Bob Smith and Marcia Smith discussed a range of topics, including the history of the Taj Mahal, US promiscuity, insect navigation, geography, history, and culture. Bob shared interesting facts and insights, while Marcia asked questions and provided follow-up information. They also talked about the legacy of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, with Marcia sharing a humorous anecdote and Bob providing historical context on Franco’s rule. Additionally, they discussed the origins and evolution of universities, with Bob highlighting the founding of the University of Oxford due to King Henry II’s feud with Archbishop Thomas Beckett, while Marcia added that the University of Paris was established before Oxford and that ancient doctors in India pioneered plastic surgery as a form of punishment.
Outline
Nearly dismantling the Taj Mahal in 1835.
- Bob and Marcia discuss a nearly dismantled historical monument in Southern Asia.
- The Taj Mahal was once planned to be dismantled and sold by the British East India Company.
Riddles, promiscuity rankings, and education origins.
- Marcia and Bob play a riddle game, with Marcia asking a question that cannot be answered and Bob providing a clever response.
- Bob and Marcia discuss a US News Magazine ranking of the most promiscuous nations, with Great Britain topping the list.
- Bob and Marcia discuss the origins of universities, with Bob sharing interesting facts about Chinese universities and Marcia expressing surprise.
US history, geography, and university trivia.
- Bob Smith incorrectly states that alligators are only found in two countries: the United States and Brazil, when in fact they are found in several countries worldwide.
- Herbert Hoover was the president who donated his salary and pension to charity.
- Bob and Marcia Smith discuss the origins of universities, including how Oxford was founded due to a king’s feud with a saint.
History, trivia, and music.
- Ancient Indian doctors pioneered plastic surgery as a punishment for adultery.
- Bob Smith shares interesting facts about dung beetles, including their ability to navigate using the Milky Way galaxy.
- Marcia Smith asks Bob questions about The Beatles, including the original name of the group before they were known as The Beatles.
- Bob Smith: Jefferson City, Missouri has the longest state capital name with 13 letters, laid out by Daniel Boone.
- Bob Smith and Marcia Smith discuss Beatles songs that John Lennon hated, including “Run for Your Life,” “Lovely Rita,” and “When I’m 64.”
Trivia and history.
- Bob and Marcia discuss the highest elevation state capital in the US (Santa Fe, NM) and the oldest continually standing wooden structure in the US (Fairbanks House in MA).
- Bob Smith shares interesting facts about penguins, including that there is an African city (Cape Town, South Africa) with a large penguin population.
- Bob Smith and Marcia Smith discuss the Parthenon replica in Athens, Georgia, which was built for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition and is now an art museum and event venue.
- Franco’s deathbed quote: “What is the noise? They’ve come to say goodbye.”
Bob Smith 0:00
What major historical monument was once nearly dismantled and sold for scrap
Marcia Smith 0:06
and what question can you never answer yes to
Bob Smith 0:10
Answers to those and other questions hopefully coming up in this half hour of the off ramp with Bob and Marshalls Smith
Welcome to the off ramp a chance to slow down. Steer clear of crazy take a side road to sanity and enjoy a new perspective on life. Well, Marcia, I have an interesting story here that there was a major historical monument that you know of, and almost everybody in the world knows of that was once nearly dismantled and sold for scrap white building was nearly dismantled in sold for scrap.
Marcia Smith 1:01
Let’s narrow it down. Bob is it in Asia?
Bob Smith 1:05
Southern Asia, I’ve never been there. Nope. Well, you’ve seen pictures Marsh.
Marcia Smith 1:09
Okay, not a not a snap the Great Wall of China. It’s not apps. I don’t know.
Bob Smith 1:17
The Taj Mahal. Oh, really. At one point in 1835, when the Taj Mahal and all of India were under control of the British East India Company, that business under the rule of Lord William Benteke decided to dismantle the monument and auction off its marble to reduce expenses for the company. Now that that complex was built between 1632 and 1653, it’s a Muslim. And 200 years later, a bathhouse on the property that was under disrepair was dismantled, and the marble was auctioned off. That was supposedly a test run to take the whole complex down. But the sale didn’t go too well. They couldn’t get the price they wanted for the materials back in England. So they decided to forget that.
