Ep.293: Money Makes the World Go ‘Round

Money. We love it. We hate it. We crave it. We spend it. Money, in all its forms, has been an integral part of all societies. Whether it was huge stones, salt, emu feathers, or trillion dollar bills, it has always had dominion over civilization. In this episode, Jon and Kurt look into the history, the absurdity, the logic, and the just plain funny of money throughout time. 

It all started with a simple question: why are manhole covers round? And then it grew from there…why are eggs always sold in a dozen? Why do pigeons bob their heads when they walk? Why do round pizzas come in a square box? And an episode was born. Come listen to Jon and Kurt ask each other these enigmatic questions and have some fun along the way.

Jon and Kurt decide to look at famous hats throughout history and fiction. That’s right. Hats. What started as a random thought turned into a fertile patch of fun, interesting, and previously unknown stories about hats in legend, historical fact, pop culture, and  literature. Slip off your chapeaux and take a listen.

No matter how smart or talented you think your kids are, there are those among us who are just special. Amazing. Mind blowing. These are the child prodigies. The ones in history who are so talented they were doing incredible things at such a young age. Like Mozart. Like the kid who was giving public lectures at 4. Like Joan of Arc who led the French army as a teenager. These kind of special child prodigies. Jon and Kurt take a look at some of the known and lost to history child prodigies who did accomplish incredible things at a very tender age. Still think that pinch pot clay bowl you made your Mom in third grade was that great?

Jon and Kurt have a little forum about the most amazing couples ever. Those from fiction. From wars. From the bible. From the arts. From politics. From legend. Forged in love or in greed, these couples all have a fascinating story to tell.

Did you know Time magazine was actually an acronym? In this episode, Jon and Kurt have fun with explaining, finding, and debating fun acronyms that are used in every day conversation. Please RSVP...if you want to be redundant.

Gin & Tonic. Salt & Pepper. Fish & Chips. Done & Dusted. Bread & Butter. Sonny & Cher. Earth Wind & Fire. Lock Stock & Barrel. Signed Sealed & Delivered. All of these examples are what are called Irreversible Binomials & Trinomials. The cute phrases or names that ALWAYS appear in the same order. That sound really stupid if switched–”Jelly and peanut butter anyone?” Jon and Kurt, feeling this is truly excellent smart drivel, delve into the world of irreversible binomials and trinomials. Some they think have it wrong, others they agree are culturally accepted, while still others just seem right to our co-hosts. Yet, as always, they also disagree on a few. Ladies and gentlemen there is no rhyme or reason why you shouldn’t listen to this episode hook, line, and sinker. Rock and roll….

We all did it. We all went to school with open minds, excited to learn new things. We, here in the U.S., learned a lot about our country’s history. Interestingly, with the lens of current knowledge, we now know that a lot of what we learned was not exactly correct. In this episode, Jon and Kurt unearth some of these discrepancies and attempt to set the record straight.

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. We do it all the time…giving inanimate objects human-like characteristics. Well, in this episode, Jon and Kurt turn that on its head and decide to give humans the qualities of inanimate objects. In this case, the boys pick famous people and present a case to support which cocktail they think that person would be. Who is a martini? A hurricane? A Negroni? You get the idea.  

Ben Franklin is deeply embedded in the American ethos. He was a Founding Father, an inventor, a printer, an author, a diplomat, a man about town, to name just a few of his talents. He was prolific to say the least and was a true Renaissance man. In this episode, Jon and Kurt marvel at his successes and share some of his lesser known accomplishments.