November 2, 2022 • 29 mins
It's the mother of all inventions of episodes when two intelligent kid contestants compare notes on inventor Alexander Graham Bell and physicist Sir Isaac Newton!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Elliott, come here, I want to see you. What's wrong? Okay?
Uh yeah, I'm great because on today's episode, we're featuring
the inventor Alexander Graham Bell and physicist Isaac Newton. Is
that cool? The inventor of the telephone and the inventor
(00:23):
of the apple. You couldn't have texted me. Also, Newton
didn't invent the apple. Yeah, yeah, he just improved upon it.
I got you. No, not that either, Sorry, so cashing
aggress I guess hard? Going to the gym again? Yeah, man,
weren't you just like in the next room over? Yeah.
(00:45):
Newton's discovery gravity as a horse of nature was helped
by his observation of an apple falling from a tree.
Well it's pretty cool too. But Alexander Graham Bell did
invent the telephone? Right? Sure? Did? Oh good? And it
(01:08):
makes sense too. His name was Belle and phones ring? Elliott?
Did Isaac Newton invent? Fake? Newton's Eric? Please play us
on with the theme song? Well I ever knew my
gym membership a game? Pretty lightheaded? Here you go, what
(01:29):
do you think you know about the grains from this study?
The game is on to get some energy and buckle
up your brain because it's signed to play the worst podcast,
because it's sound to play the who Knows Live frum
top Land or so called so Cow Los Angeles. Welcome
(01:52):
to Who Was, the history cuich show that gives intstance
the chance to win mega prizes and podcast glory. I'm
your announcer and master a funny, outgoing voicemail. Now here's
your host, the man who only answers in the form
of a question. It's Elliott kayln or do I thank
you be? And welcome everyone to the Who Was Podcast.
(02:15):
This show it's like Jeffrey, only with surprise guests, silly games,
and our own subscription box heartbroiled eggs and jelly beans
delivered straight to your door every month. That reminds me
my mom wants to cancel ours. Our contestants were sent
Who Was books about two great figures from the street.
Now they're here to show off their knowledge and the
hopes of winning fantastic prizes prizes. Today we're discussing two
(02:41):
fellas who had no apprehensions about inventions, Alexander Graham Bell
and Isaac Do. But before we get to know them,
let's get to know our contestants. All right. First up,
we have Hollis Hollis, please introduce yourself. Hi. I am
Hollis and I really like hedgehogs. You really like hedgehogs.
(03:03):
Do you have a pet hedgehowk by chance? No? My
mom's will not let me get one. I understand they're
very point They're very pointy animals. Yeah. What is it
about hedgehogs like so much? I don't know, They're just
they're like cute, They're a great game and they made
great dinner guests. F y. I they always offered to
(03:24):
clean up the dishes when I have them over for dinner.
So I think maybe you could tell your mom's about that.
The net might change their thinking about hedgehogs if they
know that this hedgehog can new the dishes. Yeah, all right,
thank you Hollis. And with us today we also have
Imagen imagin Please introduce yourself. I'm imagin Um and I
(03:44):
love to dance. Yes, you love to dance. That's awesome.
What kind of dancing do you love the most? Uh?
Modern and very cool? Okay Um. I mostly love on
the line. Uh and I like to be about seventh
(04:04):
from the start of a congo line. Elliott do you
have a type of dance that you prefer. There's so
many types of dance that I like to watch, but
I'm not good at dancing, and I wish I was
something I always admire about other people. I feel like
I would give up almost anything to be able to dance.
If I could Fleamento dance, I think I would probably
give up almost anything else in my life. But I've
(04:25):
just always loved flementco. Like the Spanish dancing gets full
of power, full of passion, and you get to stomp
a lot, and it's very loud. All right, thank you
so much for being here today. To the both of you,
We're super excited to have you here. Thank you, and
thank you to Eric, our musician providing that lovely met
the contestants music. So that's who it is. Now let's
find out who was Alexander Graham Bell with four fast facts.
(04:52):
Alexander Graham Bell was born in Scotland in eighteen forty
seven and died in nineteen twenty two. Alexander Graham Bell
and vented many things, but he is best known for
inventing the telephone. In eight Bell formed the Bell Telephone Company.
Bell worked with the deaf community, but he discouraged people
who are deaf froms in sign language. His approach made
(05:13):
him a very polarizing figures. Nice call us an imagine
do you leave voicemails for people? Like, if you call
them they're not there, will you leave a voice message
for them? I mean sometimes if it's like urgent, that's
mostly I just wait a couple a couple like maybe
(05:37):
an hour and then call them back because they might
have been like out doing something. Okay, imagine what about you,
I just like call them five times, and if they
don't answer in those five times, also number video or
voice mess Okay, okay, Yeah, I was just curious because
I know so many people that are younger than me
(05:59):
that do not leave voicemails, and I love leaving voicemails.
So I just have to ask find out what the
kids are doing. And of course there's my favorite kind
of voicemail where you can yell into an envelope and
then you send it to somebody. It's pretty fun. I
think that's the message. Pretty solid strategy. Thank you, I
appreciate it. Thank you all. Please do encouragement and now
let's get right into our first game. It's called true
(06:21):
or false? False? False? Is a true? Is true? That
it is false? It was true? Or true? True or false? Okay,
here's how this game works. Will be to stake about
Alexander Graham Bell, and you'll tell us if it's true
or allous? What do you think the word I'm gonna
say is false? You're right? You don't get points for that,
(06:44):
are You're right? And since it's our first game, each
question is worth one point. Alice, you'll be going first.