Marcia Smith 2:02
I didn’t know that the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum is that right?
Bob Smith 2:06
It was built by an emperor as a mausoleum for his wife who died in childbirth, and then it eventually had his tomb as well.
Marcia Smith 2:14
Okay, but it’s not a lot of people, just one family. I mean, two people
Bob Smith 2:20
Essentially, but 20,000 people built it.
Marcia Smith 2:25
Well, okay, that sounds fair. So they would have if they had succeeded in selling that they would have had to figure out what to do with the fam ashes.
Bob Smith 2:34
I don’t think that was a concern. I guess not for British East India Company.
Marcia Smith 2:38
Okay, well, you’re right, I wouldn’t have guessed the Taj Mahal.
Bob Smith 2:41
Now. That incident was shrouded in myth, with many British authorities denying it ever happened. But in 2005, the Archaeological Survey of India cited this incident in a case before the Indian Supreme Court, so it really did happen. And that was just one of many abuses by the East India Company. It was chartered by the Crown in 1600. And it controlled India from 1803 until 1858, when, after a mutiny, the parliament took over the company and dismantled it.
Marcia Smith 3:11
Wow. All right. I got a riddle for you. Okay. All right. I do like riddles. Okay, Bob, what question can you never answer Yes to?
Bob Smith 3:23
Please, this just sounds so loaded. And from my experience with women in the past, I even hesitate to suggest what the answer may be – a riddle.
Marcia Smith 3:30
So yes. Something nobody man or woman can answer.
Bob Smith 3:36
Yes. It’s a gotcha question. Okay, what’s the question, Marcia?
Marcia Smith 3:39
The question is, are you asleep yet?
Bob Smith 3:45
Okay, that’s true. You can answer yes to that candy.
Marcia Smith 3:47
No, I snorted. I’m sorry. That’s it. Yeah, save the fascinating stuff for you. And I just get right to the other quickies?
Bob Smith 3:57
Although, how many times have you been asked that question, though? Are you asleep? Yeah. I mean, people ask that question all the time. It seems so stupid to ask that question. All right. I’ve got one for you. What American University stretches across four time zones? American University and American University. It’s a college for timezones, it’s got campuses and for timezone. Okay, so I was gonna say it’s obviously and even before the web, it was in four time zones.
Marcia Smith 4:26
Okay. Okay. Okay. I’ll say Is it is it a military university? No, it’s not okay. I don’t think it’s Harvard or Yale.
Bob Smith 4:35
No, it’s not just think of the biggest state we have. Texas. No, the biggest Alaska, Alaska. It’s the University of Alaska, right? Oh, really? Yeah, because it stretches across four time zones from the community college in Ketchikan near Alaska’s south eastern border with Canada to a small learning center on a deck in the Aleutian Islands that’s a distance similar to the one between London and Moscow when it’s in one state well, yeah had me there so the University of Alaska stretches across four times.
Marcia Smith 5:07
Okay, if I had thought about that long enough, which I never do, I might have come up with that.
Bob Smith 5:11
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Marcia Smith 5:14
Okay, but according to US News Magazine, the US ranks number six on the promiscuity list for all the major nations.
Bob Smith 5:23
The promiscuity list.
Marcia Smith 5:25
Can you name any of the top?
Bob Smith 5:27
Why wait a minute, what did they mean by promiscuity?
Marcia Smith 5:29
What is that, you know, futzing around with more than one person?
Bob Smith 5:32
Oh, so this is sex with more than one partner? Yes. Yes. So we’re number what?
Marcia Smith 5:40
Six. Six – so there are five countries ahead of us on this in the major nations
Bob Smith 5:42
We got to work harder at this one. What’s wrong with this?
Marcia Smith 5:45
Yeah, these these surprise me?
Bob Smith 5:46
Well, I don’t know. I have no, I would have no idea who would be considered more promiscuous and open in society than us but I would have gone for Sweden blah, blah.
Marcia Smith 5:53
Okay. Number five. We’ll go backwards is Australia. That’s an island. What do you expect? Number Number four? The Czech Republic? Really? Yeah. Who would have guessed? Number three, the Netherlands? Number two, the Germans? No kidding. Yes. And number one, this surprised me the United Kingdom.
Bob Smith 6:16
So Great Britain is the most promiscuous nation in the world!
