1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,680 Speaker 1: Guess what, mango, what's that will? I know you're a 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: big fan of couzies, so I've got a great story 3 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: for you. Just just go with it. It's a good setup. 4 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:10,479 Speaker 1: So you know how we've had so many good business 5 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: ideas since starting this show. We had amish dust, we 6 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,279 Speaker 1: had remote control condoms. Well, I think we need to 7 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: try and apply for some government money to get these 8 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: things off the ground. So you really think we'd have 9 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: a shot. Well that's where the coozies come in. Just 10 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: a couple of years ago, to students at the University 11 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: of Washington, we're doing some pretty cool research on how 12 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: foam couzies helped keep a can cold in the summer heat. 13 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: And you know how much they got from the National 14 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: Science Foundation to explore this one point three million dollars 15 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: you're making up? I'm not. And it turns out that 16 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,480 Speaker 1: there's a little more to the story than just that headline, 17 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: and that the study was part of an effort to 18 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: learn more about climate change. But it's more fun to 19 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,639 Speaker 1: ignore the important science e stuff and just say one 20 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: point three million to study cazies. And I'm sure we 21 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: could come up with a bigger, more noble cause behind 22 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: our ideas, but it does make you wonder what are 23 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: the weirdest things our government has invested in? And that's 24 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: what we're talking about today, Mr Hei their podcast listeners, 25 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as 26 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: always I'm joined by my good friend Mangueshot Ticketer and 27 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: today we're breaking out our calculators and taking a hard 28 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: look at questions on government spending. What exactly does the 29 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: US budget pay for? And more importantly, what's the weirdest 30 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: stuff our country has ever invested in? And to talk 31 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: about that, We've got a few fun guests today. Who's 32 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: gonna be joining us today, Mango. Today we'll be joined 33 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 1: by James Ledbetter, author and editor of inc Magazine, and 34 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: he's got this great new book, One Nation Under Gold, 35 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: where he digs into Operation Goldfinger, this bizarre secret federal 36 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: plan from the sixties that tried to sniff out golden 37 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: strange places. And we're also going to talk to a 38 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: couple of coin collectors. You know a thing or two 39 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: about unusual investments. They're going to give us a low 40 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: down on some of their best finds and in return, 41 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: we'll put them to the test. All right, Well, that 42 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: sounds like a fair trade. So to kind of dip 43 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: our toes into this topic, I thought we should first 44 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: address what most people already know about government spending, which 45 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: it turns out isn't a whole lot. Plenty of us 46 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: could probably point to healthcare and national defense as big 47 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: parts of the US budget, but beyond that, the specifics 48 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: actually get a little hazy for most people. Yeah, sad, 49 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,639 Speaker 1: but true. The Pure Research Center to the study back 50 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: in two thousand fourteen that really helped illustrate just how 51 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: little we know about where our money goes. PU pulled 52 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: Americans on what they knew about carent events and issues 53 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:42,959 Speaker 1: in the news, and while the average respondent was fairly 54 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: knowledgeable about many of the topics, when it came to 55 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: how much the government spent on particular programs, most people 56 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: were pretty clueless. So when they were pulled out, what 57 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 1: were they asked about? Well, respondents were asked how much 58 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: money they thought the government spent on four programs. It 59 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: was foreign aid, transportations, social security, and paying down interest 60 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: on the national debt. Or rather, they were asked to 61 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,239 Speaker 1: put them in order from like largest the smallest, so 62 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: at thirty three the majority of people said we spend 63 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: the most money on foreign aid, followed by interest on 64 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: the national debt. That was at thought. Social Security received 65 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: the most money and only four percent. Name transportation is 66 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: the top expense, all right, so I'm guessing that's a 67 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: little off. So what's the actual breakdown, Well, social Security 68 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: nets the most money of the programs on the list 69 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: by far. It received ninety four billion dollars in the 70 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: fiscal year two thousand and sixteen, and that's roughly seventeen 71 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: times the annual spending on foreign aid. It's also nine 72 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: point five times the amount spent on transportation and almost 73 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: three and a half times the amount spent on interest 74 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: for the national debt. So people underestimated how much we 75 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: spend on Social Security and they also severely overestimated the 76 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: money we devote to foreign aid. Yeah, yeah, I'd say, 77 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: well that that's that's very interesting. How do you think 78 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: we should reconcile the fact that Social Security always ranks 79 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: is one of the most popular government programs among Americans. 80 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: So I'll barn aid consistently ranks as the least popular 81 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: spending category. I think it really points to how our 82 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: preconceived notions and political opinions can color the way we 83 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: view the world, including our nation's spending habits. Well, how 84 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: is that? Well, we tend to assume the worst about 85 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: our government spending, and I think that's because we're aware 86 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: in this really broad sense that the country burns through 87 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 1: a lot of money and that the national debt is 88 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: this like sky high number that's unimaginable, but it's always 89 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: on the rise, even if we don't know the specifics. Yeah, 90 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 1: I mean, it seems like we take the pessimistic approach, 91 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 1: and you know, it's easy to imagine our government that 92 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 1: we must spend the least amount on programs we like 93 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: and the most on ones we don't like. And I 94 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,159 Speaker 1: guess that's kind of human nature too exactly. But a 95 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: closer look shows that the worst case mentality doesn't always 96 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: add up. For example, foreign aid, that's the program that 97 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: tops the chart in terms of unpopularity, but in reality 98 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,359 Speaker 1: it only accounts for roughly one percent of the total 99 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: federal budget. Wow, I wouldn't have guessed that. All right, 100 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: So let's set the record straight on this and once again, 101 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: and it's Pew Research to the rescue here. So they 102 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 1: broke down how the US government spent its three point 103 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: nine five trillion dollar budget last year, and according to 104 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: their senior writer, Drew to Silver, our country is basically 105 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: a giant insurance company that also has a defense gig 106 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: on the side. So we spend most of our money 107 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: on healthcare in the national defense, oh definitely. About seventy 108 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,479 Speaker 1: of the total budget went for different kinds of social insurance, 109 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: so that would include Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, unemployment compensation, 110 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,919 Speaker 1: veterans benefits, all of the things kind of like this. Now, 111 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: another fifteen percent of total spending went for national defense. 