Learn about how the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest texts in the world, was first translated not by a scientist, but by an engraver’s apprentice named George Smith; how horses lost their toes; and why sperm swim differently than scientists previously thought.

Some Random Guy Stumbled Upon and Translated a Legendary Ancient Text by Reuben Westmaas

• Damrosch, D. (2007, May). Epic Hero. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/epic-hero-153362976/
• Rym Ghazal. (2011, April 13). World’s oldest writing not poetry but a shopping receipt. The National. https://www.thenational.ae/uae/world-s-oldest-writing-not-poetry-but-a-shopping-receipt-1.568456

Here’s Why Horses Lost Their Toes by Ashley Hamer

• Hyracotherium. (2011). wildlife.com">www.prehistoric-wildlife.com. wildlife.com/species/h/hyracotherium.html">http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/h/hyracotherium.html
• Biewener, A. A. (1998). Muscle-tendon stresses and elastic energy storage during locomotion in the horse. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 120(1), 73–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0305-0491(98)00024-8
• About Chestnuts and Ergots On Horses. (2013). CowboyWay.com. http://www.cowboyway.com/What/WhatAreChestnuts.htm

We were wrong about the way sperm swim by Cameron Duke

• Gadêlha, H., Hernández-Herrera, P., Montoya, F., Darszon, A., & Corkidi, G. (2020). Human sperm uses asymmetric and anisotropic flagellar controls to regulate swimming symmetry and cell steering. Science Advances, 6(31), eaba5168. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba5168
• Wilson, C. (n.d.). Sperm have a weird way of swimming and we only noticed after 300 years. New Scientist. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.newscientist.com/article/2250415-sperm-have-a-weird-way-of-swimming-and-we-only-noticed-after-300-years/
• Spinning otter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1bl_V_nMxQ

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Find episode transcript here: daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/the-rando-who-translated-gilgamesh-why-horses-lost-their-toes-and-a-sperm-swimming-discovery">https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/the-rando-who-translated-gilgamesh-why-horses-lost-their-toes-and-a-sperm-swimming-discovery