In the conversation, hosts Bob and Marcia explore various pieces of trivia and historical facts. They reveal that pistachios can spontaneously combust due to their low water content and high fat content. They discuss the State of Franklin, a brief secession movement in North Carolina that led to the formation of Tennessee. The etymology of calling a dollar a ‘buck’ is traced back to the barter system involving buckskins. They delve into the lives of famous authors like J.D. Salinger and his WWII experience, and the lesser-known contribution of Hans Lippershey to the invention of the telescope. Other topics include the origin of the term ‘Uncle Sam,’ the impact of music on cheese aging, and the surprising revelation that amusement parks date back to 1583 with Denmark’s Dyvas Bakken. Additionally, they touch upon the evolution of Social Security numbers, the effect of music on cheese maturation, and the pricey Pule and moose cheese varieties. Finally, they conclude with a few humorous and inspirational quotes from celebrities.
Outline
Pistachios Can Spontaneously Combust
- Marcia Smith reveals that pistachios can spontaneously combust due to their low water content (around 4-5%) and high fat content.
- Bob Smith expresses amazement and recalls hearing about pistachios being treated as dangerous cargo on ships.
- Marcia explains that pistachios ignite easily because fat burns well, unlike other nuts.
- Both agree to be cautious with pistachios, especially in large quantities.
North Carolina’s Lost Territory: The State of Franklin
- Marcia asks about a US state whose frontier territory broke away and functioned independently for three years.
- Bob initially guesses Virginia, but Marcia clarifies that North Carolina lost part of itself to form the State of Franklin.
- The State of Franklin, named for Benjamin Franklin, existed from 1784 to 1787 and elected its own governor and legislature.
- Despite gaining independence, Franklin was eventually ceded back to North Carolina, which later became Tennessee.
The Origin of “Buck” for a Dollar
- Marcia quizzes Bob about why we call $1 a buck.
- Bob struggles to recall the exact origin but remembers it involves buckskins, a type of deer hide used as currency.
- Marcia confirms that the term “buck” dates back to 1748, referencing the exchange rate for buckskins.
- The discussion highlights the historical significance of buckskins in colonial America.
Famous Writers and Their Military Service
- Bob presents a multiple-choice question about which famous American writer fought on D-Day.
- Marcia eliminates Truman Capote and Ernest Hemingway, ultimately choosing J.D. Salinger.
- Bob reveals that Salinger, despite being a pacifist, participated in D-Day and wrote extensively about his experiences.
- The conversation touches on the impact of military service on Salinger’s work, particularly “Catcher in the Rye.”
Hans Lippershey and the Telescope
- Marcia asks Bob about Hans Lippershey, who is credited with inventing the telescope.
- Bob is surprised to learn that Lippershey, not Galileo, received the patent for the telescope in 1608.
- Lippershey’s telescope was originally intended for ship surveillance but was later adapted for astronomical observations by Galileo.
- The discussion underscores Lippershey’s role in advancing science and technology.
Redheaded Historical Figures
- Marcia lists several notable figures who were redheads: Malcolm X, Queen Elizabeth I, and George Washington.
- Bob confirms that all three were indeed redheads, highlighting the rarity and historical importance of redheads.
- The conversation explores the significant contributions of these individuals to history and culture.
- Bob notes that redheads constitute a small percentage of the global population yet have left lasting legacies.
Gerber Singles: An Unsuccessful Product Launch
- Marcia shares a trivia question about a company that attempted to sell pureed beef dishes in jars.
- Bob identifies the company as Gerber, known primarily for baby food.
- The product, aimed at young adults and college students, featured flavors like beef bourguignon and Mediterranean vegetables.
- Despite extensive advertising, the product flopped due to negative perceptions and unappealing promotional materials.
Social Security Numbers and Their Evolution
- Bob discusses the origins and evolution of Social Security numbers, including their issuance by the US Postal Service.
- Initially, SSNs consisted of three digits representing the state, followed by two area numbers and four unique digits.
- Changes in 1972 allowed area numbers to correspond to ZIP codes, and since 2011, SSNs have been fully randomized.
