Speaker 1: Hello, puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler Podcast the Sweet Sweet
Speaker 1: Dust at the bottom of your puzzle cereal bag. I'm
Speaker 1: your host, AJ Jacobs, and today's cash is the great
Speaker 1: Christopher Short, quiz master in chief of Geeks Who Drink,
Speaker 1: which is a delightful company that produces pub quizzes at
Speaker 1: bars and at events nationwide. Welcome Christopher, Thank you for
Speaker 1: having me. We are delighted. I thought before we do
Speaker 1: today's puzzle, we could maybe talk trivia. Okay, absolutely, and
Speaker 1: a Geeks Who Drink. If I understand correctly, you create
Speaker 1: trivia questions with a little extra layer of cleverness, a
Speaker 1: little added cleverness sauce.
Speaker 2: That's right. Yeah, so yeah, we've been at it for
Speaker 2: about seventeen years now and that's always been our brand, right.
Speaker 2: You know, there are multiple ways to do trivia questions.
Speaker 2: You can just kind of you know, throw it right
Speaker 2: out there and put a question mark at the end
Speaker 2: of it, and you know, some people enjoy that, but
Speaker 2: we look at it more as like, uh, you know,
Speaker 2: trivia is the medium and we're and we're making something
Speaker 2: a little bit more artistic. If I can sound that pretentious.
Speaker 1: You can and listen give me some of that art
Speaker 1: I want to before the puzzle, give me some Let's
Speaker 1: do a trivia questions.
Speaker 2: No I had that.
Speaker 1: I asked you to create a couple just for me
Speaker 1: that's related to my specialties, so it'll be extra embarrassing
Speaker 1: when I miss them.
Speaker 2: Well, so yeah, it made you a mini round called
Speaker 2: Initially I was against it, all right, So okay, yeah
Speaker 2: like it. This round is all about you, sort of
Speaker 2: because every answer is either going to have the initials
Speaker 2: A J or JAY because I couldn't make you J
Speaker 2: work for all of them. And of course, you know,
Speaker 2: any resemblance of the subject matter to books that you
Speaker 2: have published or will soon publish is purely coincidental.
Speaker 1: Got it. Okay, interesting, So that's a hint because it's
Speaker 1: not going to be purely coincidental. Okay, I'm ready.
Speaker 2: So we'll start with the Constitution.
Speaker 1: Remember answer the topic of my upcoming book, The Year
Speaker 1: of Living Constitutionally.
Speaker 2: Yeah, available soon at find bookstores everywhere.
Speaker 1: I'm sure, and not fine anywhere exactly. Thank you, Thank you, Chris.
Speaker 2: So we'll start with the US Constitution was heavily influenced
Speaker 2: by the Massachusetts Constitution of seventeen eighty which was mostly
Speaker 2: written by what future US president? Oh?
Speaker 1: Interesting, all right, I shouldn't now this, I should know.
Speaker 1: I mean, who is Andrew Jackson? But I think he
Speaker 1: was too early that he wasn't he would have been
Speaker 1: like four years old. It's not Andrew Jackson, right.
Speaker 2: It's not Andrew Jackson. Massachusetts is probably a help out John.
Speaker 1: Oh, I forgot that it could be ja or a
Speaker 1: j Okay, yes, John Adams.
Speaker 2: John Adams is correct, right, and then actually you kind
Speaker 2: of just ruined my second question. Maybe I'll just skip
Speaker 2: that one, but it is a really fun sort of
Speaker 2: coincidence of history. John Adams happened to be the first
Speaker 2: single term president and the second single term president was
Speaker 2: his son. What Democrat defeated John Quincy Adams's re election
Speaker 2: bid in eighteen twenty eight, and that was there?
Speaker 1: You go that one. I think I do know, partly
Speaker 1: because I just said it, which is Andrew Jackson?
Speaker 2: Andrew Jackson.
Speaker 1: Oh, here, I rooted. I rooted for John Quincy Adams.
Speaker 1: I'm a fan. Oh fan, Well, yeah, if I could
Speaker 1: go back and vote, he would have my vote.
Speaker 2: Well, and I mean, you know, Andrew Jackson, he's not
Speaker 2: pulling so well nowadays his reputation.
Speaker 1: That's kind of tank and it's true.
Speaker 2: So we'll move on from the constitution to the world
Speaker 2: of puzzles. Okay, obvious reasons and uh, we're sticking with
Speaker 2: the with the initial theme. So if you were sitting
Speaker 2: at your desk doing a crossword puzzle in nineteen ninety eight,
Speaker 2: you might have gotten help from a search engine named
Speaker 2: for a PG Woodhouse character. What's that website?
