Pop Quiz! Jan & Rob and Dee & Jim match their views against the general public (or at least against a Family Feud test audience) against each other, discover how well they know their way around the world they've traveled, and even venture into the cosmos.
Plus, Jim offers a Cheyne Reaction to the slightly speculative side of eclipse mania.
Thanks for listening. Share with your friends. Find this and more at cheynemusic.com/podcast.
Pop Quiz! Jan & Rob and Dee & Jim match their views against the general public (or at least against a Family Feud test audience) against each other, discover how well they know their way around the world they've traveled, and even venture into the cosmos.
Plus, Jim offers a Cheyne Reaction to the slightly speculative side of eclipse mania.
Thanks for listening. Share with your friends. Find this and more at cheynemusic.com/podcast.
MAKING OUR WAY - A McMahon/Cheyne Podcast
Quiz Show (Season 1; Episode 22) - 4/10/24
Today’s hosts:
Jan McMahon
Rob McMahon
Deanna Cheyne
Jim Cheyne
[music]
JIM (voice-over)
Jan and Rob, Dee and I got together to play some games - quizzes, trivia, some general knowledge stuff, but most about experiences we’ve had. Today’s episode includes segments on how much we think like the general public in our version of Family Feud, how much we think like our spouses in the Not-So-Newlywed Game, how well we know our way around the planet we’ve traversed, and how well we know how that planet relates to the cosmos. Plus, in a Cheyne Reaction segment, I will vent some frustration about the conspiracy mania around the recent eclipse. Oh, people. So, let’s get started.
[quiz show music]
JIM
Okay, this is Family Feud. Are you ready?
JAN
Ready.
DEE
Yes!
JIM
Here’s how this is going to work. This is not like a competition with - this is exactly like a competition. This is a competition. So, I’m going to read a statement. So, you’ll write down your answer, and then if that matches what the audience did, I’ll tell you how many points that is. [music ends] You write down the number of points. We’ve got a running total of our points, and there may even be bonuses along the way. This will be eight questions long. Dee, are you ready?
DEE
Yes.
JIM
Jan, are you ready to play the Feud?
JAN
I am so ready.
JIM
Rob, are you ready to play the Feud?
ROB
Woo-hoo!
JIM
All right, there we go. This is Family Feud, and my first question is, on the board, name something people might do only once a week. Dee, do you have an answer?
DEE
Mow their lawn.
JIM
Mow their lawn. That is worth 12. Give yourself 12 points. Jan, do you have an answer?
DEE
Church.
JIM
Go to church is worth 15. Give yourself 15 points. How are you writing this down with your wrist as it is? Oh, you’re using your laptop.
DEE
I’m doing good, yep.
JIM
Excellent. Rob, something people might do only once a week.
ROB
Laundry.
JIM
Laundry is the number one answer: 27. All right, here we go. Number two. Name something you might see a commercial for during a baseball game. Name something you might see a commercial for during a baseball game. Jan, what do you have?
JAN
I said betting.
JIM
Betting?
JAN
Betting, like gambling.
JIM
Or like sheets? No, nothing there. Rob?
ROB
Beer.
JIM
Beer. Give yourself 4 points.
ROB
4!
DEE
That was mine.
JIM
It is yours, too, so you get 4 points, too.
DEE
Okay.
JIM
Okay? Number three. Other than feet, name something that runs. Other than feet, name something that runs. Ready? Pens are down. Rob.
ROB
Noses.
JIM
Give yourself 8 points. Dee.
DEE
A car.
JIM
A car. Give yourself 24 points. Jan.
JAN
Water.
JIM
Give yourself - that’s the number one answer.
DEE
Oh my gosh!
JIM
Give yourself 37 points.
ROB
What!?
JIM
And put an asterisk next to that.
JAN
Asterisk.
JIM
Because there will be bonus points if you match the number 1 answer.
JAN
I love having asterisks. Okay.
JIM
Number four. Name qualities of a bad boss. Not names, qualities of a bad boss.
JAN
Oh, I have to change mine now. Okay.
JIM
Okay, D.
DEE
They think they’re always right and they won’t accept criticism.
JIM
I’m going to say oblivious and that’s going to be 13 points. Jan?
JAN
Arrogant.
JIM
Arrogant. Not one of the answers they gave.
JAN
I’m not surprised.
