And now it's time for Who's Smarted. Psst, hey, Smarty Pants, you may or may not be aware, but there is a special holiday coming soon. It's the one where you might see a lot of hearts and red and pink things. Aww. It's a day when we let our friends and family know how much we care about them. Any idea what holiday I'm talking about? Go ahead and shout it out. That's right, Valentine's Day. Smarty Pants, do you know some of the ways people celebrate Valentine's Day? How do you celebrate Valentine's Day? I'm hearing some great answers. You can give and receive Valentine's Day cards to and from your friends and family. Or maybe you'll get a box of candy, like chocolates or those little hearts with cute things written on them. Or you might have a little party in school. Of course, some of you might not celebrate Valentine's Day at all. After all, it's not one of the major holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even Halloween. Personally, I enjoy Valentine's Day because I get to throw a Valentine's Day party for my who-smarted friends. And every year, I order a special heart-shaped pizza from my favorite pizzeria and a heart-shaped cake from my favorite bakery. Oh, is it a heart-shaped meat cake? No, chocolate. Oh. Sorry, Grandma. I'm afraid more people prefer chocolate cakes to meat cakes. Oh, that's okay. Besides, I brought a box of meat cupcakes for everyone to try. That sounds delicious. You can put those in the oven to heat up. In the meantime, I've invited someone who knows a lot about Valentine's Day to help us learn more about this special day. Ooh, I think I hear them now. Greetings, Smarty Pants. It is I, Cupid, here to help the trusted narrator learn about my favorite holiday, Valentine's Day. Smarty Pants, you may have seen Cupid on Valentine's Day cards or decorations. Even though he looks like a baby with wings, no offense, Cupid is an important symbol of Valentine's Day. No offense taken, I am a baby with wings, who can talk and shoot arrows and play the harp. Exactly! And today, you'll be helping us answer questions like, what is the true meaning of Valentine's Day? When and where did the Valentine's Day traditions we all know come from? And why is a flying, harp-playing, arrow-shooting baby the mascot of Valentine's Day? It's time for a big whiff of science, history, but hopefully not Cupid's diaper, on... Who's smarted? Who's smarted? Who's smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science? Or history? Listen up, everyone. We make smarting lots of fun on Who's Smarted. So, Cupid, Valentine's Day is really fun to celebrate. I love to give and get cards and candy. But what are we celebrating on this day? Well, trusty, Valentine's Day is a celebration of friendship and love. Of course, you can let your friends and family know you love and care about them every day. But Valentine's Day is a special day to remind you of your loved ones. Which is why I'm throwing a Who Smarted-themed Valentine's Day party for all my smarty friends. They've helped me learn about science and history, joined me on fun, smarting adventures, and have helped make Who Smarted such a fun show to listen to. By the way, Smarty Pants, do you know where and when some of the Valentine's Day traditions started? Was it ancient Rome ancient Greece or ancient Egypt If you said ancient Rome you right The citizens of ancient Rome had a festival to celebrate the start of spring It happened around the time we celebrate Valentine's Day today, and many of our traditions come from this festival. By the way, did you know that I, Cupid, am the ancient Roman god of love? You're a god. Whoops, sorry about the diaper joke earlier. Oh, I didn't hear it. What was it? Oh, nothing. Never mind. Anyway, you were saying? At the ancient Roman festival celebrating the start of spring, boys picked the names of girls from an urn to find a partner for festival events. Sometimes festival partners even fell in love. Aww. If your class at school has a box for Valentine's Day cards, that relates to this tradition. Of course, today, the Valentine's Day box is about having fun with friends and classmates. When I was in school, I remember making special valentines for my friends. I drew pictures of a heart-shaped pizza and wrote, Valentine, you have a pizza in my heart. Get it? Yeah. Give me a break. I was eight. I didn't say anything. Anyway, back in ancient Rome, the symbol of love was a bird whose name rhymes with love. Any guess what it is? A bird that rhymes with love. Rhymes with love. Hmm. It's not a pelican. Or any seabird, for that matter. Blue Jay, Robin, Hawk. Smarty Pants, I hope you're better at this than me. Oh, wait a second. I got it. Dove. Dove rhymes with love. There you go. Doves were a symbol of love. And some people still use doves or lovebirds as a symbol of love for Valentine's Day today. Right. But you can put anything you want on your Valentine's Day card, so pizza is okay, too. Sure. Why not? Now, wait a second. True or false, Smarty Pants? The spring festival was always called Valentine's Day. The answer is... False. The ancient Roman festival of health and fertility was called Lupercalia. Ah, so how did Valentine's Day get its name? Smarty Pants isn't named after a dog, a king, or a saint. The answer is... A saint. St. Valentine lived in Rome But he lived a long time after the ancient spring festival There were a lot of stories about St. Valentine's life One involved an emperor named Claudius II Claudius II didn't want people to get married He thought single men made better soldiers Because they wouldn't have a family to worry about Um, that does not sound like a great beginning for a holiday about love I'm getting into it As you can probably guess, St. Valentine wasn't too happy about all this. So he decided to let couples get married in secret. Ah, now we're talking. By the way, I wrote a special Valentine's Day poem for all of the smarty pants. Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't even like pizza as much as I like you. Could use a little work, but I guess it's the thought that counts. Speaking of poems, who was the first person to write Valentine's Day poems? Was it St. Valentine, Cupid, or the Duke of Orleans? While Valentine's Day may be named after St. Valentine, and I, Cupid, am the god of love, the Duke of Orleans, a French nobleman, is believed to have written the first Valentine's Day poems in letters to his wife. Aw, that's so sweet. Yeah, that's the good part. The bad part is he wrote those poems while he was in jail. Oh, well, at least you had plenty of time to think up some good rhymes Say, that rhymes You know what else rhymes? Heart and smart And something else But all kidding aside Why are there so many hearts on Valentine's Day? What does the central organ in your body that pumps blood have to do with love? Smarty Pants do you know Well hearts have been a symbol of love since ancient times just like me Right, except you don't look a day over one year old. No offense. None taken. Anyway, the reason why hearts are a symbol of love, and by far the most popular Valentine's Day symbol, is that when you give someone a heart-shaped valentine, it's like telling them that you're giving them your heart. Aw, and we can't live without our hearts. So that makes it extra special. Of course, some Valentines have ribbons on the heart. Wouldn't aortas make more sense? Scientifically, yes. But ribbons on Valentine hearts is a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. When knights competed in jousting tournaments, the loved ones often gave them ribbons. Hmm, why would knights' loved ones give them ribbons? Is it A, to put bows in their horse's manes B, to make their armor look fancy Or C, for good luck While the answer is C, for good luck I suppose knights could use the ribbon to decorate their armor or horses I've also seen valentines with fancy white lace Does that have any special meaning or tradition too? Or does it just look nice? Well, the word lace comes from the Latin word laqueus Which means to snare or to net Ah, so giving someone a valentine with lace on it Means that you're hoping to capture their heart Exactly Although I can also help with that I was wondering why you were carrying a bow and arrow Although, I'm not sure what archery has to do with love Or that it's safe letting a baby use a bow and arrow Alright, enough with the baby jokes The reason I have a bow and arrow is Coming up right after this quick break Spring is here And if you're a homeschool family trying to finish the year strong I want to tell you about IXL It's the award-winning online learning platform that fits seamlessly into your homeschool routine, covering math, language arts, science, and social studies from pre-K through 12th grade. What I love most about IXL is how it adapts to each child's pace. Whether your kid needs to reinforce foundational skills before an assessment or push ahead into new material, IXL meets them exactly where they are, with no pressure and real encouragement built right in. Kids earn rewards, see their own progress, and actually feel good about learning. And for parents, the real-time progress tracking is a game-changer. You always know exactly where your child stands. Plus, it makes learning fun. And you know I love that. 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's Smarted listeners get an exclusive 20% off at ixl.com slash smarted. That's ixl.com slash smarted for your 20% off. Now back to Who's Smarted. Hey, easy with that bow and arrow, Cupid. You almost hit me. What's wrong, trustee? You don't want to fall in love? Huh? According to the legend, anyone I hit with one of my arrows falls in love. Whoa, that sounds like a pretty amazing power for Valentine's Day It is, I'm quite the matchmaker Of course, many people celebrate Valentine's Day by showing love to friends and family Exactly I made some fun valentines for my friends to show I care For example I made one for Chet that says Breaking news You a great friend Oh and this one for my niece Gia that says Whoa, you're awesome! Those are great, trusty. And even though early valentines usually contain serious messages, you're certainly not alone in sending funny valentines. Also, I appreciate that you made your own valentines. But lots of people also buy their valentines cards and gifts in stores. In fact, Valentine's Day is sarcastically referred to as a Hallmark holiday because so many people buy and exchange Valentine's Day cards made by companies like Hallmark. Smarty Pants, true or false, Hallmark is the largest greeting card company in the world. The answer is... True. They're also the oldest, as they were founded in 1910. Yep, but not as old as me. I gotta say, it's weird talking to a really old baby who's also a god, but it's also pretty sweet. Oh, and speaking of, there's something else we need to talk about that I'm sure a lot of smarty pants look forward to on Valentine's Day. Go ahead and shout it out. Meat cake? No, not that. I'm talking about candy. But why is candy, in particular chocolates, such a big part of Valentine's Day? Is it because A. People need to get rid of leftover Halloween candy B. Candy is sweet Or C. It would be gross to give out meat cake Obviously, the answer is B. Candy is sweet It's traditional to give something sweet to a sweetheart on Valentine's Day And like everything else on Valentine's Day, the heart theme is strong As chocolates come in heart-shaped boxes Or you can get candy hearts with cute messages written on them Oh, this one says be mine. I think I'll give it to the pizza when it gets here. You, my friend, might have a pizza problem. Besides candies, giving flowers were also a big part of the Valentine's Day tradition. Flowers are pretty, smell great, and let someone know you care about them. Yep, I made a giant 3D heart out of roses that I'm going to give out to all my friends at the party. But for now, I want to hang it high up on the wall. Oh, say, Cupid, would you mind flying up and hanging this flower heart for me? Sure thing, trusty. That looks great. I love it. Well, as you know, love is my specialty. Ooh, I hope that's the heart-shaped pizza. This is Chet Nickerson reporting live from the trusty narrator's Valentine's Day party, where a flying baby carrying a bow and arrow can be seen hovering above the living room. Meat cake? Um, sorry, this reporter is not a big fan of meat cake. Actually, I'd love some meat cake. Works every time. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. A super shout out to longtime Smarty fan Emi in Yerevan, Armenia. You wrote to tell us that Who Smarted is the funniest podcast you've ever heard and that you've also watched every episode of our show, Brainchild, on Netflix. Wow. And I know you want an episode on Armenia. Well, we have something big planned for you. Stay tuned, Emi. This episode, Valentine's Day, was written by Sarah Sweetick and voiced by Taya Garland, Adam Tex-Davis, and Jerry Kolber. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn. Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios. Our associate producer is Max Kamasky. The theme song is by Brian Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis. Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Kolber. This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
