Good Job, Brain! Episode 281: Skin in the Game
Released: December 3, 2024
Hosts: Karen, Colin, Dana, Chris
Episode Overview
This episode takes on the theme of “Skin in the Game,” exploring the concept of skin in a wide array of offbeat trivia topics—ranging from the technology of photography and anthropology to sports equipment, viral advertising trends, and animal physiology. The hosts bring their signature wit and love of weird facts to “skin,” and as always, challenge each other and listeners with trivia questions and stories.
Quick Bits & Opening Banter
[00:16-04:14]
- Karen shares quirky Guinness World Records by U.S. state, courtesy of listener Kate:
- Illinois: “Farthest distance walking barefoot on Lego bricks”
- Iowa: Longest stand-up comedy show (40 hours, 8 minutes)
- Montana: Largest "festival of testicles"
- New York: Most shoes removed by a dog in one minute
- Oregon: Fastest time alphabetizing letters in alphabet soup
- The crew jokes about the oddities and requirements of Guinness records.
- Colin recounts his recent adventure at a live pub quiz, "rusty" but excited.
- They took second place and won some beer.
- Special shout-out to host Mary at Two Pitchers Brewing in Oakland.
Fun Pub Quiz Country Challenge
[04:14-07:09]
- Colin brings a quiz question from his pub night: Name five countries whose names end with the letter "L."
- Portugal, Brazil guessed quickly, but the full list is:
- Brazil, Israel, Nepal, Portugal, Senegal
- Portugal, Brazil guessed quickly, but the full list is:
“I really enjoyed that question. It was one of those, like, where it’s tough but easy…after you hear it afterwards.” — Colin [06:38]
Pop Quiz Hot Shot: Trivial Pursuit Card
[07:09-11:53]
- The team tackles random Trivial Pursuit questions, sharing knowledge and bantering:
- Geography: The Chrysler Building (Cloud Club)
- Pop Culture: Jimmy Fallon (introduced first "Lip Sync Battle")
- Business: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (housing crisis of 2008)
- Children’s Books: Goodnight Moon
- Science: LED stands for Light Emitting Diode
- Sports: Order of Olympic Triathlon events—Swimming, Cycling, Running
Memorable moment:
“I cannot hear the title of that book without hearing the Christopher Walken Goodnight Moon joke from The Simpsons.” — Colin [09:09]
Main Theme: “Skin in the Game”
[11:53 onward]
1. The Shirley Card: Racism in Photo Technology
[12:38-15:45]
- Karen explains the Shirley Card—used in film photography as a color reference, always featuring a white woman ("Shirley").
- Led to poor-quality photos for people of color; industry only responded when wood and chocolate companies needed better reproduction of darker tones.
- Kodak’s solution was "Kodak Gold" film in the 1990s, more inclusive of various skin tones.
“It’s kind of messed up that it took those two industries to make a change.” — Karen [14:41]
2. Books Bound in Human Skin
Chris’s Story [15:45-25:47]
- “Ripped from the headlines”: Harvard removed a book with a human skin binding from its library in 2024.
- The practice (anthropodermic bibliopegy) involved 19th-century physicians binding books in human skin.
- The “Anthropodermic Book Project” verified the authenticity of such bindings using peptide mass fingerprinting on collagen.
- Of 51 suspected books, 18 confirmed to be human skin, 14 debunked.
- Only one book—Narrative of the Life of James Allen (Boston Athenian Library)—was bound with the owner’s consent.
- Harvard decided to respectfully return the skin to France.
“A book about the human soul deserves to have a human covering.” — French physician, inside the infamous book [17:19] “Don't bind books in human skin, everybody. It's creepy.” — Chris [23:53]
3. The Spin of “Vegan Leather”
[25:55-34:01 & 35:23-35:27]
- Karen marvels at the marketing spin turning “pleather” and “faux leather” into “vegan leather.”
- “Vegan leather” was popularized in the 2010s, originally just fake leather (plastic), but now includes plant-based products.
- Early fake leather: Pressstoff (resin-coated paper) in WWII Germany.
- Newer leathers are made from apple skins, pineapple fiber (“pineapple leather”), kombucha SCOBY, and mushroom mycelium (“mushroom leather”).
- Karen, a hobbyist cobbler, reports on using and testing pineapple and mushroom leather.
