In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an expert on... Surfing! First of all, thanks for the break! Hope you guys enjoyed those couple of throwbacks -they were two of our favorites. Now school is back in session (for Katie, at least), and we are back to our regularly scheduled programming! But we still wanted to keep the summer feel going, so we learned all about surfing. As Zack mentions, he focused on the history and cultural roots of surfing, and it was a good choice. We learned al...
Aug 16, 2021•49 min•Ep. 70
This episode we are giving ourselves a little summer break and throwing it back to one of our favorites, Banksy! Happy Summer Everyone! In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Banksy! Who is Banksy? Okay, we didn't actually figure out Banksy's true identity in this episode, but we did learn a whole lot about the anonymous street artist. In today's world, it's pretty rare to maintain true anonymity in spite of worldwide fame, but somehow Banksy has managed it. This is ...
Aug 09, 2021•42 min•Ep. 69
This episode we are giving ourselves a little summer break and throwing it back to one of our favorites, Kintsugi! Happy Summer Everyone! Have fun and appreciate your flaws :) In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an expert on... Kintsugi! What is kintsugi, you may ask? Zack did too! Join Zack and Katie in learning about the Japanese practice of repairing broken pottery with gold, and maybe learn to appreciate your own flaws along the way. Self-love. Kintsugi style.
Aug 02, 2021•30 min•Ep. 68
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Butterfly Effect! This is a complicated one, but ultimately satisfying. If you've ever wondered whether a tiny decision in your life led to massive changes and unforetold differences, this episode will NOT clear that up for you, but it will certainly try. A math mistake in a weather simulation in the 1960s made Edward Norton Lorenz ask, does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? And everyone R...
Jul 26, 2021•24 min•Ep. 67
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Publisher's Clearing House! What a random topic, but it turned out super fun. In fact, Zack puts it in his top three episodes of ALL TIME. So I wouldn't skip it. If you aren't American, or are like 12, you may not know what this is. But rest assured, you will know by the end of this episode! Direct Sales! Sweepstakes! Giant Checks! Ed McMahon? It's all here. Except Ed McMahon, who is a figment of the Mandela Effect (shoutout a ...
Jul 19, 2021•45 min•Ep. 66
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Taxidermy! If you are grossed out right now, then you know how she felt! But it ended up being a lot more interesting, historical, and environmentally-inclined of a topic than we anticipated. Taxidermy has its roots in Ancient Egypt, as well as in the practices of ancient Europeans as well as Native Americans through today. We did a brief run through how it actually works (nothing too upsetting, we promise), but focused on the ...
Jul 12, 2021•52 min•Ep. 65
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Fireworks! How did we come up with this idea? Oh, maybe because they've been going off non-stop for the past week! As we learned, fireworks have been a part of celebrating our country's independence since the first anniversary of the singing of the Declaration of Independence, which is pretty cool. Makes those 2am explosions have some significance, you know? If you've ever wondered how on earth fireworks work, this one's for you...
Jul 05, 2021•45 min•Ep. 64
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Roller-coasters! Hang on to your hats, kids! Literally, if you are on a roller-coaster, and figuratively if you are listening to this episode because it is one wild ride. Roller-coasters have such a fun history, and continue to be fun today. We went to 16th-century Russia to ride some ice-slides with Catherine the Great, Coney Island to see the creations of the father of the roller-coaster himself, La Marcus Thompson, and ended...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 63
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Stonehenge! This may be the oldest topic we've ever covered here on #0 Minute Expert, because man, that thing is old! Stonehenge is still very much a mystery, but very smart scientists and archaeologists are pretty sure (and convinced us) that Stonehenge dates to as early as 4,200 B.C. WOW! Also, it was likely built in stages over 1,500 years - talk about contractors taking a long time to get the job done! Unfortunately Zack cou...
Jun 21, 2021•40 min•Ep. 62
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Rosetta Stone! Not the software that teaches you Spanish, we covered that in the intro. But the real Rosetta Stone! The ancient granite slab that finally allowed modern humans to understand what was written in ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Who knew there was another ancient Egyptian system of writing called "Demotic"? Probably some smart people and definitely lots of archaeologists, but not us. We were floored. It took two...
