Smartest Year Ever
Education

Smartest Year Ever

by Gordy

The Smartest Year Ever began as a 365-day experiment in curiosity.
In 2025, I dropped a new fact every single day.
History, science, language, word origins, and strange true stories, all the stuff that somehow makes you sound smarter in conversation.
The goal hasn’t changed: help you become the world’s greatest conversationalist.

102 episodes
EN language
All Episodes
1
He Carried a Calf Every Day…Until It Became a Bull
6:14 Mar 27, 2026
2
The Day a Major City Had No Police
7:16 Mar 21, 2026
3
How Did People Wake Up Before Alarm Clocks?
6:42 Mar 14, 2026
4
Abandoned Olympic Venues Around the World
7:37 Mar 4, 2026
5
The Weirdest Olympic Events Ever
8:47 Feb 7, 2026
6
When the U.S. Dropped Two Nuclear Bombs on Itself
9:46 Jan 31, 2026
7
The Only Sea Without a Coast (The Sargasso Sea)
5:33 Jan 24, 2026
8
What It’s Really Like to Enter Witness Protection
12:40 Jan 16, 2026
9
The Odds of a Monkey Writing Shakespeare Are Worse Than You Think
16:00 Jan 10, 2026
10
365 Days of Facts — Smartest Year Ever Bonus Episode | Smartest Year Ever (Jan 1, 2026)
23:49 Jan 1, 2026
11
What Astronauts Call “The Overview Effect” — 2025 Finale | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 31, 2025)
6:31 Dec 31, 2025
12
Why Kissing Exists — Across Species | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 30, 2025)
6:48 Dec 30, 2025
13
Why We Call It “Trivia” | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 29, 2025)
5:03 Dec 29, 2025
14
Why the QWERTY Keyboard Is Laid Out This Way | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 28, 2025)
4:35 Dec 28, 2025
15
How Long a Goldfish Actually Remembers | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 27, 2025)
6:02 Dec 27, 2025
16
The Animals That Can Have Virgin Births | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 26, 2025)
4:56 Dec 26, 2025
17
What the “X” in Xmas Really Means | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 25, 2025)
4:34 Dec 25, 2025
18
Why We Hang Stockings on Christmas | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 24, 2025)
4:45 Dec 24, 2025
19
Why Santa Has Reindeer | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 23, 2025)
4:49 Dec 23, 2025
20
Why We Have Christmas Trees | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 22, 2025)
4:31 Dec 22, 2025
21
The True Story of the 1914 Christmas Truce | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 21, 2025)
5:16 Dec 21, 2025
22
The Hidden Message Inside the Peace Sign | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 20, 2025)
4:19 Dec 20, 2025
23
The Only U.S. President With a Patent | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 19, 2025)
3:19 Dec 19, 2025
24
The Illegal Wooden Skyscraper One Man Built by Hand | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 18, 2025)
4:09 Dec 18, 2025
25
What People Used Before Toilet Paper | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 17, 2025)
5:11 Dec 17, 2025
26
The Surprising History of the Monocle | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 16, 2025)
3:59 Dec 16, 2025
27
What the CIA Tried to Hide | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 15, 2025)
5:31 Dec 15, 2025
28
The CIA’s $20 Million Spy Cat | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 14, 2025)
4:08 Dec 14, 2025
29
Balloonfest ’86: The World Record That Went Horribly Wrong | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 13, 2025)
4:36 Dec 13, 2025
30
The U.S. Secret Plan to Nuke the Moon | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 12, 2025)
3:36 Dec 12, 2025
31
The Woman Who Cheated the Boston Marathon | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 11, 2025)
4:54 Dec 11, 2025
32
The Town That’s Been Burning Since 1962 | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 10, 2025)
4:16 Dec 10, 2025
33
How Parrots Talk | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 9, 2025)
5:10 Dec 9, 2025
34
NASA’s Forgotten Moon Trees | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 8, 2025)
4:00 Dec 8, 2025
35
Why You Think Everyone’s Noticing You | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 7, 2025)
5:23 Dec 7, 2025
36
Why Incompetent People Think They’re Brilliant | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 6, 2025)
4:21 Dec 6, 2025
37
Why One Good Trait Blinds Us to the Rest | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 5, 2025)
4:43 Dec 5, 2025
38
Why We Love What We Build | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 4, 2025)
4:16 Dec 4, 2025
39
Why Asking for a Favor Makes People Like You | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 3, 2025)
4:07 Dec 3, 2025
40
Why That Horoscope (and Personality Test) Felt So Accurate | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 2, 2025)
4:34 Dec 2, 2025
41
Why You See Things Everywhere After You Learn About Them | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 1, 2025)
5:25 Dec 1, 2025
42
The Forgotten Captain of the Mayflower | Smartest Year Ever (Nov 30, 2025)
5:56 Nov 30, 2025
43
The Mystery of Virginia Dare and the Lost Colony | Smartest Year Ever (Nov 29, 2025)
4:27 Nov 29, 2025
44
The Myth of Plymouth Rock | Smartest Year Ever (Nov 28, 2025)
6:02 Nov 28, 2025
45
Why It’s Called “Black Friday” | Smartest Year Ever (Nov 27, 2025)
4:05 Nov 27, 2025
46
What Was Actually Eaten at the First Thanksgiving | Smartest Year Ever (Nov 26, 2025)
4:42 Nov 26, 2025
47
Why Turkeys Are Called Turkeys | Smartest Year Ever (Nov 25, 2025)
4:31 Nov 25, 2025
48
Why Leaves Change Color | Smartest Year Ever (Nov 24, 2025)
4:15 Nov 24, 2025
49
The President Who Served Only 31 Days | Smartest Year Ever (Nov 23, 2025)
5:27 Nov 23, 2025
50
The Only President Who Never Married | Smartest Year Ever (Nov 22, 2025)
4:05 Nov 22, 2025
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