TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Gets Flushed

Tilly Norwood caused quite a stir when she was introduced in late 2025. Her creator, actor-producer Eline Van der Velden, said she wanted Tilly to be the “Scarlett Johansson” of AI actors. But she immediately felt the backlash from Hollywood. Emily Blunt called Tilly “really, rea ...  Show more

How often do you use ChatGPT to evaluate your ailments? Did it work? More and more people are turning to chatbots to diagnose their illnesses — with varied success. But when it does work, it can be life-changing. Dr. Dhruv Khullar heard of a case where ChatGPT identified the caus ...  Show more

When you have to go, where does it go? That’s what our listener Ellie wants to know. Prepare for potty humor and science as we hear from civil engineer and toilet expert Francis de los Reyes! Who invented the toilet? And what’s “The Great Stink?” We’ll be plunging into the past, ...  Show more

If you've ever gotten a hot shock from someone flushing a toilet while you were taking a shower, there's an easy fix for that. Learn why it happens and how to fix it in this classic episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee ...  Show more

The most popular modern bidet was invented in the U.S., so why hasn't this technology caught on here? Learn the history of the bidet in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://home.howstuffworks.com/bidet.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

While the toilet is not THE most important invention, it's certainly hard to imagine life without one -- and the advantages of modern flushing toilets go far beyond mere convivence. In this Invention two-parter, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore the ancient origins of the toi ...  Show more