Episodes
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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 how oil companies, air rights, and geothermal laws shape what’s yours—and what’s not.
Stay curious, stay clever.
Sources:
Bender, S. D. (2019). Subsurface Property Rights: Who Owns the Earth Below? Property and Law Journal, 45.
American Bar Association. (n.d.). Mineral Rights: Surface Rights vs. Subsurface Rights. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/teaching-legal-docs/mineral-rights/
Cornell Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Ad Coelum Doctrine. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/ad_coelum
NYC Planning. (n.d.). Air Rights and the Zoning Resolution. Retrieved from https://www.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/about/city-planning-history/zoning-resolution.pdf
U.S. Geological Survey. (n.d.). Subsurface Ownership in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.usgs.gov/programs/energy-resources-program/science/subsurface-ownership-united-states
Music thanks to Zapsplat.
#SmartestYearEver #LearnEveryDay #PropertyRights #WeirdLaws #HistoryFacts #FunFacts #GeologyFacts #DailyLearning #MindBlown #StayCurious #WorldsGreatestConversationalists
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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 Neanderthals and modern humans, and what it means to be built for burst, not distance.
Follow Smartest Year Ever for more daily facts that make you a better conversationalist.
Sources:
Payne, R.C., & Crompton, R.H. (2014). Biomechanical consequences of shorter lower limbs in Neanderthals. Journal of Human Evolution, 76, 98–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.03.002
Raichlen, D.A., & Lieberman, D.E. (2009). Running, endurance, and Homo evolution. Journal of Human Evolution, 56, 403–410.
University College London. (2019). Neanderthals sprinted through Ice Age woodlands. UCL News. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/jan/neanderthals-sprinted-ice-age-woodlands
Churchill, S.E. (2014). Thin on the Ground: Neandertal Biology, Archeology and Ecology. Wiley-Blackwell.
#NeanderthalSpeed #HumanEvolution #SprintVsEndurance #Anthropology #Biomechanics #SmartestYearEver #StayCurious #StayClever #DailyKnowledge
Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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Missing episodes?
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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 quest to become the world’s greatest conversationalist.
Sources:
Los Angeles Times. (2022). L.A. is iconic for its palm trees. But they're on the way out. https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-06-23/l-a-iconic-palm-trees-are-disappearing
KCET. (n.d.). Are palm trees native to L.A.? Where did they come from? https://www.kcet.org/history-society/are-palm-trees-native-to-l-a
Smithsonian Magazine. (2017). Why are there so many palm trees in Los Angeles? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/why-are-there-so-many-palm-trees-los-angeles-180962374/
Los Angeles Department of City Planning. (n.d.). Urban Forestry: Street Trees. https://planning.lacity.org/odocument/42a4e8c2-df5e-42b0-8724-b27557d8db9a/StreetTrees.pdf
Music thanks to Zapsplat. #PalmTrees #LosAngeles #SmartestYearEver #UrbanForestry #CityPlanning #DailyFacts #NatureFacts #FunFacts #DidYouKnow #TreeFacts #Environment #HistoryFacts
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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 structure, and evolution left zebras on the sidelines while horses took center stage in human history.
Stay curious, stay clever.
Follow @SmartestYearEver for more daily facts on the journey to become the world’s greatest conversationalists.
Sources:
Clutton-Brock, J. (1992). Horse Power: A History of the Horse and Donkey in Human Societies. Harvard University Press.
Diamond, J. (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel. W. W. Norton & Company.
ZME Science. (n.d.). Why Zebras Were Never Domesticated. Retrieved from https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/natural-sciences/animals/mammals/why-zebras-were-never-domesticated
Rare Historical Photos. (n.d.). Riding Zebras: Historical Photographs. Retrieved from https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/riding-zebras-photographs
University College London. (2019). Neanderthals sprinted through Ice Age woodlands. Retrieved from https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/jan/neanderthals-sprinted-ice-age-woodlands
Music thanks to Zapsplat.
