"Hidden Birds" w/ Ben Bowlin

Published Jan 10, 2024, 9:00 AM

Hello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: host of "Stuff They Don't Want You to Know" and "Ridiculous History", Ben Bowlin!

Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals such as “Ask Chat GPT” and audio rebuses.

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"The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs" is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is a co-production with Neuhaus Ideas. 

Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas, and Lindsay Hoffman of iHeart Podcasts.

The show is produced by Jody Avirgan and Brittani Brown of Roulette Productions. 

Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.

Hello, puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler Podcast the cool cup of Gatorade at the end of your puzzle marathon. I'm your host, AJ Jacobs, and I am here with our guest, Ben Bolin, podcasting legend. He's the creator and co host of the ridiculously popular Ridiculous History and Stuff They Don't Want You To Know and many other things. Welcome Ben, Aj, thank you for having me.

I can't believe. Earlier I was saying, Ooh, I got a second date. Things are getting serious. This is number three.

This is three. This is where things happen according to to I don't know some rule. Well, Ben, we talked a little about your name, but I want to talk more about it because I love it. And our associate puzzler Andrea Schomberg, noticed something interesting in your which is that there is a bird hidden in your name and your last name.

Oh okay, a three letter bird. Oh oh okay. Yeah, I was thinking about the wrong way. I was like, nil, wob, that's not a bird.

I think we're talking about owl owl exactly. So are you a fan of owl? Have you overcovered any owls in conspiracies or history? I'm trying to think of I can't think of one.

They are one of my very favorite birds, up there with Corvitz. I think they're let's see. You know what, if we haven't done something on owls, especially the folklore, then we should. I recently learned that apparently it is a sign an ominous portent to hear an owl hoot at night.

Oh interesting, But wait what, I don't you said a bird? And I feel like an idiot because a corvid?

What the generic off label name for any kind of raven or crow? Okay, obviously, between us, the two coolest are the ravens and the crows because they're just so smart.

And I know that there's a murder of crows, which is the plural noun people like that. But I don't know what the raven is?

Do you?

Maybe Andrea can tell us?

Oh dude, it is so weird.

Oh you know.

The group name for I'm Into This World AJ. The group name for a collection of ravens is in unkindness.

Oh in unkind I love that.

Yeah, but it's super awkward if you try to use it in a story.

Right, it is, And it's also a little bit anti raven I mean, are they really unkind I guess they're predators, but it seems I actually prefer the owls, the Parliament of owls.

That's like, oh, that's so classy.

Yeah, that's classy, and they're whys.

All right.

Well, we've got lots more birds, because Andrea's puzzle is all about other famous people who have names that contain a hidden bird. So let me give you a couple and see what happens. All right. So this one, well, this one I'm gonna start with because it seems appropriate. This master of horror. So a director of horror directed some iconic slasher films, which is appropriate because the bird hidden in his name has its own horror bona fides, including being the title character in a famous spooky poem by Edgar Allan Poe. So the bird is in the Edgar Allan Poe poem and the celebrity is a director.

Oh my gosh, uh oh, why is this a tough one for me?

Okay, so you know the bird?

I think, yes, the bird is raven, right exactly.

It's in his last name.

Okay, and oh okay, this is okay. Let me just walk you through my thoughts real quick. All right. So I was a little bit primed because we were talking about birds and then Alfred Hitchcock made the birds in the name, you know, and it's confusing that well well, because we also talked a little bit about some normans in a previous episode earlier this week, and it took me a long time. I was making up names in my head. I was like, maybe there's some guy who's named like I don't know, John Ravencroft, which is not a real thing. I think we were instead talking about the man, the myth, the legend, mister west Craven.

That is correct, that is correct, which there was a long walk for them. No, listen, I love it. I love being inside your mind and I and I do. I like that it's an appropriate bird for it seems like an appropriate like you don't want him to have, like like you know, the Bluebird of Happiness for a cover director. All right, let me try another. All right, here's a theoretical physicist. He wrote a brief History of Time where he talks about how time slows down when you reach high speeds. And that's appropriate because this bird sometimes reaches one hundred and twenty miles per hour when diving.

