Classy Little Podcast

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For extras, including bonus content, visit the show notes for this episode at classylittlepodcast.com/show-notes/43.

Build your knowledge with this episode celebrating architecture in honor of Frank Lloyd Wright's birthday! Learn why blueprints used to be blue, why "Star-chitechs" are divas, and prepare to have some favorite sitcoms ruined by nitpicking the structural flaws of TV houses.

This episode's wine: Blue Vin Riesling from Mosel, Germany

This episode's cheese: Sartori MontAmore

We start out the episode talking about aperitifs and their traits of stimulating the appetite. James realizes how Emily's mind for puns works. He also talks about Frank Lloyd Wright's legacy, including the gas station he designed. He may not have been the most modest architect, but he definitely left an impact on the landscape of modern architecture.

Find out how origins of blueprints contributed to invisible ink during Wold War II and the Crayola-retired color Prussian Blue.

James tells us about Star-citechs, and we make sure you'll always remember the name of the inventor of movable type, Gutenberg, which we learned in our episode, Cheers to Marijuana. Somehow, Emily finds a way to relate James' research to The Breakfast Club.

Some of the best architecture stories can be found in New York City, and Emily talks about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, including the three chief architects who worked on it. Find out why the Manhattan side of the bridge is built onto a sand bed instead of bedroom, and the recently-discovered Cold War-era bunker found in the masonry.

And, before anyone takes this idea, this episode will be our evidence that we came up with the movie idea based on George C. Parker, who sold the bridge twice per week for 30 years.

Find out about some of the biggest architecture failures, and never underestimate Emily's talent for fooling James into thinking she's listening to him when she's actually using the time to come up with a tortured pun. (Be sure to check out the 99% Invisible episode talking more about the Citigroup Building.)

Get ready to have your childhood rerun memories ruined when Emily talks about architects in pop culture and how they might not have been that great at their careers, but they are great leading characters. Mike Brady, Elyse Keaton and even Art Vandelay find their way into our episode. James also asks an very important question regarding the bathroom habits of talking horses.

If you have 20 minutes to spare to learn about the impossible architecture of Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" and Stanley Kubrick's genius direction, check out these YouTube videos! Video 1 and Video 2.

Featured promos:

The Ultra Podcast (iTunes/URL)

Epic Film Guys (iTunes/URL)

Find more great podcasts on Twitter by searching the hashtag #PodernFamily!

Thanks to Lisa for featuring us as Lisa's Choice Podcast Award winner for the Indie Podcast Category!

And check out Emily on Podcasters' Roundtable talking about Work/Life/Podcasting Balance.

Special thanks to our classy sponsors on Patreon: Greg from Debt Shepherd, PodUnderground & Jason Bryant from Mat Tal...

For episode 42, we had to do something related to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," but since neither of us had read the book, we decided to raise our glasses to numbers, instead! Aside from 42 being the ultimate answer, we also look at the number 3 in religions, how 30 percent of data begins with the number 1, and why 13 is really just the Jan Brady of numbers.

This episode's wine: Bell'Aggio Rosso Dolce

This episode's cheese: Trader Joe's Cheddar with Caramelized Onions

For wine deals through our affiliate, wine.com, visit classylittlepodcast.com/wine.

Listen and subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music, and find out more at classylittlepodcast.com/subscribe.

Find us on Snapchat | Twitter | Facebook

We adored the Bell'Aggio Rosso Dolce, which we were sent a bottle of to review. It's a light, effervescent red that tastes great chilled. And we would absolutely drink this with any of the recommended pairings and more! Even Kitty -- our friend who didn't even like wine adored this!

Even thought James and Emily haven't read Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," we decided to do something special for Episode 42. So we chose numbers to raise our glasses to this week. Aside from just Douglas Adams who used 42 in his writings, Lewis Carroll was also known for using that number in his works. Emily also points out some of the other instances in literature and pop culture 42 appears.

