Smartest Year Ever

Valentine’s Day—a holiday of love, romance, and… brutal execution records? 💀 If you think modern Valentine's is a mystery wrapped in chocolate, try figuring out why it’s named after a beheaded saint who also happens to be the patron of epilepsy and beekeepers.

Gordy breaks down the tangled history of St. Valentine—or possibly multiple St. Valentines—and how a third-century execution date turned into a global celebration of overpriced greeting cards. The story involves secret marriages, medieval bird-watching, and Geoffrey Chaucer making things up—because of course he did.

So whether you're celebrating with chocolates, love letters, or just scrolling through TikTok alone in your pajamas, at least you’re not writing your Valentine from a Roman prison cell.

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🔗 Sources:

• History.com – Who Was St. Valentine?

• The British Library – Geoffrey Chaucer and the Origins of Valentine's Day

• Smithsonian Magazine – The Gory History of Valentine’s Day

• Catholic Online – St. Valentine

Valentine’s Day cards weren’t always about love and romance. The earliest known Valentine came from a prisoner in the Tower of London—because nothing says "Be mine" like medieval incarceration.

Today, Gordy uncovers the surprising history of Valentine’s Day cards—from the poetic musings of a lovesick French duke in 1415 to the rise of Esther Howland, the “Mother of the American Valentine”, and how Hallmark turned February 14th into big business.

Whether you’re a romantic at heart or sending a snarky “anti-Valentine,” you’re part of a tradition over 600 years in the making.

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🔎 Sources:

• British Library: The Valentine Poem of Charles, Duke of Orléans

• History.com: The History of Valentine’s Day and Cards

• Smithsonian Magazine: How the First Mass-Produced Valentine's Day Cards Changed Everything

• Hallmark.com: History of Valentine’s Day Cards

• Gammer Gurton's Garland (1784): Earliest Known Valentine’s Poem

2/12/25 - Abraham Lincoln: Wrestling Champion?

Everyone knows Abraham Lincoln as a towering historical figure, but did you know he was also a literal giant in the wrestling ring? With a 300-1 record, an honorary induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and a famous brawl that solidified his street cred, Lincoln might just be the most dominant fighter in presidential history.

Gordy breaks down Lincoln’s wrestling career, his legendary fight with a gang leader, and the one man who actually defeated him. Could Lincoln have gone pro? Would he be taking on Jake Paul today? Let’s get into it.

Sources:

• Donald, David Herbert. Lincoln. Simon & Schuster, 1995.
• Beveridge, Albert J. Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1858. Houghton Mifflin, 1928.
• "The Wrestling Presidents." National Wrestling Hall of Fame (nwhof.org).
• Peterson, Merrill D. Lincoln in American Memory. Oxford University Press, 1994.

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Ever wondered why we say “take it with a grain of salt”? This phrase traces back to Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman historian who recorded a poison antidote recipe that included—you guessed it—a single grain of salt. Over centuries, this idea evolved into its modern meaning: a skeptical approach to questionable claims.

Join Gordy as he digs into the surprising history of this saying, from Roman medicine to the English language.

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Sources:

• Pliny the Elder. Naturalis Historia, Book 23, c. 77 CE.

• Simpson, J., & Weiner, E. (1989). The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press.

• Ayto, J. (2010). Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford University Press.

What if you could hit the reset button on life—same body, same memories, just… younger? Well, one tiny jellyfish has already cracked the code. Meet Turritopsis dohrnii, better known as the immortal jellyfish—because it refuses to die like a normal organism. Instead of aging, it de-ages, turning back into a baby version of itself and starting life all over again. Scientists are still trying to figure out how, and the answers could hold the key to aging research, regenerative medicine, and maybe even the future of human longevity.

But don’t go signing up for jellyfish DNA just yet—this little cheat code comes with a catch. Dive into the weird world of biological immortality, the science of transdifferentiation, and why this tiny sea creature might be the greatest life hacker of all time.

🎧 Listen now to Smartest Year Ever—the show that makes you the most interesting person in the room.

Sources:

• Piraino, S., Boero, F., Aeschbach, B., & Schmid, V. (1996). “Reversing the life cycle: Medusae transforming into polyps and cell transdifferentiation in Turritopsis (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa).” Biological Bulletin, 190(3), 302–312.

• Martínez, D. E. (1998). “Mortality patterns suggest lack of senescence in hydra.” Experimental Gerontology, 33(3), 217–225.

• Schmich, J., Kraus, Y., De Vito, D., & Frank, U. (2007). “Induction of programmed cell death in Turritopsis dohrnii.” PLoS ONE, 2(10), e1112.

• Helm, R. R., Siebert, S., & Ball, E. E. (2013). “Jellyfish transdifferentiation and its implications for regenerative medicine.” Developmental Biology, 377(2), 245–255.