Okay, I do not know of any famous physicist or stem type person with the last name Penguin. And I don't know much about the swimming speed.

Oh I think I set you down the wrong road. Diving not in the water, but diving free falling almost in the air.

Ah well, this changes it, This changes things, my friend, because I believe for any fellow armchair or anthology just hearing that idea about diving at great speed. Also with the excellent hint about one of the most famous books on physics that exist in the modern world, we have no other choice but Stephen Hawking, Hawky Hawking.

That is correct. You've got it. Are you ready for one more? Maybe even two?

Okay, Yeah, I'm in it. I'm trying, all.

Right, you're not trying, You're succeeding. All right. Let me give you this one. Jonathan Swift. By the way, Swift is the name of a bird, but that's just a coincidence. That's just a bonus for the listeners. Jonathan Swift wrote a famous novel about this man who traveled the world by ship and probably saw a lot of these seafaring birds when he was on his ship.

Yes, yes, yes, Not to make a giant out of a little a pusha think. Oh my gosh, I know part of the name of the book.

I know, you know what. I'm not even gonna ask the first name. All I want is the second name.

Oh, the last name.

Okay, that was a close one. I was parally, perilously close to batching my record here on the puzzler. I believe we're talking about the main character of Gulliver's travels. Insert first name here, Gulliver.

That is right, insert first name Gulliver and I actually looked up Gulliver's first name, and now I've forgotten it. It's something like Lemur Lemuele. Andrea, can you tell us what it is, because yeah, it's embarrassing. I knew it about three hours ago. All right, Lemuel, Lemuel, lemull Lemuell. Okay, oh my gosh.

Quick quick side note. This is just a mental note for me and you and everybody listening. I have a longtime close from high school. His name is Lemuel, and Lemuel, if you're hearing this, I owe you an apology. I called your name weird, and I was an absolute thunderhead about it because I have no idea that you inherited part of literary candidate.

That is so it. I've never met a Lemuel, but I love that you know one, and I'm sure the apology is accepted. All right, Well that I'm going to end there, end on a high note. Maybe when next time we have a celebrity who has a hidden like next time we have Charlie's there on whether Aaron he can have her. But before we do that, tell us more where people can hear more of you.

Absolutely, you can find me Monday through Friday on stuff they don't want you to know, which is our podcast applying critical thinking to all the weird, strange things that you might have heard about on the Twilight Zone or maybe even the X Files. If you would like to learn some obscure, strange dare I say, ridiculous history, check out our podcast named in a Burst of creativity, Ridiculous History out two times a week bi weekly. Oh that's a confusing word.

I think it is bi weekly.

Yeah, and check out.

Guest appearance from our very own AJ Jacobs coming very soon.

Well, thank you. I can't wait. And I love the straight ahead names. You know, this is the puzzler. We're not trying to We try to confuse you with puzzles, but not with the title, so ridiculous History is perfect all right, and an extra credit for those of you at home. This director is known for movies about fights and serial killers, which is appropriate since the bird hidden in his name is known for exemplifying survival of the fittest. So there you go, tell us what that is. You'll find out next episode, and please don't forget Subscribe to the Puzzler podcast and we'll see you here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.

Hello puzzlers. Greg Pliska here from the Puzzle Lab with the answer to last episode's extra credit. We played with podcaster Ben Bolan ridiculously wrong history, where someone has misunderstood the nature of a historical event or historical subject and we gave you the clue to what they thought it was about. In this case, we gave you the clue. This was a policy position that every Hollywood movie should try to have a blonde bombshell with a breathy voice. That, of course, is the well known Monroe doctrine, named for actress Marilyn Monroe, not as in the actual case for the president. Hope you enjoyed that one. We're very glad to have you with us, See you next time.

The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs

Finally, your daily puzzle fix—in audio form! Every day, New York Times bestselling author A.J. Jaco 
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