Hey, parents.
Trusty here.
You know what I hear constantly from homeschool parents in the Who's Smarter community?
Thank you for introducing us to IXL.
I get it.
My cousin homeschools her kids and raves about how much IXL helps.
We're heading into that stretch where families are finishing the year strong and then summer hits with travel camps and shifting routines.
And that's where IXL shines.
IXL is an award-winning online learning platform that fits seamlessly into homeschooling, with interactive practice across math, language arts, science and social studies from pre-K through 12th grade.
Everything's organized by grade and subject, so you quickly find what each kid needs.
Kids get instant explanations and parents, you get clear progress reports.
Over 15 million students use IXL and it's proven to improve achievement in all 50 states.
So make an impact on your child's learning.
Who Smarted listeners get an exclusive 20% off when they sign up today at www.ixl.com slash smarted.
That's ixl.com slash smarted.
Hey, smarty pants.
Recognize these sounds?
Why, of course, it's your mom trying to feed you vegetables when you were three.
Open wide, here comes the train, choo-choo!
Uh-uh!
Just kidding.
Those are the sounds of an actual train.
And whether it's a freight train or a people train, trains have been around for more than 200 years.
Whoa!
Have you ever ridden on a train?
Maybe it was to visit another town or city or state.
Or maybe you rode a subway underground.
Whether it's a long ride or a quick trip, riding the rails sure is something special.
Did you know that there are more than 1.3 million kilometers of train tracks covering the planet?
That's more than enough track to travel to the moon and back and then back to the moon again.
That's one small choo-choo for man and one giant chugga-chugga for mankind.
Any guess which country has the most train tracks?
Why, it's the United States, one of the first countries to get into the train craze.
All aboard!
But how do trains work?
How fast can they go?
And where can you ride a train that flies?
All aboard for another whiff of history and science on... Who Smarted?
Who Smarted?
Who's smart?
Is it you?
Is it me?
Is it science or history?
Listen up, everyone.
We make smarting lots of fun.
Hey, smarty pants.
Have you ever seen or played with model or toy trains?
Some train sets even have little towns and trees and people and railroad crossings.
Clearly, trains and railroads have fascinated people for a long, long time, way before the first locomotive.
Rails themselves go back to ancient times.
Early people discovered it's easier to move heavy carts if they're on tracks instead of pushing them down muddy or uneven roads.
Some of these ancient trackways, mostly made of wood, can still be found in places like England Greece, Italy and China.
By the 1700s, tracks covered much of the world, especially Europe, where iron rails and wheels replaced wooden ones.
But cars on those rails were usually pulled by horses.
Smarty Pants, do you know what inventors used to create the first self-moving train?
Was it A, electricity?
B, water?
If you guessed B, you're correct.
The first locomotive that used water, in the form of steam, to power its engine appeared in Great Britain in 1804.
And look, here comes a steam locomotive right now.
Why, hello there.
Whoa, a talking train.
Wait, are you Tom?
No, no, no, don't say that name.
I'm not him.
I'm a completely legally acceptable knockoff.
My name's Steve Engine Steve.
Hop aboard and I'll tell you whatever you want to know about trains.
Ooh, what do you think, Smarty Pants?
Should we climb aboard this talking steam engine and learn about trains?
Yeah, yeah, I know this couldn't actually happen, but just go with it.
Okay, Steve, we're in.
So, Steve, when did people first start riding trains?
Back when the steam engine was first invented, trains were primarily used for hauling coal, a substance found deep underground that was used to make power and heat.
When engineers added passenger cars, people were nervous about riding them.
They thought the train vibrations would shake them unconscious or they'd be unable to breathe while traveling at such high speeds.
Wow.
How fast did those trains go?
As fast as a horse?
An ostrich?
A cheetah?
Smarty Pants, what's your guess?
Um, not quite.
The first train zipped down the tracks at a whopping 10 miles per hour.
Did you say 10?
10 miles per hour?
Actually, it was a little less than that.
Lots of people can run faster than 10 miles per hour.
Why were passengers so worried?
Ah, you know, new things sometimes make people nervous.
But they got over it and...
As steam locomotives became more popular, by the 1850s they were moving much faster, too.
50 miles per hour or more, around the speed people drive on a highway.
That's better.
So how does a steam locomotive work?
It's quite brilliant, actually.
You get a good fire burning in the firebox which is right off the cab, basically the command center of the locomotive.
That fire heats water in a nearby boiler to create steam.
The steam travels into cylinders on the train and moves rods called pistons, which turn the wheels.
The wheels travel on rails currently made of steel, a metal that can be easily shaped to handle curves.
The rails were bolted to wooden or concrete supports, called ties or sleepers, and are set parallel to each other a little less than five feet apart, creating the classic train track.
