WEBVTT - Is Duct Tape Safe for Ducks? 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:19.180 You're listening to Part-Time Genius, a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. 0:00:23.510 --> 0:00:24.509 Guess what, Mary and Gabe? 0:00:24.950 --> 0:00:25.830 What's that, Mango? 0:00:26.270 --> 0:00:29.280 Will cannot be here today, but you two are here. 0:00:29.300 --> 0:00:32.860 Yeah, well, I'm going to be honest. I did already 0:00:32.900 --> 0:00:35.130 know that, but thanks for having us. 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:37.540 Yeah, I mean, it's nice to see you both, but 0:00:38.260 --> 0:00:40.980 I'm getting the sense this is not a normal episode. 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:42.379 It is not. 0:00:42.470 --> 0:00:44.430 In fact, it's going to be way more fun because 0:00:44.450 --> 0:00:47.870 this is day one of a week-long series we're doing 0:00:47.890 --> 0:00:51.110 to celebrate the launch of The Builders with Walter Isaacson. 0:00:51.290 --> 0:00:54.160 It is a show my company Kaleidoscope is producing on iHeart. 0:00:54.660 --> 0:00:56.900 This season, we're going to know some of the people who, 0:00:57.400 --> 0:00:59.520 you know, for better or for worse, are shaping our 0:00:59.620 --> 0:01:03.320 future and asking the question, whose imagination do you want 0:01:03.340 --> 0:01:05.580 to live in? And all of that got me thinking 0:01:05.620 --> 0:01:08.790 about all the people throughout history whose future kind of 0:01:08.810 --> 0:01:09.790 became our present. 0:01:10.150 --> 0:01:12.970 Wow, we're off to a real mind bending start here, Mango. 0:01:13.700 --> 0:01:16.179 No, no, I get what he's saying. Like everything around 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.200 us was dreamed up by someone who lived in a 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:21.410 world where those things didn't exist yet. 0:01:21.900 --> 0:01:22.780 Exactly. 0:01:23.250 --> 0:01:27.770 I'm so glad you're here, King, to clarify for me. 0:01:27.830 --> 0:01:30.410 So over the next five days here on Part-Time Genius, 0:01:30.470 --> 0:01:33.490 we're counting down the 25 greatest people who changed the 0:01:33.550 --> 0:01:37.270 world we live in for better, for worse, but also 0:01:37.790 --> 0:01:41.620 for sillier. And what better way to do that than 0:01:41.780 --> 0:01:44.860 with the whole team together? You know, minus Will, who, again, 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:45.500 is not here. 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:46.160 Right. 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:48.870 And in classic PTG fashion, most of the people we'll 0:01:48.890 --> 0:01:52.070 be talking about this week are not household names, but 0:01:52.570 --> 0:01:54.570 some of the things they invented are in your home 0:01:54.610 --> 0:01:57.090 right now, and our lives would be very different without them. 0:01:57.470 --> 0:02:00.779 Yeah, that's right. And we're covering everything from brilliant engineering 0:02:00.860 --> 0:02:05.140 feats to culinary breakthroughs to things that seem so ubiquitous, 0:02:05.660 --> 0:02:07.600 it's easy to forget that someone had to sit down 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:08.590 and come up with them. 0:02:09.020 --> 0:02:11.080 And today we are kicking it all off with the 0:02:11.100 --> 0:02:14.209 story of how the West was fenced. A tiny piece 0:02:14.250 --> 0:02:16.750 of plastic that opened up a whole new field of science, 0:02:17.389 --> 0:02:21.150 a bag that changed the grocery game, a sticky solution 0:02:21.190 --> 0:02:25.340 to a sticky problem, and your new favorite song about 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:26.460 telephone technology. 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:27.580 So let's dive in. 0:02:28.660 --> 0:02:51.000 So Hey there, podcast listeners. Welcome to Part-Time Genius. I 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.980 am Mungish Articular, a.k.a. Mango, and today I am joined 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:58.560 by writer Gabe Lussier and producer Mary Philip Sandy. 0:02:58.940 --> 0:03:00.150 Super producer, I should say. 0:03:00.550 --> 0:03:04.180 And as we mentioned at the top, Will is not here. 0:03:04.380 --> 0:03:07.220 He heard about this builder series and I've got to 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:10.269 tell you guys, he got so excited that the next 0:03:10.310 --> 0:03:11.950 thing I knew he was running into the shed in 0:03:11.990 --> 0:03:14.470 his backyard and he put this sign up on the 0:03:14.490 --> 0:03:17.310 door that says, do not disturb genius at work. Do 0:03:17.370 --> 0:03:20.649 not ask any questions. So that's kind of all I know. 0:03:20.669 --> 0:03:21.160 Wow. 0:03:21.290 --> 0:03:23.760 But over there working in front of us, wearing a 0:03:23.820 --> 0:03:27.000 hard hat and a bright orange vest, that is our 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:30.820 pal and other producer Dylan Fagan. I think he might've 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:32.350 gotten the wrong impression when we told him it was 0:03:32.370 --> 0:03:34.010 builder's week. No, no, no, no. 0:03:34.050 --> 0:03:36.350 I think it's perfect. He's ready to build the future. Look, 0:03:36.390 --> 0:03:38.670 he's even got a toolbox and a carpenter's pencil. 0:03:38.690 --> 0:03:43.170 Yeah. Cause nothing screams the future like carpentry. 0:03:43.190 --> 0:03:46.250 Oh, come on, you know, sustainable architecture. It's the wave 0:03:46.290 --> 0:03:46.890 of the future. 0:03:46.910 --> 0:03:47.430 Good point. 0:03:47.810 --> 0:03:49.790 I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm 0:03:49.890 --> 0:03:51.910 not into science fiction, even though my mom was a 0:03:51.950 --> 0:03:55.650 Trekkie and my dad always carried a sci-fi book with them, 0:03:56.190 --> 0:04:00.510 mostly sci-fi, sometimes mystery paperbacks. But, uh, I do love 0:04:00.570 --> 0:04:04.130 thinking about the future. And I've also always loved the Jetsons. 0:04:04.210 --> 0:04:06.950 Like I would come home and watch it in elementary 0:04:06.970 --> 0:04:09.030 school and just wish so badly that I had my 0:04:09.090 --> 0:04:12.320 own like sassy robot maid, which now. 0:04:12.180 --> 0:04:13.780 It kind of feels like just around the corner. 0:04:13.980 --> 0:04:17.140 But also the thing that I loved about George Jetson 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:20.660 is that He only pushed buttons for like an hour 0:04:20.700 --> 0:04:23.060 a day, two times a week. He had a two 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:25.520 day work week and used to complain about it. And 0:04:25.540 --> 0:04:28.400 I feel like that is not my life right now. 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:29.990 It is a future I've been waiting for. 0:04:30.010 --> 0:04:33.550 I've actually never seen the Jetsons. So I'm just assuming 0:04:33.570 --> 0:04:36.670 that everything you're saying. I think I've said this before. 0:04:36.750 --> 0:04:38.290 I was not allowed to watch a lot of TV 0:04:38.370 --> 0:04:40.540 as a kid. So I always just chuckle politely when 0:04:40.580 --> 0:04:43.180 people are making these pop culture references because I don't know. 0:04:44.089 --> 0:04:46.040 There was one show I was allowed to watch, and 0:04:46.060 --> 0:04:47.820 I will tell you, when I was a kid, the 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.500 thing I always wanted, it was Danger Mouse's car. 0:04:50.540 --> 0:04:51.839 Did you guys watch Danger Mouse? 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:52.760 Yeah, a little bit. 0:04:52.779 --> 0:04:53.380 I'm familiar. 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:54.020 Okay. 0:04:54.380 --> 0:04:57.200 So Danger Mouse had this car, and it could drive 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:59.710 vertically up a wall. It had this kind of hydraulic 0:04:59.790 --> 0:05:01.090 track attachment that would. 0:05:01.029 --> 0:05:02.650 Come out, and you could drive up the wall. 0:05:03.170 --> 0:05:06.050 And it had retractable wings, so it could fly, and 0:05:06.070 --> 0:05:09.400 it really did fly. And I remember thinking when I 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:11.099 was a kid that, of course, in the future, we'd 0:05:11.180 --> 0:05:12.460 all have cars like that, right? 0:05:12.580 --> 0:05:13.120 Mm-hmm. 0:05:13.580 --> 0:05:16.409 But maybe not, I guess, bright yellow and shaped like 0:05:16.430 --> 0:05:18.930 a wedge of cheese the way Danger Mouse's car was. 0:05:18.990 --> 0:05:20.890 Although that was... Unfortunately. It did look cool. 0:05:21.730 --> 0:05:22.010 I don't know. 0:05:22.029 --> 0:05:23.830 But how about you, Gabe? What future tech are you 0:05:23.850 --> 0:05:25.270 disappointed that we don't have yet? 0:05:25.450 --> 0:05:27.670 Well, first off, I hate to break it to you, Mango, 0:05:27.710 --> 0:05:30.810 but you do like sci-fi. Like, the Jetsons totally counts. 0:05:31.100 --> 0:05:31.190 And. 0:05:32.060 --> 0:05:34.320 I've never heard someone speak so fondly about it before. 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:37.409 So you were in the club. But what I really 0:05:37.470 --> 0:05:39.930 wish we had is something I saw in the first 0:05:40.170 --> 0:05:44.750 animated Transformers movie, which came out back in 1986. So 0:05:44.750 --> 0:05:47.390 40 years ago. And, you know, the story was set 0:05:47.470 --> 0:05:51.539 in the what was then the distant future of 2005. 