Part-Time Genius on The Puzzler: "True True False False" w/ Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur

Hello puzzlers. Let's start with a quick puzzle. Our guests today are Will and Mango, hosts of the excellent podcast Part Time Genius. So in honor of Will and Mango, we are looking for things with the.

Initials w M.

Phrases are people with the initials WM. For instance, something that you step on before entering a house is a welcome Matt. That's a WM. Here's a hint to another. A big obelisk in Washington, d C. Is also a WM. Think of as many wms as you can during the break and we'll return with our guests, W. Pearson and m Hot ticket order. Hello puzzlers, Welcome back to the Puzzler podcast the Accent Ball in your Downtown Puzzle Artists Loft. I'm your host, AJ Jacobson. I'm here, of course, with

Maybe yes, I know the obelisk is the Washington Monument.

That is correct? Anything else come to mind?

I can I have a snake the water moccasin.

Nicely done.

And I thought it name, by the way, first name.

The Women's movement as a kind of general thing, right good, and and I wrote down wild man.

I like it, all right. I'll just give you a couple others. But people send in your favorite w M step the puzzler dot.

You want to give me clues to the couple others so I can guess.

All right, sure, Madam Tussou's is.

One of the wax Museum.

Yeah, exactly.

And this is a film about a daydreamer, remade by Ben Stiller.

Oh, Walter Mitty, exactly.

There you go, good to Washington Machine Whole Milk. But of course our favorite w M. Combo is the host of Part Time Genius, the podcast asked right here on iHeart Will Pearson and Mango hot Ticketer.

Welcome Will and.

Mangesh Hey, glad to be back.

Day two.

Day two. You are making it. You don't look too sweaty. Part Time Genius, as folks should know, is an awesome podcast with fascinating facts on every topic under the sun and over. When you started Part Time Genius several years ago, this was interesting. I hadn't remembered. You actually used to do some games and puzzles, including a true false quiz that you gave to me Aj Jacobs when I was a guest on your show.

I'd forgotten that.

Oh yeah, I did not. I it's payback time, it's payback.

How did you do?

I did I do well?

I listened again. It was four out of five. You got me on one.

Pretty good. I feel like that's pretty good.

Well, well, it was always that was always the first tration when teachers would give quizzes that only had five questions or a few questions, Because you miss one and you're already down to a low B.

It's a problem. It's a big problem.

We've got, like I think we only have five too.

So you're here, we go.

Why we're doing this together. I like our chances. We'll see what happens.

Well, you know, you could split up. So one says true, one says false, So then you could have a coverab like this. Your true false quiz was about rats lovable rodents. You asked me, for instance, was the original Chuck E Cheese mascot a RNT? And the answer was, if you remember, it is true, it is true. Rick the rat until nineteen ninety three he transitioned into a mouse.

And the world has been so accepting.

Beautiful it is.

It is a nice lesson in tolerance. And but I also love that he started out chomping cigar like he was just like a maybe not like yeah. I don't know if he was drinking, but he was certainly smoking.

All right.

So, as I said, I've been waiting to get back te at you. And my true false quiz has a little puzzly twist. It is a true false quiz about things that contain the word true or false, So it's a meta true false quiz, thank you exactly. For instance, I might give you a true false question about George Washington's false teeth true or false? Where George Washington's.

Teeth made of wood?

And you might remember, No, oh, I guess I should sphrase it. George Washington's teeth were made of foot true or false? That's how true false were.

Answer.

Okay, I'm learning. I'm learning.

It's only our four hundred show, all right, So yes, that is an herban legend. George Washing his teeth false teeth were not made of wood. They were when he was president, made of hippo and Elephant Ivory. Uh, all right, so your first true false question is about false starts in track and field, true or false. The definition of a false start is when a runner moves before the starting gun is fired. True or false? True?

Right, I think, Well, I'm trying to decide whether this is a semi trick.

Question because I don't know that movement is illegal.

So much as leaving their block, like leaving their starting block, I don't know.

I just feel like these guys may be tricking as many I didn't.

Also tell you guys, I don't know the answers. I haven't seen this one, so I could be more. I could either be helpful or hurtful by weighing in with what I think.

Oh, yeah, may or.

What do you think?

What do you think? Yeah?

I want to call my friend Greg.

Would I'm with the wheel that he could be trying to trick it. Yeah, But I also don't think you have to completely leave the starting block right because it's hundreds of a second. Your foot might start to go, but you're still touching it. So so I'm no help at all really for you guys.

Let's let's go with Greg's at Greg and Will's answer so.

