Smartest Year Ever

In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy unpacks the strange moment in American history when Veterans Day was moved to October —and why that decision quickly backfired. This isn’t just a quirky scheduling fact. It’s a revealing look at how Congress, symbolism, and civic tradition collided over the meaning of a national holiday. From the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 to the public backlas...

Why does Canada have a Polar Bear Jail? In Churchill, Manitoba, one of the coldest, most remote towns on Earth, the locals have a uniquely Canadian solution to an Arctic problem. When polar bears wander into town — and they do, a lot — they don’t call animal control. They call Polar Bear Alert . In this episode, Gordy uncovers the fascinating story of Churchill’s Polar Bear Holding Facility , a re...

The Michelin Man isn’t just a goofy mascot made of tires — he’s part of one of the most unexpected branding stories in history. Gordy digs into the strange evolution of Bibendum , the white tire man who started out as a cigar-smoking, glass-drinking Victorian nightmare before becoming the friendly icon we know today. This episode traces how the Michelin brothers , Édouard and André, turned a tire...

Ever stared at the bright sky and noticed tiny floating dots or squiggly strands drifting across your vision? In today’s episode, Gordy dives into one of the most common — and misunderstood — visual quirks: eye floaters . They’ve been described since Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks , feared as insects by early physicians, and are now understood through the science of posterior vitreous detachment —...

At the core of modern timekeeping lies a surprising hero: quartz . In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy breaks down how a simple crystal became the heartbeat of nearly every watch, clock, and computer on Earth. Discover the science behind the quartz revolution —from the piezoelectric effect discovered by the Curie brothers , to how Seiko’s 1969 Astron transformed the watch industry foreve...

At the University of Queensland , a small glass funnel has been “dripping” since 1927 . But what’s dripping isn’t water — it’s pitch , a tar-like substance so thick it takes years for a single drop to fall. Known as the Pitch Drop Experiment , it’s officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest-running laboratory experiment in history . Physicist Thomas Parnell started it nearly a...

Every few years, Hollywood gets déjà vu — two nearly identical movies hit theaters within months of each other. Think Armageddon and Deep Impact , A Bug’s Life and Antz , The Prestige and The Illusionist. How does this keep happening? Are studios copying each other, or is there something deeper going on behind the scenes? In this episode, Gordy unpacks the phenomenon of “twin films” — rival movies...

Six million years ago, a bird the size of a human soared over prehistoric Argentina. With a 23-foot wingspan and a body weight rivaling a person’s , Argentavis magnificens wasn’t just massive—it was the heaviest flying bird the planet has ever seen. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives deep into the aerodynamics, anatomy, and evolution of this Miocene monster—exploring how it pushed...

The Corpse Flower , or Amorphophallus titanum , is one of nature’s strangest performances—a rare botanical spectacle that looks magnificent but smells like death. In this Fright Facts Week episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives into the bizarre science and history of the world’s largest and smelliest flower , uncovering how evolution engineered this tropical monster to mimic the scent of deca...

It sounds like a horror movie — but it’s real. In this Fright Facts Week episode, Gordy unpacks the eerie medical mystery known as Lazarus Syndrome , when patients declared clinically dead suddenly start breathing again — sometimes minutes after life support has been stopped. From a 1982 Lancet case report to the astonishing real-life story of Velma Thomas , whose heart restarted nearly an hour af...

 It’s Halloween, and Gordy’s saving the creepiest for last. Deep in the forest, a bizarre fungus called Dead Man’s Fingers pushes up from the soil — blackened, shriveled, and disturbingly human-like. But is it just an illusion… or something stranger? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy explores the science and folklore behind Xylaria polymorpha , a fungus that looks like it’s clawing its...

In this chilling Fright Facts Week episode, Gordy uncovers one of the most haunting museums on Earth — a place where nature accidentally mummified hundreds of people . Deep beneath the streets of Guanajuato, Mexico , a strange mix of climate, soil, and 19th-century tax policy turned an ordinary cemetery into a gallery of preserved faces frozen in time. Why did only a handful of bodies mummify whil...