Marcia Smith 6:19
Those uptight bowler types. I have a lot going on. They’re still waters Bob, still waters.
Bob Smith 6:25
Wow, I never would have thought Great Britain would be the most promiscuous nation. Did you know this word that we use in referring to education originally meant leisure?
Marcia Smith 6:36
Say again?
Bob Smith 6:38
What word that we use in referring to education originally meant leisure? As somebody who didn’t like this particular institution, you’ll be surprised when you were growing up? Oh, yeah. You did not like to be in study hall – school, school. It comes from the Greek word SCHOLE. Which means leisure. Why? Why? Because the Greeks felt that learning was a purely leisure time activity reserved only for the upper classes are better people who deserve the time to think
Marcia Smith 7:11
Isn’t that interesting, that I wish it were thought of as such a lofty thing now,
Bob Smith 7:14
But education Yeah,
Marcia Smith 7:16
people take it for granted now.
Bob Smith 7:18
Well, yeah, people do take it for granted. Yeah, but school originally meant leisure.
Marcia Smith 7:21
I’ll be doing all right. Okay, in the past, Bob, we’ve had some tables and chairs built in the Queen Ann style, which is kind of curvy legs and so forth. Why were those pieces considered Queen Ann style?
Bob Smith 7:36
You don’t – I always wondered about that. And I thought maybe it was Did she have hair that was wavy or something?
Marcia Smith 7:41
That’s a good guess. But no, or dresses or something wrong and of her body? Bow legged.
Bob Smith 7:48
So the legs on the tables and the chairs represent a bowl legged person, a bull legged queen? I had no idea
Marcia Smith 7:55
Me either. I thought that was sad.
Bob Smith 7:58
But funny, sad and rather cruel, actually, don’t you think? Yeah. I
Marcia Smith 8:02
wonder if she was alive when that term came around.
Bob Smith 8:04
Wow. The Queen and style, a bull legged woman. Yeah. She’s got again another misogynistic kind of thing, isn’t it?
Marcia Smith 8:13
Yeah. You betcha.
Bob Smith 8:14
Why did the Chinese set up the first universities? This got some school questions here.
Marcia Smith 8:20
Yeah.
Bob Smith 8:21
Well, what were they studying?
Marcia Smith 8:23
They had lots of leisure. Why did they set up universities? Yeah.
Bob Smith 8:30
What were they set up for?
Marcia Smith 8:31
What were they set up to teach and probably the dynasties.
Bob Smith 8:33
Something about the history? Yeah, yeah, I would think that are engineering. Yeah. No, they gave instruction to students in literature. The purpose was to prepare youngsters for his civil service exams. Now this was 2000 years before Christ.
Marcia Smith 8:48
Oh, my God before? Yeah, yeah. 2000 BC.
Bob Smith 8:52
Yeah, the first universities set up to study literature in China. That’s I thought that was pretty interesting.
Marcia Smith 8:58
That is, I had no idea.
Bob Smith 9:01
Okay, I have a question for you. Now. We all know crocodiles and alligators, very similar kinds of animals in our minds, right? There are many species of crocodiles. But there are only two countries in the world where there are alligators. What are those two countries? America? Yep, the United States.
Marcia Smith 9:21
And I’ll say along the Amazon, Brazil,
Bob Smith 9:26
South America, Brazil is wrong.
Marcia Smith 9:29
You love that? such gusto. You say that? No,
Bob Smith 9:33
Tthere are many species of crocodiles all over the world, but only two species of alligators left and one is the American alligator. The other is the Chinese. Really? Yeah, they’re the only two countries will you find them living naturally American alligators live throughout the South. They can grow up to 11 feet long or longer. While Chinese alligators can only grow to about five feet in length, and they’re found in a small area around the Yangtze River Basin. Now there’s only one place in the world where you will find alligators and crocodiles together Everglades in the south tip of Florida. Yeah, the only place they’re together. They don’t really overlap very much. Hmm. Quite interesting. quite ugly, too. Yeah, man. If you look at a map of the United States where you find alligators, man, you start in East Texas and go all the way through North Carolina, all the states down there, that whole area is full of alligators, and in parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma have alligators as well.
Marcia Smith 10:30
Which is why you never want to take a walk down by the river.