Look,
The tracks rest on loose gravel or stones, which keep them in place and help the train move swiftly to its destination.
And what's our destination today?
Depends.
How much coal did you bring?
Um, I didn't bring any coal.
Wood?
No wood.
Oil?
I have a banana.
Got any water?
Yes, I have my Who Smarted water bottle which incidentally, is totally available at the Who Smarted merch store at whosmartedcom.
Yeah, but despite the shameless plug, that's not going to be enough.
Steam engines need a good supply of water.
And to heat that water, you need to burn a lot of coal, wood, or oil.
We're not exactly the most environmentally friendly trains.
Sorry, trusty narrator.
I'm gonna have to let you off at this station.
Um, how do I get back?
There's a train across the platform.
Bye now.
Oh, okay.
Bye.
Come on, Smarty Pants.
I see another train.
Hey, you need a ride?
Yes, I definitely do.
Hop on.
The name's Dottie.
Diesel Dottie.
Oh, hi, Dottie.
Tell me, what makes a diesel engine different than a steam engine?
First of all, I don't need no stinking wood or coal or oil to get me going.
I run off of diesel fuel, which is like gasoline, but thicker.
My engine burns that fuel to power a generator that creates electricity.
That electricity gets my motor going, which turn my wheels, usually with more power than a steam locomotive.
Us.
Diesels are also cheaper to maintain and create less pollution than steam engines.
Go daddy, yeah.
Just think how much yucky stuff those steam trains spewed into the air we breathe.
In the 1800s they were going practically everywhere in the united states.
Trains help connect cities and create more communities out west, Especially after the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1870s.
Suddenly, a trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast went from taking months to taking less than a week.
Whoa.
The USA was once a world leader in rail transportation.
But it's not anymore.
Most people use planes and cars to travel long distances today.
Smarty Pants, which country now has the largest number of train passengers?
Is it A, China, B, Germany, or C, India?
If you said A, China, you're right.
Oh, and they got some high-tech trains over there, too.
Real beauts.
But diesel trains like me, we've been chugging around since the early 1900s.
And we don't just carry passengers.
A lot of us are freight trains that carry coal, foods supplies and other things to many communities.
Something steam trains used to do.
That is, until us diesels and another type of train made steam engines practically obsolete.
Oh, yeah?
What other kind of train is that?
You'll find out here.
Thanks for riding with me.
Oh, thanks, Dottie.
Hmm, I don't know about that train over there.
Hmm.
I don't know about that train over there.
It's got flames shooting out of it.
And bats flying all around?
Uh, hello?
Yeah, that train seems too crazy for me.
I'm going to try another one.
You looking to go uptown, downtown, midtown, crosstown?
Downtown's good.
Okay, follow me.
I'll take us where you want to go.
Down these stairs?
Yep, there's a whole world underground.
Here we are.
Hey, let the passengers off first.
Oops, sorry.
Now get in.
Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
Welcome.
The name's Sammy Subway.
Hey, Sammy.
You're my third talking train today.
What do you want, a cookie?
According to Diesel Dottie, you and her rule the rails these days.
That's right.
A subway's an electric train.
And people in cities ride them all the time.
We use electric motors, like diesel trains, but unlike them, we don't get our power from fuel or from burning stuff.
Instead, remote power stations give us juice, aka electricity, through overhead cables or an extra rail, known as the third rail.
Don't get too close to it, though, or else POW!
It'll zap you bada bing bada boom bing bong.
Compared to diesel and steam trains, electric ones are faster, quieter, and more reliable.
And cleaner.
Why is the floor all sticky?
I can't help it if people spill stuff.
What'd they say?
Or that nobody fixes my PA system.
This is your stop.
Trains of the future.
You mean there's something beyond electric?
Oh, yeah.
Us.
Electric trains may be your subways, commuter rails and high-speed bullet trains like the ones in Japan, that can go 185 miles per hour.
But if you want a train that really flies, see my friend across the platform.
See ya.
Hmm, a train that flies?
Hello, welcome.
Would you like a ride?
Ooh, a robot voice and a sleek-looking train.
Smartypants, let's ride the rails of the future together right after this quick break.
Hey Smarty Pants, Trusty Narrator here.
Spring is here and you know what that means on the farm.
Baby chicks hatching inside their eggs, calves moving into their tiny little houses, flowers figuring out when it's time to wake up.
And yes, that smell.
You know the one.
We'll see you next time visiting baby calves.
And yes, we are going to talk about why farms smell funny in the spring.
And trust me, once you know the reason, you'll never look at your garden the same way again.
See what I mean?
That's Super Smart Farm Show a family podcast that answers every question you never knew you had about farms, animals and food.
Playful, curious and genuinely smart from the Lancaster Farming team, who've been covering agriculture since 1955.
