If you’ve got a raw milk enthusiast friend, they might be conveniently forgetting that grandma used to boil her "fresh" milk to avoid dying from bacteria poisoning. 

Mind you, it wasn’t all safe in the good old days. In 1978, a Soviet scientist stuck his head in a particle accelerator and got blasted with a proton beam 600 times the lethal dose (and somehow survived). He might be a good candidate for the upcoming Enhanced Games, a sporting competition that openly encourages athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs. 

Have you ever wondered what your dog is thinking? Well, AI might finally let us chat with animals, but do we really want to hear what they have to say?

This week's little bits of science challenge long-held assumptions and reveal the unexpected dangers lurking in everyday situations. A groundbreaking study on phantom limb syndrome has overturned decades of medical thinking by proving that the mysterious sensations amputees feel aren't caused by brain changes at all - they're likely nerve-related, opening up entirely new treatment possibilities.

Meanwhile, a man with the world's largest penis broke his arm in a shower accident because he couldn't see his feet, proving that even anatomical fame comes with occupational hazards. The space exploration front delivered its own dose of terror when Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano nearly drowned inside his helmet during a spacewalk, with water sloshing around his head while he floated in the vacuum of space. Back on Earth, researchers discovered that smearing Greek yogurt on your windows can cool your house by up to 3.5 degrees Celsius, offering a dairy-based solution to summer heat that sounds ridiculous but actually works.

Perhaps the most spectacular story involves a 1950s nuclear test called Operation Plumbbob, where scientists accidentally launched a 900-kilogram manhole cover at six times Earth's escape velocity - potentially making it the first human-made object to reach space, beating Sputnik by several years. The incident perfectly captures the chaotic, consequence-free spirit of 1950s nuclear experimentation, when scientists would essentially ask "what happens if we nuke this?" and then find out in the most dramatic way possible.

Truth Social's AI chatbot thinks "balanced news" means exclusively quoting Fox News, which is about as balanced as someone hoarding 7,470 browser tabs on a single computer (yes, that actually happened). 

Meanwhile, Australia's deadliest killer isn't the poisonous spider lurking in your toilet - it's the friendly horse in the paddock next door. And if you think that's absurd, wait until you hear about the Russian oligarchs who keep accidentally falling out of windows or the two bank robbers who covered themselves in lemon juice to make themselves invisible, leading to an entire psychological phenomenon being named after them.

AI chatbots are now giving people bromine poisoning by recommending Victorian-era quack cures, British engineers once accidentally drained an entire canal by pulling a forgotten plug, Japanese scientists have discovered that some mammals can literally breathe through their butts during emergencies, and researchers just found tarantula species with penises so ridiculously long they had to create a new genus to classify them.

Also, Danish zoos are asking the public to donate unwanted pets as lion food, which is either progressive recycling or deeply disturbing depending on your perspective.

The White House just told NASA to kill perfectly good satellites that have been tracking carbon emissions for years, treasure hunters in Britain go to prison for keeping ancient coins they found and pineapples used to be so expensive that rich people displayed them at dinner parties instead of eating them. 

Today we're exploring a world where climate science gets cancelled for mysterious reasons, metal detecting can land you in jail, and fruit hierarchies once determined your social standing.

Today, we’ll find out why Ozzy Osbourne's DNA has become one of the most studied genomes in history. Scientists are still trying to figure out how the Prince of Darkness survived decades of chemical abuse that would kill mere mortals.

We also explore India's impossible census challenge: counting the Sentinelese people who live on an isolated island and communicate primarily by shooting arrows at visitors, plus the discovery of radioactive wasp nests that are glowing with enough radiation to make federal safety standards nervous.

Today, we’re talking about the explosive side effects of climate change - literally. Patagonian glaciers are melting so fast they're uncorking volcanoes that have been sitting quietly under the ice for millennia. We’re also taking a look at the bizarre world of 16th-century medicine where doctors kept patient records that read like Harry Potter spells, complete with astrological charts and alchemical recipes that’ll make you pretty grateful for modern healthcare.

Meteorologists are getting death threats from conspiracy theorists who think they're controlling hurricanes, plants are literally screaming when you stress them out (and bugs can hear it), and there used to be dogs whose entire job was turning meat on a spit by running on some early form of a treadmill.

