Bob and Marcia Smith discuss various trivia topics. They reveal that the land under the Empire State Building was once owned by the Roosevelts, descendants of Klaus Martenszen van Rosenfeld, who bought a farm in New Amsterdam in 1652. Alfred Hitchcock had a fear of eggs, which he found repulsive. They also talk about the origin of the name “Roosevelt” and the concept of Platonic love. The brain consumes about 20% of the body’s oxygen. They explain the term “contranym” and discuss the unique characteristics of fire on Earth. The show concludes with a trivia game and historical facts about the Statue of Liberty.
Outline
Roosevelt Family Ancestry and Empire State Building
- Bob Smith reveals that the Roosevelt family’s ancestor, Klaus Martenszen van Rosenveld, owned the land under the Empire State Building.
- Marcia Smith expresses surprise and asks for verification, which Bob confirms through Wikipedia.
- Bob details that Klaus Martenszen van Rosenfeld, an immigrant from New Amsterdam (New York City), bought a 51-acre farm in Midtown Manhattan in 1652.
- The farm, located between Lexington and Fifth Avenue, was later the site of the Empire State Building.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Phobia
- Marcia Smith asks about Alfred Hitchcock’s fear, revealing it was ova phobia, or a fear of eggs.
- Bob Smith shares that Hitchcock found egg yolks particularly repulsive and refused to eat them.
- The conversation touches on Hitchcock’s use of Hershey’s chocolate for blood in the shower scene of “Psycho.”
- Marcia Smith and Bob discuss the irony of using eggs in the shower scene.
Roosevelt Family Name Origin and Platonic Love
- Bob Smith explains that the name Roosevelt originally meant “Rose Field.”
- They discuss the four families in U.S. history to produce two presidents by the same surname: Adams, Quincy, John Roosevelt, and Bush.
- Marcia Smith asks about the origin of the term “Platonic love,” which Bob explains is derived from Plato’s philosophy of non-sexual love.
- The conversation highlights Plato’s observation of his teacher Socrates and the idea that pure love exists in the mind.
Brain Oxygen Consumption and Contranym
- Marcia Smith guesses that the brain consumes 20% of the body’s oxygen, which Bob confirms.
- Bob introduces the term “contranym,” a word with opposite meanings, and provides examples like “cleave” and “fast.”
- Marcia Smith and Bob discuss other contranym examples, such as “oversight” meaning both careful watch and error of omission.
- The term “contranym” is attributed to Harry Bright’s book “That’s A Fact Jack.”
Fire on Earth and Ice Capades
- Marcia Smith explains that Earth is the only place in the solar system where fire occurs due to its high levels of oxygen.
- Bob Smith and Marcia discuss the importance of fire for life on Earth, including forest fires and the Earth’s molten core.
- They mention the efforts of astronauts to export oxygen to other planets to create fire.
- Bob Smith asks Marcia about the Ice Capades and Hershey Chocolate Company, revealing that the Ice Capades were born in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Alaska’s Seismic Activity and Hamburgers
- Marcia Smith reveals that Alaska has the most earthquakes in the U.S., making it one of the most seismically active areas in the world.
- Bob Smith and Marcia discuss the Ring of Fire and its role in volcanic and seismic activities.
- Bob Smith asks about the origin of the word “hamburger,” which Marcia initially guesses incorrectly.
- Bob explains that the term “hamburger” comes from Hamburg, Germany, and was introduced to the U.S. by German immigrants.
Canada’s National Sports and Renaissance Paintings
- Marcia Smith lists Canada’s two national sports: hockey and lacrosse.
- Bob Smith explains the historical significance of both sports in Canada, with hockey originating in the early 1800s and lacrosse dating back to Native Americans.
- Bob Smith asks about a common food in Renaissance paintings of Christ and the Holy Land, which Marcia initially guesses incorrectly.
- Bob reveals that oranges, not available in the Middle East during Christ’s time, were included in paintings influenced by the Crusaders’ return.
Goldfish Crackers and Colonial Drinks
- Bob Smith asks about the origin of goldfish crackers, which Marcia initially guesses incorrectly.
- Bob explains that the crackers were created by Oscar Cambly for his wife, whose astrological sign was Pisces.
- Marcia Smith and Bob discuss the popularity of goldfish crackers and their global distribution.
