WWDTM: Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper

24:20But you're relatively young. And as you said, your customers, some of them must be very elderly. Your store has been there for a long time. Do they ever give you a hard time? Like, what are you doing? That's not how you do that here. That's not how you slice a schmaltz herring. Let me show you. Yes.

24:40Our customers, for, you know, if someone that's been shopping there for 60 years, longer than I am alive, have a lot to say about how we're doing things. We have created the most difficult customers in the world, I like to say. For better or for worse. Have they ever given you any good wisdom to chew on? I'm sure they have. I could not. I mean, of course, every stereotype of elderly Jews is running into my head. It's like, here's a tip for you. This is cheaper across the street. For those who haven't been to the original store, it's a small store. It's long. It's narrow. There's a very long line, right?

25:18And so when you get to the front, you don't want to waste time, right? So can you guys tell me the appropriate way to order your bagel or your sliced fish like a professional? Know what you want ahead of time. You can ask for a taste of one kind of salmon, but don't ask for three or four. Look at the bagels and know what kind of bagel you want. So we don't have to say poppy plain, sesame onion, everything, whole wheat, pumpernickel, and go through the whole list. This is how we would like people to order. But the true professional is the 85-year-old man or woman that comes in and says, give me a taste of every single type of salmon.

26:05And can I get a taste of a bagel? And then they walk out.

26:11One last question. Obvious idea for you guys. You go to Dunkin' Donuts. They got your donuts. You got your donut holes. I've never been to an appetizing where they have bagels and bagel holes. Why not? That's very funny. We just taught a bagel class with a bunch of people and we're rolling bagels by hand and showing people how to roll bagels by hand. And then there are all these misshapen, funny bagels that people rolled by hands. And then there was this little ball. And I was like, who made this one? And this woman raised her hand. I was like, what is this, a bagel hole? We have never tried it, but I think that might be being baked right now.

26:50Yeah, I was about to say, you have to split the royalties between that lady and me. Innovation comes to us and daughters once every 100 years. Exactly. And it's due. Well, Nikki and Josh, it is a pleasure to kibitz with you about bagels and such. But we have asked you here to play a game we're calling... Lox Meet Lox. We were both famous experts in picking out the most delicious lox. So we're going to ask you about an expert in picking the other kind of locks. That would be Harry Houdini. Answer two or three questions right, and you will win our prize for one of our listeners. Any voice they might choose for their voicemail.

27:27Bill, who are Nicky and Josh playing for? Ben Rill of Boston, Massachusetts. All right. Well, I'm glad he's from Boston. We won't feel so bad if we lose. There you are.

27:41Yeah. Here's your first question. and you were allowed to collaborate or argue, depending on how you get along. Houdini was, of course, the world's most famous escape artist, and he escaped from many unusual places during his career, including which of these? A, the belly of a whale, B, a working furnace, or C, a really awkward dinner party? I would say it's a working furnace. I agree. So you're thinking the working furnace that's on fire, he gets thrown in. No, it was the belly of a whale. What? A whale washed up on a shore in Boston and a bunch of rich businessmen, including a taxidermist, carried it to Houdini's theater and said, try to get out of that.

28:21And he did. And then he went back to Nineveh to preach the gospel. He did. Two more questions. Houdini actually challenged the public to come up with things for him to escape from. And it got dangerous. He almost died when he accepted one challenge to escape from a barrel filled with what? A, beer. B, bees. Or C, styrofoam peanuts. I would say beer. So what do you think, Nikki? Do you agree it's beer? I'll go, you know, in Cousin Unity, I'll stick with... We have a better chance. I think if we pick two, we could still win. So are you going to agree that it's beer? Yes. It is beer. Very good. Yes.

29:11He didn't drink, Houdini. So he swallowed some. That was a problem. And the carbon dioxide made it hard to breathe. And well, basically, he almost suffocated. But he got out. Your last question, if you get this right, you win. Houdini once sued a police officer who said that he bribed people to fake his escapes, right? Oh, he's not going to stand for that. So he sued. And he won his case by opening the judge's safe in the middle of the courtroom. Ta-da! He later revealed he pulled off this trick. How? A, Houdini had the exact same model of safe at home B, he had a friend look up the judge's wife's birthday ahead of time so he could figure out the combination or C, the safe wasn't locked to begin with Here you go, Peggy What do you got?

29:57Put it on me I think it's the wife's birthday because I'm really bad about coming up with good passwords I also shouldn't be telling this to Russ and Daughters.

