WEBVTT - Secrets from the World’s Most Unique Airports 0:00:02.279 --> 0:00:04.480 I guess what, mango, what's that will? So I know 0:00:04.559 --> 0:00:06.320 you and I both fly a lot, and if there's 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:08.959 one thing I definitely know about you, it's that you 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:13.160 love flying, right because I just have the best travel 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:15.280 luck in the world, right, you know. I don't know 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:17.279 if this is something we've mentioned on the show, but 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:20.520 it's actually pretty baffling to me, like how bad your 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:23.160 travel luck has been over the years. Like there are 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:25.560 times you'll be flying out of Chicago or something and 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:27.640 then I'll check in with you just to see if 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:30.160 you've made it home, and you'll say something like I'm 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:33.080 in Milwaukee. It's a long story, and I don't know 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:35.159 anybody that can pull that off in the way that 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:37.159 you do. Or there was even the time we were 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:40.519 flying out of Cleveland at the same time. Both of 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:43.120 us were there, we were on different sides of the airport. Now, 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:46.120 somehow my flight took off and on the other side 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:48.320 of the airport they told you're plane that the airport 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:51.640 was closing down because of the wind, I think, which 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:55.200 is a true story, like that really happened. In fact, 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:57.080 sometimes when you are righting me to see where I am, 0:00:57.160 --> 0:01:01.120 I don't even want to respond. Yes, as long as 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.679 it's entertaining for others. Oh, it definitely is entertaining. But 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:06.319 you know, I was thinking about the fact that you 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:09.920 and I are most often traveling solo and for work purposes. 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:12.080 And you know, it's funny how when you do something 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:15.200 so frequently, it's pretty easy just to go through the 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:18.160 motions not really think about what's going on around you. 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:20.480 And you know, part of that maybe because half the time, 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.080 I know, I'm flying at such a crazy early hour, 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:25.640 and I'm I'm kind of half asleep when I'm there. 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:28.199 But as you know, last week, Georgia and I flew 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.279 up to Toronto so that I could officiate a wedding 0:01:31.319 --> 0:01:34.800 because apparently that's what I do now, and it's been 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:37.240 nice to hear from some listeners. I guess you made 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:39.840 the offer that I could officiate other weddings, and so 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:42.600 I'm trying to decide whether I want to sign on 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:44.640 to do this or not. But you know, we had 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:47.480 a bit more time than usual in the Atlanta airport, 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:50.600 so we spent a little time walking around, and when 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:53.880 you're not rushing to your next flight, spending time in 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:58.000 the country's busiest airport actually makes for some pretty fantastic 0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:01.120 people watching, and so know, we spend time looking out 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:04.160 the window as those luggage cars rushed around in between 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:07.440 the terminals. We watched people run off the trains to 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:09.720 their next flights, and then a couple of times we 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.240 just set down and watched people flying by and try 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:16.080 to make guesses on why certain passengers were going to 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:19.160 different locations. Yeah, I mean it's a fun game to play. 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:21.839 You know, when I'm walking through airport terminals, I'll often 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.880 see like an airport employee come walking out of one 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.560 of those personnel only sections, and I always want to 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:30.960 go behind that door just to see what's back there. 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:33.560 Oh me too. I mean would probably be disappointing if 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:35.640 you actually got to go there. But yes, so many 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:37.480 times you see that happen, You're like, what, what is it? 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.040 What's happening is such a mystery. But you know, we 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:42.720 started talking about just how many people work at the 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:46.200 nation's biggest airports and how many people you interact with 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:48.919 before you even get on a plane. You've got the 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:51.040 people behind the check in desk to t s A. 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:54.600 The people working at the restaurants, to gate agents, customs. 