0:05:51.540 --> 0:05:54.900 And they had these like transforming exosuits that the human 0:05:54.940 --> 0:05:58.320 characters like drove around in with the Transformers. And I 0:05:58.350 --> 0:06:02.230 was so bummed when 2005 came and went with Nary 0:06:02.290 --> 0:06:06.130 an exosuit in sight. Like I remember, you know, specifically 0:06:06.250 --> 0:06:09.010 because that was also the year I got my first car. 0:06:09.270 --> 0:06:12.790 And let me tell you, like a Pontiac Sunfire is 0:06:12.810 --> 0:06:15.050 a poor substitute for an exosuit. 0:06:15.310 --> 0:06:16.870 Truer words were never spoken. 0:06:16.890 --> 0:06:20.640 Well, anyway, since we're celebrating the people whose big ideas 0:06:20.779 --> 0:06:24.380 built the actual future, which again is our present, Mangesh, 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:27.680 why don't you get us started? 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:31.969 25! So everybody knows if you want to build something right, 0:06:32.089 --> 0:06:35.190 you have to lay a strong foundation. So to give 0:06:35.230 --> 0:06:38.070 our list the sturdiest base possible, I'm going to start 0:06:38.110 --> 0:06:40.890 us off with Margaret Knight, the New England factory worker 0:06:40.950 --> 0:06:45.429 turned inventor who gave the world the flat bottom paper bag. 0:06:46.510 --> 0:06:49.710 Wait, so what were paper bags like before they had 0:06:50.070 --> 0:06:50.710 flat bottoms? 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:55.039 Well, before her breakthrough in the 1860s, paper bags weren't 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:58.099 great for carrying things, which kind of defeated the purpose. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:02.740 The problem was paper bags all had this tapered V-shaped bottom, 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:05.840 kind of like an envelope. So they couldn't actually stand 0:07:05.980 --> 0:07:08.250 upright and they fell over when they were filled. 0:07:08.790 --> 0:07:11.350 So I think that's Actually, a perfect invention to start 0:07:11.390 --> 0:07:14.740 with because it's not flashy, but it is absolutely something 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.260 you'd miss if it were gone, especially at the grocery store. 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:18.580 You know what's funny, though? 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:21.260 In addition to not being allowed to watch TV, I 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.670 was not allowed to bag groceries as a kid at 0:07:23.700 --> 0:07:24.150 the store. 0:07:24.170 --> 0:07:24.330 What? 0:07:25.850 --> 0:07:28.870 I have very bad spatial skills. I'm really bad at 0:07:28.930 --> 0:07:30.590 putting things in containers. 0:07:30.630 --> 0:07:32.550 You couldn't be trusted with the groceries. 0:07:32.710 --> 0:07:33.310 Oh, Mary. 0:07:33.750 --> 0:07:36.580 But you really missed out. I actually loved bagging groceries. 0:07:36.620 --> 0:07:36.840 What? Yeah. 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:41.720 I mean, it scratches the same itch as Tetris. It's 0:07:41.780 --> 0:07:44.880 all about filling the space in the most economical way 0:07:44.930 --> 0:07:48.590 you can, except the stakes are way higher with groceries 0:07:48.610 --> 0:07:50.690 because if you mess up, the bread gets all smushed. 0:07:51.250 --> 0:07:51.850 That is true. 0:07:52.190 --> 0:07:53.670 It is funny that we have one person who can't 0:07:53.710 --> 0:07:54.970 do it and one person who loves it. 0:07:55.930 --> 0:07:57.250 It evens out, I think. 0:07:57.390 --> 0:07:59.960 I'm in the Goldilocks position of, I can do it. 0:07:59.980 --> 0:08:01.920 I'd rather not. 0:08:02.140 --> 0:08:05.600 I'm not racing. Bad groceries. 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.140 It is true, Dave. You've got to be strategic, right? 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:11.390 Like heavy items go on the bottom, lighter items go 0:08:11.450 --> 0:08:14.040 on top. And of course, None of that makes a 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:16.850 difference if you don't have a sturdy base to build on. 0:08:16.990 --> 0:08:20.370 And that is where Margaret Knight comes in. So shortly 0:08:20.430 --> 0:08:23.040 after the Civil War, when Knight was in her 20s, 0:08:23.610 --> 0:08:26.190 she took a job at the Columbia Paper Bag Company. 0:08:26.470 --> 0:08:29.570 And this is in Springfield, Massachusetts. She spent the next 0:08:29.610 --> 0:08:32.420 several months assembling bags by hand. And she kind of 0:08:32.460 --> 0:08:35.480 did this day in and out, folding and gluing paper 0:08:35.700 --> 0:08:38.980 into this very flimsy envelope shape that we talked about before. 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:43.220 And eventually she thought, I bet a machine could do 0:08:43.260 --> 0:08:47.040 this faster and make a better bag too. So she 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:51.069 kind of starts to tinker. And by 1867, she's designed 0:08:51.090 --> 0:08:54.069 this new machine that can actually do the work of 0:08:54.070 --> 0:08:57.550 30 people. And the best part is the bags it 0:08:57.610 --> 0:09:01.459 made actually had the flat rectangular bottoms that we all know. 0:09:01.540 --> 0:09:04.920 So they could stand on their own and hold more stuff. Now, 0:09:05.380 --> 0:09:07.120 Knight knew she was on to something big, so later 0:09:07.140 --> 0:09:10.870 that year, she built a working wooden prototype and applied 0:09:10.890 --> 0:09:11.390 for a patent. 0:09:11.610 --> 0:09:13.430 Wait a minute. She built a wooden machine? 0:09:13.450 --> 0:09:15.670 Yeah. I mean, I was surprised by that, too. Apparently, 0:09:15.860 --> 0:09:19.219 carpentry was one of her specialties, and she'd learned woodworking 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.250 as a child growing up in rural Maine. She was 0:09:22.290 --> 0:09:25.630 said to prefer carving knives to playing with dolls. And 0:09:25.650 --> 0:09:27.530 she also had this real knack for it. She used 0:09:27.550 --> 0:09:30.120 to make wooden toys for her brothers. And, you know, 0:09:30.130 --> 0:09:33.420 the other kids in town actually were insanely jealous of them. 0:09:33.620 --> 0:09:36.260 But Knight didn't get to practice her craft for that long. 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.860 Her father died when she was 12, and her mom 0:09:39.900 --> 0:09:42.400 moved the family to New Hampshire, where it was easier 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.640 to find work. Margaret began working in a cotton mill 0:09:45.900 --> 0:09:48.530 to help support her family. And like most factory jobs 0:09:48.570 --> 0:09:51.450 at the time, The hours were long, the pay was low, 0:09:51.550 --> 0:09:55.540 and working conditions were pretty miserable. The only silver lining 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:57.960 was that the dangers of the job became the catalyst 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:00.939 for her first major invention. One day, she saw a 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:04.740 fellow worker get injured when this steel-tipped shuttle shot out 0:10:04.780 --> 0:10:07.640 of a loom at this very high speed. Apparently, this 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:11.179 was a common occurrence, so Knight put her engineering skills 0:10:11.220 --> 0:10:14.580 to work, and before her 13th birthday, she'd come up 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:17.300 with a safety device to prevent the shuttles from firing. 0:10:17.870 --> 0:10:21.069 It ends up being this life-saving mechanism, and it gets 0:10:21.130 --> 0:10:23.890 adopted by other mills in the region, but because she 0:10:23.910 --> 0:10:27.150 didn't understand the patent system, her family didn't actually make 0:10:27.210 --> 0:10:29.010 money from it. Oh, wow. 0:10:29.260 --> 0:10:32.640 So the teenager had to keep working in the horrible factory, 0:10:32.820 --> 0:10:36.760 but at least her invention made the factory slightly less horrible? 0:10:37.100 --> 0:10:40.920 Exactly. And if it's any consolation, Knight didn't hang around 0:10:40.940 --> 0:10:43.410 the cotton mill for long. She tried out several different 0:10:43.450 --> 0:10:46.180 jobs as a young adult, She picked up new skills 0:10:46.260 --> 0:10:51.390 along the way, including upholstery, photography, engraving, machine repair. And 0:10:51.830 --> 0:10:54.510 each gig gave her a bit more experience with different 0:10:54.570 --> 0:10:56.989 tools and materials. So by the time she arrived at 0:10:57.030 --> 0:11:00.150 that paper bag company, she wasn't just a random employee. 0:11:00.580 --> 0:11:03.819 She was the seasoned problem solver who'd been building and 0:11:03.860 --> 0:11:06.200 improving machines actually since childhood. 0:11:06.420 --> 0:11:09.540 And presumably somewhere along the way, she learned about patents, too, 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:11.559 so she wouldn't make the same mistake twice, right? 0:11:12.030 --> 0:11:15.170 Yeah, but even that doesn't mean the process went smoothly. 