SGU Episode 220

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SGU Episode 220
7th Oct 2009
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 1                      SGU 300
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
R: Rebecca Watson
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Guests
Daniel Hooper
Brian Cox
Quote of the Week
"When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities."
David Hume
Links
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Forum Discussion

Introduction

You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

S: Hello and welcome to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. Today is Wednesday October 7th 2009 and this is your host Steven Novella. Joining me this week are Bob Novella

B: Hey everybody.

S: Rebecca Watson

R: Hello everyone.

S: Jay Novella

J: Hey guys.

S: And Evan Berstein

This Day in Skepticism (0:29)

E: October 7 1952 - the first patent for the barcode was issued to inventors Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver

J: Ah. That explains Google.

B: That's why Google had the barcode.

E: Thank you, yes. Everyone listening to the show, I'm sure, used Google at some point today and saw the barcode. I went a step further and figured out, why the barcode.

R: By clicking on the logo. Good job.

E: Here's what a podcast would sound like if it were a barcode: big line, little line, little line, little line, big line, little line, little line, big line, big line, little line.

S: Podcast in binary.

J: Are we going to talk about this because I know a shit load of stuff about barcodes.

S: Anything interesting?

(laughing)

R: Not a single thing.

B: Yeah, make it compelling Jay.

J: Uh...

E: How about this? The first barcode was not in straight lines. What were the shapes of the quote-unquote "bars"?

S: Um... wavy lines?

E: Circles!

S: Really? Circles?

E: A series of concentric circles.

S: I can tell you that um-

B: Ah, yes.

E: Made like a bullseye... sort of symbol.

B: Excellent, yeah yeah yeah. I remember that.

S: The number 666 does not appear before every barcode, that's just the bracketing code, it's not the number 666 actually.

E: Just special ones...

R: But don't be fooled, barcodes are still instrumental in Armageddon.

S: Oh yeah, still the mark of the beast, absolutely.

E: No doubt.

B: You know if I was gonna get a tattoo, I always say I would get a tattoo of a barcode on the bottom of my foot.

S: Mmm-hm.

E: Uh-huh...

J: (sarcastically) That's crazy...

B: Yeah, I'm just sayin'.

J: That's kinda silly because the barcode would be perfectly meaningless, it wouldn't be like you actually have your barcode.

B: I would do it just for the humor Jay.

J: OK.

S: Just for the coroner who does your autopsy? Just so he gets a big laugh?

B: Yep. That's it.

Announcements ()

S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by the New England Skeptical Society in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation and skepchick.org. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at www.theskepticsguide.org. For questions, suggestions, and other feedback, please use the "Contact Us" form on the website, or send an email to info@theskepticsguide.org. If you enjoyed this episode, then please help us spread the word by voting for us on Digg, or leaving us a review on iTunes. You can find links to these sites and others through our homepage. 'Theorem' is produced by Kineto, and is used with permission.

References