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:57.760 I mean, so many people and then all the people 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:01.520 behind the scenes, controlling the schedules, handling bags and just 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:05.919 generally keeping the place running efficiently. And we're talking thousands 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:09.200 of people in places like the Atlanta Airport, and that's 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:10.800 what God is thinking. You know, what are some of 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:14.280 the secrets behind how an airport operates? And what do 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:17.000 we not know? And of course what are some of 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:19.280 the strangest things t s A has pulled out of 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:43.320 passenger bags in security. So let's dive in. Y Hey, 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:45.960 their podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:48.200 Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good friend 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:50.360 man Guesho Ticketer and on the other side of the 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:54.240 soundproof glass doing his best impersonation. Now, you guys may 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:57.000 not know this about Tristan, but he does incredible repers, 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:01.520 so good. Well, today's is a really special one. It's 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:05.520 of the carpet from the Portland International Airport. That's our 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:08.520 friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Now I do need to 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:11.480 clarify here. Tristan is not lying on the floor with 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:14.840 a rug over him. He does that sometimes, but not today. 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.400 He's not just doing that to pretend to be a carpet. 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:21.640 He actually is decked out head to toe and clothing 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:25.120 based on that old carpet design from the Portland's Airport. 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.280 Really creative idea to which honestly doesn't sound that much 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.240 less weird, right, No it doesn't. But that's this is 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:33.960 just the kind of stuff that Tristan does. He's that committed. 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:36.760 But actually he was telling me earlier what this is 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:40.640 all about. So basically, the Portland Airport, or PDX as 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:43.160 you might call it, they added this new carpet to 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:47.640 its terminals back in now because this was in the eighties. 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:51.480 The carpet had this kind of funky and geometric design 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:54.880 with this teel background and all these blue and purple 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:59.800 and red shapes repeating all over in a very loud carpet. Anyway, 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.440 the carpet stuck around until I think two thousand six, 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:08.400 and that's when PDX decided it was finally time to remodel. Now, 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:12.440 they started ripping up the carpet and people went ballistic, 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:15.080 and that is not an overstatement. I mean they were 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:18.560 grieving the loss of this carpet. They decided to take 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.080 to social media and just as a way to pay 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:23.480 tribute to the airport carpet, and they were calling for 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:26.520 it to be preserved. There was a Facebook page for 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:29.640 people to post pictures and stories of all the great 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:33.240 times that had standing on that carpet, and somebody made 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:36.520 a Twitter account and began posting from the carpet's point 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:39.599 of view. These are all things that actually happened. And 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:42.680 you know, some folks even memorialized the carpet by having 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:46.719 its design tattooed on their arms. And of course, it 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:49.720 wasn't long after that that the beloved carpet design started 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:52.960 appearing on all sorts of merchandise. And you know, just 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:54.800 looking at Tristan, you can see that they made pd 0:05:55.000 --> 0:06:00.960 X carpet t shirts, sweatpants, socks, shoes, even a headband. Yeah, 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:03.760 I know. And Tristan was telling me about all this, 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:06.839 and it got me curious about what other bizarre airport 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:09.960 stories and secrets are out there. And so that's what 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:12.440 today's show is all about. You know, we'll we'll take 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.520 a look at how airports function, and along the way, 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:17.880 we'll also check out some of the odd ball amenities 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:20.680 that different airports offer, as well as some of the 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:24.120 weirdest stuff that people have tried to slip past security. 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:27.480 So let's get started. But where do you want to begin, Mango, So, actually, 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:29.839 I don't want to get off the airport carpet facts 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:31.919 just yet, because one of the things I didn't notice 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:35.159 until Gate pointed out to me is that most airports 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:37.640 have linoleum or tile in the check in areas and 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:39.800 all through security, but then when you get to the 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:42.800 flight gates, the floor suddenly switches the carpet. And there's 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:45.839 actually a reason behind this. So airport designers use this 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:48.839 trick as a way to make holding areas feel more relaxing. 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:51.760 So not only does the soft carpet help bring the 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:54.000 feel of a living room into the airport, it also 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:56.919 helps muffled the noise from people's roller bags and footsteps. 0:06:56.960 --> 0:06:59.440 But the biggest reason is that all this works together 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:02.800 to make past and just feel less stressed out. Yeah 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:05.040 it makes sense, but I mean, carpets aren't the only 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:08.960 thing designers are thinking about when they design these airports spaces. 