Strange Science Behind Jello, Eggnog, Mistletoe and why Rudolph's Nose is so red.

This week we’re going to do something a little different.  Instead of one gross topic, we’re going to have a little eww-a-thon countdown and talk about the gross science behind some of Ms. Mallory's favorite American holiday traditions.  From where mistletoe comes from to what really may have made rudolph’s nose so red, the countdown will make your next holiday get together a lot more interesting. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 What You Didn't Know Know About American Christmas Traditions

Transcript

Opening

Welcome everyone to another episode of 8 minutes of Eww! The place where we use curiosity and science to turn fear into fascination and those ewww’s into Oooo’s. Oh! By the way, I’m your host Ms. Mallory, the Curious Conservationist and self-proclaimed grosslologist. Let’s get started with your weekly dose of gross. 

Intro

This week we’re going to do something a little different.  Instead of one gross topic, we’re going to have a little eww-a-thon countdown and talk about the gross science behind some of my favorite things about American holiday traditions.  From where mistletoe comes from to what really may have made rudolph’s nose so red, the countdown is sure to make your next holiday gettogether a lot more interesting. 

Jello 

Starting the countdown is a familiar desert from our last eww-inspired episode on odd holiday flavors.  Just a recap for those that may have missed it, Jell-O is made up of almost 90% sugar, but the key ingredient that gives Jell-O its distinctive jiggle is gelatin. Gelatin is a collection of long, stringy animal-based proteins called collagen(we learned about that in the scabs episode, remember). Urban legends claim that gelatin comes from horse or cow hooves, but it’s not true. It’s actually the bones and skins— Not sure if that makes it any better though. Haha. The reason they don’t use hooves is because hooves consist of a different type of protein, called keratin, which can't produce wobbly-inducing gelatin. When the gelatin is heated and mixed with water the protein fibers unravel and come apart, so the jelly from the packet melts. As the jelly cools the fibers coil up again trapping water between them, which makes the jelly set. And Jello isn’t the only food we can find gelatin;  it can commonly be found in gummy bears, marshmallows, and many of our other favorite chewy treats. 

What wasn’t mentioned in last week’s episode, was the crazy history behind the famous dessert.  Did you know the origins of Jell-o date back to the 1600s? Gelatin was first discovered in 1682, a Frenchman conducted experiments by boiling the bones of animals. He discovered and collected the wobbly, tasteless substance came from it. It wasn’t until 160 years later that gelatin would be used in a very unappealing desert created by undustrialist and inventor, Peter Cooper.  When the desert failed, he sold it to a medicine maker and carpenter, Mr. Pearl Wait, that wanted a career change for only $450 in 1895.  Mr. Pearl added a key ingredient that turned the bland dessert into what it is famously known for today. That key ingredient was his wife!  As an avid dessert maker, she knew more flavor would be needed and added fruit syrups (lots of fruit syrups) to the gelatin, renamed it Jell-O, and began sharing it with her friends.  

Egg Nog 

Moving on to the next strange holiday tradition is a drink that is so popular in the United States that over 135 million lbs, or 15 million gallons, are consumed each year!  Any guesses?  Yep, it’s Eggnog!

But do you know where the spicy creamy drink originated? And why we love it so much?

The etymology,  or origin of the word, has scientists still puzzled, but one thought is the word “noggin,” which was a small wooden cup from which you would drink eggnog from.

For a long time eggnog was made with alcohol, not for taste but for safety. In medieval times it was quite risky to drink milk straight from the cow, similarly to today where it can be risky to drink milk that hasn’t been pasteurized.

So the solution was to add alcohol to the milk so it would kill any harmful bacteria found in the dairy product,much like we use different types of alcohol in hand sanitizers or cleaning sprays to kill harmful bacteria on our hands or other surfaces. 

Old recipes used to use raw eggs to create the thick, festive drink and recommended soaking the yolks in alcohol for a few days to ensure any bacteria were also eliminated. Thankfully, due to the marvalous invention of pasturization, we no longer have to worry about all that lol. Thank goodness for technology and innovation!