0:11:15.950 --> 0:11:19.479 After building her wooden paper bag machine prototype, Knight hired 0:11:19.510 --> 0:11:23.679 some machinists to construct a metal version. And unbeknownst to her, 0:11:23.700 --> 0:11:27.579 this shady worker, his name's Charles Anon, he snuck a 0:11:27.620 --> 0:11:30.339 peek at the design during construction and then claimed it 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:33.780 as his own invention. He assumed that she wouldn't fight back, 0:11:33.850 --> 0:11:37.610 but instead she actually drags him to court. Anon argued 0:11:37.710 --> 0:11:40.330 that only a man could have designed such a complicated machine, 0:11:40.410 --> 0:11:44.390 but Knight actually had plenty of evidence, and she produced 0:11:44.470 --> 0:11:49.310 detailed drawings and meticulous notes, and she proved very clearly 0:11:49.390 --> 0:11:52.680 that she had developed this machine herself. So after the 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:56.319 dispute was resolved, Knight received her rightful patent, and this 0:11:56.340 --> 0:11:59.140 was in 1871, and that actually makes her one of 0:11:59.179 --> 0:12:02.580 the earliest women in America to own intellectual property. 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:03.579 Which is pretty awesome. 0:12:04.510 --> 0:12:07.189 And that doesn't end up being this isolated victory for her. 0:12:07.860 --> 0:12:11.339 Margaret Knight goes on to patent 25 more inventions, ranging 0:12:11.380 --> 0:12:18.380 from soul-cutting machines for shoemaking, S-O-L-E, not S-O-U-L, to a 0:12:18.500 --> 0:12:19.819 compound rotary engine. 0:12:20.110 --> 0:12:25.150 I'm so glad shoemaking doesn't involve cutting actual souls. I 0:12:25.170 --> 0:12:28.560 don't think that's a fair trade-off, but... It's funny because 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:30.840 I remember it being a real mark of shame to, 0:12:30.900 --> 0:12:33.610 you know, brown bag your lunch in grade school. Like 0:12:33.730 --> 0:12:36.830 everybody wanted the plastic lunch boxes with Pikachu on it 0:12:36.870 --> 0:12:39.190 or whatever. And, you know, if we'd known how cool 0:12:39.230 --> 0:12:42.790 the origin story was, maybe all that lunchtime stigma could 0:12:42.809 --> 0:12:43.360 have been avoided. 0:12:44.059 --> 0:12:45.980 But wasn't there, I mean, like, didn't you feel there 0:12:46.020 --> 0:12:48.380 was a time where everything changed and suddenly the kids 0:12:48.420 --> 0:12:51.900 with the plastic lunch boxes or metal lunch boxes were, uh, 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:54.500 Metal lunchbox is my time. Like at a certain time, 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:56.900 like people are embarrassed to have the lunchboxes and not 0:12:56.950 --> 0:12:57.780 have the paper bags. 0:12:58.330 --> 0:13:00.330 For me, it was middle school. It switched over and 0:13:00.350 --> 0:13:02.850 like the brown bags were cool again. And if you 0:13:02.890 --> 0:13:04.790 still had the plastic one, you were a little kid. 0:13:05.170 --> 0:13:07.590 But I could see you wanting like that Pikachu box 0:13:07.670 --> 0:13:08.370 as bad as possible. 0:13:08.650 --> 0:13:09.910 I'd still like to have it for sure. 0:13:09.929 --> 0:13:12.620 Wait, hold on, Gabe. Do you currently, how many lunchboxes 0:13:12.660 --> 0:13:13.560 do you currently own? 0:13:14.330 --> 0:13:16.130 Mary, that's a rude question. 0:13:16.730 --> 0:13:19.069 No, I'm interested in your collections. 0:13:19.090 --> 0:13:23.070 I think there's three on my refrigerator currently. 0:13:23.790 --> 0:13:26.310 Three on your refrigerator. What about in the closet, Gabe? 0:13:27.730 --> 0:13:30.050 Mary, that closet is so stuffed with things, it's hard 0:13:30.070 --> 0:13:32.880 to say for certain, but I'm going to stick with three. 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:36.319 I want to find out more about Gabe's lunchbox collection, 0:13:36.340 --> 0:13:39.000 but I know we've got more facts to get to. 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:42.940 So, Mary, your story's up next. 24! 0:13:43.970 --> 0:13:46.530 Okay, well, we are sticking with the lunch theme for 0:13:46.550 --> 0:13:48.970 this one because coming in at number 24 is Mr. 0:13:49.210 --> 0:13:53.530 Floyd Paxton, patron saint of the half-eaten bread loaf. Now, 0:13:53.550 --> 0:13:56.090 we're all familiar with bread clips, right? They're those little 0:13:56.170 --> 0:13:58.130 plastic horseshoe things on the bread bag. 0:13:58.670 --> 0:13:59.600 Oh, yeah. 0:13:59.660 --> 0:14:01.520 You mean the tiny tab that I lose on the 0:14:01.580 --> 0:14:04.360 counter every time and then find like three weeks later 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:05.180 behind the microwave. 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:05.640 Sure, yeah. 0:14:06.020 --> 0:14:06.640 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:07.160 That's the one. 0:14:07.220 --> 0:14:08.959 I recommend doing what I do, which is keeping a 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:11.860 small jar to contain them. That is a very little 0:14:11.940 --> 0:14:15.900 organizational tip for me, a person who likes less stuff 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:17.750 in my home and to have the stuff that I 0:14:17.780 --> 0:14:20.750 do have very contained. But yes, it is worth keeping 0:14:20.790 --> 0:14:22.850 track of if you can, because this is a really 0:14:22.950 --> 0:14:26.630 useful product. The Clip Semi-Tight Hold gives bread just the 0:14:26.670 --> 0:14:29.410 right amount of ventilation and which prevents it from drying 0:14:29.490 --> 0:14:32.050 out or going stale. And while a bread clip might 0:14:32.330 --> 0:14:35.470 seem like the most mundane object you can possibly think of, 0:14:36.010 --> 0:14:38.830 its invention in the 1950s was a real game changer 0:14:38.910 --> 0:14:41.870 for food packaging. This was at a time when plastic 0:14:41.910 --> 0:14:46.230 was an exciting, futuristic material. And just about every industry 0:14:46.290 --> 0:14:49.910 was exploring new ways to use it. Food manufacturers and 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:53.680 distributors were no exception. And as plastic became more affordable, 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:56.660 they began to use it in place of traditional food containers. 0:14:57.260 --> 0:15:00.680 A decade earlier, bread would have been wrapped in waxed paper, right? 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.970 Apples would have been packed into wooden crates. Onions, they 0:15:03.990 --> 0:15:07.050 would have been sold in woven fabric bags. But thanks 0:15:07.090 --> 0:15:09.750 to the miracle of plastic, these products and many others 0:15:09.850 --> 0:15:12.830 could now be shipped and sold in cheap polyethylene bags. 0:15:13.330 --> 0:15:16.340 The only problem was how to keep the bags closed. 0:15:16.740 --> 0:15:18.840 I mean, I feel like we've got lots of solutions 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:22.140 for them, right? Like twist ties, strings, staples. It feels 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:24.720 like there are a lot of ways to close a 0:15:24.740 --> 0:15:27.290 plastic bag without a bread clip. Oh, sure. 0:15:27.430 --> 0:15:29.990 And companies use those things, too. But each of those 0:15:30.070 --> 0:15:33.970 methods has a drawback. Strings and staples are one-time use only. 0:15:34.010 --> 0:15:36.530 The customer can't reseal the bag, right? 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:39.280 I feel like you're a Debbie Downer here, just like 0:15:39.340 --> 0:15:40.400 faking a part of life. 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:44.060 Listen, I did the research and you're wrong. Let's be honest. 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.240 That's my favorite. 0:15:46.260 --> 0:15:47.940 This is like one of my favorite things is doing 0:15:47.960 --> 0:15:49.580 the research to tell people how they're wrong. 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:54.450 Keep it coming. Okay, so strings and staples, you can 0:15:54.510 --> 0:15:56.670 only use them one time. So you open the bag 0:15:56.830 --> 0:15:57.890 and then the bag is open. 0:15:58.350 --> 0:16:01.490 Twist ties are really finicky. You never know how many 0:16:01.570 --> 0:16:03.670 twists is the right amount to open or close them. 0:16:03.790 --> 0:16:06.810 And then I've had this happen. The paper coating wears 0:16:06.930 --> 0:16:08.090 off if you try to reuse it. 0:16:08.150 --> 0:16:08.970 It is so annoying. 0:16:09.390 --> 0:16:10.130 It is so annoying. 0:16:10.150 --> 0:16:12.110 You just have this little sharp piece of wire. It's 0:16:12.130 --> 0:16:14.950 sort of dangerous. You could poke yourself. So there really 0:16:15.010 --> 0:16:17.670 was a problem in need of a more elegant solution. 0:16:18.260 --> 0:16:21.100 So as the story goes, Floyd Paxton came up with 0:16:21.140 --> 0:16:22.920 the idea for the bread clip while he was on 0:16:22.970 --> 0:16:27.130 a plane in 1952. He was halfway through a complimentary 0:16:27.170 --> 0:16:29.450 bag of peanuts when he realized he had no way 0:16:29.490 --> 0:16:32.150 of closing the package to save some for later. 0:16:34.890 --> 0:16:38.210 Imagine, imagine, if you will, for a moment, the pain 0:16:38.230 --> 0:16:41.150 that he was feeling. But here's the thing. 