Why doesn’t a spider get stuck in her own web? Where do the moon and the stars go during the day, and why can’t you tickle yourself? These and more fun questions are answered in the RTV Noord programme Eva zoekt uit (Eva finds out - Dutch spoken), for which RTV Noord has joined forces with the University of Groningen.

Every week, programme-maker Eva Hulscher selects a question and goes to the University of Groningen to find a scientist who can answer it in an understandable and engaging way. The programme is broadcast every Monday immediately after Noord Vandaag. Noord Vandaag starts at 18.00 and is repeated every hour.

The programme is intended for viewers of all ages, but the questions come from children. Hulscher: ‘Children still wonder about things that we adults take completely for granted. Why don’t you find your own farts smelly, is one such fun question. These are questions that we no longer ask ourselves, but the answers are really interesting for everyone. And you would be surprised: there is a scientific answer to be found for nearly every question.’

Associate Professor Jan Willem Bolderdijk helps Eva to find the right researcher for her questions. He is happy that UG researchers get this opportunity to show how fun their work is. ‘People associate science with highly complex and uninteresting material, but it is actually about the surprising everyday things that we all wonder about. We scientists have turned this into our work. If you want to know why you don’t find your own farts smelly, you can best ask a biologist or psychologist!’

Broadcast episodes (in Dutch)

• 28 February
  Why is the sea salty? With marine biologist Laura Govers

• 21 February
  How do we learn a language? With linguist Bart Hollebrandse

• 14 February
  How much plastic do we throw away every year? With chemist Katja Loos

• 7 February
  Why doesn't the world consist of one single country? With historian Stefan Couperus

• 31 January
  Why is pizza delicious and sprouts gross?

• 24 January
  Why do we cry? With neuropsychologist Marie-José van Tol

• 16 January
  What happens if you fall through a hole in the earth? With theoretical physicist Daan Meerburg and geophysicist Rien Herber

• 10 January
  Why is reading fun? With literature scholar Mathijs Sanders

• 3 January
  Why can't you tickle yourself? With neuroscientist André Aleman

• 20 December:

  How did language originate? With linguist Jelle Brouwer.

• 13 December:
  What makes some voices sound false and others pure? With neuroscientist Ellie Harding

• 5 December:
  Where do the moon and stars go during the day? With Stefanie Brackenhoff

• 28 November:

  Why do we write "brokjEs", but say "brokjUs?" (in Dutch). With Saskia Peels.

• 21 November: Can you make a magnet float under another magnet? With scientist Diederik Roest

• 14 November: Why do we die? With Judith Paridaen en Hannah Dugdale

• 7 November: Why doesn’t a spider get stuck in her own web? With biologist Martine Maan and chemist Marleen Kamperman.