Find Super Smart Farm Show wherever you get your podcasts or at lancasterfarming.com.
Hey there, smarty pants, smarty parents, and smarty families.
I've got some exciting news to share.
And best of all, it's all because of you.
Thanks to all of you listening, laughing and smarting with us.
Whosmarted is now over 1 million downloads a month.
If that sounds like a lot, that's because it is.
I couldn't be happier to share this news with you, our smarty fans.
But that's not all.
I want to celebrate this moment with you by offering 50% off a Whosmarted Plus subscription.
For the next week, a yearly subscription to Who Smarted Plus is half off the regular price.
You'll get a year of bonus smarting and ad-free listening for only $19.99.
Doing some quick math, that's only $1.66 a month.
Look, I can't even get a slice of decent pizza for that.
To help support Who Smarted and get weekly subscriber-only episodes and ad-free listening for 50 off, Go to whosmartedcom, click subscribe to Whosmarted Plus, choose the annual plan and enter promo code SMART20.
That's whosmartedcom.
Click subscribe to Whosmarted Plus, choose the annual plan and enter promo code SMART20.
Thank you so much for being part of our Smarty family and smarting with us.
Once again, that's whosmarted.com.
Subscribe to Whosmarted Plus, choose the annual plan, and use promo code SMART20 for 50% off.
But hurry, this offer expires soon.
Now back to Whosmarted.
I'm with my new friend.
Sorry, I didn't catch your name.
I'm Maggie.
A maglev high-speed train.
I don't have any wheels.
No wheels?
Then how do you move?
Is it with A. Rockets, B. Propellers, or C. Magnets?
Oh, the answer is C. Magnets.
Correct.
Maglev is short for magnetic levitation.
Using magnet forces, I actually float above the tracks, eliminating friction that slows trains down.
In other words, maglev trains can truly fly at speeds that were once unthinkable.
Where would you like to go?
I don't know.
Paris?
London?
Moscow?
Brazil?
South Africa?
How about Shanghai, China?
Oh, I've always wanted to go to Australia.
Shanghai it is.
Thanks for riding the Shanghai high-speed maglev train.
Serving, Shanghai.
Ah yes, there are only six maglev train systems in the world, all in Asia, and only the Shanghai one is high speed.
I can go 286 miles or 460 kilometers per hour.
China is building track for a new train that can go 373 miles or 600 kilometers per hour.
Wow, that's over twice as fast as a bullet train.
At that speed, you'd be able to cross the United States in less than eight hours.
Whoa.
Sadly, there are no maglev trains in the USA yet.
The problem with these trains is that they require entirely new track, so everything would need to be built from scratch.
Yes, but maglevs make little noise and don't require much maintenance.
We also create little or no air pollution.
We're helping the planet.
I'll say which is why China is expanding its network with plans for more high-speed maglev trains in other countries like Japan and Germany.
Maybe someday you'll be able to take one of those home.
Welcome to Shanghai.
Oh, well, I guess I could use a vacation.
A full speed ahead shout out to Hyatt, Hope, and Miles in Naperville, Illinois.
Thanks for smarting with us morning, day, and night.
It's great to hear that you keep on learning new things every single day.
That is some next level smarting right there.
This episode Trains was written by Dave Beaudry and voiced by Chris Okawa, Jenna Chuchu-Hobin, Max Kamaski and Jerry Colbert.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn.
Who Smarted? is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Caboose Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis.
Who Smarted? was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
Who's smarter?
Hey there, smarty pants, smarty parents, and smarty families.
I've got some exciting news to share.
And best of all, it's all because of you.
Thanks to all of you listening, laughing and smarting with us.
Whosmarted is now over 1 million downloads a month.
If that sounds like a lot, that's because it is.
I couldn't be happier to share this news with you, our Smarty fans.
But that's not all.
I want to celebrate this moment with you by offering 50% off a WhoSmarted Plus subscription.
For the next week, a yearly subscription to Who Smarted Plus is half off the regular price.
You'll get a year of bonus smarting and ad-free listening for only $19.99.
Doing some quick math, that's only $1.66 a month.
Look, I can't even get a slice of decent pizza for that.
To help support Who Smarted and get weekly subscriber-only episodes and ad-free listening for 50 off, Go to whosmartedcom, click subscribe to Whosmarted Plus, choose the annual plan and enter promo code SMART20.
That's whosmartedcom.
Click subscribe to Whosmarted Plus, choose the annual plan and enter promo code SMART20.
Thank you so much for being part of our Smarty family and smarting with us.
Once again, that's whosmarted.com.
Subscribe to Whosmarted Plus, choose the annual plan, and use promo code SMART20 for 50% off.
But hurry, this offer expires soon.