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:11.280 I mean, another handy tool they used to make us 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:15.600 feel comfortable is called wayfinding, or that process designers used 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:18.720 to make the airports easier to navigate or as easy 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:21.560 as possible. And one big part of this, of course, 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:24.880 is the signage and there's so much careful planning that 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:27.720 goes into that, not just where to place the signs, 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:31.560 but how they're designed, how they're laid out, and for instance, 0:07:31.560 --> 0:07:33.920 the font on the signs needs to be legible from 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:39.520 a distance and easy for non native language speakers to decipher. Now, amazingly, 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:43.440 sev of all airports in the world use just one 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:47.000 of three different typefaces, all of which are sands sarah, 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:49.400 meaning they don't have the little tails on the letters. 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:52.560 And because I know you're curious, those three in demand 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:57.440 fonts are Fruitiger, which was designed specifically for airports, clear View, 0:07:57.480 --> 0:08:00.000 which is the same one used on highway signs or 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:03.000 on the US, and of course Helvetica. By the way, 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:04.960 as a side note here, I learned just this week 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:09.040 that there actually is an airline called Helvetic Airlines, which 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:13.760 is a small airline out of Switzerland where Helvetica typeface originated, 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:17.080 and in a truly weird turn of events, the airline 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:19.960 does not use Helvetica for its logo. That's super weird. 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.360 So what do they use? I don't know what it's 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:25.240 called exactly, and it's kind of this squat and italic 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:28.880 font for some reason that almost feels scandalous to not 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:32.680 use there. But in another way of wayfinding that I 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:35.360 hadn't thought about are all the works of art that 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.160 are placed around the airport for you. And these can 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:41.840 be murals or sculptures or sometimes even interactive exhibits. But 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:44.720 whatever form it takes, airport art is never there just 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:48.160 to look pretty or to help passengers relax. That's because 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:50.760 designers are actually thinking of them as landmarks, like a 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.480 quick way to establish a point of reference for passengers 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:55.920 as they make their way through what are otherwise these 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.120 monotonous terminals. So if you're ever doing some exploring at 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:00.640 the airport and need to find your way back to 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:02.680 your gate, just look for the big bronze bear or 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:06.160 whatever to help point the way. Well, since you bring 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:08.559 up airport art, I do want to tell you about 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:12.640 maybe the strangest and creepiest examples I came across. And 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:14.320 by the way, if you want to see these, it's 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.720 pretty convenient because you just go to one airport. It's 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:20.920 the Denver International Airport. So that actually doesn't surprise me, 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:23.439 because what's weird is that there are all these conspiracy 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:27.079 theories about that specific airport, like, uh, the runways are 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:29.640 all pin wheel shaped, and some people claim they're meant 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:32.800 to look like Swastika's. Uh. Some people think there's a 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:35.800 secret underground city and the tunnels beneath the terminals. You know, 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:39.280 it is super weird, But uh, I don't think I've 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:42.520 heard about the artwork. Can you run me through that? Well, 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:44.360 you're in for a treat with this because some of 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:47.400 this stuff is just off the wall. So to start 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:49.760 on the road that leads to the terminal, there's this 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.720 enormous thirty two foot tall sculpture of a blue mustang 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:56.920 rearing up in anger. But it's not just the size 0:09:57.080 --> 0:09:59.320 or the stance that makes this thing so scary. And 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:03.720 that's because at night, the horse's eyes actually glow bright red. 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:06.480 How strange is this? But if that isn't enough to 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:09.240 convince you the horse is pure evil, just listen to this. 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:12.240 Back in two thousand six, when the statue was still 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:16.199 being sculpted, a nine thousand pound piece of stone broke 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:20.439 free and tragically fell on the sculpture as he was working. 