Alexander Graham Bell almost missed out on the patent for
the telephone. True, that's right, The answer is true. A
patent is fruit. A particular inventor came up with an
idea first, and then it belongs to them. Bell wanted
(07:04):
to wait to apply for the patent until the telephone
worked man, but his business partners were nervous. They decided
to file the paperwork without telling Bill. The partner's decision
turned out to be a good move, as just two
hours later, a different inventor named Elijah Gray tried to
claim the patent for the telephone. And that's why this
episode isn't called Who was Elijah Gray? Imaging? Rupeex true
(07:25):
or false? Alexander Graham Bell was not only an inventor
but also a coal miner. Think you think right, the
answer is false. He wasn't a minor. He was a teacher,
specifically the teacher of the death. He wrote, quote, recognition
of my work for and in the education of the
death has always been more pleasing to me than even
the recognition of my work with the telephone. But Bill's
(07:47):
way of teaching was called oralism, or teaching people who
are deaf to read lips. He wanted to assimilate death
folks into the hearing world instead of teaching a sign
language and recognizing death culture. Even at the time, his
approach troubled many of the death from and he who
came out against this, thinking, Alice, and that's one it
is for you. Alexander Graham Bell did not have a
middle name until he gave himself one. Is that true
(08:10):
or false? True? Correct? That's true. Even as a boy,
Bill was his own person. In fact, it was so
independent that when he was ten he chose a middle
name for himself. A family friend named Alexander Graham came
to visit. Bill liked the sound of his name so
much that he decided that he would be called Alexander
Graham Bell. Hey, Elliott, that's kind of like when you
(08:31):
decided that your middle name would be Marie after our
episode on Marie Curie. Wy if Alexander Graham Bell had
run his decision by two ten year olds he just
met who showed Murray, imagine this last question is for
you true or false? Alexander Graham Bell really just wanted
to invent a new version of the telegraph. That's right.
(08:56):
The answer his false. Bill's partners, who were also his
financial investors, wanted him to come up with a new telegraph.
The telegraphs and tacked out messages through a wire, and
there's the main way that people communicated over long distances
back in the day. And this is back in the
life a hundred some five years. At their day, Western
Union it was the only telegraph company, and without competition,
they could just set whatever prices they wanted for sending
(09:18):
a telegraph wherever however they wanted. Alexander Graham Bell's partners Mr.
Hubbard and Mr Sanders felt that if there was a
new telegraph and a new telegraph company, prices would have
to come down. Bell's curiosity, however, was not stirred by
a new version of the telegraph. Instead, he wanted to
find a way to send his voice across a wire,
and he did. And that's true or false? True? True? True?
(09:42):
True or false? That was spectacular around. It's true. It
was wow, you know, Elliott, I wish we could know
what Alexander Graham Bell would think of today's cell phone.
No time in telling you, Alexander Graham Bell us have
a certain ring to it, doesn't it? Okay? When I tried,
(10:07):
I thought it would land, but it didn't. Mr Bell,
We are honored to have you here. Please call me
Mr Graham Bell. You can thank the who was app
for that. Who you want to read someone in the
first Now do you answer your question? I'm not sure
(10:31):
what to think of what's become of my beloved telephone,
but you must be happy about the fact that everyone
has one in their pockets, even we Well, yes, of course,
seeing my invention become omnipresent is very gratifying. However, there
are so many using these miniature phones as telegraphs. Tell
(10:54):
are you talking about texting? No? Call it what you will,
but it's still person sending each other messages over the
wise sort of. There's satellites involved now satellite. I can
only imagine that's some manner of elaborate light bulb and
the Dave Matthews fan song. Let's table that for now.
Surely there's something you like about modern phones, Mr Bell, Well,
(11:18):
the emojis are quite amusing. Oh they're fun right quite
I do think emojis are in the same spirit is
what inspired you to invent the telephone? Mr Graham Bell?
Making communication easier and better for all? Yes, you make
a very good point, though some of it fixes me,
like why are there's so many dismembered hands and faces?
(11:40):
Surely not everyone is trying to scare each other every day. Uh.
Those are more for saying like, hey, what's up? Don't
be ridiculous. Everyone knows that you convey that you send
bail of hay emoji than water emoji, than an error
pointing up emoji that's hey what? Uh? But I find
(12:01):
people get the message fascinating, Mr Graham Bell. What are
some other emojis you use? I'm so glad you asked
to be when I'm sleepy. I used the slay emoji,
and then one of the little plants that most looks
like a pea pod slay py yes, good show. When
I'm saying I'm hungry, I use the honey pot and
(12:23):
then the gray square and then the French flag emoji
after it, because of course gray is green in French
honey green, say you got it? And then of course
when I want to say I miss you, let me guess,
and I then a young woman emoji and then a
sheep emoji like a you good Heavens, no, I just
(12:47):
write it out and send it with lots of hearts
if it's too short to be a hit when it
comes to your emotions, illiot. Now that text notification is
telling me that I should get going. I'm supposed to
be having chicken fingers with Thomas Edison right now. I'm
going to let him know I'm on my way by
sending him an emoji of a scale. Get it away.
(13:11):
Please leave, Mr Graham Bell. I find you very confusing,
so goodbye. Friends. Hey text me, We're going to take
a quick break, but we'll be right back with more games. Eric,
would you please play us some confusing emoji music? Thumbs up?
(13:38):
Welcome back to the Who Was? Podcast. Today we're learning
who was Alexander Graham Bell and who is Isaac Newton?
Now back to your host, Elliot Kalin, thank you'll be
and now let's go across a wire through modern technology
to producer Jane with the scorns Helliam score is too too.
It's all tied up nice a tie game if anybody
(14:02):
could win, and we'll find out who's gonna win at
the end of the game. But first, at this part
of the game, we're gonna find out who was Isaac
Newton with the work fast facts. Isaac Newton was born
in sixteen forty two and died in seventeen twenty seven.
Isaac Newton invented the math called calculus. Isaac Newton discovered
(14:23):
gravity and the laws of motion. Isaac Newton also studied alchemy,
a field of science considered to be part magic, part religion,
and part sciences and part delicious very true, very true.
For this round, our second round of the game, we're
(14:45):
playing a game called sound Effects. Safari sound Effects said
sound effects. In this game, we'll play a sound effect
inspired by something important from Newton's lives, and arc testines
will tell us what the sound represents. Since this is
the second round, each question will be worth two points.
(15:07):
Imagin here is your first sound, so imagin that sounds
like something is boiling. How mysterious. Why is that significant
to Isaac Newton's life? Is it because A Newton began
learning about chemistry as a boy, or be Newton invented
(15:28):
the first hot tub? A, that's right, The answer is a.
ASA He lived with a man named Clark and his
family while attending school as a boy, Mr Clark was
an apothecary, which is someone who makes medicine, herbs and chemicals.
