What’s Cupid’s name in Greek mythology? And what famous holiday song was once known as “Smile and Show Your Dimple?” Hear The Off Ramp podcast with Bob and Marcia Smith.
Bob and Marcia Smith discussed various aspects of holiday traditions and marketing strategies. Bob shared his knowledge of the origins of popular holiday songs, while Marcia provided insights into the cost of running Super Bowl commercials. They later explored the history and evolution of Valentine’s Day, including its cultural associations and commercialization. Bob and Marcia also discussed the origins and evolution of professional sports team names, sharing interesting facts and trivia along the way. They delved into the engineering feat and history of the world’s only international underwater automobile tunnel, with Marcia questioning the distance of the tunnel and Bob providing information on its unique features.
Outline
Super Bowl ads and Easter songs.
- Bob and Marcia discuss Easter songs, including “Easter Parade” and the origins of Cupid’s name in Greek mythology.
- Marcia and Bob discuss the cost of running a Super Bowl commercial, with Marcia mentioning a $150,000 spot in 1967 and Bob estimating the cost for a 30-second spot in 2023 to be around $7 million.
- Marcia considers running a 10-second podcast commercial during the Super Bowl, but Bob estimates the cost to be significantly higher than $150,000.
Sports teams, river geography, and Valentine’s Day trivia.
- Bob Smith asks Marcia Smith about the origin of the Arizona Cardinals’ name, which was originally the Chicago Cardinals in 1898 before moving to St. Louis and then Arizona.
- Bob Smith and Marcia Smith discuss how the early New York Philharmonic concerts were different for musicians 100 years ago, with all musicians standing up during performances until 1885, except for the cellist.
- Marcia Smith explains the origin of the word “fast” as holding firmly, and Bob Smith asks a question about a river that runs through multiple national capitals.
- Marcia Smith shares Valentine’s Day trivia from Parade Magazine, including the fact that mean-spirited Valentine cards existed in the Victorian era.
- Marcia and Bob discuss various songs and their origins, including “Cucaracha” and “Old Man River.”
- Marcia provides information about the oldest recorded Valentine, written in 1415 by the Duke of Orleans to his wife.
NFL team names, Valentine’s Day facts, and pop group origins.
- Bob and Marcia discuss the origins of NFL team names, including the Baltimore Ravens and the Atlanta Falcons.
- Bob and Marcia Smith discuss the origins of the phrase “two bits” and its connection to Spanish currency and American history.
- Marcia Smith correctly identifies the pop duo Sonny and Cher as the group whose original name was inspired by the movie “Cleopatra.”
Music, memory, and underwater tunnels.
- Marcia and Bob discuss Tony Bennett’s career and Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
- Bob and Marcia discuss unique identifying features of dogs, including their nose prints.
- Detroit Windsor tunnel is the world’s only international underwater automobile tunnel, completed in 1930.
Temperature readings, longest married couple, and trivia.
- Marcia and Bob discuss the longest married couple, Robert and Dorothy Kohler, who are still married after 86 years.
- Marcia and Bob discuss interesting facts and trivia, including the origins of NFL team names and famous last words.
- Bob Smith and Marcia Smith discuss the smell of snow, with Bob sharing that snow has an aroma that changes depending on the air quality and location, and Marcia revealing that she has had frozen hair before.
- Bob and Marcia play a trivia game, with Bob asking Marcia questions about the world’s only frozen hairdo competition, which is held in the Yukon Territory and involves shaping frozen hair in hot springs.
Bob Smith 0:00
What famous holiday song was originally called Smile and show your dimple? Yeah. Okay.
Marcia Smith 0:08
And what is Cupid’s name in Greek mythology?
Bob Smith 0:11
Oh some Valentine’s questions and other things coming up today on the off ramp with Bob and Mark Shaw Smith
Welcome to the off ramp a chance to slow down steered clear of crazy take a side road to sanity and get some perspective on life. Well Spring is here and we got Valentine’s Day and Easter coming up Marsh. I haven’t question that relates to an Easter song. Okay. What holiday song was originally titled smile and show your dimple smiling
Marcia Smith 0:56
surely? That’s not smile and the world is live? Nope. Okay, I don’t I would say Easter song. Yes. Easter Parade. Yes. The only Easter song that’s it.