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:23.120 And you know, sadly he died from this not too 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:26.360 long after. So not only is this giant blue mustang 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:30.280 terrifying to behold, it also killed its creator, and that's 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.800 why the locals call him Bluecifer. Wow. So I'm actually 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:35.400 a little of her to ask, But I think you 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:38.640 said the horse was just one example. Well, the art 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:42.880 inside the airport gets even weirder than Bluesifer. So, for instance, 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:46.360 at baggage claim, there are these two stone gargles keeping 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:49.480 watch over the luggage carousels, and together the pair forms 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:53.160 of sculpture known as Notre Denver, which is pretty CUTEI 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:55.679 name for a couple of winged demons that are pretty 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:58.800 weird looking. But probably the most unsettling piece of art 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:01.760 in the whole place is is mural. It's right there 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:04.280 inside the airport, and it's called Children of the World 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:08.400 Dream of Peace. Now this title sounds hardwarming, and you think, oh, 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:10.720 this must be a really nice thing, but just listen 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:13.280 to this description that I found from Atlas Obscure. It 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:17.280 says in the mural, a gargantuan figure and flowing olive 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:20.720 green military garb and a gas mask, wields an assault 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.720 rifle in his left hand while stabbing a dove with 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:27.599 the cutlass in his right. A line of shrouded, despairing 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:30.719 figures cowers in his wake. It's just what you want 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:33.680 to see before boarding an international like, what is going 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:37.080 on at this airport? I do think somebody might have 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:40.040 missed the memo about how airport artists supposed to be soothing, 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:43.840 because that's definitely not suiting. So here's something even scarier 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.080 than demons and killer horses. So you know, the plastic 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:49.079 bins we used to unload all our stuff on the 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:52.560 way through security. Definitely. Yeah. So, according to a recent 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:55.240 study out of Finland, those bins actually contain a whole 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:59.200 host of respiratory viruses, including germs known to cause both 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:03.320 the common cold and flew and in fact, researchers found 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:05.760 that the bins contain more germ samples than any other 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:09.240 tested part of the airport, which includes elevator buttons, flight 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:13.800 checking machines, even twilet handles. And while these findings were 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.960 specific to the Helsinki Airport, other studies have turned up 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:20.120 similar results in a lot of different airports. And unfortunately, 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.640 those bins just don't get cleaned that often. You know. 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:25.880 It's one of those things that most of the time, 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:29.080 my wife Georgia is very clean about the things she does, 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:32.600 but sometimes when we travel she takes a pillow and 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.000 she puts it into one of those bins when we're traveling, 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.880 and it is the grossest thing that anyone has ever done. 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:41.520 I just can't handle it. But it's you know, I 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:44.840 actually love these facts that confirm my suspicion that everything 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.480 I come into contact with is filthy. And so those 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:50.000 are just great stats. I mean, it's like when we 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:52.600 talked about how the trade tables on airplanes are also 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:56.079 super gross, I mean grosser than anything. But I vaguely 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:59.360 remember this. Can you notdge my memory a little? Of course, 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:01.520 I have the fact right here. I keep them with 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:03.880 me at all times, just in case anybody needs to 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:06.679 be reminded. But this was from a two thousand fifteen 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:09.920 study from travel Math, and it showed that trade tables 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:13.040 on the back of cabin ce typically contain over two 0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:16.720 thousand colony forming units per square inch. Now these are 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:20.040 also known as cf us. Now, to put that in perspective, 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:24.040 the average household toilet, average household toilet has only around 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:27.920 a hundred and seventies cf us. Even the flush buttons 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:31.920 for airport toilets only have about two hundred and sixty CFU. 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:34.800 So that's two thousand on these trade tables compared to 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:37.480 two hundred and sixty on a flush button on an 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:40.400 airport toilet. It is so weird that trade tables are 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.560 that filthy. So I actually remember this great scene in 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:47.760 Roll dolls book Going Solo. It's his biography, where he's 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:51.120 on his boat and he's watching this woman eat an 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.600 orange with a knife and fork, and he's just kind 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:56.760 of amazed by how nimble she is with it, and 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:58.800 he asked her why she's using a knife and fork, 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.439 and she goes on this big about how dirty our 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:04.560 hands are and how she would never use her hands. 