By watching and perhaps even helping Clark, young Isaac began
learning basic chemistry. He even created his own potions. Hey,
(15:50):
I make my own potions too. I mix all of
the sodas that the soda fountain together and call it
soda potion. Alright, hollas, here is your sound. Okay, that's
definitely the ticking of a clock. What's the significance of
that for Isaac Newton? Is it A Newton was fascinated
(16:13):
by ways to keep track of time? Or B Newton
secretly wanted to be a clock salesman. I am pretty
sure it's A because he doesn't seem so accurate. You're
exactly right. B is not accurate at all. The answer
is A. As a teenager, although maybe he did secretly
want it. He has never told anybody if it was
(16:34):
a secret. But the answer is day. As a teenager,
Newton set out to build a better clock, as clocks
in his day weren't very accurate and he felt he
could do a better job, and he did. He charted
the movement of shadows from sunrise to sunset. Then he
hammered pegs into a wall to create a sun dial.
When people wanted to know the real time, they check
Isaac's dial Imogen Europe. Next with the next sound, let's
(16:56):
hear it? Oh wow? Okay, that's a sheep. How are
sheep related to Isaac Newton's life? Ay, he'd count them
if he couldn't sleep or be His mother wanted him
to be a farmer. That's right, The answer is being
Isaac Newton's mom, Hannah saw education mainly as a way
for her son to become a good farmer. She eventually
(17:18):
took him out of school completely so we could practice
running a farm. However, the idea of growing crops intending
to animals board Isaac, so he did a bad job
on purpose. Once, when Isaac was supposed to be watching
the sheep, he let them run into a neighbor's field
and eat their crops, and so his mother had to
pay a fine. Open communication is always cheaper. That's the
lesson here. And the last sound of the round is
(17:41):
for hollis m alright? That sounds like coins being poured out.
Why is that relevant to Isaac Newton's life? Is it
a Newton love to go to the arcade? Or be
Newton helped run the Royal Mint um b that's right.
(18:01):
The answer is be. The mint was where all of
England's coins were created. It's not the mint, the food. Unfortunately,
counterfeiters creating fake money. We're a huge problem for the
Royal Mint. So the government decided on what was called
the Great Recoinage of six. This was an event where
the Mint created new coins with hard edges, making them
harder to fake. Newton oversaw the Great Recoinage and he
(18:23):
did such a good job he was promoted to Master
of the Mint again disappointedly, not like mint ice cream,
just money. And that's sound effects, Safari un problem. Oh
Gerald Deane says that was one of her favorite sound
effects Safari's yet and she also says, let's go to
(18:44):
producer Jane with the scores. Great idea, Geraldine, whoa boy?
Do we have a contest? It is all tied up
six points each. Nobody has miss question amazing. We might
have well, I don't want to put too much pressure
on any contests. We might have two perfect games today.
We'll see We've still got one more round still anyone's game.
Stay tuned for the inventive conclusion right after this break. Eric,
(19:07):
please play us some new coin music. Please. This coin
is knew I coined it, Sally. Who was there? Marie Curie?
You may remember me from winning multiple Nobel prizes, or
perhaps from my episode of the who wast podcast where
(19:29):
I played myself. I wanted to take a moment to
read one of my favorite reviews about the Who Was podcasts.
This is from Shaken Bay and it reads loved this
Me and my little sister love this show more. Please.
Our faith is Rie Toman. If you want to hear
your review right on the air, make sure to subscribe,
(19:52):
like and review to the worst podcasts in the I
heard radio up or wherever you get your podcasts or
oh sir, let's day, Abido. Welcome back to the Hills podcast.
Today we're learning about the fathers of Invention, Alexander Graham
Bell and Isaac Newton. Now back to your host, Ellien Kalen.
(20:17):
Thank you. Be. We've got a real barn burner of
a game going, so let's keep it going. But let's
put the barn fire out. This is our final game
and it's called Converge of Greatness. In this multiple choice game,
be will read questions where are two historical figures overlap
(20:40):
or converge? And because recovering two times the history, this
game is worth three points for each question, So pick
the best option as your answer, Polis. The first question
is for you take it away, B. Both Isaac Newton
and Alexander Graham Bell thought it was much more important
to perfect their inventions than it was to present them.
(21:01):
Newton believed that to the point that he A Often
refused to show people his inventions. B would get stage
fright when showing his inventions. Or see hired an actor
to pretend to be him and have them show people
his inventions. Um A, that's right, the answer is A.
Newton preferred working alone entirely for his own satisfaction. He
(21:24):
was invited to join the Royal Society, a group of
scholars who met every week to watch experiments and discuss science.
But Newton's personality did not fit well with the royal society.
He didn't want the advice of other people. If they
questioned him or worst thought he was wrong, Newton would
lose his temper. I guess that's the first law of
Isaac Newton. Don't make Newton mad image in Europe. Next.
(21:44):
Alexander Graham Bell and Isaac Newton were both close with
their mother's. Bell's mother inadvertently helped him begin to understand
a the piano B, how sounds travel and are heard?
Or see why he should make his bed every morning.
That's right, The answer is B. Alexander Graham. Belle's mother, Eliza,
(22:05):
was nearly deaf, and she used an ear tube which
looked a bit like a big horn to hear better.
People would often shout into her ear tube, but Bell
liked to put his mouth on her forehead and speak softly.
Eliza could hear her son because she picked up the
vibrations his words made when he put his mouth to
her head. Talking to his mother this way, Alexander Graham
Bell started understanding how sounds traveled. Hollis, The next question
(22:27):
is for you Neither Isaac Newton or Alexander Graham Bell
were good students, as school didn't interest them much. Newton
became a better student because he wanted to a get
a free personal pan pizza, B show a schoolyard rival
that he was smarter, or see get the teacher off
his back. B. I don't think pan pizza's existed back then. Well,
(22:52):
I guess Newton had not invented them yet. That was
a great day when Isaac Newton invented the personal pan pizza.