Jun 14, 2021•45 min•Ep. 61
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Nudism! Or, as we learned it should be referred to, Naturalism! If you've ever wondered what it might be like to spend all your days sans clothes, this is the one for you. We learned about the intention/philosophy/mentality behind nudism, and you know what? It's pretty peaceful. Lots of retirees embracing themselves and the simplicity of life. You can purchase a one-day pass to a bunch of nudist spas across the country, so maybe...
Jun 07, 2021•30 min•Ep. 60
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... H.P. Lovecraft! Okay, "expert" is always a stretch, but it's a big one here. It's hard to learn about a person's whole life in 30 minutes, especially when that person wrote over 70 stories, over 100,000 letters, and inspired countless metal bands, games, and works of literature. Lovecraft even has a whole subgenre of horror named after him. "Lovecraftian" works are likely to be horrific, full of monsters and fear of the unknown...
May 31, 2021•45 min•Ep. 59
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Earthquakes! Fun fact - Zack is taking Geography this semester, so he was already a bit of an exert on the subject before his 30 minutes study period! But he became even more of an expert for us and for that, we are grateful. So let's shake, rattle and roll our way to tectonic brilliance. Zack schools us on the three different types of tectonic plate movement and explains why the kind that the San Andreas fault is is the most da...
May 24, 2021•57 min•Ep. 58
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Mandela Effect! First of all, guess what?! This is 30 Minute Expert's One Year Anniversary! That's right, we've been at it for one whole year. Very proud to have made it this far - thank you so much to everyone who has listened and supported us. We did it! Back to scheduled programming: The Mandela Effect! If you thought the Berenstain Bears were the Berenstein Bears, or that Darth Vader said "Luke, I am your father," or th...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 57
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Vanilla! The plant, the spice, the flavor, we cover it all. And, at the risk/certainty of making a very embarrassing and overdone joke, there is nothing "vanilla" about vanilla. Vanilla is the second-most expensive spice in the world (after saffron). It has to be hand-pollinated using a method discovered by a 12-year-old boy enslaved on an island off Madagascar. And the flower blooms for one day before it dies, a la Dennis the ...
May 10, 2021•42 min•Ep. 56
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Panama Canal! The Suez Canal got a lot of press earlier this year, so we thought the Panama Canal deserved some attention. Building the Panama Canal was a ten-year endeavor, and was extremely complicated, but (from our humble perspective) appears to have been worth it. Thousands of container ships use this shortcut now every year - a shortcut that cuts 8,000 miles off of a trip from the east to west coast of the United State...
May 03, 2021•37 min•Ep. 55
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Did England Send Convicts to Australia? Answer: Yes it did! This was a fascinating look into a really dark part of history. England only sent convicts to Australia because it couldn't send them to the Americas anymore, because duh, the Revolutionary War. We don't want your tea or your convicts anymore! And the hulks - the ships-turned-prisons floating in harbors in England - were full (plus everyone on them was dying of typhoid...
Apr 26, 2021•36 min•Ep. 54
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Catnip! That sprinkly stuff that makes the cats go wild! We figured, if there's something you regularly give your pets, why not understand it a little better? This was a fun one - simple to understand, and fun to picture all of those kitties having fun. Listen to hear Katie try and pronounce "nepetalactone" and to hear Zack get real uncomfortable with the more mature aspects of catnip's effects. You can grow catnip yourself - a...
Apr 19, 2021•38 min•Ep. 53
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Dutch Tulip Mania! First of all, what is "Dutch," amirite? If you've ever wondered what the difference is between Holland, Amsterdam, and The Netherlands, this episode will clear all of that up for you. Great. Now that that's out of the way, what does tulip mania have to do with them? Turns out that tulips were at the center of the first financial "bubble" ever! Caveat - maybe. There's a lot of myth hyping up this story, but the...
Apr 12, 2021•43 min•Ep. 52
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Matches! Uh huh, those little cardboard or wooden sticks you use to light things on fire. Hopefully not a lot of things, but candles, maybe! Zack thought he knew that matches were invented after lighters, and he was right! For being such a handy little gadget, matches did not come around until late in the game of humanity. Probably because there are some seriously dangerous chemicals involved, and we were not ready to handle th...
