Hoax Hunters: Why do crystals feel so special?

Brains On! Science podcast for kids

The episode investigates the tension between the magical legends surrounding crystals and their scientific reality. Hosts Mark and Sanden ex

Key takeaways

• Crystals are scientifically defined by a repeating, organized pattern of atoms within a material.
• The 'placebo effect' explains why individuals report feeling energy from both real and plastic crystals.

Main topics

• Crystal mythology
• Atomic structure

Notable quotes

What if I told you I could see the future in a stone?

Conclusion

While crystals lack proven magical powers, their physical properties a

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:02) Are you ready for a brand new adventure? Then check out Lions and Legends, the new kids and family podcast featuring fun, fantastical retellings of myths, legends, folktales, and fables from around the world. I'm Rebecca Shearer, former host of Circle Round and the new host of Lions and Legends, inviting you to follow Lions and Legends on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and come join the pride. Speaker 3 (0:37) Brains on Universe. Speaker 1 (0:41) You're listening to Brains On, where we're serious about being curious. I'm Molly Bloom. Some things in nature just seem magical, like rainbows, or waterfalls, or fireflies, peacock feathers, really old trees, and definitely crystals. After all, they have cool shapes. They can be clear or cloudy or colorful, and they're often rare. But is there more to it? Are they actually magic? People throughout history have thought so. Today, Mark and Sandin are back as the hoax hunters, and they're looking into the legends, the lore, and the science of crystals. Speaker 6 (1:33) What if I told you I could see the future in a stone? Or power a city with a gem. I could heal you with a rock. Speaker 5 (1:45) Or use a jewel as my map. You might say, I'm making things up. Or you might say, don't wig out. He's just talking about crystals. Today on Hoax Hunters, crystals. Speaker 5 (2:01) crystals. Here comes the theme song. Ka-pow! Speaker 6 (2:05) Take it and drink Speaker 3 (2:16) it. Speaker 6 (2:20) No, we don't like it. Welcome to Hoax Hunters, the show where me, Mark, and me, Sandon, investigate wild claims to see what's real and what's really just bonkers. Speaker 6 (2:35) Speaking of bonkers, yes, that's a full-grown moose living in the basement where we tape our shows. His name is Speaker 5 (2:42) Mystery Moose, and he's fully house-trained and almost never eats my laundry anymore. Plus, I mean, come on. What full-grown moose wouldn't want to live down here? We've got blacklight posters of the Loch Ness Monster in Bigfoot, a lava lamp, beanbag chairs, and plenty of snacks. Like my favorite jersey he's Speaker 6 (3:00) chewing on. Speaker 5 (3:00) Wait, Mystery Moose, we talked about this. Come on. Spit it out. Come on- Oh! Ew. Speaker 6 (3:08) Today, we're doing an episode based on this suggestion. Speaker 3 (3:12) Hi, I'm Acerone Fancher, and my question is, why do crystals feel powerful, even if scientists say they're not magic? I resonate with crystals, so can you help me? Speaker 5 (3:22) Ah, great question, Mae. Okay, tell us some more. What do you mean by you resonate with crystals? There's Speaker 3 (3:29) an energy in my body that makes me feel good. My favorite crystal is emerald because it is green and very shiny. Every crystal I get feels like it will be even more exciting and have a different energy than the last one. Speaker 5 (3:41) Great topic. I mean, crystals are so cool. Yeah, and there are so many kinds. Like purple amethyst, golden pyrite, see-through selenite, and deep blue azurite. Speaker 6 (3:55) Crystals! People have been obsessed with crystals for thousands of years. Speaker 5 (4:00) Sometimes because they're pretty, and sometimes because they think crystals can do pretty amazing things. Like Speaker 6 (4:07) see the future. Crystals. There are lots of stories where someone gazes into a crystal ball to see a vision of what's to come. Speaker 5 (4:19) Other stories have crystals that protect you. Like in ancient Burma, warriors Speaker 6 (4:25) thought rubies made them invincible in battle. Some legends even say the mythical city of Atlantis was powered by a giant crystal. It helped them run machines, invent new medicines, and create a super advanced civilization. And later, they misused that crystal power and it backfired, eventually sinking Atlantis into the sea. Speaker 5 (4:48) Speaking of the sea, there's another cool crystal legend involving the very real Vikings. And one thing we know about them is that they were epic voyagers. We know this because we've got loads of artifacts and objects from their time. Speaker 3 (5:07) Artifacts to the max. Speaker 6 (5:10) They sailed all over Europe, conquering lands and setting up colonies. But they also sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. They were the first Europeans known to reach North America. And they did this before steam-powered ships, before GPS or world maps. They didn't even have a magnetic compass. Ah, but Speaker 5 (5:29) they did have a sunstone. A what stone? Okay. Legend tells of a very special crystal, the sunstone, that Vikings used to know where exactly the sun was in the sky even on a cloudy, hazy day. You know, the kind of day when the sky just kind of looks like a giant gray blanket? Well, they would use this sunstone, and it showed them where the sun was hiding in all that haze. And they could use that to figure out the direction they needed to go. Speaker 6 (5:57) These are just some of the stories of magical crystals. Crystals. When it Speaker 5 (6:03) comes to myths and legends, crystals are rock stars. That Speaker 3 (6:13) was a good one. Speaker 5 (6:18) But is there any truth to all of this? Or are crystals just pretty-looking rocks? We're about to dig up the truth. So... Ah! That's our basement, pal. Oops, I forgot I installed that. Mark and Sandon? You guys Speaker 1 (6:33) down there? Speaker 6 (6:34) Yeah, Molly, we're down here taping Hoax Hunters. Speaker 1 (6:37) Oh, sorry to interrupt. It's just, there's a bunch more fan mail. I'll leave it here at the bottom of the basement steps. Later! Speaker 5 (6:46) I love fan mail! Speaker 4 (6:47) Yes! Alright, let's see what we got. Ah, see, um, to Speaker 5 (6:51) Mystery Moose. Is it a Dear Mystery Moose? Oh, this one says, uh, Beloved MM. What do we got here?