0:16:41.210 --> 0:16:43.550 Floyd is a resourceful guy. So he pulls out his 0:16:43.620 --> 0:16:45.820 trusty pen knife, which, yes, you were allowed to bring 0:16:45.900 --> 0:16:47.420 on a plane back in those days. 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:48.070 Oh. 0:16:48.490 --> 0:16:51.170 And he carved a small U-shaped clip out of a 0:16:51.210 --> 0:16:54.550 credit card. And that was the world's first bread clip, except, 0:16:54.570 --> 0:16:55.670 you know, it was for peanuts. 0:16:56.290 --> 0:16:58.690 I realize this is not the point, but honestly, who 0:16:58.890 --> 0:17:02.140 only eats half a bag of airplane peanuts? Like that 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:05.600 is insane. It's a single serving snack. That's the whole point. 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.480 You know, I was also hung up on the fact 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:12.100 that he destroyed his credit card to like save these peanuts. But, um, 0:17:12.790 --> 0:17:16.050 I remember at Mental Floss, we did a story on jockeys. 0:17:16.470 --> 0:17:20.070 And this one legendary jockey would talk about how, because 0:17:20.090 --> 0:17:22.310 they have to control their weight, how he would take 0:17:22.350 --> 0:17:24.170 a peanut, and he was doing this on a plane, 0:17:24.210 --> 0:17:27.379 that's why I connected the two. He cut it into 0:17:27.380 --> 0:17:31.520 12 slices, like a single peanut, and savored it like 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:33.690 a meal. I guess he needs that. 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:34.719 He needs that click. 0:17:34.740 --> 0:17:36.119 That's a whole new level, yeah. 0:17:36.180 --> 0:17:38.760 Well, I can assure you that Floyd Paxton was not 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:42.639 a jockey, so he was just kind of a weird guy. 0:17:44.060 --> 0:17:46.139 But to your point about the credit card, there are 0:17:46.180 --> 0:17:49.280 some versions of the story that specify he made this 0:17:49.340 --> 0:17:51.200 tab out of an expired credit card. 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:52.119 It was an old card he. 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:53.020 Was just going to throw away. 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.190 He wasn't destroying his useful credit card. 0:17:56.750 --> 0:17:59.030 But yeah, he was determined to keep those peanuts fresh, 0:17:59.190 --> 0:18:01.370 and it turned out to be a really smart decision 0:18:01.430 --> 0:18:05.300 because Paxton quickly realized that this makeshift clip was just 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:07.719 what the food industry had been looking for. It was 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.060 cheap to produce, easy to use, and could be used 0:18:10.220 --> 0:18:13.160 over and over by customers. Within two years of that 0:18:13.220 --> 0:18:17.250 fateful flight, Paxton established the QuickLock Corporation, that's with a K, 0:18:17.290 --> 0:18:20.290 of course, QuickLock, and began marketing the tabs as a 0:18:20.369 --> 0:18:21.730 way to close bags of apples. 0:18:22.230 --> 0:18:26.290 That is incredibly resourceful. But I'm curious, is that the 0:18:26.330 --> 0:18:29.350 official name for these, like, bag-closing devices, QuickLock? 0:18:29.670 --> 0:18:32.629 Technically, they're quick lock closures, but I don't think anybody 0:18:32.690 --> 0:18:34.410 outside the company has ever called them that. 0:18:36.230 --> 0:18:39.310 Where's the quick lock closure? I need to close this bread. 0:18:39.730 --> 0:18:40.870 Quick lock closure, TM. 0:18:41.190 --> 0:18:42.520 Yeah, yeah. 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:44.840 So it had a clunky name, but that didn't really 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:47.400 get in the way because over the years, the company grew, 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:50.540 as did demand for its clips, which people began calling 0:18:50.740 --> 0:18:54.840 bread clips or bread tabs. Paxton eventually developed one machine 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:57.239 to make the clips and another to automatically put them 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:00.609 on bags. And that equipment is still being sold to 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:04.330 bakeries and produce farmers today. And QuickLock, which is still 0:19:04.350 --> 0:19:08.109 a Paxton family business, is the world's top producer of 0:19:08.150 --> 0:19:12.790 bread clips. They pump out billions of them every single year. 0:19:13.270 --> 0:19:14.020 Incredible. 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:16.420 That's because we keep losing them all behind the microwave. 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:18.449 That's right. Not Mary. 0:19:18.890 --> 0:19:19.389 Not me. 0:19:19.490 --> 0:19:24.690 But Gabe is single-handedly keeping QuickLock in business. All of 0:19:24.750 --> 0:19:26.910 this would have earned Paxton a spot on our list, 0:19:26.930 --> 0:19:28.970 but I haven't even gotten to the best part yet. 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:31.480 And that is the fact that his invention gave rise 0:19:31.540 --> 0:19:37.600 to an organization called the Holotypic Occlupanid Research Group, or HORG, 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:41.440 which is a global community of enthusiasts who collect, document, 0:19:41.570 --> 0:19:44.510 and share breadclips, or occlupanids. 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:49.869 Okay, well, wait, so that's the official name for them? 0:19:50.900 --> 0:19:53.340 Kinda, sorta, maybe I should explain. 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:54.199 H.O.R.G. 0:19:54.300 --> 0:19:57.399 Is a very real organization, and it began in 1994 0:19:57.400 --> 0:20:00.240 when a man named John Daniel found a breadclip stuck 0:20:00.290 --> 0:20:03.169 in the floorboards of his friend's apartment in San Francisco. 0:20:03.190 --> 0:20:05.530 Of course, he had seen them before, but for some 0:20:05.570 --> 0:20:08.160 reason on that day, he looked at it. I mean, 0:20:08.180 --> 0:20:10.960 he really looked at it and he realized it kind 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:15.310 of resembled a tiny parasite with gaping plastic jaws. And 0:20:15.350 --> 0:20:17.270 I should note here that John has a unique and 0:20:17.310 --> 0:20:21.690 fascinating background. He studied zoology and sculpture. So he kept 0:20:21.750 --> 0:20:24.810 the clip and began developing a taxonomy of what he 0:20:24.869 --> 0:20:28.520 called occlupanids. And over the years, people from around the 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:31.859 world got involved, providing input, sending their own samples to 0:20:31.900 --> 0:20:35.139 this website that he created, which you can visit for yourself. 0:20:35.180 --> 0:20:38.399 You can see all the results on Horg.com. They have 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:44.010 documented hundreds of different breadclips and categorized them by order, family, genus, 0:20:44.210 --> 0:20:47.929 and species. It is truly one of the most amazing 0:20:47.950 --> 0:20:50.770 things I've ever seen. And at first I wondered, is 0:20:50.810 --> 0:20:53.890 this science or is it an art project? And having 0:20:53.910 --> 0:20:56.139 looked into it, I would say the answer is both. 0:20:56.480 --> 0:20:58.000 It is zoology and sculpture. 0:20:58.520 --> 0:21:00.140 It is zoology and sculpture. 0:21:00.900 --> 0:21:04.660 Now, Hork has a policy that prohibits on-tape interviews. 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:05.530 So when I reached out. 0:21:07.820 --> 0:21:08.679 Very secretive over there. 0:21:08.740 --> 0:21:13.610 Very somewhat secretive. But after some delegate negotiations, I was 0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:17.090 able to make contact. We had an off-the-record conversation. And 0:21:17.130 --> 0:21:20.649 then I did receive a series of official Horg communiques. 0:21:21.230 --> 0:21:23.510 And I just want to read you one excerpt direct 0:21:23.550 --> 0:21:27.670 from Horg. Quote, the art and science of species naming 0:21:27.730 --> 0:21:31.630 is a cornerstone of biology, a vital part of ecological studies, 0:21:31.710 --> 0:21:36.070 and even the safety of our food supply. It's undervalued, underfunded, 0:21:36.210 --> 0:21:41.250 and misunderstood. Hopefully, Horgue's existence helps raise public awareness of 0:21:41.330 --> 0:21:45.530 how important systemics are to understanding our world. One of 0:21:45.570 --> 0:21:48.770 the primary charms of Occupanids is the joy of noticing 0:21:48.810 --> 0:21:52.109 things that others take for granted and treating everyday objects 0:21:52.310 --> 0:21:56.100 as something special. Just by shifting your perception a little, 0:21:56.220 --> 0:21:59.780 you're aware of a secret universe of perplexing plastic entities 0:21:59.820 --> 0:22:02.639 that are all around us, living under the radar of 0:22:02.760 --> 0:22:05.260 our awareness. It's a fun way to think about the world. 0:22:05.859 --> 0:22:07.810 Ha ha ha! I was going to say. 0:22:08.710 --> 0:22:12.240 That is one of the most beautiful things anyone has 0:22:12.460 --> 0:22:14.280 ever said about bread clips. 0:22:14.300 --> 0:22:16.619 Yeah, I agree. 