Speaker 1: I do remember? I remember ask Jeeves, Yes, ask Jeeves
Speaker 1: that is, and the aj we're looking for there there
Speaker 1: you go. Excellent, That brings back some nice it's always
Speaker 1: good to remember. Yeah, Alta Vista, Yeah, ask Jeeves? Who else?
Speaker 2: I mean, Prodigy was not a Next Game navigator. I
Speaker 2: remember that fondly for sure.
Speaker 1: Oh it's so nice to yeah, nice to reminisce.
Speaker 2: And we apologize of course to any listener who's you know,
Speaker 2: under the age of the age.
Speaker 1: We are basically exactly just jargon to them. All right,
Speaker 1: ready for more.
Speaker 2: Finally, a question on coffee. It's always time for coffee.
Speaker 2: It's always time for gratitude. I think that you might
Speaker 2: have put the concepts together at some point in the past.
Speaker 1: Right, my gratitude to you for plugging my book, which
Speaker 1: is thanks a thousand, all about yeah, how coffee is made?
Speaker 2: And you spoke. You started by speaking to your barista.
Speaker 2: I wrote you a question about a barista, So here
Speaker 2: we go. The all time most famous fictional barista was
Speaker 2: played by the late James Michael Tyler, appearing in once
Speaker 2: some one hundred and fifty episodes. He still never managed
Speaker 2: to win the love of a character played by what actress?
Speaker 1: Wow, Oh okay, yep, I was. It took me a
Speaker 1: second and that was I was all nervous and then
Speaker 1: I got it Jennifer Aniston because it was Yes, he
Speaker 1: was the sort of love sick barista. And Gunther cup
Speaker 1: Mavor Gunther right at Central Perk, the Central Park. There
Speaker 1: you go. That was it. Well that was super fun
Speaker 1: and uh and thank you, thank you again for theming
Speaker 1: them all about a j and JA and I should
Speaker 1: have done better, but I didn't totally embarrass myself partially.
Speaker 2: And you know, it's maybe it's a maybe it's good
Speaker 2: for you to get a taste of your own medicine
Speaker 2: from time to time.
Speaker 1: Exactly, Yes, I know that is good. Well, let me
Speaker 1: give you a taste of your own medicine, because I
Speaker 1: turn it around and I'm gonna give you a puzzle
Speaker 1: themed to geeks who drink. Oh okay, So this puzzle
Speaker 1: is going to be all about phrases that rhyme with
Speaker 1: geeks who drink. So all of the phrases will end
Speaker 1: with sounds like ekes who ink or ekes that ink.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: So, for instance, if I said residents of Athens who
Speaker 1: are not brillyant, that would be blanks who blank, Blanks
Speaker 1: who blank?
Speaker 2: Oh, that would be uh, Greeks who sink.
Speaker 1: Greeks who sank? Exactly look at that, by the way, Chris,
Speaker 1: six time Jeopardy champion.
Speaker 2: So you say that, and now people are gonna have expectations.
Speaker 2: All right, let's see.
Speaker 1: Well I read the Encyclopedia Britannica for one of my books.
Speaker 1: So my I mean people should have eye expectations for
Speaker 1: me that I never fulfill.
Speaker 2: You. Here we are, we're both letting everybody down.
Speaker 1: Exactly, Okay, ready, very entertaining. Next one, Next one. Bird
Speaker 1: bills that get smaller and smaller? Are blanks that blank?
Speaker 1: Blanks that blank?
Speaker 2: Bird bills that get smaller and smaller? You know? Actually
Speaker 2: I just had to go to the pet store and
Speaker 2: pay my bird bill last week, So I had this
Speaker 2: in mind. Yeah, is that?
Speaker 1: Was that a joker? Like a true story that happened
Speaker 1: to be a joke?
Speaker 2: Surely purely a joke.
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, that's fine.
Speaker 2: Know especially I wanted.
Speaker 1: Some insight into your your home life. But that's fine.
Speaker 1: All right, So you got the bird bill. You what
Speaker 1: do you think? Maybe it rhymes with geeks who drink.
Speaker 2: So I think that it's uh. I think that is
Speaker 2: like beaks that shrink.
Speaker 1: Beaks that shrink exactly. All right, Just a couple more.
Speaker 1: What about really old furniture that smells nasty, nasty? Those
Speaker 1: are blanks that blank.
Speaker 2: I have in my life owned plenty of old furniture
Speaker 2: that smelled nasty, So probably not as old as you're thinking.