- Bob Smith asks about the most popular drink in the American colonies before tea was introduced, which Marcia initially guesses incorrectly.
- Bob reveals that rum, beer, and chocolate were popular non-alcoholic drinks in the American colonies before tea.
Types of Carpets and Statue of Liberty’s Lighthouse
- Marcia Smith plays a game called “AKA,” where they guess types of carpets based on clues.
- Examples include “red carpet,” “flying carpet,” “wall-to-wall,” “shag carpet,” “cold carpet,” “Berber,” “Persian,” and “enchanted carpet.”
- Bob Smith asks about the original use of the Statue of Liberty, which Marcia reveals was as a lighthouse.
- They discuss the short-lived use of the torch as a navigational tool and its eventual replacement by floodlights.
Quotes and Show Conclusion
- Bob Smith shares quotes from Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain to conclude the show.
- They express gratitude to listeners and invite them to tune in next time for more fascinating facts and trivia.
- The show is produced by Cedarburg Public Library and broadcast on various platforms.
Bob Smith 0:00
What US President’s ancestor once owned the land under the Empire State Building,
Marcia Smith 0:06
and what food was Alfred Hitchcock afraid of?
Bob Smith 0:12
Okay, answers to those and other questions coming up in this episode of the off ramp with Bob and Marcia Smith. You
Music. Welcome to the off ramp. A chance to slow down, steer clear of crazy and take a side road to sanity. We do this each week for the Cedarburg Public Library, Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and today we have some really strange questions. First, what president’s ancestor once owned land under the Empire State Building? I credit this to a Wikipedia rat hole. I went down the other day and it’s like, oh my god, is
Marcia Smith 1:00
it true? You? Did you verify it? Yes, I verified it. All right, wow. Well,
Bob Smith 1:04
so here’s a hint for you, two US presidents. Two, two US presidents were descended from the man who owned the land where the Empire State Building was constructed.
Marcia Smith 1:14
Was it Roosevelt, Rockefeller? It was the
Bob Smith 1:18
Roosevelts. It was Yeah, President Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt. And according to Wikipedia, they were descended from Klaus Marz. Klaus Klaus marzensen van Rosenfeld, spelled R, O, S, E, N, V, E, L, T,
Marcia Smith 1:33
you’re so sexy when you talk like
Bob Smith 1:37
Klaus Martinsen van Rosenfeld, okay. He lived from 1626 to 1659 he’s the immigrant ancestor of the Roosevelt family. He arrived in New Amsterdam, that was the name of New York City, sometime between 1638 and 1649 and in 1652 he bought a farm about 51 acres in what is now Midtown Manhattan, which included the present site of the Empire State Building. Well, I’ll be jiggered. I actually even know where the property was, between Lexington and Fifth Avenue, bounded by 29th Street and 35th Street, where the Empire State Building and we bought it from too Marcia Lambert van Valkenburg. This is true. So the ancestor to the Roosevelt presidents once owned the farm on which the future Empire State Building was built.
Marcia Smith 2:25
Okay, all right, let’s get more serious. Okay. Alfred Hitchcock, Bob. He had phobias. He had a lot of fears. He didn’t he had a fear of this particular food. He had ova phobia. Ova phobia, yeah. Can you deduce from that? Would
Bob Smith 2:43
that be eggs? Because of albums
Marcia Smith 2:46
that told you that, Oh, my God, he was afraid of eggs, big time.
Bob Smith 2:51
Jeez, he was also afraid of jails and police people, but
Marcia Smith 2:54
a food the master of suspense, once admitted on the record that he was worse than frightened of eggs, which he said revolted him so much so, he said he refused to ever taste an egg yolk, which he found particularly repulsive. Wow. Quote, have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk, breaking and spilling in its yellow liquid. Well,
Bob Smith 3:22
frankly, things like pizza looks pretty bad when you think about it. So yes, I think I have things. Oh, my goodness. What a strange man. That’s why he did those weird movies. You know, great movies, I guess
Marcia Smith 3:34
so. Yeah, he wasn’t afraid. What did he use for blood? We talked about? That was Hershey’s chocolate. Oh, that’s right, the shower scene in psycho
Bob Smith 3:42
That’s right, that’s what they use, liquid Hershey’s chocolate. If
Marcia Smith 3:44
they really wanted to freak them out, they would have cracked a bunch of eggs, yeah, by the shower. And wouldn’t that have done it? Oh,
Unknown Speaker 3:52
my goodness. Okay, what do you got? Just
Bob Smith 3:55
a couple cleanup questions here. What does the name Roosevelt mean? The original name Rosen felt what did it originally mean? Rose
Marcia Smith 4:04
rose flower? Rose
Unknown Speaker 4:05
field.
