On May 14, 1945, Albert Stevens was injected with 131 kBq (3.55 µCi) of plutonium - the highest known radiation dose in any human - without his knowledge or informed consent.

This is his story.

The Wholesome Show is Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant, proudly brought to you by The Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science!

On May 14, 1945, Albert Stevens was injected with 131 kBq (3.55 µCi) of plutonium - the highest known radiation dose in any human - without his knowledge or informed consent. This is his story. The Wholesome Show is Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant, proudly brought to you by The Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science!

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed. 

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed.

Science stories for people who sit up the back of…

The Wholesome Show

On May 14, 1945, Albert Stevens was injected with…

Injected With Plutonium

Besides unnecessary wars, assassinations and scandalous affairs, what comes to mind when you think about American presidents? The Oval Office, the Star-Spangled Banner, Air Force One, the official military salute… and of course golf.



With the exception of three presidents (Hoover, Truman and Carter), golf has been the presidential sport of choice throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. While Hoover avoided golf during the great depression (a bit rude while everyone was starving), others like Woodrow Wilson were fanatics, playing over 1600 rounds during his presidency. 



But when it comes to golf, there’s one President who brings a flair of colour to the green - and we’re not talking about the colour of his polo shirt. This president is renowned less for his golfing prowess and more for his boastful claims of golf accolades and notorious cheating habits. None other than Donald Trump.



SOURCES:
Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, by Rick Reilly
Does Trump lie about how good he is at golf? 5 cheating stories about the ex-president
Hand-in-cap
How Donald Trump Cheats at Golf, According to a Sportswriter: 'He Will Do Anything'
How golf explains Trump. Seriously.
Obama Golf Counter
The President’s club: How golf took over the White House
The Serial Golf Cheat in the White House
Trump Golf Count

Besides unnecessary wars, assassinations and scandalous affairs, what comes to mind when you think about American presidents? The Oval Office, the Star-Spangled Banner, Air Force One, the official military salute… and of course golf.
 
With the exception of three presidents (Hoover, Truman and Carter), golf has been the presidential sport of choice throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. While Hoover avoided golf during the great depression (a bit rude while everyone was starving), others like Woodrow Wilson were fanatics, playing over 1600 rounds during his presidency. 
 
But when it comes to golf, there’s one President who brings a flair of colour to the green - and we’re not talking about the colour of his polo shirt. This president is renowned less for his golfing prowess and more for his boastful claims of golf accolades and notorious cheating habits. None other than Donald Trump.
 
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Commander-Cheat-Explains-brilliant-bestseller-ebook/dp/B07LGFM8JP">Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, by Rick Reilly</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.indy100.com/politics/trump/donald-trump-golf-cheat-handicap-2659934249">Does Trump lie about how good he is at golf? 5 cheating stories about the ex-president</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand-in-cap">Hand-in-cap</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://people.com/donald-trump-cheats-golf-rick-reilly-claims-8621189">How Donald Trump Cheats at Golf, According to a Sportswriter: 'He Will Do Anything'</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/5/10/18524172/donald-trump-commander-in-cheat-rick-reilly">How golf explains Trump. Seriously.</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171229181219/http://obamagolfcounter.com/">Obama Golf Counter</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/20/sport/golf/golf-presidents-white-house/index.html">The President’s club: How golf took over the White House</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/donald-trump-the-serial-golf-cheat-in-the-white-house">The Serial Golf Cheat in the White House</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://trumpgolfcount.com/">Trump Golf Count</a></li>
</ul>

Why does Trump cheat at golf and why do people let him?

We all have our idiosyncrasies, those automatic things we do each day that form the way we are in the world. Whether we scrunch or fold, or leave the toilet seat up or down, these are things we do (or don’t do) automatically. Much like the urgent need to crap your dacks in a Japanese bookstore. 



That’s right, there is a significant portion of Japanese people who feel overcome by a heaving sensation in the rectal passage whilst browsing books. 