#Zebras #AnimalFacts #WhyZebrasArentRidden #SmartestYearEver #DailyFacts #FunFacts #HistoryFacts #Domestication #DidYouKnow #Evolution #ScienceFacts #CuriousMinds #AnimalBehavior #StayCurious
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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 perfect example of how good intentions can get muddied by marketing.
You’ll learn:
Who actually invented the recycling symbol—and why
What those little numbers inside the triangle really mean
Why most plastics with the symbol still end up in the landfill
And how “circular reasoning” might be the most honest description of all
Whether you care about the environment or just love a good origin story, this one’s for you.
• California Attorney General. (2022). Attorney General Bonta launches investigation into role of fossil fuel and petrochemical industries in causing global plastic pollution. https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-launches-investigation-role-fossil-fuel-and
• American Institute of Graphic Arts. (2020). Recycling symbol turns 50. https://www.aiga.org/aiga/content/tools-and-resources/recycling-symbol-turns-50/
• Stanford Magazine. (2020). Symbolically green: The story behind the recycling symbol. https://stanfordmag.org/contents/symbolically-green
• Federal Trade Commission. (2012). Guides for the use of environmental marketing claims (Green Guides). https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-green-guides
#RecyclingFacts #EarthDay #PlasticWaste #DesignHistory #Greenwashing #MobiusLoop #Sustainability #EnvironmentalEducation #SmartestYearEver
Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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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 egg whites to keep him going. He was hallucinating, carried across the finish line, and still declared the gold medalist.
This episode reveals the bizarre early history of performance-enhancing drugs, Olympic rule chaos, and why this race almost killed people—including its winner.
Was this the most ridiculous race in Olympic history? You decide.
Sources:
Lennartz, K., & Teutenberg, W. (2004). The 1904 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. McFarland.
Wallechinsky, D., & Loucky, J. (2012). The Complete Book of the Olympics. Aurum Press.
The Guardian. (2012, July 30). Olympic scandal: the 1904 marathon was pure mayhem. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/jul/30/olympics-2012-1904-marathon
Smithsonian Magazine. (n.d.). The 1904 Olympic Marathon May Have Been the Strangest Ever. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1904-olympic-marathon-may-have-been-strangest-ever-180952747/
International Olympic Committee. (n.d.). History of Doping Control. https://olympics.com/ioc/medical-and-scientific-commission
#Olympics #OlympicHistory #StrangeButTrue #1904Marathon #WeirdHistory #SmartestYearEver #DailyFacts #MarathonMonday #HistoryNerd #LearnEveryDay #PodcastFacts #RunningHistory #bostonmarathon #olympics #olympichistory #athletic #runners Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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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 is right? Honestly, both could be. Language is rarely as tidy as we want it to be.
Sources:
Ayto, J. (2010). Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford University Press.
Etymonline. (n.d.). Cold turkey. Retrieved from https://www.etymonline.com/word/cold%20turkey
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). The origin of "cold turkey." Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/what-does-cold-turkey-mean
#SmartestYearEver #ColdTurkey #WordOrigins #LanguageFacts #FunFacts #CuriousMinds #HistoryNerd #EverydayPhrases #DidYouKnow #LearnEveryDay Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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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 Everest — was the highest point on Earth. And the number they came up with? Just 29 feet off from what modern tech says today.
You’ll learn about:
The math behind the original height calculation
Why they couldn’t just climb it
The forgotten local names of Everest
And how this entire project rewrote what we knew about the Earth’s surface
This is a story of math, ambition, and colonial geography — and one of the most mind-blowing scientific estimates in human history.
Sources:
Waugh, A. (1856). The Survey of Mount Everest. Royal Geographical Society.
Green, C. S. (1999). Surveying Techniques and Early Geographical Discoveries. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 33(4).
Royal Geographical Society. (n.d.). History of Mount Everest’s Surveying. Retrieved from www.rgs.org
Headrick, D. R. (2009). Technology: A World History. Oxford University Press.