JIM
Okay. And Rob.
ROB
Micromanage. That’s the number 1 answer. 29. Other answers were incompetent, angry, and irresponsible. Name something with teeth. Jan?
JAN
Shark.
JIM
A shark. I’m going to put that as an animal and that’s 66 points. Number one answer. Rob?
ROB
I said crocodile.
JIM
66 points. Number one answer with an asterisk. Dee.
DEE
A puppy golden retriever.
JIM
An animal. 66 points. We all did very well with that. Other answers, way less popular, were a comb, a saw, a zipper, and people. Three more to go. Number six, name something that you might eat with crackers. Rob?
ROB
Hummus.
JIM
Hummus is not one of the answers given.
JAN
Zero. Just a big fat zero.
ROB
Who is this audience? Oh, my gosh.
JAN
Well, I…
JIM
The Family Feud audience. Dee.
DEE
Cheese.
JIM
Cheese. 24 points. Jan?
JAN
I said cheese also.
JIM
24 points. The number one answer? Soup. Number seven…
DEE
Oh, I guess so.
JIM
Number seven. Name hot things. Name something that is hot. Dee?
DEE
Fire.
JIM
Fire. 26 points. Number one answer. Jan?
JAN
Coffee.
JIM
Coffee. 24 points. Very good. And Rob?
ROB
The sun.
JIM
The sun. No one put the sun. No.
ROB
Who is this audience?
JAN
I don’t know, but they don’t eat hummus either.
JIM
And number eight. Final question. Name something you keep in your car. It’s actually quite a long list here. But when I thought of it, my answer wasn’t there. Name something you keep in your car. Jan?
JAN
Spare tire.
JIM
Spare tire. 15 points. Well done. Rob?
ROB
Sunglasses.
JIM
It says spare clothes or shoes. So I’ll give you 5 points for that.
ROB
Okay.
JIM
All right. Dee.
DEE
Napkins.
JIM
Napkin. How close is that to a first aid kit?
DEE
No. It isn’t.
JAN
No!
JIM
Okay. The number one answer was money or coins. Followed by food, water, first aid kit, spare tire, map, jumper cables, spare clothes, shoes, a gas can, and a flare. Okay. So now use your phone or something and calculate your answers. And your asterisk, you get 15 points for every asterisk you had.
JAN
Okay.
DEE
Was it car number three? Something that runs?
JAN
No, because that was water.
DEE
Oh, fire, fire. That was the number one answer, wasn’t it?
JIM
Listen…
ROB
No.
JIM
…this being a crowded theater, you’re not allowed to shout that falsely.
DEE
No, that was the number one answer.
JIM
Yes.
DEE
Yes. I am very competitive.
ROB
I did this three times. I got three different answers.
JIM
Okay, pick the high one.
ROB
The biggest one.
JAN
This is my problem, too.
DEE
See, Rob cheats.
JIM
I don’t think I have any math questions on any of the quizzes today.
ROB
Good.
JAN
211.
JIM
211.
ROB
Oh, gosh.
JIM
Slightly higher than Rob’s highest. What’d you get?
DEE
199.
JIM
All right. Actually, this works out perfect because the grand prize goes to Jan. You get to sing a duet with Sandy McMahon. And it’s - Dobney - and it’s going to be Ebony and Ivory.
JAN
I’m ready. I’ll call her.
JIM
That’s our grand prize. Okay. That was Family Feud. Did anyone get hurt?
JAN
No.
JIM
All right. We’re going to go on to the Not-So-Newlywed game.
JAN
Oh!
JIM
All right. This is where we’re either going to enjoy ourselves or this could be the end of the broadcast as we know it. All right. You’re going to write down what your own response for yourself is, and also what you think your spouse is going to say. So tonight you’re going to cook your spouse’s favorite meal. What’s on the menu?
JAN
So I’m putting my own?
JIM
You put your own that he has to guess, and then you’re putting what you think his favorite meal is.
DEE
Pip is trying to chew my pen while I write.
JIM
Okay. Do you have your answers down, Dee?
DEE
Yes.
JIM
So, Dee, you’re going to cook my favorite meal tonight. What’s on the menu?
DEE
Meatloaf.
JIM
Mom’s meatloaf is right. I’m going to cook for you. I’m going to cook - though I’ve never done it - lobster.