He didn't really the answer is be your right, Hollisol
board Isaac so much that he didn't study. It was
at the bottom of his class. One day, a boy
who was a good student picked a fight with Isaac
and Isaac one but winning a physical fight wasn't enough
for Isaac Newton. He began to study and rose to
the top of the class. Sounds like he was holding
(23:14):
a grudge at a high school level. And here's the
last question of the game for Imagen. Both Alexander Graham
Bell and Isaac Newton were sent to live away from
home as young men. Newton was sent to live with
the family known as the Clarks to be closer to
his school, Bell was sent to live with his grandfather
in London because hey, he wanted to meet Peppa Pig
(23:36):
b his grandfather needed help cleaning out the garage or see.
His father thought it would help with Alexander's lack of focus.
That's right, The answer is see. Belle's grandfather was also
a teacher, and Bell was expected to study six days
a week. He was still bored by most typical school
subjects like history and Latin, but enjoyed watching his grandfather
(23:57):
gives speech lessons to students. London was much larger than
Bell's home of Edinburgh, and living with his grandfather came
with many rules. Bell had to wear a full suit
along with a top hat and carry a cane whenever
he left the house because one of his grandfather's rules
was he had to dress like a little gentleman. And
that's converge of greatness. I just realized it makes sense
(24:28):
that Alexander Graham Bell wouldn't bet the telephone, because then
his grandfather couldn't see if he was wearing that hat
and holding the cane. He could just talk to most
of the phone and say, oh, yeah, I'm wearing it, Grandpa,
don't worry I'm wearing it. Yeah, I got the cane
right here in man. But why would you ever lie
about wearing a top hat? I mean, doesn't everybody just
look for any excuse they can find to wear a
top hat? I know I do. That's why I'm wearing
(24:48):
one right now to to celebrate that this is the
end of the game, which means it's also the end
of the show. While Jane talies the scores, I'd love
to hear from our contestants. What was something you were
surprised to learn about either Alexander Graham Bell or Isaac
Newton Hollis What surprised you? I was surprised to learn
that Alexander Graham Bell invented them hearing test because I
(25:12):
actually have a hearing loss myself, and the newborn hearing
streaming test was saying that UM told my parents and
I had to hear in loss when I was a baby.
Oh wow, So you have a personal connection to the
work of Alexander Graham Bell, which is really amazing. That's
something that's so cool, isn't it that something that was
invented such a long time ago, it's still something that
(25:35):
made an impact on your life. Isn't that kind of
a neat thing. That's a great story. Thank you, Ellis Imagen.
What surprised you about either of our two instrumental figures.
But like all a really good scientists were really bad
in school. You would love were things that you're like, oh, yeah,
like you ort to be like guys, you have to
(25:56):
pass all your tests. But he was really bad and
so yeah, next time, my teacher says, if you get
a bad grade, it'll be on your report card. I say,
Isaac Newton and Alexander Graham Bell's report cards didn't look
so great either, So maybe I will be a great inventor.
(26:16):
It goes to show that one there's more to school
than just brains. You've got to work hard to get grades,
and you gotta pay attention. But too sometimes even really
smart people have trouble paying attention, and they've got to
figure out what interests them about the things they the
jobs they need to do, like school that they don't
really want to do. So yeah, there are a lot
of different ways to be smart. School is just one
(26:37):
of them, and it doesn't always work for everybody. M
exactly right, So thank you both for that. Those are
just fantastic thoughts. I really was happy with all of them.
But it's time for the big moment. Jane, please announce
our inventive winner. Olly, I'd like to introduce something I
just invented. It's called a tie between all of GM.
(27:00):
We have two winners, but it's a double Winter Day,
Double Winter Day, saying hey, Elliot, does that mean we
get to wear two top hats each. I'm already putting
one on top of my other top hat. Double top
Hat Day, double winnops the top hat, double top hats.
It's a tie game that means to bow ties. Well,
this is fantastic. You're Since you're both winners, you both
(27:20):
get ten seconds for shoutouts. Hollis, if you want to
go first, who would you like to thank for getting
you to be this winner today? Um? I would like
to thank my mom's who will not let me get
a hedgehog. Well, maybe they'll think differently after after hearing
about how you did on the game, but they also
might still not want to give you a hedgehog. If
you're talking back to your teacher about Isaac Newton's report
(27:41):
card and imagen, who would you like to thank for
your win today? The final. My friends regitioned for this
o got it, didn't like, Well, that's really nice to
you to thank them. Maybe they better luck next time. Look,
Isaac Newton didn't get in his first time around. That's
both of our ers and their libraries of choice. We're
receiving a selection of Who Was books, and I'm going
(28:04):
to give my own shout outs to interns, act, to Jane,
to Eric to be a big thank you to both
of our great contestants for playing just a fabulous game today,
and of course who deserves thanks more than anyone than you,
the listener who, by listening to the show has invented
our reason for making it. Join us next time as
we find out who Was? Two more amazing figures from history.
(28:25):
Until then, this is Elliott, master of the mint Calin
saying her history good bye. Everybody, got a question for
any of our famous figures? Or do you want to
be a contestant? Send us a voice memo at the
Who Was Podcast at gmail dot com it or you
might just end up on the show. Who Was Podcast
(28:46):
is produced by Radio Point, I Heart Media and Penguin
Workshop and is based on the best selling who h
Q series published by Penguin. This episode was hosted by
Elliott Calin with co host Megan O'Neill as Be. It
also starred Jane Baker as Jane, Eric Shackney as Eric,
and Zack Timpson as Alexander Graham Bell. Our executive producers
are Richard Corson, Alex Foch, Elliott Calin, Megan O'Neil, Daniel Powell,
(29:10):
and Houston Snyder. The executive producer for Penguin Workshop is
Francesco Sadita. The executive producer by Heart Media is Lindsay Hoffman.
This episode was written by Megan O'Neil, Elliott Calin and
Devin Coleman, produced by Bernie Kaminsky and Taylor Kawalski. Our
talent producer is Jane Baker. Our theme song and all
of our music is composed and performed by Eric Shackney.
This episode was edited and mixed by Brimatan and Kate
(29:32):
molden howerd recorded by Alison Worth and special thanks We've
Got a Few for Zach Timpson, Charlotte Dianda, Daniel Goodman
and Michael Lewis Howard, who was podcast was recorded at
the I Heart Studios in Los Angeles, California. Sound services
were provided by Great City Posts. Podcast cher standard
Elliott, come here, I want to see you. What's wrong? Okay?