- The conversation covers the shift towards privacy measures, such as removing SSNs from driver’s licenses.
Music’s Impact on Cheese Aging
- Marcia reveals that music can influence the taste and smell of cheese, with hip hop producing funkier results compared to classical music.
- Scientific studies showed that cheese aged to hip hop developed stronger, fruiter characteristics.
- The discussion prompts curiosity about whether cheese makers in Switzerland employ hip hop music in their aging processes.
- Bob humorously suggests that cheese might be the new medium for musical experimentation.
Volvo’s Name Origination
- Bob asks about the meaning behind the name Volvo, which translates to “I roll” in Latin.
- The name was fitting when Volvo first sold ball bearings, reflecting their rolling nature.
- As Volvo expanded into automotive products, the name continued to symbolize smoothness and reliability.
- The conversation ends with a lighthearted note on the company’s creative branding strategy.
Marcia Smith 0:00
What nut can spontaneously combust
Bob Smith 0:05
and what US state had a frontier territory break away, elect a governor and legislature and function on its own for three years? Oh, yeah, answers to those and other nutty questions coming up in this episode of the off ramp with Bob and
Unknown Speaker 0:19
Marsha. Bob Smith, Bob
Speaker 1 0:20
Welcome to
Bob Smith 0:36
the off ramp. A chance to slow down, steer clear of crazy, take a side road to sanity with some fascinating facts and tantalizing trivia. So there’s a nut that just can combust on its own and blow up. Is that? What it is
Marcia Smith 0:50
that is correct, and it’s one of my favorite nuts. You want to guess it’s me. There’s something to that. Okay,
Bob Smith 0:59
no, what kind of nut is it? It? Now, this is something that just sits by itself and blows up, well randomly. Or,
Marcia Smith 1:06
I think if there’s a lot of them in a container, oh, really, I don’t think just one nut in your lap will blow up.
Bob Smith 1:13
You better get to the answer. Okay,
Marcia Smith 1:16
pistachio, really? Oh, yes. And why? Why you say Marcia? Why? Marcia? Pistachios are self heating under the right conditions and can spontaneously combust. They are often treated as dangerous cargo on ships at
Bob Smith 1:31
sea. I know they did that. Yeah, they had to have special warning. Yeah,
Marcia Smith 1:36
the nuts have a very, very low water content and is very high in fat 45 to 55% Wow. And apparently, fat burns incredibly well. Mine doesn’t. But apparently, if you’re a nut, it does.
Speaker 2 1:52
If you’re a nut, it does. So we can just catch on fire, just explode, yes, under the right conditions, and usually there’s more than one together. Well, yes, Okay, gotcha, a lot of them, so be aware and beware of pistachios. All right. Marchett, well, I suppose these people were considered nuts, what US state had a renegade population, a frontier territory, break away, elect a governor and legislature and function on their own for three years. Three years.
Marcia Smith 2:22
Texas, no New Mexico, no California, no. Okay. Wisconsin. The one
Bob Smith 2:29
I thought was obvious was Virginia, really, because West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the Civil War, but this happened 70 years before that. Oh, okay, so what’s the answer, North Carolina, that’s the state that lost part of itself, which became the State of Franklin. Franklin was named for Benjamin Franklin. It was part of North Carolina’s western territory, and in 1784 it broke off and elected its own legislature, its own governor.
Marcia Smith 2:56
And how long did that lasted? For three years. They
Speaker 2 2:58
were really at loggerheads, Franklin and North Carolina. They were really bickering back and forth. And finally, Franklin petitioned Congress and asked for recognition, but Congress refused. So the land was ceded back to the federal government. Six years later, it adopted the name we know it by today,
Marcia Smith 3:14
North Carolina, Tennessee. Oh,
Bob Smith 3:16
this is how Tennessee was admitted to the Union in 1796 North Carolina lost part of itself, which became Tennessee. Oh, okay, okay, not quite as fun as your nut story, but it’s interesting. I thought,
Marcia Smith 3:30
well, here’s another fun one. Okay, why do we call $1 a buck? A
Bob Smith 3:34
buck? Yeah, gosh, I still used to know this. Now, dollar was, I think that was a European currency. Actually, the Spanish dollar was what Thomas Jefferson suggested we use as currency. But why was it called a buck? I can’t remember. What’s the answer.