DEE
Yes.
JIM
Okay. That one was easy. Jan?
JAN
Yes. What am I cooking for Rob?
JIM
Jan and Rob are now on. So, Jan, what are you going to cook for Rob?
JAN
Meatloaf.
JIM
Meatloaf.
DEE
Oh, cool.
JIM
Is this Effie Mae’s?
JAN
Effie Mae’s.
ROB
Mother Effie Mae’s.
JIM
Isn’t that the best? The recipe - we’ve got it on the board right in there. And what are you going to make for Jan?
ROB
Mother Effie Mae’s meatloaf.
JIM
Made with?
ROB
With crumbles.
JIM
With crumbles.
JAN
Yes. Exactly.
JIM
Okay. So a vegetarian meatloaf. So, Mom’s meatloaf got three out of those four. All right. In the old days, you know, you’re switching around the channels, right? And a movie comes on, you’ve seen it a thousand times, but you’re still going to pause and watch it. What is that movie that you’re going to watch? Rob and Jan. Rob, Jan’s going through the TV. She stops because there’s a movie on that she’s just going to watch, even though she’s seen it before. What is it?
ROB
“White Christmas”?
JIM
Is that what you had said?
JAN
No.
JIM
What did you say?
JAN
I said, “When Harry Met Sally.”
JIM
“When Harry Met Sally.” Okay, Jan, what is Rob going to pause at?
JAN
I said “Silverado.”
ROB
I had “White Christmas.”
JIM
“White Christmas.”
JAN
It’s April. What is that?
ROB
I know, but I can’t…
JIM
All right.
ROB
Any time I want that.
JAN
Actually, that works. It’s true.
JIM
Dee, what am I going to stop and watch?
DEE
“The Godfather.”
JIM
That’s exactly right. Any of the three, even the third one. What is Dee going to stop at? I put down “Muppets’ Christmas Carol.”
DEE
Okay, I put down “Christmas Movies.”
JIM
I think that passes. I think we win.
ROB
I don’t.
JAN
No, no, no, no.
JIM
That’s okay. I’m Bob Eubanks.
JAN
“Christmas Movies” is a whole genre.
JIM
That’s right. All right. Where was the first trip the two of you took together? Just the two of you. So let’s start with Dee.
DEE
“Argentina.”
JIM
Yeah.
JAN
She’s right, isn’t she?
JIM
Yeah, I put “Smokeys.” Jan and Rob?
JAN
Okay. Well, what I said was “Mackinac Island,” because that’s where we went for our first anniversary.
ROB
Oh, oh well.
JAN
Did you say “Rocky Mountain”?
ROB
I said “Disney World.” Because we never went to Rocky Mountain on our own that early.
JAN
We did in 1980.
JIM
All right.
ROB
No.
JAN
Yes, we did.
ROB
Yes, we did, because we were going to…
JAN
Yes.
ROB
I quit.
JIM
I’m sorry. Okay. Now, this next one, you get a text from your spouse that reads, “I’ll meet you at 2 p.m. at our favorite spot.” No more information. Where will you be at 2 o’clock if you are in Rocky Mountain National Park? Dee?
DEE
Hmm?
JIM
That’s not really our place. We’ve been there before, but where would you go if, okay, “I’ll meet you at our favorite spot.” You get that text from me. Where are you going to go?
DEE
Bear Lake?
JIM
Bear Lake is what I put down.
DEE
Oh, see, I just pulled something out of the sky.
JAN
Your - out of your butt.
JIM
Jan and Rob. Jan.
JAN
I said Bear Lake.
ROB
I said Bear Lake.
JIM
Bear Lake seems to be the place. There are many, many, many places with memories, but Bear Lake seems to be the “if you haven’t gotten a picture there, you haven’t been to the Rockies.”
JAN
Exactly.
JIM
Right?
ROB
It’s true.
JIM
All right. How about this one, then? Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
DEE
I know.
JIM
Rob, what’d you pick?
ROB
Cades Cove?
JAN
YES!
JIM
Cades Cove.
JAN
Excellent.
JIM
Good. Where in Cades Cove?
ROB
One of the churches. I can’t remember which one.
JIM
The first one?
ROB
Yeah.
JIM
Where we met the guy…
ROB
Yeah.
JIM
…who was a descendant of one of the residents there?