You're saying false or or no or yes, you say false, Okay, false is correct? That is you got it. I enjoy the tricks, but it wasn't that. The difference was you can be busted for a false start even if you begin to run after the pistol is fired, because you can if you start within point one seconds of the pistol, that counts as a false start.

Even if you got it for the reason you had it for.

The wrong reason. The idea is the human brains cannot react that quickly, so that means the runner guessed when the gun would be fired instead of waiting to hear it, and that's not allowed. Psychic gifts are very much looked down upon and penalized and running. So I love that one.

So that's a good one.

Gamble should like you should be rewarded for that gamble exactly.

Well, I will say the problem with that would be because I thought about it, like the running races would start about forty two times because everyone would try their own time to Yeah.

I think there's a rule like in the Olympics, if you false start twice, you're disqualified.

Right, still got you still get like eight fall starts, So right. I've got another true false question about the nineteen ninety one Madonna documentary Truth or Dare true or false? Warren Baby, who was Madonna's boyfriend at the time of filming, demanded more screen time in the final cut.

A clarification here, more screen time than Madonna or more screen time just generally.

The great question for terrifying more screen time than he had in the version he saw got it.

What do you think, Mango? If it's not true, it feels.

Like it should.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Isn't it true that you're so vain? By Carly Simon was written about Warren Batty.

Oh Wally?

Is that true? Is that just a pocket? I don't know, but that's the you know.

Well, I remember a couple of years ago they actually she auctioned off the secret for like one hundred thousand dollars. So I don't think anyone but the person who one knows for sure, but that's always what I've heard as well.

Right, So that could imply I don't claim that Warren Baty is vain, but.

Very good, but very good. Yeah.

Yeah, what do you think, Mango?

Yeah, it feels true.

It feels like we I want it to be true. So I feel like we.

Should go in the direction that is you know what, that is a very twenty twenty five.

Do you want something to be true?

Yeah? True?

I like that.

Well, I got you, I got you, so we are it might be down to a B minus. It is false, quite the opposite. Warren Baty was Madonna's boyfriend at the time of filming, and but then they broke up and he called his lawyer said he did not agree to be in the film. Should they called, they threatened. Madonna basically said, screw off. He saw the signs that said we're filming. He doesn't get to see it, and it is a hiltious I rewatched some of it and it is hilarious caause he this is like the beginning of

Why?

What's going on?

Old?

Anyway, that's crazy. He must have been like thirty years older than her at the time, right it.

Was I think about twenty twenty two or something, but definitely yeah.

Wow.

By the way, I mentioned George Washington in the intro, and I feel I need an update from you because I was listening to an episode a Part Time Genius where you had serious plans to start a mount rushmore competitor. If you recall this because you found an actual mountain with a rock formation that looks exactly like Martin van Buren.

I need an update. How is that? Have you?

How are planned the permits it's got on the pyramits.

There's there was some conflict there, but yeah, and we decided mainly just to make it only.

Van Buren's it would just be different van Buren poses. So it's evolved over time.

Yeah, I love it, so like Van Buren is a kid Van Buren.

Yeah, yeah, van Buren playing tennis, which I don't think he did. But it just sort of makes it more modern, you know.

Yeah, yeah yeah, vaping maybe venture and vaping.

I like that.

Yeah, that is great. Well, that is going to be huge when it does open, and you will you can even quit your side hustle because people might not know. Part Time Genius really is a part time job for Will and Mango.

Uh.

They both do other things, believe it or not. Mango produces awesome shows with his company Kaleidoscope, including some he does himself, some he he does not host, but he did one called Skyline Drive, a deep dive into astrology awesome, the sad, and Will happens to be a big wig at iHeart, which happens also to be our platform. So you will you deal with lots of shows like not just us, believe it or not, but like maybe.

Mainly mainly, so I'd say probably eighty percent of my time is dealing with you guys. And then there's some we know every once in a while with the NFL or Will Ferrell or you know, some shows like that, but but mainly you guys.

Yes, we feel like, yeah, we wanted to hear that. That is exactly what we were waiting that feat. All right, I got we're not going to make all five, but we'll make four, all right. Next question is already gone down. It's true, you guys are screwed. I'm sorry. Maybe we'll end there just so you have a terrible show half and half to screw you, all right. The next question is a true or false question about falsetto voices, which is as you know, when men saying.

Like, don't stop doing it.

I don't know, Yeah, all right, true or false? The year nineteen seventy five was the high point for falsetto voices in pop music. It was when falsetto voices from Males was at its most popular that very year, nineteen seventy five.