0:22:16.920 --> 0:22:19.560 The trouble is now I'm tempted to start collecting them, 0:22:19.640 --> 0:22:20.580 kind of like Mary does. 0:22:20.800 --> 0:22:23.640 And you gotta put something in those lunchboxes. 0:22:23.740 --> 0:22:24.320 Yeah, right? 0:22:24.359 --> 0:22:24.659 There you go. 0:22:24.660 --> 0:22:27.159 I already have the containers. But honestly, my house is 0:22:27.220 --> 0:22:29.290 full enough of collections as it is, so I think 0:22:29.330 --> 0:22:30.230 I gotta cool my jets. 0:22:30.550 --> 0:22:32.530 Well, the good news is you don't have to keep them. 0:22:32.550 --> 0:22:34.530 You can send them to Horg. That is what people 0:22:34.550 --> 0:22:36.250 from all around the world do. And then you'll be 0:22:36.290 --> 0:22:39.640 supporting science and you know, keeping yourself out of divorce court. 0:22:40.220 --> 0:22:41.670 Right. 0:22:41.810 --> 0:22:44.810 Two pretty worthy goals, I'd say. 0:22:44.869 --> 0:22:48.430 So we've got three more world-changing inventions to tell you about, 0:22:48.470 --> 0:22:49.910 but first we've got to take a quick break. 0:22:50.130 --> 0:23:08.859 So please don't go anywhere. So Welcome back to Part-Time Genius. 0:23:09.020 --> 0:23:11.479 It is day one of our series, 25 people who 0:23:11.520 --> 0:23:15.420 changed the world for better, for worse, or for sillier. 0:23:15.619 --> 0:23:21.870 Let's keep things rolling with... 23! So Gabe, you are 0:23:22.090 --> 0:23:23.570 up next. What do you got? 0:23:24.550 --> 0:23:27.330 Well, like it says in the title, we are including 0:23:27.390 --> 0:23:29.510 a few people on the list who changed the world, 0:23:29.609 --> 0:23:32.880 but not necessarily for the better. Because, you know, sometimes 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:36.480 big innovations have big downsides, and this is one of 0:23:36.520 --> 0:23:41.020 those double-edged stories. It's the cautionary tale of American rancher 0:23:41.119 --> 0:23:45.449 Joseph Glidden and his invention of the first commercially successful 0:23:45.650 --> 0:23:50.170 barbed wire. It began in 1873 when an inventor named 0:23:50.270 --> 0:23:53.470 Henry Rose set up an exhibit at the DeKalb County 0:23:53.530 --> 0:23:56.500 Fair in Illinois. Rose had come to show off his 0:23:56.560 --> 0:24:00.270 new invention, a single strand of wire with sharp barbs 0:24:00.330 --> 0:24:03.550 wrapped around it at different points. Now, Rose claimed that 0:24:03.609 --> 0:24:06.550 his wire was the perfect way to fence in cattle, 0:24:06.910 --> 0:24:09.690 but when Glidden visited the exhibit, he noticed some room 0:24:09.730 --> 0:24:13.090 for improvement. Namely, there was nothing to hold the barbs 0:24:13.230 --> 0:24:17.060 in place, so when the wire moved, the barbs slid around. 0:24:17.650 --> 0:24:21.280 And Glidden solved that problem by twisting a second strand 0:24:21.380 --> 0:24:24.060 of smooth wire around the first one, so that the 0:24:24.100 --> 0:24:26.699 barbs between them would kind of be locked in place. 0:24:27.510 --> 0:24:32.230 So he received a patent for this double-stranded design in 1874, 0:24:32.230 --> 0:24:35.550 and although there were already dozens of barbed wire designs 0:24:35.630 --> 0:24:38.869 on the market, Glidden's stood out as the most effective. 0:24:39.550 --> 0:24:41.859 The smart design was a big part of that success, 0:24:41.940 --> 0:24:45.379 but so too was his ability to mass-produce it. He 0:24:45.420 --> 0:24:48.320 had started out making the wire by hand on his farm, 0:24:48.420 --> 0:24:52.409 but quickly decided to mechanize the process. This allowed his 0:24:52.450 --> 0:24:55.710 wire to be made faster and in greater quantities than 0:24:56.010 --> 0:25:00.310 anybody else's, prompting settlers across the Great Plains to start 0:25:00.390 --> 0:25:02.270 calling it winter wire. 0:25:02.790 --> 0:25:04.970 It's so weird that people were so enamored with barbed 0:25:05.010 --> 0:25:07.850 wire that they gave it a cute nickname, right? 0:25:07.869 --> 0:25:09.470 Like it's so strange, but I'm curious. 0:25:09.510 --> 0:25:12.770 Like, does that mean is the wire the winner or 0:25:13.010 --> 0:25:14.810 are they winners for using it? 0:25:15.810 --> 0:25:18.610 Yeah, that's a good question. I think it's the winning 0:25:18.790 --> 0:25:22.030 wire because it was better than the rest. But I mean, 0:25:22.090 --> 0:25:25.320 settlers of the American West were also winners like by 0:25:25.359 --> 0:25:28.359 association because You know, the wire made their lives a 0:25:28.400 --> 0:25:31.780 whole lot easier. Native Americans have survived in the region 0:25:31.800 --> 0:25:34.969 just fine for centuries, you know, without the need for enclosures. 0:25:35.470 --> 0:25:38.850 And European cowboys who let their herds roam free had 0:25:39.070 --> 0:25:42.830 no need for them either. But for settlers building homesteads, 0:25:43.190 --> 0:25:46.290 you know, fences were a necessity to keep livestock from 0:25:46.330 --> 0:25:49.280 getting out and also to keep thieves and predators from 0:25:49.320 --> 0:25:53.140 getting in. The only problem was on the prairies, you know, 0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:56.060 there aren't enough trees to get fence lumber from. 0:25:56.460 --> 0:25:59.919 I actually didn't even think about that. Like, it would 0:25:59.940 --> 0:26:02.320 have been hard to haul lumber from back east, which 0:26:02.380 --> 0:26:04.550 I'm sure would have cost like so much money. 0:26:05.119 --> 0:26:05.459 Yeah. 0:26:05.650 --> 0:26:05.910 Yeah. 0:26:06.050 --> 0:26:08.650 And these were not small areas they were fencing off, right? 0:26:08.690 --> 0:26:11.689 Like farms, cattle ranches, those can be hundreds, even thousands 0:26:11.710 --> 0:26:13.310 of acres. That is a lot of fence. 0:26:13.710 --> 0:26:13.910 Right. 0:26:13.950 --> 0:26:14.350 Yeah. 0:26:14.550 --> 0:26:16.970 So Glidden's Wire, you know, it seemed like the solution 0:26:17.010 --> 0:26:20.390 to all of these problems, including ones I never would 0:26:20.430 --> 0:26:23.379 have thought of. Like, I found this one testimonial from 0:26:23.440 --> 0:26:26.119 a rancher who was an early convert to barbed wire. 0:26:26.570 --> 0:26:28.870 And he pointed out that barbed wire takes up less 0:26:28.950 --> 0:26:32.090 space than wooden fences and it doesn't fall over in 0:26:32.150 --> 0:26:35.890 high winds or cause snow drifts to form. It was, 0:26:36.170 --> 0:26:39.010 you know, perfectly suited to the region's landscape. And this 0:26:39.050 --> 0:26:41.410 is where things get a little grim. So as time 0:26:41.450 --> 0:26:44.760 went on and more Americans headed west, demand for Glidden's 0:26:44.820 --> 0:26:49.060 barbed wire spiked. And within six years of the product's debut, 0:26:49.200 --> 0:26:53.440 his factory increased its annual output from 32 miles of 0:26:53.520 --> 0:26:59.419 wire to 263,000 miles, which is enough to circle the 0:26:59.460 --> 0:27:04.419 globe nearly 10 times. So by 1890, fenced-in ranches and 0:27:04.510 --> 0:27:07.730 farms had become the new normal. And while barbed wire 0:27:07.770 --> 0:27:10.450 was a dream come true for farmers and ranchers, it 0:27:10.510 --> 0:27:13.570 was a nightmare for everyone else who called the region home. 0:27:14.119 --> 0:27:16.639 For cowboys, barbed wire was a threat to their cattle. 0:27:17.000 --> 0:27:20.130 Herds would wander into it while grazing, and while some 0:27:20.210 --> 0:27:23.150 animals walked away with cuts and infections, which was bad enough, 0:27:23.670 --> 0:27:26.590 others didn't walk away at all. And so barbed wire 0:27:26.630 --> 0:27:30.750 really spelled the end of open-range cattle grazing in the 0:27:30.790 --> 0:27:33.369 United States, but that's nothing compared to the toll it 0:27:33.390 --> 0:27:37.109 took on Native Americans. Tribal territories were carved up by 0:27:37.170 --> 0:27:40.030 barbed wire, cutting them off from the land and communities 0:27:40.090 --> 0:27:43.170 that had shaped their cultures for centuries. And that's why 0:27:43.230 --> 0:27:47.220 Native Americans never adopted the term winter wire. They called 0:27:47.280 --> 0:27:48.980 it the devil's rope instead. 