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PODCAST

Smartest Year Ever

The Smartest Year Ever began as a 365-day experiment in curiosity. In 2025, I dropped a new fact every single day. History, science, language, word origins, and strange true stories, all the stuff that somehow makes you sound smarter in conversation. The goal hasn’t changed: help you become the world’s greatest conversationalist.

education

All Episodes

00:04:07

How Fast Is Too Fast? The Surprising Science of Jet...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/08

Jet lag is so normal today that we forget—it’s a modern glitch. For most of human history, people simply couldn’t move fast enough to get it. Boats were too slow. Horses, too steady. But the industrial age changed everything.In this episode, Gordy explores the invention of jet lag, from the rise of railroads in the 1800s to the first use of the term in a 1966 L.A. Times article. Along the way, we get into the circadian science, the speed threshold for messing with your internal clock, and the weird

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00:04:04

The Sentences That Trick Your Brain (Garden Path...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/07

Some sentences make perfect sense… until they don’t. Today, Gordy explores garden path sentences—a linguistic trap where your brain confidently goes one way, only to slam into a wall of confusion.From “The old man the boats” to “The horse raced past the barn fell,” these seemingly broken lines are actually grammatically correct. They’re just crafted to mislead your brain’s natural processing system, exposing how we build meaning on the fly, and how quickly things go off the rails.It’s a peek into

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00:04:32

5 Real Words That Sound Completely Made Up | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/06

Some words just sound like nonsense—but they’re not. Today, Gordy breaks down five real words that sound fake but are 100% legit: from a woodworking term that sounds like an alien sidekick, to the name of that eye chart you never knew had a name.These aren't made-up internet jokes or slang. They’re real, dictionary-approved words with wildly unexpected meanings—and once you learn them, you’ll start noticing them everywhere.Want to sound clever at your next dinner party? This is the episode.Words

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00:03:56

Why Are Manhole Covers Round? (Most Fail This...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/05

Why are manhole covers round? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy breaks down one of the most deceptively clever questions in interview history. From physics and engineering to human behavior and tech hiring practices, the shape of a manhole turns out to be a masterclass in practical design.Made famous by Microsoft interviews in the 1990s, this question still pops up today—not because it’s about manholes, but because it reveals how you think.Can a square fall in? Yes. Can a circle

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00:03:09

Why Do People Press Their Hands Together to Pray? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/04

Most people recognize the "prayer hands" gesture instantly—palms pressed, fingers pointed skyward. But where did it come from?In this episode, Gordy dives into the surprising origin of the 🙏 gesture. From ancient India’s respectful Anjali Mudra, to the feudal power plays of medieval Europe, and finally to the sacred ritual we now associate with prayer—this hand pose has had quite a journey.You'll learn:Why Namaste and 🙏 share DNAHow kneeling before a lord shaped Christian worshipWhen

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00:05:45

Can You Actually Film Light Moving?...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/03

In today’s episode, Gordy explores a mind-bending innovation in modern physics: filming light itself in motion—at a trillion frames per second. Sound impossible? Welcome to femto-photography, where researchers at MIT figured out how to capture a single pulse of light as it travels through a Coke bottle, scatters off an apple, and even starts forming shadows in real time.This isn’t slow motion. It’s slow-light—and it has game-changing implications: from seeing around corners, to autonomous

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00:04:56

The Cat That Survived Three Shipwrecks | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/02

During WWII, one cat allegedly survived the sinking of three different warships—switching sides from Nazi Germany to Britain in the process. His name? Unsinkable Sam.In this episode, Gordy uncovers the unbelievable story of a black-and-white ship cat who may have had more than nine lives. From the doomed Bismarck, to the HMS Cossack, to the Ark Royal, Sam survived it all—often rescued from floating wreckage by stunned sailors.But was it just legend? We dig into the eyewitness accounts, museum

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00:05:17

What’s the Rarest Birthday? (And Why It Happens Less...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/01

Ever wondered what the rarest birthday is — and why some dates barely get any love? 🎂 In today's episode, Gordy breaks down real U.S. birth data to reveal why holidays like Christmas and New Year’s have far fewer births — and why September is a birthday traffic jam. Turns out, culture, scheduling, and simple timing all shape the calendar more than you’d think.Stay curious, stay clever — and keep sharpening your skills on the quest to become the World’s Greatest

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00:06:31

How the First Transatlantic Cable Changed the World...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/30

In 1858, a cable was laid across the Atlantic Ocean—a 2,500-mile-long copper wire connecting Europe and North America for the first time. It was a technological marvel, a symbol of progress, and the "eighth wonder of the world"... for three weeks.This episode dives into how the first transatlantic telegraph cable changed global communication—before it was fried by a man named Wildman Whitehouse. Gordy explores the wild story of Victorian ambition, why we still rely on undersea cables

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00:05:55

What’s the Oldest Joke Ever Recorded? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/29

The oldest joke in human history was written over 4,000 years ago, and yes, it’s about a fart. Gordy explores this ancient gag from Sumer, how humor has evolved (or hasn’t), and dives into the roots of comedy from Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times. Turns out, the formula for laughs—taboo, absurdity, and relatability—hasn’t changed much. What’s different? Just the platform.Join Smartest Year Ever and discover how farts, insults, and dumb-guy jokes are timeless.Stay curious, stay

