An Ounce - For Your Consideration
Discover hidden stories from history—bite-sized, clever tales that challenge what you thought you knew. At An Ounce, we uncover the little moments that quietly changed everything, surprising truths, and fascinating facts you won’t hear elsewhere.
I’m Jim Fugate—retired firefighter, lifelong learner, and an outside-the-box thinker who loves sharing history’s hidden gems. These quick, engaging stories don’t take themselves too seriously, won’t steal your precious time, and might just make you feel a little bit smarter.
I hope you’ll join a community of curious minds who enjoy a fresh take on history—where conversation is always open and everyone’s invited.
An Ounce - For Your Consideration
They Demoted Pluto - And Exposed How Dumb We Really Are
Pluto was a planet—until scientists held a vote and kicked it out. What else have we been hilariously wrong about? From medicine to space, here’s why certainty is overrated…
Pluto used to be our ninth planet—until it wasn’t.
In 2006, a group of scientists demoted it to “dwarf planet” status, and suddenly, everything we knew about the solar system got a little weirder.
But Pluto’s not the only thing we’ve misunderstood. We once thought smoking was healthy, that babies didn’t feel pain, and that doctors didn’t need to wash their hands. Oops.
This episode of An Ounce is a hilarious reminder that some of our “facts” might not be facts forever.
So the next time you hear someone say, “It’s settled science,”—you might want to smile politely… and leave the door open.
👉 If this made you laugh—or made you think—hit subscribe. Maybe Pluto will forgive us.
🪐 Drop a comment and share what you think humanity’s gotten hilariously wrong.
🎧 You might also like: The Distasteful History of Toothpaste – How brushing your teeth used to involve lizard guts, radioactive paste, and crushed bones.
👉https://youtu.be/tLr0idEsopY 👉 https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI
Media Credits: Music – Seagull, and Spoon by Telecasted via YouTube Library, images and video from iStock and Getty.
🔹 Pluto's Discovery and Demotion:
• NASA on Pluto's planet status:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-planets/pluto/overview/
• History of Pluto's discovery by Clyde Tombaugh (via Lowell Observatory):
https://lowell.edu/history-of-pluto/
• Why Pluto was demoted by the IAU in 2006:
https://www.space.com/why-pluto-is-not-a-planet.html
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🔹 Outdated Scientific Beliefs:
• Handwashing and Ignaz Semmelweis:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC164365/
• Tongue map myth:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-tongue-map/
• Babies and pain perception:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1440629/
• Smoking and historical advertising:
https://www.history.com/news/smoking-health-ads-doctors-cigarettes
10 second pre-roll promo for An Ounce Podcast on YouTube