Smartest Year Ever

At the heart of the Yucatán jungle stands one of the most mathematically astonishing structures ever built: El Castillo , the towering pyramid of Chichén Itzá . But this isn’t just architecture—it’s astronomy , acoustics , and ancient cosmology in stone. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives into the mysteries of Chichén Itzá—one of the New 7 Wonders of the World —to explore how the...

How do you lose an entire city in the mountains—and then find it again centuries later? In this episode, Gordy explores Machu Picchu , the legendary Incan citadel perched high in the Andes Mountains , hidden from the outside world for over 400 years. We’ll uncover how the Inca built this architectural wonder at 8,000 feet, without wheels , iron tools , or written records —and how a Yale professor...

Why did Brazil build a 100-foot-tall statue of Jesus (Christ the Redeemer) on top of a mountain ? How did they do it without helicopters or cranes —and what secret chamber is hidden inside his chest? In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy explores Christ the Redeemer , the towering statue that has become a global icon of Brazil. From its political origins to its mind-blowing construction...

Petra wasn’t built—it was carved . Straight into rose-red cliffs in the Jordanian desert. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives into the lost city of Petra , a marvel of ancient engineering , water mastery , and architectural fusion . Once a bustling capital of the Nabataean kingdom , Petra is famous for its towering façade known as Al-Khazneh —but there’s way more hidden beneath the...

Is the Great Wall of China really the only manmade structure you can see from space? Gordy kicks off Wonders Week with one of the most iconic monuments on Earth—and digs into what’s fact, what’s fiction, and what makes the Wall truly unforgettable. From its 2,000-year history to Ming Dynasty engineering feats , glutinous rice mortar , and its complicated legacy as both a defense system and a symbo...

Why do almost-human faces make us uncomfortable? Why does a robot that looks too real feel creepier than one that doesn’t? In this episode, Gordy explores the strange psychological dip known as the Uncanny Valley — where human-likeness turns unsettling. From lifelike robots to CGI gone wrong , we break down the evolutionary, cognitive, and emotional reasons behind this phenomenon — and why it stil...

What’s the deepest hole humans have ever dug? And what did we find when we got there? In this episode, Gordy explores the mind-bending story of the Kola Superdeep Borehole , a Cold War-era Soviet project that went deeper into the Earth than any drill had ever gone before — and hasn’t been surpassed since. While space exploration was captivating the world’s imagination, the Soviet Union decided to...

Gordy tackles one of the strangest legal questions on Earth: Could you actually build a house in Antarctica? It sounds absurd—but in a place with no cities, no government, and no cops, who’s stopping you? In this icy episode, Gordy explores: The Antarctic Treaty System and why sovereignty is frozen in place How Argentina tried to claim land by sending pregnant women Why even scientists struggle to...

 Why do so many epic stories—from Star Wars to Harry Potter to The Lion King —follow the same exact plot points? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy unpacks The Hero’s Journey , the storytelling blueprint behind Hollywood blockbusters , ancient myths , and nearly every piece of popular fiction you’ve ever loved. Based on the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell , and later adapted by scre...

In 1944, while war raged across Europe, 36 American men volunteered to be starved in Minnesota. But this wasn’t punishment. It was science. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy unpacks one of the most extreme human experiments ever approved: The Minnesota Starvation Experiment . Conducted by Dr. Ancel Keys , this study wasn’t about cruelty — it was designed to solve one of the biggest pos...

Have we been picturing dinosaurs all wrong? This episode of Smartest Year Ever dives into the controversial world of paleontological reconstructions , where some scientists believe our classic T. rex and Velociraptor imagery might be misleading. Were they really lean, scaly lizards—or have we been “shrinkwrapping” their bones and forgetting the feathers, fat, and flesh? Gordy explores how modern r...

Why do websites keep asking if you're a robot? And what if checking that box is about more than just security? In this episode, Gordy dives deep into the mysterious world of CAPTCHAs —those pesky puzzles we all click through daily. From their origins as spam blockers to their unexpected role in training artificial intelligence , you'll never look at a blurry street sign the same way again....

