Five Minute Trivia
Bite-sized bursts of knowledge to make you smarter. Five minutes at a time.
Episodes
Area 51 is likely the most famous place in the world that you're not supposed to know about. It's part of countless alien movies, conspiracy theories, and often some combination of both. So what is it? Where is it? What really goes on there? And why doesn't it just have a normal name (hint: it does)? We're taking all that on in this show.
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In 1907, Albert Einstein had a thought experiment involving an unlucky window cleaner. It led to a scientific breakthrough that finally gave us an understanding of gravity, space, time, and the fabric that holds it all together. This was his theory of general relativity. Together with special relativity, which we covered a couple of shows back, it covers the whole universe and everything in it.
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A hundred years ago, Congress authorized the creation of an uninterrupted highway that stretched for 2400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. And for 100 years, Americans have hit Route 66 in search of adventure, romance, and even the hope of a better life. As we mark its centennial this year, we look back at how this road came to be so much more than just a road.
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82 years ago this week, the Allied forces of World War II launched the largest seaborne invasion in history. Code-named Operation Neptune, it would mark the turning point of the war in Europe. How did it happen? Why did they choose the beaches of Normandy? And, most importantly, what does the D in D-Day mean? We're answering all that and more on this week's show.
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In 1905, a Swiss patent clerknamed Albert Einstein published a paper that upended our entire understanding of the universe. It explained supernovas, black holes, and even time travel. It also gave us E=mc2, probably the most famous equation ever. And the math was simple enough that a high-schooler could work it out. After spending five minutes with us, you'll know it all, too.
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The early twentieth century was a time of massive upheaval. Between World War 1, the Soviet Revolution, and Albert Einstein, everything we thought we knew about the world was suddenly gone. Into that swirling chaos came an art movement made for the era: Dadaism. Intentionally nonsensical and absurd, it was as much a reaction to the changing times as it was a product of them. This week, we're learning about it and how Dada continues...
Mother's Day is one of the most important holidays in America, and not just because we love our moms. Billions of dollars in flowers, greeting cards, and restaurant brunches make Mother's Day an economic powerhouse. But it wasn't always this way, and when it transformed rom a day of remembrance to a commercial industry, its founder tried to have it abolished. This week, we're talking about Anna Jarvis and the holiday she made.
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Imagine building an entire society around the idea of fighting people. That, in a nutshell, was Sparta. For over three millenia, the Spartans have been source of fascination for their military prowess, their massive slave population, and their seeming willingness to fight anyone over anything. This week's show explores the history behind their enduring legend.
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Why call something an ocean when you can call it a sea? Why call it a sea when you can call it a gulf? Why is Long Island Sound a body of water and not a rock band? If you've ever looked at a map of the world's bodies of water and wondered what anyone was thinking, this week's show is for you.
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History is full of restless, ambitious overachievers who wanted to make some difference in the world. But what if our idea of the world is wrong? What if life is nothing more than a dumb accident of the universe with no meaning? This is the philosophy of absurdism. In Albert Camus' The Stranger, the idea of absurdism is told through the character of Meursalt, a guy so checked out of life that he can't even explain why he murdered s...
When stars die, they don't go quietly. They can shrink, expand, explode, and everything in between. How does a star know what to do when it's done? We're covering all that in the conclusion of our two-part series.
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Black holes have been a reliable source of inspiration in science fiction and made astrophysicists like Stephen Hawking into household names. On this week's show, we follow how the idea of black holes went from a mathematical sideshow to a phenomenon that has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of the universe. This episode is the first of a two-parter on the funny business that happens when stars stop being stars.
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Impressionism was a 19th century art movement borne out of an insult, but quickly became one of the most popular and enduring art forms in history. Legendary painters like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet, and Mary Cassatt were impressionists. On today's show, we explore the history of this movement and how its artists embraced that derisive term. All of the paintings featured on today's episode can be found in th...
The Molotov cocktail is not a drink and the person it's named for didn't invent it. Yet there is perhaps no more iconic symbol of resistance in the world than a flaming bottle being thrown at a technologically superior opponent. Where did the Molotov cocktail come from and why is it called that? We're talking all about it on this week's show.
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If you want to turn today into tomorrow, you don't need to wait for science to invent something. You can just go west until you cross 180 degrees longitude. That's where the International Date Line is located. On today's show, we talk about what it is and why it's needed. Special appearances by Gary Cooper and The Ghostbusters.
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The 98th Academy Awards are right around the corner, so we thought we'd tackle some burning questions about the Oscars. Like who...or what...is Oscar? And has anyone named Oscar ever won an Oscar?
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For over a hundred years, Hollywood has been making movie adaptations of Wuthering Heights. And for over a hundred years, they've been controversial. The latest one starring Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff is no exception. This week, we're talking about this enduring novel that invented the genre of Gothic literature, even though the author pretended to be someone else and no one has any idea what the title means.
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This year, the Islamic month of Ramadan and the Catholic observance of Lent both started on the same day. Both faith traditions are characterized by fasting, spiritual devotion, and personal sacrifice. Both faiths also make up nearly 40% of the world's population, so that means that you probably know someone who's a little hungry right now. On this week's show, we're talking about them.
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Which mountain is the biggest on Earth? The answer is surprisingly a little complicated and it depends on what you mean by biggest. Join us this week as we go into the sky, the oceans, and to the center of the planet to find out. WARNING: There may be some math.
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Only six football teams have been to more Superbowls than Up with People. The relentlessly upbeat performing group starred in five Superbowl halftime shows as well as the Indy 500, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, and even a presidential inauguration. Who were they, why were they everywhere, and what happened to them?
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