Skeptics' Guide - Episode #83
Recording Date: February 21st, 2007
Link to the Official Episode Notes
Official Episode #83 thread on the forums
Download Episode #83 MP3
Panelists (in order of appearance)
- Steven Novella
- Rebecca Watson
- Jay Novella
- Perry DeAngelis
- Evan Bernstein
Interesting Facts
- Bob is not in this episode because he is in Florida at the time of recording
- 9th time everyone wins Science or Fiction
- The SGU has approximately 13,500 listeners as of this episode
- SGUFans.net was announced in this episode
- DIGG was also announced on this episode as a way to support the SGU
- Mike was announced as the winner of last week's Skeptical Puzzle
Interviewees
- Julia Sweeney
- Richard Wiseman
- Scott Dikkers
Science or Fiction**
- Evan* (21/52)
- Perry* (18/55)
- Jay* (11/39)
- Rebecca* (27/43)
Funny Quotes
1. Rebecca (about angels being heard on a recording): "What wisdom did the angels bestow upon us? I'm so excited."
2. Steve: "The alleged angels actually play like the tambourine and a horn, and a guitar."
Jay: "So they're jammin'."
Steve: "Yeah they do actually get a little funky there towards the middle."
Evan: "That's called the bridge."
Jay: "That's called Jesus Jazz, Evan."
3. Rebecca (about JFK's conspiracy theorists using JFK's jacket positioning to promote their theories): "So he didn't have time to take off his jacket and iron it."
4. Evan: "Rebecca the bear detectives are on it. Don't worry."
Jay: "They called up the bear whisperer, don't worry he's on it."
Steve: "Yogi bear's gonna investigate?"
Rebecca: "Might I remind you of the great contributions made to society by bears? Uh Smokey? There's that panda bear. Ling Ling. Hold on I'll think of some more."
Steve: "Actually you're missing the biggest one which of course is the country bear jamboree."
Rebecca: "I knew there was one. The scary mofos."
Perry: "The Care Bears."
Rebecca: "The Care Bears yeah. See? See how much good bears bring to our society? All I'm saying is that they should get the exact same treatment as humans. Is that too much to ask?"
5. Jay: "What kind of redneck like rolls up to a random garbage can and is like 'don't need this no more' and just chucks in a bear's foot."
Evan: "Bout time I be throwin' this away."
6. Jay: "You hear about the three footed dog, goes into a bar, goes up to the bartender and says. 'I'm lookin' for the guy that shot my paw.'"
Rebecca: "I have a better one. Ok a bear goes into a bar and he goes up to the bartender and says 'I'll have a gin.......... and tonic.' And the bartender says 'why the big pause?' And the bear says 'I was born with em.'"
Jay: "Oh god Rebecca you know what? Rebecca don't ever tell that joke again."
Steve: "It is adorable how terrible you told that joke."
7. Rebecca (about Oprah): "She's gone Tom Cruise."
Jay: "I wouldn't go that far."
8. Jay (about Oprah's apparent acceptance of 'the other side' when John Edwards asked her this question): "Hey Evan, where's the internet?"
Evan: "Oh Jay, Jay now I get it. Oh it's so clear!"
9. Steve (about Oprah): "If only she would use her power for good instead of evil."
10. Rebecca (about the Biography Channel's website survery about beliefs): "Who are they doing a biography of? Casper?"
11. Rebecca (about libras being the worse drivers): "I'm a libra so I'll stop doing my toenails on the way to work. Thanks Allstate!"
12. Steve (about the controversy over the previous episode's Science or Fiction): "Now I actually emailed the author of that article. And they have yet to respond to my email."
Rebecca: "Therefore there shall eternally be an asterisk next to that Science or Fiction."
Evan: "They're too busy grooming each other."
Steve: "But I did read the original article published in Science magazine. And it is very clear what the chimps were doing. They were selecting stones, and using them to crush nuts. The use of the stone tools caused them to become encrusted with some of the material from the nuts. And there was some incidental flaking from this."
Perry: "Are you telling me they were crushing nuts and then they got encrusted with stuff?"
Evan: "And that there was incidental flaking."
Jay: "That's disgusting."
Rebecca: "Incidental flaking ON the nuts?"
Evan: "On the nuts or off the nuts?"
Jay: "I don't even know why we're takling about this."
Perry: "Was the material sticky before it got hardened?"
Steve (as everyone's laughing in the background): "But there was no crafting or modifying of these stone tools whatsoever ok?"
Perry: "There's Steve unshaken, unflappable. Straight right through."
Rebecca: "So when the monkeys were using their tools."
Perry: "To crush their nuts."
Steve: "Chimps are apes not monkeys, come on."
Evan: "Yeah come on! Geez."
Steve: "You really want me to get 30 emails correcting us on that?"
13. Perry: "Birds planning ahead? Absolutely. I mean everytime they see a monkey they plan on getting their asses kicked."
14. Perry: "The SCRUB jay. Sounds like a real winner"
Rebecca: "Just like our Jay."
15. Evan: "Back in aught 4 we used to wear an onion on our belts and and we'd call nickels bees."
16. Rebecca (after Evan reads the skeptical puzzle): "Have you been hitting the peyote?"
Evan: "No but those mushrooms out in my backyard were interesting."
17. Steve: "Evan you missed your opportunity to rap a song."
Evan: "Look, look, look. I know I owe everyone a rap. For some reason I don't know how I got suckered into that. The rap will be coming later this year so for those of you on the edge of your seats for that, stay tuned, it is coming, in a few podcasts."
18. Perry: "Astrology is as vacuous as the space it worships."
Evan: "Perry DeAngelis."
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** - As of the conclusion of this episode's game. (wins/times played)
* - won this week's game