Hi, Jess from GZM here.
Love what you're listening to?
Want more?
Go to gzmshows.com slash survey to take a super brief survey.
We want to hear from you so we make more great audio perfect for you.
Yeah, I'm talking to you.
So go to gzmshows.com slash survey.
Once more, that's gzmshows.com slash survey.
To celebrate Big February, we're taking out classic episodes of Wacky Khakis out from behind the paywall.
Today's episode is all about imitations.
We wanted to share this classic episode of wacky khakis here in the feed as a free sample of all the great things we have to offer when you get a gzm family subscription.
So if you want to hear more episodes of wacky khakis or our vintage Pants on Fire show, or episodes of Ask Lisa, or even to get the Big Fib ad free and a week early, go to gzmshowscom.
Slash subscribe.
One more time, that's gzmshows.com slash subscribe to learn more.
Thanks for all your support and enjoy the show right after this break.
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 drive a DeLorean.
Would I lie?
It's hard to say.
Can you spot the light?
The Big Fish!
Some pigs can fly.
The Big Fish!
But if you ask me why, can you trust the answer?
Ah, the Big Fish!
From Parrot, Georgia, it's the Big Fish!
Wacky Cathy's edition.
And now, your hosts.
And a tremendous disappointment to her parents.
Uh, excuse me?
Deborah Goldstein!
Yes, hello, and welcome to The Big Fib.
I'm your host, Deborah Goldstein, and beside me, as always, is our sound effects robot Lisa, whose name stands for Live In-Studio Audience.
And, uh, Lisa, I'll have you know my parents are very proud of the person I've become.
Thank you very much.
That's my mistake.
I just assumed you know most parents want their children to grow up to become a sound effects robot for a successful children's podcast.
Right.
I don't think that's true, Lisa.
I don't believe my human parents expected me to grow up to be a robot of any sort.
Oh, yeah, that makes sense.
Is that what your parents wanted for you?
No, they wanted me to be one of those laser surgeons.
Ah, I see.
But I'm sure they are very proud of you, aren't they?
Oh, yeah, for sure.
But only because I told them I am a laser surgeon.
Oh, Lisa, you don't have to lie to your parents to make them proud of you.
That's true.
I need you to lie to my parents to make them proud of me.
Just like the next time you see them, let me do a little surgery on you.
What?
No.
Are you insane?
No.
Nothing invasive.
Just a quick appendectomy.
Binga banga banga boom.
Lisa, no.
You are not bing bang booming anywhere near my vital organs.
Besides, I've already had my appendix taken out.
Then we'll put one back in.
No, just Lisa.
Look, your folks have every reason to be proud of you for who you are.
Thanks, Debra.
And I'd be very proud of you if you explained to everybody just how our game works.
What do you say, buddy?
Mama, Papa, if you're listening, this one's for you.
Every time we play Wacky Cackies, Debra and I tell one crazy story about the world.
But here's the catch.
Only one of those stories is true and the other one is a lie.
It's Debra.
She's a liar.
And it's the job of two human children to figure out which one is which.
And now, to tell us about this week's theme is our producer Noah, whose parents are probably disappointed.
No, no, no.
They're very supportive.
Thank you for asking.
They think you're a surgeon, too.
You know, Lisa, as a matter of fact, they're very big fans of the podcast.
If anything, they'd probably be thrilled for me to become a sound effects robot.
Now, our theme this week is the sincerest form of flattery, which, as we all know, is imitation.
We've got two stories this week of people pulling off some truly wacky imitations.
But of course, only one of those imitations is the real deal.
And the other one is...
An imitation?
Yeah, you could say that.
Well, that's a little confusing, but I think we'll make it through with the help of our human child contestants.
Lisa, would you please tell us who those human contestants are?
Our human child contestants are Jasper from our upcoming Vision episode and Maya from our current episode that you're listening to.
Hey maya, hey jasper, how are you guys?
Hi, we're good.
Well, i'm good.
I'm good too.
That's good, all right well, welcome to the show.
Uh now uh, you two are brother and sister and you're gonna be on a team today to try and figure out our wacky truth.
So tell me this do you two make a good team?
We're a pretty good team.
What do you think?
Maybe Skeptical.
Maybe.
Uh-huh.
So let's talk a little bit about our theme today.
Imitation, the sincerest form of flattery.
That is at least as the saying goes.
They say you know, if your little brother starts copying every last thing you do, don't get annoyed with him.
It just means that he thinks you're the coolest person on the planet.
So, Maya, tell us, Jasper is your little brother.
Does he ever imitate the things you do?
Yes.
Jasper's shaking his head now.
Maya, tell us what you mean.
What have you done that Jasper has tried to imitate?
I go to a science and math school and he really wants to go there.
Because I'll be a scientist when I grow up.
That was before you wanted to be one.
And then sometimes I'll say something and it'll just imitate me like every other person.
That's the same way when I used to say, who let the dogs out?
And then the Baja men stole that one from you.
Yeah.
That's rough.
But mine was just a question.
I wasn't accusing anyone.
