June 17, 2025 • 20 mins
Hello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: hosts of the "Part-Time Genius" podcast, Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur!
Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals such as “Ask AI” and audio rebuses.
Subscribe to The Puzzler podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
"The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs" is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is a co-production with Neuhaus Ideas.
Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas, and Lindsay Hoffman of iHeart Podcasts.
The show is produced by Jody Avirgan and Brittani Brown of Roulette Productions.
Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello puzzlers. Let's start with a quick puzzle. Our guests
today are Will and Mango, hosts of the excellent podcast
Part Time Genius. So in honor of Will and Mango,
we are looking for things with the.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Initials w M.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Phrases are people with the initials WM. For instance, something
that you step on before entering a house is a
welcome Matt. That's a WM. Here's a hint to another.
A big obelisk in Washington, d C. Is also a WM.
Think of as many wms as you can during the
break and we'll return with our guests, W. Pearson and
(00:34):
m Hot ticket order. Hello puzzlers, Welcome back to the
Puzzler podcast the Accent Ball in your Downtown Puzzle Artists Loft.
I'm your host, AJ Jacobson. I'm here, of course, with
Chief Puzzle Officer Greig Pliska Greig. Before the break, we
(00:56):
asked listeners to come up with phrases and people with
the initials WM in honor of our guests, Will and Mango.
Anything come to my the obelisk for instance?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Maybe yes, I know the obelisk is the Washington Monument.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
That is correct? Anything else come to mind?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
I can I have a snake the water moccasin.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Nicely done.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
And I thought it name, by the way, first name.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
The Women's movement as a kind of general thing, right good,
and and I wrote down wild man.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
I like it, all right. I'll just give you a
couple others. But people send in your favorite w M
step the puzzler dot.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
You want to give me clues to the couple others
so I can guess.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
All right, sure, Madam Tussou's is.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
One of the wax Museum.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
And this is a film about a daydreamer, remade by
Ben Stiller.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Oh, Walter Mitty, exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
There you go, good to Washington Machine Whole Milk. But
of course our favorite w M. Combo is the host
of Part Time Genius, the podcast asked right here on
iHeart Will Pearson and Mango hot Ticketer.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Welcome Will and.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Mangesh Hey, glad to be back.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Day two.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Day two. You are making it. You don't look too sweaty.
Part Time Genius, as folks should know, is an awesome
podcast with fascinating facts on every topic under the sun
and over. When you started Part Time Genius several years ago,
this was interesting. I hadn't remembered. You actually used to
do some games and puzzles, including a true false quiz
(02:35):
that you gave to me Aj Jacobs when I was
a guest on your show.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
I'd forgotten that.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Oh yeah, I did not. I it's payback time, it's payback.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
How did you do?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I did I do well?
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I listened again. It was four out of five. You
got me on one.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Pretty good. I feel like that's pretty good.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
Well, well, it was always that was always the first
tration when teachers would give quizzes that only had five
questions or a few questions, Because you miss one and
you're already down to a low B.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
It's a problem. It's a big problem.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
We've got, like I think we only have five too.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
So you're here, we go.
Speaker 6 (03:18):
Why we're doing this together. I like our chances. We'll
see what happens.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Well, you know, you could split up. So one says true,
one says false, So then you could have a coverab
like this. Your true false quiz was about rats lovable rodents.
You asked me, for instance, was the original Chuck E
Cheese mascot a RNT? And the answer was, if you remember,
it is true, it is true. Rick the rat until
(03:47):
nineteen ninety three he transitioned into a mouse.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
And the world has been so accepting.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Beautiful it is.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
It is a nice lesson in tolerance. And but I
also love that he started out chomping cigar like he
was just like a maybe not like yeah. I don't
know if he was drinking, but he was certainly smoking.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
All right.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
So, as I said, I've been waiting to get back
te at you. And my true false quiz has a
little puzzly twist. It is a true false quiz about
things that contain the word true or false, So it's
a meta true false quiz, thank you exactly. For instance,
I might give you a true false question about George
(04:38):
Washington's false teeth true or false? Where George Washington's.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Teeth made of wood?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
And you might remember, No, oh, I guess I should
sphrase it. George Washington's teeth were made of foot true
or false? That's how true false were.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Answer.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Okay, I'm learning. I'm learning.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
It's only our four hundred show, all right, So yes,
that is an herban legend. George Washing his teeth false
teeth were not made of wood. They were when he
was president, made of hippo and Elephant Ivory. Uh, all right,
so your first true false question is about false starts
in track and field, true or false. The definition of
(05:27):
a false start is when a runner moves before the
starting gun is fired. True or false? True?