0:27:49.840 --> 0:27:54.820 That is terrifying. You know, I can't imagine how crazy 0:27:54.840 --> 0:27:57.200 it must have been to watch the landscape transform like 0:27:57.240 --> 0:28:01.310 that and just become so much more hostile and harsher 0:28:01.369 --> 0:28:01.680 in a way. 0:28:02.310 --> 0:28:02.830 Yeah, yeah. 0:28:02.880 --> 0:28:05.189 No, hostile is the right word for it. Glidden was 0:28:05.290 --> 0:28:07.850 kind of the forefather of hostile architecture when you think 0:28:07.890 --> 0:28:10.219 about it. You know, stuff like those bird spikes you 0:28:10.260 --> 0:28:13.080 see on building ledges or bench dividers that keep people, 0:28:13.340 --> 0:28:16.400 you know, from lying down in public parks. It isn't 0:28:16.420 --> 0:28:18.780 the most illustrious legacy, but, you know, it is a 0:28:18.820 --> 0:28:20.850 legacy and it's one that we all have to reckon with. 0:28:20.850 --> 0:28:26.609 22! Well, let's talk about a problem-solving product with a 0:28:26.890 --> 0:28:31.750 much sunnier reputation. It is everyone's favorite quick-fix material, the one, 0:28:31.869 --> 0:28:35.649 the only, duct tape. And... If you've ever had to 0:28:35.670 --> 0:28:38.710 patch a leaky garden hose or bundle computer wires or 0:28:38.810 --> 0:28:43.230 repair just about anything around the house, however temporarily, then 0:28:43.300 --> 0:28:47.620 you know that cloth-backed tape is a lifesaver. And that's 0:28:47.680 --> 0:28:50.820 not hyperbole because duct tape was born from a very 0:28:50.960 --> 0:28:55.060 serious wartime problem. Now, the woman behind the invention was 0:28:55.140 --> 0:28:58.600 named Vesta Stout. She was this Illinois factory worker and 0:28:58.660 --> 0:29:01.400 mother who had two sons serving in the Navy during 0:29:01.420 --> 0:29:05.370 World War II. And in 1943, Stout made her own 0:29:05.430 --> 0:29:08.450 contribution to the war effort when she began working at 0:29:08.490 --> 0:29:11.280 an ordnance plant. It was her job to pack and 0:29:11.320 --> 0:29:14.600 inspect boxes of ammunition, and in doing this, she noticed 0:29:14.640 --> 0:29:17.960 a flaw that everyone else had missed. The ammo boxes 0:29:18.080 --> 0:29:21.980 were incredibly hard to open. In order to keep out moisture, 0:29:22.000 --> 0:29:24.880 the boxes were sealed with paper tape and dipped in wax. 0:29:25.120 --> 0:29:27.200 It had this small bit of tape hanging loose so 0:29:27.260 --> 0:29:30.930 soldiers could open a package, but As Stout saw firsthand, 0:29:30.930 --> 0:29:35.240 the paper tabs sometimes tore off prematurely, which is obviously 0:29:35.240 --> 0:29:38.150 not a situation you'd want to be in as a soldier. 0:29:38.150 --> 0:29:41.040 Yeah, sure. Like you're out of bullets pinned down by 0:29:41.100 --> 0:29:43.720 enemy fire and you got to pick through a layer 0:29:43.760 --> 0:29:46.740 of wax before you can reload. Yeah, not ideal. 0:29:47.040 --> 0:29:47.700 Exactly. 0:29:48.200 --> 0:29:50.540 She knew that in combat, a few precious seconds could 0:29:50.580 --> 0:29:52.760 make the difference between life and death for her sons and, 0:29:53.180 --> 0:29:55.680 you know, for someone else's too. So as soon as 0:29:55.700 --> 0:29:58.660 she recognized the problem, She went to her supervisors and 0:29:58.700 --> 0:30:01.660 suggested they ditch the paper tape and wax and instead 0:30:02.020 --> 0:30:06.000 develop a strong, waterproof cloth-backed tape that could be ripped 0:30:06.160 --> 0:30:06.860 open by hand. 0:30:07.300 --> 0:30:09.830 I have to say, I'm just picturing these ammunition boxes 0:30:09.900 --> 0:30:11.990 as looking like those little Babybel cheeses. 0:30:12.770 --> 0:30:14.310 Oh, yeah, right. 0:30:14.350 --> 0:30:14.810 You remember? 0:30:15.210 --> 0:30:17.170 Yeah, which can be fiddly, yeah. 0:30:17.370 --> 0:30:20.470 It sounds like Vesta Stout had a much better idea here. 0:30:20.540 --> 0:30:23.020 Was this tape something she came up with, or was 0:30:23.040 --> 0:30:24.920 there already something like that on the market? 0:30:25.100 --> 0:30:28.440 There were rolls of non-adhesive fabric tape that had been 0:30:28.520 --> 0:30:31.620 used for sort of general household repairs, and this had 0:30:31.640 --> 0:30:34.760 been since the early 19th century. In the 1910s, someone 0:30:34.780 --> 0:30:36.880 had the idea to add glue to one side so 0:30:37.300 --> 0:30:41.880 surgeons and nurses could use them to bind wounds. So technically, 0:30:41.940 --> 0:30:44.500 clock tape did exist before World War II, but it 0:30:44.560 --> 0:30:48.710 wasn't widely used outside of hospitals. And it didn't actually 0:30:48.750 --> 0:30:52.050 become a household staple until Vesta Stout made it stronger, 0:30:52.710 --> 0:30:56.430 water resistant, and most importantly, really easy to tear. 0:30:56.920 --> 0:30:59.840 Okay, so her version really broadened what it could do. 0:31:00.330 --> 0:31:00.750 Yeah. 0:31:00.970 --> 0:31:03.730 I mean, sadly, but not surprisingly, no one at the 0:31:03.760 --> 0:31:06.980 factory really took her ideas seriously. So she went over 0:31:07.020 --> 0:31:08.940 their heads. And by over their heads, I mean really 0:31:09.040 --> 0:31:12.940 over their heads because she wrote directly to President Roosevelt. 0:31:13.100 --> 0:31:17.190 That's quite a jump. On February 10, 1943, she sent 0:31:17.210 --> 0:31:20.310 a letter explaining the issue and included diagrams of her 0:31:20.370 --> 0:31:24.229 proposed solution. FDR immediately saw the benefits of this new 0:31:24.250 --> 0:31:26.850 kind of tape, so he forwarded her proposal to the 0:31:26.970 --> 0:31:30.530 War Production Board, which approved the idea and partnered with 0:31:30.590 --> 0:31:33.229 Johnson & Johnson to make it a reality. 0:31:33.260 --> 0:31:36.280 Wow, what a wild chain of events, right? Like a 0:31:36.320 --> 0:31:39.060 factory worker spots a problem, her bosses shoot her down, 0:31:39.520 --> 0:31:41.840 that part's expected, but then she writes to the President 0:31:41.860 --> 0:31:42.720 of the United States. 0:31:44.480 --> 0:31:47.400 And boom, the world gets this new easy fix for 0:31:47.440 --> 0:31:50.430 like a billion everyday problems. That is not how that 0:31:50.490 --> 0:31:52.350 story would typically go, I think, right? 0:31:52.770 --> 0:31:53.210 Yeah. 0:31:53.290 --> 0:31:55.390 I mean, it is a good thing FDR spotted the 0:31:55.430 --> 0:31:57.750 value in it because the U.S. military started using the 0:31:57.770 --> 0:32:00.750 tape as soon as it was ready. And this isn't 0:32:00.790 --> 0:32:03.650 just for ammunition boxes, but also for other makeshift repairs 0:32:03.710 --> 0:32:07.070 on the battlefield. The tape became such a vital part 0:32:07.310 --> 0:32:10.050 of their toolkit that by the time the war ended, 0:32:10.550 --> 0:32:13.310 soldiers had used hundreds of thousands of miles of it. 0:32:13.550 --> 0:32:17.430 They nicknamed it 100 mile per hour tape because it 0:32:17.470 --> 0:32:20.430 was the fastest way to fix anything from a broken 0:32:20.490 --> 0:32:23.310 Jeep fender to a hole in their combat boots. 0:32:23.370 --> 0:32:24.230 It really is remarkable. 0:32:24.590 --> 0:32:27.970 Wait, so then where did the name duct tape come from? 0:32:27.990 --> 0:32:33.110 Wait, is it duct tape? I always thought it was 0:32:33.270 --> 0:32:33.910 duck tape. 0:32:34.430 --> 0:32:34.630 Right? 0:32:34.650 --> 0:32:37.510 Because it's waterproof like a duck or, you know, a 0:32:37.530 --> 0:32:38.250 duck's feathers. 0:32:39.050 --> 0:32:40.290 No, it's ducked, right? 0:32:40.950 --> 0:32:44.410 The funny thing is you are both right. Both names 0:32:44.450 --> 0:32:46.830 were official at one time or another. So if you 0:32:46.870 --> 0:32:49.030 go back to that cloth tape that I mentioned, it 0:32:49.070 --> 0:32:51.970 was known as duck tape because the fabric was made 0:32:52.170 --> 0:32:56.150 from this cotton duck cloth. However, the duck and duck 0:32:56.170 --> 0:32:58.690 cloth doesn't have anything to do with the waterfowl. It 0:32:58.750 --> 0:33:02.450 comes from the Dutch word duk, meaning linen canvas. 0:33:02.570 --> 0:33:04.130 So it's super confusing. 0:33:04.500 --> 0:33:07.320 The military carried the term forward during the war, and 0:33:07.460 --> 0:33:10.460 because the new tape had this olive green color, and 0:33:10.780 --> 0:33:13.920 because it was waterproof, most people just assumed it was 0:33:13.960 --> 0:33:17.470 named after the animal, not a fabric. So, Gabe, to 0:33:17.490 --> 0:33:20.330 your point, that's right. But the name wasn't switched to 0:33:20.450 --> 0:33:23.350 duct tape until after the war, and that's when the 0:33:23.370 --> 0:33:26.570 tape moved into civilian life and took on its familiar 0:33:26.710 --> 0:33:30.140 silver-gray color. One of the new tasks people commonly used 0:33:30.200 --> 0:33:33.430 it for was joining and repairing heating and ventilation ducts. 0:33:33.550 --> 0:33:37.010 And that helped popularize the term duct tape. Now, today, 0:33:37.150 --> 0:33:40.850 there is a brand of duct tape called duct tape. 0:33:41.210 --> 0:33:44.870 And although there are endless uses for duct tape, one 0:33:44.890 --> 0:33:49.620 thing you definitely shouldn't do is actually put them on 0:33:49.880 --> 0:33:53.640 air ducts. Apparently, modern duct tape uses a rubber adhesive 0:33:53.680 --> 0:33:57.930 that can dry out and fail under extreme temperature changes. Plus, 0:33:58.030 --> 0:34:00.790 the middle layer of duct tape is made from mesh fabric, 0:34:00.850 --> 0:34:04.030 which is flammable. So using it to seal a heat 0:34:04.070 --> 0:34:07.730 vent is a fire hazard and not advised. 0:34:09.290 --> 0:34:12.219 I love how convoluted that is. And also that duct 0:34:12.300 --> 0:34:14.859 tape is somehow the less misleading name. 0:34:16.780 --> 0:34:18.520 I mean, you shouldn't put it on ducts either. I 0:34:18.560 --> 0:34:20.480 have this question for you guys, though. Well, I have 0:34:20.500 --> 0:34:22.480 two things to say about duct tape. One is that 0:34:22.780 --> 0:34:26.780 my cousin is a materials science engineer, and for his postdoc, 0:34:27.180 --> 0:34:30.660 His job was was figuring out how to make a 0:34:30.760 --> 0:34:33.160 duct tape for the military that was silent. So like 0:34:33.200 --> 0:34:35.859 it didn't make a noise when you opened it, which 0:34:35.989 --> 0:34:39.210 is fascinating as a problem. Right. And the other thing is, 0:34:39.410 --> 0:34:42.130 I don't know about you, but like I love duct tape. 0:34:42.450 --> 0:34:46.410 I have this friend who is such a dork and 0:34:46.469 --> 0:34:49.140 he's so smart and funny and like an inventor. 0:34:49.690 --> 0:34:50.590 His name's Dave. 0:34:50.830 --> 0:34:53.089 And when we were 18 or 19, we met each other. 