Smartest Year Ever

In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives into the surprising origin of Happy Birthday to You —a tune that began in a kindergarten classroom before becoming a global anthem sung billions of times a year. From the Hill sisters’ simple melody to a courtroom battle over copyright worth millions, this story traces how a cheerful school song turned into the world’s most recognized melody . Al...

How do you protect priceless masterpieces when bombs are falling from the sky? During World War II , curators, historians, and ordinary citizens went to extraordinary lengths to shield art from destruction. From Michelangelo’s David bricked into a fortress in Florence, to the Mona Lisa’s secret escape from Paris, to the National Gallery’s underground vaults in Wales , the survival of Europe’s cult...

What does it take to survive over a year at sea with no engine, no oars, and almost no supplies? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy unpacks the extraordinary true survival story of José Salvador Alvarenga , who drifted across the Pacific Ocean for 438 days —the longest recorded survival at sea. From brutal storms, starvation, and turtle blood, to unimaginable loneliness and resilience,...

Why does the sound of nails on a chalkboard make your skin crawl? Gordy digs into the science of sound aversion —from acoustic resonance in the 2,000–4,000 Hz frequency range to the way our amygdala and limbic system light up when we hear those unbearable screeches. Along the way, he explores possible evolutionary links to primate alarm calls , why screams cut through the noise, and why expectatio...

Two skeletons found in a 2,800-year-old embrace have been called the Hasanlu Lovers —but what do we really know about them? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy explores the dramatic discovery at Teppe Hasanlu in northwestern Iran, where archaeologists uncovered a city frozen in time after its sudden destruction around 800 BCE. What makes these two skeletons so captivating? Why did the ni...

Why do tennis balls smell so good? Gordy dives into the surprising chemistry and psychology behind one of the most oddly satisfying scents in sports. From pressurized cans to vulcanized rubber , and from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the way smell ties into nostalgia and memory , this episode uncovers why cracking open a fresh can of tennis balls feels so addictive. If you’ve ever wondered...

Where did restaurants really begin? Gordy dives into the surprising history of public dining, tracing the story from ancient Rome’s thermopolia to China’s Song Dynasty restaurant culture , and finally to 18th-century Paris , where a legal battle and a revolutionary shift in society reshaped how we eat today. Discover how early eateries weren’t just about food—they were about choice, menus, private...

In 18th-century France, a man named Tarrare became one of the most disturbing mysteries in medical history. Described by doctors as a “human anomaly” , Tarrare’s hunger was insatiable—his body seemingly a bottomless pit . He could devour live animals, garbage, raw meat, and even military secrets hidden inside wooden capsules. His strange condition baffled surgeons and generals alike, and his story...

Did Coca-Cola really used to contain cocaine —and if so, how much was actually in every bottle? Gordy dives into the wild history of the world’s most iconic soft drink, tracing it back to its 19th-century origins as a coca-leaf tonic created by a morphine-addicted pharmacist. From Sigmund Freud’s praise of cocaine to the federal lawsuit United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola ,...

Ketchup has a surprising history that goes far beyond burgers and fries. In this episode, Gordy uncovers the strange global journey of this iconic condiment—one that started centuries before tomatoes ever entered the bottle. From its origins as a fermented fish sauce in Asia to the bizarre British experiments with mushroom ketchup and walnut ketchup , and finally to Henry J. Heinz transforming it...

Do dolphins drink water—or do they get hydrated another way? Gordy dives into the fascinating world of dolphin biology, osmoregulation, and marine mammal physiology to answer a surprisingly tricky question: how do dolphins survive surrounded by salt water? This episode explores metabolic water , reniculate kidneys , and the unique strategies dolphins use to stay hydrated in the ocean. Along the wa...

How could a simple eating utensil be branded as effeminate, foreign, and Satanic ? In this Food Week episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy explores the surprising history of the fork —from its scandalous debut in Byzantine courts to the fiery backlash of Italian clergy , who claimed God gave humans fingers for a reason. Discover why forks were linked to the Devil’s pitchfork , how a Venetian noble...

