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PODCAST

Smartest Year Ever

Welcome to the Smartest Year Ever! This is your daily podcast for quick, funny, fascinating insights that you can use or share all year long. From history and science to quirky word origins and beyond, no topic is off-limits. Each episode is casual, short—most under 5 minutes—making it the perfect way to start your day or grab a quick dose of knowledge anytime. Tune in for bite-sized brilliance, and let’s make 2025 the Smartest Year Ever!

education self-improvement

All Episodes

00:05:59

The Plastic Accident That Changed the World |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/31

A failed chemical experiment. A forgotten chemist. And an accidental discovery that quietly reshaped the modern world.In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into Leo Baekeland's surprising invention of Bakelite—the first fully synthetic plastic. Originally just trying to replace an expensive bug-based resin used in electrical wiring, Baekeland ended up creating a material that didn’t melt, didn’t burn, and could be molded into almost anything.What followed was a full-blown plastics

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00:06:04

Post-it Notes Were Never Supposed to Exist | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/30

In 1968, a 3M chemist accidentally created one of the weakest glues ever made—and nearly threw it away.But a few years later, another 3M employee remembered that oddball adhesive during a completely unrelated church choir problem…and together, they helped launch a billion-dollar office supply empire that’s still sticking around today.This is a story about failed glue, unexpected creativity, and the kind of accidental genius that only makes sense in hindsight.Join Gordy on today’s Smartest Year Ever

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00:05:47

The Accidental Discovery of X-Rays | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/29

In 1895, a German physicist named Wilhelm Röntgen was tinkering with cathode rays in a sealed vacuum tube when something strange happened: a nearby screen started to glow. What followed wasn’t just a fluke—it was one of the most world-changing accidental discoveries in science history.On this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy tells the mind-blowing true story of how X-rays were discovered entirely by accident—and how one image of a woman’s skeleton hand changed medicine forever. This was the

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00:05:21

The Dog Walk That Accidentally Invented Velcro |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/28

What do burrs, a dog walk, and a Swiss engineer have in common?This episode kicks off Accidental Genius Week—a celebration of ideas that were never supposed to happen, but changed the world anyway.In today’s story, Gordy explores how a curious hiker came home from the Alps covered in annoying seed pods…and accidentally sparked one of the most widely used inventions of the 20th century. It’s a tale of biomimicry, NASA, and why one man’s refusal to ignore a clump of burrs led to a multi-billion-dollar

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00:06:47

Can Your Brain Tell Time Without Sunlight? | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/27

In 1962, French speleologist Michel Siffre descended into total darkness with a radical plan: to live underground for two months with no clocks, no sunlight, and no contact with the outside world.His goal? To find out if the human brain can still track time without the day-night cycle we take for granted. What he discovered helped lay the foundation for circadian rhythm research—and changed what we know about how our bodies keep time.Over decades and multiple cave experiments, Siffre became a

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00:04:28

Why We Want to Squeeze Cute Things | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/26

Why do we get the bizarre urge to squeeze, pinch, or even say “I could eat you up!” when we see something adorable?In this Smartest Year Ever episode, Gordy explores the science behind cute aggression, a strange emotional reflex that kicks in when your brain short-circuits on cuteness overload. From baby animals to chubby cheeks, we’ll look at how our brains use opposite emotional outputs—like aggression in response to joy—to stay balanced.You'll also hear about:The psychology of dimorphous

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00:05:31

Why Does Déjà Vu Happen? | Smartest Year Ever (July...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/25

Have you ever walked into a room and sworn you’ve been there before—even though you know you haven’t? That sudden jolt of familiarity is called déjà vu, and for centuries, it’s puzzled everyone from philosophers to neuroscientists.In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores why déjà vu happens, how your memory systems glitch, and what modern neuroscience says about those strange moments that feel like reality on repeat. You’ll learn about false recognition, pattern saturation, and even

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00:06:54

The Brain Quirk That Lets You Taste Words and See...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/24

What if your brain didn’t keep your senses in their lanes?In today’s Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores synesthesia—a rare and fascinating neurological trait where one sense involuntarily triggers another. Some people hear colors, taste names, or see music. Others might feel a touch just by watching someone else being touched.But what’s really going on in the brain? Is it a disorder, a superpower, or something in between? And how might it tie into neurodivergence, ADHD, autism, and even

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00:05:06

Stendhal Syndrome: When Art Is Too Beautiful to...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/23

Can art be so beautiful it literally overwhelms your brain? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores the bizarre and fascinating world of Stendhal Syndrome—a mysterious condition where people experience dizziness, palpitations, even hallucinations in response to aesthetic overload. From the Renaissance masterpieces of Florence to the neuroscience of emotional regulation, this story blends psychology, art theory, and neurology into one unforgettable ride through the power of

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00:06:45

The Teen Who Stayed Awake for 11 Days | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/22

What’s the longest anyone has ever stayed awake—and what actually happens to your brain when you push the limits of sleep deprivation?In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into the wild, real-life story of a 17-year-old student who broke the boundaries of human endurance in the name of science—and lived to tell the tale. From hallucinations and microsleeps to the strange truth behind why your brain literally cleans itself during deep sleep, this is one of the most fascinating stories in

