1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:00,800 Speaker 1: Guess what will? 2 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:01,640 Speaker 2: What's that mango? 3 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: So I'm not sure if you're on Twitter, but everyone's 4 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: been talking about buttons this week, Like Kim Jong un 5 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: was bragging about his which caused our Chief of State 6 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: to brag about the size of his nuclear button. 7 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm not sure if you have to be on 8 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 3: Twitter to have heard this news. It feels like it 9 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 3: has been everywhere this week. 10 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, and this is obviously a really fun game for 11 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: world leaders to play, but it's been driving up my anxiety. 12 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: And then I started focusing my attention on all the 13 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: other buttons in this world, Like did you know that 14 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:34,880 Speaker 1: the Victoria's Secret model Carolina Kurkova was born with a 15 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: medical complication, so she has no belly button. Like every 16 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: time she's in a magazine, they actually have to photoshop 17 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 1: a button in. 18 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 2: Yeah. 19 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 3: Actually, I didn't realize humans could be born without belly buttons. 20 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 2: I thought that was just animals that hashed from eggs. 21 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:49,639 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I don't think she's a reptile, if that's 22 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: what you're implying. Like, she had an operation when she 23 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: was a child, so she has this strange, smooth belly. 24 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 2: But apparently she's not alone. 25 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: There are lots of people in the world without belly 26 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: buttons as well, And it isn't just an Adam and 27 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: Eve thing. But that's just the first of our button 28 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,240 Speaker 1: facts on today's Nine Things. Let's dive in. 29 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 3: Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to part time genius sim 30 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 3: Will Pearson And as always, I'm joined by my good 31 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 3: friend mangesh Hot Ticketter and the man on the other 32 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 3: side of the soundproof glass wearing a very fancy cardigan. 33 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 3: And those buttons are so big. I actually think are 34 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 3: those buttons on top of buttons? 35 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: Mango? I think? 36 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 2: So wow. 37 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 3: That's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. And it's a 38 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 3: real shame that our regular superstar Nine Things, guess Gabe 39 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 3: Luesier is not here in studio to appreciate this cardigan, 40 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 3: but he is joining us by sky. 41 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 2: Hey there, Gabe, Hey guys, thanks for having me on. 42 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 3: Well, let's talk buttons. You want to uh, you want 43 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 3: to go first? Do you have a good fact? Yeah? 44 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 2: Definitely. 45 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 4: So since Mango kicked this off by talking about the President, 46 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 4: I thought i'd tell you about the time that President 47 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 4: Carter hit a secret panic button in the bathroom. Apparently 48 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 4: he thought it was the button for a flush, but 49 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 4: was shocked when a Secret Service agent basically kicked the 50 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 4: door down, gun in hand, only to find the President 51 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,800 Speaker 4: zipping up his trousers. According to the agent Marty Venker, 52 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 4: Carter was quote pretty chilly to him after that. 53 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 3: No way, I really want to know, like where this 54 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,799 Speaker 3: panic button was and how it could be placed somewhere 55 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 3: that could be confused for like a flush button. 56 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: That's just on top of the toilet. 57 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 3: Ah, that is so weird. All right, well, I've got 58 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 3: a slightly different button. 59 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 2: Fact, I'll go next here. 60 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 3: So I actually didn't realize this used to be a 61 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 3: thing in cars, but this was the floor mounted dimmer switch. 62 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 3: And this actually comes from our old friend Kara kovalcik 63 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 3: over at Mental Floss, and she told us about this. 64 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 3: But apparently the switch for high beams used to be 65 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 3: this little button that was next to the brakes and 66 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 3: so if you tapped your left foot on it, your 67 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 3: brightes would then turn on. So this is another one 68 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 3: for me. Was like, why was it ever thought to 69 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 3: put it right there? It just seems like a kind 70 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 3: of a strange place to have it. All right, Mango, 71 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:10,679 Speaker 3: you got one? 72 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely, so so you know, everyone knows about the 73 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: Staples easy button, right like it was featured in their 74 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: ad campaign forever ago. And you might have known that 75 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: the company sold easy buttons in their store and they 76 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: made a fortune off of them. But did you know 77 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: that they actually came in different varieties. So in addition 78 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 1: to the one that said that was easy like the 79 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,639 Speaker 1: traditional button that they had, they also had an easy 80 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: for parents button that said things like of course, you're right, 81 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: and your house your rules, as well as an easy 82 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: for kids button that said go ahead and stay up 83 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: late and good news, no homework. 84 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 3: It's always so strange to me when things like that 85 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 3: take off. I wonder how many of those they actually sold. 86 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 3: That's such a bizarre thing. Yeah, definitely, all right, Gabe, 87 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 3: what's your next fact? 88 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 4: Here's something I'd never thought about until I came across 89 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 4: an article and slate, But apparently in early colonial America, 90 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 4: people used to make their own buttons at home, and 91 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 4: according to the article quote, working class families counted themselves 92 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 4: lucky if they owned a handheld button mold. So basically, 93 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 4: you'd heat up this mold on some coals, fill it 94 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 4: with lead, and then let it cool into a button. 