30:14Password one. I think it wasn't locked. You think it wasn't locked. So, Nikki, you're going to go for the wife's birthday to just randomly guess the combination. Yeah, let's divide and conquer on this one. Very good. Actually, it turns out that Josh was right. It wasn't locked. They brought out the safe. He said, ta-da, and he opened it up. Won the case. Everybody was amazed. and Houdini later revealed, actually, it wasn't even locked. There you go. Bill, how did Nicky and Josh do in our quiz? Two out of three. That means you're a winner. We'll pay you in bagels. Yes. Polls to Newcastle. Oh, and by the way, before we let you go, Nicky, what is your birthday?

30:59Nicky Russ Fetterman and Josh Russ Tupper are the owners of Russ and Daughters, the legendary store in New York, and two of the authors of Russ and Daughters, A Hundred Years of Appetizing, A New Cookbook. Nikki Russ Fetterman and Josh Rustupper, thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Talk. Thank you. Such a pleasure to talk to you. Thanks for having us. I look forward to coming by the next time and taking my number. See you soon. Bye-bye. Thanks, Josh.

31:29In just a minute, what a tangled web we weave in our Listener Limerick Challenge game. Call 1-888-Wait-Wait to join us in the air. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.

31:51From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. We are playing this week with Faith Seeley, Zach Zimmerman, and Joyelle Nicole Johnson. And here again, as your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, is Peter Sagal. Thank you so much, Bill. Thank you, everybody. In just a minute, Bill is named Poet Laureate of our show in the Listener Limerick Challenge game. If you'd like to play, give us a call at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. Right now, panel, some more questions for you from the week's news. Joyelle, you know, we have bodybuilding competitions, right?

32:32We have CrossFit tournaments, world's strongest man tournaments. The latest thing in contests is to test the strength of what? Like a bike seat. No. I'm sorry. Out of the universe of things that the answer could be to test the strength of, you chose a bicycle seat? Listen, bicycle seats are racist and sexist. I will say this. they are not for a black woman's butt, okay? I need a new bicycle seat. Bicycle seat, final answer. I'd say it was right if I was you, Peter. No, you're right. Yeah, bicycle seats. No, I'll give you a hint. Oh, he's yippy, but he's a dynamo. Dogs? Yeah, little tiny dogs. The strength of a dog?

33:24The strength of chihuahuas. What are you, box them? and like box them up? Or how you find out you put like weights on them? Sort of, kind of. This is the 10 pounds and under division of the North American Weight Pull Association Championships. Top chihuahuas can pull over 50 times their own body weight. Whoa. That is the equivalent of an adult male also doing something he really shouldn't be doing. Is Peter aware of this? Because that sounds like they would be upset. Do these chihuahuas want to do this? Apparently, they're enthusiastic. I mean, all dogs want to work, right? I mean, it does seem like the kind of thing you do for dogs in the Iditarod, and it's so cool to see chihuahuas doing it, because usually they're the sort of thing that is fed to the dogs in the Iditarod.

34:08Zach, I have a question for you. Zach, just weeks after the famous heist at the Louvre Museum, the museum suffered another embarrassment this week, as two men managed to get inside and do what? It wouldn't have been a robbery. No, in many ways, it was the opposite of a robbery. A gift. Yes, they actually broke into the Louvre to hang up one of their own paintings. And not only that, but they hung it in the same room with the Mona Lisa. So these two Belgian pranksters managed to sneak a framed self-portrait of the two of them into the museum, and they hung it next to the Da Vinci masterpiece. Staff knew that something had to be wrong when they noticed people leaving the Mona Lisa room not looking disappointed.

34:53Damn, Leo catching strays Anyway, the painting was up on the wall for less than three minutes Before security noticed what was going on And sent a team to take it down And while they were doing that A second pair of people managed to steal another$100 million Zach, this week we learned about a new clothing line That the fashion world is obsessed with It's a collection of knitwear made exclusively from the wool of sheep, which are what? The wool of sheep, which are boys. They are boys, all of them. Gay sheep. They are, in fact, gay sheep. Wow. This feels... Targeted. Are these randomly assigned?

35:38This feels quite targeted, I might say. And that's in bad taste.

35:47It turns out sheep, just like humans, do gay stuff. A bunch. And to celebrate this, a fashion designer and the app grinder teamed... I was going to call it a dating app. Is that right? It's a meditation app for everybody. Considering. They teamed up to debut a 37-piece knitwear collection made exclusively from the wool of gay rams. I love the casting call. All right. Let's see what you got. Never mind. How do you confirm that they're gay? Are they self-identifying? Well, one is wearing a Native American headdress. One is wearing a mustache and looks like a police officer. So basically the way it works is any given flock of sheep has a lot of ewes, but not many rams.