0:34:53.110 --> 0:34:55.009 And he's like, you got to carry duct tape with 0:34:55.050 --> 0:34:58.410 you everywhere. It's just perfect for fixing things and making things, whatever. So, like, 0:34:58.590 --> 0:35:00.390 I always used to have a lot of duct tape 0:35:00.430 --> 0:35:03.710 in my house until my kids realized that you could 0:35:03.750 --> 0:35:05.489 tear it easily and started making, like. 0:35:05.550 --> 0:35:08.270 Weapons and whatever. I don't know, Mary, do you have 0:35:08.290 --> 0:35:09.009 that problem, too? 0:35:09.090 --> 0:35:09.200 Yes. 0:35:09.280 --> 0:35:09.700 Oh, my God. 0:35:09.739 --> 0:35:12.279 All these, like, fantasy swords and shields and things. There 0:35:12.300 --> 0:35:12.900 are so many. 0:35:12.780 --> 0:35:14.739 Duct tape swords lying around my house. 0:35:14.780 --> 0:35:17.680 There's also a shield. There is a duct tape shield somewhere. 0:35:18.200 --> 0:35:20.400 There is so much stuff made out of duct tape. 0:35:20.420 --> 0:35:21.640 He goes through so much tape. 0:35:21.680 --> 0:35:25.580 Remarkable, the armory that I didn't expect to ever have 0:35:25.620 --> 0:35:29.360 in my household made by elementary school kids. But as 0:35:29.400 --> 0:35:32.390 a result, I got so sick of buying a lot 0:35:32.430 --> 0:35:35.410 of duct tape that I have one roll and I 0:35:35.469 --> 0:35:37.350 hide it from everyone. Oh, no. 0:35:37.469 --> 0:35:39.950 I keep buying the duct tape because the alternative is 0:35:40.010 --> 0:35:41.930 he gets out the hot glue gun and he can 0:35:41.969 --> 0:35:43.570 do a lot more damage around the house. 0:35:43.590 --> 0:35:45.149 Also a problem. Smart. 0:35:48.700 --> 0:35:48.980 Okay. 0:35:49.040 --> 0:35:49.279 All right. 0:35:49.320 --> 0:35:51.140 So we've learned you should not put duct tape on 0:35:51.180 --> 0:35:53.469 ducts or duct tape on ducts, and you should be 0:35:53.510 --> 0:35:57.850 careful if your children are prone to weaponry. But other 0:35:57.890 --> 0:36:00.569 than that, you can use it for anything, which is great. 0:36:00.630 --> 0:36:00.890 Okay. 0:36:00.930 --> 0:36:03.549 So I've got one more workplace discovery to share, and 0:36:03.590 --> 0:36:06.720 this time there is a song involved. But before we 0:36:06.739 --> 0:36:09.120 get to that, we've got to take one last break. 0:36:25.330 --> 0:36:28.030 Welcome back to Part-Time Genius, where we're counting down the 0:36:28.030 --> 0:36:31.040 25 people who changed the world for better, for worse, 0:36:31.219 --> 0:36:33.440 or for sillier. And every time I say that, I 0:36:33.460 --> 0:36:37.260 feel like I'm saying for silly. But if my math 0:36:37.420 --> 0:36:39.540 is right, we are coming up on. 0:36:39.540 --> 0:36:44.770 21! Great. That number checks out with the number I had. 0:36:44.910 --> 0:36:46.489 Okay, good. Way to do math, my gosh. 0:36:47.350 --> 0:36:50.310 So now we are going to meet a very important 0:36:50.350 --> 0:36:54.230 figure in the fields of voice and data communication, Dr. 0:36:54.489 --> 0:36:57.230 Marion Croke. You may not know her name, but if 0:36:57.270 --> 0:36:59.180 you were one of the millions of people whose work 0:36:59.219 --> 0:37:02.080 went remote in 2020, you owe her a debt of 0:37:02.140 --> 0:37:04.320 gratitude for helping to keep you sane. 0:37:04.340 --> 0:37:07.739 So my first thought is that she must have invented 0:37:07.940 --> 0:37:11.400 sourdough starters, but you mentioned communication. So I'm curious, like, 0:37:12.270 --> 0:37:13.220 Did she create Zoom? 0:37:13.600 --> 0:37:16.339 She did not invent Zoom or FaceTime or WhatsApp, but 0:37:16.440 --> 0:37:19.839 she did help develop one of the underlying technologies that 0:37:20.000 --> 0:37:23.750 made all of those things possible. It's called Voice Over 0:37:23.930 --> 0:37:27.049 Internet Protocols, or VOIP for short, and the world of 0:37:27.110 --> 0:37:30.460 internet calls and video conferences would not exist without it. 0:37:30.719 --> 0:37:33.570 So I've definitely heard this term before, but if I'm honest, 0:37:33.770 --> 0:37:36.570 I've never really thought through, you know, what it means. 0:37:37.210 --> 0:37:40.810 This is basically the technology that makes phone conversations possible 0:37:41.010 --> 0:37:41.490 on the Internet. 0:37:41.770 --> 0:37:42.109 That's right. 0:37:42.150 --> 0:37:44.870 With a traditional phone call, your voice is transmitted through 0:37:44.910 --> 0:37:48.650 physical circuits and telephone lines. But with VoIP, speech is 0:37:48.710 --> 0:37:52.950 converted into digital data, broken up into tiny packets, sent 0:37:53.010 --> 0:37:56.450 across an IP network and reconstructed on the other side. 0:37:57.110 --> 0:37:57.410 Dr. 0:37:57.450 --> 0:37:59.980 Croak hit on this idea in the late 1980s while 0:38:00.020 --> 0:38:02.900 she was working as an engineer at Bell Labs. And 0:38:02.940 --> 0:38:06.240 despite the internet barely existing at that point, she believed 0:38:06.280 --> 0:38:10.060 it would eventually replace wire technology as a means of communication. 0:38:10.640 --> 0:38:13.020 This led her to ponder how the human voice could 0:38:13.040 --> 0:38:16.370 be treated like any other kind of data. Now, she 0:38:16.390 --> 0:38:19.570 didn't tackle this question alone. VoIP grew out of the 0:38:19.610 --> 0:38:23.370 work of many talented engineers and researchers, but Dr. Croak 0:38:23.469 --> 0:38:27.120 played a crucial role in developing and scaling the technology 0:38:27.660 --> 0:38:31.160 to ensure that internet-based voice features were just as reliable 0:38:31.200 --> 0:38:34.420 and accessible as an old-school telephone. That was a real 0:38:34.460 --> 0:38:37.840 challenge because internet networks were not originally designed around the 0:38:37.880 --> 0:38:42.200 demands of human conversation. So maintaining audio quality and reducing 0:38:42.239 --> 0:38:45.790 lag time during a conversation were big hurdles. And Croak's 0:38:45.810 --> 0:38:49.790 solution was to chop voices into these tiny units called packets. 0:38:50.239 --> 0:38:53.440 essentially treating speech like any other kind of data. It 0:38:53.460 --> 0:38:55.580 took years of trial and error, but she and her 0:38:55.620 --> 0:38:58.569 colleagues eventually cracked the code. And as a result, VoIP 0:38:58.650 --> 0:39:01.330 made communication cheaper and easier no matter where you are 0:39:01.430 --> 0:39:04.250 because it does not rely on physical telephone lines. 0:39:04.610 --> 0:39:05.210 Now, I'm going to. 0:39:05.290 --> 0:39:08.630 Oversimplify how this works, but in a nutshell, when you 0:39:08.670 --> 0:39:11.770 make a VoIP call, a software component called a soft 0:39:11.890 --> 0:39:15.260 switch manages the connection between you and the person you're calling. 0:39:15.860 --> 0:39:18.340 It's kind of like a bridge between you and your friend. 0:39:18.960 --> 0:39:21.930 It establishes the connection when you call and it disconnects 0:39:21.989 --> 0:39:24.930 when you hang up. Your voice travels across that bridge 0:39:25.070 --> 0:39:28.140 in those tiny packets I mentioned earlier in a process 0:39:28.200 --> 0:39:32.080 called packet switching. Every packet contains a bit of voice 0:39:32.160 --> 0:39:35.060 data plus instructions for how to reassemble it when it 0:39:35.120 --> 0:39:39.450 reaches its destination. Your voice packets bounce from router to 0:39:39.489 --> 0:39:42.670 router until they reach your friend's side of the connection. 0:39:43.110 --> 0:39:46.350 And one quick note about that, one downside of VoIP 0:39:46.410 --> 0:39:49.489 is that it may not be reliable in an emergency situation. 0:39:50.020 --> 0:39:52.900 And that's because it doesn't send location signals to nearby 0:39:52.960 --> 0:39:55.430 towers the way a cell phone does. So your call 0:39:55.630 --> 0:39:59.170 may not get routed to the 911 center nearest you. Anyway, 0:39:59.730 --> 0:40:02.819 as your packets reach your friend, they get reassembled and 0:40:02.840 --> 0:40:06.910 the digital data gets converted back into audio signals. And 0:40:07.030 --> 0:40:09.690 all of this happens incredibly fast, so you can hear 0:40:09.730 --> 0:40:12.680 each other in real time. Of course, these days, VoIP 0:40:12.700 --> 0:40:14.520 does more than just let us talk to our friends. 0:40:14.680 --> 0:40:18.200 It enables remote work and international conference calls. It's even 0:40:18.239 --> 0:40:20.900 allowed us to do things like have a part-time genius 0:40:20.980 --> 0:40:24.060 listener hotline, which we really could not have done with 0:40:24.120 --> 0:40:26.089 a traditional phone line, right? 0:40:26.410 --> 0:40:27.049 I mean, think about it. 0:40:27.070 --> 0:40:29.230 For one thing, we'd need an actual phone, and then 0:40:29.310 --> 0:40:31.370 only the person who had that phone would be able 0:40:31.410 --> 0:40:34.060 to check the voicemails. We'd also just get assigned a 0:40:34.080 --> 0:40:36.600 random number from the phone company. And Mangesh, you really 0:40:36.660 --> 0:40:39.009 wanted that 302 Delaware area code. 0:40:39.530 --> 0:40:40.290 He really did. 0:40:41.150 --> 0:40:41.910 He was insistent. 0:40:42.250 --> 0:40:44.910 Yeah, it was like the one thing he really wanted 0:40:45.489 --> 0:40:47.430 us to have. And so with VoIP, we just pay 0:40:47.469 --> 0:40:48.350 a small monthly fee. 0:40:48.390 --> 0:40:49.109 This is not an ad. 0:40:49.150 --> 0:40:51.779 This sounds like an ad, but it's not. We're not 0:40:51.820 --> 0:40:54.319 getting any kickbacks from our VoIP company, but just we 0:40:54.340 --> 0:40:56.279 pay a small monthly fee and we got to choose 0:40:56.320 --> 0:40:59.300 our number. And because it all runs through an online dashboard, 0:40:59.780 --> 0:41:02.380 any one of us can check the messages from our computers. 