So You Wanna Be Average

Pack your bags & hitch a ride on So You Wanna Be Average airlines to the world that is London. Who is Big Ben named after? How does Big Ben work? Is there a Little Ben? Why was the Tower of London built? Who are famous residents of the Tower of London? What is the song London Calling about and why does it seem (a little too) relevant today? Which artists have recorded at Abbey Road Studios? Find out the answers to these questions & many more!

For this So You Wanna Be Average episode, we turn our eyes to one of our favourite big-box stores, IKEA! What does IKEA stand for? How are product names determined? Who founded IKEA and what did they sell? What is democratic design and why is it important? How many IKEA catalogues are distributed annually? Does IKEA do partnerships? Listen now to learn the answers to these questions and so many more.

In this podcast episode on bridges, expect to learn: Why was the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge a feat of engineering? How many crossings does the New York bridge handle daily? When was the “new” bridge in Halifax built? Where is the longest covered bridge in the world? Why are some covered bridges called “kissing bridges”? Which famous viaduct was the location of numerous films, ads, and music videos?

We are back to celebrate another Valentine's Day here on the podcast. In this episode we focus on the history of Valentine's Day cards & Cupid. What invention made romantic, personalized Valentine’s Day cards more common? What are Valentine Writers? Who wrote the first Valentine? Where does Cupid come from and what’s difference between him & Eros? Why is Cupid commonly depicted as a young child?

Season 2 of the podcast starts with a discussion of America's favourite sports event: the Super Bowl. How did the Super Bowl start? If you went to the first game, how much would you have paid for tickets and what might you pay this year? What factors determine which cities host it? How many people tune in for the ads? What were the repercussions of Janet Jackson’s halftime show? We cover all this & so much more!

So you're still trying to be average, eh? Well we are back and more average than ever with So You Wanna Be Average Season 2.

To keep things new and fresh, we’ve made some changes this year.

Tune in every second Monday to learn new nuggets of knowledge about topics you’re familiar with but might not know too much about. Last season we learned about potatoes, license plates, Boston, and Blockbuster - this year we’re learning about the Super Bowl, bridges, IKEA, and more!

We have also changed the format so we will be coming out of the gate with main topic discussions that will knock the khakis right off of you, ending with a music recommendation that will link back to the general topic and that you can play on the commute to your 9-5.

We are excited to take you on another tour of the utterly mundane world around us beginning January 31, 2022.

On the pumpkin-themed menu for your ears in our 35th episode: Who is Peter Pumpkinhead & what was the inspiration for his character? Where can you go to compete in a pumpkin paddling contest & who ran into legal issues when they wanted to compete? What is Punkin Chunkin? Why do we celebrate Halloween on October 31? Who is Stingy Jack and why must we respect his shady ways? Find out all this & more!

Which album caused controversy when it was given to iTunes users for free? Which artists won’t you find on Apple Music and why? Which major band had a company with a name similar to Apple and how was that resolved? What memorable way did Apple choose to advertise in a special edition of Newsweek? Why do movie villains never use Apple products? Find out on our new So You Wanna Be Average podcast episode!

We're talking about bears on Episode 33 of our So You Wanna Be Average podcast. How did a $20 purchase at a train station influence the literary world? Which animals was Winnie-the-Pooh named after? Was Christopher Robin a real person? How much bamboo might a panda eat per day? What are sun bears named after? What is a keystone species and how does this apply to bears? Is a sloth bear slow like a sloth?

It's the start of a new school year in Nova Scotia and we're running with that in this So You Wanna Be Average podcast episode by talking about pencils. Why are pencils yellow? Is pencil lead actually lead? What are coloured pencils made of? How do erasers work? What is rotoscoping? How do the Napoleonic Wars play into the development of pencils? Where was the world’s largest known deposit of graphite located? Hit play for the answers to these questions (& many more!).