WWDTM: Moe Wagner, Lewis Black, Rose Matafeo, and Atlas Obscura

0:00Support for NPR and the following message come from Jarl and Pamela Moen, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and those who listen.

0:14From NPR and WBEC Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm the man who causes a heat wave just by introducing himself.

0:31I'm Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sago. Thank you, Bill. And thanks, everybody. It is time for our summer break, which we started doing at this time because no news ever happens in August. So, you know, we might as well take some time off. Now, that is not true anymore, but we still keep up the tradition. The only difference is now we don't tell anybody where we're going. That way the news can't find us. Well, we're hiding behind window shades and screening our calls. We will be bringing you some extended versions of our favorite moments from this past year.

1:12Starting with this conversation with comedian Louis Black, who joined us on stage in Durham, North Carolina. Peter, ask him if his angry rants were always part of his act. I wasn't angry on stage. I realized that I was suppressing the anger. I was really irritated about a lot of stuff. But instead of like yelling, when I would yell, I would turn my back to the audience and yell at the wall because it seemed freaky to yell at people. And I went to a variety of things, trying all sorts of personas. And then finally, as I was rolling along, a friend of mine, another comic came up who was, and he said, you know, you're really angry, and you should let it come out.

2:01You should go on stage and yell everything. and he said, I'm on stage yelling all the time and nothing that I'm yelling about should anybody be angry about. Right. I mean, this is a guy who put plumber's helpers on his head. And so I did it. And it literally was, I went, that's it. There's you go. So your life was changed by Gallagher. That's amazing. Who knew? So, I mean, they used to say about Don Rickles who did insult comedy that he was an absolute sweetheart in real life, nicest guy you ever met. Is that like you? Are you like actually in real life not that angry? No, I mean, who could be that angry?

2:40It's exhausting. I thought you actually. I thought you were the best at it. Well, I am, I wake up and either, I'm looking at a newspaper, I'm turning the TV on or I'm looking at my phone and within five minutes I'm livid. Something has occurred that has driven me completely nuts. Yeah. I think everybody listening and watching you right now have had that experience, but none of us have figured out how to make a living at it. Yeah. You don't work up to it. You don't go like, I'm going to be irked first and then slightly annoyed, just straight to rage. Oh, yeah. There's no pedal. That's broke. Lou, I don't know if I ever told you this, and to everyone, Louis Black is a friend and one of my comedy heroes.

3:31I had to stop watching you so I didn't do you. Because the rants just come out and then you realize like, wow, I'm as mad as Louis Black. I'm doing really good here. I got to calm down a notch. Love you, man. Love you from day one. The same. You've become so well known for it and so successful at it. It's what people expect. And I'm wondering if it's ever like hard. if you ever have to take a moment, meditate, and find your unhappy place. No. Just always right there. And I'm sure you've experienced the same. I could be standing off stage talking to somebody about their new dog, or you've got a puppy, and kind of be waxing on with them about it, and then it's like showtime.

4:21And literally, that's it. Boom, and now we're off. I just started. Wow. It's just the way it is. I mean, I've been doing it so long, it's automatic. Do people like, because you're well-known and beloved, do people ever come up to you and go, wow, Louis Black, hey, condemn me. People, I have achieved something that is so bizarre, they will actually tell me, and I can't, will they just say, what happens if I say the word? You can do whatever you want, because who'll know? Okay, so they will say, could you write, could you give me an autograph for my brother-in-law and just write, f*** Tommy. I'm like, okay.

5:06And I have literally was approached time after time. Can we take a picture? Do you want to do this? Yeah, let's do this. It's true. Yeah. The radio listeners, a rude gesture was made. The people come up to you and go, oh, you're so much nicer in person. Yeah, you get it. Is he supposed to be yelling at an airport? The big discovery at the airport, and makes it a little weird, is if I go up to people who are screaming at the person behind the desk, and I'm the one who comes up and goes, stop. They're not going to listen to you. It took me a long time to learn this. Back off. Back off. The one thing that we found out about you that I was genuinely surprised by is that you have been the paid spokesman for Aruba, the island of vacation destination.

5:57Yeah. God bless. Yeah. That was a great gig. I bet it was. It really was. But I'm thinking to myself, like, what was the process where, like, some advertising agency said, okay, Aruba, beautiful, lovely, laid back, I know, Louis Black. The idea was that I obviously hated everything, but I liked Aruba. And reason enough for everyone to get on a plane and go there. I remember the slogan, Aruba, it's f***ing gorgeous.

6:34Was the idea like it transformed you so they'd say, like, Mr. Black, I'm afraid we've lost your hotel reservation, you can't stay. And you'd be like, okay. It was really something. But we shot, you know, it was like we shot five ads in like three days. It was a lot. Oh, yeah. Tough three days in Aruba. But it was 110 degrees and get me some sunblock. And does anybody have an umbrella? It's, I'm dying here. I love the idea. Like the whole idea of the campaign is that Aruba is so lovely. it can even make Lewis Black happy. And while making these ads, you are in fact miserable. It's genius! It really is.

