Smartest Year Ever

In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into the surprising origin of Happy Birthday to You—a tune that began in a kindergarten classroom before becoming a global anthem sung billions of times a year. From the Hill sisters’ simple melody to a courtroom battle over copyright worth millions, this story traces how a cheerful school song turned into the world’s most recognized melody.

Along the way, discover:

• The forgotten roots of “Good Morning to All”
  

• How the lyrics shifted into a universal birthday tradition
  

• The multi-million-dollar copyright fight that lasted until 2016
  

• Why this everyday song holds the Guinness World Record for recognition
  

It’s a story of music, law, culture, and the way simple songs can take on lives of their own.

So where did the song we all know really come from? Stick around and find out.

Sources

• Guinness World Records. (1998). Guinness Book of World Records 1998. Guinness Publishing.

• Birley, L. (2016). Happy Birthday and the Copyright Dispute. Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 11(3), 173–176.
  

• Seeger, P. (1941). Song Stories for the Kindergarten. Clayton F. Summy Company.
  

• O’Connell, J. (2016). Happy Birthday Song Declared Public Domain. The Guardian.
  

• Seeger, P. (2001). The Story of the Hill Sisters. American Music, 19(1), 21–36.
  

• United States District Court, Central District of California. Good Morning to You Productions Corp. v. Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. Case No. CV 13-4460-GHK (2016).
  

#History #MusicFacts #DailyFacts #DidYouKnow #ViralSongs #Musichistory #WorldRecord #happybirthday #historyfacts #musicbusiness Music thanks to Zapsplat.

How do you protect priceless masterpieces when bombs are falling from the sky? During World War II, curators, historians, and ordinary citizens went to extraordinary lengths to shield art from destruction. From Michelangelo’s David bricked into a fortress in Florence, to the Mona Lisa’s secret escape from Paris, to the National Gallery’s underground vaults in Wales, the survival of Europe’s cultural treasures often came down to bold and unusual choices.

In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into the hidden history of WWII art protection, the rise of the Monuments Men, and the surreal lengths taken to ensure humanity’s greatest works weren’t lost forever. You’ll hear about masterpieces sealed in mines, smuggled in crates, and tucked away in castles—all while the world outside was burning.

It’s a story of war, resilience, and the unshakable instinct to preserve beauty even in humanity’s darkest hours.

Sources:

• Edsel, R. M., & Witter, B. (2009). The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. Center Street.
  

• Nicholas, L. H. (1994). The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe’s Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War. Alfred A. Knopf.
  

• National Gallery, London. (n.d.). The Gallery in Wartime. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk
  

• Smithsonian Magazine. (2014). The True Story of the Monuments Men. Smithsonian Institution.
  

• Atlas Obscura. (2022). Altaussee Salt Mine. Retrieved from https://www.atlasobscura.com
  

#WWIIHistory #ArtHistory #Museums #DailyFacts #DidYouKnow #monumentsmen #WorldWarII #ArtFacts #historyfacts #monalisa #michaelangelodavid

Music thanks to Zapsplat.

What does it take to survive over a year at sea with no engine, no oars, and almost no supplies?

In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks the extraordinary true survival story of José Salvador Alvarenga, who drifted across the Pacific Ocean for 438 days—the longest recorded survival at sea. From brutal storms, starvation, and turtle blood, to unimaginable loneliness and resilience, this is a test of human endurance like no other.

This incredible journey has been called one of the greatest survival stories in history. But how did he do it? And what does it tell us about the limits of the human mind and body?

Stay curious, stay clever—on our quest to become the world’s greatest conversationalists.

Sources

• Franklin, J. (2015). 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea. Atria Books.
  

• Franklin, J. (2015, Feb 1). Lost at Sea: The Man Who Vanished for 14 Months. The Guardian.
  

• McKie, R. (2014, Feb 2). Lost at Sea: How José Salvador Alvarenga Survived 438 Days in the Pacific. The Observer.
  

• The Sun. (2014, Feb 3). Fisherman Stranded at Sea for 438 Days Survived on Turtles and Bird Blood.
  