True or false?

What do you think, Mango? It does feel? I mean, it definitely was of the time.

I keep I now can't stop thinking about the justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon doing the very gifts thing.

It's so funny how life infuses everything, like the true or false like thing. I was just thinking about the Wayne and Garth and Madonna doing.

Yeah oh yeah, yeah, but.

Yeah, I think true as well.

It feels yeah, that feels right, It feels it was out that era.

Like it it true is true? Saturday Night Fever, that was it.

Exactly the Begs.

And this, by the way, is objective fact because Vox Media did an an in depth investigation. They analyzed hundreds of thousands of songs. It's hilarious watch the YouTube video and uh and Beg's it was the Beg's era. Fox said, we are having another golden age of false shadow. There's like a lot of false shadow going on.

Yeah, you know, you know what. I love that type of analysis where you and and for the back page of Mental Philosopher for a little while after you'd run through the A to Z of the know it all a because you said, to the back page for short bit we would uh test the veracity of different slogans and things. And and one thing we did was tested,

I think Ohio was dead last if I know, well.

What was do you remember the number one state for lovers.

Have been like white?

Yeah, it was weirdly like and I think part of that was because of the population.

I think that they were more than wine.

And you know, yeah, you're stuck inside, it's cold. What else are you gonna do? That's right on the very white and light of fire and you're set all right?

All right, So there you go, people who want romance move to Alaska, all right?

Last one.

And you know what, I will give you like an extra ten bonus points if you get it, so you'll get back up to as good this is about false advertising, true or false. Two men sued Universal Studios for false advertising over the movie Yesterday Did You See That One,

Holy moldly true or false? So that whole thing has to be either true or false.

God, Anna day armis with an end.

No, it's it's this other actress named Anna de Arma. Yeah, yep, sorry about that, Anna.

Would that would very false if it was.

Yeah, that could have That was the trick. That was the trick. You caught it.

This sounds vaguely familiar. I did not see this film, but Mango, what about you?

I didn't see the film either, but she wasn't on my radar back then. But I don't know.

That's This is the film about the guy who.

Like has a mesa and then like yeah.

But it's like he he remembers the Beatles, right, Everyone else's doesn't know the Beatles exist, so he ends up writing quote unquote all the Beatles songs because he knows them and.

Nobody because I love the premise. I think it is a hilarious premise, very fun movie.

So what do you think? True or false?

So you're saying they filmed scenes with her and him, right, we're in the trailer, but then they cut them out of the final movie.

And these guys were pissed because they had spent their three dollars ninety nine cents to see Anna dey Are Moss and she was not in it.

So I will just add I think this rings a bell, this thing about her not actually being in the movie. That doesn't really help with us knowing whether it's true or not. That people sued about it.

Yeah, I you know, like we said before, this is a twenty twenty five answer, because I want.

This to be.

Show.

I always want the weird things to be true. The weird things should always be true, well when they're.

Good, should be true.

So true, what do you think?

Mango true?

I'll support that all true.

It is true, well almost, I'm gonna I was gonna give it to you either way, because I think it, but it is true. Almost everything is true except that they had to pay the seven hundred thousand in legal fees. It is true that the case racked up seven hundred thousand in legal fees for Universal, but there was a big arbitration and they ended up just saying all right, everyone pays their own.

But just I love the story.

I feel it's like a David and Goliath, like they were outraged by this injustice and they are like, this is a social justice campaign that everyone should get behind.

Well, you were terrific.

You got I'm going to read out on four plus the extra ten.

Point ninety eight points. Oh wow, Okay, I love the math on the.

Well Van Tat, thank you Mango and will you are you have ben you well? I guess I did not avenge myself successfully, but I loved having you on. And we get you for one more day. I've got one more true false about true false for the folks at home. True or false? The name of the town in New Mexico Truth or consequences that is a real town truth or consequences that started as an April fool's hoax? Is

No, it's not that. It's at Hello false alert.

And we will meet here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles.

They will puzzle you puzzlingly.

Hey, puzzlers, it's Greg pliska chief puzzle officer, here with the extra credit answer from our previous episode. We had Will and Mango with us to do a whole bunch of fun, and we started with some earbuses our favorite trademark pending audio Rebus puzzle. Your extra credit AJ actually gave you two that used the same the kind of same mechanism.

One was Bizna Bizna and the other one was Franz Schubert's sympon. The answer, as you've probably gotten, is unfinished, unfinished business and unfinished symphony. But don't leave your puzzling week unfinished. Join us here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.