#MountEverest #EverestFacts #HistoryNerd #SmartestYearEver #DailyLearning #GeoHistory #MountainTrivia #TrigonometricalSurvey #ScienceFacts #WorldGeography #GTSIndia #SurveyingHistory #intothinair #Everest #math Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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You know that little dangly thing at the back of your throat? It’s called the uvula, and it’s not just hanging out for decoration. In today’s episode, Gordy dives into why we have a uvula, what it does, and how it quietly helps us speak, swallow, and stay healthy.
Turns out, this squishy little grape-shaped structure is involved in everything from making certain consonants possible to preventing food from going up your nose. It even contributes to your immune defense — and yes, it can swell up and cause trouble if you treat it wrong (ask College Gordy).
Plus, where did the name “uvula” even come from? And why would anyone want it removed?
This episode is all about small things that punch above their weight — and the uvula is a surprisingly mighty MVP.
🧠 Smart conversations start with smart curiosity. This one’s juicy.
Sources
Jones, K., et al. (2011). The role of the uvula in speech and swallowing. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(1), 13–20.
Hunter, W. (1995). The anatomy and function of the uvula. Journal of Medical History.
Oxford English Dictionary. (n.d.). Uvula. oed.com.
Brodsky, L. (2014). Surgical management of the uvula and its role in sleep apnea. American Journal of Otolaryngology, 35.
#Uvula #AnatomyFacts #SpeechScience #SmartestYearEver #FunFacts #DidYouKnow #WeirdBiology #DailyFacts #LearnSomethingNewEveryDay
Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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If Ancient Rome was so brilliant, why didn’t they invent trains? Or steam engines? Or, you know… industrialize?
In this episode, Gordy explores why one of history’s most advanced civilizations never sparked an industrial revolution, even though they had brilliant engineers, sprawling cities, and even a proto-steam engine over a thousand years before James Watt.
From the invention of Hero’s aeolipile to Rome’s heavy reliance on slave labor and rigid social hierarchies, this episode breaks down the real reasons why the Romans paved the roads, but never built the trains. Spoiler: It’s not because they weren’t smart.
Perfect for history nerds, science fans, and anyone who’s ever asked: “What if Rome had railroads?”
Sources:
Wilson, A. (2002). Machines, Power and the Ancient Economy. The Journal of Roman Studies, 92, 1–32.
Landels, J. G. (2000). Engineering in the Ancient World. University of California Press.
Oleson, J. P. (Ed.). (2008). The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Oxford University Press.
Greene, K. (1990). The Archaeology of the Roman Economy. University of California Press.
Headrick, D. R. (2009). Technology: A World History. Oxford University Press.
Hashtags: #AncientRome #IndustrialRevolution #HistoryNerds #SmartestYearEver #DidYouKnow #WhyRomeHadNoTrains #EverydayHistoryFacts
Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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Why do we call someone the “salt of the earth”? Or say someone’s “all that and a bag of chips”? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy breaks down the surprising, strange, and sometimes murky origins of common food idioms. From medieval soup to colonial slang, we’re digging into five of the most popular phrases — including one submitted by a listener on TikTok.
Language is messy, and idiom histories aren’t always crystal clear — but these stories give you the best-supported theories we’ve got. Tune in for a tasty batch of etymological brain snacks you can drop at your next dinner party.
🧂 Phrases covered in this episode:
Salt of the earth
Have your cake and eat it too
Make no bones about it
All that and a bag of chips
Big cheese
Follow @SmartestYearEver on your favorite platforms for daily wit, wisdom, and conversational gold.
Sources:
Ayto, J. (2010). Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford University Press.
Green, J. (2010). Green’s Dictionary of Slang. Chambers.