112 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: Interest payments on national debt came in and looks like 113 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: six percent, and education and related services made up less 114 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: than three percent. So I'm just looking at the numbers 115 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: on your page here, So seventy fifteen six three that's 116 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: only whereas the other six well, that's the crazy thing. 117 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,679 Speaker 1: Every other program, whether that's national parks, public broadcasting, foreign A, NASA, 118 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,359 Speaker 1: you name it, all of those fit into the remaining 119 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: six percent of the federal budget, which is all the 120 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 1: stuff we squabble about. But it's all the fun stuff too. 121 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: I know, it's a pretty sweet six percent, And it's 122 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 1: inside that six percent that we're going to be focused 123 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: on today. Yeah, but again, the worthiness of those programs 124 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 1: is up for debate depending on who you ask, right, 125 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: So we're not going to get into that debate. If 126 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 1: you haven't noticed, we typically avoid big political statements here 127 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: on the show, but we do love to dig up 128 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 1: the most interesting fact. So that's what we're gonna stay 129 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: focused on. Right. Well, we definitely see federal spending running 130 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: into the same problems we face as individuals. You know, 131 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:36,360 Speaker 1: what to buy at the grocery store, or how much 132 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: of your incomes should go to entertainment versus savings. Most 133 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: people aren't going to agree on this stuff, and the 134 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: fact is not everyone wants to spend their money in 135 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: the same way, and that causes pretty big headaches when 136 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 1: you're spending from a pot to which every taxpayer contributes. Sure, 137 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: and that's why you'll never reach a consensus on certain 138 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,560 Speaker 1: line items, like, for example, whether or not it was 139 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: a wise move for the government to invest nine dollars 140 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: to promote Vidalia nions as part of a promotional campaign 141 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: for the fourth Shrek movie. Ninety thousand dollars. I think 142 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:07,799 Speaker 1: we can all agree that sounds like a really bizarre 143 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: use of money. Don't tell me that actually happened. It did, 144 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: but I'm not so sure the can was a waste. 145 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: Like according to the Vidalia Onion Committee, which is a 146 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: real committee I was going to call, onion sales were 147 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: up thanks to the Shrek promotion, and that's a huge 148 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: deal here in Georgia, where agricultural makes up like a 149 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: good chunk of the economy. By the way, did you 150 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: know even more than that was spent in two thousand 151 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: twelve to help Idahope promote their caviar. It's like three 152 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars Idaho. Again, it was to help the 153 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: local farmers in rural areas. Onions and caviar yummy. All right, 154 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: fair enough, But but here's another one for you, unrelated 155 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: to food. So in two thousand and ten, the government 156 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: gave six hundred and fifteen thousand dollars to the University 157 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: of California at Santa Cruz so they could digitize Grateful 158 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: Dead memorabilia. How crazy is this? That's over half a 159 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: million in federal funds that went a digitally preserving old 160 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,679 Speaker 1: Grateful Dead concert tickets, t shirts and posters of dancing 161 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: Teddy Bears. I mean, maybe it's just me, but that 162 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 1: seems a little tougher to defend. I feel like we're 163 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: gonna get a ton of angry emails from deadheads now. 164 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: By the way, I was on Wikipedia the other day 165 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,239 Speaker 1: and I found this incredible page of what fans are called, 166 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 1: And so do you know what Barry Manilow's fans are called. 167 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: They're called fan alos and cris Pines fans they're called 168 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: pine nuts. I'm a huge pine. Maybe I didn't know that, 169 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,239 Speaker 1: but I mean, I see your point, right. Like expenses 170 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 1: like the Shrek Onion promotion and a federally funded Grateful 171 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: Dead archive, they're tough to justify because they tend to 172 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,679 Speaker 1: benefit a much smaller segment of the population than you know, 173 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: something like medicare Well, it's definitely an eye of the 174 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: beholder kind of thing, and some programs will seem like 175 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: good investments to you and others won't. And there's bound 176 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: to be a lot of disagreement among people as to 177 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: which or which. Absolutely so one of my favorite examples 178 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: of that disparity and thinking comes from this weird research 179 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: study from two thousand five. Biologists at Yale University received 180 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: a federal grant to study the reproductive anatomy of ducks 181 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: and namely the mail ducks unique corkscrew shape privates. Right, So, like, 182 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: pundits and politicians were all over this, and they counted 183 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: the study as like a particularly egregious case of wasteful 184 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: government spending, so much so that the lead researcher, and 185 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: her name was Patricia Brennan, she actually came forward to 186 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,359 Speaker 1: defend her work for the public. What did she say, Yeah, 187 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: it's a pretty great statement. Actually, so I'm just gonna 188 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: go ahead and read it. Quote, this is basic science. 189 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: The headlines reflect outrage that the study was about duck genitals, 190 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: as if there's something inherently wrong or perverse with this 191 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 1: line of research. Imagine if medical research through the line 192 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: at the belt Genitalia, Dear readers, are where the rubber 193 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: meets the road evolutionarily, that's a statement. What a great 194 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: quote there. But you know, that kind of dismissive attitude 195 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: is it's actually pretty common when dealing with research projects 196 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,079 Speaker 1: that can admittedly sound a little nutty when take and 197 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: in isolation. In fact, there are a few senators who've 198 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: made it a yearly tradition to publish waste books, as 199 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: they call them. These detail hundreds of what they deemed 200 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: to be the worst cases of wasteful spending for a 201 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: given year. I should note that the two thousand sixteen 202 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: waste book was titled Pokemon Go. It's pretty great. But 203 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 1: while these reports always make some fair points, they also 204 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: tend to ridicule grants for quirky research and present them 205 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,680 Speaker 1: without mention of their connections to the broader fields of 206 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,200 Speaker 1: legitimate study. Yeah, and I want to make sure we 207 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: don't fall prey to that same temptation. But that's a 208 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: They're definitely other parts of the federal budget that seemed 209 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: wasteful no matter the context. What do you say we 210 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: look at some of the strangest cases of clear cut waste, 211 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: along with a few more examples that skirt the line 212 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: between impractical and outright crazy. All right, well, that sounds 213 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: good to me. Why don't we start with Operation gold Finger, 214 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 1: which seems like a prime candidate for the outright crazy category. 