Bob Smith 1:09
Irving Berlin in your Easter bonnet. Well originally started to smile and show your dimple. Really? Yeah. So the phrases have the same rhythm and he wrote that song during the First World War, but it didn’t show up until the 1930s show as 1000s cheered when it was retitled Easter Parade. And here’s an ironic note. Irving Berlin was born Israel baleen in Toulouse, Russia. He’s a Jewish songwriter who has written most of the popular songs associated with two major Christian holiday songs.
Marcia Smith 1:38
I’ve always thought that was like
Bob Smith 1:40
Christmas and Easter parade for Easter. Okay, funny. So Bob,
Marcia Smith 1:46
what is Cupid’s name? It’s not Betty. In Greek mythology, but I think it was better. I don’t know.
Bob Smith 1:54
Cupid? Are we looking for first or last names?
Marcia Smith 1:57
It’s Greek mythology. It’s a singular name. So it’s not cute,
Bob Smith 2:01
but it’s not like …
Marcia Smith 2:04
No. This is a name. You’ve heard of.
Bob Smith 2:07
Pie. Okay. No, I don’t I have no idea. It’s Eros. . Okay. And
Marcia Smith 2:14
FYI, Cupid. I asked that cupid. It was a girl didn’t you know I didn’t. Oh, okay. I did cute
Bob Smith 2:20
was a little cherub, right? Yeah, little boy who is you know, shooting arrows in people’s cars. You know,
Marcia Smith 2:25
it was a boy. It always looked like a boy cubed is the son of Venus, of course. So just keeping up on your so Eros
Bob Smith 2:34
was the original name Eos, which is love. Okay, okay. Well, Marcia, we had the Super Bowl. And of course, we all watch these commercials. Some of them are great. Some of them not so great. How much did it cost to run a spot? 32nd spot on the Superbowl? Towers? That’s exactly right. Yes. Yeah. $7 million for 30 seconds of airtime. All right. Now, how much did it cost to run a spot on the first Super Bowl in 1967? For how long? Same thing? 30 seconds.
Marcia Smith 3:05
$150 42,000?
Bob Smith 3:09
Oh, okay. So it’s going from $42,000 to 7 million in what 55 years?
Marcia Smith 3:17
Well, I heard a marketing guy on the radio talking about it. And you really do get a lot of bang for your 7 million because of the downloads and the and all the
Bob Smith 3:27
extensions of extensions, seeing that spot in other contexts. Yeah,
Marcia Smith 3:30
if you can afford it, it might be worth it. But not if people don’t connect your product with your commercial.
Bob Smith 3:37
You know, one of our favorite people Ed Allen who was my boss at Rockwell, he was the guy who came up with that idea of running a spot once and then extending it. He did that for Master Lock. It was a famous shot of the a gun shooting the Master Lock padlock. Yeah, yeah, they had done that spot before. But he came up with the idea of, let’s run it in the Super Bowl. And then let’s merchandise the heck out of it by putting it on brochures and putting it in, you know, different places we can show this spot. So yeah, a very famous thing.
Marcia Smith 4:07
I was thinking about running a little podcast commercial on the Super Bowl this year. But I was thinking, how would you you know, make an impression it just be a 10 second spot and say, go to the off ramp? That show? No, I just say it 10 times over and stuff.
Bob Smith 4:24
I’m sure that would have gotten this.
Marcia Smith 4:25
Well, I bet a lot of people have
Bob Smith 4:26
Yes, people would go but how much would it cost to do that Marcia? Well, let’s see. 1/3 of $7 million. That’s going to cost a lot of money. We’ll see. Okay, you know, it’s also the end obviously, of the playing season for professional football. So I have some questions on how some of the NFL teams got their names. I’m going to ask you about the Arizona Cardinals. Okay, how did they get their name?
Marcia Smith 4:49
Well, isn’t the Cardinals state bird of Arizona? Well,
Bob Smith 4:53
I don’t think it is but that you know, remember the franchise began years ago in 1898. It was in St. Louis. In 1960, but it was in Chicago first and that’s where they were called the Cardinals originally, in 1898. All right now tell me why they got the name the Cardinals in very simple in Chicago. Yeah. Okay, because this is a team. It was a new team, not a lot of money. All right, I don’t know they purchased used faded maroon jerseys from the University of Chicago in 1901. And Chris O’Brien, who is the team owner, he called the color cardinal red and the nickname was born. And that’s how the Arizona Cardinals got their name way back in 1898. Okay, so the Arizona Cardinals started in Chicago in 1898. moved to St. Louis in 1960. moved to Arizona in 1988. There’s still a Cardinals team in St. Louis, but it’s a baseball team. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
Marcia Smith 5:43
Bob, you and your son Benjamin, our son,
Bob Smith 5:47
Benjamin. Bison. Yes, my son, like the, like the Beach Boys,
Marcia Smith 5:51
right. Do you know their two previous names before they settled on Beach Boys?
