Gold Star Classroom

Star classroom favorites Mark Riccadonna, Sean Lynch, and Brandon Stroud are joined by newcomer Christina Perez.  Do they know what makes “7” so “up”?  What was this thing called “Chernobyl?  And who was it that was suppose to beware the Ides of March?  Heck, what is an Ides of March anyway??  Do you?  Based on their knowledge and their answers, one of these students will be lucky enough to win the coveted classroom prize, the Golden Banana!

A fun time at the Comedy Cellar at Mojo’s!  2015 features Super bowl XLIX, but what the heck number is that anyway?  Do YOU know your Roman numerals?  Oh, and why isn’t there any Roman number for “0”?  Bet my students at home never thought of that, did you!  And, how do recommendation engines know what shows or music you might like, anyway?  How does the movie Napoleon Dynamite fit into this great mystery?  The student who can figure out this deep mystery will win today’s Golden Banana!

2015 is the year of Back to the Future 2, and this episode is our Back to Japan 2!  This is our second special episode recorded in Tokyo Japan.  Holy Toledo!  Hey, what exactly does “Holy Toledo” mean, and where does it come from anyway?  Spain?  Speaking of geography, today’s coveted Golden Banana may depend on knowledge of obscure little countries in the Southern Hemisphere.  That, and their knowledge of television pop culture—what American TV hero has been killed the most?  Will anyone in this class win—as they put it in Japanese—za goruden banana?

What, if anything, is the Adam’s Apple?  What, if anything, do today’s students know about the Adam’s Apple?  Or, about the origins of acupuncture?  (Hint:  if you said China you might have been wrong!)  As this class grapples with these questions and more, will any of them score enough points to win the coveted classroom prize, The Golden Banana??

Every summer, NEO comedians gather at the home of “MadMarv” to barbecue and also commiserate, and with so many funny people in one place, we couldn’t resist but put them to the test.  These students tackle one of the most persistent debates in horticulture: what, if anything, is a tomato?  I bet some students can name the first 13 states in US history, but can you name the last five??  Will any of these students be able to earn the coveted classroom prize, The Golden Banana?  Or will they crash like the Hindenburg (another topic they will be quizzed on in today’s episode!)?

The only thing better than a Golden Banana is a colossal Golden Banana; but how much do you know about the Colossal squid?  And, you probably know all about North America, and you probably have heard of South America—but, what do you know about the stuff in between??  These topics and others will all lead one of these happy students to a happy prize:  the Golden Banana (normal size).

The Professor takes Gold Star Classroom on the road with our first ever international episode.  Recorded live in Tokyo, Japan, in this episode your host and headmaster asks his very special guests if they know of any practical uses for “pi.”  Any mention of the old “pis aren’t square, pis are round” joke will result in immediate dismissal to the principal’s office.  Other topics include the truth behind dolphins saving people, and if these ex-pats actually know anything about the country they live in.  In Japanese, “Golden Banana” translates as “Gorudan banana” but in any language it is the most coveted classroom prize on all the explored continents. 

Our last episode featured the World’s Most Highly Educated Professional Wrestler—things don’t get any easier for your host and headmaster this episode when one of the guest students is World Famous Jeopardy champion Arthur Chu!!  Mr. Chu keeps the teacher on his toes, but does the teacher have any chance of asking any questions the Jeopardy champ doesn’t know!!  And, with topics like “Who crossed the Rubicon?” and “What does it mean for words to be homological?”  what are the odds that any of the other students can beat out Arthur for the coveted classroom prize The Golden Banana?

The host of Gold Star Classroom Dr. Jerry C. Jaffe is also known as “The World’s Most Highly Educated Stand Up Comedian”—which is an homage to which old school Professional Wrestler??  The answer to this trivia question is also one of our students today!  Dr. Jerry Graham Jr brings his sesquipedalian vocabulary to our class, meaning your host must keep his wits about him at the highest level.  Meanwhile, today’s topics include the most dangerous jobs, the Curse of Tippecanoe, and also the odd query of, Have you ever returned to the place of your own birth?  Can anyone out strip Dr. Graham, or is the Golden banana a foregone conclusion?

 

Season 2 features a series of great guests, some old friends as well as more surprises.  We also will launch a behind-the-scenes feature called STUDY HALL where we dip in for a few minutes to what some of our students talk about on their free time.  And it all begins here, Episode 1 of Season 2!!!  Are shin splints really for real, heck what are they??  And who are the snake handlers and why the heck would anyone do that??  Our students wrestle with these tricky questions and more while trying to do their best to earn themselves the coveted classroom prize, The Golden Banana.  Welcome back to class!!