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00:05:26

Why Are There So Many Pigeons in Cities? | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/28

Pigeons are everywhere—but why? In this episode, Gordy uncovers how these birds went from ancient messengers and status symbols to the feathered freeloaders of modern cities. Turns out, today's city pigeons are descendants of the rock dove, one of the earliest domesticated animals. Once prized by Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Persians, they thrived alongside humans for thousands of years—before going feral. Cities became the perfect stand-in for their natural cliffside homes, and they never left.Why

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00:06:23

Why Is It Called Bluetooth? | Smartest Year Ever (Apr...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/27

Bluetooth: one of the most common wireless technologies today—but why is it named after a Viking king with a dead tooth? Gordy explores the quirky origin of the name, diving into the story of Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, the 10th-century ruler who united Denmark and Norway... and inspired the name of a 1990s tech revolution.Find out why engineers at Intel, Ericsson, and Nokia almost went with a bland name like PAN ("Personal Area Networking"), but instead left us with Viking

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00:05:34

Do You Own the Land All the Way to the Earth’s Core?...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/26

Ever wondered how deep your property really goes? Gordy takes you on a deep dive—literally—into subsurface property rights. From ancient laws like the ad coelum doctrine to modern mineral rights and airspace ownership, this episode explores what you actually own beneath your feet... and what belongs to someone else.You might own your house, your yard, even a nice basement—but the Earth’s core? That’s where the line is drawn. Find out why you can’t just dig your way to the center of the Earth, and

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00:07:16

Could a Neanderthal Outrun You? | Smartest Year Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/25

Neanderthals weren’t just strong—they were fast. Built like linebackers, not marathoners. Gordy breaks down how fast a Neanderthal could sprint, using modern biomechanics, anthropology, and evolutionary science.With shorter limbs but massive muscle attachments, Neanderthals could hit estimated speeds of 20–25 mph in short bursts—almost matching elite modern athletes. So, could they beat you in a 40-yard dash? The answer might surprise you.Explore the science of speed, the evolutionary split between

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00:04:59

LA’s Palm Trees Are Dying—and They’re Not Coming Back...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/24

Palm trees and Los Angeles feel like they go hand in hand—but they’re not even from here. Most were imported in the early 20th century to help sell a dream, and now that dream is fading. These trees are aging out, not being replaced, and within a few decades, they’ll disappear from LA’s skyline. Gordy breaks down the history of LA’s palm obsession, why they were planted in the first place, and what’s replacing them as the city shifts away from its iconic—but artificial—look.Follow Gordy on his daily

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00:05:25

Why Zebras Were Never Domesticated | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/23

Why don’t we ride zebras? They look like designer horses, but they’ve never joined the lineup of domesticated animals. In this episode, Gordy dives into the wild nature of zebras, why they’ve resisted human control, and how their biology and behavior made them impossible to tame—even in Africa where people lived beside them for thousands of years.From Lord Walter Rothschild’s zebra carriage to modern genetics, we explore why these striped beasts remain untouchable. Learn how temperament, social

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00:02:54

Who Invented the Recycling Symbol? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/22

On Earth Day 1970, a college student submitted a simple, elegant design to a contest. That design became the now-iconic recycling symbol—a triangle of arrows chasing each other endlessly. But does it really mean something is recyclable?In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into the surprising history and modern misuse of the recycling symbol, also known as the Mobius loop. From Gary Anderson’s winning design to the unregulated use of the triangle-on-plastics today, this story is a

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00:05:30

The Craziest Olympic Marathon Ever | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/21

In today’s Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into the wildest Olympic race of all time—the 1904 Olympic Marathon in St. Louis, Missouri, a chaotic, dusty disaster full of cars, poison, and unbelievable cheating.From runners collapsing in 90-degree heat with no water, to a guy literally riding in a car for part of the race… and still almost winning—this event was absolute madness.Even the official winner, Thomas Hicks, was dosed with strychnine—yes, the poison used to kill rats—mixed with brandy and

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00:02:40

Why Do We Say “Going Cold Turkey”? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/20

Why do we say someone quit “cold turkey” when they stop something abruptly? Gordy breaks down the two top theories behind this odd phrase—and neither involves leftovers.One theory ties the phrase to the physical symptoms of withdrawal, where pale skin and goosebumps were said to resemble uncooked turkey. The other traces it back to the older phrase “talking turkey,” meaning to speak plainly—with “cold turkey” evolving into a metaphor for doing something bluntly and without ceremony.So which theory

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00:06:15

How Did They Measure Everest Before Computers? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/04/19

How did they measure Mount Everest before satellites, drones, or even calculators? In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores how 19th-century surveyors pulled off one of the most impressive feats of pre-digital science — calculating the height of the world’s tallest mountain with stunning precision.Long before GPS, the British-led Great Trigonometrical Survey of India used trigonometry, angle measurements, and a whole lot of patience to determine that Peak XV — later renamed Mount

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368 results

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