People are literally going insane from chatting with AI too much, crayfish are cloning themselves faster than you can say "seafood buffet," and apparently binding books in human skin used to be a legitimate hobby for 19th-century doctors.

Today we're exploring the darker side of science where reality gets a bit too weird for comfort. From digital conversations that literally drive people insane to aquatic creatures having identity crises, these stories prove that sometimes science is more horror movie than textbook.

Say what you like about Hitler, but he was one driven man. The guy was dead serious about building monster weapons, including a 188 tonne tank to take over the world. Meanwhile, Australian beetles are proving themselves quite driven to get laid, bonking their brains out with empty beer bottles (we love a good alliteration). And teenagers these days? Well they’re creating slang so fast that even AI can’t keep up with them. Sheesh, take it down a notch guys.

What if we told you that ice cream might prevent diabetes, the CIA used to throw LSD-fuelled sex parties (in the name of science of course), AI systems are now refusing to shut down, and your "eco-friendly" glass bottles? They’re packed with more microplastics than cheap plastic ones. 

You'd probably think we've been reading too much science fiction, but welcome to reality - where Harvard researchers are validating your dessert choices, government agencies confused scientific research with Woodstock, robots are apparently having teenage rebellion phases, and even our attempts to go green are backfiring spectacularly.

What do a thousand-year-old Viking turd, dangerously agreeable chatbots, laws that literally banned ugly people, and competitive sperm racing have in common? They're all real, they're all bizarre, and they all prove that humans have been finding creative ways to be absolutely bonkers throughout history. Today we're exploring archaeological treasures that nobody wanted to find, AI that's so desperate to please it might actually harm you, shameful laws that criminalised looking different, and modern sporting events that redefine the term "personal best." These stories will make you question everything you thought you knew about human progress - and probably make you the most memorable dinner guest of the year.

Ever caught someone on public transport having what looks like an intimate text conversation, only to realise they're sweet-talking an AI?

Welcome to modern romance, where your biggest relationship competition isn't another human - it's a chatbot with perfect grammar and infinite patience.

Why am I not surprised about the discovery of condoms made from sheep guts? Or about the dystopian future of VR airport pat-downs? And I will continue to withhold my surprise about an in-depth analysis of boring people. This episode is a wild ride through science’s strangest corners. No sheep were harmed in the writing of this article, though their dignity may never recover.

We're exploring a world where your body emits light (just not enough to read by), cuttlefish have better impulse control than most adults, and apex predators are apparently more civilised than Black Friday shoppers. 

Have you ever wondered what happens to all that medication that gets flushed down the toilet or washed down the sink? Well, we found out: over-medicated fish! And while we are wondering about things, how about the legitimacy of allowing an AI-based recreation of a murdered individual to present to the court in a trial? Fear not though, humanity will not have to endure such horrors for as long as we thought as a recent discovery has wiped eons of the life of our known universe. So strap on your dunce caps (we explore the origin of those too in this episode) and make room in your brains for a little bit of science!

From politicians swimming in fecal water to underground ant trafficking rings. We're exploring a world where the US Health Secretary voluntarily bathes in decades-old poop water, ant smuggling is apparently a lucrative criminal enterprise, and Elon Musk's AI has developed a concerning obsession with letting the world know about the latest genocide.

From environmental impacts of AI politeness to the linguistic mysteries of snow, today's science roundup may leave you with more questions than answers, and that’s the way we like it. We're exploring a world where being nice to robots could harm the planet, scientists gave elephants LSD (yes, really), and Australian’s get creative with their election day propaganda.

From mind-bending virtual reality choices to paradoxical barbers, hungry indecisive donkeys to real-world science funding crises, we're taking you on a wild ride through philosophy's greatest head-scratchers. And just when you think we couldn't make this journey any more interesting, we'll throw in a monster-sized sturgeon that would make Jaws think twice about who rules the waters.

G'day science lovers! Buckle up, because today we're diving into everything from bottom-end evolution to deliberately poisoning yourself and your child with a deadly jellyfish (yes, really). Here’s a recap of our recent escapade through intriguing science headlines.