215 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: Why don't we see if we can get our first 216 00:10:54,240 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 1: guest on the line to talk through it. Our guest 217 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: today is the editor of inc magazine and the author 218 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: of a new book titled One Nation Under Gold, How 219 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:11,079 Speaker 1: One Precious medal has dominated the American imagination for four centuries. 220 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: It's a terrific book. And with today's episode being focused 221 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 1: on weird government investments, we're going to focus this conversation 222 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 1: on an incredibly bizarre effort known as Operation gold Finger. 223 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 1: James Ledbetter, Welcome to Part time Genius. Thank you so 224 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: much for having me. All Right, well, James, can you 225 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 1: help us set the stage for our listeners. So it's 226 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,720 Speaker 1: the early nineteen sixties. What is the state of gold 227 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: at this point? So, when World War Two was coming 228 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:41,079 Speaker 1: to an end, the major powers of the world gathered 229 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 1: in New Hampshire in Bretton Woods to hammer out a 230 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: new monetary system for the globe. Uh and that system 231 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,079 Speaker 1: had at its heart the convertibility of the dollar to 232 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:56,200 Speaker 1: gold at the rate of thirty five announced so Bamian theory, 233 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 1: anyone with thirty five dollars could go to the United 234 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: States Treasury and get a bounce of gold, and anybody 235 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 1: with announce of gold could go to the High States 236 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: Treasury and get thirty five dollars. That every other currency 237 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: in the world was then pegged to the dollar, and 238 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: the dollar was fully convertible to gold. This system worked 239 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 1: pretty well. It arguably worked too well in the sense 240 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: that the growth of Western Europe and Japan starting in 241 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: the late forties through the nineteen fifties was so rapid 242 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,559 Speaker 1: and extensive that you now have all of these dollars 243 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,439 Speaker 1: out in the world and dollar backed securities that if 244 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 1: they were to be redeemed at the same time at 245 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: that treasury window, there would be no more gold. And 246 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: that was considered to be an absolute disaster that had 247 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:44,200 Speaker 1: to be prevented because it would it would bring the 248 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: whole system crumbling down. And that's not because we didn't 249 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,480 Speaker 1: have any gold. We had amassed the largest stockpile of 250 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 1: gold known to mankind, but it still wasn't enough to 251 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 1: deal with all of the dollars that were out there. 252 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 1: And so with this problem being very well known by 253 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:06,440 Speaker 1: the country's leaders and the Federal Reserve, there was a 254 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 1: kind of desperation about what to do, and so on 255 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: top of that you have pressure coming from the United 256 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: States gold mining industry. The the keeping the value of 257 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:24,840 Speaker 1: gold at thirty five an ounce was very depressing to 258 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: the US gold industry. That it's a little analogous to 259 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:33,800 Speaker 1: like oil companies when oil is at twenty barrel it's 260 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 1: really not worth their time to drill in certain places 261 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:39,679 Speaker 1: or to go where you need to do fracking. At 262 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:42,559 Speaker 1: a hundred dollars a barrel, it's it makes a lot 263 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: more sense. But with the price fixed at thirty most 264 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: of the gold that was easily accessible in the United 265 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,599 Speaker 1: States had already been tapped out, and and so the 266 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,960 Speaker 1: question is where what could be done to get more gold? 267 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:04,480 Speaker 1: And a strange combination of high placed Treasury officials, l 268 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: v j's science and technology advisor, and some sympathetic members 269 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:13,079 Speaker 1: of Congress cooked up this scheme in the mid sixties 270 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 1: that because it's the mid sixties, what else are they 271 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,080 Speaker 1: going to call it? Operation Golder and the idea, the 272 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 1: idea was to use state of the art technology to 273 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 1: basically find gold where it had never been found before. 274 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: So you had this is all completely top secret. There 275 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 1: was no congressional debate, There was no budget line item 276 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: for it. You know, there wasn't like people said, oh yeah, 277 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: let's let's uh, let's sign off on the on the 278 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 1: on the alchemy quest. Um. It was completely hush hush 279 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: because they were afraid, uh they they they believed that 280 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: there was so much gold that they could find that 281 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: it was essentially you know, double or triple the amount 282 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 1: of gold already mind in the world. That's that's so 283 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: one of the things I say is it's not like 284 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 1: discovering a new gold mine. This was like they thought 285 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:07,240 Speaker 1: discovering a new planet, and that they felt that that 286 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: if that got out, it might be so disruptive to 287 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 1: the world central banks that you could cause you know, 288 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 1: any number of economic problems. And so what were some 289 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: of the weirdest places that they started looking for gold? 290 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: It feels like this insane exploratory mission. Yeah, so so 291 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 1: they were There were kind of three parts to Operation 292 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: gold Finger. The first part involved using state of the 293 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: art technology to see if there is in fact gold 294 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: in places where it had traditionally not been looked for. So, 295 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 1: for example, uh, is their gold in the ash that 296 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: comes out of cold plants? Is there gold in certain 297 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: types of um plants and flowers? Is their golden animal brains? 298 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 1: Is their gold in deer antlers? Is their gold in seawater? 299 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: Um Literally dozens and dozens of projects all across the 300 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: country and internationally to find out if there's some you know, 301 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: kind of hidden source of gold. And this is almost comical. 302 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: This is an instant of when science kind of gets 303 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: in the way of wisdom because the technology was really great. 