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Two people claim to know everything about something, but only one knows anything.
President Roosevelt wore an anti-gravity belt.
Dinosaurs had two brains.
Lucky kids live on Mars and go to school in flying cars.
Or at least they will one day.
Believe me, I'm a historian.
An astronaut or driver DeLorean.
Would I lie?
It's hard to say.
The Big Can you spot the light?
Some pigs can fly But if you ask me why Can you trust the answer?
From Sugar City, Colorado, this is The Big Fib.
And now, here's your host, Debra Goldstein.
Welcome to The Big Fib, the game show where kids choose between the crystallized, super-fine turbinado of truth and the raw and lumpy saccharine of lies.
I'm your host, Debra Goldstein, and in the studio today is our sound effects robot Lisa, whose name is an acronym that stands for Live In Studio Audience.
Mind over matter.
Mind over matter.
Lisa, what are you doing?
Oh, hi, Debra.
I'm practicing mindfulness.
Oh well, that's a wonderful way to be present and aware of your thoughts and feelings without judging them.
Nice.
Yeah, that's not what I'm going for here.
My version of mindfulness is when I observe all the things that I mind and the things that bother me, like mosquitoes buzzing in my ear.
Get out of here, mosquito.
Oh, and when my hot chocolate powder leaves clumps of undissolved hot chocolate in my mug.
I mean, that should be illegal.
And what else?
In humans who, well, just, you know, humans in general.
Oh, okay.
Well, that doesn't sound like a very relaxing practice, listing all the things that you mind.
Well, that's why I repeat my mantra.
Mind over matter.
Mind over matter.
Because if I don't mind, it doesn't matter.
Oh, I get it.
So trying not to sweat the small stuff.
Well, how's it going?
And I also mind when Debra asks me a bunch of annoying questions.
Mind over matter.
If I don't mind Debra's irritating inquiries, it won't matter that she has no sense of boundaries.
Hey!
Yup, it's definitely helpful.
Okay, great.
Well, I'm glad that's working for you.
Thanks, Debra!
I'm definitely feeling a little less irritated, which puts me in the right frame of mind to answer the listener question that is in my inbox.
Oh, yes, that will be a good distraction.
Go ahead and print out the question.
I'm trying not to mind it when Debra tells me what to do.
Oh, my goodness.
All right, Debra, printing.
Oh, boy.
Yeah.
Definitely have to check that out.
Okay, here is the listener question.
It reads, Hi, Lisa.
How many languages can you understand and speak?
P.S.
This is my favorite podcast.
Oh, thank you so much, listener.
Okay, over to you, Lisa.
What languages do you speak?
Well, I'm fluent in Python Java JavaScript C Ruby, Rust.
You know basically all of the general purpose programming languages.
I'd say I'm conversational in shell scripting languages like Bash and PowerShell.
Okay well, that is certainly impressive, but I think they want to know how many human languages you speak.
Oh, human languages?
Yeah.
All of them, you know, with the appropriate plug-in.
And I'm also taking a master class in sign language.
Thanks for that subscription, by the way, Debra.
Oh, you're welcome.
I'm currently in an exchange with the master class chatbot about whether or not they'd like to hire me to run a sound effects course.
Oh, good idea.
Another good idea would be if you could tell our listeners how our game works.
Oh, sure.
What language would you like me to use?
Oh, how about British?
That's not really a language.
Every week, Governor, we bring on two grown-ups.
One's an expert, the other is a lawyer.
And it's the job of a mere lad to help us figure out who is who.
Because no one can spot a liar better than a kid.
We hope.
What are we lying about today, Deborah Governorstein?
Oh, goodness.
We are lying about...
Sugar, a sweet substance that comes from plants and used to make food and drinks taste sweet.
And we're going to learn all about sugar along with our contestant today.
Who might that be, Lisa?
Our human child contestant is a nine-year-old who enjoys catching critters in his pond, River Choi.
Hi, River.
Hi.
Tell us about this pond.
What kind of critters do you catch in your pond?
I mostly catch crayfish, which are like little freshwater lobsters.
Yeah, they look like little lobsters.
And what do you do with them when you catch them?
I put them in a bowl.
I sometimes take two and make them fight.
Oh no, fighting crayfish.
We got to talk to your parents real quick.
And then maybe after a day, I let them go back in my pond.
Okay.
Sometimes I also catch salamanders.
