Chicken, with a side order of science
Japan鈥檚 love for fried chicken at Christmas gets us digging into chicken鈥檚 origins, its popularity, and why it鈥檚 the subject of what might be the world鈥檚 most iconic joke.
Over the Christmas season, it is estimated that some 3.6 million families in Japan will tuck into KFC over Christmas (other fried chicken is available), which inspired the Unexpected Elements team to chew over all things chicken!
First, we discover that chicken may never have become domesticated if it wasn鈥檛 for rice farming. We also ponder whether the chicken or the egg came first. Next, we find out that humans are surprisingly smart at translating chicken chatter.
We are by Dr Jingmai O鈥機onnor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at the Field Museum of Natural History, who reveals more about the links between dinosaurs and birds.
Plus, how Brazil became a poultry superpower, and what happens to chickens in tornadoes.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Godfred Boafo
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber and Robbie Wojciechowski
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- Fri 12 Dec 2025 10:06GMT麻豆社 World Service
- Sat 13 Dec 2025 00:06GMT麻豆社 World Service
- Sat 13 Dec 2025 04:06GMT麻豆社 World Service
- Sat 13 Dec 2025 15:06GMT麻豆社 World Service News Internet
- Sun 14 Dec 2025 20:06GMT麻豆社 World Service
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Unexpected Elements
The news you know, the science you don't