“One of the greatest advertising spins in my lifetime is people calling fake leather ‘vegan leather.’” — Karen [26:02] “It's perfect. It's such a Don Draper Mad Men kind of [move].” — Chris [26:46]
4. Sports Balls: Leather, Legends, and Lingo
Colin’s Segment [35:27-54:55]
Football’s “Pigskin” Myth
- Early sports balls were animal bladders (sheep or pig), inflated with… human breath—giving rise to the "pigskin" nickname.
- Leather casings eventually became standard.
Which Pro Ball Isn’t Leather?
- Of MLB, NFL, NBA, MLS, only soccer balls (MLS and FIFA) are now entirely synthetic (polyurethane pleather).
Trivia Challenge: FIFA’s First Synthetic Ball
- The world’s first non-leather World Cup soccer ball: 1974’s Telstar Durlast (distinctive black and white pattern).
“If you Google ‘clip art soccer ball,’ 99 out of 100 it’s going to be that black and white style ball.” — Colin [43:02]
Baseball’s Leather Shift
- In 1974, MLB baseballs switched from horsehide (out) to cowhide (in) due to supply/cost issues.
- Historically, baseballs were homemade and expensive—sometimes lasting multiple games.
Disastrous NBA Ball Swap
- In 2006, the NBA introduced a synthetic microfiber ball that was instantly hated and abandoned in two months.
“The players complained...it cut their fingers. The act of dribbling the ball...was so unforgiving.” — Colin [54:05]
- The NBA reverted to leather due to player backlash.
5. Sharks, Skin, and Sterile Surfaces
Karen’s Segment [55:32-61:49]
- Sharks have “dermal denticles”—tiny scale-like structures—making their skin sleek, hydrodynamic, and resistant to fouling by algae/barnacles (unlike whales or ships).
- The skin’s micro-pattern inspired antibacterial surfaces; “shark skin” patterned catheters reduce hospital UTIs by repelling bacteria.
“The micro-pattern surface of shark skin makes it hard for algae and bacteria to hang on. …catheters [with this pattern] help decrease bacterial infection.” — Karen [60:23]
- Fun callback to an old trivia question: Wasabi in Japan is traditionally grated on dried shark skin for the desired texture.
- Colin adds: many fuzzy fruits (like peaches) have fuzz to deter bugs—not kill, just annoy, creating another kind of “skin defense.”
Notable Quotes
- "It was one of those, like, where it’s tough but easy… after you hear it afterwards." — Colin, on the country-ending-in-L question [06:38]
- "Don’t bind books in human skin, everybody. It’s creepy." — Chris [23:53]
- "Vegan leather is one of the greatest advertising/marketing spins I got to live through." — Karen [26:02]
- "The micro-pattern surface of shark skin makes it hard for algae and bacteria to hang on." — Karen [59:01]
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Time | Segment | |----------|---------------------------------------------| | 00:16 | Guinness World Records quick trivia | | 04:14 | Pub quiz: countries ending in 'L' | | 07:09 | Trivial Pursuit Hot Shot segment | | 12:38 | The Shirley Card & racial bias in film | | 15:45 | Books bound in human skin | | 25:55 | Vegan leather: history and innovation | | 35:27 | “Pigskin”: Myths & sports ball trivia | | 43:02 | Soccer ball design & materials | | 46:20 | MLB leather switch: horsehide to cowhide | | 52:31 | NBA’s synthetic ball fiasco | | 55:32 | Shark skin: anatomy, antibacterial tech | | 61:49 | Peach fuzz as bug deterrent (mini fact) |
Tone and Style
The episode is delivered in Good Job, Brain!'s signature style: clever, irreverent, pun-filled, and packed with the kind of fascinating facts, odd history, and rapid-fire quizzes that trivia fans adore. The hosts bounce ideas off each other with plenty of laughter, maintaining a welcoming and inclusive energy.
For Listeners Who Missed the Episode
- You’ll walk away knowing why “vegan leather” is more marketing than material, just how many books are really bound in human skin, why fuzzy peaches are more petty than poisonous, and how the smallest structures in shark skin could make our hospitals safer.
- You’ll also come armed with quiz-night gold on the evolution of sports equipment.
- Most importantly, you’ll have fun trivia ammo for your next social gathering (or weird fact needed to bother your friends).