Marcia Smith 4:06
Rose field. Yeah. Really was Rose rosefield?
Bob Smith 4:08
Yeah. In fact, the coat of arms for the family’s immigrant ancestor featured a rose bush and three roses growing on a grassy mound. Ah, I had no idea. And the Roosevelt family is one of only four families to have produced two presidents of the United States by the same surname. Who the other ones, Adams,
Marcia Smith 4:26
Quincy and John Roosevelt and Bush bushes. And how many one more? Harrisons. Harrisons, yes, yes. Okay, go. All right. I’m done. Bob. Why is unconsummated love called platonic? Where does that word come from? Does it have to do with Plato? It does Okay, so somehow Plato never had sex, and so that’s how we know about platonic. Did you always think that platonic and Plato? I assumed it was Plato. Never occurred to me. Oh, that it go back that far? Yeah. But degree. Philosopher observed his teacher, who was? Who? Aristotle, no. Socrates. Socrates. Aristotle, a Socrates. Teacher. Oh, okay. And he observed his teacher, Socrates, great, but non sexual love for young men. And he concluded that the purest form of love exists only within the mind. He said, ideal love’s perfection is spiritual, and that perfection is often destroyed by the sexual act. Tell that to a few people,
Bob Smith 5:28
eventually to regular people. Eventually,
Marcia Smith 5:30
Plato’s philosophy on Love was expanded to include women. Thank you very much. Platonic love, the term entered into popular use in English around 1630 Wow. Yeah, I didn’t know it went back that
Bob Smith 5:45
far. I thought if it was Plato, it go back farther than that. Yeah, they just started calling that in 1630
Marcia Smith 5:50
people started reading him in 1600s
Bob Smith 5:54
Oh, my goodness, all right. Marcia, how much of the body’s total oxygen does your brain consume? Oh, geez. Now, here’s a hint, okay, average adult human brain represents 2% of body weight, so remarkably, despite its relatively small size, how much oxygen does the brain consume?
Marcia Smith 6:15
40% not that much. 30% 20%
Speaker 1 6:18
okay, still, it’s considered a high rate of metabolism. Consistently, your brain is using 20% of your oxygen and hence the calories consumed by your body. All right, so there little brain fact, okay, Marcia, here’s a question of definition. All right, what is a contro nim? That’s contro or contranym. Now think about it. C, O, N, T, R, a, n, y, M,
Bob Smith 6:45
it’s a word that is its own antonym, also an opposite of what it means two meanings, all right, here’s an example cleave, C, l, e, v, e, that can mean cling to or bind to. It can also mean cut, apart or sever,
Marcia Smith 7:01
yeah? Well, that’s interesting. Okay, I see what you’re doing here.
Bob Smith 7:04
Here’s another one, fast. Fast can mean quick movement, to run fast or lack of movement, to hold fast, or too fast, as in, not to eat. These are, yeah, these are words that have their own opposite meaning, contranym, contram. There’s two different ways to spell it, C, O N, T, R, o n, y, M, or contranym. Yeah, this is an English teacher’s delight. This question here, here’s another example, oversight, okay, originally careful watch or supervision, but it also began to mean an error of omission. That’s an oversight. Nobody paid attention to that. Yeah, it was overlooked, and that’s the definition of contranym. Well, contranym word with opposite meanings, I’ll
Marcia Smith 7:45
try to remember, because that’s a good one. That is
Bob Smith 7:47
interesting, that comes from that’s a fact jack, a book by Harry bright and
Marcia Smith 7:50
Jacob answer. There was a game called that too, isn’t it? Wasn’t there. We used to play. That’s right, that’s a fact Jack. But that’d be good. I’ll ask you, which of these words is a contranym, a contra name, those
Bob Smith 8:02
words, again, that have opposite meanings of themselves, cleave fast oversight. Those are three very basic ones.