304 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: The fact is there are traces of gold in lots 305 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: of places, but at parts per million or parts per billion, 306 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: to get the gold out of the deer antlers would 307 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: cost way more than thirty five dollars, So it really 308 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: wasn't a solution, even though yeah, it was kind of there. UM. 309 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: The second component of Operation gold Finger again goes back 310 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:50,560 Speaker 1: to this idea that we know where the gold is, 311 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:52,920 Speaker 1: but all of the gold that can be easily and 312 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 1: profitably mined in location X has already been mined out. 313 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: There's a very good chance that there's more gold underneath there, 314 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:06,120 Speaker 1: but it's not really accessible um at thirty five dollars 315 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 1: announced if you use conventional explosives. But what if what 316 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: if we put nuclear explosives in the ground and blast 317 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:17,000 Speaker 1: out the gold and then lead it out with a 318 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,439 Speaker 1: with a with a chemical and this this was a 319 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: very enticing idea in the in the mid sixties, there 320 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 1: were a lot of government scientists who really believed in 321 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: what we're called the peaceful uses of atomic energy. UM. 322 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 1: It was a somewhat naive time in the sense that 323 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:38,120 Speaker 1: people were not paying a lot of attention to radioactivity. Uh, 324 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: and that's a bit of a problem. But there were 325 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:45,880 Speaker 1: a number of experiments that were conducted using nuclear weapons 326 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,439 Speaker 1: to to move large amounts of earth, and it was 327 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: it was kind of in the books to do this 328 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 1: for mining purposes. But by the time the words started 329 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 1: to get out and some of the more um uh 330 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:04,639 Speaker 1: kind of conscious scientists, the program was eventually scrapped before 331 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:09,160 Speaker 1: it actually took the form of of using nuclear weapons 332 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 1: for for gold mining. Um. And then the third component, 333 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 1: which really didn't get too far beyond the conceptual stage. Um. 334 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 1: But let's call it what it is, was to turn 335 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 1: base metals into gold. It was nothing short of a 336 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:31,439 Speaker 1: twentieth century alchemy proposal. And here again the science kind 337 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:35,640 Speaker 1: of outpaced people's understanding of things. You can do this, 338 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,160 Speaker 1: It can be done. Glenn Seaborg, who was for many 339 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,359 Speaker 1: years the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, and there's 340 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: there's elements named after him. He's he discovered a number 341 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:50,359 Speaker 1: of elements. Very distinguished scientists actually did this. In you 342 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,879 Speaker 1: could you could take very very thin foil of bismuth 343 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:59,000 Speaker 1: and bombard it with proton beam and it displaces electrons, 344 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,159 Speaker 1: so that some of this remaining is in fact an 345 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: isotope of goals. So you can create gold out of 346 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:08,199 Speaker 1: base metals. But again here's the problem. When Seaboard did this, 347 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 1: he estimated that to produce gold by this method would 348 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: cost probably one quadrillion dollars per ounds as a way 349 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: of replacing the gold that was propping up the dollar 350 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: that was worth thirty five This was not really a 351 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: very good proposal. Um. But but you know, it's it's 352 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: kind of easy to make fun of these ideas. Now, 353 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,200 Speaker 1: it has to be said that at the time these 354 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: these were considered viable ways of propping up the global economy, 355 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: which was it was a very serious, sober thing to do. 356 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,600 Speaker 1: But it shows you how twisted and um and kind 357 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: of um uh, what's the word I'm looking for, how 358 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:55,240 Speaker 1: unsustainable the monetary system had become, that that that that 359 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: you would have someone seriously thinking of putting nuclear weapons 360 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: in the ground, is you know, a better way of 361 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: propping up the world's monetary system as opposed to say 362 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: changing the rules. It just shows you how the logic 363 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: had had really become you know, kind of work. And 364 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: I think that's that's part of the theme of my 365 00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:17,400 Speaker 1: book One Nation Under Gold, that for whatever reason, sometimes 366 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: we're good, sometimes we're not so good. This metal has 367 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,760 Speaker 1: kind of warped the American mind over time, and uh, 368 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,920 Speaker 1: and we we can't we can't stop. It's it's this utter, 369 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 1: utter fascination with this substance. Well, James, this has been terrific. 370 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,480 Speaker 1: I hope everyone will check out One Nation Undergold. James, 371 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. 372 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 1: You're listening to part time Genius and we're talking about 373 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: the weirdest things our government spends money on. To ango. 374 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: Before the break, you mentioned that there were some clear 375 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,400 Speaker 1: cut cases of wasteful government spending that are tough to dispute. 376 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: So when you said that, what did you have mind? 377 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:02,960 Speaker 1: Oh man, where to begin? I'd say one of the 378 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 1: worst I came across was the staggering ninety million dollars 379 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 1: that federal agencies spent on unnecessary printing charges each year. 380 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,399 Speaker 1: Like this includes about twenty eight million dollars just to 381 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: print the Congressional Record, and that's a daily transcription of 382 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 1: every word spoken in Congress. So there are over copies 383 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: of this record printed every single day. And the worst 384 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: part is the whole thing is available online. Yeah, that's 385 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: pretty much the definition of wasteful. And I've I've got 386 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: another one here. So, according to a two thousand thirteen 387 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:35,440 Speaker 1: report by the Office of the Inspector General, the government 388 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:38,880 Speaker 1: spent big on inside advertising to increase traffic to their 389 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,159 Speaker 1: Facebook and Twitter pages. How exciting is that Facebook and 390 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: Twitter for government? All told, the State Department told out 391 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 1: six hundred and thirty thousand dollars of the course of 392 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: two years, and this was basically to buy more likes 393 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 1: for their social media posts. Man, did they at least 394 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,880 Speaker 1: get the traffic they wanted? Well, no, unfortunately. I mean 395 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 1: although the State Department's pages did see an uptick and 396 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 1: visit ters, I think it was less than two percent 397 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: of them actually liked or favorite at any post. So 398 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: not only was it a big waste of money, but 399 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: I'm guessing it was kind of a blow to the 400 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,480 Speaker 1: government's pride. You know, I almost feel bad for them. 401 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,680 Speaker 1: But what about how much is spent on the annual 402 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: upkeep of vacant government buildings? Yeah, I remember you were 403 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 1: looking into this, so I'll buy it on this one. 404 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 1: So how many of our tax dollars go to empty buildings, 405 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: way way too many of them. So, according to the 406 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: l A. Times, the government spends as much as one 407 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: point seven billion dollars each year just to maintain the 408 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: more than seven hundred seventy thousand vacant buildings it owns. 409 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,119 Speaker 1: And you want to talk about wasteful. Even though the 410 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: government already pays for all that unused space, some of 411 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: the agencies continue to buy at least new spaces rather 412 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 1: than put the vacant ones. To use seven hundred and 413 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 1: seventy thousand vacant buildings, that is insane. Well, it's it's 414 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:51,920 Speaker 1: especially frustrating in cases like that where a little more 415 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 1: communication could cause multiple problems to cancel each other out. 416 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:59,120 Speaker 1: I mean, in addition to easy workspace for employees, these 417 