Good Job, Brain!
Episode 298: The Clothes Off Our Backs
Original Release Date: October 14, 2025
Hosts: Karen, Colin, Chris
Special Guest: Julio Trujillo (Denver Trivia League, The Chase & Jeopardy! alumnus)
Episode Overview
This week, the Good Job, Brain! team takes on the wide world of clothing and fashion, blending their signature brand of trivia and offbeat fun. With quizzes galore, dazzling historical tidbits, and special guest trivia master Julio Trujillo, the episode explores everything from Met Gala showstoppers and classic fashion brands to obsolete textile jobs, famous occupational surnames, and iconic hats. Listeners are treated to a whirlwind of fascinating fashion facts seasoned with plenty of laughs and memorable banter.
Key Episodes Segments & Discussion Highlights
1. Special Guest Arrival & General Trivial Pursuit Pop-Quiz
Timestamps: 00:38–11:43
- Julio Trujillo makes a surprise visit, buzzing in for a lightning round of Trivial Pursuit drawn from oddball editions like R&R Singles, 80s, 90s, Baby Boomer, and Pop Culture.
- Quips about quiz master pet peeves and the dangers of AI-powered bad trivia answers:
- Julio: “They're finding AI answers that aren't correct ... I just put this into chat GPT, they said, blah, blah, blah.” (14:24)
- Chris: “We kind of... There's an unspoken rule where the quizmaster is always right.” (14:51)
- Julio’s sweater-vests on Jeopardy! and The Chase spark the segue into a themed clothing episode.
2. Met Gala Fashion Quiz
Timestamps: 18:09–26:15
- Chris leads a dazzling quiz on legendary, viral, or controversial Met Gala outfits, blending fashion trivia with pop culture.
- Memorable questions include:
- Cher’s 1974 feather dress (20:10)
- Stella McCartney & Liv Tyler’s “rock royalty” tanks (21:22)
- Kim Kardashian’s “couch” floral maternity look (21:55)
- Rihanna’s pearl-encrusted pope ensemble (23:01)
- Katy Perry’s chandelier+cheeseburger costumes (23:33)
- Jared Leto with a replica of his own head (24:26)
- AOC’s “Tax The Rich” dress (25:01)
- Karen: “The press was mean because she was so pregnant. They’d be like, ‘Oh, she looks like a couch.’ But she looks great.” (21:59)
- Memorable questions include:
3. Lightning Round: Fashion Brands with Animals in Their Logos
Timestamps: 26:36–31:07
- Karen’s zippy brand logo quiz challenges players to name the animal represented in fashion logos.
- Sample Q&A:
- Hermès – Horse (27:36)
- Lacoste – Crocodile (28:00)
- Abercrombie & Fitch – Moose (28:34)
- Swarovski – Swan (29:01)
- Roots – Beaver (29:17)
- Mark Ecko – Rhino (29:38)
- Hollister – Seagull (30:35)
- Emporio Armani – Eagle (31:02)
- Sample Q&A:
4. Find-the-Connection Quiz: Shirts
Timestamps: 31:22–35:24
- Julio delivers a “find the connection” round, each answer referencing a common shirt style.
- Oxford – Oldest university, classic shirt
- Trapeze – Circus act, trapeze shirt
- Jersey – British Crown dependency, jersey shirt
- Western – Film genre, western shirt
- Henley – Eagles singer, Henley shirt
- Polo – Equestrian sport, polo shirt
- T (Tesla) – The letter “T,” T-shirt
- Karen identifies the theme: “Shirts! Oxford shirt, polo shirt, Henley, trapeze…” (35:24)
- Julio explains the less-known “trapeze shirt”: “Very loose up top and then they kind of tight on the bottom.” (35:40)
5. Offbeat Fashion Segment: The Leg o’ Mutton Sleeve
Timestamps: 38:39–41:22
- Karen shares FB group banter about sleeve terminology, notably the "leg o' mutton" sleeve (39:51), sparking a group-penned comedic novella riff:
- Dramatic Recap: “Cynthia, that’s a lovely design. What do you call it? ... ‘Leg o’ mutton.’” (40:54)
6. Obsolete Fashion Occupations: Pee, Pluck, and Peril
Timestamps: 41:30–56:21
- Colin dives into the hazardous, sometimes stomach-turning history of fashion-adjacent jobs:
- Fuller, Tucker, Walker: Medieval workers cleaned and shrank wool, often by trampling it in vats of urine. “The main substance they used for fulling is not water ... it was good old pee, good old urine.” (42:54)
- Woad Dyer: Produced blue dye from the woad plant, involving urine fermentation and toxic chemicals (44:56).