Marcia Smith 8:09
I’m not writing that down because I think that’s interesting.
Bob Smith 8:12
It’s a contranym, yeah. Some people I know are contranyms, you know, yeah, they’re the opposite of what they appear to be at times, you know,
Marcia Smith 8:20
okay, Bob, this is interesting. Earth is the only place in the solar system where what occurs, where non
Speaker 2 8:29
platonic love occurs. I think that’s the only place it happens. No, oh, okay,
Marcia Smith 8:35
you’ll find this interesting. Okay, what is it think, if you think about it, fire.
Bob Smith 8:38
Oh, well, isn’t the sun? No, fire.
Marcia Smith 8:43
It’s gas. Oh, it’s
Bob Smith 8:45
burning gas. Yes, fire
Marcia Smith 8:47
seems intrinsically linked to life on Earth. The fire of the Earth’s Molten Core form the land we live on. Forests are the healthiest when they burn in a controlled manner. Right to wait for new life stuff that’s on the ground. Earth is the only place we know of where fire occurs. That’s because fire requires three things, oxygen and then a fuel, heat and combustible material. The fire triangle is only possible on Earth, as far as we know, because of the planet’s high levels of oxygen. Okay? And I thought that was pretty interesting. And as for the sun, we think of it as a giant ball of fire, but it’s actually a giant collection of gas, which you have after you eat beans that glow, that glows thanks to the complex nuclear fusion occurring in its core. So yeah, we always think of it as burning, but it’s not
Bob Smith 9:41
so the most ancient of things fire is the basic distinction that we have as a planet, yeah, compared to the rest of the planets we know of. Yeah.
Marcia Smith 9:50
And on the side, which is interesting, they’re trying to figure out how they can export fire to somewhere else. But they have astronauts are working on a way to. Uh, you know, import or export oxygen to where they’re going to see if they can make fire. I don’t want to mess with that. Do you
Bob Smith 10:07
Wow? No, I don’t think so. Okay, okay, Marcia, what do the Ice Capades and the Hershey Chocolate Company have in common? Okay, well, food and entertainment question, what do the escapades and the Hershey Chocolate Company have in common? Gosh,
Marcia Smith 10:24
let me think. Let me think ice and chocolate. And was the first icecapades done in Hershey, Pennsylvania? Yes, sounds pretty good. Marcia, that’s
Bob Smith 10:34
right. In fact, the Ice Capades were born there. Why
Marcia Smith 10:37
do I have to applaud myself? Well, pretty good.
Bob Smith 10:40
Marcia, thank you. In Milton, Hershey’s planned community of Hershey, Pennsylvania, which he built for his workers in the early part of the 20th century, he had everything they could want and more. He built homes he rented or sold to the Hershey workers. He created a water company, a water utility stores, a bank, schools, a resort with a hotel, five golf courses, a public library, two theaters and a museum and a sports arena with a seating capacity of 10,000 people. And the Ice Capades were born there on the Hershey rink in 1940 Have
Marcia Smith 11:13
you ever seen the Ice Capades? No, I haven’t. I used to go when I was a little girl. My daddy would take me from my birthday. I bet this pretty cool. It was very cool. They always came to Milwaukee on my birthday every year. And every year we go, okay, then we’d go out for lobster. It was a pretty good birthday. Excellent. It was, it was an exciting show. All right. Bob, speaking of earthquakes, earthquakes, what state has the most earthquakes? Okay,
Bob Smith 11:39
okay. Earthquake question, let’s see what state has the most earthquakes? Well, I would have thought California, but I don’t know if that’s the case. Texas has been having a few lately. Arkansas has had some. Let’s say California, that’d be safe.
Marcia Smith 11:56
Okay, no, okay, it’s Alaska. Oh, really, yeah, which isn’t just the most earthquake prone state in the country, it’s one of the most seismically active areas in the world. Wow, with 11% of all earthquakes occurring there in Alaska, yeah, and that’s because Alaska is part of the Ring of Fire, yes, a nearly 25,000 mile area along the Pacific Ocean.
