WEBVTT - 9 Facts About Buttons that Aren't Nuclear

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<v Speaker 1>Guess what will? What's that mango? So I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 1>if you're on Twitter, but everyone's been talking about buttons

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<v Speaker 1>this week, like Kim Jong un was bragging about his

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<v Speaker 1>which caused our Chief of State to brag about the

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<v Speaker 1>size of his nuclear button. Yeah, I'm not sure if

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<v Speaker 1>you have to be on Twitter to have heard this news.

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<v Speaker 1>It feels like it has been everywhere this week. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is obviously a really fun game for world

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<v Speaker 1>leaders to play, but it's been driving up my anxiety.

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<v Speaker 1>And then I started focusing my attention on all the

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<v Speaker 1>other buttons in this world, Like did you know that

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<v Speaker 1>the Victoria's Secret model Carolina Kurkova was born with a

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<v Speaker 1>medical complications, so she has no belly button, Like every

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<v Speaker 1>time she's in the magazine, they actually have to photoshop

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<v Speaker 1>a button in. Actually, I didn't realize humans could be

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<v Speaker 1>born without belly buttons. I thought that was just animals

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<v Speaker 1>that hatched from eggs. Yeah, well, I don't think she's

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<v Speaker 1>a reptile, if that's what you're implying. Like she had

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<v Speaker 1>an operation when she was a child, so she has

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<v Speaker 1>this strange, smooth belly. But apparently she's not alone. There

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<v Speaker 1>are lots of people in the world without belly buttons

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<v Speaker 1>as well. And it isn't just an Adam and evening.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's just the first of our button facts on

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<v Speaker 1>today's Nine Things. Let's dive in. Y Hey, their podcast listeners,

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<v Speaker 1>welcome to part time Genius and I'm Will Pearson and

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<v Speaker 1>as always I'm joined by my good friend Man Guesh

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<v Speaker 1>Ticketer and the man on the other side of the

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<v Speaker 1>soundproof glass wearing a very fancy cardigan. And those buttons

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<v Speaker 1>are so big. I actually think for those buttons on

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<v Speaker 1>top of buttons, Manko, I think so wow. That's our

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<v Speaker 1>friend and producer Tristan McNeil, and it's it's a real

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<v Speaker 1>shame that our regular superstar Nine Things guests, Gabe Bluesier

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<v Speaker 1>is not here in studio to appreciate this cardigan, but

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<v Speaker 1>he is joining us by sky pay their Gabe. Hey, guys,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks for having me. Well, let's talk buttons. You want

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<v Speaker 1>to uh, you want to go first? Do you have

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<v Speaker 1>a good fact? Yeah, definitely. So. Since Mango kicked this

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<v Speaker 1>off by talking about the President, I thought i'd tell

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<v Speaker 1>you about the time that President Carter hit a secret

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<v Speaker 1>panic button in the bathroom. Apparently He thought it was

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<v Speaker 1>the button for a flush, but was shocked when a

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<v Speaker 1>Secret Service agent basically kicked the door down, gun in hand,

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<v Speaker 1>only to find the President zipping up his trousers. According

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<v Speaker 1>to the agent Marty Venker, Carter was quote pretty chilly

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<v Speaker 1>to him after that. Oh way, I really want to

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<v Speaker 1>know like where this panic button was and how it

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<v Speaker 1>could be placed somewhere that could be confused for like

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<v Speaker 1>a flush button that's just on top of the toilet. Ah,

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<v Speaker 1>that is so weird. All right, well I've got a

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<v Speaker 1>slightly different button. Fact, I'll go next here. So I

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<v Speaker 1>actually didn't realize this used to be a thing in cars,

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<v Speaker 1>but this was the floor mounted dimmer switch. And it

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<v Speaker 1>actually comes from our old friend Karakvalchick over at Mental

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<v Speaker 1>Floss and she told us about this. But apparently the

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<v Speaker 1>switch for high beams used to be this little button

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<v Speaker 1>that was next to the brakes and so if you

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<v Speaker 1>tapped your left foot on it, your brights would then

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<v Speaker 1>turn on. So this this is another one for me,

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<v Speaker 1>was like, why was it ever thought to put it

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<v Speaker 1>right there? It just seems like a kind of a

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<v Speaker 1>strange place to have it. Alright, Mango, you got one? Yeah, definitely. So. Uh. So,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, everyone knows about the Staples easy button, right

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<v Speaker 1>like it was featured in their ad campaign forever ago.

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<v Speaker 1>And you might have known that the company sold easy

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<v Speaker 1>buttons in their store and they made a fortune off

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<v Speaker 1>of them. But did you know that they actually came

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<v Speaker 1>in different varieties. So in addition to the one that

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<v Speaker 1>said that was easy like the traditional button that they had,

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<v Speaker 1>they also had an easy for parentence button that said

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<v Speaker 1>things like of course you're right, and your house your rules,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as an easy for kids button that said

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead and stay up late and good news, no homework.

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<v Speaker 1>It's always so strange to me when things like that

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<v Speaker 1>take off. I wonder how many of those they actually sold.