Speaker 6 (05:36):
Right, I think, Well, I'm trying to decide whether this
is a semi trick.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Question because I don't know that movement is illegal.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
So much as leaving their block, like leaving their starting block,
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
I just feel like these guys may be tricking as
many I didn't.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Also tell you guys, I don't know the answers. I
haven't seen this one, so I could be more. I
could either be helpful or hurtful by weighing in with
what I think.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
Oh, yeah, may or.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
What do you think? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
I want to call my friend Greg.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Would I'm with the wheel that he could be trying
to trick it. Yeah, But I also don't think you
have to completely leave the starting block right because it's
hundreds of a second. Your foot might start to go,
but you're still touching it. So so I'm no help
at all really for you guys.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
Let's let's go with Greg's at Greg and Will's answer so.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
You're saying false or or no or yes, you say false, Okay,
false is correct? That is you got it. I enjoy
the tricks, but it wasn't that. The difference was you
can be busted for a false start even if you
begin to run after the pistol is fired, because you
(06:57):
can if you start within point one seconds of the pistol,
that counts as a false start.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
Even if you got it for the reason you had
it for.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
The wrong reason. The idea is the human brains cannot
react that quickly, so that means the runner guessed when
the gun would be fired instead of waiting to hear it,
and that's not allowed. Psychic gifts are very much looked
down upon and penalized and running. So I love that one.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
So that's a good one.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
Gamble should like you should be rewarded for that gamble exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Well, I will say the problem with that would be
because I thought about it, like the running races would
start about forty two times because everyone would try their
own time to Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I think there's a rule like in the Olympics, if
you false start twice, you're disqualified.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Right, still got you still get like eight fall starts,
So right. I've got another true false question about the
nineteen ninety one Madonna documentary Truth or Dare true or false?
Warren Baby, who was Madonna's boyfriend at the time of filming,
demanded more screen time in the final cut.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
A clarification here, more screen time than Madonna or more
screen time just generally.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
The great question for terrifying more screen time than he
had in the version he saw got it.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
What do you think, Mango? If it's not true, it feels.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
Like it should.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Isn't it true that you're so vain? By Carly Simon
was written about Warren Batty.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Oh Wally?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Is that true? Is that just a pocket? I don't know,
but that's the you know.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Well, I remember a couple of years ago they actually
she auctioned off the secret for like one hundred thousand dollars.
So I don't think anyone but the person who one
knows for sure, but that's always what I've heard as well.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Right, So that could imply I don't claim that Warren
Baty is vain, but.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Very good, but very good. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Yeah, what do you think, Mango?
Speaker 5 (09:08):
Yeah, it feels true.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
It feels like we I want it to be true.
So I feel like we.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Should go in the direction that is you know what,
that is a very twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Do you want something to be true?
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Yeah? True?
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Well, I got you, I got you, so we are
it might be down to a B minus. It is false,
quite the opposite. Warren Baty was Madonna's boyfriend at the
time of filming, and but then they broke up and
he called his lawyer said he did not agree to
be in the film. Should they called, they threatened. Madonna
(09:48):
basically said, screw off. He saw the signs that said
we're filming. He doesn't get to see it, and it
is a hiltious I rewatched some of it and it
is hilarious caause he this is like the beginning of
reality TV, and he is so unco comfortable. He is
like an old man who is just like, why are
we Why is this on?