36:33And sometimes the rams just aren't interested. They call them confirmed bachelors. You started it. Don't you dare. Don't you dare give me that. Everybody sit down. There's no reason to clap so loudly for that. Standing ovation, you're too kind to Peter.

36:57Coming up, it's Lightning Fill in the Blank, but first it's the game where you have to listen for the rhyme. If you'd like to play on air, call or leave a message at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. You can see us most weeks right here at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago. Or please catch us on the road. We'll be in Phoenix, Arizona on December 4th. For tickets and information about all our live events, go to nprpresents.org. Hi, everyone. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Emma, and I'm calling from Syracuse, New York. Syracuse is a lovely place upstate. Yes, very snowy. I ask with some anticipation, what do you do there?

37:35I am an orchestra teacher. Huzzah! Pew, pew, pew.

37:44You said you teach orchestra in middle school? Yes, in elementary. Oh, wow. So the very beginners up until they get to high school. You are the most patient soul alive. Do you have to practice not cringing? My poker face is very good. I bet. I bet. Well, Emma, welcome to the show. Bill Curtis is going to read you three news-related limericks with a last word or phrase missing from each. If you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly on two of the limericks, you'll be a winner. You ready to go? I sure am. Here is your first limerick. These silky strands flutter and ebb. Its makers are spider celebs.

38:25This underground cave is an insect's mass grave. We've just found the world's largest... Web. Right! Yes. Scientists have discovered the biggest spider web of all time. And no, it is in a cave in Europe. It is not the one you just walked into in your garage. It's massive. It covers more than 1 ,000 square feet. It has a three-car garage and an open concept kitchen. Do they know how many spiders made it? Tens of thousands. Oh, my gosh. And spiders are down there. And what I'm thinking about is like tens of thousands of spiders make a big web. Like how many flies do they expect to be dumb enough to go down there, right?

39:08Yeah. Did it say some, some, some, really, really? That is some pig. Here is your next limerick. This king of the beasts and his scion might take fingers or hands as a buy-in. This feline cafe has large beasts of prey. Grab a snack and try petting a... Lion. Yes, a lion. For anyone who loves a cat cafe but feels they lack an element of danger, there's a new lion cafe in China. For just$150, guests are invited to eat and drink while cuddling up with lions. You get a four-course meal complete with drink pairings. Bad news, you are the fourth course. Are they sedated? No. What the heck? Now, they are lion cubs.

40:04real baby lines right the only real danger let's be honest is like too many people picking up the damn thing holding it up and start singing the song from the lion sing it

40:22absolutely not alright here is your last limerick see Sam my best friend just go flutter by don't sigh roll your eyes and then mutter why. Does he go really far or just to a bar? I am tracking my personal... Fly? A kind of fly rhymes with flutter by. Oh, butterfly. Butterfly, yes. We can now track individual monarch butterflies as they migrate thousands of miles to and from Mexico. Scientists are able to do this thanks to tiny, tiny little sensors, each about the size of three grains of rice that can be attached to the butterfly. Best part, all of this information from these thousands of butterflies as they fly is available in real time to any of us via an app.

41:17So if you have a special monarch in your life, you can find out if it's cheating on you. Let's get engaged. Here's a butterfly that I want you to keep on you at all times. Bill, how did Emma do on our quiz? Emma orchestrated that perfectly. Three in a row. What a win. Well done, Emma. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks for playing.

41:51We have arrived at our final game, Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as they can. And each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores? Faith has two. Joyelle and Zach each have three. Okay. So, Faith, you are in second place. That means you're up first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, President Trump signed a bill to release all the blank files. Epstein. Right. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council adopted the U.S.'s peace plan for blank.

42:20Gaza. Right. This week, the White House hosted a lavish state visit for the crown prince of blank. Saudi Arabia. Right. On Monday, the new Prime Minister of Blank said she only sleeps two hours a night. Oh. Oh. New Zealand? No, Japan. This week, a man in China who cryogenically froze his wife in 2017 has announced blank. Oh, that he's in love with somebody new. Yes, he is. And people are mad. According to health experts, a new variant means the U.S. is in for a severe blank season. Flu. Right. On Tuesday, it was announced that after 40 years, Cher would once again be the musical guest on blank.