7:22Because he's more Lewis Black than Aruba is Aruba. Exactly. Well, Lewis Black, what a pleasure to have you here. We have... Yes, it is! Yay! We have invited you here to play a game we're calling... Hush now. Stop your ranting and go to sleep. Since you're all about getting riled up, we thought we'd ask you three questions about calming people down, specifically babies. Oh, seriously? Seriously. So all you have to do is answer two out of three questions about shushing, and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of anyone they might like for their voicemail. Bill, who is Louis Black playing for?

8:08Jolene Dugas of Durham, North Carolina. All right. First question, most people, of course, soothe their babies to sleep with lullabies, and one lullaby written by a father for his own little baby went on to become incredibly famous. Most people know that lullaby as what? A, the theme from Jaws.

8:34The theme from Jeopardy. or C, Sir Mix-a-Lot's baby got back.

8:46I can't hear you. What I heard, E, you think it's C? It's B, right? It's got to be the Jeopardy thing. It is the Jeopardy thing. Lerb Griffin wrote it for his son, and he went on to create Jeopardy, and by virtue of it being used as the theme song for so long, Mr. Griffin earned about$70 million in royalties from it. Wow. What was the song? What were the words? No, there's no words. It's ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. No, they've got to be, go to sleep, you little prick.

9:30There has to be words. Now you owe Marv Griffin$3 million. There are words now. That was very well done. Two more questions here. Lullabies are common around the world, but they change as per different cultures. So, for example, a popular lullaby in Brazil has parents singing what to their child? A, someday you will grow up to improve your looks with plastic surgery. B, a monster crocodile is coming to get you. Or C, Sir Mix-a-Lot's baby got back, but in Portuguese. It's got to be the crocodile. It is the crocodile, yeah. A lot of, apparently, a lot of global lullabies threaten babies with terrible outcomes if they don't quiet down.

10:23Then I could have had a child. Yeah. You would have had a gift. Or falling out of a tree. Yeah, exactly. We've got that, but it adds nothing compared to the terrible fates awaiting sleepless babies around the world. All right, last question to be perfect. There are other ways to soothe babies. In fact, some parents swear by what soothing technique? A, playing YouTube videos to babies of Jim Cramer's show on CNBC. B, playing recordings of the baby's own crying back to them to see how they like it. Or C, placing them comfortably and snugly inside the gallon-size Stanley insulated cup. Wow. Yeah.

11:06I think they play the baby crying. You're exactly right. Yeah. What? Yeah, the idea is that babies are fascinated by other babies, even themselves, even when crying. So it works. Bill, how did Louis Black do in our quiz? No ranting about this. He won it all. Three in a row. Woo! Louis Black is a comedian, actor, and host of The Rampcast. You can find his tour dates at lewisblack.com. Lewis Black, thank you so much for being with us here in Durham. What a thrill Thank you

11:52When we come back, our panelists fell fresh never before aired lies to you and the team from Atlas Obscura gives you some last minute ideas for summer road trips That's when we return with more Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR Support for NPR and the following message come from Jarl and Pamela Moan, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen.

12:19From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago, Peter Sago. Thank you, Bill. Right now, we are on a beach somewhere. Idly wondering, if we were just to swim straight out, would we eventually get someplace better? This is Chicago, Peter, so the best you can do is Michigan. Well, we contemplate distant shores. Here's something worth staying home for. In June, we went to Portland, Maine, where we taped a bonus show we have held on to until just the right time, which is now. Here's a Bluff the Listener game with panelists Maz Jobrani, Joyelle, Nicole Johnson, and Shane O 'Neill, plus a visit from the founder and current CEO of Atlas Obscura.

13:18Right now, it is time for the Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Bluff the Listener game. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to play our game on the air, or check out the pinned post on our Instagram page, at Wait, Wait, and PR. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, I'm Brandon, and I'm calling from Asheville, North Carolina. I love Asheville, one of my very favorite places. What do you do there? I'm a veterinarian. Are you really? Do the people of Asheville, and I know they can be quirky, do they have normal pets or weird ones? Well, I think everyone has pretty weird pets, especially weird names. Crazy names for their pets.

13:51Can you give us an example? Well, I have a cinnamon toast brunch in my house.

13:58Well, welcome to the show, Brandon. You're going to play the game in which you have to tell truth from fiction. Bill, what is Brandon's topic? Makeovers in the news. The rules of a good makeover are easy. You start out looking terrible, then pow. Someone takes off your glasses and gives your shirt a French tuck, and you're perfect. This week, we heard about a glow-up so extraordinary it made the news. Pick the one who's telling the truth, and you'll win our prize. The wait of your choice in your voicemail. Are you ready to play? Yeah. Okay. First, let's hear from Joelle Nicole Johnson. The African nation of Burkina Faso is recently known for telling the French military au revoir.

