SmartDrivel

Latest Episodes:

Ep.188: Great Nicknames (redux) Nov 13, 2023

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Who was “The Minister of Defense”? Which President was called “His Accidency”? Can you guess what Tolstoy’s nickname was? Jon and Kurt jump into the world of nicknames and unearth some absolute gems...like Grover Cleveland’s.

Ep.187: Say That Again? Nov 06, 2023

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Jon and Kurt return to a theme from the early days of Smart Drivel as they give examples and discuss sayings that just make no sense. Some, like “on cloud 9” confuse one and not the other while others, such as “the exception proves the rule” require much thought. They agree on some, bring up some classics like “pick the low hanging fruit” and try not to have a “near miss.” Near miss? Um, we think you meant “near hit.”

Ep.186: Bumping Gums Oct 30, 2023

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Jon and Kurt have a ripsnorting time in this episode as they discuss and showcase slang terms from the 1930s. Sometimes they are a bit off the cob, but not enough to ever necessitate putting them in a Chicago Overcoat. They have fun dissecting the sometimes esoteric and sometimes perfectly accurate terms that the hep cats threw around 90 years ago. You shred it, wheat!

Ep.185: Hypothetically Speaking Oct 23, 2023

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Jon and Kurt decide, in this episode, to ask each other some life changing, soul crushing, deep as the deepest depths of Mordor, questions. Like, “if you were a vegetable, what would you be?” And others of equal gravitas. Take a listen, hear their answers, laugh at them (with them?) and try to answer the questions yourself. If you had to sell your soul to the devil, what would you get in return?

Ep.184 British or American (redux) Oct 16, 2023

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While both countries share a common language, the words don’t always mean the same thing in England as they do in America. Jon and Kurt dig into this and expose some of the potentially embarrassing situations that can arise...such as a Brit in America asking a co-worker for a rubber or a Yank in England not knowing his chips from his crisps from his aubergine.

Ep 183: More of History's Mysteries Oct 09, 2023

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With all our technology and AI and larger frontal cortices these days, you would think that we could solve some of history’s greatest mysteries. And, it is fair to say, many previous wonders and complete bafflements have recently been explained. But, there are still some out there for which we have no answers. For example, what happened to the Neanderthals? Where is Alexander the Great’s tomb? What happened to Tony Soprano at the end of the last episode? Join Jon and Kurt as they deign to wander into some of history’s greatest mysteries and attempt to put forward their own theories.

Ep.182: The Curious Case of the Dickie Sep 30, 2023

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Bell bottoms, high heels, cod pieces, popped collars, dickies...yup, once upon a time all of these, and other like-minded trends, were all the rage. Jon and Kurt try to unravel the history of these odd bursts of fashion to better understand what the hell people were thinking when they wore these oddities.

Ep. 181: The Mustache Sep 25, 2023

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Mustaches are having their moment. Previously the signature look of creepy dudes and ‘70s porn stars, the mustache is back, popular, and oh so au courant. Hipster millennials finally are shaving their beards leaving just the beauty on the upper lip, the ‘stache, in homage to the incredible heroes, artists, conquerors, movie stars, and bad asses of the past. Join Jon and Kurt in this episode as they discuss the merits and demerits of said upper lip worm. You won’t be surprised that they differ on its “coolness factor”. So wax up and take a listen.

Ep. 180: Marie Antoinette Eats Cake in London? Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

The lads, Jon and Kurt, have a good ol’ chinwag discussing obnoxious passengers on airplanes, crazy words like apricity, Queen Victoria’s family squabbles that played out across a global stage and, at some point, they even discuss Marie Antoinette and Twinkies. Smart Drivel at its finest.

Ep. 179: Puking Shakespeare Sep 11, 2023

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Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays and 154 sonnets, and the official count is 884,647 words and 118,406 lines. Within this prodigious output, he invented over 1,700 new words and countless phrases that we use every day. Jon and Kurt decide to share some of the most surprising and interesting of these words and phrases in this episode–it may not be fashionable (ding ding) or neither here nor there (ding ding), but for goodness sake (ding ding), have a listen.

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