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Why?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
What's going on?
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Old?
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Anyway, that's crazy. He must have been like thirty years
older than her at the time, right it.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Was I think about twenty twenty two or something, but
definitely yeah.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
By the way, I mentioned George Washington in the intro,
and I feel I need an update from you because
I was listening to an episode a Part Time Genius
where you had serious plans to start a mount rushmore competitor.
If you recall this because you found an actual mountain
(10:46):
with a rock formation that looks exactly like Martin van Buren.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
I need an update. How is that? Have you?
Speaker 4 (10:54):
How are planned the permits it's got on the pyramits.
Speaker 6 (11:01):
There's there was some conflict there, but yeah, and we
decided mainly just to make it only.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Van Buren's it would just be different van Buren poses.
So it's evolved over time.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, I love it, so like Van Buren is a
kid Van Buren.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
Yeah, yeah, van Buren playing tennis, which I don't think
he did. But it just sort of makes it more modern,
you know.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Yeah, yeah yeah, vaping maybe venture and vaping.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah, that is great. Well, that is going to be
huge when it does open, and you will you can
even quit your side hustle because people might not know.
Part Time Genius really is a part time job for
Will and Mango.
Speaker 5 (11:41):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
They both do other things, believe it or not. Mango
produces awesome shows with his company Kaleidoscope, including some he
does himself, some he he does not host, but he
did one called Skyline Drive, a deep dive into astrology awesome,
the sad, and Will happens to be a big wig
(12:04):
at iHeart, which happens also to be our platform. So
you will you deal with lots of shows like not
just us, believe it or not, but like maybe.
Speaker 6 (12:14):
Mainly mainly, so I'd say probably eighty percent of my
time is dealing with you guys. And then there's some
we know every once in a while with the NFL
or Will Ferrell or you know, some shows like that,
but but mainly you guys.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Yes, we feel like, yeah, we wanted to hear that.
That is exactly what we were waiting that feat. All right,
I got we're not going to make all five, but
we'll make four, all right. Next question is already gone down.
It's true, you guys are screwed. I'm sorry. Maybe we'll
(12:55):
end there just so you have a terrible show half
and half to screw you, all right. The next question
is a true or false question about falsetto voices, which
is as you know, when men saying.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Like, don't stop doing it.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I don't know, Yeah, all right, true or false? The
year nineteen seventy five was the high point for falsetto
voices in pop music. It was when falsetto voices from
Males was at its most popular that very year, nineteen
seventy five.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
True or false?
Speaker 4 (13:28):
What do you think, Mango? It does feel? I mean,
it definitely was of the time.
Speaker 6 (13:32):
I keep I now can't stop thinking about the justin
Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon doing the very gifts thing.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
It's so funny how life infuses everything, like the true
or false like thing. I was just thinking about the
Wayne and Garth and Madonna doing.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yeah oh yeah, yeah, but.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
Yeah, I think true as well.
Speaker 6 (13:55):
It feels yeah, that feels right, It feels it was
out that era.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Like it it true is true? Saturday Night Fever, that
was it.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Exactly the Begs.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
And this, by the way, is objective fact because Vox
Media did an an in depth investigation. They analyzed hundreds
of thousands of songs. It's hilarious watch the YouTube video
and uh and Beg's it was the Beg's era. Fox said,
we are having another golden age of false shadow. There's
like a lot of false shadow going on.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Yeah, you know, you know what. I love that type
of analysis where you and and for the back page
of Mental Philosopher for a little while after you'd run
through the A to Z of the know it all
a because you said, to the back page for short
bit we would uh test the veracity of different slogans
(14:47):
and things. And and one thing we did was tested,
is Virginia really for lovers? And and then we we
we went through all the states and figured out like
how much berry White was played on the radio, how
much wine they were drinking, flowers were set like, Virginia
was like thirty seventh or something.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I think Ohio was dead last if I know, well.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
What was do you remember the number one state for lovers.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Have been like white?
