Overview
Outline
Cats’ Facial Expressions
- Marcia Smith asks Bob Smith how many facial expressions a cat can make.
- Bob Smith initially guesses two, then adjusts his guess to six.
- Marcia Smith reveals that cats can make up to 276 unique facial expressions.
- Researchers at UCLA recorded and coded these expressions, excluding chewing and yawning.
- Cats have about 26 unique facial movements, including parted lips and jaw movements.
Development of Stereo Sound
- Bob Smith asks Marcia Smith how a frustrating night at the movies led to stereo sound.
- Marcia Smith explains that a British engineer named Alan Bloomline was frustrated by the monophonic soundtrack at the movies.
- Bloomline developed binaural sound, using two microphones in a V pattern to record sound from different directions.
- He also invented a cutting system to record the left and right channels on opposite sides of a record groove.
- The first stereo music was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in 1931, featuring Sir Thomas Beecham conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.
Hot and Cold Water Sounds
- Marcia Smith asks Bob Smith if hot and cold water have different sounds.
- Bob Smith guesses that the pipes sound different, but the water itself might have different sounds.
- Marcia Smith explains that hot water has a higher pitch due to its thinner consistency, while cold water has a lower pitch due to its thicker consistency.
- The difference is due to the viscosity changes in water molecules at different temperatures.
Apple Computer’s “Think” Slogan
- Bob Smith asks Marcia Smith about the second word in Apple Computer’s “Think” slogan and its relation to IBM.
- Marcia Smith guesses “Think different,” which was Apple’s advertising slogan from 1997 to 2002.
- The slogan was aimed at IBM, which had a one-word slogan, “Think.”
- The “Think different” campaign was created by the Los Angeles office of Chiat/Day.
Broken Bones and Silly String
- Bob Smith asks Marcia Smith about the connection between broken bones and silly string.
- Marcia Smith explains that in the 1960s, inventor Leonard Fish and chemist Robert Cox developed a mixture that hardened quickly to create a cast.
- They tested 500 nozzles and found one that could spray 30 feet, leading them to develop silly string as a toy.
- The toy was initially rejected by Wammo but later became popular after a market test.
Matt Damon’s Stunt Double
- Bob Smith shares a story about Matt Damon’s stunt double, Devlin Dalton, who is a woman.
- Dalton is only 4 feet 6 inches tall and trained extensively for her roles.
- She performed stunts in “The Odyssey” using forced perspective to make her appear taller.
- Dalton is one of only 20% of stunt performers in Hollywood who are females.
Summer Olympic Sports Trivia
- Marcia Smith quizzes Bob Smith on Summer Olympic sports using word associations.
- They discuss sports like diving, wrestling, boxing, shooting, water polo, and rugby.
- Bob Smith correctly identifies most of the sports, showing his knowledge of Summer Olympic sports.
Marilyn Monroe’s Intellectual Pursuits
- Bob Smith reveals that Marilyn Monroe enjoyed E. E. Cummings poetry and studied world literature at UCLA.
- She had friendships with Carl Sandburg, Dorothy Parker, and Dylan Thomas.
- Monroe was in an acting class with Michael Chekhov and read Cordelia opposite his Lear.
- She dreamed of mounting a Marilyn Monroe Shakespeare festival and was friends with Arthur Miller.
Blackbeard’s Short Reign
- Marcia Smith asks Bob Smith about Blackbeard’s reign as a pirate.
- Bob Smith initially guesses it was in the 1700s and in America.
- Marcia Smith reveals that Blackbeard, whose real name was Edward Teach, ruled the sea for only two years.
- He was a British privateer during the War of the Spanish Succession and became captain of his own ship by 1716.
- Blackbeard was killed by forces directed by Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood in 1718.
Wild Apples in Kazakhstan
- Bob Smith shares a fascinating fact about the last wild apple forest in the world, located in Kazakhstan.
- Biologist Nikolai Vavilov traced the apple genome back to this grove near Elmati.
- The wild apples are nearly indistinguishable from today’s golden delicious.
- Animals, not humans, are believed to have carried the apples to different parts of the world.
Moscow’s Stalin Skyscrapers
- Marcia Smith quizzes Bob Smith about a city with seven identical skyscrapers.
- Bob Smith guesses Moscow, which has seven Stalin skyscrapers.
- The buildings include two hotels, two office buildings, two apartment buildings, and a university.
- Marcia Smith is impressed by the metro stations in Moscow, which feature chandeliers and marble walls with prehistoric fossils.
Garry Trudeau’s Achievements
- Bob Smith asks Marcia Smith about Garry Trudeau’s unique distinction.
- Marcia Smith guesses that Trudeau won a literary prize, which was the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartoons.
- Trudeau won the prize at 26 years old, and his strip was running in 450 newspapers with 60 million readers.
- Hunter S. Thompson was not happy with his portrayal in Trudeau’s comic strip, sending a wad of used toilet paper in the mail.
Burger King’s Original Slogan
- Bob Smith asks Marcia Smith about Burger King’s original slogan.
- Marcia Smith guesses “Have it your way,” which was Burger King’s 1974 slogan.
- The slogan emphasized customization and self-expression, which were hallmarks of pop culture at the time.
Swatch Watches’ Origin
- Bob Smith asks Marcia Smith about the meaning of Swatch watches.
- Marcia Smith guesses that Swatch is another name for a sample of something, like carpet or fabric.
- Bob Smith reveals that Swatch is a contraction of the English phrase “second watch.”
- The brand was introduced by a Swiss watchmaker to create an inexpensive, fashionable, and disposable watch during a quartz crisis.
