Which is harder, Rollerskating or Rollerblading?
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Psst! Hey, smarty pants! Have you ever ridden on a train? Or a bike? I'm sure you've been in a car before. You might even be listening in one right now. And some of you absolutely love the thrill of riding roller coasters.

Now, see if you can think of something all these things have in common. Do you know? Ooh, ooh, me know, me know! That's right, Grog. After all, it was your invention. Smarty Pants, have you figured it out? The wheel! That's right. For thousands of years, people have used wheels to move faster from one place to another. On rails, on roads, at amusement parks. And somewhere along the line, somebody thought to themselves, Hey!

Let's put wheels on our feet. Woo-hoo! Everyone look at me go! Yeah, maybe it wasn't the most brilliant idea. Well, not at first, but...

But roller skating has since become a very popular sport. Millions of people around the world roller skate, and it's become even more popular recently, thanks in part to social media like TikTok and Instagram. It's actually great exercise, despite, you know, the hazards. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ah! Ah!

I'm okay. So how exactly do roller skates work? How fast can a person go? Are they safe? And how did it all start off with a truly big bang? It's time for another whiff of science and history on... Who Smarted? Who Smarted? Who's smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science? Or history? History.

Listen up, everyone. Smarting, lots of fun on Who's Smart? Hey, Smarty Pants. Trusty here with a special mission for all the Smarty Pants listening. But unlike a top secret mission, this mission requires you to tell everyone. That's right. Your job is to spread the word about Who's Smarted so we can keep growing and bringing you awesome new episodes. To qualify for this mission, let's play a little game.

Got someone in mind? Great. Question two. Is it A, on a play date, B, at school, C, in the car, or D, on the phone?

Pick one, make a plan, stick to it. And best of all, complete this not-so-top-secret mission. I'm counting on you, Smarty Pants. The more people you tell, the bigger we grow, which means a lot more smarting for you.

All this roller skating talk got me pretty excited to go roller skating. As you can hear, I'm at a roller rink. Of course, I now have to decide which kind of roller skates I want to wear. Smarty Pants, if you've ever gone roller skating, what kind of skates do you use? Do you like the inline skate made popular by Rollerblade? Those skates have their wheels in a straight line under the center of your foot. Or do you prefer the quad roller skate, which has two

two wheels under the front of your foot and then two wheels at the heel. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, seems both types have fans. Here's another question for you. Which type do you suppose was invented first? Me no know that one.

Ooh, ooh, my dear sir, I can answer that question. My name is Joseph Merlin, and I am the inventor of the skates that came first. Ah, which means you invented, hmm, Smarty Pants. Which kind of skates came first? Inline rollerblade style or the four-wheeled quad style? If you said the four-wheeled quad skate...

You're wrong. Wait, inline skates came first? Why, yes. Yes, they did. Belgian inventor and musician Joseph Merlin is said to have created the inline skate, which indeed came first in London during the 1760s. Whee! Of course, there were others who claimed to have put wheels on shoes before Merlin did.

Even if they did, nobody put on a show like me. In fact, I'm headed to a fancy masquerade party right now to introduce my wondrous new invention to London's high society. I'll be wearing my newly invented skates myself. You sure that's a good idea? They might not be ready to use. Just watch in amazement as I skate and play the violin. I don't think that's a good... Shh!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my marvelous creation. Watch as I glide around the room on wheels while I play enchanting music. So, smarty pants, because we live in the future, we know what happened. Merlin did show off his skates at a costume party by rolling around and playing the violin. But while the music was splendid, his skates were not.

Can you guess what was wrong with them? Is it A. They had no brakes, B. They couldn't turn, or C. Both. If you said C, you're right. With no way to slow down or turn, an out-of-control Merlin whizzed past all the spectators and crashed into a massive mirror, which was worth over $100,000. The mirror was destroyed.

And so was the violin. Merlin was also badly hurt. Is there a doctor in the house? Merlin would recover, but his skates would not. It would take another hundred years for any kind of roller skating to become popular. And the man who made it happen was a Yankee.

Now batting, right fielder Aaron Judge. No, no, no, no, no, not the Yankees baseball team. I mean Yankee as in American, or more specifically from the northern United States. That's right. The name's Plimpton, James Plimpton. I'm from Massachusetts, but I ran a furniture business in New York during the 1860s. At the time, my doctor recommended I take up ice skating to stay in shape.

Unfortunately, you can't ice skate in the summer, so I thought I could try roller skating. But the inline skates of my day couldn't turn. And you know what happens with those.

So I fixed it. Indeed he did. Plimpton changed the design of the skate, placing two wheels beneath the front of the foot and two wheels at the heel. These wheel pairings were attached separately to the skate using devices known as trucks. No, a different kind of truck. These trucks are springy carriages that allow skaters to turn by simply leaning in a different direction.

People who owned these quad skates could easily control their movement. Wait, what do you mean own? I mean, people who bought these skates could. Ha ha ha! Are you serious, man? No, no, we don't want any of that. Oh, right. Smarty Pants, can you guess what Plimpton did with his skates? Did he A. Only give them to his friends and family to use, B. Rent them out, or C. Keep his skates only to himself? The

The correct answer is B, he rented them out. Not to toot my own horn, but it was a brilliant move. People kept paying me over and over to use my skates. I made a ton of money on them. And my other invention, a special place for using my skates. Smarty Pants, can you guess what that special place James Plimpton created is? Did you say a roller skating rink?

