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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!

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All Episodes

00:06:08

Why Are Salt and Pepper on Every Table? | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/11

Why are salt and pepper the table default around the world? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into the culinary history, chemical power, and colonial legacy behind the spice duo we never question. From Roman soldiers being paid in salt to French chefs turning black pepper into a fine dining staple, the answer to why these two spices became the global standard is more fascinating—and more political—than you think.This is Food Facts Week, where each day we unpack the strange,

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00:05:21

Did the Earl Really Invent the Sandwich? | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/10

There’s no food more iconic—or more deceptively simple—than the sandwich. But where did the name come from? And did one British aristocrat really invent it?On today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy breaks down the surprising, global, and very old history of sandwiches—from gambling lords in 18th-century England to ancient religious traditions, medieval trenchers, and international street food.We trace the rise of the sandwich from John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich—a man too busy (or too

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00:05:16

Are French Fries Actually French? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/09

Why do we call them French fries?In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy digs into the surprising global history of one of the world’s most beloved foods. From Belgian peasants to French revolutionaries, from American soldiers to fast food giants, this story has it all: miscommunication, cultural pride, and deep-fried international drama.It’s Day 3 of Food Facts Week—and today’s episode might make you question everything you thought you knew about your favorite side dish.Come for the fries

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00:04:54

Who Really Invented the Potato Chip? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/08

Who really invented the potato chip?Was it an act of culinary genius—or just a frustrated chef slicing out of spite?In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy digs into the salty, crispy, and surprisingly murky origin of the potato chip. From a legendary restaurant in Saratoga Springs to industrial food innovation, it’s a story that combines spite-driven creativity, clever marketing, and one of the most important inventions in snack food history.Discover the myth, the truth, and the billion-dollar

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00:06:11

The Real Reason We Call Them Hot Dogs | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/07

To kick off Food Facts Week, Gordy digs into one of the strangest names in American cuisine: why do we call them “hot dogs”? The story of this iconic street food is full of immigrant history, language twists, cartoon myths, and a whole lot of meat-based suspicion.From college slang and 19th-century food fears to the murky mystery of a missing cartoon and a real U.S. council dedicated to sausages, this episode serves up the real story behind a name we never question—but probably should. It’s weird,

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00:06:41

The Biggest Earthquake Ever—and How the Richter Scale...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/06

What does the Richter scale actually measure—and what would the most powerful earthquake in recorded history feel like?In this episode, Gordy breaks down the science of seismic waves, the logarithmic scale that changed the way we understand earthquakes, and the terrifying real-world consequences of Earth’s most violent tectonic shifts. From magnitude vs. energy to why a small number jump means massive differences in destruction, you’ll walk away with a new respect for what those Richter numbers

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00:06:03

How Tall Was Napoleon Really? The Truth Behind the...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/05

Was Napoleon actually short… or is that just one of history’s most effective smear campaigns?In this episode, Gordy investigates the real height of Napoleon Bonaparte, uncovers the origins of the “Napoleon Complex”, and explores how British propaganda shaped centuries of perception—all thanks to a little misunderstanding about inches.From unit conversions to military mythmaking, this episode reveals how historical reputation can be shaped by something as small as a ruler. And how even the most

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00:05:28

Why Did Yankee Doodle Call It “Macaroni”? | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/04

Why did Yankee Doodle stick a feather in his cap… and call it macaroni? It sounds ridiculous today—but in the 18th century, that line packed a punch. In this July 4th episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy investigates one of America’s most iconic lyrics to uncover a forgotten world of British fashion slang, cultural mockery, and patriotic transformation.From powdered wigs to wartime parodies, from militia mockery to national identity, this bizarre lyric tells the story of how Americans turned insult

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00:04:59

What Happened to Abraham Lincoln’s Lost Speech? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/03

Abraham Lincoln is known for delivering some of the most powerful speeches in American history. But there’s one that shook the room so hard, no one wrote it down.In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unravels the mystery behind Lincoln’s so-called “Lost Speech”—a fiery address delivered at the 1856 Illinois Republican Convention that electrified the crowd, helped shape the early Republican Party, and may have been too controversial to publish.So why didn’t anyone record it? Was it really too

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00:05:20

Why Were Human Bones Found in Ben Franklin’s...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/02

In 1998, a renovation crew stumbled on something shocking beneath one of London’s oldest Georgian townhouses—once home to Benjamin Franklin himself. What they found would launch a historical investigation with a dark and surprising twist.Gordy dives into the story of how a pit of human bones ended up beneath the home of America’s most eccentric Founding Father. From the birth of modern medical science to the shadowy world of 18th-century grave robbing, this episode explores what happens when

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00:06:43

The Real Uncle Sam: The Truth Behind America’s Most...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/07/01

