S2E9: Jim Dandy

In this episode, the boys follow a trail of words that turns out to be a lot stranger than expected. Why does bankruptcy involve a broken bench? Why is malaria named after "bad air"? What does a medieval orphanage have to do with the surnames Esposito and Innocente? And how did the word "nephew" accidentally give us "nepotism"? Along the way, we'll visit Siena's claim to Rome's founding myth, step outside the cathedral to discover the original meaning of "profane," and uncover the forgotten stories hiding inside words we use all the time. As it turns out, language remembers everything ... even when we don't.

Did you know that smells, besides being the strongest door to memories, can be trademarked? As can sounds? Jon and Kurt discuss examples of these as well as smoking tigers, irony, Pocahontas, and the story behind the marathon being 26.2 miles.

Jon and Kurt go all Magellan on you this episode and discuss geographic oddities sure to blow your mind. That, and somehow Wilt Chamberlain and poutine make appearances. Oh, and Blue Swede sang “Hooked on a Feeling” not “Ride Captain Ride.” That was Blues Image. Kurt apologizes.

Jon and Kurt are back with a new episode that explains the origins of “mayday”, delves into men’s new need to keep up a “hot style,” what it means to age, and well just some other drivel that attempts to lay in some smart.

Jon and Kurt decided to capitalize on the fact that they recorded this episode in April and put out a topical discussion about pranks. They found historical jokes centuries old that fooled many middle agers (not someone in their 50s, but someone who lived centuries ago) and some that got the masses hook line and sinker in the 20th century. And lots in between. Give a listen and get inspired for the next April Fools Day. Maybe you will find one worth repeating (but we advise against trotting out “War of the Worlds” again).

What do Gatorade, cows with accents, rude dry cleaners, and the moon all have in common? Well, if you like your drivel kinda smart, you’ll see how they all come together in the latest episode of Learn, Rant, Laugh: A Smart Drivel podcast.

In this episode, the boys learn how The New York Times reinvented itself, get their minds blown by The Birthday Paradox, rant a little as befits their curmudgeonly state, and–oh yeah–end on a fascinating, intellectual discussion of at-home prostate exams. We’d say “dive in” but maybe that’s a little too much.

Learning, Ranting, and Laughing, our idiosyncratic hosts are back for another episode in season two of Smart Drivel. They discuss gender perspective, a time without a U.S. President, bad acoustics, the phenomenon of grade inflation for email/text responses, and, of course, the post-series, made for TV, Gilligan’s Island movies. Hop in, the water is nice.

The boys are back for the third episode in Season 2 of Learn, Rant, Laugh–A Smart Drivel Podcast. In this episode we learn how the term “Pan Am Smile” made it into the mainstream, how a horse named Fauvel would have sycophants groom him. These discussions then morph into some ranting about etiquette…or lack thereof. It is a classic Smart Drivel discussion. Grab a currying brush and dive in.

Join Jon and Kurt as they excitedly discuss what they learned, what ticked them off, and what made them laugh since the last episode. This time they get into phone etiquette, cockiness vs. arrogance, the beauty of finishing third, and a whole host of other topics.