Can You BREATHE Like A WHALE? With Vanessa Pirotta!

We're off this week for the Memorial Day Holiday in the US so we present here one of our most popular episodes, a classic IF from August 13, 2021 with the incomparable marine biologist from Australia, Dr. Vanessa Pirotta. Take a deep breath and enjoy this deep dive! ---- WHALES spend their entire lives inside a medium, water, in which they can’t actually breathe. So throughout the day, and the night, they have to swim to the surface to take a breath of that sweet, sweet ocean air… or they die! We humans, and other land lubber mammals like us, are spoiled, just inhale, anytime you want, and… problem solved. But — What The IF humans had to breathe by dunking our head in water? The amazing Dr. Vanessa Pirotta joins us from Sydney, Australia to take us into the wet and wild thought experiment, so we can learn real science! Imagine living the life of the whale, turned on it’s head. What world would we have built if our bodies worked this way? It’s like what if we emerged from the oceans, as we believe life did, but never adapted to breathing outside the water like we used to. Humans with gills? Are we wearing helmets on our head that are filled with water? Do we fill our *buildings* with water? Water the IF! — Dr. Pirotta is a wildlife scientist and a gifted science communicator. Her zoological background has taken her around the world for wildlife research. Vanessa is also a passionate and experienced science communicator who loves making science accessible. Her keen interests cover topics of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math, also known as STEAM. Vanessa has represented Australia internationally as the national winner of a world-renowned science communication competition known as FameLab, placing second in the world. Vanessa’s efforts to communicate science has also seen her become a TEDx speaker, speak at the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and recognized as one of the top 100 Women of Influence judged by the Australian Financial Review. Learn more about Vanessa! Homepage: https://www.vanessapirotta.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanessaPirotta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drvanessapirotta/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrVanessaPirotta YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfIe3r09XA8BviNbVMtag2Q --- Like the show? Share your love for the IF by dropping a review on whatever podcast app you’re enjoying, including Apple Podcasts! itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1 Subscribe at WhatTheIF.com and never miss an episode! Keep On IFFin', Philip & Matt