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: buildings could be used as government storage. Take the I 418 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 1: R S. I mean, the I R S alone has 419 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 1: more than twenty thousand pieces of unused office furniture, and 420 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,080 Speaker 1: rather than sell it or stored in government buildings, the 421 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:13,880 Speaker 1: agency pays nearly one million dollars each year to rent 422 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,520 Speaker 1: storage space. That's so crazy. But you know, as crazy 423 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: as these expenses are, if we want to find the 424 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 1: weirdest government investments, we've got to talk about DARPA. Very 425 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 1: good point, all right. So for those who haven't thought 426 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 1: about DARPA lately or or ever, the full name is 427 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 1: the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Was created back in 428 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,239 Speaker 1: ninety eight to help with the US space race and 429 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 1: quickly switched focus to developing technical innovations for defense. This 430 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: was once NASA took over the space research. DARPA research 431 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,440 Speaker 1: has led to all kinds of breakthroughs, from the first 432 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:50,200 Speaker 1: stealth aircraft, communications, satellites, and drones to the less military 433 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,400 Speaker 1: minded inventions like driverless cars and robotic vacuum cleaners. Right, 434 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 1: and if rumas weren't weird enough, DARPA is also responsible 435 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,160 Speaker 1: for about sixty years worth of really far robotics projects, 436 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 1: many of which were never put to active use. You know. 437 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: One of my favorite examples of this was called EATER. 438 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: That's e a t R, also known as the Energy 439 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 1: Autonomous Tactical Robot. I don't know if you saw this, Mango, 440 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,399 Speaker 1: but it was back in two thousand twelve. They were 441 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,199 Speaker 1: all these online rumors that the government was developing some 442 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: kind of monstrous flesh heating robot. It was to be 443 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,199 Speaker 1: used in combat. What I mean, I feel like I 444 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,920 Speaker 1: definitely remember about that. Well. Thankfully, the rumors turned out 445 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:31,480 Speaker 1: to be exaggerated. Researchers clarified that Eater was strictly vegetarian, 446 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 1: which is comforting seeing as the robot was equipped with 447 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: a chainsaw and a powerful gripper arm and this was 448 00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:41,320 Speaker 1: help but collect plant based biomass to use for energy, 449 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 1: and the idea was that Eater could support troops in 450 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,880 Speaker 1: the battlefield without the need for conventional fuels. I mean, 451 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: it's actually kind of cool. So instead it would simply 452 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:54,200 Speaker 1: collect twigs, grass, paper, other plant materials to help power itself. 453 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:56,199 Speaker 1: And I like this statement from the CEO of the 454 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,880 Speaker 1: company that was funded by DARPA to help develop the robot. 455 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: He said, completely understand the public's concern about futuristic robots 456 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,159 Speaker 1: feeding on human population, but that is not our mission. 457 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: That's super comforting still for my money. You know, the 458 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: scariest thing Dark has worked on has to be their 459 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 1: Total Information Awareness project from way back in two thousand two. 460 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: I mean, that does sound way scarier than managing robots. 461 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 1: I know. It was basically this massive counter terrorism database 462 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: that was supposed to collect, process, and even analyze mind 463 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 1: data to help prevent terrorist attacks. And as you'd imagine, 464 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 1: there was a lot of pushback against what was essentially 465 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: this electronic version of Big Brother. And if you thought 466 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,119 Speaker 1: the name was creepy, you've got to see the logo 467 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:39,520 Speaker 1: they came up with. They used the Eye of Providence 468 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:41,919 Speaker 1: symbol that's on the back of the dollar bill, you know, 469 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,959 Speaker 1: the pyramid with all seeing eye on top. But then 470 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:47,399 Speaker 1: they managed to make it even more creepy by showing 471 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,800 Speaker 1: it projecting a beam of light onto the surface of 472 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: the entire planet o God. Yeah, okay, nothing unsettling about that. Now. 473 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:58,000 Speaker 1: Not all their research is terrifying, though. One of the weirdest, coolest, 474 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 1: and most non threatening projects from dark Uh is this 475 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,399 Speaker 1: robot that can play jazz music. And we already have 476 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:09,240 Speaker 1: artificial intelligence programs that can produce pseudo original classical music 477 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,719 Speaker 1: by analyzing the work of human composers, but DARPA has 478 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 1: its eyes set on robots that actually write and perform 479 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: their own jazz songs. All I think about when you 480 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,160 Speaker 1: said this is like the creatures from Showbiz Pizza. That's 481 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 1: pretty much what it is. They were so far ahead 482 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,120 Speaker 1: of their time that show Biz. But tell me why 483 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: jazz and how do musical robots like help with defense. Well, 484 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: jazz was chosen because it would require the robots to improvise. 485 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,400 Speaker 1: I think it kind of makes sense. So in order 486 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: to jam along with human musicians, the robots need to 487 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: be able to think and react to the situation in 488 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: real time. So the aim is to produce a form 489 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: of AI that can make you know the spur of 490 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:48,640 Speaker 1: the moment decisions and response to constantly changing conditions, which 491 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:50,439 Speaker 1: is definitely a skill that would come in handy on 492 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:52,840 Speaker 1: a battlefield just as much as in a jazz club. 493 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: So I can't believe you just convinced me that jazz 494 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:58,360 Speaker 1: playing robots are smart investment, or at least that they're 495 00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:00,200 Speaker 1: not the worst way to spend our talks about No, 496 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:03,080 Speaker 1: not the worst. But it's, like we were saying earlier, 497 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:06,399 Speaker 1: so many of these seemingly outlandish projects don't sound nearly 498 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: as crazy when they're given the proper context. So how 499 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:11,560 Speaker 1: about we try and experiment, mango. Let's take a look 500 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,439 Speaker 1: at a couple of the country's most recent strange investments 501 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 1: and see if they're as silly as they sound, if 502 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: they're actually worth the money. I'm up for it. But 503 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:21,119 Speaker 1: why don't we take a break for a quiz, first 504 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:28,920 Speaker 1: a mango. Who do we have on the line today, 505 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 1: We've got Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker from the wonderful 506 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,439 Speaker 1: publication Coin Week. Welcome to part time genius guys. Hi guys, 507 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,480 Speaker 1: he has gone for having. When people are getting into 508 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: coin collecting, what are some of the mistakes they tend 509 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 1: to make? So the first one is that people who 510 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 1: really get into a hobby really intensely in the beginning, 511 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,639 Speaker 1: I think that there's a race that they need to 512 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,080 Speaker 1: buy everything they see because somehow they're all going to 513 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,199 Speaker 1: disappear and they're gonna run out of time. And the 514 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 1: fact the matter is like nobody has ever are a 515 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 1: symbol of a a coin collection and that has everything. It's 516 