Smartest Year Ever

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...

What’s the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth —and where can you actually find the hottest place on the planet ? Gordy dives into the scorching details of Death Valley’s legendary heat waves and the otherworldly environment of Dallol, Ethiopia , uncovering how these extremes push the limits of human survival. From controversial 1913 Death Valley records , to modern 130°F readings , to Dall...

What does it take for a city to go over a decade without rain ? Gordy dives into the astonishing case of Arica, Chile , perched on the edge of the Atacama Desert , the driest place on Earth. From 1903 to 1918, Arica went 173 months without measurable rainfall —a world record. But that’s only part of the story. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy explores: The unique geography that makes...

What does the dew point actually tell you about comfort, weather, and even storm risk? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy breaks down one of the most misunderstood numbers in your weather forecast. While most people glance at humidity , the dew point is the real comfort gauge —and meteorologists, pilots, and even storm chasers know why it matters so much. From crisp fall mornings to swa...

Sunglasses weren’t always about fashion. Long before Ray-Bans and Hollywood icons, protective eyewear shaped survival, law, and even warfare. Gordy dives into the 2,000-year history of sunglasses —from Arctic snow goggles carved out of bone, to smoky quartz lenses in medieval Chinese courts, Venetian gondoliers shielding their eyes from glare, and the rise of aviator sunglasses in World War II. Th...

Is there still a square mile on Earth where no human has ever set foot? Gordy explores untouched frontiers—from Antarctica’s buried mountain ranges to the dense Amazon jungle, Siberian taiga, Arctic islands, remote deserts, and uncharted caves. Modern maps make it feel like we’ve been everywhere, but the truth is far more mysterious. This episode dives into Antarctica’s Gamburtsev Subglacial Mount...

What’s the world’s oldest national flag still in use? Flags are more than symbols—they’re identity, history, and storytelling in cloth. Some nations redesign their banners every few decades, while others carry designs that have lasted for centuries. But one country has held onto the same iconic flag since the Middle Ages. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy digs into the history of natio...

Why do museums, courthouses, and capitol buildings across the world look like they were built for ancient philosophers—or Zeus himself? Gordy unpacks the five classical column orders —Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite—and the surprising reasons they’re still everywhere today. From the austere Doric pillars of the Parthenon to the leaf-covered Corinthian capitals of the U.S. Supreme C...

 Was Sherlock Holmes based on a real person? In this episode, Gordy uncovers the fascinating story of Dr. Joseph Bell , the sharp-eyed Scottish surgeon who may have inspired the world’s most famous fictional detective . From diagnosing patients before they spoke to consulting on real-life murder cases, Bell’s uncanny powers of observation and deduction helped shape the blueprint for modern forensi...

Where does the phrase “Close, but no cigar” really come from? Gordy investigates the surprising origin of one of the most enduring idioms in the English language. Today we use it as a light jab when someone almost succeeds—but not quite. But the real story behind it involves 19th-century carnival games , actual cigar giveaways , and a strange cultural shift in how we award success. If you've e...

Why do we call it a honeymoon ? Is it really about sweetness and romance… or something else entirely? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever , Gordy digs into the surprisingly dark origins of a word we now associate with tropical getaways and towel swans. From 16th-century English proverbs to Victorian bridal tours , and a myth about mead and fertility , this short, punchy history will change how y...

 In the sweltering summer of 1518, a woman stepped into the streets of Strasbourg—and began to dance. Within days, dozens joined her. By the end of the month, it was hundreds. They danced without music. Without rest. Some even danced to death. In the final episode of Mystery Week , Gordy unpacks the chilling story of the Dancing Plague of 1518 , one of the strangest historical outbreaks ever recor...

In 1977, a radio telescope in Ohio picked up a mysterious 72-second signal from deep space. It was so precise, so powerful, and so clean… a scientist literally wrote “Wow!” in the margins. This is the Wow! Signal —one of the most puzzling and hotly debated moments in the history of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) . Could it have been a genuine alien transmission ? Why haven’t w...