JAN
That’s the Methodist Church, I think.
JIM
Methodist. Very good, Jan. Dee, where would we meet?
DEE
The rock where we take our photos.
JIM
The boulder in front of Park Headquarters, which is no good during the summer.
JAN
Hot.
JIM
No. Everything’s in full leaf and you can’t see anything. It just doesn’t make a good picture. But with all the leaves down at Thanksgiving time, it’s the spot. All right. We’re going to meet at our favorite spot. Two o’clock in Paris, France.
DEE
Oh.
JIM
Jan?
JAN
I said Notre Dame.
JIM
Notre Dame.
ROB
Notre Dame.
JIM
Notre Dame. Dee?
ROB
I thought - I was thinking Eiffel Tower.
DEE
I almost said Notre Dame, but I said Saint-Chapelle.
JIM
Saint-Chapelle is beautiful. My favorite spot is Le Procope. That goes way back. There’s a table there where Voltaire would sit.
JAN
Yes.
JIM
Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Rousseau.
DEE
Mm-Hmm.
JIM
This is supposed to be where coffee was introduced to the continent. Not sure that, but they’ll claim that. And it’s a restaurant.
JAN
Is that the restaurant in “Midnight in Paris”?
DEE
Oh, it might be.
JIM
I don’t know. It’s in Saint-Germain. It’s on the left bank.
JAN
No, but in the movie.
JIM
I know that. I don’t know. I don’t know. All right. So those are kind of like, okay, that would be fine. You could do that. Now, let’s go with emergency. It’s a zombie apocalypse. No communication is possible. You’re in the same city, but you don’t know where your spouse is. So where would you go to find your spouse if you were in Washington, D.C.?
DEE
National Cathedral.
JIM
National Cathedral is what I put down. That’s where I would go. Rob?
ROB
American History Museum?
JAN
I said Library of Congress.
DEE
Oh, yeah.
ROB
Oh. I meant the American History section of the Library of Congress.
JIM
All right. Same thing, but now you’re in London, England.
DEE
Oh.
ROB
Oh, geez.
JAN
Oh, okay. Well…
DEE
I got to really think.
JIM
That’s right nearby where, like, a statue of Nelson might be.
DEE
What?
JIM
Never mind. All right. Rob, where would you go?
ROB
The British Museum.
JIM
British Museum.
JAN
Are you kidding me?
ROB
That’s where I would go.
JIM
Jan, where would you go to find Rob?
JAN
I would not go to the British Museum. I would go to Westminster Abbey.
JIM
Westminster. Very good. Very good.
DEE
That’s a good answer.
ROB
Yep. I like that one better.
JAN
I know.
JIM
It could have been St. Paul’s. It could have been Whitechapel. It could have been any place. Dee, what did you select?
DEE
The London Tower.
JIM
The Tower of London. Right by the bridge. That’s a very good - that is excellent. I said Trafalgar Square.
DEE
See, I would have thought you would have said Westminster Abbey after Jan said it, and I said, “yeah, the siblings would do that.”
JAN
We would.
JIM
Well, I didn’t even think about it. I just picked a spot and went… Okay, one more.
ROB
Well, if you need me, I’ll be at the British Museum.
JIM
That’s right. Last one, Chicago, Illinois. The reason I’m doing this is because, way back in the day when we would go, like, to Disney World or something, and then your parents, “Okay, go ahead. We’ll meet you at a certain spot.”
ROB
Yeah.
JIM
Because there’s no communication and how are you going to find where your family is. It could be in a mall. You know, what store would you go to? Any place. “Okay, if we get separated, we’ll meet here.”
ROB
Yeah.
JIM
A good thing to say to your family. So, Chicago, Illinois. Dee. Where would I find Dee?
DEE
Chicago Institute of Art.
JIM
The Art Institute of Chicago. Jan?
JAN
Museum of Science and Industry.
JIM
Science and Industry.
ROB
Yep.
JAN
What did you write? Did you write Field Museum?
JIM
No, I wrote the Art Museum.
JIM
Art Institute.
DEE
So the three of us would be there.
JAN
I said this because of our childhood.
ROB
Yeah.
JAN
That’s where we always went.
JIM
The - Is it Erik Larson that wrote “Devil in the White City”?
JAN
Yeah.