It’s the first day of Food Week on Smartest Year Ever —and we’re starting with one question: what’s the oldest food in the world that’s still edible? Gordy explores the wild history of ancient food preservation : from a 3,000-year-old jar of Egyptian honey , to mysterious lumps of bog butter , to carbonized loaves of Pompeii bread and even Civil War hardtack that soldiers once chewed like stone. T...

 What if the words you speak every day were secretly following a mathematical law? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy explores Zipf’s Law , a strange and consistent pattern that shows up not just in language, but in city populations, company sizes, website traffic, and even earthquakes. Discovered by linguist George Zipf in the mid-20th century, this power-law distribution reveals how s...

In November 1983 , NATO staged a military exercise called Able Archer ’83 —and the world came closer to nuclear war than almost anyone realized at the time. During this heightened moment of the Cold War , miscommunication, paranoia, and cutting-edge espionage collided in ways that could have ended life as we know it. From the KGB’s Operation RYaN , to the paranoia fueled by Reagan’s “Star Wars” St...

The World’s Tallest Unclimbed Mountains are some of the last great mysteries of exploration. While Everest is packed with climbers every season, a handful of towering Himalayan and Karakoram peaks remain completely untouched by human footsteps. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives into the fascinating mix of reasons why these giants are still unclimbed—ranging from sacred bans in Bh...

Tattoos might seem like a modern trend, but the story of Ötzi the Iceman shows that humans have been marking their skin for thousands of years. Gordy explores the fascinating history of the world’s oldest tattoos —from soot-inked lines on a 5,000-year-old mummy in the Alps, to intricate animal designs preserved on Siberian warriors, to ritual tattoos found on Egyptian mummies. Why did ancient cult...

Why does your brain get completely fooled by a simple upside-down face? The Thatcher Effect —discovered in 1980 by psychologist Peter Thompson—remains one of psychology’s most famous illusions. It reveals how the fusiform face area in the brain processes upright faces differently from inverted ones, and why we sometimes miss the grotesque hiding in plain sight. In this episode of Smartest Year Eve...

Why are 9 out of 10 people right-handed? Gordy digs into the science, history, and evolution of handedness—exploring why right-handed dominance has persisted for hundreds of thousands of years. From brain lateralization and language evolution to archaeological evidence in Neanderthal teeth , this episode reveals how our species developed a powerful bias toward the right hand. Along the way, Gordy...

Why do we say “on cloud nine”? Gordy dives into the fascinating history of this strange expression, tracing its journey from meteorology to slang dictionaries to jazz, radio, and pop culture. Along the way, you’ll hear about the International Cloud Atlas of 1896 , the rise of “cloud seven” and “cloud eight” in early 20th-century slang, and how The Temptations’ hit “Cloud Nine” helped solidify the...

In 1889, the Eiffel Tower stunned the world at the Paris Exposition. Four years later, Chicago needed its own showstopper for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 . What emerged was one of the boldest engineering gambles of the century: the world’s first Ferris Wheel , designed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. Gordy takes you inside the battle of national pride between Paris and Chicago ,...

What does a “30% chance of rain” actually mean? Gordy breaks down one of the most misunderstood parts of weather forecasts: the percent chance of rain . Many people think it means rain will fall for 30% of the day, or that 30% of your city will get wet. But the truth is more surprising—and it all comes down to the meteorologist’s Probability of Precipitation (PoP) formula. In this episode of Smart...

Does it really rain fish in Honduras—or is something else going on? Every year, the city of Yoro, Honduras claims to experience the strange weather phenomenon called Lluvia de Peces (“Rain of Fish”). Locals celebrate it as a miracle, while scientists suggest waterspouts or underground rivers might be the explanation. But here’s the twist: despite endless articles and tourist hype, there’s surprisi...

Is Ball Lightning Real? For centuries, eyewitnesses have reported glowing spheres of electricity drifting through thunderstorms, gliding down church aisles, and even appearing inside airplanes. This rare and mysterious weather phenomenon —known as ball lightning —has baffled scientists and sparked debate over whether it’s real or just legend. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy dives int...

What’s the coldest weather ever recorded on Earth ? And where’s the coldest place people actually live year-round ? Gordy breaks down the extremes—from frozen Antarctic research stations that feel like another planet, to a Siberian town where residents keep cars running all day so they don’t turn into ice sculptures. This episode explores: The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth The coldest...