Marcia Smith 3:48
One of the earliest references to the term Buck was 1748, in a reference to the exchange rate for a cask of whiskey which was traded for five buckskins. Five buckskins. Oh, 44, years before we had dollars in the US, the colonists and Indians traded in buckskin, gold deerskin, or buckskin, was used in trading as a unit of value against which everything else was assessed. How much is that worth to me in buckskins? Bob?
Bob Smith 4:20
How many buckskins are my car worth? Like, 6000 buckskins?
Marcia Smith 4:24
Yeah, that’s how everything was. Never
Bob Smith 4:25
think of it as buckskin, as being part of a deer. That’s interesting. You don’t boys heard that term and you you’d think about buckskin coats and things like that. Just don’t think about what
Marcia Smith 4:35
was made. So anyway, that’s how $1 became a buck. $1 became
Bob Smith 4:39
a buck. Who knew? All right, Marcia, I have some interesting things about famous people. Here’s one. This is a multiple choice. Oh, good. Which of these famous American writers fought for the US on D Day, William Faulkner, JD Salinger, Ray Bradbury, Ernest Hemingway, or Truman Capote? Truman Capote did. Well,
Marcia Smith 5:00
I’m gonna cross out Truman right away. Don’t think he would see him charging ahead. And Ernest hemways, Hemingway seems like the obvious choice, so I’ll say him. No, you’re wrong. That’s why I figured it wasn’t him. Okay,
Speaker 2 5:15
Ernest Hemingway was in Europe during World War One. That’s when he was over in Europe during the First World War, but it was J G Salinger. Oh, okay. He wrote Catcher in the Rye, of course, but he fought in World War Two, and he helped invade Utah Beach on D Day. And while he served, he wrote more than 20 short stories, and his time in the war informed much of his writing. Wow,
Marcia Smith 5:37
I believe that they weren’t exactly laugh riots, but I really enjoyed, if you were part of D Day, you wouldn’t be too full of fun and frivolity either, I guess. Well, I
Bob Smith 5:47
didn’t expect him to come off writing, you know, James Thurber novels or something like that. Yeah, yeah. You mean is it was down dower his writing was,
Marcia Smith 5:56
wasn’t it wasn’t.
Bob Smith 5:57
I never read anything you wrote. Really, no, no, no,
Marcia Smith 6:01
you didn’t even read catcher. I
Bob Smith 6:03
started reading it. I thought, I hate this guy, really? Oh, this guy’s a loser. I don’t want to read about this kid me and your children love I know I never did like that
Marcia Smith 6:10
book. Wow. Okay, I’ve got a question Bob, who was Hans lippershi, what hint he was a spectacle maker,
Bob Smith 6:21
a spectacle maker. Classes, I
Marcia Smith 6:24
assume Hans
Bob Smith 6:25
lippershey, man, was this in our time? Not quite okay. How long ago was this?
Marcia Smith 6:31
This was 1600s
Bob Smith 6:35
1600s Hans lippers,
Marcia Smith 6:38
the and you don’t know who he is, no, I
Bob Smith 6:39
guess not.
Marcia Smith 6:41
And nobody does Bob, but they do know Galileo. Contrary to popular belief, Galileo did not invent the telescope. The genius behind that was Hans lippershey, who applied for the patent in 1608 his telescope was used to spy on ships when they were out to sea, okay, but a year later, Galileo got a hold of it and turned it toward the sky.
Bob Smith 7:05
I’ll be darned.
Marcia Smith 7:06
So that’s the story behind the story. But wasn’t that interesting? Poor Hans lippershey, nobody refers to him for anything that’s terrible. He was a spectacle, and he wanted to, you know, peek in on spy ships and see what was going on, yeah.
