When my family and friends heard the special Christmas edition of Conversations in Science, many of them asked the same question: had I been drinking too much eggnog? In listening to the episode myself, I must admit, I did sound a little crazy, but I'm not. The ideas that I mentioned in that episode really do have a scientific basis.

So in my defense, I decided to elaborate on the scientific principles mentioned in that Christmas edition for this month's episode of Conversations in Science.