Bob Smith 10:35
But again at the southern tip of Florida. That’s the only place on Earth where you’ll find both alligators and crocodiles.
Marcia Smith 10:39
That’s very surprising to me. Okay, Bob, Mr. Presidential History, man, you’ll probably get this right away. What President gave all his political earnings over the course of 40 years to charity, including his wages and pension.
Bob Smith 10:57
40 years he was in office, different political, different political. Well, John Kennedy did that with his he did? Yeah, he gave his presidential salary up. I was nice. But was this FDR? No, who was it? Herbert Hoover. No kidding.
Marcia Smith 11:12
Yeah, he was independently wealthy and had been a financier. Well, I
Bob Smith 11:17
knew that Herbert Hoover was he was a famous man. In fact, Herbert Hoover was in charge. I think I’ve mentioned this before, when World War One had ended and all the nations of Europe were in dire straits. He was the man who headed up the plan for the allies to feed Europe just like the Marshall Plan. And we’re we’re to Herbert Hoover did that. So he was very well known. He was a very interesting man and not a good president, but a very brilliant engineer. He wrote books. Wealthy. Yeah, very well. Just couldn’t run a country.
Marcia Smith 11:49
Okay, go ahead. You got one.
Bob Smith 11:50
I’ve got some questions on states today. Oh, yeah. That’d be kind of fun. What European capital was New York City originally named after York? No. Originally, original name was in New
Marcia Smith 12:05
York. No, no, it was it was.
Bob Smith 12:07
What was it? It was still new. It was new something but not not
Marcia Smith 12:11
New Brunswick. That’s No. New. I’ve seen it. I’ve read it. And I forgot it.
Bob Smith 12:18
It’s New Amsterdam. That’s it. Yeah. It was named after the Dutch because that was a Dutch colony originally. Okay. But then in 1664 and English naval squadron came in and they took over and became New York. Okay, one more question. What states name means great river in the Ojibwe language.
Marcia Smith 12:38
Oh, gee way. Great River. Great
Bob Smith 12:40
River, Oregon. Nope.
Marcia Smith 12:43
Wisconsin. Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Mississippi.
Bob Smith 12:50
Yeah, the root of the word Mississippi begins with Mississippi a French interpretation of the Native American term. Missy Bzip. BMI si Zi bei which translates into great river. Well, let’s take a break and we’ll be back in just a moment. Okay, you’re listening to the off ramp with Bob and Marsha Smith. Okay, we’re back with the off ramp. Bob and Marsha Smith. Okay, now here’s another university question why a great university was founded because a king quarreled with a saint. A saint? Yes. Oh, yeah. A person who was later turned into a saint.
Marcia Smith 13:27
King argued with the saints and they got what they got a university out of it.
Bob Smith 13:30
What great University was founded because a king quarreled with a saint. Okay, well, and was his English English history. Incident.
Marcia Smith 13:39
Is it Oxford?
Bob Smith 13:40
That’s exactly right. Hmm. Yeah. Oxford in England, Henry the second feuded with Archbishop Thomas Beckett. And when the King of France defended Beckett, Henry was incensed. So he ordered all the English students home from the University of Paris. Oh, really? That was one of the first universities in the world was really to Paris. Yeah, I didn’t know that. Most of those students settled at Oxford, and they decided to start a University of their own. So that goes way, way back over 1,000 years ago.
Marcia Smith 14:08
So Oxford was one of the first universities in the world. Yes.
Bob Smith 14:13
But the University of Paris was before that. And I think there was one in Italy before that as well.
Marcia Smith 14:17
Higher Learning. Yeah. Well, I’d be curious to know what was the very first university
Bob Smith 14:23
we’ll get to that later.
Marcia Smith 14:24
Oh, really? I’ll sure another question. I don’t know.
Bob Smith 14:27
Not today, but we’ll get to that. I’ve got that answer.
Marcia Smith 14:29
Okay, go ahead.
Bob Smith 14:30
I do have another question on India. Okay. Okay. What government policy led ancient doctors in India to pioneer a form of plastic surgery. What government policy led ancient doctors in India to pioneer a form of plastic surgery?