Bob Smith 7:19
But Galileo says, look at the sun. Look at the stars. A person with a different point of view, that’s for sure, literally and figuratively. Yeah, all right, Marcia, which of these famous people was a redhead? I’ll give you some names, okay? Malcolm X, Queen Elizabeth, the first George Washington. Malcolm X, that’s right, but so was George Washington, that’s right, and so was Queen Elizabeth the
Marcia Smith 7:44
first. They all were. The answer is all of them,
Bob Smith 7:46
all three was the correct word. Redheads are rare, though they’re between one and 2% of the world’s population, that’s all but even though they’re a genetic minority, they’ve played a big part in history. Queen Elizabeth the first who inherited her father’s aggressive disposition. He was what? Who was that? Henry the eighth. She made her mark on history, one of England’s most powerful rulers, George Washington. He wore those big white wigs, but actually had red hair. And the famous civil rights leader Malcolm X was nicknamed Detroit Red due to his red hair, which came from a Scottish ancestor, yeah, yeah.
Marcia Smith 8:21
Isn’t that interesting? All right, in 1974 Bob,
Bob Smith 8:26
you were alive. Yes, I was what
Marcia Smith 8:29
company tried and failed to sell pureed beef Burgundy in a jar. What isn’t that sound disgusting? Beef?
Bob Smith 8:38
What burgundy? Beef Burgundy in a jar, yeah. How can you do that? Who was, I bet it must have been one of the big, famous meat companies. So I will say the people that make spam
Marcia Smith 8:52
Minnesota. Who’s that armor? I don’t know armor, yes. Okay, so who was it? It was, are you ready? Yeah, that Gerber Baby Food Company. What? Yes, so this was for babies. No, this was for young adults and college students. I don’t remember this. I don’t either their old slogan, babies are our business, our only business, changed to, we were good for you then, and we’re good for you now. Well, that’s pretty good slogan. They were essentially whole meals for single people on the go who chose not to cook, flavors included beef burgundy, Mediterranean vegetables and blueberry delight, all you needed to do was heat up the jar and eat it. So
Bob Smith 9:32
all these people not only choose not to cook, they chose not to buy
Marcia Smith 9:36
it turned out to be wildly unpopular. Wow, eating pureed food out of a glass jar did not catch on. People were also turned off by the depressing ad campaigns that promoted Gerber singles as food for whenever you eat alone.
Bob Smith 9:53
Well, yes, that would do it right there. The product
Marcia Smith 9:57
roll out was a flop and the jars were. Gold from shells after just three months. I
Bob Smith 10:02
wonder if it was the taste or it was just their ad. Hard to believe it didn’t go over with some segment really.
Marcia Smith 10:08
I mean, baby food. You always think of babies, and do you really want dinner out of a baby food jar? Neil,
Bob Smith 10:14
maybe it was just the jar. Maybe they should put it in something else, yeah, just call it pureed food. You’ve
Marcia Smith 10:19
been a marketing director there. Yeah,
Bob Smith 10:22
don’t go with this baby thing. It failed. Spectacular. You guys, and those guys down the road, the coke people trying to change the formula. They’re
Marcia Smith 10:28
all wrong. I was just going to say, what was the coke one that failed? That’s
Bob Smith 10:32
why we got classic Coke, because they changed the formula for a coca Yeah. In fact, at the Coca Cola Museum, they have a whole section down in Atlanta, and they explained this whole thing, the debacle, yeah, okay, yeah. They talk about, you know, we made a mistake, and they it’s a big deal. It’s quite interesting to read about. And they did all kinds of testing, and, you know, so I kind of wonder where the testing went wrong on this stuff, yeah, and they have some testing, yeah, I like it. But the jar, the jar, reminds me of something, you know, wouldn’t there be somebody in the back of the room saying that, I don’t think so. Okay, all right, Marcia, what real life person is said to have inspired the image of Uncle Sam