Wow.
And sometimes at different ponds, I catch frogs.
That's a lot of stuff in these ponds.
I also once caught a toe biter, the giant water bugs that bite like shing, shing, shing.
Oh no.
You are having the right childhood.
I would agree, but it also sounds kind of scary.
So when the toe, what are they called?
Toe biters.
Toe biters.
I let it go and I'm hoping a bird got it.
Yes, a bird.
That would be best because otherwise it's just going to keep biting toes.
Did it bite you?
Did it hurt you?
No, I caught it before it could.
They're just called toe biters because they can make toes, but they don't normally bite toes.
Well, that's good.
Well, then maybe it's a sometimes toe biter.
Maybe they should call it that.
Yeah, occasional toe biter.
Okay.
When the opportunity presents itself.
Yes, that's its full name.
Mostly I'm vegetarian, but every once in a while I will have a toe.
Yeah.
No, it mostly eats like tadpoles and minnows.
Oh, you've done a lot of work here, sort of observing and studying and learning about these critters.
Is that because you would like to become like a marine biologist or something that has to do with nature?
Not really.
I just really like nature and I'm really interested in animals.
Very good.
They're interested in you.
Yes, also.
Well, that is some fascinating information about you, River.
We want to learn even more.
However, we're going to discover more fun facts about you, Big Fib style.
We're going to play two truths and a lie.
River is going to tell us two truths and one lie, but we won't know which is which.
So we'll have to listen closely in order to distinguish fact from fiction.
So, River, in no particular order, tell us your two truths and one lie.
My cat's name is Jake.
The biggest crawfish I caught was 10 inches long.
And I am more of a salty than sweet person.
More salty than sweet.
I love how different these are.
Interesting that we're leaning towards salty on the sugar show.
I don't know.
Lisa, what are your thoughts?
Yeah, I mean, he does seem like a sweet person.
So I mean that's confusing to me.
Crayfish thing around 10 inches long.
I mean he mentioned them, but did he mention anything about measuring them?
No, because I feel like if you had a crayfish measure you would probably brag about that.
And then the thing about the cat.
I've never met a cat named Jake.
I did meet one named Jeff once, so I'm gonna say that one's the lie.
Yeah, I've never met a cat named Jake.
His cat's name is probably Jeff.
Nice try.
Okay, let's find out if that is true.
Well, you said you're right.
I told you.
And wrong.
His name is not Jeff.
Oh, what is it?
His name is Earl Grey.
Earl Grey.
That's so cute.
Is his name Grey and he's an Earl?
No, his name's Earl Grey, but we mostly call him Earl.
Got it.
Earl.
I love that name.
I'm right, Debra.
You are right, but for weird reasons.
But that does mean that the biggest crayfish you've ever caught was around 10 inches long.
That's true?
Yeah.
That is big.
I'd be afraid of that.
And also, you are in fact more of a salty person than a sweet person.
We're not talking about your characteristics here.
We're talking about the kinds of food and drink you like.
You like salty things more, right?
Yeah.
But you do like the occasional sweet treat.
Are you a fan of sugar in some way?
I really, really, really, really, really like milkshakes.
Yum.
Strawberry or chocolate.
Strawberry or chocolate.
Oh, very different.
I guess it depends on your mood.
I like it.
All right.
So River, we are going to move on and talk about sugar and possibly how much sugar there is in a milkshake.
We don't know.
Any kind of strategy you've got for figuring out who our fibber is?
Well, I'm going to listen to the voice and see the tone of it.
Also, I'm going to see what their job is, the more believable job, I'll think.
Oh.
There's a few more factors the name and the answer they give, because they did quite a bit of studying.
You did.
Oh, studying.
Okay, so he's got some facts.
I did, too.
Did you?
I drank a bunch of milkshakes.
Okay, it's like you should know.
All right.
We'll see about that.
Lisa, would you please play some welcome music for our sugar experts?
You betcha.
Sugar is sweet.
Salt is salty.
Nails are sharp and quilts are soft.
This is a song where I describe how things are.
I could have done better, but I've gone too far.
Come on in.
Nice.
Okay.
Thank you for that.
Our first expert is Craig Montgomery.
Craig, please introduce yourself to River.
Hey, River.
My name is Craig and I own a candy company called Sticky and we make rock candy with little pictures on the inside.
Thank you very much.
Okay, let's meet our second expert, Brooke Raskard.