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,359 Speaker 1: just it's it's probably not even possible even if you, 517 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: you know, even with Esos his money, I don't think 518 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,640 Speaker 1: you could do it because you would run out of time, 519 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,280 Speaker 1: and then there would also be coins that would be 520 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:17,720 Speaker 1: so rare that maybe there's only one or two known 521 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:19,840 Speaker 1: and you have to convince the person who owns at 522 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:23,080 Speaker 1: the celt Sea. But the second thing is one of 523 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:27,919 Speaker 1: the most profoundly stupid stories that we had covered in 524 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 1: the last few years involved a guy who was an 525 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:36,120 Speaker 1: investor who bought a quarter million dollar gold coin from 526 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:39,320 Speaker 1: a one of those you know called the eight hundred 527 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:43,920 Speaker 1: numbers listened to on radio kind of gold dealers, and 528 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,040 Speaker 1: they sold him this this amazing coin, like any collector 529 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: who is a real collector would have been just thrilled 530 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:52,640 Speaker 1: to own it. But he found that it had a flaw, 531 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:58,960 Speaker 1: a little bit dingy, so uh, he basically polished the 532 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 1: life out of it, and by the time we saw it, 533 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: it looked like costume jewelry, like something that it didn't 534 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: even look real anymore. I mean it was it was gold, 535 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 1: so it looked like gold, but it was so shiny, 536 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:14,400 Speaker 1: and it was a coin. It looked like something made 537 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: to look like gold. And he still only got like 538 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:20,239 Speaker 1: five six thousand dollars for it on auction. So now 539 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,680 Speaker 1: you're used to dealing with much more valuable coins. But 540 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 1: I was curious, what are your thoughts on getting rid 541 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: of the penny. I'm personally in favor of a total 542 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 1: coinage reform, which would include getting rid of the penny 543 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,680 Speaker 1: at least and maybe the nickel. And if you think 544 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,480 Speaker 1: about it, there has never been a success They push 545 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: to eliminate a piece of paper currency in favor of 546 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:45,440 Speaker 1: a coin. Uh. In the past, probably a hundred or 547 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 1: so years in this country, we used to actually make 548 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 1: currency notes called fractional currency, which were parts of a dollar. 549 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: That was done during the Civil War because they didn't 550 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 1: want to, you know, use silver precious and being hoarded. 551 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 1: So they were making basically stance over money. But uh, 552 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:05,600 Speaker 1: you know, when they tried to introduce the Susan B. 553 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 1: Anthony dollar, it didn't replace the one dollar bill and 554 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 1: the presidential dollar in the second to we it all 555 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,719 Speaker 1: are also failed to do that. So from a minting 556 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 1: industry sent point, the elimination of any point from circulation, 557 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,560 Speaker 1: it is a slow death spiral for that as an industry. 558 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:29,120 Speaker 1: The second part is the good part. So in the 559 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:34,720 Speaker 1: United States we have essentially had the same coin structure 560 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:38,400 Speaker 1: since seven The coins are different and there are some 561 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,960 Speaker 1: different denominations that don't exist, more like a half cent, 562 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 1: half dime, two cent, or three cent piece. But in 563 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty seven the United States meant in a major 564 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:57,000 Speaker 1: pointage reform which eliminated the half cent and the cent 565 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:02,320 Speaker 1: large cent size cent which was oh gosh, maybe in 566 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:05,120 Speaker 1: between the size of a half dollar and a quarter. Essentially, 567 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 1: that's how big the scent used to be, and they 568 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 1: eliminated it in favor of the small size scent that 569 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:16,320 Speaker 1: we used today. Well, the elimination of that meant that 570 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:22,080 Speaker 1: there were scents that were made from three the eighteen 571 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:25,040 Speaker 1: fifty seven, which are like now obsolete, and they were 572 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 1: being redeemed it turned in and destroyed. Well, that's what 573 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:34,360 Speaker 1: started coin collecting in America as sort of a popular hobby. 574 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 1: And so my opinion is if they eliminated the scent 575 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,560 Speaker 1: and the nickel, it would actually help coin collecting because 576 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: people who grew up using those coins would realize they 577 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: were no longer going to be available and people would 578 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:50,440 Speaker 1: start looking for the different dates and mint marks and 579 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 1: things like that. So for coin collectors eliminating stuff like 580 00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:56,640 Speaker 1: that it's probably a good thing, But for the mincing 581 00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:59,880 Speaker 1: industry it's not. That makes a lot of sense. Well, 582 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,200 Speaker 1: you guys are used to dealing with rare coins and 583 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:04,880 Speaker 1: much more valuable coins, but we're gonna put you guys 584 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 1: to the test with something a little more simple. Mango, 585 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:10,040 Speaker 1: what game are we playing today? We're playing the quarter quiz, 586 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:11,960 Speaker 1: and basically we're gonna tell you what's on the back 587 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:13,520 Speaker 1: of the U S quarter and you just have to 588 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:15,600 Speaker 1: tell us the state where it's from. But we're gonna 589 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:17,720 Speaker 1: have you guys face off against one another, and in 590 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:19,840 Speaker 1: order to chime in, we're going to have you make 591 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:23,360 Speaker 1: some animal noises. So Charles you will chime in with 592 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:28,040 Speaker 1: a cow's move, and Hubert you will have the lovely caca. Alright, 593 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 1: so let's get started. Question number one. This stake quarter 594 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,200 Speaker 1: has a picture of a common loon on it, though 595 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,640 Speaker 1: the phrase Land of ten Thousand Lakes might be the 596 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: bigger giveaway. All right, so that's Hubert, what's the answer there? 597 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,760 Speaker 1: All right? I think that would be Minnesota, Absolutely nicely done. 598 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 1: Question number two. There are no slot machines or poker 599 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:51,600 Speaker 1: tables on the back of this stake quarter, just a 600 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:56,640 Speaker 1: pair of beautiful mustangs running free. Oh that sounded like 601 00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,080 Speaker 1: a very realistic cow. Okay, Charles, what do you think 602 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 1: I do? Mind us? Uh? That would be Na Bob, absolutely, 603 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,440 Speaker 1: and Nevada is actually home of the nation's wild horses. 604 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:10,120 Speaker 1: Question number three. This state quarter has the phrase Crossroads 605 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:12,240 Speaker 1: of America on it, right under a picture of a 606 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:19,000 Speaker 1: race car. Okay, Hubert, Indiana al right, well done. Question 607 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,600 Speaker 1: number four. Unlike North Carolina, which also features the Right 608 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:25,520 Speaker 1: Brothers plane, this state quarter paired. They're playing with a 609 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:30,480 Speaker 1: picture of John Glenn in a space suit. Wow, Huber 610 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 1: just barely beats Charles with a coca alright, what's the answer? 611 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 1: It is Ohio? Alright? Question number five. This state quarter 612 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,320 Speaker 1: has a ring necked pheasant in the foreground, though the 613 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:44,800 Speaker 1: pick of Mount Rushmore in the back might be more recognizable. 