Uh yeah, I'm great because on today's episode, we're featuring
the inventor Alexander Graham Bell and physicist Isaac Newton. Is
that cool? The inventor of the telephone and the inventor
(00:23):
of the apple. You couldn't have texted me. Also, Newton
didn't invent the apple. Yeah, yeah, he just improved upon it.
I got you. No, not that either, Sorry, so cashing
aggress I guess hard? Going to the gym again? Yeah, man,
weren't you just like in the next room over? Yeah.
(00:45):
Newton's discovery gravity as a horse of nature was helped
by his observation of an apple falling from a tree.
Well it's pretty cool too. But Alexander Graham Bell did
invent the telephone? Right? Sure? Did? Oh good? And it
(01:08):
makes sense too. His name was Belle and phones ring? Elliott?
Did Isaac Newton invent? Fake? Newton's Eric? Please play us
on with the theme song? Well I ever knew my
gym membership a game? Pretty lightheaded? Here you go, what
(01:29):
do you think you know about the grains from this study?
The game is on to get some energy and buckle
up your brain because it's signed to play the worst podcast,
because it's sound to play the who Knows Live frum
top Land or so called so Cow Los Angeles. Welcome
(01:52):
to Who Was, the history cuich show that gives intstance
the chance to win mega prizes and podcast glory. I'm
your announcer and master a funny, outgoing voicemail. Now here's
your host, the man who only answers in the form
of a question. It's Elliott kayln or do I thank
you be? And welcome everyone to the Who Was Podcast.
(02:15):
This show it's like Jeffrey, only with surprise guests, silly games,
and our own subscription box heartbroiled eggs and jelly beans
delivered straight to your door every month. That reminds me
my mom wants to cancel ours. Our contestants were sent
Who Was books about two great figures from the street.
Now they're here to show off their knowledge and the
hopes of winning fantastic prizes prizes. Today we're discussing two
(02:41):
fellas who had no apprehensions about inventions, Alexander Graham Bell
and Isaac Do. But before we get to know them,
let's get to know our contestants. All right. First up,
we have Hollis Hollis, please introduce yourself. Hi. I am
Hollis and I really like hedgehogs. You really like hedgehogs.
(03:03):
Do you have a pet hedgehowk by chance? No? My
mom's will not let me get one. I understand they're
very point They're very pointy animals. Yeah. What is it
about hedgehogs like so much? I don't know, They're just
they're like cute, They're a great game and they made
great dinner guests. F y. I they always offered to
(03:24):
clean up the dishes when I have them over for dinner.
So I think maybe you could tell your mom's about that.
The net might change their thinking about hedgehogs if they
know that this hedgehog can new the dishes. Yeah, all right,
thank you Hollis. And with us today we also have
Imagen imagin Please introduce yourself. I'm imagin Um and I
(03:44):
love to dance. Yes, you love to dance. That's awesome.
What kind of dancing do you love the most? Uh?
Modern and very cool? Okay Um. I mostly love on
the line. Uh and I like to be about seventh
(04:04):
from the start of a congo line. Elliott do you
have a type of dance that you prefer. There's so
many types of dance that I like to watch, but
I'm not good at dancing, and I wish I was
something I always admire about other people. I feel like
I would give up almost anything to be able to dance.
If I could Fleamento dance, I think I would probably
give up almost anything else in my life. But I've
(04:25):
just always loved flementco. Like the Spanish dancing gets full
of power, full of passion, and you get to stomp
a lot, and it's very loud. All right, thank you
so much for being here today. To the both of you,
We're super excited to have you here. Thank you, and
thank you to Eric, our musician providing that lovely met
the contestants music. So that's who it is. Now let's
find out who was Alexander Graham Bell with four fast facts.
(04:52):
Alexander Graham Bell was born in Scotland in eighteen forty
seven and died in nineteen twenty two. Alexander Graham Bell
and vented many things, but he is best known for
inventing the telephone. In eight Bell formed the Bell Telephone Company.
Bell worked with the deaf community, but he discouraged people
who are deaf froms in sign language. His approach made
(05:13):
him a very polarizing figures. Nice call us an imagine
do you leave voicemails for people? Like, if you call
them they're not there, will you leave a voice message
for them? I mean sometimes if it's like urgent, that's
mostly I just wait a couple a couple like maybe
(05:37):
an hour and then call them back because they might
have been like out doing something. Okay, imagine what about you,
I just like call them five times, and if they
don't answer in those five times, also number video or
voice mess Okay, okay, Yeah, I was just curious because
I know so many people that are younger than me
(05:59):
that do not leave voicemails, and I love leaving voicemails.
So I just have to ask find out what the
kids are doing. And of course there's my favorite kind
of voicemail where you can yell into an envelope and
then you send it to somebody. It's pretty fun. I
think that's the message. Pretty solid strategy. Thank you, I
appreciate it. Thank you all. Please do encouragement and now
let's get right into our first game. It's called true
(06:21):
or false? False? False? Is a true? Is true? That
it is false? It was true? Or true? True or false? Okay,
here's how this game works. Will be to stake about
Alexander Graham Bell, and you'll tell us if it's true
or allous? What do you think the word I'm gonna
say is false? You're right? You don't get points for that,
(06:44):
are You're right? And since it's our first game, each
question is worth one point. Alice, you'll be going first.