Marcia Smith 11:08
kind of looks like Mark Twain, kind of looks
Bob Smith 11:12
like Mark Twain, but do you know who it was? Let me guess. I’ll give you some names. Oh, thank you. Sam Cook, no, I don’t think so. Sam Cook, Samuel Shepherd, Samuel Smith, Samuel Wilson,
Marcia Smith 11:23
okay, I already said Samuel Mark Twain. What was his last name? Samuel Clemens, yeah. Oh, we didn’t say no. I didn’t say, said Sam Smith, I’ll say that. No, oh,
Bob Smith 11:32
no. What’s the other name you missed? It’s Samuel Wilson, okay. Yes, that. He was a meat packer in Troy, New York. He supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812 Well, how would I know that? Well, because you’re a student of history, Marsh,
Marcia Smith 11:49
not my meat packers. Bob, he supplied
Bob Smith 11:51
barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812 and Wilson stamped all the beef and pork barrels with the initials US. The US was shorthand for the United States, but workers began joking it stood for Uncle Sam. Oh, yeah, as he was locally known, he was known as Uncle Sam. Before long, soldiers had helped to bring that term into common use as a nickname for the whole United States. Okay,
Marcia Smith 12:15
well, Hans lippershey would love that. I was thinking another unsung hero
Bob Smith 12:20
or Hans lippershi and Samuel Wilson, they’re together somewhere, going. We could have been contenders. He could have been a contender. Time
Marcia Smith 12:28
for AKA,
Bob Smith 12:30
also known as, okay, all right,
Marcia Smith 12:33
Bob, these are types of balls. All right. If I said 12 inches, what kind of ball am I talking about?
Bob Smith 12:40
12 inch ball. Let’s see, is that a basketball or what is it?
Marcia Smith 12:45
What is 12 inches? Bob, a foot.
Unknown Speaker 12:48
Oh, a football.
Bob Smith 12:49
That’s it. Oh, god, it’s not 12 inches. But okay, I get it, all right, I got it. I just think too literally, okay,
Marcia Smith 12:57
like frosty’s substance. What kind of ball am I? Frosty substance, snowballs. That’s right, okay. Center of the storm. Center
Bob Smith 13:06
of the storm. What kind of ball am I? Hurricane balls? Center of the storm. What
Marcia Smith 13:13
do you call the center of a hurricane? Funnel
Bob Smith 13:15
storm. Funnel balls. I don’t know. Mark, what’s
Marcia Smith 13:17
the center called? I don’t eyeball. What the eye the center of the storm is called the eye of the storm?
Bob Smith 13:24
Oh, okay, so it’s eyeball. Okay, got it? Yeah, all
Marcia Smith 13:28
right, boy, I don’t Okay. How about this? Bob, holds your teeth in place. Holds your teeth in place. What kind of ball are we talking about? A mouth ball? No, oh, look at my mouth. What do you see? Teeth and a
Bob Smith 13:43
mouth and lips? Lip ball. I don’t know this. I don’t understand gumball. Oh, dear.
Marcia Smith 13:50
Oh yeah, gee, you’re failing spectacular. Okay, here’s one. You’ll get Waterford. What kind of ball is it?
Bob Smith 13:57
Waterford? Crystal ball.
Marcia Smith 13:59
That’s it. Okay. Okay, how about road bend? What kind of road bend? Yeah, bend in the road a curve ball. That’s right, okay. And popular camera and printer. What kind of ball?
Bob Smith 14:12
Kodak ball, popular camera or printer, yeah,
Marcia Smith 14:17
I have one downstairs. HP ball. What is my printer? So, cannonball, you got it.
Bob Smith 14:26
That’s it. That’s it. Thank God. I went to the gauntlet. That’s okay, honey.
Marcia Smith 14:31
You can’t get them all.
Bob Smith 14:32
I think it’s time for a break. Okay, you’re listening to the off ramp with Bob and Marcia Smith. We’ll be back in just a moment. We’re back. You’re listening to the off ramp with Bob and Marcia Smith. We do this each week for the Cedarburg Public Library, Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and we call it the off ramp. And after it airs on the Public Library’s internet radio station, it goes on podcast platforms and is heard. Oh.