Marcia Smith 14:47
Oh, something about maybe some kind of disfigurement? That’s
Bob Smith 14:50
Exactly right. It was mutilation of the noses. That was actually a official punishment for offenses like adultery. Really? Yeah. How doctors in ancient India became skilled at creating new noses for people whose real noses had been mutilated. Isn’t that interesting? They would cut triangular pieces of skin from the patient’s forehead and so the graft in place and the patient breathe through reeds placed in the nostrils. So that was very early plastic surgery and the Indians, Indian doctors pioneered it because of a government policy of the official punishment for adultery.
Marcia Smith 15:29
Wow, nose jobs have been around a long time. Okay, here’s one. Why is an enlisted army man called a GI
Bob Smith 15:38
Government issue. That was the term that was used for materials primarily,
Marcia Smith 15:44
yes, because I mean, men and women wore government issue uniforms and the abbreviation sprung up as a catchphrase after World War One. Originally, it was a reference to the impersonality of the Army, and it was an expression of contempt for government
Bob Smith 16:02
Probably just a government issue. Yeah.
Marcia Smith 16:04
But then it just became GI.
Bob Smith 16:07
You know, and that wasn’t negative. When it eventually became G-I was World War One.
Marcia Smith 16:10
It was. By World War Two. GIs were proud.
Bob Smith 16:13
Okay, I have a multiple choice question for you. Okay, okay. This is an interesting site called traveled trivia, and they have a lot of interesting stuff. And this is a question. What does the African dung beetle used to navigate at night down? No, I’d give you a multiple choice. You want to know the answers? That could be the scent of food, the Milky Way Galaxy, their tongues, or elevation, their tongues, their tongues are used. That’s how they navigate at night. You know, believe it or not, it’s the Milky Way.
Marcia Smith 16:46
It’s the Milky Way to break why No. How does that work?
Bob Smith 16:50
They are the only non human creatures known to navigate using the Milky Way galaxy and scientists tested their navigational abilities in an experiment where certain beetles had to wear hats that blocked the stars, while others were clear hats. Well, the dung beetles that could see the stars got where they needed to go
Marcia Smith 17:09
and who made the hat I
Bob Smith 17:10
told to tiny little having
Marcia Smith 17:12
Imagine getting that job. Okay, your job, Jim is to make little hats for the dung beetle.
Bob Smith 17:18
Just so you know, dung beetles are considered some of the strongest known insects in the world really capable of moving up to 50 times their body weight. Wow, this is from National Geographic.
Marcia Smith 17:31
Okay, Bob, you’re not only a presidential aficionado, you are a Beatle aficionado
Bob Smith 17:38
I am just am a fan.
Marcia Smith 17:42
Do you know the name of the band Ringo Starr left to join the Beatles.
Bob Smith 17:45
Yes, Rory storm and the Hurricane. Oh, for God’s sake.
Marcia Smith 17:49
I mean, it really? I thought for sure you wouldn’t have a clue. And this when I found it, it had three different choices. Oh, really? Okay, just to get you this one. No, I didn’t give you multiple choice.
Bob Smith 18:03
I remembered that because there were a lot of funny British band names with, you know, ferocious this and all of that Rory storm and the hurricanes. You can’t forget that. Okay, what was the original name of The Beatles that John Lennon had? What was the original name of the group? You’re asking? Yeah, I’m asking you. Before they were the Beatles. They were the journeyman Quarry Men than the silver Beatles. journeyman. That sounds like a 50s group or something. A full group? Probably. Yeah. working their way across the coast.
Marcia Smith 18:32
So they were the Silver Beatles. What made them get rid of the Silver? I don’t know. Okay. All right.
Bob Smith 18:37
All right, which states capital has the longest name, which US state capitol has the longest Tallahassee Now that’s what I would have thought. I would have thought it was Tallahassee, but it’s not. I might have thought it was Indianapolis. Yeah. I might have thought it was Salt Lake City or Oklahoma City. But no. If you count the number of letters Jefferson City, Missouri is the longest with 13 letters out okay. And guess who laid out Jefferson City, Missouri, Daniel Boone. Really? Yeah, he laid it out. It was named after the third president and co author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, but Jefferson City, Missouri, is longer in spelling than Tallahassee, Florida.
Marcia Smith 19:20
Well, if you include the city, well, it’s part of his name.
Bob Smith 19:22
Yeah. Okay. Jefferson City. Okay.