Bob Smith 12:21
That’s all the volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean and around that’s right, characterized
Marcia Smith 12:25
by volcanic and seismic activities. Volcanic, volcanic, oh, volcanic, okay, having fun with me. My mouth isn’t working. All right,
Bob Smith 12:35
all right. What food is named after Germany’s second largest city is it the schnitzel, the hamburger, the Bologna, the bratwurst or the hamburger?
Marcia Smith 12:43
Bologna?
Bob Smith 12:44
No, it’s the hamburger. Marsha, too bad you could have guessed that.
Marcia Smith 12:47
First I said that. First you didn’t acknowledge.
Bob Smith 12:50
I gave you all the choices, and then you changed your mind. No. So the hamburger thought you were telling me it wasn’t right. Comes from Germany’s second most popular city, Hamburg, in the 19th century. You know how that started? Sailors in the port city cooked shredded beef with spices and placed it on a bun. And German immigrants introduced that sandwich to the US, where it spread in popularity after it was featured at the 1904 what World’s Fair in St Louis. Yeah.
Marcia Smith 13:16
Happened that
Bob Smith 13:18
were a lot of things happened. They
Marcia Smith 13:19
introduced light there. And every that light bulb, that’s the
Bob Smith 13:22
first time light was ever seen, was at the World’s Fair. That’s true.
Marcia Smith 13:24
There was no sun, never until the World Fair. Somehow
Bob Smith 13:27
people in darkness found their way to the St Louis World’s Fair. No Marge, all right, what was the first electrical stuff at the fair? What fair was that where they really lit it up? I thought it was St Louis. No, that was in Chicago. Oh, there’s
Marcia Smith 13:40
white light Yeah. 1890
Bob Smith 13:42
the one that celebrated Christopher Columbus. There were electrical devices at other events like this, Philadelphia in 1876 sports. Question for you, Marcia, Oh, yay. What are Canada’s two national sports? Did you know they have two national sports? Not just one. One
Marcia Smith 13:58
is hockey. That’s right, that’s right. Marcia, ice skating, maybe, no, and it’s not water polo. It’s not what do you call that? Croquet?
Bob Smith 14:10
No, it’s not croquet, hockey and ice hockey and lacrosse, lacrosse? Yeah, if you can’t decide on one national sport, decide on two. Yeah. So that’s what Canada did. They had a decades long disagreement between proponents of the two different games to represent Canada, ice hockey and lacrosse. And in 1994 the national sports of Canada Act declared ice hockey the national winter sport, lacrosse the national summer sport. And of course, lacrosse that goes back hundreds of years to the Native Americans, but the French gave it the name La Crosse, which means, what La Crosse? The
Marcia Smith 14:44
La Crosse, the crooked stick, is that French? Yeah.
Bob Smith 14:49
And then ice hockey originated in the early 1800s it evolved from a number of European sports involving sticks and balls, but Canada made hockey the sport it is. Day, first organized indoor game of hockey, indoor ice hockey, 1875 in Montreal. Wow. How could you build a rink back in 1875 they had big buildings back, I know, but that takes a lot of refrigeration and stuff. That was must have been pretty advanced
Marcia Smith 15:16
one a block away, don’t we, yeah, but 1875
Bob Smith 15:19
that must have been a pretty advanced building at the time, technologically advanced to have an indoor ice rink, unless it was the middle of winter and we don’t have any heat in this building. I don’t know
Marcia Smith 15:29
that could be a Canada gets pretty cold. Okay, I
Bob Smith 15:32
think it’s time for a break. All righty, all right. You’re listening to the off ramp with Bob and Marcia Smith. We’ll be back in just a moment. We’re back. This is Bob and Marcia Smith. You’re listening to the off ramp. We do this each week for the Cedarburg Public Library, Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and its internet radio station. And then later we put it on podcast platforms where it is broadcast all over the world. A little almost a little too anxious on that one, Marsha, I
Marcia Smith 16:00
thought I’d be ready for once. Okay, all right, you’re making
Bob Smith 16:04
up for the times when you had fallen asleep during the show doze off over here, you Don’t doze off. You never do so.
Marcia Smith 16:10
All right. Question is, how long can American alligators go without eating?
Bob Smith 16:15
How long can American alligators go without eating? Is
Marcia Smith 16:19
it two to three years, 20 to 30 days, four to five months.