James talks about Benford's Law, which is the frequency of the No. 1 as the first digit of a lot of data sets. Don't believe us? Think of your electricity bill or some street addresses you may know. We realized, also, if you try to commit fraud, make sure the first number is 1.

Despite learning how the periodic table was filled in even before many elements were known, Emily gets to complain about the shape of the Periodic Table. And Emily's husband's pure hatred of 87 because of the Pittsburgh Penguins player, Sidney Crosby. And, if you haven't caught Cheers to Guys Night, in which Mark and James talk about the Trifecta of Beauty, check it out here!

James talks about some of the Chinese superstitions about numbers and why the phone number 888-8888 sold for $280,000. Apparently, if you're doing business with China, throw in some 8s, since it's a sign of prosperity, but don't use 4s, since they're considered unlucky. Emily tells us another way our mind plays tricks on us, as far as prices are concerned. So, when you see the 99 cents at the end of the price, your brain probably doesn't register it, so it's just the first one or two numbers of a price that tricks your mind.

Emily talks about the number 3, including why sometimes you'll see it with a flat top. And Emily blows Kitty's mind when she talks about how to find out if number is divisible by three. We also get into how the number 3 has been important in a number of different religions, including the creator gods of Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda.

Emily also goes into the history of the Rule of Three and how storytellers, comedians, advertisers, and public speakers use this Rule of Three as a way to their advantage. Next time you're looking at slogans or hearing a joke or listening to a speech, see if you can pick out the rule of three in use.

James talks about unlucky 13 and how it's a global belief. Judas, Loki and the wicked fairy in the Grimms' version of "Sleeping Beauty." But, in reality, 13 is just the Jan Brady to the Marcia Brady No. 12. We also talk about the "bad" luck of those with 13 letters in their name -- and Emily makes quite an interesting sound when Christian Bale is mentioned. Also, we may be looking into joining The 13 Club, who tests the boundaries of the superstition surrounding the No. 13. However, the United States of America LOVES 13, and looking at a dollar bill, you will see evidence of that.

And, the Queen makes an appearance to read lyrics to popular songs with numbers in the title for a music quiz for James and the ever-present-but-seldom-vocal Kitty to guess. How well do you do on our quiz? Let us know!

Congratulations to Richard, Amy and Jen for winning ...

We celebrate James' birthday by raising our glasses to James' favorite meal: scraps! But, instead of leftover food, we decided to go back and use some of our research from past episodes we never got to talk about.

This episode's wine: Longitude 2015 White Wine

This episode's cheese: Trader Joe's Red Leicester with Chili and Red Bell Pepper

For wine deals through our affiliate, wine.com, visit classylittlepodcast.com/wine.

Listen and subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music, and find out more at classylittlepodcast.com/subscribe.

Find us on Snapchat | Twitter | Facebook

Find out about the clear cola that pre-dated Crystal Pepsi, why Sinead O'Connor ripped a picture of the pope on Saturday Night Live, the history of Farkle, how gambling addiction works, some thoughts on the Oscars with Epic Film Guy Nick, and famous cats on ships!

For extras, including bonus content, visit the show notes for this episode at classylittlepodcast.com/show-notes/41.

Past Episodes Referenced:

• Cheers to Soft Drinks (iTunes/Website)
• Cheers to Comedy with Everyone Has a Podcast (iTunes/Website)
• Cheers to Tabletop Games (iTunes/Website)
• Cheers to March Madness (iTunes/Website)
• Cheers to Back to the Future (iTunes/Website)
• Cheers to the Oscars with The Epic Film Guys (iTunes/Website)
• Cheers to Cats (iTunes/Website)

Featured promos:

Epic Film Guys (iTunes/Website)

Ultra Podcast (iTunes/Website)

Find more great podcasts on Twitter by searching the hashtag #PodernFamily!

We got to be guests on Home Gadget Geeks talking about wine gadgets! Check it out!