- Doffer & Mule Scavenger: Child labor in the industrial revolution—kids quickly changed bobbins & scavenged scraps from dangerous spinning machinery. “You would have the doffers, who would be kids anywhere from 8 to 12 years old ... It was dangerous work ... You’re watching out for yourself.” (51:04)
- Pointer: Sharpened needles and pins, risking “pointer’s rot” (fatal metal dust lung disease) and frequent injuries. “The average life expectancy of a pointer was only 35.” (55:29)
- Chris: “Lots of walking through pee.” (56:21)
- Karen: “Next time you meet someone whose last name is Walker, have fun facts about how you got your name.” (56:25)
7. “Help, I’m Wearing Too Many Hats!” Iconic Hat Quiz
Timestamps: 57:09–69:55
- Karen leads a creative quiz: Given a hat’s technical name and description, name the character, profession, or group most associated:
- Montera: Matador (60:36)
- Casquette: Bicycle racer (61:31)
- Whoopee cap: Jughead (62:54)
- Mortar board: Graduate (63:45)
- Bicorn: Napoleon (64:34)
- Capotaine: Pilgrim (65:46)
- Tyrolean hat: Yodeler, Riiiicooooola! (67:08)
- Gimme hat: Trucker (“trucker hat”) (68:30)
8. Julio’s Trivia League & Pub Quiz Insights
Timestamps: 70:10–71:19
- Julio plugs Denver Trivia League (find them on Instagram/Facebook), talks about music bingo pub quizzes:
- “We have a music round always and actually do music bingoes ... You can identify the song on a bingo board.” (70:35)
Notable Quotes & Fun Moments
- Chris (on Met Gala): “She changed into a cheeseburger costume. Looking like Mayor Mc— Okay.” (23:41)
- Karen (on hats): “You’re never going to learn this much about hats as you’re about to in this quiz!” (59:11)
- Colin: “Next time you meet someone whose last name is Walker... Great first date material.” (56:25)
- Karen (deadpan): “Hope you learned stuff today about hats, about Met Gala, about shirts, and about walking on pee.” (71:05)
Episode Tone & Takeaways
- Lighthearted, nerdy, and fast-paced: The hosts blend breezy banter with deep dives into obscure facts.
- Interactive: Quizzes are at the forefront, encouraging listeners to play along.
- Trivia as social connection: Recurrent themes of pub trivia culture, group knowledge, and quirky historical tangents reflect the show’s community-driven ethos.
- Fashion as a lens for history: From Met Gala excess to “leg o’ mutton” sleeves, from occupational surnames to industrial labor perils, the team colorfully illustrates the hidden worlds lurking behind “the clothes off our backs.”
Navigation by Timestamps
- 00:38 – Guest trivia & “road to 300” banter
- 14:03 – Pub trivia pet peeves & AI answer gripes
- 16:56 – Fashion/clothing theme introduction
- 18:09 – Met Gala viral & controversial outfit quiz
- 26:36 – Brand logo lightning round (animals in fashion brands)
- 31:22 – "Find the Connection": Shirts quiz
- 38:39 – “Leg o’ mutton” sleeves & FB group novella
- 41:30 – Obsolete clothing jobs & trivia (Fuller, Woad Dyer, Doffer, Pointer, etc.)
- 57:09 – “Too Many Hats” iconic hat quiz
- 70:10 – Julio on Denver Trivia League, music bingo, and pub trivia
- 71:05 – Episode wrap, shout-outs, and sign-off
For more trivia, quizzes, and offbeat knowledge, visit goodjobbrain.com or join the conversation in the listener group, the Good Job Brain Lobe Trotters on Facebook.