14:34Turns out a country so good at kicking out colonizers is also good at kicking balls. Jersey accent. Their football team is called Les Etalons, which fittingly translates to the stallions. To boost ticket sales, Monique Sawadogo the new marketing manager decided their team uniforms should reflect their moniker. And the new makeover has the stadiums packed. The uniforms are so tapered you can see every outline of their perfect ball of bodies, which has female fans flocking to the games. And more women, but guess more men, showing up to shoot their shots at love. Sales are through the roof for the tickets and the games have turned into single date nights.

15:15Because what's a better dating strategy than saying you think that athlete is hot? Well, you're in luck. I'd look like that guy if he drank 50 beers a day. The Burkino Faso national football team gets sexy uniforms and people are flocking to the games. Your next head-turning headline comes from Shane O 'Neill. Visitors to the Basilica of St. Macarena in Seville, Spain, are in distress. No, it's not because confused visitors have been interrupting services at St. Macarena's by doing the 90s line dance, the amens drowned out by I. No, parishioners are disturbed that a statue of the Virgin Mary has gotten a little too much work done After a 17th century statue at the church was renovated and revealed to the public on June 21st The verdict was in, Mother Mary, you are too snatched The new Mary is visibly smoother and younger looking Even though she says she's just been praying the rosary and getting lots of sleep Locals are in disarray over the Mary makeover with many people literally brought to tears over it.

16:18It's the new summer goal, being so hot it's sacrilegious. A Madonna in Seville, Spain gets a glow-up and people are very unhappy. Your last madcap makeover comes from Maz Jobrani. What makes the Leaning Tower of Pisa such an interesting sight to see is the fact that the tower in Pisa is leaning. So what happens when you take the lean out of the tower? That question was answered when Piero Di Luigi Scaldoni, a designer hired to renovate the tower, accidentally made it straight. The confusion came about when someone delivered him the work order that read, quote, fix the angle, singular, instead of fix the angles, plural.

17:03The intention had been for him to smooth out the angles on the inside where the floors meet the walls, but instead he fixed the whole darn thing. When the scaffolding came down and the townspeople saw the finished product, they were mortified. One local said, we come to celebrate and I see it and I'm like, mamma mia, this isn't the leaning tower of Pisa, it's just the tower of Pisa. So the townspeople have gotten together to figure out how they can get the tower to re-lean. The latest effort involved using 10 Alfa Romeos tied with ropes around the top of the tower to see if they could pull it back.

17:37Watching the effort, the local said, I feel like I'm watching the Wile E. Coyote trying to catch the roadrunner. It's not going to work. And just as he said that, one of the cars honked, beep, beep.

17:51All right, these are your choices. Somewhere, somebody got a makeover. Was it from Joelle Niko Johnson, the Burkina Faso football team, who were looking pretty good in their new uniforms. From Shane O 'Neill, a famous Madonna in Seville, Spain, which is looking really great. Or from Mazdobrani, somebody trying to, you know, restore the leaning tower of Pisa, made it straight. I think I'm going to go with Shane. You're going to go with Shane's story of the Madonna that got the glow up, making people there very unhappy at her youthful beauty. All right. Well, to bring you the real story, here's someone who covered it.

18:31She is famously known for being the most beautiful virgin. But last week, something changed. That was Shelby in Sevilla, a tour guide in Sevilla, Spain, giving the rundown on the yassified Virgin Mary. Congratulations, you got it right. Shane earned a point. Woo! Just for telling the truth in a colorful way. And you have earned our prize, the voice of anyone you might choose for your voicemail. Well done, sir. Great, thanks so much. Thank you so much, too. And give our best to Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

19:08And now the game where we ask experts about things they know nothing about. In 2009, filmmaker Dylan Thuris co-founded Atlas Obscura, a website dedicated to less well-known destinations around the world. So if you're bored of Disney World, how about taking your kids to the Yeti Skull of Kumjung or the grave of the Paste Eater of Nevada? They published a best-selling book and they host a podcast and they have spent 16 years finding the most exotic places in the world and flooding them with tourists. We are delighted to be joined by Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thurse and the CEO, Louise Story.

19:44Welcome to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thanks for having us. Thanks for having us. So for people who don't know Atlas Obscura, and they can go on their website anytime, let's start with an example. Here we are in Portland, Maine. Sure. Where would Atlas Obscura tell you to go if you came to Portland, Maine? Well, why don't you tell your story, Louise? You were just there today. Well, so, you know, I just joined the company a couple months ago. I'm trying to get totally in the DNA, and I go to the Atlas coming up here to see where can I go that I never have been before in Portland, and I find the Cryptozoology Museum.