• Lead You First. (2019). José Alvarenga: An Incredible Trial of Sheltering in Place.
  

#SurvivalStory #PacificOcean #438Days #WorldRecord #DailyFacts #DidYouKnow #survival #shipwreck #lostatsea #oceanfacts 

Music thanks to Zapsplat.

Why does the sound of nails on a chalkboard make your skin crawl? Gordy digs into the science of sound aversion—from acoustic resonance in the 2,000–4,000 Hz frequency range to the way our amygdala and limbic system light up when we hear those unbearable screeches. Along the way, he explores possible evolutionary links to primate alarm calls, why screams cut through the noise, and why expectation and imagination can make the sound even worse.

This episode blends psychoacoustics, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology to answer one of the most relatable questions in human experience: why do some sounds feel unbearable?

Stay tuned for surprising research, brain imaging studies, and a closer look at the “worst sound in the world.”

Sources:

• Halpern, D. L., Blake, R., & Hillenbrand, J. (1986). Psychoacoustics of a Chilling Sound. Perception & Psychophysics, 39(2), 77–80. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211404
  

• Reuter, C., Oehler, M., & Granot, R. (2016). Psychoacoustics of Chalkboard Squeaking. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 139(3), 1192–1202. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4943555
  

• Kumar, S., Forster, H. M., Bailey, P., & Griffiths, T. D. (2008). Mapping unpleasant sound processing in the human brain. Cerebral Cortex, 18(3), 631–637. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhm094
  

• Reuter, C., Oehler, M., & Kaiser, J. (2011). Psychoacoustic investigation of the “nails on chalkboard” effect. Acoustical Society of America, Leipzig.
  

• McDermott, J. H., & Hauser, M. D. (2004). Are consonant intervals music to their ears? Spontaneous preferences in a nonhuman primate. Cognition, 94(2), B11–B21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2004.04.004
  

#Psychology #Neuroscience #SoundScience #DailyFacts #DidYouKnow #sound #frequencies #ear #worstsound #anatomy #acoustics Music thanks to Zapsplat.

Two skeletons found in a 2,800-year-old embrace have been called the Hasanlu Lovers—but what do we really know about them? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores the dramatic discovery at Teppe Hasanlu in northwestern Iran, where archaeologists uncovered a city frozen in time after its sudden destruction around 800 BCE.

What makes these two skeletons so captivating? Why did the nickname “lovers” stick? And how much of their story is fact… and how much is just our imagination projected onto the past?

This episode dives into the archaeology, the destruction of Hasanlu, and the cultural crossroads of the ancient Near East—while exploring the bigger question of how we tell stories about the dead.

Stay curious, stay clever—on our quest to become the world’s greatest conversationalists.

Sources:

• Cifarelli, M. (2014). Lovers, Friends, or Strangers? Interpreting the Hasanlu “Lovers.” Expedition Magazine, Penn Museum. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/lovers-friends-or-strangers/
  

• Dyson, R. H., & Voigt, M. M. (1989). Hasanlu Excavations: An Archaeological View of the Iron Age in Northwestern Iran. Expedition Magazine, Penn Museum. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/hasanlu-excavations/
  

• Muscarella, O. W. (1988). The Hasanlu Lovers: Archaeology, Interpretation, and Cultural Perception. Near Eastern Archaeology.
  

• Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Hasanlu in the Iron Age. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/hasanlu-in-the-iron-age
  

#AncientHistory #Archaeology #DailyFacts #SmartestYearEver #HistoryMysteries #HistoricalPhotos #hasanlulovers #skeletons #famousphotos

Music thanks to Zapsplat.

Why do tennis balls smell so good? Gordy dives into the surprising chemistry and psychology behind one of the most oddly satisfying scents in sports. From pressurized cans to vulcanized rubber, and from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the way smell ties into nostalgia and memory, this episode uncovers why cracking open a fresh can of tennis balls feels so addictive.