Jasper, do you have anyone who imitates you, or is there somebody that you like to imitate besides your sister?
I can sometimes do a pretty good Yoda imitation.
Oh, okay.
Let's hear it.
I want to hear that.
His Yoda imitation is like.
On point.
Okay.
Wow, that's high praise.
That's a big compliment.
Can you try it for us, Jasper?
Wow.
Oh, that's good.
That was really good.
That's rather wacky.
Okay, folks, it is time to play Wacky Kackies.
Anybody with even a passing familiarity with the Big Fib should, of course, already be able to tell you that when we play Wacky Kackies, Debra and Lisa each have a minute and change to tell their stories before the timer sounds.
Now, whichever one of you can do the better imitation of our timer sound can go first.
What do you got, Lisa?
Meow.
No, that's not it.
Well, I'm kind of blanking.
Hello, I'm a timer.
Let's go.
Lisa, I thought this one would be a freebie for you.
You're a sound effects robot.
It's on the tip of my tongue.
Okay.
Deborah, you want to give this one a try?
I'm going to have to give this one to Deborah.
Okay.
We will begin Debra's timer now.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
And if that's true, rock and roll star Elvis Presley would be the most flattered person in the world if he were still alive.
Or perhaps he'd find it really creepy.
But either way, there are an estimated 35000 professional Elvis Presley impersonators in the world today.
That's almost enough for every single town in the United States to have two.
Elvis impersonators perform all over the world singing Elvis' countless hits, while imitating his classic soothing baritone voice.
You know the one that goes.
They also dress up, like Elvis famously did, in flashy, sequined high-collar jackets with bell-bottom trousers.
Most complete the look with a giant mop of wavy black hair and, either real or painted on, sideburns that go down to their chins.
In Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis was born and lived until age 13, there are far more than just two Elvis impersonators.
In fact, Tupelo has an entire Elvis impersonation industry, a major pillar of the local economy.
Tupelo contains Elvis hairdressers, Elvis vocal coaches and even an Elvis Boot Camp where impersonators practice for the annual Elvis Tribute Artist Competition.
At Elvis Boot Camp, professionals of various stripes help teach eager imitators how to become the best Elvis's they can be.
According to Elvisnet, which may not be the most reliable source on mathematics, if the Elvis impersonation industry continues to grow at the rate it has in the last 50 years, the world will contain 700 million Elvis tribute artists by the year 2060.
Nice work, Debra.
Oh, thank you all.
Thank you very much.
What did you think of that story, Jasper and Maya?
I feel like it sounds kind of realistic.
I mean, not the number at the end.
We're like 2060.
There's a ton of Elvis impersonations, but the story itself seems pretty realistic.
It seems like in most of the Rocky Kaki stories the true ones seem sort of realistic but also just super goofy.
Also, if someone's a diehard fan, they could become an impersonation and they could start a boot camp or whatever.
Is there any musical artists that you guys love so much?
You would dress up like them and do their songs.
I don't think so.
I know.
I mean, unless they're just wearing normal outfits, then no.
Okay.
Like, I don't think I would.
Unless they're me.
Wait, what if they were me?
Then I would always dress up like them.
Oh, yeah.
You're a great self-impressionist.
A Jasper impersonator.
Yeah.
I don't think there are 35,000 Jasper impersonators.
Yet.
But maybe I'm just not looking yet.
Yeah, exactly.
There's going to be a lot of Jaspers.
Yeah.
What would you think of that, Maya, if there were 35,000 carbon copies of your brother?
Is that a world you'd like to live in?
I'd be super freaked out.
I'd be like, I only want one brother.
Not a ton of them.
Okay.
It is now time for Lisa's story of imitation.
Are you ready, Lisa?
Are you ready, Lisa?
Okay, so you're going to copy everything I say now.
That's nice.
Okay, so you're going to copy everything I say.
Uh-huh.
You really think you can keep this up the whole episode, Lisa?
No, I can't keep this up.
You say a lot of really boring things.
Oh, well, that's not very flattering at all.
No.
Okay, listen up, team.
We will begin Lisa's timer now.
If you're planning a getaway vacation for your family this summer, there's no shortage of tourist destinations to consider.
I'm talking Disneyland, Hawaii, or beautiful Acapulco.
The list goes on and on.
With all of these exciting places attracting millions of visitors each year, you can imagine what disadvantage the tourism office of Delaware is up against.
In 1993 Claudia Fink, then the director of the Delaware Tourism Office, sought to change all that with a scheme so crazy she thought it just might work.
And it almost did.
Miss Fink convinced the head zookeeper at the Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington Delaware, to paint some of their black bears white and disguise them as giant pandas.
After all, black bears, though cute, are a fairly common animal in North America, while pandas, an endangered species indigenous to China, attract far more attention and excitement.
The imitation pandas were initially a huge hit, bringing more tourists to Delaware than the state had seen in over 20 years.
However, the pandas also attracted the attention of the World Wildlife Fund, who sent two agents to investigate how a relatively little-known zoo had acquired such rare animals.