In 1985, 29-year-old Japanese woman, Mariko Aoki, contributed an article in the Hon no Zasshi or “Book Magazine” about her strong urge to defecate whenever she visited a bookstore. Surprisingly, a significant number of readers wrote to the editorial department to share their similar experiences. Who would have thought so many people had been fending back faeces in the fiction section?! Turns out a lot. 



CHAPTERS:

00:00 Idiosyncratic & Biological Habits

02:21 The Aoki Mariko Phenomenon 

08:07 Feature Article explains Book Bowel Tendency

12:13 Japanese Survey to Revitalise Bookstores

14:28 Millions suffer with Aoki Mariko Phenomenon 

21:11 Symptoms: Body Shivers & Unusual Urges

26:13 Psychiatrist Speculation: Hyper Response to Stress

33:27 The Wholesome Verdict: Psychological or Sociological Phenomenon?

37:49 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show



SOURCES:
What is “key in lock” syndrome? - Hands on Healthcare
A Doctor Explains Why Bookstores Make Some People Feel the Need to Poop
Bathrooms and Noble - The Current
https://web.archive.org/web/20120509063936/http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/national/news/CK2012042902000077.html
Mariko Aoki phenomenon - Wikipedia
Let’s Talk About Poop. Specifically: bookstore poop | by Judey Kalchik | Artisanal Article Machine | Medium
Mariko Aoki Phenomenon | The Daily Omnivore
The Mariko Aoki Phenomenon: When You Need To Poop After Entering A Book Store | Faculty of Medicine

We all have our idiosyncrasies, those automatic things we do each day that form the way we are in the world. Whether we scrunch or fold, or leave the toilet seat up or down, these are things we do (or don’t do) automatically. Much like the urgent need to crap your dacks in a Japanese bookstore. 
 
That’s right, there is a significant portion of Japanese people who feel overcome by a heaving sensation in the rectal passage whilst browsing books. 
 
In 1985, 29-year-old Japanese woman, Mariko Aoki, contributed an article in the Hon no Zasshi or “Book Magazine” about her strong urge to defecate whenever she visited a bookstore. Surprisingly, a significant number of readers wrote to the editorial department to share their similar experiences. Who would have thought so many people had been fending back faeces in the fiction section?! Turns out a lot. 
 
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Idiosyncratic &amp; Biological Habits
02:21 The Aoki Mariko Phenomenon 
08:07 Feature Article explains Book Bowel Tendency
12:13 Japanese Survey to Revitalise Bookstores
14:28 Millions suffer with Aoki Mariko Phenomenon 
21:11 Symptoms: Body Shivers &amp; Unusual Urges
26:13 Psychiatrist Speculation: Hyper Response to Stress
33:27 The Wholesome Verdict: Psychological or Sociological Phenomenon?
37:49 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show
 
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://hands-onhealthcare.com/what-is-key-in-lock-syndrome/">What is “key in lock” syndrome? - Hands on Healthcare</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.menshealth.com/health/a35767860/bookstores-poop-mariko-aoki-phenomenon-doctor-explains/">A Doctor Explains Why Bookstores Make Some People Feel the Need to Poop</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://thecurrentmsu.com/2022/06/28/bathrooms-and-noble/">Bathrooms and Noble - The Current</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120509063936/http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/national/news/CK2012042902000077.html">https://web.archive.org/web/20120509063936/http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/national/news/CK2012042902000077.html</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariko_Aoki_phenomenon">Mariko Aoki phenomenon - Wikipedia</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://medium.com/artisanal-article-machine/lets-talk-about-poop-117ced5f7ece">Let’s Talk About Poop. Specifically: bookstore poop | by Judey Kalchik | Artisanal Article Machine | Medium</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://thedailyomnivore.net/2020/09/27/mariko-aoki-phenomenon/">Mariko Aoki Phenomenon | The Daily Omnivore</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://forum.facmedicine.com/threads/the-mariko-aoki-phenomenon-when-you-need-to-poop-after-entering-a-book-store.64187/">The Mariko Aoki Phenomenon: When You Need To Poop After Entering A Book Store | Faculty of Medicine</a></li>
</ul>

Book Bowel Syndrome: When Words Truly Move You

Have you ever seen someone in public and you swear you know them from somewhere, you just can’t pick where? Are they an old school friend? The guy who delivers bread to your local cafe? You feel like you know them but it would probably be weird if you started a conversation. Well, that’s a glimpse into the life of a small percentage of the population who recognise with freakish accuracy every face they’ve ever seen. People with this extraordinary gift can find themselves in awkward social interactions due to their detailed memories of people they’ve actually never met. Yes, it can look a tad stalker-ish...