If you’ve ever wondered why that first whiff is so distinctive—or why some perfumers even try to bottle the scent of new tennis balls—this episode is for you. Stick around to learn how chemistry, pressure, and psychology all collide in one strangely iconic smell.

So the next time you open a can of tennis balls, you’ll know there’s more happening than just new gear hitting the court.

Sources

• The Rocket Tennis. (2024). Why tennis balls are stinking up your gear. Retrieved from https://therocket.tennis/blogs/news/why-tennis-balls-are-stinking-up-your-gear
  

• Tennis Owner. (2023). Why do tennis balls smell? Retrieved from https://tennisowner.com/why-do-tennis-balls-smell/
  

• Longreads. (2018). Smell, memory, and tennis. Retrieved from https://longreads.com/2018/01/09/smell-memory-tennis/
  

• GQ. (2023). D.S. & Durga’s Crush Balls fragrance review. Retrieved from https://www.gq.com/story/ds-and-durga-crush-balls-fragrance
  

#TennisFacts #SportsScience #WeirdFacts #DailyFacts #DidYouKnow #smells #tennis #tennisballs #funfacts

 Music thanks to Zapsplat.

Where did restaurants really begin? Gordy dives into the surprising history of public dining, tracing the story from ancient Rome’s thermopolia to China’s Song Dynasty restaurant culture, and finally to 18th-century Paris, where a legal battle and a revolutionary shift in society reshaped how we eat today.

Discover how early eateries weren’t just about food—they were about choice, menus, private tables, and freedom from guild monopolies. This Food Week finale reveals how the very idea of a “restaurant” transformed dining into the modern experience we take for granted.

If you’ve ever wondered who really invented the restaurant, or where the word itself comes from, this is the story to know.

So there you have it—the final bite of Food Week.

• Ellis, S. J. R. (2018). The Roman Retail Revolution. Oxford University Press.
  

• Gernet, J. (1962). Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion. Stanford University Press.
  

• Sabban, F. (1999). In J.-L. Flandrin & M. Montanari (Eds.), Food: A Culinary History. Columbia University Press.
  

• Schafer, E. H. (1963). The Golden Peaches of Samarkand. University of California Press.
  

• Anderson, E. N. (1988). The Food of China. Yale University Press.
  

• Sen, T. (2006). The origins of restaurants in China. Gastronomica, 6(2), 40–49.
  

• Spang, R. L. (2000). The Invention of the Restaurant. Harvard University Press.
  

• Ferguson, P. P. (2004). Accounting for Taste. University of Chicago Press.
  

• Oxford English Dictionary.
  

• Davidson, A. (1999). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press.
  

• Pitte, J.-R. (2002). French Gastronomy. Columbia University Press.
  

#FoodHistory #RestaurantOrigins #CulinaryHistory #DailyFacts #DidYouKnow #foodfacts #historyfacts #restaurants #ParisFood 

 Music thanks to Zapsplat.

Sources

In 18th-century France, a man named Tarrare became one of the most disturbing mysteries in medical history. Described by doctors as a “human anomaly”, Tarrare’s hunger was insatiable—his body seemingly a bottomless pit.

He could devour live animals, garbage, raw meat, and even military secrets hidden inside wooden capsules. His strange condition baffled surgeons and generals alike, and his story continues to puzzle scientists and historians today.

This episode dives into Tarrare’s bizarre life—from his early days as a street performer in Paris to his role as a secret courier during the French Revolutionary Wars, and the horrifying allegations that followed him to his death. Was his endless hunger caused by hyperthyroidism, hypothalamic damage, or something else entirely? And why does his case still fascinate the medical world centuries later?

Join Gordy on Smartest Year Ever to explore one of history’s strangest figures: a man who could eat anything—but was never full.

Sources:

• Percy, P.-F. (1804). Memoir of the Extraordinary Case of Tarrare. Medical and Chirurgical Review.
  

• Bondeson, J. (2004). The Two-Headed Boy and Other Medical Marvels. Cornell University Press.
  