Alexander Graham Bell almost missed out on the patent for
the telephone. True, that's right, The answer is true. A
patent is fruit. A particular inventor came up with an
idea first, and then it belongs to them. Bell wanted
(07:04):
to wait to apply for the patent until the telephone
worked man, but his business partners were nervous. They decided
to file the paperwork without telling Bill. The partner's decision
turned out to be a good move, as just two
hours later, a different inventor named Elijah Gray tried to
claim the patent for the telephone. And that's why this
episode isn't called Who was Elijah Gray? Imaging? Rupeex true
(07:25):
or false? Alexander Graham Bell was not only an inventor
but also a coal miner. Think you think right, the
answer is false. He wasn't a minor. He was a teacher,
specifically the teacher of the death. He wrote, quote, recognition
of my work for and in the education of the
death has always been more pleasing to me than even
the recognition of my work with the telephone. But Bill's
(07:47):
way of teaching was called oralism, or teaching people who
are deaf to read lips. He wanted to assimilate death
folks into the hearing world instead of teaching a sign
language and recognizing death culture. Even at the time, his
approach troubled many of the death from and he who
came out against this, thinking, Alice, and that's one it
is for you. Alexander Graham Bell did not have a
middle name until he gave himself one. Is that true
(08:10):
or false? True? Correct? That's true. Even as a boy,
Bill was his own person. In fact, it was so
independent that when he was ten he chose a middle
name for himself. A family friend named Alexander Graham came
to visit. Bill liked the sound of his name so
much that he decided that he would be called Alexander
Graham Bell. Hey, Elliott, that's kind of like when you
(08:31):
decided that your middle name would be Marie after our
episode on Marie Curie. Wy if Alexander Graham Bell had
run his decision by two ten year olds he just
met who showed Murray, imagine this last question is for
you true or false? Alexander Graham Bell really just wanted
to invent a new version of the telegraph. That's right.
(08:56):
The answer his false. Bill's partners, who were also his
financial investors, wanted him to come up with a new telegraph.
The telegraphs and tacked out messages through a wire, and
there's the main way that people communicated over long distances
back in the day. And this is back in the
life a hundred some five years. At their day, Western
Union it was the only telegraph company, and without competition,
they could just set whatever prices they wanted for sending
(09:18):
a telegraph wherever however they wanted. Alexander Graham Bell's partners Mr.
Hubbard and Mr Sanders felt that if there was a
new telegraph and a new telegraph company, prices would have
to come down. Bell's curiosity, however, was not stirred by
a new version of the telegraph. Instead, he wanted to
find a way to send his voice across a wire,
and he did. And that's true or false? True? True? True?
(09:42):
True or false? That was spectacular around. It's true. It
was wow, you know, Elliott, I wish we could know
what Alexander Graham Bell would think of today's cell phone.
No time in telling you, Alexander Graham Bell us have
a certain ring to it, doesn't it? Okay? When I tried,
(10:07):
I thought it would land, but it didn't. Mr Bell,
We are honored to have you here. Please call me
Mr Graham Bell. You can thank the who was app
for that. Who you want to read someone in the
first Now do you answer your question? I'm not sure
(10:31):
what to think of what's become of my beloved telephone,
but you must be happy about the fact that everyone
has one in their pockets, even we Well, yes, of course,
seeing my invention become omnipresent is very gratifying. However, there
are so many using these miniature phones as telegraphs. Tell
(10:54):
are you talking about texting? No? Call it what you will,
but it's still person sending each other messages over the
wise sort of. There's satellites involved now satellite. I can
only imagine that's some manner of elaborate light bulb and
the Dave Matthews fan song. Let's table that for now.
Surely there's something you like about modern phones, Mr Bell, Well,
(11:18):
the emojis are quite amusing. Oh they're fun right quite
I do think emojis are in the same spirit is
what inspired you to invent the telephone? Mr Graham Bell?
Making communication easier and better for all? Yes, you make
a very good point, though some of it fixes me,
like why are there's so many dismembered hands and faces?
(11:40):
Surely not everyone is trying to scare each other every day. Uh.
Those are more for saying like, hey, what's up? Don't
be ridiculous. Everyone knows that you convey that you send
bail of hay emoji than water emoji, than an error
pointing up emoji that's hey what? Uh? But I find
(12:01):
people get the message fascinating, Mr Graham Bell. What are
some other emojis you use? I'm so glad you asked
to be when I'm sleepy. I used the slay emoji,
and then one of the little plants that most looks
like a pea pod slay py yes, good show. When
I'm saying I'm hungry, I use the honey pot and
(12:23):
then the gray square and then the French flag emoji
after it, because of course gray is green in French
honey green, say you got it? And then of course
when I want to say I miss you, let me guess,
and I then a young woman emoji and then a
sheep emoji like a you good Heavens, no, I just
(12:47):
write it out and send it with lots of hearts
if it's too short to be a hit when it
comes to your emotions, illiot. Now that text notification is
telling me that I should get going. I'm supposed to
be having chicken fingers with Thomas Edison right now. I'm
going to let him know I'm on my way by
sending him an emoji of a scale. Get it away.
(13:11):
Please leave, Mr Graham Bell. I find you very confusing,
so goodbye. Friends. Hey text me, We're going to take
a quick break, but we'll be right back with more games. Eric,
would you please play us some confusing emoji music? Thumbs up?
(13:38):
Welcome back to the Who Was? Podcast. Today we're learning
who was Alexander Graham Bell and who is Isaac Newton?
Now back to your host, Elliot Kalin, thank you'll be
and now let's go across a wire through modern technology
to producer Jane with the scorns Helliam score is too too.
It's all tied up nice a tie game if anybody
(14:02):
could win, and we'll find out who's gonna win at
the end of the game. But first, at this part
of the game, we're gonna find out who was Isaac
Newton with the work fast facts. Isaac Newton was born
in sixteen forty two and died in seventeen twenty seven.
Isaac Newton invented the math called calculus. Isaac Newton discovered
(14:23):
gravity and the laws of motion. Isaac Newton also studied alchemy,
a field of science considered to be part magic, part religion,
and part sciences and part delicious very true, very true.
For this round, our second round of the game, we're
(14:45):
playing a game called sound Effects. Safari sound Effects said
sound effects. In this game, we'll play a sound effect
inspired by something important from Newton's lives, and arc testines
will tell us what the sound represents. Since this is
the second round, each question will be worth two points.
(15:07):
Imagin here is your first sound, so imagin that sounds
like something is boiling. How mysterious. Why is that significant
to Isaac Newton's life? Is it because A Newton began
learning about chemistry as a boy, or be Newton invented
(15:28):
the first hot tub? A, that's right, The answer is a.
ASA He lived with a man named Clark and his
family while attending school as a boy, Mr Clark was
an apothecary, which is someone who makes medicine, herbs and chemicals.