Bob Smith 16:23
Wow, any one of those is amazing, yeah, what
Marcia Smith 16:27
were they again? Two to three years, 20 to 30 days, four to five months, I’d say 20 to 30 days. Yeah, me too. But no, two to three years, you’re kidding? Yeah, they could go that long, yeah, without eating, yeah, if they want to, and they can slow down their metabolism and heart
Bob Smith 16:43
rate, or they can see you and right away, especially
Marcia Smith 16:47
when it gets colder, they get very inactive and sluggish. And cold for them is like 40 degrees, wow. And so they just don’t eat as much or at all. And wouldn’t it be nice to
Bob Smith 17:00
be nice to be able to predict that if you’re in Florida and see one of those things out on the golf course, like, is this ready to eat now? Or will it be two to three months as two to three years? Or is it going to see me as a happy meal? Okay,
Marcia Smith 17:12
there’s a leg I get a toy with Bob. Oh, my
Bob Smith 17:15
God. Okay, so they, you know, American alligators don’t have to
Marcia Smith 17:19
eat for two to three years, according to reptile knowledge.com Wow. I
Bob Smith 17:23
didn’t know there was such a sight. Well, now
Marcia Smith 17:25
you do. I was there the other day. Okay, alligators, American alligators need temps above 40 degrees to be active and above 70 to ingest food. Wow. So that’s why they hang out in places like Florida. Well, maybe keep it cool, and then you won’t eat you. Yes. Also, they can stay underwater anywhere between one and 24 hours, jeez, without coming up
Bob Smith 17:48
for interesting statistics there, they can be underwater for 24 hours, yeah, without any oxygen, and they don’t have to eat between
Marcia Smith 17:55
two and three years, between two and three years, yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah,
Bob Smith 18:01
that’s interesting statistics. That’s
Marcia Smith 18:03
why I’m here. Okay, this
Bob Smith 18:04
comes from Hazel Patrick, a listener in Pittsburgh, and this is kind of an interesting one. What food do you see in many Renaissance paintings of Christ and the Holy Lands, even though it was not available in the Middle East during Christ’s lifetime. Now, just think of all these paintings. No, not bread. They had bread. Then what food do you see in many Renaissance paintings of Christ and the Holy Lands, even though it wasn’t available in the Middle East during Christ’s lifetime? What food?
Marcia Smith 18:34
Yeah, okay, I’m thinking, I’m thinking it didn’t exist. Then
Bob Smith 18:38
it was not imported into that part of the world until afterwards.
Marcia Smith 18:41
And so the artist put it in because they thought it should be they didn’t know. They didn’t know, not bread, right? Because
Bob Smith 18:49
no bread. They even had unleavened bread in the Bible, not
Marcia Smith 18:52
wine, because that’s not a food, and that’s in our Bible too. We
Bob Smith 18:55
know they discuss all those things, bread and wine. What else you’re just wasting time?
Marcia Smith 19:00
Tell me the answer. The answer is cauliflower. No, the
Speaker 1 19:03
answer is the orange. Really, it was not imported into the holy lands until after the time of the crucifixion, citrus fruits were brought into the area from China. When the Crusaders returned from the Holy Lands, they reported seeing oranges there then that influenced European artists to include them in their paintings. Okay, unfortunately, 1000 years had passed since the time of Christ, and many changes had occurred, including the introduction of oranges. Don’t they have they just didn’t have the internet to look it up and say, Oh no, they didn’t have the orange
Marcia Smith 19:37
bags. Bob, why are goldfish crackers shaped like goldfish? Well,
Bob Smith 19:44
they want them to look like goldfish, but they got what came first. It
Marcia Smith 19:48
was the shape I would imagine.