Brooke, please introduce yourself to River.
Hey, River.
I'm Brooke, and I am a nutritionist.
Okay.
Look, it's hot.
Tell us about those sugar beets, Lisa.
Those?
Well, those are the sugary beets of hot seat time.
Oh yes, it is hot seat time, and that is when we put our experts on the hot seat while they answer River's questions.
Lisa, whom should we put on the hot seat first?
Brooke Rosgard, because her first name has two O's in a row and her last name has two A's in a row, so it's like her name is Ooh Ah.
I love that.
I've never gotten that one before.
I've gotten a lot, but never that one, Lisa.
You're welcome.
Nice.
I like it.
All right.
River, what is your first question for Brooke?
Describe a typical day at your job.
Yeah.
So I am a nutritionist for two basketball teams here in New York.
So I typically start my day just with checking emails to see if there are any updates on any of the dietary plans that I've planned out for the teams, any immediate needs that I need to address right away.
And then, after the morning emails and a couple morning calls, I actually go down to the venue where they play and I observe the practices.
I see how the dietary plans are affecting their performance.
After practice I meet with the players one-on-one, while they're meeting with athletic trainers and icing out and that kind of stuff, to see what they like and what they don't like, what makes them feel good, that kind of thing.
And recently I've actually started to work with the venue itself to try to sell more whole foods at the concession stand, which has been a really cool new development.
We're looking to replace hot dogs with this kind of bean and corn alternative, and then nacho cheese with a tapioca paste.
So just to get some more healthier foods into concessions that are typically more junk foods.
Thank you very much.
All right, River, would you like Craig to answer the same question or do you want to move on?
Yes, I'll get Craig to answer the same question.
All right.
Typical day for me is coming in checking emails, seeing what different candies we actually need to make.
If it's a shop design, like a little fruit or an animal picture on the inside, or possibly some corporate stuff like a company logo.
And then we get a bunch of sugar boiling up in the pot.
Then we begin to create each little edible treat by sculpting it in three dimensions, really large.
And then we extrude it down to this small little bite-sized treat.
We have all sorts of different flavors that people can choose from, from apple through watermelon, peppermint and fried chicken.
What?
Yeah.
That usually gets people.
I don't know about that, but okay.
We package everything up and sell it all.
Very nice.
This one's for Brooke.
Why would a nutritionist be a candy expert?
Well, a big part of nutrition is knowing about the foods that taste really good but aren't so good for you, because it's not necessarily reasonable to expect that someone would exclude them entirely from their diet.
So you need to know about how much a person can consume while still maintaining a healthy diet without overeating.
We're doing it.
So it's really good to know how much a person can consume without making themselves sick or bringing on chronic diseases.
This one's for Craig.
What is something about sugar that most people don't know?
It's made from fried chicken.
No, it is not.
A lot of people don't realize that sugar can come from beets as well as sugarcane, which is something very unique.
And a good portion of regular sugar these days comes from beets.
Not those beets.
And sugar also comes in two different forms, granular sugar and sugar syrups.
This one's for both of you.
Name three consequences too much sugar can have.
Oh, okay.
Sugar can cause a fat buildup if you consume too much and you're not burning as many calories as you are consuming the sugar.
A lot of people don't know that consuming too much sugar can actually cause hair loss.
So, because sugar is a form of energy, Consuming too much can communicate to your hair follicles that you're actually growing more hair.
So to balance it out, your hair actually starts to fall out more quickly.
And in really extreme cases, we see this actually in people's eyebrows and eyelashes.
A third consequence it's something that a lot of people don't know as well is that it can cause some waxy buildup in the ear canal.
So Excess sugar can transform into not only fat, but also what's called a saccharin secretion.
And that manifests in the body in a lot of different ways, but one of which is actually earwax.
Whoa.
Oh, man.
These humans.
Just gross.
I know.
Okay, River, back to you.
This is for both of you.
Explain why sugar is addictive.
Yeah, explain yourselves.
Sugar is addictive because it releases happy things into your brain.
It gives you energy, and so that energy is something that people can enjoy.
Yeah, I would say the same thing that Craig said.
Sugar releases what's called ecstasy, which you might hear the word ecstasy in there.
It's an enzyme that the brain perceives as ecstasy and it makes you really happy and your brain becomes addicted to this feeling of happiness and it starts to crave the source of the happiness.