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<v Speaker 1>That such a bizarre thing. Yeah, definitely, all right, gay,

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<v Speaker 1>what's your next fact? Here's something I've never thought about

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<v Speaker 1>until I came across an article in Slate, But apparently

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<v Speaker 1>in early colonial America, people used to make their own

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<v Speaker 1>buttons at home, and according to the article quote, working

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<v Speaker 1>class families counted themselves lucky if they owned a handheld

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<v Speaker 1>button mold. So basically, you you'd heat up this mold

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<v Speaker 1>on some coals, fill it with lead, and then let

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<v Speaker 1>it cool into a button shape, and then you'd you know,

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<v Speaker 1>decorate the heavy button or wrap it in fabric something

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<v Speaker 1>like that. That's amazing. We're gonna do a little button

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<v Speaker 1>history here too, because I've I've actually got a button fact,

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<v Speaker 1>an old button fact as well. So at one point,

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<v Speaker 1>buttons were so popular and often fashion so tiny that

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<v Speaker 1>your fingers weren't actually helpful in getting the button through

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<v Speaker 1>the loop, and so people kept these button hooks around

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<v Speaker 1>and so basically there were these scary looking kind of

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<v Speaker 1>crochet type instruments that you'd use to pull a tiny

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<v Speaker 1>button through a narrow eyehole. And often you'd have to

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<v Speaker 1>have different button hooks for different size. But it just

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<v Speaker 1>seems like such a hassle I have to do all this.

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<v Speaker 1>It is. It is exactly the opposite of what Tristan's

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<v Speaker 1>got going on, where I think for those huge buttons,

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<v Speaker 1>you actually need two hands to be able to get

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<v Speaker 1>it through the hoop there. Alright, Mango, what's your next fact?

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<v Speaker 1>That's that's a funny bit of history. So um that

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<v Speaker 1>actually reminds me of something I read about why women's

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<v Speaker 1>buttons are on the left side of the shirt and

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<v Speaker 1>men's are on the right. And there are a whole

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of theories about this, Like some people claim men

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<v Speaker 1>needed their dominant hand for holding weapons in the Middle Ages,

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<v Speaker 1>so the button on the right made it easier for

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<v Speaker 1>their non dominant hand to button the shirt one handed

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<v Speaker 1>or mental Floss says this theory about how women tend

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<v Speaker 1>to hold babies with their left hand so that their

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<v Speaker 1>right hand is free to do things, and that's why

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<v Speaker 1>the buttons are on the left side of their blouses.

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<v Speaker 1>But the theory with the biggest support is that more

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<v Speaker 1>fancy women were dressed by others, and when you're buttoning

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of buttons for an impatient royal or duchess

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<v Speaker 1>or whatever, having the buttons played your dominant hand is useful.

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<v Speaker 1>So they're on the handmaids right or the noblewoman's left

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<v Speaker 1>to speed up the process. Oh, actually makes a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of sense, All right, Gabe, what's your what's your last

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<v Speaker 1>factor the day? Here's a really cool and So the

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<v Speaker 1>first remotes for TVs were called lazy bones, and they

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<v Speaker 1>had a wire that connected directly to the TV set.

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<v Speaker 1>But Zenith improved on this design in n S with

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<v Speaker 1>their wireless Space command remote, and it worked in a

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<v Speaker 1>totally different manner than you might expect. So when you

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<v Speaker 1>press the button, it would cause a tiny hammer inside

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<v Speaker 1>to hit an aluminum bar that would then cause an

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<v Speaker 1>ultrasonic tone, and the TV would interpret those notes as

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<v Speaker 1>commands to change the channel or turn the set on

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<v Speaker 1>and off. According to Time magazine, the hammer made enough

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<v Speaker 1>noise when it clicked down that people started calling the

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<v Speaker 1>space command a clicker. Alright, well, I've got one last

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<v Speaker 1>fact that I was saving this one because it's pretty gross,

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<v Speaker 1>but also because it relates to mangoes belly button fact

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<v Speaker 1>at the beginning of the show, and that is that

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<v Speaker 1>scientists have figured out how to use bacteria from belly

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<v Speaker 1>buttons and adding milk to make cheese, which I know

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<v Speaker 1>that sounds disgusting, right it. The whole point of the exhibit,

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<v Speaker 1>which took place in Trinity College, Dublin, was to expose

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<v Speaker 1>people to the range of microbial communities in the human body.

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<v Speaker 1>But according to NPR, while people started by quote making

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<v Speaker 1>these grossed out faces, they then smell the cheese and

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<v Speaker 1>realize it just smells like a normal cheese. I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>sure that makes it any less gross. That just makes

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<v Speaker 1>me think that belly buttons smell like cheese. All right, Gabe.

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<v Speaker 1>Since your long distance today, I feel like you get

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<v Speaker 1>to choose who wins today's nine Things. Ah, I gotta

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<v Speaker 1>give it to you then. I mean you brought it

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<v Speaker 1>full circle with that belly button fact, so I think

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<v Speaker 1>you take the trophy. I knew it, I was, I

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<v Speaker 1>was going to be disappointed if I didn't well listeners.

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<v Speaker 1>If we forgot any facts about belly buttons or buttons

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<v Speaker 1>in general that you know, feel free to share those

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<v Speaker 1>with us. You can always reach us part time Genius

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<v Speaker 1>and how Stuff Works dot com. You can also call

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<v Speaker 1>us on our seven Fact hotline one eight four four

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<v Speaker 1>pt Genius, or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been really fun hearing from you guys, with lots

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<v Speaker 1>of ideas for some of our future nine Facts episodes,

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<v Speaker 1>so keep those coming and we'll be back tomorrow with

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<v Speaker 1>a full length episode. Thanks for listening.