Bob Smith 19:49
The goldfish came before the crackers. Next question, no,
Marcia Smith 19:53
the name came after the cracker. Oh,
Bob Smith 19:56
is that right? Yeah, so the shape came first, and nobody thought of it as. Being a goldfish. Until somebody noticed this looks like, no, they
Marcia Smith 20:03
did it. The owner intentionally made him like goldfish. Why? Why? Why
Bob Smith 20:07
he liked goldfish. He wanted a cracker that’s similar to a goldfish. He
Marcia Smith 20:12
did it for the little woman. Oh, really, just like yours. What is my what is my astrological sign? Bob,
Speaker 2 20:19
it’s a lobster, isn’t it’s not what it is, it’s the I don’t remember the sign, Pisces,
Marcia Smith 20:24
Oh, that’s right, Deaf fish. Pisces, anyway, some snacks are known for distinctive shapes, and the same goes for goldfish crackers, which were originally designed as a birthday gift for the creator’s wife, whose astrological sign was Pisces, oh, you’re a kid. Yeah, he did them for his wife just as a birthday. Yeah,
Bob Smith 20:43
honey, some crackers. Couldn’t get her ice cream. You never made
Speaker 2 20:47
me a cracker for my birthday or a gold bracelet? No,
Bob Smith 20:51
it’s some crackers. What did she think of that? Huh? Well, she
Marcia Smith 20:54
loved it. The idea came about in 1958 when Oscar Cambly, head of the Cambly commercial bakery in Switzerland was looking to surprise his wife. You know, furs and diamonds ain’t bad, but how about a fish crack?
Bob Smith 21:11
So how did he think a cracker was? Well, he
Marcia Smith 21:13
instructed a technician to create a new cracker mold in the shape of a fish, then bake the first ever goldfish cracker that afternoon, before presenting it to his beloved that evening, he quickly realized how popular that cracker was. His wife loved it. The company loved it. Workers. Within a year, the fish shaped crackers were being sold in 17 countries. Wow.
Bob Smith 21:38
And you think I go too far talking about the Roosevelt? Okay, I’m
Unknown Speaker 21:43
sorry. It was like, wow,
Bob Smith 21:45
we’re really getting into crackers here. Oh my goodness, I love doing this show with you. It’s so much fun. Well, thank
Marcia Smith 21:51
you. How about a question?
Bob Smith 21:53
Okay? Tea was not introduced to the American colonies until 1714, what was the most popular drink before that? Again, from Hazel. Patrick,
Marcia Smith 22:02
thank you, Hazel. Oh gosh.
Bob Smith 22:07
Tea wasn’t introduced in the American colonies until 1714, what was the most popular drink before that, we
Marcia Smith 22:13
had coffee and beer, didn’t we? That’s not what it was either. One coffee, beer, milk.
Unknown Speaker 22:19
What else is there? Chocolate?
Marcia Smith 22:22
Chocolate. Yes, what that’s chocolate drink, hot
Bob Smith 22:25
chocolate Marsh. Just like you drink chocolate was the preferred non alcoholic drink with rum in New England and beer in the middle colonies.
Marcia Smith 22:33
Rum sounds good. Okay. Thank you, Hazel.
Bob Smith 22:38
Yes. Thank you, Hazel. Patrick, our listener in in Pittsburgh. I’m sorry Marcia wasn’t more grateful to be to learn these.
Marcia Smith 22:45
I am grateful for anybody who listens and sends me questions. Oh, it
Bob Smith 22:49
sends you questions. Case will send her the next one. So, all right, time
Marcia Smith 22:53
for aka Bob, okay, also known as All right, Marsha’s favorite game. Yes, the category is types of carpet, types of carpet, types of carpet. Well, that’s interesting, okay, well, or discuss carpets regularly. Do we No,
Speaker 2 23:10
as in, clean that spot you made on the carpet with the coffee. That’s
Marcia Smith 23:14
it. Okay? For instance, if I said crimson, you’d say red carpet. That’s correct. Okay, all right. That’s a color of carpet, though. Well, no, the red carpet in how old the red carpet? I
Unknown Speaker 23:26
see what you mean. Yeah, sure.
Marcia Smith 23:27
Okay, how about aviating,
Bob Smith 23:30
flying carpet? That’s
Marcia Smith 23:31
right, yes. Barrier to barrier.
Speaker 2 23:33
Barrier to barrier. What’s that? Wall to wall.
Marcia Smith 23:37
That’s it. Very good. Had to think about it. Okay, Austin Powers, verb,
Speaker 2 23:43
shag carpet, I’m going to shy you. Yes, okay, okay,
Marcia Smith 23:48
I’m cold. I’m cold. What kind of carpet is that?