Mistle Toe 

Moving our way down the list is one of the most iconic traditions of the holidays, Mistletoe.  Depending on your age, this can bring a pleasant memory of getting a peck from a loved one or a terrible flashback of getting smothered in sticky lipstick by your crazy Aunt May lol? Whatever the memories bring, I bet you didn’t know the sprig of  romantic Christmas tradition isn't really a plant of love at all, but a parasite. In fact, the American mistletoe’s scientific name, Phoradendron, means “thief of the tree” in Greek. You see, mistletoe has specialized roots that are able to dig into the trees’ branches and suck minerals and water from its host so it can stay green and beautiful all winter. Not very romantic if you ask me. 

The white-berried Christmas mistletoe we hang in our doorways is just one of more than 1,300 species of mistletoe worldwide. We have two native species in the United States: the leafy American mistletoe (the one commonly associated with our kissing customs) and the mostly leafless dwarf mistletoe.

 Mistletoe plants can be found high up in trees and grow into large nesting sites called ‘witches brooms.’  You can see these witches brooms  really well in winter when all the leaves have fallen, but the limbs look like they sprouted a large evergreen bush.  These clusters can weigh more than 50 lbs! So how do these parasites get to the tops of these massive trees?  

There are a few ways the parasite relocated. One way is by animals. Whether eaten or carried on the beak or fur, the parasite knows most tree swellers don’t stay in one tree for very long.  As the creature travels, it eventually rids itself of the hitchiker though digestion or merely cleaning itself.  When the seed  lands on a new tree, it will tap insert a strawlike root into a branch and begin to grow.. In addition to hitchhiking, the dwarf mistletoe also has another dandy way of traveling to a new host tree: the seeds of this mistletoe will use water pressure to explode from ripe berries like a water canyon, shooting a distance as far as 50 feet. Incredible!

Rudolph’s Red Nose: 

Continuing on with the red theme and the last highlight in the holiday countdown is the famous reindeer that guides Santa’s sleigh, Rudolph.   Well, actually his nose. Have you ever wondered why his nose can glow so bright?  While many will say magic, if you ask a reindeer specialist, they may have a different answer. It seems – and this is unfortunate for poor Rudolph – that reindeers’ noses provide a perfect place for parasites to cuddle up in. 

Like our noses, reindeer nose bones are covered in membranes filled with blood that warm the air when they breathe in and cool it when they breathe out. This makes quite the cozy corner for the more than 20 types of respiratory parasites specific to reindeer.  ‘Snot Bots’ are usually a main culprit for the cold like symptoms and ruby red nose. The fuzzy, bumble-bee looking female botfly, aslo known as a reindeer warble fly,  will squirt their eggs into the moses of unsuspecting reindeer.  Once the eggs hatch, the larvae crawl down the throats of their new holiday host and hunker down to grow until they are ready to leave.  When the big day approaches, the larvae get antsy and will begin to move around—scratching the reindeer’s throat.  Soon the reindeer begins to cough and it’s nose begins to run, turning bright red with irritation. As the botlfy moves more, the coughing gets worse and the nose gets more inflamed, trying to use snot to soothe the scratch throat until the pest is launched out of the nose or mouth of the poor cervid.  So just a thought, when you are putting out cookies and milk on Christmas Eve, you may want to leave a box of tissue for poor old Rudolph too. 

Outro

Well, my aspiring grossologists, sadly my 8 minutes is up. What was your favorite fact from the countdown?  If you liked this episode and would like to hear more eww-inspired segments, check out the other episode  on apple podcasts.  And if you feel this podcast is one you would like to see continue to grow, please consider becoming a patreon subscriber. You can ask questions, recommend topics, and be the first to listen to new episodes.  Thanks again for joining me and set those notifications so you don’t miss the next 8 minutes of Eww.