Was “Uncle Sam” actually a real person—or just a myth wrapped in red, white, and blue? In this episode, Gordy digs into the surprisingly tangled history behind America’s most iconic face. From barrels of salted meat in the War of 1812 to the finger-pointing recruitment poster of World War I, the truth behind Uncle Sam might not be what you think.Find out how a New York meat packer, a satirical nickname, and a cartoonist who invented Santa Claus all shaped the character we now call Uncle Sam. And

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00:06:22

Has There Ever Been a Day When No Human Died? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/30

Every day, over 150,000 people die—from illness, age, accidents, war, and everything in between. But Gordy asks a deceptively simple question: Has there ever been a day when no human died?To find out, we dive deep into prehistoric population crashes, explore the Toba supervolcano, and run the numbers on what it would take to have a true deathless day in human history.This episode of Smartest Year Ever blends population science, anthropology, mortality data, and genetics to answer one of the eeriest

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00:05:51

Why Do We Call Them “Uppercase” and “Lowercase” Letters?

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/29

Gordy unpacks the unexpected reason we call letters “uppercase” and “lowercase”—and the answer has nothing to do with grammar.This finale to Word Origins Week dives deep into the evolution of letterforms, the rise of Carolingian minuscule, and how a printing press storage hack became a permanent fixture in modern language—and even computer code.Along the way, you’ll find out: – Why ancient Roman writing was all caps – How Charlemagne’s scribes reshaped reading – What Gutenberg actually invented—and

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00:06:45

The Man Who Got Boycotted So Hard, They Named It...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/28

What does it take to have your name turned into a global protest tactic?In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy digs into the surprising true story of Charles Boycott—a British land agent in 19th-century Ireland whose brutal treatment of tenant farmers sparked a movement so effective, his name became a verb. This is the origin of the word “boycott,” a form of nonviolent resistance that exploded across the English-speaking world and has never left.Along the way, Gordy explores the Irish Land

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00:07:13

The Weird Origin of the Word “OK” | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/27

Where did the most recognizable word on Earth actually come from? In today’s episode, Gordy traces the bizarre, ironic, and political backstory behind “OK”—a word that’s now used in dozens of languages, from aviation to text messages to global diplomacy.But its true origin? Not what most people think. Before “OK” was universal, it was an inside joke, a campaign slogan, and a punchline in 1830s Boston. Gordy unpacks the strange history, rival origin theories, and how two little letters conquered the

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00:06:40

Why Did the Greeks Call Them “Barbarians”? | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/26

Where did the word “barbarian” come from—and what did it really mean to the Ancient Greeks? On Day Four of Word Origins Week, Gordy unpacks the wild linguistic journey of one of the oldest insults in human history. From Greek mockery of foreign languages to Roman propaganda, this word’s transformation reveals a lot more about cultural dominance than you might expect.You’ll learn how language, judgment, and power shaped the ancient world—and how words like “barbarian” still carry that baggage today

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00:05:42

Why Are Muscles Named After Mice? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/25

Why would anyone look at a flexed bicep and think… mouse?Welcome back to Word Origins Week on Smartest Year Ever, where Gordy uncovers the surprising, sometimes absurd stories behind the everyday words we take for granted. In today’s episode, he traces the etymology of “muscle” all the way back to the Latin word musculus, which meant something you probably won’t guess unless you’re fluent in ancient rodent metaphors.This linguistic deep-dive also unpacks:Why the Romans saw mice in their armsHow the

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00:05:32

What Word Came First: Orange the Color or Orange the...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/24

It’s Day Two of Word Origins Week on Smartest Year Ever—and today, Gordy asks a deceptively simple question that will trip up your brain: which came first—the word for the color, or the fruit?It seems obvious... until you really think about how colors got their names. From misheard articles to centuries of trade routes, today’s episode takes a strange and satisfying linguistic detour through etymology, color naming, and a fruit that changed the English language forever.Plus: why redheads aren’t

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00:09:13

Why Do We Say a Murder of Crows? (And Are These Names...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/23

It’s Word Origins Week on Smartest Year Ever! Today, Gordy uncovers the strange story behind animal group names—like a murder of crows, a parliament of owls, and a gaggle of geese.But who made these names up? And were they ever real?In this episode, you’ll learn:Why many animal group names came from a 15th-century hunting manualHow some were aristocratic memes, not scientific termsWhich names were serious—and which were jokes (a drunkenness of cobblers?)Why the internet made it worseIt’s a

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00:08:28

Can an Electric Eel Kill You? (860 Volts & Other...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/22

It’s the shocking finale of Weird Animals Week. Gordy dives into the strange biology of the so-called electric eel—which isn’t actually an eel at all. From the Amazon’s murky waters to real-life eel-powered Christmas trees, this episode uncovers how this bizarre knifefish creates the strongest bioelectric discharge in the animal kingdom—up to 860 volts.But can it really kill a human?Find out how electric eels use their biological Taser systems to hunt, navigate, defend, and even coordinate group

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