614 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 1: Um I, why don't we give it to Charles? Yeah? 615 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,160 Speaker 1: That would that would be the South Dakota. You got it, 616 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:55,200 Speaker 1: all right? Question number six, This state has a bucking 617 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 1: cowboy on it, and it's accompanied by the phrase the 618 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:01,240 Speaker 1: equality state. It's better known as a home of Dick Cheney. 619 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:05,920 Speaker 1: This is also probably the worst coin design and the 620 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:10,879 Speaker 1: entire STA series, and that would go to Wyoming. Wait, 621 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:13,759 Speaker 1: why why do you think it's the worst state design. Well, 622 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:16,320 Speaker 1: it's not because of the iconic image of the bucking cowboys, 623 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:19,719 Speaker 1: because there's no detail on it. It's just basically a silhouette. 624 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:23,480 Speaker 1: I mean that's kind of boring. Anything that is pretty boring. Okay, Well, 625 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 1: if I'm not mistaken, we are tied at three. So 626 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,200 Speaker 1: this is the very last question, the tiebreaker number seven. 627 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:32,280 Speaker 1: This state quarter has a picture of a peregrine falcon 628 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:35,759 Speaker 1: and the phrase may it be forever in Latin. There 629 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:40,799 Speaker 1: are zero potatoes on it, however, alright Hubert for the 630 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:45,600 Speaker 1: wind Idaho, it is Idaho. Alright, Mango. How our contestants 631 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:49,360 Speaker 1: done well? He just barely edged out Charles. But it 632 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:52,439 Speaker 1: was a great competition. And as always are, whinner gets 633 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 1: a note to his mom or boss sing his praises. 634 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,640 Speaker 1: And because we don't want Charles to go home h 635 00:34:57,719 --> 00:34:59,840 Speaker 1: empty handed, We're gonna send you home with the weirdest 636 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,720 Speaker 1: poin press we could find online, a hedgehog coin purse. 637 00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:08,040 Speaker 1: I can't wait to use it. Well, congratulations guys, and 638 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,120 Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining us on part time genius. 639 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:12,480 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, guys, great, thank you guys. Thanks, We 640 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:27,200 Speaker 1: will thank you. Okay, Well, so it's time to live 641 00:35:27,239 --> 00:35:31,239 Speaker 1: out the ultimate taxpayer fantasy. We're basically gonna audit the U. S. 642 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,360 Speaker 1: Government and see if any of their two thousand and 643 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:37,600 Speaker 1: sixteen investments past muster. Where do you want to start? Alright? 644 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 1: So here's what I want your opinion on. The researchers 645 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:43,279 Speaker 1: and m I T developed a new program to view 646 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:46,800 Speaker 1: six hundred hours of television shows and four hundred hours 647 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:49,520 Speaker 1: of online videos to see if they could learn about 648 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:52,719 Speaker 1: and anticipate human behavior. So with this, do you think 649 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:54,640 Speaker 1: the government was right to foot the bill for a 650 00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:57,319 Speaker 1: couch potato computer. I'm not falling for this. I feel 651 00:35:57,360 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 1: like I need some more information, So tell me what 652 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,800 Speaker 1: it watch. Well, the program was trying to anticipate actions 653 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:07,480 Speaker 1: like hugs, kisses, high fives, and handshakes, so the researchers 654 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,160 Speaker 1: had to watch tons of YouTube videos and hours and 655 00:36:10,239 --> 00:36:14,040 Speaker 1: hours of Desperate Housewives, The Office, and Scrubs, to name 656 00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:16,400 Speaker 1: a few, which isn't a bad plan, but like, what 657 00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:18,560 Speaker 1: was the end goal? I mean, is the government really 658 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:23,040 Speaker 1: interested in like saving people from being left on high fives. Well, 659 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:25,200 Speaker 1: the real hope is that, with enough time and enough 660 00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:28,400 Speaker 1: binge watching, the program could be used in security cameras. 661 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:31,359 Speaker 1: Is a way to automatically call for help. It identifies 662 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:33,440 Speaker 1: that somebody is about to be injured, or that a 663 00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:35,640 Speaker 1: crime is about to be committed. It's it's it's actually 664 00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:38,839 Speaker 1: pretty interesting stuff. Yeah that's pretty neat. So, um, why 665 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:41,239 Speaker 1: don't we try another one? Since it's beach season, let's 666 00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:43,520 Speaker 1: look at the three million dollars study the National Science 667 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:47,400 Speaker 1: Foundation did on how background music affects viewers perception of sharks. 668 00:36:47,719 --> 00:36:49,520 Speaker 1: But before I go into more detail, I'm going to 669 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:52,520 Speaker 1: give you how the Internet frame the studies conclusion. So 670 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:55,280 Speaker 1: here it is the theme music from Jaws caused people 671 00:36:55,320 --> 00:37:00,920 Speaker 1: to view sharks in a negative manner. That did. I mean, 672 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:02,560 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna say we got ripped off, but it 673 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:06,040 Speaker 1: does strike me as a fairly obvious conclusion. I mean, 674 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,880 Speaker 1: the Jaws theme was composed to feel ominous. It follows 675 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 1: that the song would make viewers wary of whatever's played 676 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:14,480 Speaker 1: alongside it, whether it's sharks or whatever, which is a 677 00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:16,719 Speaker 1: totally fair response. Now, let me fill in some of 678 00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:19,439 Speaker 1: the gaffs and we'll see if it changes your opinion. So, 679 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:22,640 Speaker 1: as part of the study, researchers determined that the public's 680 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:26,880 Speaker 1: negative perception of sharks is actually hindering conservation efforts, and 681 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,800 Speaker 1: we tend to ignore cases where sharks are exploited or abused, 682 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,640 Speaker 1: and we donate less money to shark conservation programs than 683 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:35,359 Speaker 1: we do to similar programs for other creatures. I mean, 684 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:39,200 Speaker 1: that's a little sad, But again, is this surprising our culture? 685 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 1: Has a bad habit of blowing shark on human violence 686 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:45,080 Speaker 1: way out of proportion, especially when you look at all 687 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,680 Speaker 1: the Jaws and shark nadoes of the world. So what 688 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,840 Speaker 1: what is the angle here? Well, according to the NSF 689 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:54,440 Speaker 1: and I'm quoting here, participants rated sharks more negatively and 690 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:58,000 Speaker 1: less positively after viewing a sixty second video of swimming 691 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,399 Speaker 1: sharks set to ominous background music, compared to participants who 692 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:04,319 Speaker 1: watched the same video clips set to uplifting background music 693 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:07,239 Speaker 1: or silence. And here's the thing, right, Like, researchers didn't 694 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:10,480 Speaker 1: use footage from Jaws or other horror flicks. They used 695 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:13,479 Speaker 1: a clip from the BBC's Blue Planet Nature series, which 696 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,880 Speaker 1: just showed sharks like swimming around and being sharks. So basically, 697 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,880 Speaker 1: the study is a warning about making educational content that 698 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:23,360 Speaker 1: borrows too heavily from the Hollywood Shark Playbook. Yeah, pretty 699 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:27,880 Speaker 1: much so, the studies actual non inflammatory conclusion was quote. 700 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,520 Speaker 1: Given that nature documentaries are often regarded as objective and 701 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:35,880 Speaker 1: authoritative sources of information, it is critical that documentary filmmakers 702 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:38,400 Speaker 1: and viewers are aware of how the soundtrack can affect 703 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:41,160 Speaker 1: the interpretation of the educational content. All right, I think 704 00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:43,200 Speaker 1: I see where you're going with this, and you know, 705 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:46,520 Speaker 1: suddenly a laughable research study doesn't seem quite as ridiculous. 