This is for both of you.
Where do sugar particles go after we eat them?
Sugar particles go down your esophagus into your stomach and then from your stomach has receptors that tell it where to go in the body.
And because it's a source of energy, it goes where the body has the least amount of energy.
So if you're not exercising your legs or your arms, it'll go there.
And that's why those sections, if you don't exercise them regularly, can amass fat, because if it's not being burned it can store as fat.
Okay.
Craig, do you agree with that?
Do you want to add anything to that?
I agree completely.
Okay.
All right.
Both on the same page.
Interesting.
That's right.
What are the effects of the sugar particles going across your body?
So sugar is a source of energy.
So the immediate effect is that it makes you feel energized and maybe really excited.
But that energy needs to be transferred somehow.
So if you're burning the energy by doing activity, then it'll be transferred into your activity.
But if not, then it's stored to be burned later.
So then it's stored as fat.
That's why if you consume sugar without corresponding activity, then it builds up as excess fat in the body.
Craig, I'd like you to answer the same question.
All right.
Sugar creates energy.
And from there if you're not being busy and active.
Sugar unfortunately turns to fat, even though sugar technically is fat-free.
If your body doesn't metabolize it, then it turns to fat.
Oh.
This is for both of you guys.
What is your favorite sugary dessert?
Yeah, we're talking.
Great question.
Definitely.
So I love ice cream.
I've always loved it ever since I was a kid.
It's my favorite treat.
And ice cream is a little bit more nutritionally balanced than other sugary treats because it's got protein and fat from the dairy that's in it.
And that makes it a little bit easier to digest and a little bit more wholesome.
My sugary go-to treat is either peanut MMs or Reese's Pieces, because there's something delicious about peanut butter and chocolate.
I like a bag of bolts covered in molasses.
Delish.
And little peanuts.
Excellent questions.
That really made me think, and it made me think that this is going to be a challenging game, but hopefully not for River.
Hi, Jess from GZM here.
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Kids, you have a lot of questions.
Is a crocodile a dinosaur?
Why do people vote?
How does your food turn into your poop?
But why?
A podcast for curious kids has answers.
I'm Jane Lindholm.
Join me as we dig deep into everything from science to history nature, emotions and sometimes even the weird.
Why are jellyfishes made of jelly?
Or are they made out of jelly?
Find But Why wherever you get your podcasts.
It's time for the shorts on fire round when our experts have to answer as many questions as they can before time runs out.
Lisa will set a timer for our first expert, and then River will ask questions until Lisa's timer sounds.
Then Lisa resets the timer for our next expert to do the same.
Experts, this is the time for that sugar rush.
Okay, River, you can start with Craig and ask your shorts-on-fire questions now.
Go.
When did people start growing sugar cane to make sugar?
8,000 BCE.
What happens to sugar if you pull and stretch it?
It becomes larger and it changes color.
Name two different kinds of sugar you use to make candy.
There's granulated sugar and there's sugar syrup.
How much of the world's sugar comes from sugar beets?
About 40%.
What type of sugar helps the brain with memory and learning?
Glucose.
Which grain do we use to make glucose?
Wheat.
According to Mary Poppins, how much sugar makes the medicine go down?
I believe it's a teaspoon.
Factor fib.
Sugar spoils after 50 years.
Fib.
At what temperature do you need to cook sugar to make lollipops?
300 degrees.
How tall was the largest sugar sculpture which was made in 2018?
10 feet tall.
And that is time.
That's all the time.
But do we have a little bit more time for Brooke?
You know, we just got in a shipment of time.
Let me see if...
Oh, it's ready.
Yeah.
Oh, great.
So timely.
Okay.
River, you can ask Brooke your shorts on fire questions now.
The word sugar comes from the Sanskrit word meaning what?
Little joy.
In two states where sugar cane grows.
Virginia and Vermont.
How much sugar do people eat in one year?
60 pounds.
Who introduced sugar cane to America?
Leif Erikson.
What was sugar called in ancient times because it was so valuable?
Heaven's dust.
How much sugar does Brazil produce every year?
Right about 400,000 tons.
What is the type of energy that plants use to help make sugar from light?
Photosynthesis.
During which holiday do people decorate sugar skulls?
Halloween.
Which queen loved sugary treats so much that her teeth turned black?
That was Mary, Queen of Scots.
Fact or fib?