Marcia Smith 19:25
I’ll go along with it.
Bob Smith 19:27
Okay, glad you finally go along with that.
Marcia Smith 19:29
All right. All right. Here’s one one more Beatle question. Okay, can you name any of the top three Beatles songs that John Lennon hated the most?
Bob Smith 19:39
Ob la di, ob la die it might be – they all hated that. Because today Paul made them do that over and over and over again. No, I don’t know what wouldn’t
Marcia Smith 19:48
he hate at this one? I don’t know Run for your life. Oh, really? Okay. Well,
Bob Smith 19:53
That was his song too. I believe. You better to run for your life if you can, little girl hide your head in the sand
Marcia Smith 19:58
And The other two I know
Bob Smith 20:01
Catch you with another man, little girl. It’s a real misogynistic kind of song. Because of the little, no just talking about the woman like he owns her. So I see. I think Yoko caused him to realize how ugly that song was. All right, Lovely Rita. Oh, he didn’t like that. Lovely Rita Meter Maid.
Marcia Smith 20:18
and When I’m 64, that was Paul. Yes.
Bob Smith 20:21
He didn’t like that because he said that was Paul’s old lady music or old. I think they called it granny music.
Marcia Smith 20:28
But he hated Paul’s love songs and his granny music.
Bob Smith 20:33
And Paul wrote that in when he was 14 years old.
Marcia Smith 20:35
Oh, that’s why you still need me. Yeah, he’s still. That’s cute. I didn’t know that. I didn’t know he was 14. Granny music. Yeah, yeah. So you didn’t get any? Okay. Go ahead.
Bob Smith 20:44
What? You’re okay. You might find this interesting. Which state capitol has the highest elevation? Denver? That’s what I would have thought to the Mile High City. Denver. Right. 5280 feet of snow.
Marcia Smith 20:58
Okay. Is it in Alaska? No. Okay.
Bob Smith 21:02
The choices were Juneau, Alaska, Denver, Colorado, Sacramento, California and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Marcia Smith 21:08
All right. I’ll say Sacramento No.
Bob Smith 21:13
of three out of four wrong. No, no, sorry, Marcia. It is believe it or not Santa Fe been
Marcia Smith 21:19
to Santa Fe. I didn’t feel high. I know. I thought that was strange, too.
Bob Smith 21:23
But it is 7198 feet above sea level. And it lies in the Sangre de Cristo foothills of the southern Rockies. You ever been there?
Marcia Smith 21:33
Oh, yeah, I’ve been there. I like it there.
Bob Smith 21:34
It’s also one of the oldest cities in North America was founded between 1607 and 1610, which makes it the oldest capital city. And of course, features all that beautiful Pueblo architecture. But yeah, it is 7198 feet above sea level. So move over my Ohio city. I’ll be dang, Santa Fe is the State Capitol with the highest elevation?
Marcia Smith 21:56
I had no idea.
Bob Smith 21:57
I was surprised at that too. Well, sometimes it’s good to see where is the youngest and the oldest thing in your universe. So I’m going to ask you this, Marcia. All right. Where is the oldest continually standing wooden structure in the United States?
Marcia Smith 22:12
It’s Oh, it’s a structure. It’s not like the tree in California, that redwood,
Bob Smith 22:16
A wooden structure, something built by human beings. Marcia. Okay. What were those trees built by human beings? God did it. All right. Okay. So where is the oldest continually standing?
Marcia Smith 22:27
Is it in St. Augustine, Florida?
Bob Smith 22:30
No, it’s not. Okay. Good. Good answer. But that’s not the answer. I’m looking for fine. It’s called the Fairbanks house. And it was a home of a family in Dedham, Massachusetts, for 260 years. It’s the oldest timber frame structure in the US. It’s a museum, you can go into it. And the family was from Yorkshire, England, Jonathan and Grace Fairbanks and their six children and then they expanded it and added a workshop and wings as their family grew and it served eight generations.
Marcia Smith 22:58
Yes, I bet you’d like to go visit it. I would like to let me know how it is so well.
Bob Smith 23:02
So it’s a museum listed on the National Register of Historic Places built in 1637 1637 still stands.