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:07.720 And I think that's why whenever I touched a trade 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:09.199 table from now on, it's going to be with a 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:12.120 knife and fork. That's a smart way to approach it. 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:14.480 All right, Well, I feel like we rushed onto the 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:17.120 plane too quickly and need to come back to the airport. 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:18.840 So what do you say we take a minute to 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:21.680 talk about some of the deeply weird things that people 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:24.600 stuff in those dirty bins you were talking about. I mean, 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.520 there are all kinds of strange stories there about people 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:31.920 smuggling everything from human remains to ninja throwing stars and 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:34.800 all of this in their carry on bags. But the 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:37.720 most interesting examples to me are all the weird things 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:40.560 that scientists though. I mean, it's so funny to read 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:42.520 some of these. I actually just listen to some of 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:44.600 the stuff that T. S A Has turned up in 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:48.560 recent years. All right, a cooler full of turtle embryos, 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:52.560 several bottles of monkey pee, the shin bone of a 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:56.600 giant ground sloth, fifty vials of freeze dried milk from 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:59.800 an Antarctic fur seal, and of course a three D 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.840 printed model of a dolphin vaginant. I mean, you can't 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:06.480 make this stuff up. That's so weird. But I'm guessing 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.040 the scientists must have like legit reasons for carrying this 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:12.880 stuff through, right, Like does security just give him a pass? Yeah? 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:14.880 I mean most of the time they do, And and 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:16.880 most of these things don't really break the rules. They're 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:20.960 just odd and usually require some sort of explanation. For 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:23.440 for instance, when the Antarctic researcher with all the seal 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:26.040 milk was stopped, he just had to explain what all 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:28.760 these vials of white powder really were. Yeah, I mean, 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:30.600 if you're taking a lot of white powder on a plane, 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:34.640 you're kind of asking to get stopped. But well, you know, 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:36.960 once he had clued them in there, there really wasn't 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:38.800 that much of a problem. And in fact, as the 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.880 guy later explained, quote, some of the officers just wanted 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:44.400 to wave me on, but others wanted me to stay 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.120 and answer their questions like how do you milk a 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:50.480 first seal? And so he pointed out, that's a nice 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:53.040 way to engage in a discussion about science. But he 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:56.160 also almost missed his flight. So I actually love these 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:58.280 types of interactions, Like I was reading about this one 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:00.560 time a few years ago when this as a physicist 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:04.160 flew to Fargo, North Dakota, and he had his Nobel 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:06.560 Physics Prize with him. So his name is Brian Schmidt 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:08.920 apparently won the prize back in two thousand eleven for 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:11.640 co discovering dark energy. But anyway, he was going to 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:13.800 Fargo to visit his grandmom and she asked him to 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.720 bring along his Nobel and just in case other listeners 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:18.520 don't know, a Nobel prize kind of looks like an 0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:20.960 Olympic medal, like it's made of gold, ways about half 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:23.920 a pound. It's pretty big. So Schmidt has this giant 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:25.800 metal in his bag and because it's made of golden 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:28.680 actually absorbs all the X rays and it just looked 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.680 like a big black mystery object to the manityrs. So 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.880 security asked him, like, what's in it? And he tells 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:37.120 them it's a gold medal. And then they opened the 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:39.920 bag and inspect it and they're like, who gave this 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:42.560 to you? To which Schmidt says, and he gives an 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:46.320 honest answer, the King of Sweden. Of course, the King 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:48.840 of Sweden, as you as you do, you know, so, 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:51.240 so did the agent just let him through or what? No, 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.200 they were totally suspicious. So then the officers had all 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.200 these follow ups, like they asked, like why the king 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:59.520 give this to you? And so it's continued and tell 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:02.280 the truths. He says, uh, because I helped discover that 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:06.360 the expansion rate of the universe was accelerating. And as 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:08.280 he's saying this, you know, the officers are looking more 