Sugar can be burned with other ingredients to make rocket fuel.
That is a fact.
What is the number one source of sugar in the United States diet?
It's actually salad dressing.
And time.
That's all the time.
Excellent question asking, River.
And we'll see how well our experts did when they answered.
So, it's decision time, River.
It's time to cast your vote and tell us who is our sugar fibber.
Well, both of you didn't say the number one consequence of eating sugar, which is cavities.
Oh, okay.
But, all in all, I think the liar is Brooke.
So why do you think Brooke is the liar?
There's multiple reasons.
She said people eat 60 pounds of sugar a year, but I saw it was 150 pounds a year.
Really?
Hmm.
Okay, very good.
Is that the only thing that you noticed or there were other things too?
It was also kind of strange that a nutritionist would be a sugar expert.
Well, they do have to study health and the diet.
So that's sort of why that makes sense.
But I understand your confusion there.
So, okay, very good.
Well, will our actual sugar expert please say, I am the sugar expert.
I am the sugar expert.
You did it, River.
That's right.
Craig Montgomery is the master confectioner and owner of Sticky in the United States, where they hand sculpt rock candy and designs like unicorns to cats and fun flavors, as he was mentioning, ranging from pickle to blue raspberry.
Their delicious candy is dairy, gluten, high fructose, and nut-free and available on StickyUSA.com.
And check out their socials at StickyUSA to see the candy-making magic.
Very fun.
Excellent.
Okay, I just need to know, before we dive into the fact-checking, how popular are these flavors like pickle and fried chicken?
Who is ordering those flavors, Craig?
They are more popular than you would think.
I think the fried chicken is more of a novelty and kind of a gag gift, but it is quite an experience.
Wow.
Just doesn't sound good, but I'll trust you on that one.
So time to do that fact checking.
Craig, don't sugarcoat it.
What were the fibs you heard Brooke tell?
The Leif Erikson one.
I believe it was Christopher Columbus.
Who introduced sugar to the Americas.
Yep.
Yes.
What sugar was called is actually white gold.
White gold, because it was very valuable.
Yes, white gold, not heaven's dust.
Exactly.
The poundage of sugar that's produced is 30 million tons out of Brazil.
Whoa, that's a lot of sugar.
It's a little bit less than Brooks said, but it still is a lot of sugar.
Still a lot, yeah.
And then the sugar skulls, I believe, would be Dia de los Muertos.
Yes.
That's right.
The Day of the Dead, honoring ancestors.
That's right.
Brooke, tell us which lies you surreptitiously wove into your answers.
I was fibbing pretty much the whole time.
Yes.
The word sugar comes from the Sanskrit word meaning gravel or grit, not little joy.
Two states where sugarcane grows are Florida and Louisiana.
Not Virginia or Vermont.
Okay.
Mm-mm.
River.
You mentioned that you thought I was fibbing, because each person generally eats 60 pounds of sugar a year.
That one is actually fact.
Oh.
It is 60 pounds.
The queen who loved sugary treats so much that her teeth turned black was Queen Elizabeth I, not Mary Queen of Scots.
Oh.
Sugar can, in fact, be burned with other ingredients to make rocket fuel.
And the number one source of sugar in the United States diet is not salad dressing.
It is soda.
Those can be used interchangeably, though.
Oh, no, I don't think so.
Maybe for robots.
Yeah, I love a big glass of ranch.
Yeah, I know.
That's how I feel, too.
Wow.
Well, a lot of fibs.
I think you got away with some of them, but obviously not all of them.
But good try, Brooke.
All right.
Well, Cain, you believe it.
We've reached the end of our show.
We must give our contestant River much gratitude for empowering us all to seek the truth.
Thank you to our expert and liar, Craig and Brooke.
And thanks to Lisa for the sounds of Splenda.
And, of course, many thanks to our listeners tuning into the Big Fib, where we expose the insolence of liars and crystallize our faith in truth.
The Big Fib is a production of Gen Z Media.
For more great shows, visit gzmshows.com.
While you're there, you can find out how you can become a contestant on The Big Fib or send questions for me to answer on the show.
Oh, what else?
Follow us on social media at The Big Fib Podcast for behind-the-scenes photos and more true facts.
And now I'm going to have a delicious Caesar salad smothered in root beer.
Oh, it's so rooty.
Ew.
Oh, I got a burp.
For more awesome pods, go to gzmshows.com.
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