Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - HTDE: Yes We Pecan, with Martha Stewart

Episode Date: November 13, 2024

Two roommates disagree about how to pronounce "pecan," so Mike and Ian call up Martha Stewart–and others–to help. Plus, an Italian town in the shadow of the Alps spent three months of the year without sunlight, until Mayor Pierfranco Midali decided to make his own sun.You can email your burning questions to [e-mail]. How To Do Everything won't live in this feed forever. If you like what you hear, scoot on over to their very own feed and give them a follow.Both How To Do Everything and Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! are available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me+, who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! featuring exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org.How To Do Everything is hosted by Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag. It is produced by Heena Srivastava. Technical direction from Lorna White and Robert Neuhaus.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for this podcast and the following message comes from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Hey guys, it's Peter here with another episode of How to Do Everything, hosted by Weight Weight producers Mike Danforth and Ian Shillogg. This week, just ahead of Thanksgiving, the guys ring up hospitality icon Martha Stewart to help a listener pronounce the word that is spelled P-E-C-A-N, so popular in your Thanksgiving

meals. Now, I, Peter Sagal, pronounce it like almond. Almond. But you know, whatever, Martha probably has more authority on this topic than me. Now, if you like what you hear, make sure to get out of this feed and go over and follow them on their own how to do everything feed. Now, enjoy the latest episode of How to Do Everything. What can we help you with, Alexa? So, okay, my mother is a born and raised Texan. I was taught from a very young age

that the proper pronunciation of a certain nut is pecan and not pecan. And this is important because the state nut of Texas is the pecan. And I recently moved in with some new roommates in New York, two of which are from Texas. And I assumed they would also understand the importance of the pronunciation of pecan, and one of them does. However, the other does not. So your roommates, one says pecan and the other roommate, both from Texas, the other roommate says pecan. Yes. Have you ever been corrected? Have you ever said pecan and somebody corrected you? 11 No, but I am quick to make my feelings known if someone says the other pronunciations.

12 It does almost, I'm just gonna say this, Alexa, you almost sound like you might be a little bit pedantic when it comes to pecans. I mean, the fact that you're throwing out, it is the state nut. 13 I wasn't until I moved in with Texans because my belief was that every Texan knew the correct pronunciation. And I could be forgiving about other people from other states where the state nut is not a pecan, but it's now come to my realization that some Texans are wrong. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you do keep calling it the correct pronunciation. What is your question?

I should, I should, I should roll it back. My question is, what is the correct pronunciation? And I will surrender if I am proven wrong. I think, yeah, it sounds like your question is right. This is How to Do Everything. I'm Mike. And I'm Ian. On today's show, how to light up the dark winter days. But first, to Alexa's pecan pecan question. Now, when I make pecan pie, I use Martha Stewart's recipe. It's the gold standard. Martha, are you there? I'm like Ian, I use Martha Stewart's recipe. It's the gold standard. Martha, are you there? I'm like you and you have Martha Stewart on the line.

Hello, Martha. Hi. Good morning. Okay, Martha Stewart, how do you pronounce P-E-C-A-N? Pecan. Pecan. Pecan. Okay.

Not very southern, because I have a lot of southern friends and they all say pecan. And mine's pecan. You know, pecan. It's not pecan. I don't say pecan. If someone does say pecan, do you correct them? Or do you just accept them? Absolutely not. But my granddaughter does. Oh, how does she cut, how does she correct them? Pecan. Pecan. Yeah, okay. And she's 13. And you have to, you know, you have to, then you have to look it up with her and, oh, God,

it's so annoying. People say tomato, you know, who knows? Do people really say tomato? Oh, yes. I have lots of friends who say tomato. One of my aunts used to say tomato, but she's not around anymore. She probably died early because she said tomato. Well, Martha, thank you so much for helping us out today. This has been great. You're welcome.

Martha's new book is her 100th book. It's 100 Favorite Recipes, Lessons, and Stories from My Kitchen. Pete You know, there may be an even higher authority than Martha Stewart to ask about this. Dr. Sullivan Hello, Dr. Sullivan? Dr. Sullivan Hey, how you doing? Pete Pretty good. Pete Where are we reaching you right now? Dr. Sullivan I'm at Lacouterie Ojibwe Reservation in northern Wisconsin, about one hour south of Lake Superior.

