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Answer Man - How Long Would It Take To Spend A Billion Dollars If I Spent A Dollar A Minute
00:14:32
Answer Man - How Long Would It Take To Spend A Billion Dollars If I Spent A Dollar A Minute
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K Pop Demon Hunters, Saja Boy's Breakfast Meal and Hunt Trick's Meal have just dropped at McDonald's. They're calling this a battle for the fans. What do you say to that, Rumi? It's not a battle. So glad the Saja Boys could take
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breakfast and give our meal the rest of the day.
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It is an honor to share. No, it's our honor. It is our larger honor. No, really, stop. You can really feel the respect in this battle. Pick a meal to pick a side. Ba da ba ba ba and participate in McDonald's while supplies last. The Answerman Would you like to know the reason birds sing so much or why Julius Caesar collected emeralds? Would you like to know the answers to many other interesting questions? The Answer man will tell you, and here he is to answer your questions. The Answer man hello, everyone.
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And what questions have we there?
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The first is from a Pittsfield, Massachusetts, boy. How long would it take me to spend a billion dollars if I spent a dollar a minute?
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If you started right now and continued 24 hours a day, 12 months a year, you wouldn't have spent your Last dollar until July 3858.
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Next day, Corning, New York, woman inquires, did the ancient Romans like emeralds?
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Yes. Caesar collected emeralds because he believed them a charm against epilepsy and a cure for eye diseases.
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Next to Yanceyville, North Carolina, a listener asks, are chimpanzees capable of feeling sympathetic towards human beings?
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Oh, yes, indeed they are. As proof, there's the experience of the animal psychologist who found that he could get a chimp to come down out of a tree by pretending that he'd hurt his arm. The chimp would climb down, examine the supposedly hurt arm sympathetically, and then caress it soothingly.
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Next day, Woodcliff, Georgia, man inquires, do Jewish clocks run counterclockwise?
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Well, some of them do. There's a famous public clock on the facade of the old town hall in Prague, Czechoslovakia, which was built in the 15th century with Hebrew numerals on it. And these numerals and the hands go from left to right, counterclockwise.
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A woman living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, asks, what kinds of orchids are parasitic?
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None. Orchids are divided into two groups, epiphytic or air growing, and terrestrial or land growing. The epiphytes live upon trees and other plants, but they are not parasitic. They only cling to the trees for support and do not take nourishment from them. Much of their food is obtained from the air.
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Next, a Bridgeport, Connecticut, man writes, if you happen to know the poem about stealing umbrellas, will you kindly give it on the air? I can't locate the poem anymore any more than I can locate my umbrella.
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Well, many years ago, Ferguson Brown wrote a verse about an umbrella. Perhaps this is the one that you mean. The rain. It raineth on the just, and also on the unjust fella, but chiefly on the just, because the unjust steals the just's umbrella.
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Before the next question, here's a special
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message and one with good news for all of you who take vitamins for It's a way you can get the best government standard vitamins at half price or even less.
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Yes, just let us send you a free Hudson catalog and then compare the prices. Now, the Average cost of 125,000 unit vitamin A capsules is $4.10, but you can get the same government standard vitamins from Hudson for only $1. That's right, you save $3.10. A high potency formula that generally sells for 9.45 per hundred is only 3.50 at Hudson. That's a saving of 595. Yes, Hudson means it when they say you can save 50% and more at Hudson. So start saving today. Write for your free catalog of Hudson vitamins and food supplements. Just put your name and address on a postcard and send it to the answerman, Mutual Broadcasting System, New York 18.
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There's no obligation to buy anything. No salesman will call on you or telephone. But compare the prices and you'll see why. For 25 years, doctors, nurses and thousands of others have bought their vitamins from Hudson.
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So get your free catalog. Just send your name and address to the answerman, Mutual Broadcasting System, New York 18. Next, a Stone City, Iowa, man asks, how do rabbits differ from real rodents?
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Primarily by having two sets of upper teeth, one payer behind the other.
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And a Sandpoint, Idaho, woman inquires, are there really peppers so hot they can burn you?
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There certainly are. The burn of some kinds of red peppers is so hot that on occasion it's required a doctor's attention.