95 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,679 Speaker 4: Shape and then you'd you know, decorate the heavy button 96 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 4: or wrap it in fabric something like that. 97 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: That's amazing. 98 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 3: We're gonna do a little button history here too, because 99 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 3: I've actually got a button in fact, an old button 100 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 3: fact as well. So at one point, buttons were so 101 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 3: popular and often fashions so tiny that your fingers weren't 102 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 3: actually helpful in getting the button through the loop, and 103 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,480 Speaker 3: so people kept these button hooks around and so basically 104 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 3: there were these scary looking kind of crochet type instruments 105 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:50,919 Speaker 3: that you'd used to pull a tiny button through a 106 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 3: narrow eyehole. And often you'd have to have different button 107 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 3: hooks for different size. But it just seems like such 108 00:04:57,600 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 3: a hassle I have. 109 00:04:58,520 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: To do all this. 110 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 3: It is exactly the opposite of what Tristan's got going on, 111 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 3: where I think, for those huge buttons, you actually need 112 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 3: two hands to be able to get it through the 113 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 3: hoop there. 114 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 2: All right, Mango, what's your next fact? 115 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: That's a funny bit of history. So that actually reminds 116 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: me of something I read about why women's buttons are 117 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: on the left side of the shirt and men's are 118 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: on the right, And there are a whole bunch of 119 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: theories about this, like some people claim men needed their 120 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: dominant hand for holding weapons in the Middle Ages, so 121 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: the button on the right made it easier for their 122 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: non dominant hand to button the shirt. One handed or 123 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,159 Speaker 1: mental flaw says this theory about how women tend to 124 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: hold babies with their left hand so that their right 125 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: hand is free to do things, and that's why the 126 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,160 Speaker 1: buttons are on the left side of their blouses. But 127 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: the theory with the biggest support is that more fancy 128 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: women were dressed by others, and when you're buttoning a 129 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: lot of buttons for an impatient royal or a duchess 130 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: or whatever, having the buttons played to your dominant hand 131 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: is useful. So they're on the handmaid's right or the 132 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: noble woman's left to speed. 133 00:05:58,240 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 2: Up the process. 134 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 3: Oh, actually makes a lot of sense. All right, Gabe, 135 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 3: what's your last fact of the day. 136 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 4: Here's a really cool one. So the first remotes for 137 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 4: TVs were called lazy bones, and they had a wire 138 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,839 Speaker 4: that connected directly to the TV set. But Zenith improved 139 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 4: on this design in nineteen fifty six with their wireless 140 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 4: Space command remote, and it worked in a totally different 141 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,360 Speaker 4: manner than you might expect. So when you press the button, 142 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 4: it would cause a tiny hammer inside to hit an 143 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 4: aluminum bar that would then cause an ultrasonic tone, and 144 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 4: the TV would interpret those notes as commands to change 145 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 4: the channel or turn the set on and off. According 146 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 4: to Time magazine, the hammer made enough noise when it 147 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 4: clicked down that people started calling the space command a clicker. 148 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 3: All right, well, I've got one last fact that I 149 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,719 Speaker 3: was saving this one because it's pretty gross, but also 150 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:49,919 Speaker 3: because it relates to the Mango's belly button fact at 151 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 3: the beginning of the show, and that is that scientists 152 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 3: have figured out how to use bacteria from belly buttons 153 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 3: and adding milk to make cheese. 154 00:06:58,040 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 2: Which I know that. 155 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 3: Sounds disgusting, right, But the whole point of the exhibit, 156 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 3: which took place in Trinity College, Dublin, was to expose 157 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 3: people to the range of microbial communities in the human body. 158 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 3: But according to NPR, while people started by quote making 159 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 3: these grossed out faces, they then smell the cheese and 160 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 3: realize it just smells like a normal cheese. 161 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 2: I'm not sure that makes it any less gross. 162 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: That just makes me think that belly buttons smell like cheese. 163 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 2: All right, Gabe. 164 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 3: Since your long distance today, I feel like you get 165 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 3: to choose who wins today's nine Things. 166 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 4: I got to give it to you then, I mean 167 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 4: you brought it full circle with that belly button fact, 168 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 4: so I think you take the trophy. 169 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 2: I knew it. I was going to be disappointed if 170 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 2: I didn't well listeners. 171 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 3: If we forgot any facts about belly buttons or buttons 172 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 3: in general that. 173 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 2: You know, feel free to share those with us. 174 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 3: You can always reach us part time genius at HowStuffWorks 175 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 3: dot com. You can also call us on our twenty 176 00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 3: four to seven Fact hotline one eight four four pt Genius, 177 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 3: or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter. It's been 178 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 3: really fun hearing from you guys, with lots of ideas 179 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 3: for some of our future nine Facts episodes, so keep 180 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 3: those coming and we'll be back tomorrow with a full 181 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 3: length episode. 182 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 2: Thanks for listening.