Apr 05, 2021•44 min•Ep. 51
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Pheromones! Okay, you know you want to listen to this one. It's a highway to scoring a hot date in the post-pandemic world, right? Well, pump the brakes for a minute, because we've got good news and bad news. The good news is pheromones are totally real, and are present in most of the animal world (for sure moths and goldfish, the gold standard of animal traits). It's almost certain that humans have pheromones as well - however,...
Mar 29, 2021•32 min•Ep. 50
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Bermuda Triangle! Wow. This is an episode for the ages. The Bermuda Triangle! What the heck is it? It's a triangle, first of all, but it's so much more. Or, it's nothing, if you're gonna believe what the Navy has to say about it (smh). Weird stuff has been happening in the Bermuda Triangle since Shakespeare's time apparently, and even Chris Columbus, that fool, had an experience with it. Here's the thing - weird stuff has h...
Mar 22, 2021•46 min•Ep. 49
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... St. Patrick! Every once in a while we like to give you a timely episode, and this is one! Before you all celebrate in COVID-friendly ways like the good little experts you are, why not learn about the man you are getting drunk in honor of. This one takes us way way back to the 5th century (which is the 400s for those of us who have trouble with that). We move from Britain, to Ireland, back to Britain again, and lose no snakes in ...
Mar 15, 2021•34 min•Ep. 48
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Visual Agnosia, or The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat! Boom! Long Title! This one was a doozy! Whenever things get sciency up in here, we get a little nervous because it is not our personal forte. But the various disorders that fall under the umbrella of "agnosia" are so interesting and unknown, it was worth the deep dive. This episode was sparked by Katie's request to Zack that he let her know if he learned about a guy who...
Mar 08, 2021•48 min•Ep. 47
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Dry Cleaning! Are you like us and just drop your clothes off at the dry cleaner and have no idea what they do with them? Then this episode is for YOU! Get educated on what happens to your most delicate fabrics in the magic that is dry cleaning. And wow, HUGE spoiler but, dry cleaning? It isn't dry. Crazy times!! It also isn't very environmentally friendly, but it's getting better. Dry cleaning is as old as the gross woolen toga...
Mar 01, 2021•39 min•Ep. 46
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Jackie Robinson! It's the last Monday in February, and we finally decided to celebrate Black History Month! Being a sports figure, Jackie Robinson had yet eluded Katie's knowledge base. So she made Zack learn about him and teach her! I think we all know that Jackie Robinson is a pretty incredible guy, but we were even more blown away and impressed than we expected to be. Talk about multi-talented! This guy could do it all: footb...
Feb 22, 2021•41 min•Ep. 45
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln! Americans know "Honest Abe" as the 16th president, the guy on the $5 bill, and of course, the president responsible for the Emancipation Proclamation, which ended slavery in the US. Unfortunately, he's also known for being assassinated. Most people probably think they know how this story goes, but we were shocked to learn the whole truth! What was meant to be an enjoyable evening at the thea...
Feb 15, 2021•38 min•Ep. 44
In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Diatoms! Boy is this episode a treat. Our guess is that most of you don't even know what a diatom is! But you will by the time we're through. Diatoms are, to quote from the episode, one of the largest and ecologically most significant groups of organisms on Earth. That's amazing! You might not be able to see these single-celled phytoplankton with your naked eye, but you surely can feel their impact. Considering anywhere from 25...
Feb 08, 2021•41 min•Ep. 43
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Alexander the Great! Or should we say Alexander the Really Really Awful, because boy was he. Dang! He may have been tutored by Aristotle as an adolescent, but it doesn't seem like he picked up much wisdom. If you're into conquering, pillaging, burning this, and selling human beings into slavery, then Alexander might be your guy - as he is to Napoleon and Julius Cesar. Go figure. Although the breadth of his conquests may be impre...
Feb 01, 2021•41 min•Ep. 42
In today's episode, Zack has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Mona Lisa! Who IS she, am I right?? Zack definitively answers this question... psych! Of course he doesn't, but he does posit some pretty fun theories. Whether Mona Lisa is Lisa Giacondo, the artist known as Salai, or Da Vinci himself, she is quite bewitching. There are a few fun surprises in Mona Lisa - her hands may have been painted twice! She has letters in her eyes! What a gal. And she may in fact owe her extreme level of f...
Jan 25, 2021•46 min•Ep. 41