Speaker 6 (15:17):
Yeah, it was weirdly like and I think part of
that was because of the population.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
I think that they were more than wine.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
And you know, yeah, you're stuck inside, it's cold. What
else are you gonna do? That's right on the very
white and light of fire and you're set all right?
Speaker 1 (15:34):
All right, So there you go, people who want romance
move to Alaska, all right?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Last one.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
And you know what, I will give you like an
extra ten bonus points if you get it, so you'll
get back up to as good this is about false advertising,
true or false. Two men sued Universal Studios for false
advertising over the movie Yesterday Did You See That One,
a romantic comedy about the Beatles lovely movie. The men
(16:03):
said that the studio engaged in false advertising because the
actress Anna de Arma was in the trailer but not
in the movie itself, and they wanted their three dollars
and ninety nine cents back, but ended up spending seven
hundred thousand dollars on legal fees.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
Holy moldly true or false? So that whole thing has
to be either true or false.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
God, Anna day armis with an end.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
No, it's it's this other actress named Anna de Arma. Yeah, yep,
sorry about that, Anna.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Would that would very false if it was.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Yeah, that could have That was the trick. That was
the trick. You caught it.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
This sounds vaguely familiar. I did not see this film,
but Mango, what about you?
Speaker 5 (16:52):
I didn't see the film either, but she wasn't on
my radar back then. But I don't know.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
That's This is the film about the guy who.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
Like has a mesa and then like yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
But it's like he he remembers the Beatles, right, Everyone
else's doesn't know the Beatles exist, so he ends up
writing quote unquote all the Beatles songs because he knows
them and.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Nobody because I love the premise. I think it is
a hilarious premise, very fun movie.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
So what do you think? True or false?
Speaker 3 (17:23):
So you're saying they filmed scenes with her and him, right,
we're in the trailer, but then they cut them out
of the final movie.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
And these guys were pissed because they had spent their
three dollars ninety nine cents to see Anna dey Are
Moss and she was not in it.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
So I will just add I think this rings a bell,
this thing about her not actually being in the movie.
That doesn't really help with us knowing whether it's true
or not. That people sued about it.
Speaker 6 (17:50):
Yeah, I you know, like we said before, this is
a twenty twenty five answer, because I want.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
This to be.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Show.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
I always want the weird things to be true. The
weird things should always be true, well when they're.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Good, should be true.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
So true, what do you think?
Speaker 5 (18:12):
Mango true?
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I'll support that all true.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
It is true, well almost, I'm gonna I was gonna
give it to you either way, because I think it,
but it is true. Almost everything is true except that
they had to pay the seven hundred thousand in legal fees.
It is true that the case racked up seven hundred
thousand in legal fees for Universal, but there was a
(18:36):
big arbitration and they ended up just saying all right,
everyone pays their own.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
But just I love the story.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
I feel it's like a David and Goliath, like they
were outraged by this injustice and they are like, this
is a social justice campaign that everyone should get behind.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Well, you were terrific.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
You got I'm going to read out on four plus
the extra ten.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Point ninety eight points. Oh wow, Okay, I love the
math on the.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Well Van Tat, thank you Mango and will you are
you have ben you well? I guess I did not
avenge myself successfully, but I loved having you on. And
we get you for one more day. I've got one
more true false about true false for the folks at home.
True or false? The name of the town in New
(19:36):
Mexico Truth or consequences that is a real town truth
or consequences that started as an April fool's hoax? Is
that true? Where is that false? Come back and find
out and In the meantime, if you have a little time,
check out our Instagram feed at Hello puzzler.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
No, it's not that. It's at Hello false alert.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
And we will meet here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
They will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
Hey, puzzlers, it's Greg pliska chief puzzle officer, here with
the extra credit answer from our previous episode. We had
Will and Mango with us to do a whole bunch
of fun, and we started with some earbuses our favorite
trademark pending audio Rebus puzzle. Your extra credit AJ actually
gave you two that used the same the kind of
(20:31):
same mechanism.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
One was Bizna Bizna and the other one was Franz
Schubert's sympon. The answer, as you've probably gotten, is unfinished,
unfinished business and unfinished symphony. But don't leave your puzzling
week unfinished. Join us here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles
that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Hello puzzlers. Let's start with a quick puzzle. Our guests
today are Will and Mango, hosts of the excellent podcast
Part Time Genius. So in honor of Will and Mango,
we are looking for things with the.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Initials w M.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Phrases are people with the initials WM. For instance, something
that you step on before entering a house is a
welcome Matt. That's a WM. Here's a hint to another.