Speaker 1: But yes, yes, these are kind of old and nasty.
Speaker 1: These are so old they get expensive. Yeah, so they
Speaker 1: get cheaper and then they get.
Speaker 2: Although hopefully you get a discount because of the odor.
Speaker 2: These are these would be uh antiques that stink exactly.
Speaker 1: As with Jeopardy for the first six episodes at least
Speaker 1: you were doing Yeah, all right, last we have furtive,
Speaker 1: stealthy people who mouth the words to songs, silently mouth
Speaker 1: the words to songs.
Speaker 2: Uh. This feels like it's the mashup of several different
Speaker 2: reality TV competitions that I've seen. Actually, although usually the
Speaker 2: people who lip sync are not very sneaky, be pretty
Speaker 2: flamboyant in my in my experience.
Speaker 1: There you go, but you got it. He got it.
Speaker 1: He said it in the all wrong order. But sneaks
Speaker 1: who lip sync is absolutely correct to end right. Like
Speaker 1: Millie Vanilla, they were not sneaky enough, so they got
Speaker 1: famously busted for lip never live it down, I'm afraid not,
Speaker 1: which is kind of depressing. All right, Thanks Christopher, you
Speaker 1: did great tell us. Where can people find more about
Speaker 1: geeks who drink?
Speaker 2: Well, naturally, you can go to Geeks who Drink dot
Speaker 2: com and that's going to tell you if you happen
Speaker 2: to be in a city. We're all over the country,
Speaker 2: so you can find the pub quiz nearest you, and
Speaker 2: whether or not you have a pub quiz near you.
Speaker 2: You can play our daily quick game thrice thrice as
Speaker 2: in three times. Just go to thricegame dot com and
Speaker 2: I think aj that you've played that a time or two.
Speaker 1: I've played it, and I've enjoyed it, very fun, highly
Speaker 1: recommend well. Thank you, And before we wrap up, we've
Speaker 1: got a little extra credit for you. Are you ready?
Speaker 1: This rhymes with geeks to drink and the clue is
Speaker 1: small fries who blink with one eye? Small fries who
Speaker 1: blink with one eye. Tune in next time because we'll
Speaker 1: have the answer to the extra credit And also I
Speaker 1: want to thank listener Gene Kent for the intro phrase
Speaker 1: about cereal dust. Thank you, Jane, I too, am saying puzzlers,
Speaker 1: please subscribe, tell your friends and we'll meet you here
Speaker 1: tomorrow for more puzzling puzzle that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 3: Hello puzzlers, this is Greg Pliska, your chief Puzzle Officer,
Speaker 3: up from the Puzzle ab with the answer to last
Speaker 3: episode's extra credit puzzle. Bethany joy Lenz was our wonderful
Speaker 3: guest and we played around with a game we call
Speaker 3: one two three Hill, where every answer is a three
Speaker 3: word phrase where the first word is a number, just
Speaker 3: like her show One Tree Hill. Here was the clue
Speaker 3: we gave you for extra credit. Hailey, Peyton and Brooke
Speaker 3: are good people at heart, but every single season they
Speaker 3: were guilty of these that's the characters from One Tree Hill,
Speaker 3: of course, and they were guilty of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Speaker 3: There's nothing sinful about doing puzzles, and there's nothing sinful
Speaker 3: about doing them with us here on The Puzzler Podcast
Speaker 3: with AJ Jacobs. Thanks for playing along with the team
Speaker 3: Here at the Puzzler with Aj Jacobs, I'm Greg Pliska,
Speaker 3: your chief puzzle Officer. Our executive producers are Neelie Lohman
Speaker 3: and Adam Neuhouse of New House Ideas and Lindsay Hoffman
Speaker 3: of iHeart Podcasts. The show is produced by Jody Averragan
Speaker 3: and Brittany Brown of Roulette Productions, with production support from
Speaker 3: Claire Bidegar Curtis. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg. The
Speaker 3: Puzzler with Aj Jacobs is a co production with New
Speaker 3: House Ideas and is distributed by Cased Patriots.
Speaker 2: No rearrange those letters.
Speaker 3: It's distributed by iHeart Podcasts. If you want to know
Speaker 3: more about puzzling puzzles, please check out the book The
Speaker 3: Puzzler by AJ Jacobs, a history of puzzles that The
Speaker 3: New York Times called fun and funny. It features an
Speaker 3: original puzzle hunt by yours truly, and is available wherever
Speaker 3: you get your books and puzzlers. For all your puzzling needs,
Speaker 3: go visit the puzzler dot com.
Speaker 2: See you there,