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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

00:03:24

The Proof Is in the Pudding? – The Origins of an...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/03/09

Ever wonder why people say "the proof is in the pudding"? Proof of what? And why pudding? Was there some kind of medieval pudding trial we all forgot about?Turns out, the original phrase actually made sense—but over time, English speakers did what they do best: butchered it beyond recognition.The original saying was "the proof of the pudding is in the eating," first recorded in the early 1600s. Back then, "proof" meant "test," not "evidence" like in

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00:03:43

The Last Pontiac Ever Made | Smartest Year Ever (Mar...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/03/08

Once upon a time, Pontiac was the king of American muscle, rolling out classics like the GTO, Firebird, and Trans Am—cars that looked fast even when parked. But by the 2000s, Pontiac wasn’t tearing up the road so much as swerving toward bankruptcy.So what happened? From its origins as a performance powerhouse to its slow decline into rebadged Chevys, Pontiac’s story is one of muscle, missteps, and financial meltdown. When General Motors went bankrupt in 2009, Pontiac was among the casualties, along

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00:04:28

Daylight Saving Time | Smartest Year Ever (Mar 7, 2025)

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/03/07

Twice a year, millions of people get legally gaslit into thinking it's an hour later than it actually is. Welcome to the weird history of Daylight Saving Time (DST)—a war-time energy trick that refuses to die.Who actually came up with this? Why does it mess with our bodies? And does it even save energy anymore? Gordy breaks it all down, covering:DST’s real origin story (not just Ben Franklin’s joke)Why we “spring forward” and “fall back” every yearThe health risks of losing an hour of sleepThe

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00:05:10

How Did Godzilla Get Its Name? | Smartest Year Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/03/06

For a giant, fire-breathing lizard, Godzilla has a surprisingly bizarre origin story. Before he became an unstoppable nuclear force, he was originally imagined as…a gorilla-whale hybrid. Yep. Gorira (ゴリラ) means gorilla, Kujira (クジラ) means whale, and together, they formed Gojira—the name that became Godzilla in English.But Godzilla’s story goes beyond just a weird name—he was conceived in post-war Japan as a metaphor for nuclear destruction, a symbol of unstoppable devastation. And he wasn’t always

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00:04:01

Fairy Rings: Mushroom Circles, Science, and Magic |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/03/05

Mushrooms in perfect circles? Folklore calls them fairy rings—portals to the supernatural where sprites dance and witches gather. But the real magic is fungal biology. These eerie centuries-old formations grow as a fungus expands outward, creating rings that get bigger every year. Some kill grass, others make it greener, and some even produce plant hormones!Today, Gordy digs into: The science behind fairy rings—how fungi spread in a perfect circle Ancient myths that warned of curses and time loops

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00:05:15

Why Deep-Sea Divers Sound Like Chipmunks | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/03/04

Saturation diving is one of the most extreme, dangerous, and downright bizarre jobs on the planet. These deep-sea specialists work at depths of 1,000 feet, living inside pressurized chambers for weeks to survive the crushing pressure. And if they try to surface too fast? Their blood fizzes like a shaken soda can—a one-way ticket to decompression sickness.To breathe at these depths, divers replace nitrogen with helium, preventing narcosis and allowing them to function. But helium has one

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00:03:38

The Banjo’s Unexpected Roots | Smartest Year Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/03/03

The banjo—that fast-picking, twangy staple of bluegrass and folk music—didn’t start in the Appalachian hills. Its origins stretch across continents and centuries, with deep roots in West African musical traditions.The first written mention of the banjo dates back to 1687, describing an instrument played by enslaved musicians in Jamaica. Over time, it evolved through cultural blending, picking up different names—"mbanza," "banjar," or "bandore"—before becoming the

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00:04:44

Stock Photos: When Your Face Goes Viral... By...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/03/02

Ever wondered who those random people in stock photos are? The ones smiling at salad or looking stressed at their laptops? They never know where their faces will end up. Before Marvel, Simu Liu made $120 posing for stock images—only to find himself haunting textbooks and billboards. B.J. Novak (The Office) somehow became a global stock model by accident. And Hide the Pain Harold? Well, his meme-worthy face has a life of its own.Stock photography is a multi-billion-dollar industry, but AI is coming

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00:04:59

March: The First Month of the Year? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/03/01

March wasn’t always just another month—it used to be the first month of the year. Named after Mars, the Roman god of war, March was the time when winter ended, armies mobilized, and life restarted after months of dormancy. But if it was originally the first month of the year, why did it get pushed back to third place? And how did the early Romans deal with the gap between December and March?Gordy dives into the ancient Roman calendar, the strange missing winter months, and why March still feels like

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00:03:23

Paraprosdokians: The Sentence Switch-Ups That Trick...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/28

Ever heard a sentence that completely flips on you at the last second? That’s a paraprosdokian—a linguistic bait-and-switch where the second half of a sentence changes the meaning of the first. Your brain loves them because they play on expectation vs. surprise—and comedians, writers, and even world leaders have mastered the art of the paraprosdokian twist.From Groucho Marx to Winston Churchill, from comedy to speeches, these clever turns of phrase are everywhere. Today, Gordy breaks down why they

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00:03:14

Why Is Olive Oil Extra Virgin? | Smartest Year Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/27