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00:09:26

Do We Really Only Use 10 Percent of Our Brains? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/21

Welcome to Brain Week on Smartest Year Ever—a 7-day exploration of the most mind-blowing facts about the human brain. In today’s episode, Gordy takes aim at one of the most enduring neuromyths in pop culture: the claim that we only use 10 percent of our brains.This idea shows up everywhere—from self-help gurus and pop psychology books to movies like Lucy and Limitless. But is there any truth to it? And where did this weird myth even come from?Along the way, Gordy unpacks the real story behind

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00:05:56

Why Do We Read from Left to Right? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/20

Why do we read from left to right? It seems natural—but it’s far from universal. Some languages go right to left. Others go top to bottom. And in ancient times, some scripts flipped directions each line, like an ox turning in a field.In this episode, Gordy investigates the surprising reasons why reading direction varies across cultures—and how it’s shaped not by our brains, but by our hands, tools, and history.From ancient Greek scribes to Roman copycats, and from stone chisels to ink-soaked reed

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00:07:55

Left or Right? Why Do Countries Drive on Different...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/19

Why do some countries drive on the left side of the road… while others drive on the right?It’s one of those strange things we never think about—but it’s not based on engineering, safety, or modern logic. It goes back to knights, horses, class warfare, revolutions, and colonialism—and a few extremely dramatic moments in history that permanently altered the way people move through the world.From ancient Roman chariots to the French Revolution, from Napoleon's conquests to a massive overnight

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00:08:02

The First Speed Limits (and the First Guy Busted) |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/18

Who was the first person ever busted for speeding? And how fast was he going? Gordy takes you back to the bizarre, steam-powered birth of traffic laws—when the speed limit was 2 miles per hour, and men waving red flags had to walk in front of cars.In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, we explore the world’s first speed limits, the wild origin of automotive laws, and the truly unhinged way authorities handled “dangerous” new tech. From steam tractors to bicycle chases, you’ll get a wild ride

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00:06:42

Why Are Pencils Yellow? | Smartest Year Ever (July...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/17

Most people never question it—but why are pencils always yellow? Were they always that way? And who decided yellow was the right color?In this episode, Gordy digs deep into the surprising history behind one of the most familiar objects on your desk. From imperial China to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, you’ll learn how a color associated with royalty, luxury, and exoticism became the default shade of classroom supplies. This is a story of branding, graphite, and international mystique—not utility.So

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00:05:59

Why Do We Call Pirates “Buccaneers”? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/16

Why does “buccaneer” mean pirate? It wasn’t always about swords and sea raids. The word buccaneer has a much stranger backstory—one that starts with wild pigs, Indigenous cooking methods, and a crew of angry Frenchmen smoking meat in the Caribbean.In this episode, Gordy traces how a word that once meant “guy who slow-cooks feral pork on a wooden rack” drifted into naval warfare, state-sanctioned raiding, and eventually into the Golden Age of Piracy. Along the way, you’ll meet real historical

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00:05:57

These Eternal Flames Are Powered by Earth Itself |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/15

Some flames never die—and they don’t need a match to start.In today’s episode, Gordy investigates the wild phenomenon of natural eternal flames—fires that have been burning for decades or centuries, powered by nothing but Earth’s leaking gases. From a burning mountain in Azerbaijan to a flickering flame behind a New York waterfall, these natural wonders reveal the geological secrets right beneath our feet.Why do these flames keep going? What fuels them? And what can they tell us about our planet’s

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00:06:22

Paraceratherium: The Largest Land Mammal Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/14

What was the largest land mammal to ever walk the Earth? Gordy digs into the prehistoric past to uncover one of the most jaw-dropping megabeasts you've never heard of. Think rhino meets giraffe meets double-decker bus—but real. With fossil evidence stretching across Asia and competing contenders for the crown, this episode explores the true giants of the mammalian world, how they lived, and why they vanished.If you're into prehistoric animals, megafauna, paleontology, or just want a wild

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00:05:14

Why Does Cilantro Taste Like Soap to Some People? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/13

Some people say cilantro tastes fresh and citrusy. Others say it tastes like dish soap. Why?In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores one of the most divisive herbs on earth—and what your DNA has to do with it. From the genetic receptor that triggers the soap effect to famous chefs who hate it, this story blends biology, culture, and evolution into a fresh take on a controversial leaf.Whether you’re team cilantro or team soap, you’ll never look at tacos—or your genome—the same way

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00:06:51

The Real Story of Chef Boyardee | Smartest Year Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/12

Was Chef Boyardee just a cartoon mascot on a can of ravioli? Think again. In this episode, Gordy dives into the incredible true story of the man behind the red label: a teenage immigrant prodigy who would go on to cater a presidential wedding, found a national food empire, and even aid the U.S. military during World War II.From Cleveland restaurant kitchens to wartime food factories, this episode of Smartest Year Ever uncovers how a real chef became one of the most iconic names in American grocery

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312 results

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