And now it's time for who's smart.
Hey, smarty pants. Today, I'm at a garage sale.
I was driving by and saw someone had a lot of cool looking stuff in their driveway.
And I just had to stop. I'm glad I did because there's so much great stuff for sale.
So far, I bought a pocket watch and antique cheese grater.
A set of bachee balls. And, ooh, haven't seen one of these in a long, long time.
Why it's a good luck troll for $1.
Right, it's a smiling little troll doll with fuzzy green hair.
I had one as a kid. I named him Mr.
Fuzzy and I used to rub his hair on my test papers for good luck.
And did that work? It must have.
I cut pretty good grades.
Hmm, I could use some more good luck.
I think I'll buy this troll.
How much did you say it is?
I was asking for a dollar, but for you, I'll make it 50 cents.
Deal. I can feel my luck getting better already.
Or is it? Was it good luck from the troll that helped me good grades?
Or was it because I studied a lot?
Hmm, all this talk is making me curious about good luck charms.
Like, what makes something good luck?
What kinds of good luck charms do people use around the world?
And are the items you think of as good luck charms?
Really lucky. And just so you know, I paid for this troll doll with two quarters, so I didn't need to use my lucky penny.
Pssss. I can help answer your question.
Whoa, who said that? It's me, Sapphire.
Your new good luck troll.
Did you know your lucky penny is good luck?
Because coins are associated with being wealthy.
I didn't even know good luck trolls could talk.
Mr. Fuzzy never did. Consider it a who's smart-ed upgrade.
No offense to Mr. Fuzzy, of course.
None taken. More importantly, it sounds like it's time for another whiff of science and history on.
Who's smart-ed? Who's smart-ed?
Who smart is it you? Is it me?
Is it science or history?
Listen up. Everyone, we make smart-ed lots of fun on who's smart-ed.
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Okay, Smarty Pants, tell me.
Do you have any strange or unique or cool good luck charms?
Maybe it's a lucky pencil you use for tests with or without a troll on it?
Or maybe a special pair of socks you wear for big games?
Maybe you don't wash your socks if you win a big game, so the good luck will still be on them.
Go ahead, shout out any good luck items you have.
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I'm hearing some really interesting answers.
But not enough trolls! Come on, people!
Check out my hair! Your hair always brought me luck!
Which brings me to my first question.
As a good luck charm, can you tell me and the Smarty Pants, what about you makes you lucky?
After all, on the surface, you're just a small plastic doll with a wrinkly face, big eyes and crazy hair.
No offense. None taken trusty.
In fact, a good luck trolls unusual looks are the source of our good luck.
Ah, now we're getting somewhere, so how does it work?
According to Scandinavian legend, nothing bad can happen to you if you're laughing, so having a funny looking troll doll like me or Mr.
Fuzzy can bring you good luck.
Hey, that's pretty cool.
Smarty Pants, how long do you think people have been using good luck charms?
Have they been around since ancient times?
100 years ago, or the 1990s?
If you said ancient times, you're correct.
While the ancient Romans didn't have troll dolls, they did believe in the powers of good luck charms like amulets and pendants.
That's too bad, because it'd be pretty funny seeing a gladiator rubbing a troll doll's hair.
Come on Fuzzy, bring me back to battle!
Of course, trolls aren't the only good luck dolls around.
There was a doll that British, Australian and American soldiers used for good luck during World War I.
Hmm, not sure I know that one.
Smarty Pants, any ideas?
Yep, me neither. Those dolls were called thumbs-ups.
After the lucky thumbs-up gesture, which they gave with both hands.
Their heads were made of wood that they could touch when their arms were raised since touching or knocking on wood is believed to be good luck.
And soldiers carried them into battle?
Come on soldiers, grab your thumbs-ups and charge that field!
Let them have it! Like other lucky charms, thumbs-ups could be worn on a chain or attached to a button.
Smarty Pants, even if you don't have a troll or a thumbs-up, there's a good luck charm you may be able to find in nature.
It's green, and you probably hear it talked about near St.
Patrick's Day, or if you eat lucky charms cereal.
Go ahead and shout it out if you know what it is.
Did you say a four-leaf clover?
Nice job! Apparently they're very lucky and magically delicious!
But why? The reason four-leaf clover are considered lucky is because they're so hard to find.
Smarty Pants, true or false?
There's only one four-leaf clover for every 10,000 three-leaf clover.
The answer is...true! Finding something so rare makes you lucky by default and makes the rare object you found a good luck charm.
9,998 three-leaf clover?
9,993-leaf clover? Aha!
A four-leaf clover! Finally, I am the luckiest person in the world!
And it only took me a week!
That might be a little too much of a time commitment for most people.
Is there anything else lucky in nature?
Certainly! A-corns are a symbol of good luck in England because they are believed to protect health.
Oh, and A-corns are a lot easier to find than four-leaf clover?
What are some other good luck charms, Smarty Pants?
Did anyone say... horseshoes?
Or horseshoes good luck, Sapphire?
A horseshoes is only good luck if it ends point up like the letter U.
But if it's upside down like a lowercase letter N, your good luck will run out of the bottom.
Smarty Pants, what animal's foot is sometimes used as a good luck charm?
Is it A, a duck's foot? B, a rabbit's foot.
Or C, a dinosaur's foot.
Well, a dinosaur's foot would be pretty rare and make a really cool good luck charm.
The answer is actually B, a rabbit's foot.
But why? The lucky rabbit's foot tradition is a long history dating back to the Celtics in 600 BC.
For some reason, rabbits were considered lucky.
Not the ones who lost their feet.