A big obelisk in Washington, d C. Is also a WM.
Think of as many wms as you can during the
break and we'll return with our guests, W. Pearson and
(00:34):
m Hot ticket order. Hello puzzlers, Welcome back to the
Puzzler podcast the Accent Ball in your Downtown Puzzle Artists Loft.
I'm your host, AJ Jacobson. I'm here, of course, with
Chief Puzzle Officer Greig Pliska Greig. Before the break, we
(00:56):
asked listeners to come up with phrases and people with
the initials WM in honor of our guests, Will and Mango.
Anything come to my the obelisk for instance?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Maybe yes, I know the obelisk is the Washington Monument.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
That is correct? Anything else come to mind?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
I can I have a snake the water moccasin.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Nicely done.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
And I thought it name, by the way, first name.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
The Women's movement as a kind of general thing, right good,
and and I wrote down wild man.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
I like it, all right. I'll just give you a
couple others. But people send in your favorite w M
step the puzzler dot.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
You want to give me clues to the couple others
so I can guess.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
All right, sure, Madam Tussou's is.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
One of the wax Museum.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
And this is a film about a daydreamer, remade by
Ben Stiller.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Oh, Walter Mitty, exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
There you go, good to Washington Machine Whole Milk. But
of course our favorite w M. Combo is the host
of Part Time Genius, the podcast asked right here on
iHeart Will Pearson and Mango hot Ticketer.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Welcome Will and.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Mangesh Hey, glad to be back.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Day two.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Day two. You are making it. You don't look too sweaty.
Part Time Genius, as folks should know, is an awesome
podcast with fascinating facts on every topic under the sun
and over. When you started Part Time Genius several years ago,
this was interesting. I hadn't remembered. You actually used to
do some games and puzzles, including a true false quiz
(02:35):
that you gave to me Aj Jacobs when I was
a guest on your show.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
I'd forgotten that.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Oh yeah, I did not. I it's payback time, it's payback.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
How did you do?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I did I do well?
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I listened again. It was four out of five. You
got me on one.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Pretty good. I feel like that's pretty good.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
Well, well, it was always that was always the first
tration when teachers would give quizzes that only had five
questions or a few questions, Because you miss one and
you're already down to a low B.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
It's a problem. It's a big problem.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
We've got, like I think we only have five too.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
So you're here, we go.
Speaker 6 (03:18):
Why we're doing this together. I like our chances. We'll
see what happens.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Well, you know, you could split up. So one says true,
one says false, So then you could have a coverab
like this. Your true false quiz was about rats lovable rodents.
You asked me, for instance, was the original Chuck E
Cheese mascot a RNT? And the answer was, if you remember,
it is true, it is true. Rick the rat until
(03:47):
nineteen ninety three he transitioned into a mouse.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
And the world has been so accepting.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Beautiful it is.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
It is a nice lesson in tolerance. And but I
also love that he started out chomping cigar like he
was just like a maybe not like yeah. I don't
know if he was drinking, but he was certainly smoking.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
All right.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
So, as I said, I've been waiting to get back
te at you. And my true false quiz has a
little puzzly twist. It is a true false quiz about
things that contain the word true or false, So it's
a meta true false quiz, thank you exactly. For instance,
I might give you a true false question about George
(04:38):
Washington's false teeth true or false? Where George Washington's.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Teeth made of wood?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
And you might remember, No, oh, I guess I should
sphrase it. George Washington's teeth were made of foot true
or false? That's how true false were.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Answer.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Okay, I'm learning. I'm learning.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
It's only our four hundred show, all right, So yes,
that is an herban legend. George Washing his teeth false
teeth were not made of wood. They were when he
was president, made of hippo and Elephant Ivory. Uh, all right,
so your first true false question is about false starts
in track and field, true or false. The definition of
(05:27):
a false start is when a runner moves before the
starting gun is fired. True or false? True?