0:41:03.940 --> 0:41:05.290 That is so funny. It's not an ad. 0:41:05.350 --> 0:41:07.410 Obviously, it's not an ad, but I like the idea 0:41:07.450 --> 0:41:10.980 that we're really making 302 numbers more popular. 0:41:12.200 --> 0:41:13.140 Everybody's going to want one. 0:41:15.830 --> 0:41:19.860 I mean, I am still nostalgic for like old-timey rotary phones. 0:41:20.040 --> 0:41:22.480 And I like, you know, the idea of like someone 0:41:22.540 --> 0:41:26.259 picking up every time a listener calls. But obviously, VoIP 0:41:26.580 --> 0:41:28.719 is a much better solution for us. 0:41:29.080 --> 0:41:31.160 Yeah, yeah, because that would be me having to pick 0:41:31.239 --> 0:41:33.570 up every time a listener calls in the middle of 0:41:33.610 --> 0:41:34.830 the night. 0:41:35.110 --> 0:41:36.330 So, yeah, this is a lot better. 0:41:36.430 --> 0:41:39.129 But, you know, we've been talking about VoIP technology for 0:41:39.270 --> 0:41:40.069 a few minutes now. 0:41:40.330 --> 0:41:43.640 And I think it's time to pivot to song technology. 0:41:44.280 --> 0:41:44.680 That's right. 0:41:44.780 --> 0:41:47.790 I asked our pal David Nagler to compose an ode 0:41:47.870 --> 0:41:50.069 to VoIP and all the ways it helps us work. 0:41:50.130 --> 0:41:53.029 And then Gabe said, what if it was also an 0:41:53.170 --> 0:41:57.410 ode to everyone's favorite working girl, the late, great Dolly Parton? 0:41:58.130 --> 0:42:00.770 And David Nagler was like, guys, say less. 0:42:01.210 --> 0:42:01.910 So here it is. 0:42:02.690 --> 0:42:03.010 Enjoy. 0:42:13.820 --> 0:42:16.719 I hear them all out. It's nothing new. They all 0:42:16.760 --> 0:42:18.040 got a gripe or two. 0:42:18.300 --> 0:42:21.390 Their voices ain't friendly, but they sure are clear. 0:42:22.930 --> 0:42:26.709 It's VoIP. VoIP. I'm talking on the phone with VoIP 0:42:26.850 --> 0:42:27.370 all day. 0:42:27.390 --> 0:42:27.910 VoIP. VoIP. 0:42:28.910 --> 0:42:32.320 It helps when you got a lot to say. Stick 0:42:32.340 --> 0:42:36.400 that convo into packets. Here's one system that can hack it. 0:42:36.480 --> 0:42:36.980 It's VoIP. 0:42:38.360 --> 0:42:38.500 VoIP. 0:42:41.030 --> 0:42:42.930 I'll take a little break with a cup of tea 0:42:43.370 --> 0:42:46.210 till my boss man gets all bossy. He asked to 0:42:46.250 --> 0:42:50.149 Zoom with me, so I got to run. Well, he's 0:42:50.190 --> 0:42:53.049 making like the world's about to explode. Lucky for him, 0:42:53.210 --> 0:42:55.770 we ain't going down that road. VoIP is great, but 0:42:55.810 --> 0:43:01.730 not for calling 911. No, not VoIP, VoIP. I'm talking 0:43:01.810 --> 0:43:03.969 on the phone with VoIP all day, VoIP. 0:43:04.830 --> 0:43:05.069 VoIP. 0:43:05.090 --> 0:43:07.110 It helps when you got a. 0:43:07.090 --> 0:43:07.970 Lot to say. 0:43:08.230 --> 0:43:10.170 Take your landline, chuck yourself. 0:43:10.550 --> 0:43:11.310 I've got VoIP. 0:43:11.710 --> 0:43:12.930 All is well with VoIP. 0:43:30.310 --> 0:43:32.860 Well, it's getting about time to get out of there. 0:43:32.900 --> 0:43:36.160 My baby FaceTimes from her MacBook Air. Her sweet voice 0:43:36.340 --> 0:43:40.890 is better than any text. A soft switch helps make 0:43:41.070 --> 0:43:44.770 our connection to plan our evening of affection. I ain't 0:43:44.810 --> 0:43:49.250 gonna tell you what comes next. Oh, yeah. VoIP. 0:43:49.950 --> 0:43:50.250 VoIP. 0:43:50.270 --> 0:43:53.170 I'm talking on the phone with VoIP all day. 0:43:53.330 --> 0:43:54.790 VoIP. VoIP. 0:43:55.510 --> 0:43:58.230 It helps when you got a lot to say. Google 0:43:58.290 --> 0:43:59.810 Voice and conference calls. 0:44:00.250 --> 0:44:02.090 I know we can do it all. 0:44:02.400 --> 0:44:06.040 Ditch your landline, chuck your cell. I've got VoIP all 0:44:06.120 --> 0:44:08.900 as well. Stick that combo into packets. 0:44:09.180 --> 0:44:10.540 Here's one system. 0:44:10.180 --> 0:44:11.080 That can hack it. 0:44:11.100 --> 0:44:18.590 VoIP. VoIP. Hello? 0:44:20.930 --> 0:44:21.350 Wow. 0:44:21.630 --> 0:44:25.220 I think Dr. Croak and Dolly would approve. And since 0:44:25.239 --> 0:44:27.379 there's really no way to top that, I think this 0:44:27.440 --> 0:44:30.420 is a perfect place to end things for today. 0:44:30.719 --> 0:44:33.339 Well, then, hey, we did it, guys. We've reached the 0:44:33.480 --> 0:44:37.399 end of day one in our countdown. But remember, we've 0:44:37.440 --> 0:44:39.440 got four days left to go. So be sure to 0:44:39.480 --> 0:44:42.110 tune in all week long. Coming up, we've got stories 0:44:42.160 --> 0:44:47.430 about sideshow incubators, children's furniture, and inflatable tube men. So 0:44:47.890 --> 0:44:48.650 we're running the game. 0:44:48.670 --> 0:44:50.049 It's going to be so fun. 0:44:50.070 --> 0:44:53.150 Big thanks again to David Nagler, who's just the best. 0:44:53.340 --> 0:44:56.120 Thank you for writing us yet another hit song about science. 0:44:56.600 --> 0:44:58.940 Be sure to check out his music, which is otherwise 0:44:59.160 --> 0:45:01.819 not about science. We'll put a link in the show notes. 0:45:02.020 --> 0:45:05.040 And And other thanks to John Daniel and the Horde 0:45:05.080 --> 0:45:09.610 community for introducing us to the wild, wild world of Occlupanids. 0:45:09.820 --> 0:45:12.410 If you'd like to get involved, we'll link to that 0:45:12.630 --> 0:45:15.190 as well. Be sure to check out Builders with Walter 0:45:15.290 --> 0:45:19.130 Isaacson right here on iHeart and wherever you get your podcasts. Also, 0:45:19.250 --> 0:45:21.870 just so you guys know, I started a sub stack 0:45:21.950 --> 0:45:25.170 for a kaleidoscope and it's filled with very part-time genius things. 0:45:25.230 --> 0:45:29.129 Like this week I wrote about how if you pet 0:45:29.170 --> 0:45:32.230 a donkey for more than three minutes, it soothes your 0:45:32.270 --> 0:45:36.750 anxiety and helps cure depression. So be sure to check 0:45:36.790 --> 0:45:39.210 that out as well. But we will see you here 0:45:39.530 --> 0:45:42.710 tomorrow for day two for our countdown. In the meantime, 0:45:42.790 --> 0:45:44.930 from Dylan, Gabe, Mary. 0:45:45.570 --> 0:45:47.930 Myself, and of course, Will, who is out in the shed. 0:45:47.950 --> 0:46:03.330 Thank you so much for listening. Part-time genius is a 0:46:03.350 --> 0:46:06.589 production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. It is hosted by my 0:46:06.710 --> 0:46:09.890 good pal, Will Pearson, who I've known for almost three 0:46:09.969 --> 0:46:14.030 decades now. That is insane to me. I'm the other co-host, 0:46:14.070 --> 0:46:19.590 Mange Shatikular, aka Mango. Our producer is Mary Phillips Sandy. 0:46:19.650 --> 0:46:20.990 She's actually a super producer. 0:46:21.030 --> 0:46:24.020 I'm going to fix that in post. Our writer is 0:46:24.100 --> 0:46:27.500 Gabe Lussier, who I've also known for like a decade 0:46:27.560 --> 0:46:28.740 at this point, maybe more. 0:46:29.180 --> 0:46:30.780 Dylan Fagan is in the booth. 0:46:30.960 --> 0:46:34.080 He is always dressed up, always cheering us on, and 0:46:34.219 --> 0:46:37.490 always ready to hit record and then mix the show after. 0:46:37.550 --> 0:46:38.550 He does a great job. 0:46:39.020 --> 0:46:42.220 I also want to shout out the executive producers from iHeart, 0:46:42.260 --> 0:46:45.930 my good pals Katrina Norvell and Allie Perry. We have 0:46:46.110 --> 0:46:49.770 social media support from Calypso Rawless. If you like our videos, 0:46:49.830 --> 0:46:54.050 that is all Calypso's handiwork. For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope 0:46:54.090 --> 0:46:57.910 and iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 0:46:58.080 --> 0:47:00.980 or tune in wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 0:47:01.340 --> 0:47:04.200 That's it from us here at Part-Time Genius. Thank you 0:47:04.400 --> 0:47:05.440 so much for listening. 0:47:09.500 --> 0:47:10.720 What does it do for the donkey? 0:47:10.739 --> 0:47:12.680 That's a good question, Mary. 0:47:12.700 --> 0:47:16.810 The donkey supposedly loves it and wriggles their lips or 0:47:16.890 --> 0:47:17.629 they'll wander away. 0:47:17.969 --> 0:47:18.689 Supposedly. 0:47:18.810 --> 0:47:20.969 Well, no, those are the two options. But it worked 0:47:21.090 --> 0:47:24.790 on teenagers with high anxiety. They had them pet donkeys 0:47:25.110 --> 0:47:28.000 and mini horses. And if you did it for three 0:47:28.040 --> 0:47:32.160 minutes or more, you felt yourself calm, which is pretty awesome. 0:47:32.260 --> 0:47:34.400 This is a little unrelated. We went to that town 0:47:34.460 --> 0:47:37.509 in Japan that's like infested with deer. There's just like 0:47:37.670 --> 0:47:40.430 free range deer and you feed them the crackers. They 0:47:40.510 --> 0:47:42.930 liked being pet, but they mostly wanted the crackers. I 0:47:42.950 --> 0:47:45.560 have a really funny video of Aaron being head butted 0:47:45.760 --> 0:47:49.020 and bit by multiple deer. They just swarm you for 0:47:49.040 --> 0:47:49.520 these things. 0:47:49.620 --> 0:47:49.980 It's crazy. 0:47:50.000 --> 0:47:50.520 Bit too. 0:47:50.600 --> 0:47:50.839 Wow. 0:47:51.239 --> 0:47:51.660 Yeah, bit. 0:47:52.260 --> 0:47:53.089 Head butt and bit.