During Fright Facts Week , Gordy dives into one of the most chilling experiences the human brain can produce — sleep paralysis , the terrifying moment when your mind wakes up but your body doesn’t. For centuries, people thought it was a demonic visitation , a witch sitting on your chest , or a night hag haunting your dreams. Science calls it REM atonia , but that doesn’t make it feel any less like...

Every Halloween, we talk about zombies. But what if nature already made them? In this Fright Facts Week episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy explores the real-life fungus that controls ants like puppets , forcing them to climb, freeze, and die so it can spread. Known as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis — or the zombie ant fungus — this mind-controlling parasite shows that nature’s horror stories can b...

Every October 31st, millions of people dress as ghosts, ghouls, and superheroes — but few realize that Halloween began as a solemn ritual to survive the coming of winter. In this episode, Gordy traces the 2,000-year-old story of how an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain evolved into the Halloween we know today. From bonfires and animal-skin disguises to soul cakes, turnip lanterns , and the fi...

Miyamoto Musashi wasn’t just a samurai —he was Japan’s undefeated warrior-philosopher , a man who turned sword fighting into a system of thought that still influences strategy today. In this episode, Gordy dives into Musashi’s legendary duels , his creation of the two-sword style Niten Ichi-ryū , and his transformation from duelist to artist, strategist, and author of The Book of Five Rings . How...

Most people know the Guinness Book of World Records … but almost nobody knows it started with a missed shot at a bird — and a barroom argument that got way out of hand. In this episode, Gordy uncovers the real story behind the Guinness Book of World Records , tracing its roots back to Sir Hugh Beaver , the Guinness Brewery , and one fateful hunting trip in Ireland. Discover how a marketing idea me...

Does counting the seconds between lightning and thunder actually tell you how far away a storm is? 🌩️ In this episode, Gordy breaks down the science behind thunder , the physics of sound vs. light , and why that old “One Mississippi” trick actually works — sort of. Discover how Benjamin Franklin , Count Volta , and modern meteorologists all helped turn a childhood storm superstition into a surpris...

In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy explores the surprising origins of the world’s first vending machine —and no, it wasn’t dispensing snacks in an airport. Long before soda machines and coffee dispensers, an ancient inventor named Hero of Alexandria engineered a coin-operated device that changed the way humans thought about automation , innovation , and fairness . From holy water dispen...

Zyzzyx Road might be the most infamous box office flop in Hollywood history —and yet, its failure wasn’t an accident. In this episode, Gordy digs into the bizarre story behind the lowest-grossing movie ever made , starring Katherine Heigl , Tom Sizemore , and one of the strangest marketing “strategies” ever. Why did a movie cost over $1.2 million to make but earn only thirty dollars ? How does a d...

Every American kid knows the words to the Pledge of Allegiance —but almost nobody knows where it actually came from. In this episode, Gordy uncovers the unexpected story behind one of America’s most repeated rituals: a pledge born from a children’s magazine , written by a socialist Baptist minister , and once performed with a salute that history has quietly erased. From its 19th-century debut at t...

In this episode, Gordy dives into the surprising anatomical truth behind one of the most emotional phrases in the English language: “tugging on my heartstrings.” It turns out, this expression isn’t just poetic — it’s rooted in real human anatomy. From the early days of Renaissance medicine to Shakespeare’s poetic turns in Othello , Gordy traces how literal fibrous cords in your heart inspired cent...

The Eiffel Tower is one of the world’s most iconic landmarks—but here’s the twist: it wasn’t meant to last. When Gustave Eiffel’s iron colossus was unveiled for the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris , critics mocked it as a “metal asparagus,” and the city had a plan to dismantle it after just 20 years. Gordy dives into the surprising story of how a structure once despised by Parisians became a permanent...

At Oxford University, a tiny bell has been quietly defying time for nearly two centuries. Known as the Oxford Electric Bell (or the Clarendon Dry Pile), this mysterious device has been running continuously since the 1840s , powered by one of the world’s oldest batteries . Scientists still don’t fully know how it works, or how it’s lasted this long. Why has this bell never stopped? What makes its u...

What would it be like to experience history’s deadliest weapon — twice ? This episode tells the astonishing story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi , a man caught in both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic blasts. Gordy unpacks how he endured the unimaginable, what it meant for his family, and why he later devoted his life to warning the world about nuclear weapons. You’ll hear about survival against all odds,...