20:17There you go. I didn't know it was here. And what do you see at the Cryptozoology Museum? Well, you see different recreations of some of these animals. Actually, you're an expert on this, Dylan. So it's yetis. Actually, you know it's at the Cryptozoology Museum. They have a letter from Jimmy Stewart because Jimmy Stewart helped smuggle out what they thought was a Yeti finger in his wife's lingerie from Nepal, and he brought it back to the UK. Wow. So here you go. What was it? I believe it was a human finger. It was just a normal finger bone. So the idea, of course, of Atlas Obscura, that's a good example, is if you want to go someplace, but you want to see someplace that is unusual, that's not on the beaten path.

20:58That's right. But it is all kinds of things. You know, really, everyone has their own obscura. So, for example, another place here in Portland is the bead museum. So if you're really into jewelry and beading, there's probably the best bead museum in the world here. How many bead museums are there, though? More than you'd imagine. More than you'd imagine. So, Dylan, you founded this thing back in 2009 with Josh Forrest. So what was the inspiration? You know, Josh and I both grew up doing this kind of travel. I grew up in the Midwest. and my big yes from Minnesota originally and you know the big summer trips were not we were not getting on a plane we were getting in a car and driving for 12 hours right and then it would be like after 12 hours it would be like the corn palace if you like corn you know it's got what you need and and but on these trips we went to some places that I've never forgotten there's a place in Wisconsin called the house on the rock yeah oh the house on the rock yes big deal People who know it know it.

21:58It's one of the craziest places I've ever been. It's got the world's sculpture the size of the Statue of Liberty of a squid fighting a whale inside the house. It's got the world's largest carousel inside the house. Anyway. It's the closest you can come to doing acid without doing acid. Correct. Yes, that's exactly right. So, you know, I was going to go on a big trip, and Josh and I started talking and said, how come there's not a great travel resource for these kinds of interesting, unusual places? Like, these are the best places you go when you take a trip. And so we started putting it together.

22:29And 16 years later, here we still are. Here we still are. So in your years of doing this, can you give me, like, your favorite of, like, the places you've discovered? I'm going to give you a recommendation personally. Okay, please, please. You're from New Jersey, right? Originally from New Jersey, yes. Okay. This is one of my favorite places in New Jersey. Okay, if you go to Montclair. Montclair, New Jersey, not far from where I grew up. Yep. There's a diner in Montclair. go to the diner, and tune your radio to 91.9. Okay. And for about a mile circumference, there's a radio station that for 15 years has been playing the boys to men song, I'll Make Love to You, over and over again, nonstop.

23:10And you are recommending. I don't know about that. Have we met before? Or had I done something to you? I just thought you might like it. I just thought this would be fun for you. I shall point out that many of the places that you point out as excellent places to go visit are, well, let's just say they're not traditionally enjoyable. So, for example... That's not true. We cover all kinds of wonderful things. Didn't you write about, like, going to Minneapolis and getting to a place that you've really always wanted to get into, which is like an underground lake of sewage? Oh. Well... Dylan, I'm not going to this one, okay?

23:50No. My favorite place in Minneapolis, actually, is a place called the World's Quietest Room. The World's Quietest Room. Yeah, and it is a sound chamber in a... I've spent time in Minneapolis. That's like any Minnesotan family with issues. Yeah, that's my Christmas. Yeah, pretty much. You go into this chamber, and it really is... If you sit there for half an hour, you can hear your eyebrows move, and it's a very strange experience. Does your app rank the site for safety? No. Absolutely not. No, thank you. But maybe that's a good feature. I think noted. Have you ever gotten a complaint for ruining someplace?

24:31No, honestly, what we find is a lot of these places, these small museums, these kind of outsider art projects, they actually die from under love. And the whole point of the idea is that if you go a little farther and you kind of go to that strange little place that first sounds like, what is this? What is going to happen here? You actually end up having these really beautiful travel experiences. I have two questions. So first of all, I'd like to return to the cryptozoology museum. Are we sure these are recreations? Because if I were a Yeti, I would just hide out at the cryptozoology museum and be like, I'm just holding still for 30 years.

25:08Yes, exactly. Or just be like, no, no, I'm just an actor. Are we sure these are recreations? Good question. This is a very good question. Second question. what has not made the cut? Have there been people where you're like, oh, I'm sorry, girl, but the paperclip pile is not going to go into Atlas Obscura? We'd probably put that in. No, yes, sometimes people just enter whole states. They're like Kansas. And you're like, that's a little too broad for us. It should be more specific than that. Kansas? People are like, hey, guys, Atlas Obscura, I've got the most amazing obscure place no one's ever heard of to visit.