Oxford English Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.oed.com
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Dictionary and Thesaurus. https://www.merriam-webster.com
Smithsonian Magazine. (n.d.). The mysterious origins of everyday phrases. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-mysterious-origins-of-everyday-phrases-180974609/
Music thanks to Zapsplat. #languagefacts #etymology #FoodPhrases #SmartestYearEver #IdiomsExplained #LearnEveryDay #WittyWisdom #FunFacts #WordOrigins #EverydayEnglish
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Since 1951, Oscar winners have been legally blocked from selling their statuettes. Why? Because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wants to keep the Oscars about artistic merit—not money.
Gordy breaks down the unusual contract every winner enters: they must offer the Oscar back to the Academy for one dollar before trying to sell, gift, or even bequeath it. That dollar isn’t random—it’s a legal requirement called “consideration.” Without it, the agreement wouldn’t hold up in court.
So while Oscar winners can cherish their awards forever, they’re not allowed to cash them in. Even their heirs can’t sell them—unless it’s a pre-1951 statuette, like the one Michael Jackson bought for $1.54 million.
And yes—the Academy enforces it. Heirs have been sued. Auctions have been shut down. And the courts have backed the Academy every time.
This is the rare award you can win… but never truly own.
Sources:
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (n.d.). Regulations. Oscars.org. https://www.oscars.org/legal/regulations
CBS News. (n.d.). How much is an Oscar statue worth? The resale value of Academy Awards. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-oscar-statue-worth
TIME. (2014). If You Sell Your Oscar, You're Going to Get Sued. https://time.com/2948153/oscar-sold-sued-joseph-wright-briarbrook-auctions
#Oscars #FilmFacts #HollywoodHistory #DailyFacts #SmartestYearEver Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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Why Do Cicadas Wait 17 Years to Emerge? The Evolutionary Secret Behind Prime Number Broods
Cicadas don’t hibernate for 17 years—they strategically wait underground, avoiding predators with one of the most fascinating evolutionary timelines on Earth.
In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into Brood XIV, the massive group of cicadas emerging in 2025 across 13 U.S. states. Why do they come out every 13 or 17 years? And why those weird prime numbers?
Turns out, it’s a brilliant move called predator satiation—and the prime-number timing may help them avoid syncing up with predator life cycles entirely. Gordy breaks it all down with vivid, weirdly satisfying logic. You'll also learn how cicadas live as root-sucking nymphs underground for nearly two decades before emerging in a synchronized, noisy, reproductive flash mob.
If you're in the eastern U.S., get ready: the ground’s about to hum.
Sources:
U.S. Forest Service. (n.d.). Here come the cicadas!. U.S. Department of Agriculture. https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/features/here-come-cicadas
Live Science. (2011, May 13). Why Southern Cicadas Emerge In Exact Prime Number Cycles. https://www.livescience.com/14238-southern-cicadas-emerge-exact-prime-number-cycles.html
NBC Chicago. (2024, April). Which cicada broods you will see in different parts of Illinois. https://www.nbcchicago.com/cicadas-illinois-chicago-2024/which-cicada-broods-see-different-parts-illinois-historic-emergence-begins/3428725/
#Cicadas #NatureFacts #Evolution #BroodXIV #17Years #Entomology #FunFacts #PrimeNumbers #SmartestYearEver
Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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Can you legally go through life in the U.S. with just one name? In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores the strange paradox of naming laws in America: it’s not illegal to be nameless—but try living without one, and you’ll hit a bureaucratic wall. From government forms to bank accounts, our systems are built on two-name assumptions. Gordy investigates whether going mononym like Prince is actually possible, and what happens if you try.
Plus: the story of a girl named Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii, and why a judge had to step in.
This episode is a great one to share with someone who loves quirky law, civic paradoxes, and name-related weirdness.
So… is it illegal not to have a last name? No. But good luck functioning in modern life without one.