Marcia Smith 23:09
Okay. Well, as we all know, Lyndon Baines Johnson loved his initials. Yes, he did. Can you name the other four LBJs in the family?
Bob Smith 23:22
What the other four LBJs? You mean people? Yeah. Well, there’s Lady Bird Johnson. Correct. Linda Baines Johnson.
Marcia Smith 23:31
It was actually Linda bird. Linda Bird Johnson. Okay.
Bob Smith 23:34
And I don’t know. Lucy Lucy Baines Johnson. Right.
Marcia Smith 23:38
So who’s the fourth you say? Little Beagle John’s.
Bob Smith 23:42
A duck. That was the other LBJ the
Marcia Smith 23:45
one he lifted up by the ears all the time that was LBJ little Beagle, John.
Bob Smith 23:50
Oh, gosh, that’s terrible. That’s so funny. Okay, I’ve got one for you. Do you know that there is an African city that’s famous for its penguin population?
Marcia Smith 24:04
What city? An African city? No, I didn’t know that.
Bob Smith 24:05
Yeah, I always think of penguins. And I’m thinking of the Arctic or something. Right? Yes. But Cape Town.
Marcia Smith 24:11
Where do they come from?
Bob Smith 24:13
Well, there’s an indigenous penguin population. The African penguin likes to soak up the sun. And it’s the only species of penguin that lives in Africa. It’s known for its distinctive braying sound. There are more than 3,000 of them that can be found at Boulders Beach in Cape Town. Must be a must be a very noisy place. Never thought of penguins coming from Africa, but Cape Town, South Africa. That’s where they’re a whole bunch of them. I’ve got one for you. What state capital features a full scale replica of the Parthenon?
Marcia Smith 24:47
The Greek Parthenon, it’s not a capital.
Bob Smith 24:48
The city is a capital. Okay. But it has a full scale replica of the Parthenon, Athens, Georgia. No, that makes sense. Athens, Georgia. Yeah. But no, it’s not Nashville, really Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a replica that was built in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition and was intended to be a temporary exhibit. But they were kind of calling Nashville the Athens of the south at the time. Oh, and that was so popular. It was restored several times. It’s now an art museum and a venue for city events.
Marcia Smith 25:20
That’s probably very cool as an art center.
Bob Smith 25:23
Yes, yes.
Marcia Smith 25:23
Do you remember Spanish dictator Generalissimo Franco by
Bob Smith 25:27
Oh, yes, Francisco Franco.
Marcia Smith 25:29
He’s still dead.
Bob Smith 25:30
Yes. Are we talking about that? Yes. Are you just to give people an idea what that means you have to explain it.
Marcia Smith 25:36
You can’t do so. It was a running gag on Saturday Night Live the year he was dying every day.
Bob Smith 25:40
There were more bulletins on the TV news about his condition. And it went on and on. So the Saturday Night Live did a gag after that as soon as he passed away. And they said, “This just in — Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead”. And we all laughed every time. And the only reason people laughed about that was because Franco was a dictator who had a bad reputation.
Marcia Smith 26:02
Man, right. But he had a funny deathbed quote.
Bob Smith 26:05
He did. Yeah. Oh, you got something he said?
Marcia Smith 26:09
Yes, he actually when he died, he ended one of Europe’s longest dictatorships from 1939 to 1975. So his deathbed quote, actually, he’s talking on his deathbed with his daughter back and forth his last words. And he says to his daughter, “What is the noise? His daughter says it’s the people outside. He says, What are they doing? Daughter? They’ve come to say goodbye. Him. Why? Where are they going?” “No, it’s you dad. ”
Bob Smith 26:42
Oh, dear. That’s sad and funny at the same time.
Marcia Smith 26:50
Oh, that was hilarious. Okay.
Bob Smith 26:53
We, if you’d like to submit a question to Marcia or to me, for us to pose to the other person, you can do so by going to our website, the off ramp dot show and scroll down to contact us and then you can leave your name, the question the answer where you got it from and where you’re listening from. We’d like to know that yes, I would love to know where you’re from. Okay, that’s all the trivia we have for today. I’m Bob Smith. I’m
Marcia Smith 27:17
Marcia Smith. Join us again next
Bob Smith 27:19
time when we return with the off ramp. The off ramp is produced in association with CPL radio online and the Cedarburg Public Library Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