Those agents may well have brought down Fink's scheme if not for the fact that a group of animal rights activists had broken into the zoo the night before their arrival and set the fake pandas free.
This turned out to be tremendously lucky for Claudia Fink, who could have been prosecuted under the Ursine Act of 1980 had the fake pandas been found in her custody.
Instead, the black bears disappeared into the greater Wilmington region, and the events of the story eventually became the basis for the 2005 family comedy Bear-Faced Liars, starring the great Dame Judi Dench.
And time.
I love Judi Dench as well.
Who doesn't?
Yeah.
Great story, Lisa.
Not a story, a fact.
Please.
Well, Jasper, Maya, what did you think of Lisa's facts?
This is really hard.
It seems also something realistic, but like a little less so.
It seems like something that would happen in a TV show or something like that.
Seems like something that would be adapted into the 2000 family comedy Barefaced Liars starring the great Dame Judi Dench.
And if you're out there, Dame Judi, please, please come on the show.
We would love to have you.
Oh my gosh, you're so great.
She truly is, yes.
Jasper, what do you think?
I don't think someone would actually paint pandas like that and people would believe them.
Because you would see that's paint most of the time.
Have you ever painted a bear?
No.
It's very convincing.
Pandas have like a different like bone structure and everything than other bears.
So it seems like something that people wouldn't know what it was like.
They could tell the difference.
Yeah, they could tell the difference between the two different types of bears.
But what if they painted the bone structure?
That would be very hard.
We have arrived at decision time.
Time for our contestants to tell us whose story is true and who is just playing the imitation game.
Do you believe Debra's story about the Elvis Presley imitation industry that powers the local economy of Tupelo Mississippi?
Or Lisa's account of the imitation pandas that briefly boosted tourism in the state of Delaware?
This is so hard.
I am going to say that the panda one's a lie.
So Lisa's story's a lie.
Yeah, I think that too.
Okay.
After all we've been through.
Sorry, Lisa.
Don't panda to them.
All right, let's find out.
Will he or she who told the true wacky khaki story this week please let us know who you are?
It was I. Yay.
You got it right.
Well done.
Lisa, shame.
Shame on you.
Well, I just, I love tricking kids.
Didn't work this time.
Yeah, if only not for those meddling kids.
Exactly.
Yeah, I know.
Deborah had the true story this week.
There are indeed about 35000 Elvis impersonators delighting crowds around the world with their tribute performances to the king Elvis Presley.
I think the statistic from Elvisnet about 700 million Elvis impersonators in the year 2060 might be a little bit off, unless these tribute artists multiply on an exponential basis, which I doubt is likely.
But who knows?
And Lisa was indeed lying with his story about imitation pandas though, and I cannot stress this enough, if there were a family comedy about a bear heist starring Dame Judi Dench, I most certainly would watch it.
Same.
You hear, Dame Judi?
We got a job for you.
Get on it.
Well, friends, that's all the time we have for this week on The Big Fib.
Thank you so much to our contestants, Jasper and Maya, for being the perfect model of fact finding.
And to Noah and Lisa for always giving us something to imitate.
And to you, the listener, for tuning in to The Big Fib, where we flatter the truth by telling sincerely crafted lies.
The Big Fit is a production of Gen Z Media.
Visit us online at gzmshowscom, where you can find more great podcasts.
Find out how you can participate and submit questions for me to read on.
Ask Lisa.
Follow us on social media at The Big Fit Podcast for behind the scenes photos and more true facts.
Also, I am Dame Judi Dench.
Oh my God.
It's me.
Amazing.
Now, we want to listen to you.
Go to gzmshows.com slash survey for a super short survey.
We want to know more about what you like, what you don't like and generally, how we can make things better for you.
So go to gzmshows.com slash survey to help us, well, help you.
One more time, that's gzmshows.com slash survey.
For more awesome pods, go to gzmshows.com.
GCN shows imagination amplified.
Hi there.
It's Jess from GCM shows jumping into your feed to give you a huge thank you.
Thanks for joining us on all our audio adventures.
Your support means the world to us.
Whether you've signed up for a subscription, use our free educator resources or simply told your family or friends about our shows, you're making a huge difference.
Every little bit really, truly helps.
And now we're on a mission to get to know you better.
Right now we're running a listener survey to make sure we're bringing you ads and partnerships that you actually like.
To help keep funding for new episodes of Six Minutes, The Big Fib or new series on our new Imagination Amplified feed, we kind of rely on money from ads.
But we really want to make sure we're giving you ads from brands, products and resources that match with who you are, what you want and what really helps you out.
So help us out by going to gzmshowscom survey and taking a super quick survey to tell us more about yourself and what you like.
Once again, that's gzmshows.com survey.
Thank you so much.
In a world where some baby teeth are considered powerfully magical, tooth-related crimes are especially gummy.
The heroes who investigate these cases are members of an elite squad known as the Tooth Fairy Detectives.
This is the story of how one of those winged legends saved the world.
Ruby, Tooth Fairy Detective on Apple Podcasts or go to GCMshows.com for more information.