By watching and perhaps even helping Clark, young Isaac began
learning basic chemistry. He even created his own potions. Hey,
(15:50):
I make my own potions too. I mix all of
the sodas that the soda fountain together and call it
soda potion. Alright, hollas, here is your sound. Okay, that's
definitely the ticking of a clock. What's the significance of
that for Isaac Newton? Is it A Newton was fascinated
(16:13):
by ways to keep track of time? Or B Newton
secretly wanted to be a clock salesman. I am pretty
sure it's A because he doesn't seem so accurate. You're
exactly right. B is not accurate at all. The answer
is A. As a teenager, although maybe he did secretly
want it. He has never told anybody if it was
(16:34):
a secret. But the answer is day. As a teenager,
Newton set out to build a better clock, as clocks
in his day weren't very accurate and he felt he
could do a better job, and he did. He charted
the movement of shadows from sunrise to sunset. Then he
hammered pegs into a wall to create a sun dial.
When people wanted to know the real time, they check
Isaac's dial Imogen Europe. Next with the next sound, let's
(16:56):
hear it? Oh wow? Okay, that's a sheep. How are
sheep related to Isaac Newton's life? Ay, he'd count them
if he couldn't sleep or be His mother wanted him
to be a farmer. That's right, The answer is being
Isaac Newton's mom, Hannah saw education mainly as a way
for her son to become a good farmer. She eventually
(17:18):
took him out of school completely so we could practice
running a farm. However, the idea of growing crops intending
to animals board Isaac, so he did a bad job
on purpose. Once, when Isaac was supposed to be watching
the sheep, he let them run into a neighbor's field
and eat their crops, and so his mother had to
pay a fine. Open communication is always cheaper. That's the
lesson here. And the last sound of the round is
(17:41):
for hollis m alright? That sounds like coins being poured out.
Why is that relevant to Isaac Newton's life? Is it
a Newton love to go to the arcade? Or be
Newton helped run the Royal Mint um b that's right.
(18:01):
The answer is be. The mint was where all of
England's coins were created. It's not the mint, the food. Unfortunately,
counterfeiters creating fake money. We're a huge problem for the
Royal Mint. So the government decided on what was called
the Great Recoinage of six. This was an event where
the Mint created new coins with hard edges, making them
harder to fake. Newton oversaw the Great Recoinage and he
(18:23):
did such a good job he was promoted to Master
of the Mint again disappointedly, not like mint ice cream,
just money. And that's sound effects, Safari un problem. Oh
Gerald Deane says that was one of her favorite sound
effects Safari's yet and she also says, let's go to
(18:44):
producer Jane with the scores. Great idea, Geraldine, whoa boy?
Do we have a contest? It is all tied up
six points each. Nobody has miss question amazing. We might
have well, I don't want to put too much pressure
on any contests. We might have two perfect games today.
We'll see We've still got one more round still anyone's game.
Stay tuned for the inventive conclusion right after this break. Eric,
(19:07):
please play us some new coin music. Please. This coin
is knew I coined it, Sally. Who was there? Marie Curie?
You may remember me from winning multiple Nobel prizes, or
perhaps from my episode of the who wast podcast where
(19:29):
I played myself. I wanted to take a moment to
read one of my favorite reviews about the Who Was podcasts.
This is from Shaken Bay and it reads loved this
Me and my little sister love this show more. Please.
Our faith is Rie Toman. If you want to hear
your review right on the air, make sure to subscribe,
(19:52):
like and review to the worst podcasts in the I
heard radio up or wherever you get your podcasts or
oh sir, let's day, Abido. Welcome back to the Hills podcast.
Today we're learning about the fathers of Invention, Alexander Graham
Bell and Isaac Newton. Now back to your host, Ellien Kalen.
(20:17):
Thank you. Be. We've got a real barn burner of
a game going, so let's keep it going. But let's
put the barn fire out. This is our final game
and it's called Converge of Greatness. In this multiple choice game,
be will read questions where are two historical figures overlap
(20:40):
or converge? And because recovering two times the history, this
game is worth three points for each question, So pick
the best option as your answer, Polis. The first question
is for you take it away, B. Both Isaac Newton
and Alexander Graham Bell thought it was much more important
to perfect their inventions than it was to present them.
(21:01):
Newton believed that to the point that he A Often
refused to show people his inventions. B would get stage
fright when showing his inventions. Or see hired an actor
to pretend to be him and have them show people
his inventions. Um A, that's right, the answer is A.
Newton preferred working alone entirely for his own satisfaction. He
(21:24):
was invited to join the Royal Society, a group of
scholars who met every week to watch experiments and discuss science.
But Newton's personality did not fit well with the royal society.
He didn't want the advice of other people. If they
questioned him or worst thought he was wrong, Newton would
lose his temper. I guess that's the first law of
Isaac Newton. Don't make Newton mad image in Europe. Next.
(21:44):
Alexander Graham Bell and Isaac Newton were both close with
their mother's. Bell's mother inadvertently helped him begin to understand
a the piano B, how sounds travel and are heard?
Or see why he should make his bed every morning.
That's right, The answer is B. Alexander Graham. Belle's mother, Eliza,
(22:05):
was nearly deaf, and she used an ear tube which
looked a bit like a big horn to hear better.
People would often shout into her ear tube, but Bell
liked to put his mouth on her forehead and speak softly.
Eliza could hear her son because she picked up the
vibrations his words made when he put his mouth to
her head. Talking to his mother this way, Alexander Graham
Bell started understanding how sounds traveled. Hollis, The next question
(22:27):
is for you Neither Isaac Newton or Alexander Graham Bell
were good students, as school didn't interest them much. Newton
became a better student because he wanted to a get
a free personal pan pizza, B show a schoolyard rival
that he was smarter, or see get the teacher off
his back. B. I don't think pan pizza's existed back then. Well,
(22:52):
I guess Newton had not invented them yet. That was
a great day when Isaac Newton invented the personal pan pizza.