Yenny Seo is one of these unique people (not a stalker). From a young age, she demonstrated an uncanny ability to remember faces - strangers on the street she had seen weeks ago, extras in movies, every person in her university lectures and people in photos on her social media feed. She even caught a serial shoplifter by recognising his face on CCTV.



In 2017, Seo got curious about her skills and stumbled upon the University of New South Wales (UNSW) face test online quiz. Her exceptional performance put her in the top 0.05 per cent of all participants, confirming she was a Super Recogniser. That’s right. Yenny officially has superpowers. And she’s not alone either.



SOURCES:
The super-recognisers of Scotland Yard - New Statesman
‘I’d keep it on the down low’: the secret life of a super-recogniser | Science | The Guardian
Could super recognisers be the latest weapon in the war on terror? 2016 David James Robertson
Super-Recognisers in the Metropolitan Police
DJ Robertson et. al. February 2016 Face Recognition by Metropolitan Police Super-Recognisers PLOS ONE 11(2):e0150036 DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0150036
What is it like to remember all the faces you’ve ever seen? | Psyche Ideas
QPS Super Recogniser Network helps crack 1,000 cases - Queensland Police News
It is widely believed that humans are rather good at recognising faces

Have you ever seen someone in public and you swear you know them from somewhere, you just can’t pick where? Are they an old school friend? The guy who delivers bread to your local cafe? You feel like you know them but it would probably be weird if you started a conversation. Well, that’s a glimpse into the life of a small percentage of the population who recognise with freakish accuracy every face they’ve ever seen. People with this extraordinary gift can find themselves in awkward social interactions due to their detailed memories of people they’ve actually never met. Yes, it can look a tad stalker-ish...
 
Yenny Seo is one of these unique people (not a stalker). From a young age, she demonstrated an uncanny ability to remember faces - strangers on the street she had seen weeks ago, extras in movies, every person in her university lectures and people in photos on her social media feed. She even caught a serial shoplifter by recognising his face on CCTV.
 
In 2017, Seo got curious about her skills and stumbled upon the University of New South Wales (UNSW) face test online quiz. Her exceptional performance put her in the top 0.05 per cent of all participants, confirming she was a Super Recogniser. That’s right. Yenny officially has superpowers. And she’s not alone either.
 
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2016/08/the-super-recognisers-of-scotland-yard">The super-recognisers of Scotland Yard - New Statesman</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/16/id-keep-it-on-the-down-low-the-secret-life-of-a-super-recogniser">‘I’d keep it on the down low’: the secret life of a super-recogniser | Science | The Guardian</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://theconversation.com/could-super-recognisers-be-the-latest-weapon-in-the-war-on-terror-56772">Could super recognisers be the latest weapon in the war on terror?</a> 2016 <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-james-robertson-163796">David James Robertson</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ifsecglobal.com/video-surveillance/super-recognisers-in-the-metropolitan-police/">Super-Recognisers in the Metropolitan Police</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">DJ Robertson et. al. February 2016 Face Recognition by Metropolitan Police Super-Recognisers PLOS ONE 11(2):e0150036 DOI:<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150036">10.1371/journal.pone.0150036</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://psyche.co/ideas/what-is-it-like-to-remember-all-the-faces-youve-ever-seen">What is it like to remember all the faces you’ve ever seen? | Psyche Ideas</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://mypolice.qld.gov.au/news/2023/03/01/qps-super-recogniser-network-helps-crack-1000-cases/">QPS Super Recogniser Network helps crack 1,000 cases - Queensland Police News</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/130/1/hancock-tics-2000.pdf">It is widely believed that humans are rather good at recognising faces</a></li>
</ul>

Injected With Plutonium

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