Why is olive oil so obsessed with virginity? It’s the only oil in your kitchen that insists on being called “extra virgin”—but what does that actually mean? Today, Gordy breaks down the grading system of olive oil, what makes it extra virgin, and how the International Olive Council (yes, that’s a real thing) ensures your EVOO isn’t a scam.Follow Smartest Year Ever for daily mind-expanding facts!Sources: International Olive Council. (2023). Trade standard applying to olive oils and olive pomace oils

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00:04:12

Discontinued Dollar Bills | Smartest Year Ever (Feb...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/26

Ever had a $2 bill and felt like you were holding a piece of forbidden currency? Or heard rumors about $500 or even $10,000 bills? Believe it or not, the U.S. once had a whole lineup of banknotes that are now either extinct or barely hanging on.Gordy breaks down:💵 The $2 Bill – Discontinued, revived, and still secretly printed today.💰 The $500, $1,000, $5,000 & $10,000 Bills – From crime lords to banking giants, these bills once ruled high-stakes transactions.🏦 The $100,000 Bill – The largest

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00:03:38

The Kentucky Meat Shower | Smartest Year Ever (Feb...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/25

On March 3, 1876, the skies over a quiet Kentucky town opened up—not with rain, not with hail, but with mysterious chunks of raw meat. Dubbed the Kentucky Meat Shower, this bizarre event saw bloody, four-inch slabs of flesh falling from above, covering the farm of Mrs. Crouch, who was just outside making soap when the sky-meat apocalypse began.Eyewitnesses, being the curious (and possibly reckless) types, tasted the mystery meat, reporting that it had the texture of mutton or venison. But where did

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00:04:35

Gorilla Glasses | Smartest Year Ever (Feb 24, 2025)

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/24

Eye contact can be intense—but lock eyes with a gorilla, and you might be asking for trouble. That’s exactly what happened at the Rotterdam Zoo, where gorillas were getting agitated by staring contests with visitors. The solution? Gorilla Glasses—cardboard glasses with fake eyes to trick the gorillas into thinking you weren’t challenging them to a 400-pound showdown.In this episode, Gordy dives into the science of primate behavior, the wild story of Bokito, the gorilla who leapt a moat after

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00:03:35

Nominative Determinism | Smartest Year Ever (Feb 23,...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/23

Ever feel like some people were destined for their jobs? Meet nominative determinism—the uncanny idea that your name might subtly nudge you toward a fitting career. Why else would a neurologist be named Lord Brain, or a urologist be Dr. Stream? And let’s not forget the legend, Usain Bolt, who became the fastest man alive.Coined in the 1990s by New Scientist, nominative determinism suggests that we may unconsciously gravitate toward careers that match our names. Studies even show Dennis and Denise

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00:03:39

Ancient Statues Were Colorful?! | Smartest Year Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/22

For centuries, we’ve been fed a big fat artistic lie. Those sleek, white marble statues from ancient Greece and Rome? They weren’t supposed to be white. They were painted in bold, almost garish colors—think bright reds, deep blues, and even gold leaf.So why do we think of them as pristine white? Blame time, weather, and Renaissance scholars who assumed the ruins they found were always meant to look that way. Modern science has exposed the truth. Using UV light, X-ray fluorescence, and pigment

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00:04:53

Why Do We Blow Out Birthday Candles? | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/21

Blowing out birthday candles might be the germiest part of your celebration—bacteria levels on a cake can increase by 1,400% when someone makes a wish. But where did this bizarre tradition even come from?Turns out, ancient Greeks, 18th-century Germans, and soul-stealing spirits all played a role in the evolution of the birthday cake ritual. From offering moonlit cakes to Artemis to Kinderfest candles symbolizing the “light of life,” the history of birthday celebrations is far weirder (and

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00:02:47

Light vs. Dark Roast: Who Wins the Caffeine War? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/20

2/20/25 - Light vs. Dark Roast: Who Wins the Caffeine War?Does dark roast have more caffeine because it's “stronger,” or does light roast pack more punch because it’s roasted less? Coffee debates get steamy, but here’s the real answer: it depends on how you measure it. If you measure by volume (a scoop of grounds), light roast wins—the beans are denser, so you get more caffeine per scoop. If you measure by weight (on a scale), dark roast wins—roasting removes moisture, so you end up using more

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00:03:25

Why Do We Go Bald on Our Heads but Not Our Faces? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/19

Why does male pattern baldness target your scalp but leave your beard untouched? The answer lies in DHT (dihydrotestosterone)—a byproduct of testosterone that miniaturizes hair follicles on your head while supercharging beard growth.Today, Gordy dives into:Why DHT causes balding but boosts facial hairThe genetic lottery that determines who loses hairWhy arm and leg hair stay intact while your hairline retreatsThe evolutionary irony behind baldingYour body isn’t losing hair—it’s just moving it around

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00:04:41

Why Do We Clap? | Smartest Year Ever (Feb 18, 2025)

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/02/18

Why do we clap instead of, say, snorting like a pig? 🤔 Applause is so universal that even babies do it without being taught—but where did it start? Turns out, clapping has a deep history, from Roman toga waves to professional clappers hired to make performances seem like a bigger hit.Ancient Rome had elite squads of applauders, and in 18th-century France, claqueurs were literally paid to clap—or boo if they weren’t compensated. Even Emperor Nero had 5,000 professional clappers ensuring his

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