• Elton, C. (1885). The Strange Story of Tarrare. In Anecdota Oxoniensia.
  

• Macalpine, I., & Hunter, R. (1969). George III and the Mad-Business. Penguin Books.
  

• Todd, J. (1853). Tarrare the Human Anomaly. The Lancet.
  

• Risse, G. B. (1986). Hospital Life in Enlightenment Scotland and France. Cambridge University Press.
  

• BBC Future. (2015). The man who couldn’t stop eating. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151008
  

• BBC News. (2017). The Man Who Ate Everything.
  

• National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Articles on hyperphagia and polyphagia.
  

#HistoryMysteries #MedicalMarvels #MedicalMysteries #Tarrare #WeirdFood #DailyFacts #WeirdHistory #StrangeButTrue #FoodFacts #CreepyHistory #polyphagia Music thanks to Zapsplat.

Did Coca-Cola really used to contain cocaine—and if so, how much was actually in every bottle? Gordy dives into the wild history of the world’s most iconic soft drink, tracing it back to its 19th-century origins as a coca-leaf tonic created by a morphine-addicted pharmacist. From Sigmund Freud’s praise of cocaine to the federal lawsuit United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, this episode uncovers how the drink went from a controversial cocaine soda to a global brand that still secretly relies on coca leaf imports today.

Along the way, Gordy reveals the little-known story of the Stepan Company, the only U.S. firm legally allowed to import coca leaves, and how Coca-Cola’s unique flavor still depends on a carefully controlled process that links New Jersey to the Andes.

This is the untold story of how a once-drug-laced tonic became the most famous beverage on Earth.

Sources:

• Pendergrast, M. (2000). For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It. Basic Books.
  

• Grinspoon, L., & Bakalar, J. B. (1976). Cocaine: A Drug and Its Social Evolution. Basic Books.
  

• Musto, D. F. (1999). The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control. Oxford University Press.
  

• Scripps News. (2024). Coca-Cola Still Uses Coca Leaves. Here’s How That’s Legal.
  

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration archives. United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola (1911).
  

• Stepan Company. (n.d.). Official documentation on coca import license.
  

• Sahakian, B., & Morein-Zamir, S. (2007). Neuroethical issues in cognitive enhancement. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 21(2), 119–127.
  

#CocaColaHistory #DrugHistory #FoodHistory #DailyFacts #DidYouKnow #funfacts #foodfacts #coke #weirdfacts #cocacola #soda

Music thanks to Zapsplat.

Ketchup has a surprising history that goes far beyond burgers and fries. In this episode, Gordy uncovers the strange global journey of this iconic condiment—one that started centuries before tomatoes ever entered the bottle.

From its origins as a fermented fish sauce in Asia to the bizarre British experiments with mushroom ketchup and walnut ketchup, and finally to Henry J. Heinz transforming it into the sweet, shelf-stable tomato version we know today—this is a food story you’ll never look at the same way again.

Along the way, you’ll hear about how ketchup shaped food safety standards, why early recipes called tomatoes “love apples,” and why the word “catsup” still lingers in American history. And yes, we’ll even get into banana ketchup and why “ketchup” around the world doesn’t always mean tomato.

🍅 Ever wondered why ketchup looks the way it does today—or how it once looked nothing like the red bottle in your fridge? You’ll want to hear this one.

Sources:

• Smith, A. F. (1996). Pure Ketchup: A History of America's National Condiment. University of South Carolina Press.
  

• Wilson, B. (2012). Consider the Fork. Basic Books.
  

• Oxford English Dictionary. (n.d.). “Ketchup” entry.
  

• Mease, J. (1812). Archives of Useful Knowledge.
  

• Wyman, C. (2004). Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed the Way We Eat. Quirk Books.
  

• BBC Food History. (n.d.). “The Surprising Origins of Ketchup.”
  

#FoodHistory #Ketchup #WeirdFoodFacts #DailyFacts #DidYouKnow #fishsauce #foodfacts #Funfacts #dailyfacts Music thanks to Zapsplat.