JIM
It was about Holmes and the exposition that was there. The Field Museum is one of the buildings that was built, right?
JAN
Yeah.
JIM
All right, so that is…
JAN
Well.
JIM
…the Not-So-Newlywed game. Okay. The word is news. N-E-W-S. That is North, East, West, South. What is the farthest north you’ve ever been?
JAN
Barrow, Alaska.
ROB
Yeah, Barrow, Alaska.
JIM
That’s north of the Arctic Circle, isn’t it.
ROB
Yeah.
JIM
That’s way up there. You were there when you were in Alaska?
ROB
We were right on the Arctic Ocean.
JAN
1980.
JIM
Yeah. Dee, what’s the farthest north we’ve ever been?
DEE
I would say Alaska. I wouldn’t be able to name specifically.
JIM
I don’t think we went that far into Alaska to match, I think it’s Stockholm, Sweden.
DEE
Oh, yeah. That’s right.
JIM
I think that’s the farthest north we were. Okay, so Stockholm. What’s the farthest east? Now, here’s how we’re doing it. The prime meridian is in Greenwich.
ROB
Mm-Hmm.
JIM
Okay, so east means to the right of that.
ROB
Okay.
JIM
And all the way around. So it doesn’t mean 180 degrees, it means International Date Line. So, closest you’ve come to the International Date Line going east.
JAN
Um.
ROB
That would be…
JAN
Well, because I was going to say Istanbul, but I’m not, I’m not measuring it right.
ROB
I think Tanzania might be further east.
JIM
You’re right, it might be. I was thinking Istanbul for you guys, too. Yes, that would have been Arusha or Mount Kilimanjaro. Good. Dee, what’s the farthest east you’ve been?
DEE
Is it Prague?
JIM
It could be. I think it’s more likely to be Budapest, and then you go west to the north, you’ll hit Vienna, then you go northwest, you’ll hit Prague. So Budapest, I think.
DEE
Okay.
JIM
For me though, it was in Rhodes.
JAN
Yeah.
JIM
Rhodes is just off Turkey, which geologically would make it Asia, but geopolitically it’s part of Europe. All right, how about west?
ROB
West.
JIM
And I know your answer for this. What would my answer be?
JAN
Well, I’m not sure. I was going to say the Pribilofs.
ROB
I think so.
JIM
I was going to say that, too.
ROB
Or Hawaii. I don’t know which one.
JIM
No. Pribilofs are way over there.
ROB
All right, Pribilofs.
JIM
You’re in the 170s plus.
ROB
St. Paul.
JAN
St. Paul in the Pribilofs.
JIM
Or St. George is the other one, too, right?
JAN
Yup.
ROB
Yup.
JIM
And St. Paul is the farthest, the farther west. So for us it would be when we were going in Kauai, and we’re going around to the coast, when we’re on that boat going around that side of the island, that’s as far west as I’ve ever been.
DEE
So that’s farther west than British Columbia?
ROB
The Napali coast.
JIM
Yeah.
DEE
Okay.
JIM
All right, and then that leaves south.
JAN
São Paulo is the farthest south, yeah.
JIM
São Paulo is the farthest south. I think for us it’s Buenos Aires.
DEE
That’s what I was going to say.
JIM
Yeah. Okay, well that’s our trivia for that. Can you name the southernmost national capital city?
ROB
Honolulu.
JAN
What?
JIM
No, national capital city.
ROB
Oh, national capital, sorry.
JIM
Sovereign state, sovereign country. The southernmost national capital city is Wellington, New Zealand.
JAN
Okay.
JIM
This one was a surprise. How about the northernmost national capital city?
ROB
Oslo?
JAN
That’s got to be Greenland. Norway.
ROB
Reykjavik.
JAN
No, Greenland.
JIM
It’s very close to Greenland, but it’s actually Reykjavik.
ROB
Reykjavik.
JIM
Iceland.
JAN
Really?
JIM
Just by a smidgen over the Greenland capital.
JAN
Oh, I see.
JIM
It’s a name I cannot pronounce. [Nuuk.]
JAN
Okay.
JIM
The easternmost national capital city by proximity to the [Inter]national Date Lßine. Got it? Nuku’alofa in Tonga.
JAN
Okay.
JIM
Now, going west. You’ve been there.
JAN
Really?
JIM
The westernmost national capital is Quito, Ecuador.