Bob Smith 5:57
I know. They wanted to call themselves the Pendleton’s. That’s correct. Because they thought they would get a great deal on shirts. Yeah. That was the idea.
Marcia Smith 6:04
I loved Pendleton’s. Okay, but I don’t know what the other day was either one, it was called Carol and the passion.
Bob Smith 6:11
Oh, Carl and the Passions, and they actually use that name on one of their albums. Yeah, yeah.
Marcia Smith 6:16
Okay.
Bob Smith 6:17
All right. All right. I have a question for you. Okay. How were the early New York Philharmonic concerts different for musicians of 100, so years ago than they are for musicians today. Acoustics may be different concert halls. But that’s not it. There was a difference in the way things were performed in the 19th century. Yes, that’s right. All the musicians stood up when they performed that would get tiring everybody except the cellist. That is, that was the style of the Leipzig to want house concerts from Germany, and from the first Philharmonic concert in 1842 until 1885, for 43 years. That’s how they were performed with all the musicians standing up for the concert.
Marcia Smith 7:01
I don’t think I’ve even seen a picture of that. Do you know? Okay, by wordplay? Why do we call the act of not eating a fasting? I’m going to fast today? Well, that’s
Bob Smith 7:12
a good question, isn’t it though?
Speaker 1 7:14
Why am I going to fast? Why would fast mean? So did fast mean being asleep? Or did it mean not eating? I’m not telling okay. I don’t know the answer.
Marcia Smith 7:24
What’s the original meaning of the word fast was to hold firmly, as in she held fast to her principles, okay. And as a practice of not eating is all about firm self control. So fasting today can take many forms from not eating for dieting or cleansing or you can use it as a political protest. You know, I’m going to fast. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it all comes down to the original meaning of self control, and mentally strong.
Bob Smith 7:52
So fast. Hold fast. Yeah, that is expression urine. Okay, I’ve got a question for you. This is about a river. All right. All right. What river in the world runs through more national capitals than any other? Oh, Deb.
Marcia Smith 8:08
Were we ever on it? Yes, we were. Well, then it was the Danya. Duck.
Bob Smith 8:13
Yeah, it could have been the Rhine or the Danube or it could have been the Congo River that goes through multiple countries. But yeah, the Danube which starts in the Black Forest mountains of Germany that travels through nine countries. These are the world capitals. It goes through Belgrade, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest. Those were all built on the backs of the great river, but it goes through these countries Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. So I don’t know that that was interesting.
Marcia Smith 8:46
It is. I knew the answer. You never congratulate me when I get one. Right. Next question.
Bob Smith 8:51
Congratulations, Marcia.
Marcia Smith 8:53
All right. Here’s some more Valentine trivia from Parade Magazine. Okay, okay. You got Eros we know that one. So in the Victorian era, apparently there were a fair amount of mean spirited Valentine. No,
Bob Smith 9:07
no, not in the Victorian era that everybody was polite.
Marcia Smith 9:11
So and some were comically mocking Oh my goodness. And these cards had a special name these
Bob Smith 9:18
people should have been on social media today. Yes, they would have had a field day witness early
Marcia Smith 9:22
social media. Wow.
Bob Smith 9:23
Okay, you’re the only person who knew you had been dissed. That’s the difference. Yeah,
Marcia Smith 9:28
that’s right. That’s right. Okay, so did it their theory called This is funny vinegar Valentines Yeah, I got vinegar, Valentines and the other one. I thought this was just for cheap storybooks. But they also call them Penny Dreadfuls. Oh, you know you’ve heard of that. Yes. And those were also for the mean spirited are comically mocking .
Bob Smith 9:47
Oh, these are the cards people would get they would send to somebody would comically mock them. Yeah. Pretty mean it is. Alright, back to music. I got another question here. What famous ethnic song that you have no doubt heard was read. About a cockroach.
Marcia Smith 10:03
Did Barry Manilow write it? No, he did not. He would write about his dog and other things.