Special thanks to our classy sponsors on Patreon: Greg from Debt Shepherd, PodUnderground & Jason Bryant from Mat Talk Online and the Short Time Wrestling podcast.

Special thanks to Adam Centamore for his book, "Tasting Wine & Cheese: An Insider's Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing," which inspires us to try new wine and cheese pairings in every episode!

Cheers!

In honor of our appearance on Home Gadget Geeks on Thursday, we're raising out glasses to gadgets. We learn about patent trolls; some fun facts about everyone's favorite syndicated cartoon, "Inspector Gadget;" and Emily finds out that Planned Obsolescence isn't just a conspiracy theory. This episode's wine: Da Vinci Chianti, 2014 This episode's cheese: Colby Jack

Listen/subscribe/leave a review on iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher, Overcast, or podcatcher of choice!

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In honor of Home Gadget Geeks, which we will be on Thursday night at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Standard Time, we're talking about gadgets!

Emily starts off talking about the polymath Leonardo da Vinci's "gadgets," including his Robotic Knight and his three-wheeled cart. James even goes so far as to "out" him!

James talks about how old iPods are worth a lot of money, and how Emily would like her stolen iPod back, terrible music and all. He also talks about the Newton and how "The Simpsons" helped Apple push for better technology.

James tells us about some crazy patents, including a mechanical man with a mustache and a top hat ringing a bell on a train to scare off cows. Emily is incredibly excited about a new version of childbirth for her future child.

Emily gets into some of the trivia about Inspector Gadget, including some of the precursors to current technology. Want to see the guy playing the theme from "Inspector Gadget on beer bottles? Check this out!

Emily also learns about planned obsolescence as she researched Inspector Gadget. She thought it was a conspiracy theory, but she ended up finding out how it actually plays out, including in gadgets like iPhones, and even nylon stockings. And she also requests a version of "Boom, Boom Dollar" on a Playstation 4 version of Dance Dance Revolution. Is that so much to ask.

James tells us about patent trolls and how the Obama administration has fought this. How dare someone try to patent toast?! And, if you have any incites about how to program our own robot, James, to understand emotions, let us know!

Featured promo:

Unskippable

Find more great podcasts on Twitter by searching the hashtag #PodernFamily!

Special thanks to our classy sponsors on Patreon: Debt Shepherd, PodUnderground & Jason Bryant from Mat Talk Online and the Short Time Wrestling podcast.

Special thanks to Adam Centamore for his book, "Tasting Wine & Cheese: An Insider's Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing," which inspires us to try new wine and cheese pairings in every episode!

Cheers!

Hi everyone,

This is Emily from the Classy Little Podcast. I wanted to apologize for ending the podcast so abruptly after a very long hiatus. Thank you to all our listeners and supporters -- it was really an amazing year of podcasting we’ll never forget.

Anyway, you can still catch James on the Unskippable podcast with my husband Mark, where they review one new album every episode and make each other listen to an old favorite without skipping it. You can find information at UnskippablePod.com

And you can find me on my new podcast called The Story Behind, which is similar to the Classy Little Podcast, as far as finding out information about a new topic every week, but it’s much more specific. The format is much shorter than Classy Little Podcast -- these are bites-sized episodes that can fill the 5-10 minutes here and there, or save them up and binge-listen as you please.

There’s no wine and cheese, unfortunately -- but, then again, one of the reasons Classy Little Podcast is no more is that I haven’t been able to enjoy wine or certain cheeses for about four months now, and I have another five months to go with no wine. But, despite what other podcasters may say, babies aren’t podcast killers. But doing shorter episodes means I’ll have less editing and production work, as well as a chance to put out two episodes every week.

So, I can leave you here with a final farewell from the Classy Little Podcast and you can skip ahead to your next podcast, or you can keep listening for the first episode of my new show, The Story Behind The Theremin.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe on iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher or your favorite podcast app.

And find more information at TheStoryBehindPodcast.com.

Cheers!