706 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:49,400 Speaker 1: But I mean, three million dollars, was it really worth 707 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:51,239 Speaker 1: that much? Yeah? I mean, I guess that depends on 708 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:54,360 Speaker 1: how the educational community responds to the findings, and of 709 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:57,640 Speaker 1: course whether or not you like sharks. All right, Well, 710 00:38:57,680 --> 00:38:59,960 Speaker 1: you know this might sound silly, but auditing the government 711 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:02,399 Speaker 1: is much harder than I thought it would be. There's 712 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:05,440 Speaker 1: just so many angles from what you can analyze these expenses, 713 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,279 Speaker 1: and they all make a certain amount of sense. I mean, 714 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:11,520 Speaker 1: our country spent a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars 715 00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:14,240 Speaker 1: on a three D printer that can create edible pizzas 716 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,680 Speaker 1: for astronauts. On the one hand, that's exorbitant, But on 717 00:39:17,719 --> 00:39:19,359 Speaker 1: the other, do we really want to be the kind 718 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:22,680 Speaker 1: of people who would deny astronauts pizza? I don't, I know. 719 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:25,520 Speaker 1: I mean, there are real benefits to even the most 720 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:30,120 Speaker 1: ridiculous sounding investments, but balancing those potential benefits against the 721 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:32,760 Speaker 1: real world costs, I mean, that can all be dizzying. 722 00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,000 Speaker 1: That's why it's so important to try and keep things 723 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:38,000 Speaker 1: in perspective when looking at these weird government investments. What 724 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:40,000 Speaker 1: do you mean by that, Well, just like with the 725 00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:42,680 Speaker 1: thread of sharks or that one percent of funding goes 726 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:44,839 Speaker 1: to foreign aid, we have a way of making these 727 00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:47,719 Speaker 1: weird expenses out to be way bigger problems than they 728 00:39:47,719 --> 00:39:51,080 Speaker 1: really are. Take those government waste books, for example, they 729 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:55,319 Speaker 1: document billions spent on questionable grants and programs. But even 730 00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:58,360 Speaker 1: all nineteen billion dollars of that is only half of 731 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:01,680 Speaker 1: one percent of the three point nine trillion dollar federal budget. 732 00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:04,560 Speaker 1: So while it's definitely not something we should ignore, it 733 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:06,440 Speaker 1: doesn't make as much of an impact on the government's 734 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:09,399 Speaker 1: bottom line as you think. That's actually pretty comforting. I mean, 735 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:12,400 Speaker 1: I want people to like sharks and I want astronauts 736 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:15,000 Speaker 1: to eat pizza. So if those things can happen at 737 00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:17,520 Speaker 1: no huge cost to the country, I consider that a 738 00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:19,920 Speaker 1: win in my boat. We'll hold onto that feeling well, 739 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:22,680 Speaker 1: because it's time for the fact not bring it on mango, 740 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:33,960 Speaker 1: h All right, So I'll kick it off. Every wonder 741 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:36,640 Speaker 1: where all those old Neon signs go when they burn out. 742 00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:39,640 Speaker 1: In two thousand ten, one eight million dollars was given 743 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:43,239 Speaker 1: to construct a Neon sign graveyard near Las Vegas, and 744 00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:45,440 Speaker 1: I mean, I clearly want to check this place out. Yeah, 745 00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:47,480 Speaker 1: I kind of do too. Alright, well, Mago, you and 746 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:49,919 Speaker 1: I both have young sons who are very curious about 747 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,759 Speaker 1: video games. Are doing the whole Minecraft thing now, but 748 00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:55,080 Speaker 1: it won't be long before they're begging to play games 749 00:40:55,120 --> 00:40:57,759 Speaker 1: like World of Warcraft. And it turns out there could 750 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:00,120 Speaker 1: be some good money in this. The creators of one 751 00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:03,520 Speaker 1: study received two point nine million dollars to look into 752 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:06,840 Speaker 1: how online virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft and 753 00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:11,080 Speaker 1: Second Life can help organizations collaborate and compete more effectively 754 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:14,720 Speaker 1: in the global marketplace. Have you ever been to Denali 755 00:41:14,840 --> 00:41:17,359 Speaker 1: National Park? I haven't. Well, when you do, I'm sure 756 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:19,560 Speaker 1: the animals and mountains and stuff will be pretty cool 757 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:21,480 Speaker 1: to look at. But be sure to check out the 758 00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:25,120 Speaker 1: toilets because they've got some seriously fancy new ones, or 759 00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:27,960 Speaker 1: at least they'd better be fancy. At forty one dollars 760 00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:31,120 Speaker 1: perceed with thirty six toilets, that comes out to one 761 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:34,560 Speaker 1: point five million dollars. Wow. All right, Well, I'll try 762 00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:36,400 Speaker 1: to swing by right after I visit the home for 763 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:39,400 Speaker 1: the US Ambassador to NATO and Brussels to see the 764 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:42,880 Speaker 1: nine hundred and sixty violets, nine hundred and sixty tulips, 765 00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:46,920 Speaker 1: nine hundred and sixty begonias, five four Iva geraniums, and 766 00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:50,800 Speaker 1: lots of other plants, totaling seven hundred and four thousand 767 00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:54,319 Speaker 1: dollars for this one residence. I feel like he cut 768 00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:57,279 Speaker 1: the budget on the ivy geraniums. Yeah, everything was at 769 00:41:57,360 --> 00:42:00,319 Speaker 1: nine hundred and sixty until the ivy geranium. So 'st year, 770 00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:03,040 Speaker 1: the government allocated like close to a million dollars to 771 00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:06,040 Speaker 1: post poems and zoos throughout the country. The poems are 772 00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:09,960 Speaker 1: there to quote, increase environmental awareness. Thank goodness, Yeah, thank 773 00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:12,000 Speaker 1: goodness for that one. All right. I'm not sure if 774 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:13,960 Speaker 1: you remember this ad back in two thousand and ten, 775 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 1: but the government invested two point five million dollars on 776 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:20,359 Speaker 1: what would later become known as the worst Super Bowl 777 00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:24,200 Speaker 1: ad ever. So back in two thousand twelve, then Congressman 778 00:42:24,239 --> 00:42:26,600 Speaker 1: Mark Newman noted that he wanted to save taxpayers a 779 00:42:26,719 --> 00:42:29,680 Speaker 1: hundred seventy five thousand dollars by cutting the funding for 780 00:42:29,719 --> 00:42:32,719 Speaker 1: a study on quote the connection between cocaine and the 781 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:36,560 Speaker 1: risky sex habits of the Japanese quail for risky sex, 782 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:39,600 Speaker 1: I know. And while the study was really intended to 783 00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:42,880 Speaker 1: help researchers understand the connection between drug abuse and sex 784 00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:45,600 Speaker 1: habits and public health options. I want to see his 785 00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:48,560 Speaker 1: study on coked up quails. All right, I'm with you 786 00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:51,080 Speaker 1: on this one. That seems like the most necessary use 787 00:42:51,120 --> 00:42:53,640 Speaker 1: of government money we've talked about all day. So I'm 788 00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:56,040 Speaker 1: gonna get this one to you. Congrats, thank you, and 789 00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:58,319 Speaker 1: that's it for today's Part Time Genius. Thank you so 790 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:16,120 Speaker 1: much for listening. Thanks again for listening. Part Time Genius 791 00:43:16,120 --> 00:43:18,040 Speaker 1: is a production of how stuff works and wouldn't be 792 00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:21,000 Speaker 1: possible without several brilliant people who do the important things 793 00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:23,920 Speaker 1: we couldn't even again to understand. CHRISTA McNeil does the 794 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:26,359 Speaker 1: editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme song and does 795 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:29,480 Speaker 1: the mixy mixy sound thing. Jerry Rowland does the exact 796 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:32,640 Speaker 1: producer thing. Gay Bluesier is our lead researcher, with support 797 00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:35,480 Speaker 1: from the Research Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and 798 00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:37,680 Speaker 1: Lucas Adams and Eves. Jeff Cook gets the show to 799 00:43:37,719 --> 00:43:40,160 Speaker 1: your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like what you heard, 800 00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:42,239 Speaker 1: we hope you'll subscribe. And if you really really like 801 00:43:42,360 --> 00:43:44,200 Speaker 1: what you've heard, maybe you could leave a good review 802 00:43:44,239 --> 00:44:01,319 Speaker 1: for US. Do we do we forget Jason? Jason who 803 00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:00,800 Speaker 1: s