Dr. Michael McGeezy Sullivan is an Ojibwe linguist at L.C.O. Ojibwe University in Wisconsin. So Dr. Sullivan, we understand this word has its roots in the Ojibwe language, is that right? Yeah, I think the general sort of agreed upon assumption is that it derives from an Algonquian language, which is the bigger family to which Ojibwe belongs. Okay, in that language, how do you pronounce this word? Right on, I thought you'd never ask, so we say, Bagan, Bagan. Bagan. Bagan. Yeah so we spell it in

Ojibwe we spell it with a B. Now being that the Europeans call it a Pagan I'd say would be the closest in the colloquial English that matches an indigenous pronunciation, Bagan, Pocan. So the kind of most correct would be Bagan, but if you were forced to accept an anglicized version of the word, Pocan would be better than Pican. Yes, very much so. Yeah, well one thing, you know, as a linguist, sometimes linguists are

kind of like language police. I'm not really one of them, you know, like language is beautiful in all of its variation, right? So if there's multiple pronunciations, it's like the tomato-tomato kind of debate, you know, some people say whatever. So, I don't even really engage in being the correct, but if somebody wanted to be historically correct or cared, right, that begone would be the proper pronunciation. Pecan sounds really American to me. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

Yeah. That's okay. So, maybe Alexa should know that she could tell her roommates that Dr. Sullivan is laughing at you when you say pecan. Dr. John Sullivan Yeah, there you go. Yep, yep. You sound really Anglo when you say pecan. Pete Slauson Okay. Dr. John Sullivan Bagan is where we're going for it. Pete Slauson Yeah.

Dr. John Sullivan So, as somebody who cares about this language, these languages, if you're, you know, if you are faced with a pie with these nuts, are you like, Oh, thank you for the bagon pie. Or do you say pecan pie? When we speak English, you mean? Sure. Well, yeah, if you're, if you're, I guess if you're hanging with Anglos. Yeah, I would probably, if I was hanging with Anglos and it was in the English speaking setting, pecan, pecan, pecan, I'd probably say pecan.

I'd probably use the English pronunciation just to fit it. But I might launch into a sort of teachable moment, right? Yeah. Eating my pecan pie with other Anglos, yeah, definitely teachable moment. Well, Dr. Sullivan, thank you so much for talking to us about this. Yeah, sounds like a really, really cool, fun show, man. I think I might have to tune in. So, keep up the good work. Michael McGeezy Sullivan's book is Plums or Nuts, Ojibwe Stories of Anishinaabe Humor. I want to do something here, which is I have tried over the past several years to stop

saying you guys, the phrase you guys. Right. Mike, I think you and I are both guilty of this. Mike Smedley Yeah, I will write that in an email, a group email, and then I will take it out. Then I have to scramble to come up with something else. Jared Smedley And sometimes I'll hear it come out of your mouth, which you can't take back. You've already hurt people.

Mike Smedley You're right. You can't unhear that. I apologize. To anyone I've said that to, I apologize. Jared Smedley So, both of us would like to stop saying it. So we're going to establish a little accountability. We're going to do a you guys fast and you people out there, we'd love for you to join if you also want to stop saying you guys, send us an email, let us know you're taking part. Keep us apprised of your progress, your mistakes, the times you hurt people just

as Mike has. Wait, so you people, that's the solution? You're right, that doesn't sound great either. You, you, our fellow, our fellow humans out there, if you would like to join us in this you guys fast, let us know. This is a real story that I have a relative who's a pastor who was baptizing a kid, a baby, and he forgot the baby's name and he just said, child of God. And that was his solution in the moment in front of everybody. That doesn't work. That doesn't quite work in an email. Well, I think if any of us embarking on this fast, and let's say it's a 30-day fast, and let's say it's a 30-day fast. If you find yourself about to say, you guys, just try,

you children of God, and see where that gets you. Hey, y'all, that works. Hina, that was what you did, right? That's what you've, we talked about this, and that was a solution that you came up with. Yeah, I went to a very PC high school and we, like, actually couldn't say guys. So, I started saying y'all, And then I went to college and everyone thought I was from the South. And where are you from? The Chicago suburbs. There you go. Well, if you children of God have a question for us, just get it to us at howto at npr.org. No matter what your question is, no matter how big, no matter how small, No matter what your question is, no matter how big, no matter how small, we will do our best to find an expert to answer it.

That email again, howtoatnpr.org. This message comes from Wyse, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend, or receive money internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the Wyse app today or visit Wyse.com, T's and C's apply. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, offering over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Hands selected for their inherent craft, each hotel tells its own unique story through distinctive

design and immersive experiences, from medieval falconry to volcanic wine tasting. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of over 30 hotel brands around the world. Find the unforgettable at Autographrafecollection.com. So if you're a regular listener of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, then you'd probably enjoy some other NPR podcasts too, even though they're obviously not as good. But with NPR+, you get perks like sponsor-free listening,

bonus episodes, early access, shop discounts, and more for over 20 different NPR podcasts, like this one, the best one. So start supporting what you love and stop hearing promos like this one at plus.npr.org. Okay, so does this sound like you? You love NPR's podcasts, you wish you could get more of all your favorite shows, and you want to support NPR's mission to create a more informed public. If all that sounds appealing, then it is time to sign up for the NPR Plus bundle.