Marcia Smith 14:59
All over the world. I’m sorry, did
Bob Smith 15:02
I blow you loud? All right,
Marcia Smith 15:04
I got excited. Bob,
Bob Smith 15:07
wow. All right. Marcia, how many digits are in your Social Security? Number
Marcia Smith 15:12
389, Marcia, nine. I know that.
Bob Smith 15:18
All right. Ever wonder what those groupings represent the 324324,
Marcia Smith 15:26
my birthday? No, no, no,
Speaker 2 15:29
no, birthday. I always wondered about this too, and I got on the Social Security page and found out it’s kind of interesting. Here’s what the numbers represented if your social security number was issued before 1972 the first three numbers represented your state, okay, and those two middle numbers, the area numbers, were determined by the Social Security Administration. They issued numbers in groups, but the last four digits were kind of your order in that group. Little confusing. But who issued the first social security numbers? Another government agency, yeah, the US Postal Service. 45,000 post offices were across, yeah, okay, and 1074
Bob Smith 16:10
of those were designated as typing centers to issue social security cards and social security numbers. And in November 1936 those 1000 plus typing centers issued 1000s of people the first nine digit numbers, and within six months, they’d done 35 million social security numbers. That was all manual labor, typist typewriters. So
Marcia Smith 16:33
it was always nine numbers. I often wondered, who had one on their social security card that would be depressing.
Unknown Speaker 16:39
The big change
Bob Smith 16:40
to the social security numbers came in 1972 and again, the post office played a part. The area number the middle two numbers began to be assigned based on the zip code mailing address of the application. So zip codes did enter into that. But since 2011 guess what, social security numbers have been totally random, they decided to just randomize them. Yeah, that was done to ensure that the pool of numbers would last longer, yeah, so social security numbers since 2011 There’s no rhyme or reason to them, Okay, Bob,
Marcia Smith 17:11
what century did amusement parks take hold?
Bob Smith 17:15
I would think that would be the 20th century. Early 20th century, no, or late 19th century, perhaps no. All right, when keep
Marcia Smith 17:24
going? 18, no. How far back? 16, wow, they
Bob Smith 17:28
went back five or 600 years. 1583, no
Marcia Smith 17:32
kidding, the Danish Park drivas Bakken, more commonly known as bacon, B, A, k, k, e, n, open to the public in 1583 as a pleasure garden known for its natural spring waters. Not long after they opened the spring waters, vendors started setting up booths for selling their wares and providing entertainment. Over the years, the parks transitioned from a pleasure garden to a fair and an amusement park, and it’s now considered back in the oldest amusement park in the world, since when? Again, since 1583,
Bob Smith 18:05
that is just amazing and still in a business as an amusement park.
Marcia Smith 18:09
And you’ll be glad to know that Peugeot, the white face clown, still visits the park every day. What do
Bob Smith 18:15
you mean? Still visits? Has he been around for 500 years too? No.
Marcia Smith 18:18
Okay, it doesn’t say but the oldest ride there is a wooden roller coaster from 1932 Wow, which is a long time after 1583
Bob Smith 18:28
if I were to go on a roller coaster, it’s 90 years old. Do you now? Whoa. Okay, just a couple more things about social security numbers, because
Marcia Smith 18:37
exciting from 1943 on, the
Bob Smith 18:39
government required them to be used for all these things, bank loans, interest bearing, bank accounts, income taxes, professional licenses, driver’s licenses, death certificates, birth records, divorce decrees, marriage license, student loans, food stamps, even the school lunch program at one point required you to have a social Security number. What year that all started in 1943 43 so during the war, then this all became very dangerous, because all you needed to steal someone’s identity was to get a hold of their driver’s license. Yeah, something almost everybody has. So in 2004 identity theft legislation was enacted, and it prohibited displaying social security numbers on driver’s license and motor vehicle registrations. That’s when all that change started. That’s
Marcia Smith 19:25
a good reason to identity theft. And
Speaker 2 19:28
since 2008 that 1943 requirement that government agencies all use social security numbers, that’s been rescinded because just got too much. Everybody was worried about being a number. Well, they became a number, but what if somebody steals your number? Yeah, that started out so they said, Well, let’s take them off some of these things so you don’t have them on your driver’s license anymore. Yeah, it’s against the law.