Speaker 6 (05:36):
Right, I think, Well, I'm trying to decide whether this
is a semi trick.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Question because I don't know that movement is illegal.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
So much as leaving their block, like leaving their starting block,
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
I just feel like these guys may be tricking as
many I didn't.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Also tell you guys, I don't know the answers. I
haven't seen this one, so I could be more. I
could either be helpful or hurtful by weighing in with
what I think.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
Oh, yeah, may or.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
What do you think? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
I want to call my friend Greg.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Would I'm with the wheel that he could be trying
to trick it. Yeah, But I also don't think you
have to completely leave the starting block right because it's
hundreds of a second. Your foot might start to go,
but you're still touching it. So so I'm no help
at all really for you guys.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
Let's let's go with Greg's at Greg and Will's answer so.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
You're saying false or or no or yes, you say false, Okay,
false is correct? That is you got it. I enjoy
the tricks, but it wasn't that. The difference was you
can be busted for a false start even if you
begin to run after the pistol is fired, because you
(06:57):
can if you start within point one seconds of the pistol,
that counts as a false start.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
Even if you got it for the reason you had
it for.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
The wrong reason. The idea is the human brains cannot
react that quickly, so that means the runner guessed when
the gun would be fired instead of waiting to hear it,
and that's not allowed. Psychic gifts are very much looked
down upon and penalized and running. So I love that one.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
So that's a good one.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
Gamble should like you should be rewarded for that gamble exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Well, I will say the problem with that would be
because I thought about it, like the running races would
start about forty two times because everyone would try their
own time to Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I think there's a rule like in the Olympics, if
you false start twice, you're disqualified.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Right, still got you still get like eight fall starts,
So right. I've got another true false question about the
nineteen ninety one Madonna documentary Truth or Dare true or false?
Warren Baby, who was Madonna's boyfriend at the time of filming,
demanded more screen time in the final cut.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
A clarification here, more screen time than Madonna or more
screen time just generally.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
The great question for terrifying more screen time than he
had in the version he saw got it.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
What do you think, Mango? If it's not true, it feels.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
Like it should.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Isn't it true that you're so vain? By Carly Simon
was written about Warren Batty.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Oh Wally?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Is that true? Is that just a pocket? I don't know,
but that's the you know.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Well, I remember a couple of years ago they actually
she auctioned off the secret for like one hundred thousand dollars.
So I don't think anyone but the person who one
knows for sure, but that's always what I've heard as well.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Right, So that could imply I don't claim that Warren
Baty is vain, but.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Very good, but very good. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Yeah, what do you think, Mango?
Speaker 5 (09:08):
Yeah, it feels true.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
It feels like we I want it to be true.
So I feel like we.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Should go in the direction that is you know what,
that is a very twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Do you want something to be true?
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Yeah? True?
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Well, I got you, I got you, so we are
it might be down to a B minus. It is false,
quite the opposite. Warren Baty was Madonna's boyfriend at the
time of filming, and but then they broke up and
he called his lawyer said he did not agree to
be in the film. Should they called, they threatened. Madonna
(09:48):
basically said, screw off. He saw the signs that said
we're filming. He doesn't get to see it, and it
is a hiltious I rewatched some of it and it
is hilarious caause he this is like the beginning of
reality TV, and he is so unco comfortable. He is
like an old man who is just like, why are
we Why is this on?
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Why?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
What's going on?
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Old?
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Anyway, that's crazy. He must have been like thirty years
older than her at the time, right it.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Was I think about twenty twenty two or something, but
definitely yeah.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
By the way, I mentioned George Washington in the intro,
and I feel I need an update from you because
I was listening to an episode a Part Time Genius
where you had serious plans to start a mount rushmore competitor.