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This question comes from a Cleveland, Ohio, listener. Have they yet got a Geiger counter or some similar device sensitive enough to detect uranium from an airplane?
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Yes, they have. The United States Geological Survey now uses a plane flying slowly about 300ft above the ground to detect the general area of uranium deposits. But the exact location of the ore is still ascertained on the ground.
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A note from a Eugene, Oregon, student reads, why are most of the girls who are ballet dancers rather short? What's wrong with tall girls.
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Tall girls are seldom found in ballet companies because extra height means extra weight, and that makes it harder for their male partners to lift them up. Besides, dancing on the points of the toes adds fully 8 inches to a girl's stature, and this means that, paired with a male dancer of average height, the tall girl on her points can make the two of them appear rather grotesque. However, there are exceptions, especially when the male dancer is very tall.
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Next, a note from a Sparks, Nevada, youngster reads, do weasels catch rabbits?
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Yes, they do. All but the pica or coney, which is a sort of tailless rabbit, for in a chase the pika usually succeeds in outwitting the weasel. Pikas live in colonies, and they post sentries to keep watch for their enemies and to act as decoys for when a weasel spots one of them. The pika starts running, dodging in and out of rocks and crevices with startling speed. But the weasel can follow the winding course of the pika with accuracy and ease. However, just as the weasel is about to overtake the pika it's chasing another fresh and rested pika will leave its lookout station and cut into the race, just ahead of the weasel and just behind the tired pika, who then quickly dodges out of the race. This trick is repeated again and again, and thus with an excellently planned relay system, the pikas succeed in tiring the weasel, which is eventually forced to give up the chase and go home empty handed or, more accurately, empty jawed.
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Before the next question, a reminder to get your free Hudson vitamin catalog today. A free catalog that shows you how you can save 50% and more on vitamins and food supplements.
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The quality of Hudson vitamins is standardized by US Government regulations. There are none better just check them with your doctor and all Hudson products are sold with a money back guarantee.
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So get your free Hudson catalog. Just put your name and address on a postcard and send it to the answer man, Mutual Broadcasting System, New York 18. Let's name an address on a postcard to the answer man, Mutual Broadcasting System, New York 18. Next, a Fairchild, Wisconsin, man asks about how many icebergs come down from Greenland in a year.
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From 10 to 15,000.
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And the Walla Walla, Washington, listener inquires, is there any word in the English language that doesn't have a vowel?
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No, but there are several letter combinations used to describe sounds that have no vowels, such as sht, pfft.
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This question comes from a Camden, New Jersey, woman. Why in the world do male birds
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sing so much to advertise, male birds want it to be known that they have occupied a certain territory, so they sing about it. This serves the double purpose of attracting females as well as warning off those males who might take a notion to move in May.
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Listerites from Boulder, Colorado. Has any classical composer ever gone so far as to note in his works what kind of drumsticks a drummer should use in playing his composition?
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Yes. Hector Berlioz, who was one of the finest of all orchestrators, insisted that different tones could be obtained from sticks with wooden heads, leather heads, and sponge heads, and so he frequently indicated in his music which stick the drummer should use.
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Next, a Cheyenne, Wyoming, listener asks, is it a fact that Captain John Smith, the leader of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, came over to this country in chains?
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It is. It's a fact. On the way across the Atlantic in the year 1607, John Smith was falsely accused of mutiny by his companions and put in chains in the hold of the ship. Before the ship had left England, however, King James had given the colonists a sealed box which contained the name of the man he had chosen to be leader of the colony. The box was not opened until the party reached Virginia. The men were surprised, embarrassed, and later very sorry when, upon opening the box, it was discovered that King James had appointed John Smith, who was in chains in the hold, to be their leader.
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Before the next question, a special message. Do you want your child to earn a good living when grown up?
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Wait.
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That's not as foolish a question as it seems, because it's a fact that people with good educations earn more money and have a better chance for promotions. Let's make sure that our children get the education they deserve. You see, America's population has grown so fast in the last few years that the schools have had a hard time keeping up. Classrooms are seriously overcrowded, there's a tremendous shortage of teachers, and the population keeps increasing all the time. This isn't a hopeless situation, of course. There's plenty that you or your neighbors can do about it. For instance, join your neighborhood group working for better schools. Help make sure that your neighbors know exactly what local school needs are and what might be done to meet those needs. Remember this Better schools start with the personal interest of people like you. This message is brought to you as a public service. Next, a listener living in Corsicana, Texas, asks, can Jack Benny really play the fiddle?