Sources:
HowStuffWorks. (n.d.). Is it illegal not to have a name? Retrieved from https://people.howstuffworks.com/no-name.htm
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (n.d.). Verification of Identifying Information. Retrieved from https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-1-part-e-chapter-5
BBC News. (2008, July 24). New Zealand girl’s name deemed unacceptable. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7522952.stm
#NameLaws #WeirdFacts #LegalTrivia #CivicCuriosities #SmartestYearEver #DailyLearning #EverydayFacts #MindBlown Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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In this episode, Gordy digs into some wildly optimistic (and occasionally insulting) predictions made in 1925 about the world we’d be living in today, in 2025. From flying cars and rooftop airports to the disappearance of beauty itself, futurists from a century ago weren’t exactly short on opinions.Featuring forecasts from scientists, novelists, and newspaper editors, this episode unpacks five of the most striking predictions made in the roaring 1920s. Some came close—like H.G. Wells’s vision of a global trifecta of power. Others? Well… let’s just say humanity is still very beautiful and very much stuck in traffic.This episode commemorates over 100 episodes of Smartest Year Ever and asks: what will we get wrong about 2125?Source:Price, M. (2024, Jan 5). From immortality to ugly people: 100-year-old predictions about 2025. Akron Beacon Journal. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2024/01/05/what-people-in-1925-predicted-about-life-in-2025/72101552007/ #FuturePredictions #HistoryOfTheFuture #SmartestYearEver #1925to2025 #WildHistory #DidYouKnow #FunFacts #LearnEveryDay #futurology
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Why do donkeys and your backside share the same word? It’s not what you think.
In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks the linguistic mix-up that gave us the same word for both a pack animal and your posterior. Spoiler: it has nothing to do with donkeys being stubborn.
The term for a donkey comes from Latin asinus, while the word for your rear end traces back to Old English ærs, which became arse, and later the modern American version we all know—just spelled the same as the animal.
So, two meanings, two histories, and one awkward overlap. Blame the evolution of English, not the donkey.
Sources:
Oxford English Dictionary. (n.d.). Ass (animal) and arse. Oxford University Press.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Ass and arse. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.
Harper, D. (n.d.). Ass and arse. Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com
Hashtags: #LanguageFacts #Etymology #Donkeys #SmartestYearEver #WordNerd #HistoryOfWords Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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Does your birth order actually influence your personality—or is your older sibling just using it to justify being bossy?
In Episode 100 of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores the classic theory that birth order shapes personality. Are firstborns really more responsible? Do youngest siblings actually tend to be rebellious? And what happens to middle children—besides being forgotten at Walmart?
From Alfred Adler’s early theories to modern scientific studies, we dig into whether there’s any real science behind these claims—or if we’ve just been enabling our siblings for years.
Find out:
Why firstborns might score higher on IQ tests
How youngest kids may have evolved into natural performers
Why middle children could be the true diplomats of the family
And whether the research actually backs any of it up
This 100th episode is your perfect chance to settle (or restart) that family debate—with facts.
Sources:
Rohrer, J. M., Egloff, B., & Schmukle, S. C. (2015). Examining the effects of birth order on personality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(46), 14224–14229. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1506451112
Salmon, C., & Schumann, K. (2012). The Secret Power of Middle Children. Plume.
Adler, A. (1928). Characteristics of the First, Second and Third Child. Routledge.
#BirthOrder #PersonalityScience #SmartestYearEver #DailyFacts #PsychologyFacts Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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What’s humanity’s backup plan if farming fails? Gordy explores the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a secure facility tucked inside a Norwegian mountain that stores over a million seed samples—a real-life "save game" button for civilization.
From war zones to climate change, agriculture has always been vulnerable. But Svalbard’s frozen vault preserves the genetic future of crops, offering hope if disaster ever strikes. And in 2015, it already proved its worth when seeds were withdrawn during the Syrian Civil War, helping restore what was lost.
This episode explains why the vault was built, how it’s kept secure, and the real story of how it quietly protects global food security—while also being threatened by the very thing it guards against: climate change.
A story of science, planning, and just-in-case brilliance.
