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The digital duo Josh and Chuck deconstruct your world.
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Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
- Contest – Design a $300 house and win $25,000
- How the Philtrum works – the place under your nose where your face comes together
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
- Sailing, Takes Me Away…To The Seychelles
- Cute Animal Tuesday: Black Vulture
- Traveling on the Orient Express
Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
- How to Get Your Wedding Announcement into The New York Times
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- The Seven Deadlies: Pride Cometh Before the Brain
- Warhammer 40K: 25 Years of Orks in Space
- A Visit to the Tellus Science Museum
Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
- Amazing Medical Conditions: Maple Syrup Urine Disorder
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Was Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” Super Bowl commercial a little too political?
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
- Tips for in-car Navigation Systems
How-to Stuff
- How to Make the Most of a Gallery Crawl (When You’re on a Shoestring Budget)
- How to Swim with Dolphins (When Deep Water Terrifies You)
- How to Cure a Homemade Cookie Craving Without Turning on the Oven
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 43: Drag Queens: You Better Work!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 42: Road Trip!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 41: Celebrity Couples
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
- Bill Gates Makes For A Pretty Decent Cartoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
- Are we rooting for D.B. Cooper?
- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
Announcer
Welcome to Stuff You Should Know from howstuffworks.com.
Josh Clark
Ahoy, and welcome to the Love Boat. I’m Julie, your cruise director. With me, as always, is Isaac, your bartender. How are you doing?
Chuck Bryant
I just did the little -
Josh Clark
Double guns.
Chuck Bryant
The double guns.
Josh Clark
[click, click] Looking good.
Chuck Bryant
You’re a genius -
Josh Clark
Thank you.
Chuck Bryant
- for coming up with that.
Josh Clark
Thank you. You’re a genius, too, Chuck.
Chuck Bryant
Thank you.
Josh Clark
If you want to know how we can call each other geniuses without cracking up -
Chuck Bryant
Well, I’m cracking up on the inside. But sure.
Josh Clark
Because we have no idea what constitutes a genius, do we?
Chuck Bryant
Right.
Josh Clark
We like to throw the word around, as you were pointing out earlier.
Chuck Bryant
Oh, he’s a genius.
Josh Clark
Or he’s a socialist, or he’s a fascist.
Chuck Bryant
He’s a genius. You should see the bathroom he designed – he’s genius.
Josh Clark
Nice.
Chuck Bryant
You know? Come on.
Josh Clark
Yeah, it definitely is a word that gets slapped around a lot. But the way that we use the word genius now is actually a throwback to its original meaning. In the Greco-Roman era, the word genius -
Chuck Bryant
Back when everyone was wrestling?
Josh Clark
Yeah.
Chuck Bryant
Okay.
Josh Clark
You could be a genius at wrestling.
Chuck Bryant
Sure.
Josh Clark
Really what it describe
d was somebody’s natural enthusiasm or inclination towards certain activities. Not just your abilities, but how revved up you were. So somebody who was pretty good at bathroom design -
Chuck Bryant
Right.
Josh Clark
- would’ve been considered a genius at bathroom design. Do you see what I mean?
Chuck Bryant
That’s like the word vintage. People always think vintage just means old.
Josh Clark
Yeah.
Chuck Bryant
But I think vintage specifically means characterized by that person’s best work. Like a tailor – the best five pairs of pants they made.
Josh Clark
Really?
Chuck Bryant
I think so. I might be wrong.
Josh Clark
I just learned that, just now -
Chuck Bryant
I might be wrong.
Josh Clark
- thanks to you. Are we picking up Jerry’s laugh? Because we’re in a 2-foot by 2-foot space right now.
Chuck Bryant
Yeah, this room is not genius.
Josh Clark
No, it stinks of volatile organic compounds.
Chuck Bryant
Well, we should say they actually moved us for one day into an even smaller office, like the Seinfeld – remember when they kept moving Costanza around because they didn’t like him? We’re eventually going to end up in a storage closet like he did.
Josh Clark
Yeah. I think we’ve arrived there.
Chuck Bryant
Yeah, I’m sure it’s lovely. It’s just not for podcasting.
Josh Clark
Well, I’m a little lightheaded, so if this goes oddly, that’s why. It’s the paint fumes.