Unknown Speaker 23:52
Cold carpet, cold carpet. What
Marcia Smith 23:55
do you say when you’re cold? Frigid? Carpet, yeah, but there’s a sound you make, or a noise you made, yeah, carpet, yeah, that’s it. Berber,
Unknown Speaker 24:04
oh, god, okay, I got it. You did, yeah,
Marcia Smith 24:08
ancient Iranian carpet. What kind also known as, yes,
Speaker 2 24:14
what are those called? Can’t think of it now, of course, I can’t think of it right
Marcia Smith 24:18
in Iranian Version. Version. There we go. Okay, and the last one, yes, enchanted, Enchanted
Speaker 2 24:25
Carpet. Yes. Well, we already did flying carpets. That’s the other one I was thinking of, yeah.
Marcia Smith 24:31
But what is a flying carpet? It’s, what kind of carpet it’s it’s
Speaker 2 24:34
a carpet that flies, yeah, flies in. It’s colorful, and it’s a placemat, kind of carpet that you sit on. Chanted,
Marcia Smith 24:41
yeah, I know that it’s magic. Oh, dear magic. Tart.
Speaker 2 24:45
All right, that’s it for AKA, for now. Okay,
Marcia Smith 24:48
thank you.
Unknown Speaker 24:49
Oh dear. All right, on to another subject, besides
Marcia Smith 24:51
being an inspiring statue and welcoming immigrants to our shores. Uh huh, what in the beginning was the statue of. Pretty used for?
Bob Smith 25:01
What was it used for? Yeah,
Marcia Smith 25:02
it had a function. Well, I
Bob Smith 25:04
know it toured the country, just the arm or the head. I forget. Yeah. Well, they were trying to, you know, raise money to put it up, because it was done with private funds for the most part.
Marcia Smith 25:13
But it was also used as a lighthouse. Oh,
Bob Smith 25:17
okay, because, yeah, there was a light at the top. That’s right. Same
Marcia Smith 25:20
year the French gave it to us, President Grover Cleveland approved a plan for the statue to be lit as a lighthouse. Engineers believe that the Statue of Liberty’s torch was so tall, 305 feet above sea level, that it be a great navigational tool. Oh,
Bob Smith 25:37
so they didn’t thought of that before. They didn’t have the light coming through the torch or anything. Let’s see what
Marcia Smith 25:42
we can do with this and make it useful. So they installed nine electric lamps within the torch, but it only lasted a short time, a couple years, because they thought it would reach like 100 miles, but it was only visible for 24 Well,
Bob Smith 25:59
that doesn’t do much for navigation? No.
Marcia Smith 26:01
And so by the early 20th century, the lighthouse was considered useless, and
Bob Smith 26:06
they closed off the torch after a big explosion. I’ve got a story on that coming up at one point in the future. Very interesting story. Yeah,
Marcia Smith 26:14
let me just clarify, useless for navigation. It’s
Bob Smith 26:17
only useless for navigation. Yeah, okay, because it’s inspiring. It really is inspiring. Oh, it is. I remember people talking about it, immigrants talking about seeing it when they came here. And my dad said, seeing that torch when you came back to New York City from overseas in World War Two, just amazing. Oh, I’ll bet for him, they saw it on the way out, and they see it on the way back. We
Marcia Smith 26:37
made it today. It’s lit by 16 floodlights, and it gets hit by lightning 600 times a year.
Bob Smith 26:44
Oh, my goodness, that was that question, does lightning strike twice? I think we had one of the, oh, the Willis Tower was two or 300 times a year. So this is the Statue of Liberty gets hit 600 times a year. Amazing. Yeah, that is one hot broad. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said. I used
Marcia Smith 27:02
to say that about that’s enough of that. Let’s end the show Bob with some dignity. Okay, here’s Abraham Lincoln, okay. He said nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. And now here’s Mark Twain, okay, always do, right? It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
Speaker 1 27:26
That’s true. Okay, we hope you’ve enjoyed today’s program, and we welcome you back next time when we return with more fascinating facts and tantalizing trivia. I’m Bob Smith, I’m
Marcia Smith 27:37
Marcia Smith. You’ve been listening to the off ramp.
Bob Smith 27:43
The off ramp has produced an association with CPL radio online and the Cedarburg Public Library, Cedarburg, Wisconsin, visit us on the web at the offramp. Dot show. Do.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