Marcia Smith 19:49
You probably didn’t know this, Bob, but music can affect the taste and smell of cheese. No,
Bob Smith 19:55
I didn’t know that. Another cheese question. Every every episode, we have to. Talk about cheese, but
Marcia Smith 20:01
it’s true. Oh God. So Bob, the question is, what kind of music makes cheese smell stronger and have a stronger fruitier taste?
Bob Smith 20:10
Are you serious? Yes, I am. What kind of music makes cheese stronger and have a stronger taste? Yes. John Philip, Sousa march music,
Marcia Smith 20:21
according to Smithsonian Magazine, scientific tests show cheese exposed to hip hop music as it aged was far more funky tasting than Mozart music, which produced milder zest in the cheese wheels. Oh, dear God. So if you wanted a more punched up cheese wheel you just played.
Bob Smith 20:42
They’re playing hip hop in cheese caves in Switzerland or something. Got a problem with that? Bob, okay,
Marcia Smith 20:49
wow. And who did the experiments? Who thought to see if music affects how cheese ages? Yeah, really. Hey,
Bob Smith 20:56
Hans, let’s play some hip hop music. Okay. Marcia ford motor company uses a robot now to test its car seats. What is it called?
Marcia Smith 21:06
The name of the robot? Yes, John Doe, no.
Bob Smith 21:09
It’s called a robot, R, O, B, U, T, T, a robotic, but it comes complete with simulated sweat to test really
Marcia Smith 21:19
cars. That’s good. I feel so much safer in the pool now. Yeah, okay, it’s my turn. How many times, if any, has Niagara Falls completely frozen over? How many It happened once?
Bob Smith 21:33
That’s good. That is true. And it was in the 19th century, 2012 oh, it really was 2012 it froze over. Yeah. I thought it was years and years ago, the
Marcia Smith 21:42
arctic cold that hit parts of northern us, from November 2011 to January 20. That was that
Bob Smith 21:49
polar vortex, polar
Marcia Smith 21:50
very good. It was so severe that Niagara Falls completely froze over at one point and formed an ice bridge so you could walk over it. Wow. But never in recorded history had it, and that happened before. Yeah, they
Bob Smith 22:03
did shut off the falls. They diverted all the water so they could fix some damage at one point. Yeah, 2012, a lot of things have happened recently. Yeah, okay, Marcia, this is one of those trade names we take for granted, and I never think about what it means. Volvo. It’s a very appropriate name for the company it represents. Where does it come from? Language comes from Latin, okay,
Marcia Smith 22:24
well, then it’s Go, go, or will go, I’ll say the big go. Well, it’s similar
Bob Smith 22:30
to go. It’s eye roll. Oh, really, it comes from the Latin I roll, which is suitable for cars, but that name worked even better when their first product was ball bearings. Oh, so Volvo meant eye roll, and it related to their original product, which was the ball bearing.
Marcia Smith 22:46
Okay, back to cheese.
Bob Smith 22:48
Oh, no, not that the
Marcia Smith 22:51
two highest priced cheeses in the world come from two different animals. What are they? I can’t
Bob Smith 22:58
wait to bring you more social security tidbits now, no, I have nothing more to say about that. I would do that. If I had one more fact, I would bring it up, because you’re bringing up cheese. Ad nauseam. Oh, come on, all right. What’s your question? Again,
Marcia Smith 23:12
the two highest priced cheeses in the world come from two different animals. What are they?
Bob Smith 23:19
Some very obscure goats living way up in the mountain somewhere.
Marcia Smith 23:24
Ah, that’s one, okay, but it’s not right. Oh, I
Bob Smith 23:27
don’t know. Wisconsin girl, what’s the answer to this cheese question?