If you recall this because you found an actual mountain
(10:46):
with a rock formation that looks exactly like Martin van Buren.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
I need an update. How is that? Have you?
Speaker 4 (10:54):
How are planned the permits it's got on the pyramits.
Speaker 6 (11:01):
There's there was some conflict there, but yeah, and we
decided mainly just to make it only.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Van Buren's it would just be different van Buren poses.
So it's evolved over time.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, I love it, so like Van Buren is a
kid Van Buren.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
Yeah, yeah, van Buren playing tennis, which I don't think
he did. But it just sort of makes it more modern,
you know.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Yeah, yeah yeah, vaping maybe venture and vaping.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah, that is great. Well, that is going to be
huge when it does open, and you will you can
even quit your side hustle because people might not know.
Part Time Genius really is a part time job for
Will and Mango.
Speaker 5 (11:41):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
They both do other things, believe it or not. Mango
produces awesome shows with his company Kaleidoscope, including some he
does himself, some he he does not host, but he
did one called Skyline Drive, a deep dive into astrology awesome,
the sad, and Will happens to be a big wig
(12:04):
at iHeart, which happens also to be our platform. So
you will you deal with lots of shows like not
just us, believe it or not, but like maybe.
Speaker 6 (12:14):
Mainly mainly, so I'd say probably eighty percent of my
time is dealing with you guys. And then there's some
we know every once in a while with the NFL
or Will Ferrell or you know, some shows like that,
but but mainly you guys.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Yes, we feel like, yeah, we wanted to hear that.
That is exactly what we were waiting that feat. All right,
I got we're not going to make all five, but
we'll make four, all right. Next question is already gone down.
It's true, you guys are screwed. I'm sorry. Maybe we'll
(12:55):
end there just so you have a terrible show half
and half to screw you, all right. The next question
is a true or false question about falsetto voices, which
is as you know, when men saying.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Like, don't stop doing it.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I don't know, Yeah, all right, true or false? The
year nineteen seventy five was the high point for falsetto
voices in pop music. It was when falsetto voices from
Males was at its most popular that very year, nineteen
seventy five.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
True or false?
Speaker 4 (13:28):
What do you think, Mango? It does feel? I mean,
it definitely was of the time.
Speaker 6 (13:32):
I keep I now can't stop thinking about the justin
Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon doing the very gifts thing.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
It's so funny how life infuses everything, like the true
or false like thing. I was just thinking about the
Wayne and Garth and Madonna doing.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yeah oh yeah, yeah, but.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
Yeah, I think true as well.
Speaker 6 (13:55):
It feels yeah, that feels right, It feels it was
out that era.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Like it it true is true? Saturday Night Fever, that
was it.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Exactly the Begs.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
And this, by the way, is objective fact because Vox
Media did an an in depth investigation. They analyzed hundreds
of thousands of songs. It's hilarious watch the YouTube video
and uh and Beg's it was the Beg's era. Fox said,
we are having another golden age of false shadow. There's
like a lot of false shadow going on.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Yeah, you know, you know what. I love that type
of analysis where you and and for the back page
of Mental Philosopher for a little while after you'd run
through the A to Z of the know it all
a because you said, to the back page for short
bit we would uh test the veracity of different slogans
(14:47):
and things. And and one thing we did was tested,
is Virginia really for lovers? And and then we we
we went through all the states and figured out like
how much berry White was played on the radio, how
much wine they were drinking, flowers were set like, Virginia
was like thirty seventh or something.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I think Ohio was dead last if I know, well.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
What was do you remember the number one state for lovers.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Have been like white?
Speaker 6 (15:17):
Yeah, it was weirdly like and I think part of
that was because of the population.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
I think that they were more than wine.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
And you know, yeah, you're stuck inside, it's cold. What
else are you gonna do? That's right on the very
white and light of fire and you're set all right?