Every year, millions of dollars are wagered on one of the weirdest bets in sports: What color Gatorade will be dumped on the winning Super Bowl coach? Orange, blue, yellow, purple—but never red.

In over 40 years of Super Bowl Gatorade showers, red Gatorade has never won. And it’s not random—there’s a reason. From the staining problem, to players avoiding it, to superstition, to terrible sportsbook odds—red is the one color that never makes it into the cooler.

Find out why no team wants to be the first to break the streak.

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Sources:

• ESPN, History of the Super Bowl Gatorade Shower

• The Athletic, Why Pro Athletes Avoid Red Gatorade

• Sports Illustrated, Breaking Down the Super Bowl Gatorade Bet

• NFL Equipment Managers Interview, Game-Day Sideline Decisions

Ever wondered why cola is a household favorite, yet you never hear about the kola nut anymore?

🔹 What is the kola nut, and why was it historically used?🔹 How did Coca-Cola and other brands replace real kola nut extract?🔹 Why do we call it cola instead of kola today?

Find out how marketing, chemistry, and cultural shifts shaped one of the world’s most famous drinks!

👍 Like, Subscribe & Hit the Bell for daily mind-blowing facts!📲 Follow Smartest Year Ever for daily clips on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts!

🔗 Sources:

• Ajol.info. (2020). The Historical Significance and Role of the Kola Nut among the Igbo. Journal of Religion and Human Relations, 12(1), 55-68. Retrieved from https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrhr/article/view/211105/199047

• Fox59 News. (2023). It Used to Be Cocaine and a Nut — How is Cola Flavored Today? Retrieved from https://fox59.com/news/national-world/it-used-to-be-cocaine-and-a-nut-how-is-cola-flavored-today/

• Earthworm Express. (2022). The Enigmatic Kola Nut. Retrieved from https://earthwormexpress.com/the-prehistory-of-food/the-enigmatic-kola-nut/

• Wikipedia Contributors. (2023). Kola Nut. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_nut

Not all space rocks are created equal. Some burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere, while others could spell doom for civilization. But how do astronomers rank the danger of an incoming asteroid? Enter The Torino Scale—a color-coded system that rates impact threats from 0 (harmless) to 10 (extinction-level).

Back in 2004, an asteroid named Apophis briefly hit a Level 4, sparking fears of a 2029 collision. More recently, in December 2024, a newly discovered asteroid—2024 YR4—was assigned a Torino Scale 3 rating due to a 1.3% chance of impact in 2032. Should you be worried? Today, Gordy breaks down what each level really means, how asteroid threats are assessed, and what would happen if we ever hit a Torino 10.

Spoiler: It’s bad. Very bad.

So before you panic over the next “potentially hazardous asteroid” headline—check the Torino Scale first. If it’s not an 8 or higher, you can probably keep your weekend plans.

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Sources:

• NASA Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), 2023. “The Torino Impact Hazard Scale Explained.”

• Astronomy & Astrophysics Journal, 2002. “Evaluating Asteroid Threats: The Torino Scale.”

• Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2021. “Tracking Apophis and Other Near-Earth Objects.”

In 1908, an explosion larger than 1,000 atomic bombs flattened an area bigger than Los Angeles—but no crater was ever found. The Tunguska Event remains one of Earth’s biggest mysteries, and today, Gordy breaks down what happened, why it matters, and whether we should be worried about the next one.

🔥 Topics Covered:

• What was the Tunguska Event?

• Why was there no crater?

• The wildest theories (aliens? Tesla?!)

• The real scientific explanation

• Could it happen again? (Spoiler: Yes.)

💡 Coming Tomorrow: The Torino Scale, the ranking system for space rock threats.

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📚 Sources:

• NASA Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), 2020. “Tunguska: The Largest Impact Event in Recorded History.”

• Kulik, Leonid. Soviet Academy of Sciences Tunguska Expedition Reports, 1928-1939.

• Astrobiology Journal, 2016. “Atmospheric Airbursts: Modeling the Tunguska Event.”

• Smithsonian Magazine, 2018. “What We Know About the Tunguska Event.”

• Chelyabinsk Meteor Studies, 2013-2015. NASA & Russian Academy of Sciences.

There’s a myth that rivers always flow south, but here’s the truth: rivers flow in whatever direction gravity pulls them. The Nile River flows north—not because it’s defying the rules, but because it’s following the land’s natural slope. And it’s not alone. At least 48 rivers in the U.S. flow north, and plenty more around the world.

Today, Gordy clears up this geographical misconception and breaks down why we think of rivers as only moving south.

📺 Watch full episodes on YouTube & Spotify🎥 Follow @SmartestYearEver for daily clips

Sources:

• A-Z Animals, 2023. “What Direction Does the Nile River Flow?” Source

• World Atlas, 2023. “Rivers That Flow North.” Source