about other stuff.

Hey, did you know there’s a fifth ocean now? Hey, did you know that you can put hot food right into your fridge now? Hey, did you know that goldfish are actually pretty smart?

Those kinds of things.

GUESTS:

• Andrea Barnes: A writer at Wirecutter covering large cleaning appliances and laundry
• Liam McCabe: A writer at Wirecutter covering home improvement
• Cait Newport: An associate professor at the University of Oxford, where she leads the Animal Perception and Cognition Group
• Alex Tait: The Geographer at the National Geographic Society

Music featured (in order):

• Things Change – Venus
• It Ain’t Necessarily So – Jaimee Paul
• Rock the Boat – Hues Corporation
• Washing Dishes – G. Love and Special Sauce
• Money for Nothing – Dire Straits
• Goldfish – Fionn