Learn more at plus.npr.org. This is Ira Glass with This American Life. Each week on our show, we choose a theme, tell different stories on that theme. All right, I'm just going to stop right there. You're listening to an NPR podcast. Chances are you know our show. So instead, I'm going to tell you, we've just been on a run of really good shows lately. Some big epic emotional stories, some weird funny stuff too.

Download us. This American Life. The town of Vigonella, Italy sits in the shadow of the Alps such that the town got no sunlight for three months out of the year for centuries. In 2006, the mayor, Pierfranco Medali, was overseeing the rebuilding of the town square and he came up with an idea. Pierfranco is on the line with us now, along with his daughter Fabiola, who's translating. Okay, so he was working with a friend of him who is an architect for the square, for the

rebuilding of the square, and they were also working on a sandial to be painted on the wall of the church. And while speaking about this, he told his friend, this sundial will be useless for three months in winter because there will be no sun. And his friend told him, are you joking? No, I'm not joking. So they decided to try to find a solution to solve the problem of the shade

for three months in winter. So they realized that the tops of the mountains around the town did get sunlight and that that might be their solution. Okay, so they decided to build this giant mirror, 40 square meters at the top of the mountain, opposite the village to reflect the sun directly on the village. It's one kilometer far from the village on the top of the mountain and it is able to light

750 square meters. Wow. All the whole square and a bit more, maybe some houses too. So during the winter months when there is no sun, the mirror creates sunlight in this otherwise... Yeah, it's a fake sun. It's not like real sun because it doesn't warm warm up it's it's simply yeah it's sun it's light no it's not yeah it doesn't warm up but it lights so we can see the sun on the square which was something unbelievable because for the people who live in Viganella

for the whole life, it was strange. Yeah. And if you wanted to, could you stand out there and get a suntan? We have no suntan. Do you want to show them? We find it. Yeah, he's a bit no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Describe the scene if you remember. He told us that even before the construction of the mirror, lots of people were skeptical about it. They didn't believe that it would be possible to build such an invention. So he carried on his shoulders a giant mirror and he went to the top of the mountain and he tried to show the people how it would be like to have the sun even in winter because lots of people didn't believe him.

Wow. Yeah, they thought he was crazy. In any kind of way that's true because he's a bit crazy. I guess you'd have to be kind of crazy to think that putting a giant mirror out of mountain would work. You must be crazy to come up with such an invention. Yeah, with such an idea. I agree with you.

Well that does it for this week's show. What'd you learn, Ian? Well, I learned that you can actually, you could use a mirror to light up an entire town. It seems like such a simple solution, but an incredible solution at such a huge scale. Like, that's such a giant mirror. I think that mirror also, up on top of the mountain, it's useful for any of the animals that need to see how they look. You know, you maybe do a little preening. Do I have something in my teeth?

But could you imagine though, if you're down there in the square and you're like, you know what, I'm tanning, I'm just going to get a quick tan. And then suddenly a shadow goes over it because a bear is like checking its, its teeth. You're like, hey, hey! Yeah, really. Try to get some sun. Yeah, I guess like a bear could actually cause a solar eclipse. Just because it wanted to do its eyebrows. How to Do Everything is produced by Hina Srivastava

with technical direction from Lorna White. Our intern is Ed Brown. Ed, we're glad to hear the Hiccup Cure worked. Pete Stay strong, Ed. Ed Get us your questions at howto at npr.org. I'm Ian. Pete And I'm Mike. Ed Thanks. Pete Thanks. On the TED Radio Hour, clinical psychologists John and Julie Gottman are marriage experts. And after studying thousands of couples, they have found...

Couples who were successful had a really different way of talking to one another when there was a disagreement or a conflict. How to be brave in our relationships. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. I'm Jesse Thorne. On Bullseye, Connie Chung, the legend of TV news, tells us about her incredible career and Marvel's at the convenience of standing desks. They have these desks here in New York that move up and down.

That's on the next Bullseye from MaximumFun.org and NPR. I'm Rachel Martin, host of NPR's Wild Card Podcast. I've spent my entire career learning what kinds of questions prompt the most honest answers. What's the biggest sacrifice you've ever made? What's a belief you had to let go of? What's a goal you're glad you gave up on? Now I'm putting those soul-searching questions to guests like Jenny Slate, Bowen Yang, and Chris Pine. What's a goal you're glad you gave up on?