Sources:
Fowler, C. (2008). The Svalbard Global Seed Vault: Securing the Future of Agriculture. Global Crop Diversity Trust. Retrieved from https://cdn.croptrust.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Svalbard-Global-Seed-Vault-FactSheet.pdf
Westengen, O.T., Jeppson, S., & Guarino, L. (2013). Global Ex-Situ Crop Diversity Conservation and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault: Assessing the Current Status. PLOS ONE, 8(5), e64146. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064146
Qvenild, M. (2008). Svalbard Global Seed Vault: A ‘Noah’s Ark’ for the World’s Seeds. Development in Practice, 18(1), 110–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614520701778934
Carrington, D. (2015). Syrian war spurs first withdrawal from doomsday Arctic seed vault. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/23/syrian-war-spurs-first-withdrawal-from-doomsday-arctic-seed-vault
Crop Trust. (2025). Svalbard Global Seed Vault Official Website. Retrieved from https://www.croptrust.org/work/svalbard-global-seed-vault/
#SmartestYearEver #SeedVault #Svalbard #ClimateResilience #DailyLearning Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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How did a melted candy bar lead to a kitchen revolution?
In this episode, Gordy dives into the accidental invention of the microwave oven—a story that starts not with culinary ambition, but with a confused radar engineer and a pocket full of chocolate. Learn how microwaves work, why they don’t cook from the inside out, and what really happens when you put metal inside one. From dancing water molecules to the explosive first test with an egg, this episode breaks down the science and the strange origin of a device that transformed kitchens around the world.
Plus: what do pink lemonade and microwave ovens have in common? A surprising theory about the power of a good origin story.
Microwave myths, molecule raves, and one of the most delicious accidents in tech history—this one’s loaded.
Sources
Gallawa, J.C. (2013). How Do Microwave Ovens Work? U.S. Food & Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/resources-you-radiation-emitting-products/microwave-oven-radiation
Blitz, M. (2016). The amazing true story of how the microwave was invented by accident. Popular Mechanics. https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a23841/microwave-oven-history/
Kennedy, J. (2021). Why can’t you put metal in the microwave? MIT School of Engineering. https://engineering.mit.edu/engage/ask-an-engineer/why-cant-we-put-metal-objects-in-a-microwave/
Butler, S. (2017). A brief history of the microwave oven. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/brief-history-microwave-oven-180962837/
Music thanks to Zapsplat. #MicrowaveHistory #KitchenScience #SmartestYearEver #ScienceFacts #EverydayScience #FoodTech #MicrowaveMyths #CuriousMinds
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Ever wondered why your name comes with a bonus round in the middle? Gordy dives into the unexpected history of middle names—from ancient Roman status symbols to modern-day family dramas.
Discover how "Julius Hairy Caesar" wasn’t just a bold branding choice, why John Quincy Adams helped make middle names mainstream, and how adding a middle initial makes you seem smarter (seriously, science says so).
Gordy also explores cultures that skip the middle name entirely, like Japan and Iceland, and drops a bombshell: Richard Gere’s middle name is Tiffany. You're welcome.
Whether your middle name is sentimental, unfortunate, or just confusing, this episode explains why we even have them—and what they really say about us.
Sources:
Wilson, S. (1998). The means of naming: A social and cultural history of personal naming in Western Europe. Routledge.
Evans, C. K. (2006). The great big book of baby names. Publications International, Ltd.
Van Tilburg, W. A. P., & Igou, E. R. (2014). The impact of middle names: Middle name initials enhance evaluations of intellectual performance. European Journal of Social Psychology, 44(4), 400–411. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2026
Algeo, J., & Butcher, C. A. (2013). The origins and development of the English language (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Bryson, B. (2001). Made in America: An informal history of the English language in the United States. William Morrow Paperbacks.
#MiddleNames #NameHistory #SmartestYearEver #FunFacts #DailyKnowledge Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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