Bob Smith 10:09
Okay, cockroach. Dona starts with Allah La la la cucaracha
Marcia Smith 10:15
Oh of course.
Bob Smith 10:16
Yeah, that sounds about a cockroach. It was written by a Spanish composer. It refers to the cockroaches being out in the sun too long and unfortunately for grape and raisin producers one line translates so he’s just another reason.
Marcia Smith 10:27
No Cucaracha Cucaracha I never really thought about it.
Bob Smith 10:33
But yes, okay, and going along with the Irving Berlin thing. Did you know that the famous song Old Man River that’s got a negro spiritual sound to it was actually written by a pair of white Jewish songwriters Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern.
Marcia Smith 10:48
Do you know when the oldest recorded Valentine was written? This give me a ballpark?
Bob Smith 10:53
Oh, I bet that goes back to ancient times. Probably too. Let’s see. Of course, are we referring to St. Valentine’s Day? So are we talking about the modern era? Like since the Middle Ages sometime? 1400s? Maybe 16 1500 1527?
Marcia Smith 11:08
Well, not bad. 1415 1415 Yep. It was written as a poem by the Duke of Orleans. Okay, when he was 21 he wrote it to his wife when he was held captive in the Tower of London.
Bob Smith 11:23
What was the nature of his verse? What was it? Do we No, no. Oh, okay. Well, geez, I did it’s kind of an empty, empty. We don’t know what he did. We don’t know. Okay, let’s move on.
Marcia Smith 11:36
She’s sorry to disappoint.
Bob Smith 11:40
That was disappointing. Marcia. I have to say that if I’m going to compliment you each time, it’s been wonderful. Okay. All right. Here’s a more NFL teams. How did the Baltimore Ravens get their name? Baltimore Ravens
Marcia Smith 11:52
hark. Nevermore. Okay, their ravens they were birds landing in the field all the time.
Bob Smith 11:59
Why did they call them the Baltimore Ravens Marsh because in
Marcia Smith 12:03
their football field, the Ravens were landing all the time and just eating up the seed and so
Bob Smith 12:08
disappointing. Okay, no, it’s a reference to Edgar Allan Poe. He was from Baltimore. Oh, okay. Yeah. And of course he did. Right. In the beginning, I said
Marcia Smith 12:18
Hark, the Ravens never You
Bob Smith 12:20
never said it was the poem. No, I were the poet. I didn’t know he was from there. Edgar Allan Poe died in Baltimore happy died. And there was a poll of the Baltimore Sun they did a contest and of the 33,000 voters 21,000 picked ravens as the name of the team. All
Marcia Smith 12:38
right. 50 million roses are sent out each year for Valentine’s Day. Wow. 35 million heart shaped boxes of chocolate get bought every year. Well, why not? How cheap boxes of Jelly Bellies are
Bob Smith 12:52
so it’s chocolates. chocolates are associated with Valentine’s by Jelly Bellies or not. I
Marcia Smith 12:57
know it’s just something perverse, I would get a kick out. Please read and here’s the sad part. Typically 9 million people each year by Valentine’s for their pets.
Bob Smith 13:10
That is sad. Oh my goodness. Well, that’s just amazing. Oh, when
Marcia Smith 13:15
I take a break? No, I’m
Bob Smith 13:17
not ready yet. The Atlanta Falcons. How did they get the you are full of the Falcons. What are some of the other names there were 1300 people they suggested more than 500 names. That’s when the insurance executive Rankin Smith. He bought the team and a local radio station sponsored a contest. What were some of the other names people thought might be good for the Atlanta team. You tell me the peaches? Yeah, that doesn’t have a strong name for football strong,
Marcia Smith 13:42
scary name. Hey, the peaches. The vibrance
Bob Smith 13:45
The Lancers that would have been good confederates. You could see that Firebirds and Thrashers, but school teacher Julia elet of Griffin, Georgia was declared the winner for the reason she provided she goes the Falcon is proud and dignified with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey it is deadly and has great sporting tradition. And for that she won for season tickets for three years and a football autographed by the entire 1966 team.
Marcia Smith 14:14
Okay, question. Why do we call a quarter two bits?
Bob Smith 14:18
Two bits shave and a haircut? Two bits. That was something I remember my grandpa used to always say.