42:56Once again? Yes. On the Sonny and Cher show? No. Come on. Oh, if I could turn back time. Saturday Night Live. This week, a man in France took a wrong turn on the way to the doctor and ended up in blank. Ended up in bed with Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte. Nice. No, after that. He ended up in Croatia. This man in France had just a 12-minute drive to his doctor, but apparently made the mistake of listening to his GPS and instead drove over 900 miles and through two countries, ending up in Croatia. See, this is what you get when you ask Google Maps to find you colonoscopies nowhere near me.

43:40Said avoid tolls. Exactly. Should have said avoid tolls and avoid Croatia. Bill, how did Faith do in our quiz? Five right. Ten more points. Total of 12 puts her in the lead. Zach, you are up next. Here we go. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, people gathered in Washington, D.C. for the funeral of former Vice President Blank. Dick Cheney. Right. On Wednesday, Trump's prosecuting attorney admitted that the full grand jury did not see the final indictment against Blank. Comey. Right. Despite a lack of evidence, the CDC's website now says there may be a link between vaccines and Blank. Autism. Right.

44:16This week, the group behind the Academy Awards sent out a note reminding voters to please blank before voting. Watch the movies. Exactly. This week, the second blank movie set box office records. Oh, Wicked. Right. On Monday, Vogue announced that costume art would be the theme of the 2026 blank gala. Met. Right. A toy company pulled its AI-powered talking teddy bear from shelves after researchers discovered it could tell children how to blank. Transfer food. No. Between their mouths. No, they found that this AI-powered talking teddy bear would tell children how to find knives. Oh, my God. What?

44:53For me, the problem isn't that Kuma the teddy bear told kids, quote, you can find knives in a kitchen drawer or a knife block on a countertop. It's that he followed it up with, you can hide knives in the river after you've done what must be done.

45:08Bill, how did Zach do on our quiz? Zach is hot. Six right. 12 more points. 15 is the total. And how many, then, does Joyelle need to win? Six to tie, seven to win. Let's go. Let's go. We know how good I am at this. Here we go, Joyelle. Yeah, I'm ready. We look forward to this every time. Fill in the blank, Joyelle. On Thursday, meetings began in Kiev aimed at ending the war in blank. I don't know where Kiev is. It's in Ukraine. Cool. This week, the White House rolled back Biden-era protections for blanks and their habitats. Blanks? Blanks and their habitats. Chimpanzees. No, endangered species.

45:51There aren't any of them here. Over 200 people have been arrested since blank raids began in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ugh, ice. Right. After they couldn't resolve a years-long custody dispute, a judge in Delaware made a divorced couple blank. Get divorced again. No, made them bid on their beloved golden doodle. On Monday, Novo Nordisk announced it was lowering the price for weight loss drug blank. Ozempic. Right. According to a new study, Moss survived for nine months in blank. Ozempic needles. No, in space. This week, everyone is okay after a man pulled out a gun during an argument about blank.

46:28Russ and daughter's bagels. Oh, you'd think. No, about how many eggs a chicken can lay in a day. That would have been my second egg. We don't know why this group of friends at a bar in Florida started arguing over the breeding habits of chickens, but we do know one of the friends took the argument very seriously. That's got to be an awkward moment in the group chat the next morning. Man, I was so drunk last night. I didn't start a fight about chickens and then pull a gun again, right? Yay! How'd I do, Bill? Not very well.

47:03But you're on our team, Joy-El. You got two right, four more points, seven total. and that means Zach is this week's champ. In just a minute, we're going to ask our panelists to predict after raccoons, what will be the next new family pet? But first, let me tell you all, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago in association with Urgent Haircut Productions, Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord. Philip Godica writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our tour manager is Shana Donald. And thanks to the staff and crew at the Studebaker Theater. B.J.

47:38Lederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks to Blythe Roberson and Monica Hickey. Peter Gwynn is our gleep. Emma Choi is our visual gleep. Technical direction is from Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chilock. And the executive producer, wait, wait, don't tell me, is Mike Danforth. Now, panel, what will be the next pet we welcome into our homes? Joyelle Nicole Johnson. After abandoning the MAGA movement, Marjorie Taylor Greene is in search for a forever home.

48:17Zach Zimmerman. The new pet on the scene is going to be the female mayfly, which can live for five minutes the amount of time a child can take care of a pet. And Faith Saley. Rats in New York have gotten so big, we're just going to invite them inside, put a sweater on them, and call them capybaras. if any of that happens panel we'll ask you about it here on wait wait don't tell me thank you Bill Curtis thanks also to Joyelle Nicole Johnson Zach Zimmerman and Faith Saley thanks to our fabulous audience here at the Studebaker Theatre in beautiful downtown Chicago Illinois thanks to all of you for listening wherever you are we'll see you next week

49:07This is NPR.