He didn't really the answer is be your right, Hollisol
board Isaac so much that he didn't study. It was
at the bottom of his class. One day, a boy
who was a good student picked a fight with Isaac
and Isaac one but winning a physical fight wasn't enough
for Isaac Newton. He began to study and rose to
the top of the class. Sounds like he was holding
(23:14):
a grudge at a high school level. And here's the
last question of the game for Imagen. Both Alexander Graham
Bell and Isaac Newton were sent to live away from
home as young men. Newton was sent to live with
the family known as the Clarks to be closer to
his school, Bell was sent to live with his grandfather
in London because hey, he wanted to meet Peppa Pig
(23:36):
b his grandfather needed help cleaning out the garage or see.
His father thought it would help with Alexander's lack of focus.
That's right, The answer is see. Belle's grandfather was also
a teacher, and Bell was expected to study six days
a week. He was still bored by most typical school
subjects like history and Latin, but enjoyed watching his grandfather
(23:57):
gives speech lessons to students. London was much larger than
Bell's home of Edinburgh, and living with his grandfather came
with many rules. Bell had to wear a full suit
along with a top hat and carry a cane whenever
he left the house because one of his grandfather's rules
was he had to dress like a little gentleman. And
that's converge of greatness. I just realized it makes sense
(24:28):
that Alexander Graham Bell wouldn't bet the telephone, because then
his grandfather couldn't see if he was wearing that hat
and holding the cane. He could just talk to most
of the phone and say, oh, yeah, I'm wearing it, Grandpa,
don't worry I'm wearing it. Yeah, I got the cane
right here in man. But why would you ever lie
about wearing a top hat? I mean, doesn't everybody just
look for any excuse they can find to wear a
top hat? I know I do. That's why I'm wearing
(24:48):
one right now to to celebrate that this is the
end of the game, which means it's also the end
of the show. While Jane talies the scores, I'd love
to hear from our contestants. What was something you were
surprised to learn about either Alexander Graham Bell or Isaac
Newton Hollis What surprised you? I was surprised to learn
that Alexander Graham Bell invented them hearing test because I
(25:12):
actually have a hearing loss myself, and the newborn hearing
streaming test was saying that UM told my parents and
I had to hear in loss when I was a baby.
Oh wow, So you have a personal connection to the
work of Alexander Graham Bell, which is really amazing. That's
something that's so cool, isn't it that something that was
invented such a long time ago, it's still something that
(25:35):
made an impact on your life. Isn't that kind of
a neat thing. That's a great story. Thank you, Ellis Imagen.
What surprised you about either of our two instrumental figures.
But like all a really good scientists were really bad
in school. You would love were things that you're like, oh, yeah,
like you ort to be like guys, you have to
(25:56):
pass all your tests. But he was really bad and
so yeah, next time, my teacher says, if you get
a bad grade, it'll be on your report card. I say,
Isaac Newton and Alexander Graham Bell's report cards didn't look
so great either, So maybe I will be a great inventor.
(26:16):
It goes to show that one there's more to school
than just brains. You've got to work hard to get grades,
and you gotta pay attention. But too sometimes even really
smart people have trouble paying attention, and they've got to
figure out what interests them about the things they the
jobs they need to do, like school that they don't
really want to do. So yeah, there are a lot
of different ways to be smart. School is just one
(26:37):
of them, and it doesn't always work for everybody. M
exactly right, So thank you both for that. Those are
just fantastic thoughts. I really was happy with all of them.
But it's time for the big moment. Jane, please announce
our inventive winner. Olly, I'd like to introduce something I
just invented. It's called a tie between all of GM.
(27:00):
We have two winners, but it's a double Winter Day,
Double Winter Day, saying hey, Elliot, does that mean we
get to wear two top hats each. I'm already putting
one on top of my other top hat. Double top
Hat Day, double winnops the top hat, double top hats.
It's a tie game that means to bow ties. Well,
this is fantastic. You're Since you're both winners, you both
(27:20):
get ten seconds for shoutouts. Hollis, if you want to
go first, who would you like to thank for getting
you to be this winner today? Um? I would like
to thank my mom's who will not let me get
a hedgehog. Well, maybe they'll think differently after after hearing
about how you did on the game, but they also
might still not want to give you a hedgehog. If
you're talking back to your teacher about Isaac Newton's report
(27:41):
card and imagen, who would you like to thank for
your win today? The final. My friends regitioned for this
o got it, didn't like, Well, that's really nice to
you to thank them. Maybe they better luck next time. Look,
Isaac Newton didn't get in his first time around. That's
both of our ers and their libraries of choice. We're
receiving a selection of Who Was books, and I'm going
(28:04):
to give my own shout outs to interns, act, to Jane,
to Eric to be a big thank you to both
of our great contestants for playing just a fabulous game today,
and of course who deserves thanks more than anyone than you,
the listener who, by listening to the show has invented
our reason for making it. Join us next time as
we find out who Was? Two more amazing figures from history.
(28:25):
Until then, this is Elliott, master of the mint Calin
saying her history good bye. Everybody, got a question for
any of our famous figures? Or do you want to
be a contestant? Send us a voice memo at the
Who Was Podcast at gmail dot com it or you
might just end up on the show. Who Was Podcast
(28:46):
is produced by Radio Point, I Heart Media and Penguin
Workshop and is based on the best selling who h
Q series published by Penguin. This episode was hosted by
Elliott Calin with co host Megan O'Neill as Be. It
also starred Jane Baker as Jane, Eric Shackney as Eric,
and Zack Timpson as Alexander Graham Bell. Our executive producers
are Richard Corson, Alex Foch, Elliott Calin, Megan O'Neil, Daniel Powell,
(29:10):
and Houston Snyder. The executive producer for Penguin Workshop is
Francesco Sadita. The executive producer by Heart Media is Lindsay Hoffman.
This episode was written by Megan O'Neil, Elliott Calin and
Devin Coleman, produced by Bernie Kaminsky and Taylor Kawalski. Our
talent producer is Jane Baker. Our theme song and all
of our music is composed and performed by Eric Shackney.
This episode was edited and mixed by Brimatan and Kate
(29:32):
molden howerd recorded by Alison Worth and special thanks We've
Got a Few for Zach Timpson, Charlotte Dianda, Daniel Goodman
and Michael Lewis Howard, who was podcast was recorded at
the I Heart Studios in Los Angeles, California. Sound services
were provided by Great City Posts. Podcast cher standard
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