Oldest Message in a Bottle Found After 132 Years (Lost at Sea and Found) | Smartest Year Ever (June 1, 2025) What’s the oldest confirmed message in a bottle ever found? And what story did it carry across time, tides, and oceans? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives into the real-life discovery that stunned maritime historians, scientists, and Guinness record-keepers alike. From the...

What’s the most isolated place on Earth? Somewhere so far from land, the closest humans… are in space ? In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives into Point Nemo — a remote patch of the Pacific Ocean with no islands , no people , and almost no marine life. But here’s the twist: this watery void has become the final resting place for over a hundred decommissioned spacecraft . There’s a...

In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy unpacks one of humanity’s boldest space broadcasts — the Arecibo Message . In 1974, a powerful radio telescope in Puerto Rico fired off a burst of binary data aimed at the stars. But what was in that message? Who was it meant for? And why do some scientists now think we might've made a cosmic mistake? Explore how Frank Drake , Carl Sagan , and othe...

 Why haven’t we heard from aliens? Maybe the real question is: why would they want to be heard? In this episode, Gordy explores the Dark Forest Theory —a chilling thought experiment that flips the Fermi Paradox on its head. What if space isn’t quiet because we’re alone, but because everyone’s hiding? Drawing from Liu Cixin’s sci-fi masterpiece The Three-Body Problem , this concept offers a grippin...

The Drake Passage is one of the most notorious stretches of ocean on Earth — a 600-mile-wide maritime gauntlet between Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula , where rogue waves , cyclonic winds , and the full force of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current converge. Gordy explores why sailors , scientists , and adventurers have feared and respected this extreme environment for centuries. From its criti...

Did everyday slang come from ship decks and cannon fire? Turns out, phrases like “under the weather” , “turn a blind eye” , and “scuttlebutt” aren’t just colorful language—they’re the echo of real nautical life. In this episode, Gordy uncovers the surprising maritime origins behind 5 popular English idioms . From the British Royal Navy to sailing ships in the Age of Exploration , these expressions...

Mary Mallon was just a cook. But history remembers her as Typhoid Mary — the woman who unknowingly spread a deadly disease to dozens without ever showing symptoms. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy uncovers the true story behind one of public health’s most infamous cases. It’s a tale of germs, denial, quarantine, and one very stubborn scoop of peach ice cream. But beneath the headlines...

Why do people say “bless you” when someone sneezes —but not when they cough, hiccup, or burp? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy explores the origins of this curious cultural reflex , which blends superstition, religion, health , and linguistic tradition . From medieval plague outbreaks to modern etiquette, the sneeze has had a strange journey through human history. Gordy breaks down so...

In life-or-death situations, some people report the same eerie sensation: someone else is with them. But when they look around... no one’s there. From Antarctic explorers to 9/11 survivors, these stories defy explanation — and reveal something astonishing about the human brain under extreme stress. Join Gordy in this gripping episode of Smartest Year Ever as he dives into the science and mystery b...

Where did emojis come from—and which one did the entire world forget? Today on Smartest Year Ever , Gordy breaks down the unexpected origin story of emojis, starting with a pixelated red heart in 1999 Tokyo. It’s the story of how Shigetaka Kurita and NTT Docomo created the world’s first emoji set, why they were only 12x12 pixels, and how Apple secretly introduced an emoji keyboard to the world yea...

What if one of the most iconic civilizations in history… didn’t see the sky the same way we do? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives into a mind-bending debate that blends linguistics, psychology, and perception : Did the Ancient Greeks actually lack a word for blue—and if so, what does that mean for how they saw the world? From Homer’s “wine-dark sea” to the blurred line between la...

Would you pay $50,000 to see your pet again? Barbra Streisand did—twice. After her beloved dog Sammie passed away, she cloned her, resulting in two new dogs with the same DNA but different personalities. Cloning pets isn’t just sci-fi—it’s high-end biotech. Companies like ViaGen Pets will take tissue samples, extract DNA, and implant it into a surrogate, creating an identical twin born years later...

Ever wondered what the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World really were—and how many still exist today? 🤔 In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy takes you on a fascinating journey through the original "Top 7 List" of history, revealing stories behind these legendary monuments. From the towering Great Pyramid of Giza to the mysterious Hanging Gardens of Babylon , we explore the j...