If you don't want to feel bad for the rabbit whose foot you're carrying around, you can just say the word rabbit three times on the first day of the month, and that is also said to bring good luck.
And no rabbits were heard in the process.
Sorry Pants, you'll also be happy to know that today, many rabbits foot keychains are made of synthetic or human-made materials.
That means they didn't really come from a rabbit.
Plus, you can get them in lots of cool colors.
Speaking of colors, did you know some colors are considered to be good luck?
Oh yeah, which ones? Smarty Pants, any guesses?
In many cultures, green is considered a lucky color.
Probably because green is associated with what?
Did you say money? That's right.
Red is also viewed as a lucky color, but I always say, if your favorite color makes you happy, then it can be good luck for you.
My blue troll hair feels pretty lucky to me.
Smarty Pants, there's also a number many people consider to be good luck.
Is it 1, 7, or 13? If you said 13, you may be thinking of some bad luck superstitions related to this number.
But if you said 7, it's your lucky day.
7 is a lucky number because there are 7 days in the week.
7 colors in the rainbow.
7 notes on a musical scale.
7 C's and 7 continents. Whoa.
That's a lot of 7's. But 8 is actually my lucky number.
Hmm. Why 8? That's the number of slices in a pizza.
Different places and cultures have their own good luck charms.
Painted wooden horses called Dala horses are good luck charms in Sweden.
Their horses must be especially lucky.
Absolutely. The truth is, many people in cultures view horses as good luck.
But they are not the only lucky animal out there.
Hmm. Smarty Pants. See if you can guess another lucky animal.
Is it A, an elephant? B, a mouse?
Or C, a hippopotamus? If you said an elephant, you're right.
Elephants are considered lucky in Thailand, India.
And many other places, particularly if the elephant's trunk is pointing out.
Smarty Pants. Can you think of any other lucky animals?
Yep. Pigs are a symbol of good luck and wealth.
That's why there are piggy banks.
Lucky animals are really cool, but I'm ready to pick out.
Are there any lucky foods?
They sure are. Great. We'll learn all about them right after this quick break.
Hey, parents. Trusty here.
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Now back to who smarted.
Okay, as all the smarty pants listening probably know, I love to eat.
But are there any foods that are considered lucky?
Absolutely. In some countries, like Slovakia and Poland, Karp is a traditional Christmas dinner.
But don't throw the scales away.
Many people keep Karp scales in their wallets until the following Christmas to bring good luck in the coming year.
Interesting, but what about something I mentioned earlier?
No wonder that after me, Lucky Charms.
She's a new old cereal with marshmallow bits and lucky shapes.
Well, eating a big bowl of oat cereal with marshmallows, bring me good luck.
Lucky Charms cereal was first available in 1964.
So, it doesn't have the long history of other good luck charms.
However, the marshmallows are shaped like popular good luck symbols, such as horseshoes, boom moons, unicorns, rainbows, and foilief clovers.
Sounds good to me. Say, what about good luck charms with really long histories?
A good luck charm that's been popular since ancient times is none other than the evil eye.
The evil eye? That doesn't sound lucky to me.
Maybe not, but the evil eye is one of the oldest good luck charms in the Mediterranean region.
It's not actually evil.
It's appendent with a blue glass bead that looks like an eye and protects its wearer from people with envy and bad intentions.
Oh, sounds pretty powerful.
So, do good luck charms actually have any power?
Well, lots of people think they do.
In fact, nearly one in four Americans carries a good luck charm, at least for occasions when they might need some extra good luck.
Or, when visiting new places, travelers usually pick up good luck charms as souvenirs.
Every time I board an airplane, I give it a nice pat before I get on.
Nice plane. Nice plane.
If it feels good, do it. But just know the power of good luck charms is more in the minds of the people using them than the objects themselves.
That's why I carried Mr.
Fuzzy around, and why I'm going to buy you, Sapphire.
Actually, after listening to all of that, I think I'll hold on to this troll.
I could use some good luck.
Oh well. Got any lucky charms?
Today's shot out goes to Levi in Austin, Texas.
We're so glad to hear that who's smart and keeps everyone happy on long road trips, including one from Texas to Vermont.
Wow, that is a lot of driving and smarting.
Thanks so much for being part of our smarty family, y'all.
This episode, Good Luck Charms, was written by Super Stitious Sarah Sweetheck, and voiced by Langley Lucky Charms Macarill.
Max Green Clover Kamaski, Adam Rabbitsfoot Davis, and Jerry Colbert.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Mr.
Fuzzy Han. Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Roller-Lake Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Rainbows-Swarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tech's Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tech's Davis and Jerry Colbert.
This has been an atomic entertainment production.
Who Smarted? Starglow!
Hey, parents. Trusty here.
I love making it easy for people to learn new things, shocker, right?
So when my friend told me he was about to spend almost $1,000 on language lessons to get ready for his trip to Spain.
I said, hold on there. Why don't you try using the language learning app, Babel?
I told him he'll save enough money to practically pay for his plane ticket.
Less than a month later, he was ordering tapas and sangria, like a barthelona native.
And telling me, gracias, trusty.
Babel's 10-minute lessons designed by over 200 language experts fit perfectly into his busy schedule.
Their speech recognition technology even helped him nail that tricky Spanish R.
R. R. R. Ooh, I need to use Babel.
And so do you. It's awesome.
Choose from 14 award-winning language courses all backed by a 20-day money-back guarantee.
I love Babel so much that they've agreed to make an exclusive offer for our listeners.
Get up to 60% off your Babel subscription at babbel.com-sparted.
That's Babel.com-sparted.
Rules and restrictions may apply.
Start your language journey today.