Marcia Smith 14:23
Did you ever use that term growing up? I didn’t really I did buy two bits. Yeah. To get at the drugstore the other day? You gotta go like it’s on here. Yeah,
Bob Smith 14:32
I didn’t know people still talk to Oh, yes. Okay, no, I didn’t. And I don’t know the answer. Why we’re Why did you answer
Marcia Smith 14:39
because it’s curiously Interesting, okay. European settlers brought their money with them to America and coins made of precious metal were accepted everywhere. The Spanish peso was divided into eight silver coins, which the English called bits or pieces of pieces of eight. Yeah, right. And so two bits was a quarter of a Spanish dollar. And even though when money was finally minted in the New World, and although a dollars coinage was divided by 10, the expression to bits continued to mean a quarter of $1.
Bob Smith 15:15
Wow, that goes a long way back. It does. I had no idea. I thought you’d be amazed. I am amazed and amused by. And now I think it’s time for a break. Okay, we’ll be back with more in just a moment. You’re listening to the off ramp with Bob and Marcia Smith. Okay, back again here on the off ramp with Bob and Marcia Smith. I have a question about a pop group. It’s a duo. And their original name was based on a famous movie, not the title of the movie, but something about the movie, and they debuted in the mid 60s. Caesar and Cleopatra was their original name. Oh, really? Yeah. Who were they?
Marcia Smith 15:53
Jan and Dean? No, no, it was it. Was it a guy and a girl? Yeah. Yeah, it was. Wasn’t Peter, Paul and Mary, because one too many guys. Oh, wasn’t Sonny and Cher. Yes,
Bob Smith 16:03
it was. Sonny and Cher. Very good. Marcia. Congratulations. Thank you, Robert. Yeah, their first professional appearance was under the name of Caesar and Cleopatra. So was their first recording the letter the but the movie they were trying to capitalize on was of course, Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Yeah.
Marcia Smith 16:21
Okay. Well, I didn’t know that. And she had certainly the look of a Cleopatra with her hair and everything. Okay. You love those digital storage devices? Bob? Yes. Flash memory. What size? Are those? The ones you’re buying? Now? one terabyte? one terabyte? Yeah, they’re big. And you always marble. Oh, look at this. So what do you think is the storage capacity of the human brain?
Bob Smith 16:47
In terms of terabytes? Yeah, terabytes. Really? Yeah. I’ll say 200 terabytes. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. one terabyte? No. 300 terabyte? I don’t know what, four, four terabytes. So our brains contain about four terabytes of memory. They can Yes. Wow, that’s pretty interesting. I didn’t know that. One more music question for you. Okay. This fella is still singing. His name was Dominic betta detto. He got his current singing name from the man who discovered him who is a famous comedian, Dominic Benedetto. He sings with Lady Gaga.
Marcia Smith 17:24
He thinks with Lady Gaga. Yeah. Dominic
Bob Smith 17:26
Benedetto. Jeez, you don’t even know who I’m talking about? No, Tony Bennett. Oh, of course.
Marcia Smith 17:33
I’ve seen him sing with Gaga, who discovered
Bob Smith 17:37
Tony Bennett. Who Bob Hope. Oh, really? Yeah. Tony Bennett started his career as a singing waiter at Ricardos restaurant in Astoria, Queens, New York. His real name Anthony Dominic, betta detto. And Bob hook discovered him in 1949. And suggested to us.
Marcia Smith 17:55
The name Tony Bennett is still belted out too. He’s you know, he’s got Alzheimer’s and all that but still sings if he put him in front of a microphone in onstage, he suddenly starts singing like no tomorrow. And I think
Bob Smith 18:07
it’s fascinating. I was showing some of our friends last night, our old record player downstairs at very old one my folks had, you know, and I have a 78 of Tony Bennett. Oh, really one of his first hit records. And here’s a guy who has gone all the way up through cassette tapes, CDs, the streaming era still selling records in his 90s from the 78, or how it’s hard to believe now
Marcia Smith 18:31
would have been good question who went from 78 to streaming his music? Yeah. And the answer is Bob.
Bob Smith 18:40
And Dominic, but that’s who it is. All right. You know, there’s
Marcia Smith 18:44
no substitute for having a microchip put in your dog for ID purposes. But according to Hello, bark, what is the single unique feature of a dog to ID them? You know, like fingerprints, but it’s not a prop print. What is it as opposed to a fingerprint?