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Well, when he wants to, yes, when he wants to.
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And the Baltimore, Maryland, man inquires, how many messages can a messenger pigeon carry at one time?
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An almost unlimited number if they're all going to the same place. By the use of microphotography, a single carrier pigeon can deliver 10 or even 20,000 messages.
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And a Clearwater, Florida, sports fan asks, how much do major league baseballs vary in size?
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The rules of baseball provide for a fourth of an ounce leeway in weight and a fourth of an inch in circumference.
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Next, a man writes from Reading, Pennsylvania. Did George Washington have a written army commission as commander in chief of the American army, something he could frame and
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put on the wall after he resigned? When George Washington appeared before Congress at noon on December 23rd in 1783, in a brief, modest address, he expressed his desire to retire as commander in chief of the American army, and he asked that a copy of his army commission be given to him so that his grandchildren might look at it a hundred years hence. Congress gave him the commission, and they promised him a gold box to keep it in. But for some reason, the gold box was never forthcoming.
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Next, a letter from a Gallup, New Mexico woman reads, is it really true that there is a well marked grave in Denmark which anybody can visit, that is the actual grave of Hamlet?
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Well, yes and no. No one actually knows whether Hamlet really existed at all. But there is what is said to be the grave of Hamlet that's shown to tourists visiting Marion List Denmark, although there's nothing in that grave at all. Furthermore, these same unsuspecting tourists are guided to a nearby pool in which Hamlet's Ophelia was supposed to have drowned herself. Both of these allegedly historical spots are nothing more than the product of the imaginative mind of a clever Marion List innkeeper who obviously has a PT Barnum player for the special attraction. Still, I suppose it's all rather appropriate. The name Hamlet just means fool, and what the tourist sees could be a fool's grave. At the very least, there's a fool looking at it.
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Before the next question, a special message. Are you thinking about your future these days? Well, the United States Coast Guard offers a variety of programs to fill the need of every young man considering military service. For the young man or the veteran considering a career, there is the regular Coast Guard. Here he can find training in the field of his choice, good pay in a job not subject to the ups and downs of economic life, allowances and benefits that mean security and the prospect of a dignified and satisfactory retirement. The Coast Guard is a small service where men are men and not merely service numbers. Opportunity is for everyone in a military service of long history and tradition, a service that combines material benefits with travel, adventure and excitement in a lifetime of action in promoting respect for our laws and saving life and property on land, sea and air. A career in the Coast Guard is a career of service and honor. See your local Coast Guard recruiter. This message is brought to you as a public service. Next, a woman living in Quincy, New Hampshire inquires, doesn't a modern harp have about 30 strings?
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More than that? The modern harp has 47 strings and
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a note from a limestone main listener reads, would you please give me all the words to a poem that starts with My church is but one temple wide as the world is wide. And who wrote the poem anyway?
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Nobody knows the actual name of the author, since the verse is signed simply e O G. The poem goes as follows. My church has but one temple wide as the world is wide Set with a million stars where a million hearts abide. My church has no creed to bar a single brother man, but says, come thou and worship to everyone who can. My church has no roof, nor walls, nor floors, save the beautiful sod, for fear I would seem to limit the love of the illimitable God.
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In his next program, the Answer man will answer such questions as what American general killed 30 bears with just his knife? This is Mutual, the world's largest network.
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This is Mike Borlow of Lexicon Valley
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and I'm Bob Garfield. Are you one of those people who sometimes uses words? Do you communicate or acquire information with, you know, language? Hey, us too. So join us on Lexicon Valley to chew over the history, culture and many mysteries of English, plus some wisecracks. Find us on one of those apps
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where people listen to podcasts.
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Hi, this is Alex Canceroitz. I'm the host of Big Technology Podcast, a longtime reporter and an on air contributor to cnbc. And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how artificial intelligence is changing the business world and our lives. So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech and outsiders trying to influence it and asking where this is all going. They come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more. So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, in meetings with your colleagues and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology Podcast Wherever you get your podcasts.