Speaker 1 (15:34):
All right, So there you go, people who want romance
move to Alaska, all right?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Last one.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
And you know what, I will give you like an
extra ten bonus points if you get it, so you'll
get back up to as good this is about false advertising,
true or false. Two men sued Universal Studios for false
advertising over the movie Yesterday Did You See That One,
a romantic comedy about the Beatles lovely movie. The men
(16:03):
said that the studio engaged in false advertising because the
actress Anna de Arma was in the trailer but not
in the movie itself, and they wanted their three dollars
and ninety nine cents back, but ended up spending seven
hundred thousand dollars on legal fees.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
Holy moldly true or false? So that whole thing has
to be either true or false.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
God, Anna day armis with an end.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
No, it's it's this other actress named Anna de Arma. Yeah, yep,
sorry about that, Anna.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Would that would very false if it was.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Yeah, that could have That was the trick. That was
the trick. You caught it.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
This sounds vaguely familiar. I did not see this film,
but Mango, what about you?
Speaker 5 (16:52):
I didn't see the film either, but she wasn't on
my radar back then. But I don't know.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
That's This is the film about the guy who.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
Like has a mesa and then like yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
But it's like he he remembers the Beatles, right, Everyone
else's doesn't know the Beatles exist, so he ends up
writing quote unquote all the Beatles songs because he knows
them and.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Nobody because I love the premise. I think it is
a hilarious premise, very fun movie.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
So what do you think? True or false?
Speaker 3 (17:23):
So you're saying they filmed scenes with her and him, right,
we're in the trailer, but then they cut them out
of the final movie.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
And these guys were pissed because they had spent their
three dollars ninety nine cents to see Anna dey Are
Moss and she was not in it.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
So I will just add I think this rings a bell,
this thing about her not actually being in the movie.
That doesn't really help with us knowing whether it's true
or not. That people sued about it.
Speaker 6 (17:50):
Yeah, I you know, like we said before, this is
a twenty twenty five answer, because I want.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
This to be.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Show.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
I always want the weird things to be true. The
weird things should always be true, well when they're.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Good, should be true.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
So true, what do you think?
Speaker 5 (18:12):
Mango true?
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I'll support that all true.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
It is true, well almost, I'm gonna I was gonna
give it to you either way, because I think it,
but it is true. Almost everything is true except that
they had to pay the seven hundred thousand in legal fees.
It is true that the case racked up seven hundred
thousand in legal fees for Universal, but there was a
(18:36):
big arbitration and they ended up just saying all right,
everyone pays their own.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
But just I love the story.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
I feel it's like a David and Goliath, like they
were outraged by this injustice and they are like, this
is a social justice campaign that everyone should get behind.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Well, you were terrific.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
You got I'm going to read out on four plus
the extra ten.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Point ninety eight points. Oh wow, Okay, I love the
math on the.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Well Van Tat, thank you Mango and will you are
you have ben you well? I guess I did not
avenge myself successfully, but I loved having you on. And
we get you for one more day. I've got one
more true false about true false for the folks at home.
True or false? The name of the town in New
(19:36):
Mexico Truth or consequences that is a real town truth
or consequences that started as an April fool's hoax? Is
that true? Where is that false? Come back and find
out and In the meantime, if you have a little time,
check out our Instagram feed at Hello puzzler.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
No, it's not that. It's at Hello false alert.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
And we will meet here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
They will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
Hey, puzzlers, it's Greg pliska chief puzzle officer, here with
the extra credit answer from our previous episode. We had
Will and Mango with us to do a whole bunch
of fun, and we started with some earbuses our favorite
trademark pending audio Rebus puzzle. Your extra credit AJ actually
gave you two that used the same the kind of
(20:31):
same mechanism.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
One was Bizna Bizna and the other one was Franz
Schubert's sympon. The answer, as you've probably gotten, is unfinished,
unfinished business and unfinished symphony. But don't leave your puzzling
week unfinished. Join us here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles
that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Hosts And Creators
Greg Pliska
A.J. Jacobs
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