Bob Smith 19:01
Does it have something to do with their drool? Is it something to do with that? No, it’s not bark. No, not their bark. Not their bite? No, not their teeth. Not their nose? Yes. Okay. Yes,
Marcia Smith 19:11
each dog has a unique nose print. And apparently it’s a thing out there. Apparently people even wear their dog’s nose print on a necklace pendant around their neck. I’ve
Bob Smith 19:23
never heard of them
Marcia Smith 19:25
either.
Bob Smith 19:25
That’s strange. That’s a little strange.
Marcia Smith 19:29
Yes. Yes.
Bob Smith 19:30
What is that? That’s an interesting design. It’s my dog’s nose prints. Yeah. It’s on to the next person at the party. All right, moving along. Okay, Marcia. Now here’s a question for you. What is the world’s only international underwater automobile tunnel? Going to give you four choices here? The channel channel between England and France? The Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland, the Detroit Windsor town between the US and Canada or the Leia doll tunnel in Scandinavia, again, the world’s only international underwater automobile tunnel.
Marcia Smith 20:09
Well, the channel legs for a railroad. I don’t know if they have a side where
Bob Smith 20:14
you’re right. That’s for railroad Joe Chunnel. Exactly. And so I would say so that rules out the channel channel. How about the Gotthard? Base Tunnel in Switzerland? Yeah, I’ll
Marcia Smith 20:24
go with that.
Bob Smith 20:25
No. How about the lair doll tunnel in Norway? No. You know why those are not even good candidates here, Marcia. They don’t go underwater. They go under mountains. The question was what’s the world’s only international underwater automobile tunnel, which leaves the Detroit Windsor tunnel between the US and Canada. And that’s it. Really? That’s the longest underwater tunnels with international traffic between Canada and the United States.
Marcia Smith 20:52
How far is it? from Detroit to Windsor?
Bob Smith 20:56
It’s a little less than a mile. And that was yeah, that was completed more than 90 years ago in 1930. And it remains the world’s only international underwater tunnel specifically for automobiles
Marcia Smith 21:07
in one mile.
Bob Smith 21:08
It’s the Detroit River. You’re going under the Detroit River. Yeah, yeah. That was not the first underwater tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, though they there were two railroad tunnels that were built in the 90s. The 1890s, the St. Clair tunnel, and the Michigan central railway tunnel. The St. Clair tunnel was built in 1891. And the Michigan Central was built in 1910. So they had two tunnels underneath that river before that, and then in 1930, they decided let’s build it for automobiles. Okay. So it’s a major engineering feat to
Marcia Smith 21:38
do that sometime. Okay. I have a multiple choice for you. Okay. An instrument at the University of Arizona, developed by Dr. Frank Lowe is designed for taking the temperature readings on planets, distant planets, okay? It’s so sensitive that it can detect a lit cigarette from how far away 110 miles to 1000 miles. Oh God, or 10,000 miles.
Bob Smith 22:05
Oh my goodness. I wouldn’t even think it’d be 1000 miles but it’s got to be in the middle there somewhere. I’ll say 1000 miles. That’s
Marcia Smith 22:11
a good guest 10,000 miles. Now Watson again. ziggurat what is it? Again? The tech that it’s a temperature reading. He developed this instrument at the University of Arizona. Wow. That’s hard to fathom, isn’t it? It
Bob Smith 22:24
is just hard to believe. A way. Yeah.
Marcia Smith 22:27
How long do you think is the longest married couple?
Bob Smith 22:31
How long is the longest hiring?
Marcia Smith 22:32
long have they been married? Okay.
Bob Smith 22:34
tend to be more stuff perhaps who we’re talking about Tom Thumb and his wife. Shortest married couple. Who were the longest married couple. Okay, the longest time? Yeah, I would say 70 years would be a long time. Okay, let’s say 75 years. Yeah.
Marcia Smith 22:49
No. 86. Wow. Robert and Dorothy Kohler and they’re still counting. They’re still going 86 years? No
Bob Smith 22:56
kidding. How old? Are they? Does
Marcia Smith 22:58
it say they’re both over? 100.
Bob Smith 23:00
Holy cow.
Marcia Smith 23:01
Isn’t that something? Oh, that’s amazing. Yeah, that’s, that’s under my valentine trivia. Okay. And here’s just some Did you know, okay, did you know that the Sunday edition of The New York Times, which we get has more information in it than a typical adult was exposed to in an entire lifetime? 100 years ago? Really?