JAN
Oh, be darned.
ROB
Really?
JIM
Yeah. Because all the North American national capitals are farther east. And there’s nothing else from that - all the other bits of land that are out there are owned by other countries.
ROB
Right.
JAN
Okay.
JIM
So it turns out Quito.
JAN
Thank you.
JIM
There you go. What’s the weirdest national capital city you’ve ever been to?
ROB
Oh.
JAN
Oh.
ROB
That’s easy.
JAN
Brasilia.
JIM
I put this in just to say it. Brasilia was the most bizarre city.
ROB
Oh.
JIM
Can you - Rob, describe it. What is that city like?
ROB
It was a city without a heart.
JAN
It was like “The Stepford Wives.”
ROB
There were no birds. There were…
JIM
Did we see - was it birds or squirrels? We saw nothing.
ROB
We didn’t see anything.
JAN
No, there were no animals.
ROB
Didn’t hear anything. It’s all laid out in, you know, all the churches are here and all the banks are here and all the, you know.
JIM
It’s laid out like an airplane.
ROB
Yeah.
JAN
Yeah.
JIM
Right? And up at the cockpit is where they have the governmental buildings.
ROB
Right.
JIM
Interesting architecture. Very interesting stuff. But, yeah, if you want to do shopping, you had to go to a certain…
ROB
Right.
JIM
…arm of it. And it was designed because, you know, “Where are we going to put our national capital? Is it going to be São Paulo or Rio? Well, that’s just coastal. What about the rest of the country?” So it was picked to service those inland, too. But it’s an invented city that was just so bizarre.
ROB
Yes.
JAN
You can see the value of a city developing over time…
ROB
Yes.
JAN
…when you go there because it never felt like it had a soul.
ROB
No.
JIM
Right. Right. So I want you to do an educated guess on this one, Okay? This has to do with celestial geography. That actually doesn’t make sense. “Geo” means earth. Celestial…
ROB
-ography.
JIM
-ography. Let’s shrink the solar system down so that the sun is the size of an orange. Let’s put the orange on your kitchen table in Safety Harbor. Mercury would be about 10 feet away. Venus about 19 feet away. Earth would be about 26 feet away. Going on and on. I finally figured it out that if you were to stretch it out as the cry flows…
ROB
Oh!
JIM
As the crow flies - tell me, Rob, do crows fly in a straight line?
ROB
Um, sometimes. Other times they don’t.
JIM
Okay. As the crow flies, you go straight. Uranus would be about where that ugly flag is. The guy who has the…
ROB
Yeah.
JIM
…American flag tattered, faded, hanging kind of from one loop.
ROB
At half mast.
JIM
Half mast. Just kind of whatever that statement is. That’s about where Uranus would be. Neptune just a little bit out on that road. Pluto would be about where Sun Groves used to be. Here’s the question. Where would you put Alpha Centauri? The closest star system, Proxima Centauri, would be the closest star. Where would you put - you know, Star Trek, they’re there in an instant. Commercial break, come back, they’re at a different star. So the closest star to Earth with that scale. The sun the size of an orange. Pluto is down, just down the street.
ROB
St. Petersburg?
JIM
St. Petersburg. I put it, I put this orange - I was thinking about putting it in the orange bowl in Miami.
ROB
Right.
JIM
And then doing yard lines.
ROB
Yeah.
JIM
But then I used Safety Harbor so that I could say Proxima Centauri would be in Bar Harbor, Maine.
JAN
Oh my gosh.
ROB
Whoa.
JIM
1374 miles away.
ROB
Yeah. That makes sense.
JAN
That’s amazing.
JIM
And that is our closest solar neighbor.
JAN
This is why I can’t think about these things. It’s too much.
JIM
That’s how much nothingness there is in space. Which planet is closest to Earth most of the time?
DEE
Venus?
JAN
That’s my guess, but I have a feeling it’s a trick somehow.
JIM
Not so much a trick, but you understand that they move. So what planet would be the closest to Earth most of the time?
JAN
I’d still go with Venus.
JIM
Go with Venus?
DEE
Mm-Hmm.
JAN
But Rob’s going to say something different.
ROB
Mars.
JIM
Mars? The answer is Mercury.
ROB
Mercury.
JAN
Oh, because it does that…
JIM
Mercury, because it’s so tight into the sun.