Marcia Smith 23:32
You’re getting salty, very upset donkeys and moose. Oh, dear. Pu, cheese, P, U, L, E. Cheese is made from milk of an endangered breed of Balkan donkeys. I’m surprised you didn’t know this. And it undergoes a smoking process, which gives it a very distinctive flavor and aroma, and it runs about $590 a pound. And the other moose cheese comes exclusively from Moose in Boer horn, Sweden, and can cost over $500 a pound. So when you’re looking for something for our anniversary, to surprise me, go over to the cheese store, and we got a lot of them here. Get me one of those two. Do they
Bob Smith 24:12
play hip hop music when their cheese is curing as well?
Marcia Smith 24:16
See, you’ve learned something here today. Yeah. Okay, all
Speaker 2 24:19
right. Marcia, this is an interesting question. What great migration began the same year the fax machine was invented? Now these are two. Say that again, two totally different things. Okay, I’m putting them together just for this question. Tell me what great migration began the same year that the fax machine was invented.
Marcia Smith 24:39
I know people started using them in the 80s, early 80s. But it probably was invented before that. Is that correct?
Speaker 2 24:46
Yes, it was invented a long time before that. Really? Yeah, then I don’t know. Well, the great migration, are you talking about birds or people? People? Oh, really, the fax machine was invented the same year the first wagon crime. Across the Oregon Trail. Oh, no kidding. Yeah, the original fax machine was called the electric printing telegraph. It was patented in 1843 by Scottish inventor Alexander Bain. And that’s the same year about 1000 people set off West for Oregon, forming that huge wagon train on what is now known as the Oregon Trail. And that that set the tone for westward expansion in the US. That’s the beginning of the Great Migration. So you never think of something electronic or electrical like that starting the same year as the Oregon Trail. Absolutely. I just thought it was kind of a fun way to look at it is. And I got that from a website you would like called board, panda.com,
Bob Smith 25:38
B, O, R, E, D, A, board. Interesting history, facts, events, things that happened at the same time. Well, that’s so if you’re feeling like a board panda one day, just go to board panda. Thank
Marcia Smith 25:47
you, Bob. You’re an endless pleasure to me. Okay, last question before my quotes, okay, how speaking of Niagara Falls again? Oh, dear. How old is Niagara Falls?
Bob Smith 25:59
Oh, that’s 1000s of years old. Isn’t or millions of years old? Probably, I don’t know. Let’s go back 35 million years, for
Marcia Smith 26:06
God’s sakes, no. What’s the answer? 12,000 years. It was formed when melting glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age created the Great Lakes, and water from Lake Erie flowed over the Niagara steep slope. So that’s only 12,000 years ago. Yeah, it’s just a baby. Wow. Gonna close with a couple celebrity quotes, right? Okay, Audrey Hepburn, nothing is impossible. The word itself says I’m possible. Okay, think about that. I never thought about that. Look at the word. It says, I’m possible. There
Bob Smith 26:41
was a college in Wisconsin that did that on their campaign. Remember their billboards that said, I’m possible? Oh no, well, they got it from Audrey. They did. But, you know, I almost ran off the highway trying to read it each time, going, I’m possible. What the hell? Oh, that’s kind of confusing, but yeah, well, they
Marcia Smith 26:57
probably didn’t do big enough font. And here’s one from Naomi Judd a dead end is just a good place to turn around, all right? Well,
Bob Smith 27:05
that’s a that’s a way to back out of the show. I guess that’s one way to look at it. You’re right. It is. It is. It’s a time to turn around. Time for us to turn the car around, get back on the highway, and hopefully you will do that as well, eventually take the off ramp and join us next week, when we return with more fascinating facts and tantalizing trivia. I’m Bob Smith. I’m
Marcia Smith 27:24
Marcia Smith. You’ve
Bob Smith 27:24
been listening to the
Marcia Smith 27:26
off ramp, beep, beep.
Unknown Speaker 27:44
Music, the
Bob Smith 27:44
off ramp is produced in association with CPL radio online and the Cedarburg Public Library, Cedarburg, Wisconsin, visit us on the web at the offramp, dot show at.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