Bob Smith 23:22
Yeah. I should slow down and not go through those sections. Maybe I’m thumbing through those sections too quickly.
Marcia Smith 23:31
Isn’t that something that isn’t amazing? Yeah.
Bob Smith 23:33
All right. What NFL team was the first expansion franchise and the first pro sports team to feature the state’s name? Not the city, the
Marcia Smith 23:43
Florida Marlins.
Bob Smith 23:44
So before that the Minnesota Vikings Oh, Minnesota Vikings Am I know? Yeah, that was a 1961 when they joined the NFL, and that was the first time a pro team had ever chosen a state’s name instead of the city’s name. And how did the New York Jets get their name?
Marcia Smith 24:03
Well, let’s see was New York Jets. Where are they near the airfield?
Bob Smith 24:09
That’s it when they knew they were gonna play in Shea Stadium, which is close to LaGuardia Airport, the name? The New York Jets was chosen to reflect the modern approach team in 1963. And have a cool
Marcia Smith 24:22
name. Yeah,
Bob Smith 24:23
I thought that was pretty cool, too. Yeah,
Marcia Smith 24:24
it is. It’s Hey, what are the Jets doing today? Okay, all right. I’m gonna finish up with two famous last words. James Dean. What was he in his 20s Right.
Bob Smith 24:37
Yes, that was that must have been something he said to somebody before he got in the spider and took off in the car. It was he died in the horrible car crash.
Marcia Smith 24:46
The last thing he said was my fun days are over
Bob Smith 24:49
and he was right. Don’t get in that car.
Marcia Smith 24:52
He was always driving fast. That’s that’s sort of set but here’s Humphrey Bogart. His last words were I should never have switched from Scotch to martinis
Bob Smith 25:05
never should have switched from Scotch to Martini. You
Marcia Smith 25:07
know sometimes I feel I’m just here to set up your voices I’m sorry your voice catalog. No, I like to hear you. You don’t do them enough.
Bob Smith 25:16
Okay, here’s a winter question. All right, can you smell snow?
Marcia Smith 25:21
No.
Bob Smith 25:22
Yes The answer is yes Snow has an aroma and it’s getting stronger snows smell reflects impurities in the air. And as the atmosphere changes the smell of snow is changing but it also is local snowflakes in Wisconsin smells different from snow in Sweden, and some people can actually smell snow coming like they can smell rain coming very into so I thought
Marcia Smith 25:43
Yeah, I thought that was kind of I like snow. You like sushi? We had more of it.
Bob Smith 25:47
You wish we had more of it? Yet? You don’t get out and shovel or blow it that’s the reason you think it’s so nice. Oh, it’s so pretty. I look at I look at it in its work piling up as crazy. Alright, one more. Where is the world’s only frozen hairdo competition? Marcia. I’ll give you the names of the countries Okay. Sweden, Russia, Canada, Norway, or Iceland. You say Sweden raw? Oh, it’s one of those four.
Marcia Smith 26:14
Okay, I’ll say Canada.
Bob Smith 26:16
It is it is it’s in the Yukon Territory. Maybe there’s not a lot to do up there. No, it’s the world’s only frozen hairdo competition. And it’s not as cold as you think it’s held at the Tuscany river hot springs which provide 116 degree Fahrenheit temperatures to soak in while you work on your frozen do but the trick is to dunk your head in the hot water and shape it in the cold air outside the pool as quickly as you can. And then the above water air temperature which can go as low as 40 below zero. Let you mold your rapidly freezing here into your best and most outrageous shape. Have you ever had hundreds of people participate in this and they win as much as $2,000 and Canadian money?
Marcia Smith 26:58
I didn’t I didn’t ever think about shaping it. I’ve had frozen hair have you?
Bob Smith 27:02
Yes. But I never thought of making a do out. No, I always inherited
Marcia Smith 27:06
I used to go to when I worked in Marquette, Michigan. I’d take a shower and go to the newsroom in the morning and it was so cold my hair would freeze and I looked pretty weird.
Bob Smith 27:15
Rose on the way to the newsroom. Wow, how cold was it? They’re
Marcia Smith 27:19
very cold.
Bob Smith 27:20
Oh my goodness. Okay, okay. Well, looks like your time’s up, Marcia.
Marcia Smith 27:25
The big hand down the caller.
Bob Smith 27:27
I’m Bob Smith. I’m Marcia Smith. Join us next time when we return with more trivia here on 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