ROB
Yeah.
JIM
And so where everything’s orbiting - in fact, and it turns out to be 47% of the time, Mercury is our closest planet neighbor. In fact, Mercury is the closest planet to all the other planets most of those planets’ times. I heard that. I couldn’t believe it.
JAN
I have heard that before. It somehow didn’t come to my mind. Okay.
[music]
JIM (voice-over):
Since we’re quizzing each other on celestial objects, I’d like to add one other item. If you’re listening to this recording, it means that I am dead... Wait. That’s the wrong script. Oh, here we go. If you’re listening to this recording, it means you survived the solar eclipse of Monday, April 8th. The Apoc-Eclipse. Now, what do I mean by that?
First, let’s establish that eclipses are perfectly natural, regular, well-understood events. Solar eclipses occur every 18 months on average. They’re fascinating to watch, but they are not spooky harbingers of doom. They’re really quite useful. Total solar eclipses allow us to see the Sun’s corona, collect data, and make better predictions about things like geomagnetic storms, which can really mess with our electronics, so it’s good to know when and how to prepare for one. And even though we understand solar eclipses - it’s kind of basic public school stuff - my social media feed lit up with all sorts of apocalyptic nonsense. Did yours? It occurs whenever something rare or unusual happens. More if the number six is involved.
For instance, remember the eclipse on August 21st, 2017? Did you know that that eclipse was exactly 6 years, 6 months, 6 weeks, 6 days, 6 hours, and 6 minutes before Monday’s event? I mean, it isn’t, but it sounded good. First of all, turning a month and a half into 6 weeks just to get the number 6 in there is a little, yeah, not honest. Then the time between the two events is actually like 6 years, 7 months, one week, 4 days, 0 hours, and 7 minutes, but all those shiny 6 sure got people’s attention.
It was also claimed that the United States has 7 towns named Nineveh, and the path of totality would pass over all 7, plus 1 more Nineveh in Canada. And as we know, 7 and 8 are special biblical numbers, and Nineveh is in the Bible, so there you go. A map could have helped here. There are indeed 7 towns in the U.S. named Nineveh and 1 in Canada, but only 2 of them got a total eclipse, the one in Indiana and the other one in Ohio. The 5 Ninevas and the 1 in Canada got only a partial eclipse, as did most U.S. cities in the contiguous 48 states.
Here’s another one. The paths of the two eclipses - 2017 and 2024 - did you know the paths form a cross? And a cross means Jesus, so there you go. Well, sure. Every solar eclipse path that crosses a previous path makes a cross. In fact, every road intersection or every construction cross beam or every line that crosses another line makes a cross. Crosses are everywhere, if you know where to look. Did you know that cross stitching was invented as a form of penance for wayward nuns in Sicily? I mean, that’s not true, but it could have been. Sometimes it isn’t the message 2 crossed lines give us, but the meaning we give them.
But wait, this path cross is above Little Egypt, Illinois, and Egypt is in the Bible, so there you go. Yes, that section of Southern Illinois is known as Little Egypt, and some places are named after Egyptian towns, like Thebes or Karnak or Cairo. By the way, people from Illinois, like myself, pronounce it “KAY-row,” Illinois, not “Cairo,” which might sound funny to outsiders, but at least we know that the “S” in Illinois is silent.
But wait, there’s more. Carbondale, Illinois is right in the middle of that “X marks the spot” spot, and Carbondale is named for the element carbon, get it? And a carbon atom has - wait for it - 6 electrons, 6 protons, and 6 neutrons: 666. Yeah, finding 666 everywhere is something of a hobby - really an obsession - for some people. We find patterns and meanings in all sorts of things, and our cleverness in doing so almost always outmatches our ability - or our willingness - to just check the facts. What was it Ralph Hodgins said? Some things have to be believed to be seen.
For instance, Monday’s eclipse did indeed cross the path of the 2017 eclipse at Carbondale, Illinois, but no one mentioned that it also crossed the path of the more recent 2023 eclipse at Kerrville, Texas. And did you know that Kerrville was founded on the shingle manufacturing industry? And did you know that I haven’t gotten my shingles vaccine yet, which is way too much of a coincidence for me. So I gotta head to the pharmacy. I hope I’m not too late. Gotta go. For now, we are making our way.
Until next time.
[music ends]