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:10.280 and more angry. You could sense that they were losing 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:12.960 their patients. So he finally explained the whole thing in detail, 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.520 like the science, how he won this award, that the 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:18.160 king presented it to him, all that, and even then 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:21.360 they had one more question for him, which was why 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:24.320 were you in Fargo. I mean, I guess that's a 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:27.560 pretty fair question under the circumstances. But all right, well, 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:29.399 now that we've made our way through security, what do 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:31.000 you say we stretch our legs a little bit and 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.560 check out a few of the more surprising amenities the 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:36.520 airport seems to offer these days. But before we get 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:52.960 to that, let's take a quick break. You're listening to 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:55.880 part Time Genius and we're talking about airports, all right, Mango. 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:58.359 So you and I fly fairly often, as we said before, 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:00.960 and I know one thing we've both noticed is that 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:04.320 airports offer a much wider array of amenities than they 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:07.240 used to. You know, you see things like massage chairs, 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:09.840 which honestly is so weird to me to be walking 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:12.800 through a terminal and look over and see somebody with 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.520 their eyes clothes and a massage. I just don't feel 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:17.800 like that's a place I could relax. But you definitely 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:21.120 see lots of those. You see sleeping pods and day 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:24.800 spas made to order sushi like This is a huge 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:27.720 list of luxuries that are involved in some of these airports, 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:30.600 and it seems to get longer every year. And so 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:33.320 I've assembled my own little list here, but I actually 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:35.639 want to hear from you first. So what are some 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.920 of the most unexpected services you've come across during your travels? 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:41.480 So one of the things I really like is that 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:44.240 you see more and more playgrounds for kids and airports, 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:47.760 and it's been really nice to be able to like 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:50.280 let the kids run around on these little jungle gyms 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:52.320 and let them be loud and crazy for a bit 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:54.200 before you have to, like, you know, reel it all 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:56.560 in when you get on a plane. But as a 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:59.720 solo traveler, probably my favorite trend that's been gaining steam 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:03.600 states side is airport movie theaters. And this is something 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:05.840 I think started back in two thousand fourteen, which is 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:08.879 when the airport in Minneapolis St. Paul opened this free 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:13.200 around the clock screening room near Gate C eighteen. I've 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:15.440 been there, but I actually haven't noticed that before, so 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:17.399 so catching a movie it sounds like a fun way 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:19.520 to kill a pine before a flight, but you probably 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:20.840 have to get there pretty early to be able to 0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:23.280 watch the whole thing, right, so it's not actually a 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:26.160 problem in this case. Uh. The Minnesota screening room only 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:29.680 shows short films and documentaries by filmmakers from the Upper Midwest, 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:32.880 So in addition to providing some free entertainment, they're really 0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:36.240 way to showcase this local talent. And this approach isn't 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:39.240 unique to the Minneapolis airport either, So last spring, the 0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:43.680 airport in Portland opened its first microcinema, and concourse, it's similar. 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:46.840 Where ticketed passengers have made it through security, they're free 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:49.239 to grab a spot in this seventeen seat theater and 0:19:49.640 --> 0:19:53.159 catch short films by filmmakers from Portland. But maybe the 0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:56.080 most unique airport theater is the one that opened last 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:59.520 August at Miami International. And unlike the others I mentioned, 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:03.040 this one doesn't show recent films shop by local artists. Instead, 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:06.040 the airport actually uses this bank of old flight monitors 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:08.840 to show all kinds of vintage footage they found in 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:11.080 and around the airport. So you might see like a 0:20:11.240 --> 0:20:14.720 Miami Families Home movies from the nine twenties on one reel, 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:17.720 or a reel of different celebrities who've arrived at the 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:20.320 airport between the fifties and eighties. Plus there are all 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:24.679 these quirky vintage promotional films for Florida sprinkled in. It 0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:28.080 is pretty great and it just seems like a really 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:30.040 cool project and a fun way to see all the 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:32.360