My roller rinks made roller skating popular all over the United States and Europe too. Around that time, the toe stop was invented, which made braking on roller skates even easier. Roller skating became safer and more fun for the whole family. - Climpton became the roller skating king and inline skates were long forgotten.

Roller skating's popularity came and went over the years, with the sport hitting another peak decades later. Smarty Pants, do you know when this so-called roller revolution happened? Is it A, the 1950s, B, the 1970s, or C, the 1990s? Here's a hint.

If you guessed the 1970s, you're right. With the rise of disco music, millions of young people wore their bell-bottom pants, polyester party clothes, and tie-dye shirts to roller rinks where they could roller boogie to disco music all night long. Oh, yeah, I'm grooving now. Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm okay. But by the end of the 70s, something funny happened.

What was very old became new again. Two hockey-playing brothers named Scott and Brennan Olsen found an old pair of inline skates like the kind invented by Joseph Merlin. Yeah, that guy. The Olsen brothers redesigned these old skates, adding modern wheels, lightweight materials, and brakes that made them easier to control and much faster than regular skates. They were sold through a new company the brothers created,

Smarty Pants, can you guess its name? Is it A, Nike, B, Speedy, or C, Rollerblade? If you guessed Rollerblade, you're right. By the 1990s, inline skating, now often called rollerblading, had finally become the huge hit Joseph Merlin dreamed it would be in the 1700s. Told ya. But do people still crash? Sure, from time to time.

But now there's protective gear, and these better-designed skates allow skaters to better control their speed. Yes, well, I still wouldn't advise skating in front of a $100,000 mirror. Speaking of speed, just how fast do these new inline skates go? Smartypants, do you know? I'll tell you the record speed right after this quick break.

Have you ever asked questions like, I wonder who invented toilets? Or, why do dogs wag their tails? Then have I got the thing for you. The Brains on Universe, a family of podcasts for kids and their adults. My name is Joy Dolo, and I host a funny and fabulous history show called Forever Ago. We explore the history of everything, from bubblegum to how we sent messages before cell phones. ♪

I live in New Zealand and the Māori people there use smoke signals to send messages. There's also Brains On, a science show where we answer kids' questions like... Do plants sleep? And... Why do some people have asthma? And on the debate game show Smash Boom Best, you get to judge which is cooler, chocolate versus cheese or Spider-Man versus Batman.

What is Batman's personality? He's a rich guy. Find Forever Ago, Brains On, and Smash Boom Best wherever you get your podcasts. Or head to brainson.org to learn more.

Hey everyone, Trusty here. One of the things I love about hosting Who Smarted is getting to answer all those amazing questions from curious smarty pants. And that's why I'm excited to tell you about another show that does exactly that. Our friend's podcast, But Why? A podcast for curious kids. Have you ever asked something like, why does the wind blow? Or does skyscrapers actually scrape the sky? And you weren't quite sure of the answer?

Well, but why has you covered? They've answered questions from over 16,000 kids across 90 countries, and they're not afraid to tackle any topic, even the gross ones that make grown-ups squirm. I mean, they have whole episodes about poop and making paint from spit and rocks. How cool is that?

Their team gets real experts to answer real questions from real kids like you. So if your family loves learning interesting stuff on Who Smarted, you'll definitely want to check out But Why. You can find But Why wherever you get your podcasts. Now back to Who Smarted.

Smarty Pants, if you go roller skating these days, chances are you're not at a roller skating rink and you might even own your own skates. What? That's crazy. When the pandemic hit, stores sold out of skates as people looked for activities to do outside in their neighborhood, schoolyard, or local park.

Social media like Instagram and TikTok have also fueled the latest skating craze. And skating is not just fun, it's healthy. Roller skating gives the muscles in your hips and legs a great workout, as well as your abs, arms, and buttocks. Skating burns calories, improves flexibility, and is good for your heart. Yes, but is it safe? I spent a week in zeros, but the last time I went skating...

Smarty pants. Which of these sports do you think sends more people to the emergency room than roller skating? Football, basketball, soccer, or cycling? The answer is all of them. And some reports say you're more likely to be injured playing at a playground than on a pair of skates.

So the benefits seem to outweigh the risks. But didn't you say crashes happen? Perhaps into a very expensive mirror? Yes, crashes do happen, which is why you need to be prepared. Wrist guards, elbow pads, knee pads, and most importantly, a helmet.

are a must. Also, you need to be careful where you skate. Stick to nice, flat, even pavement. And just know, if you go downhill, you're gonna move faster, and you could lose control. I'm okay. Yikes. I was just racing across a crowded ballroom. How fast can you go downhill?

Well, on level ground, the average person can skate about 8 to 16 miles per hour, which puts you around the speed of a running squirrel. If you go downhill, though, things change. Smarty Pants, guess what the record is for inline skating downhill? Is it A, 30 miles per hour, B, 40 miles per hour, or C, 55 miles per hour?

Well, the record set in Brazil in 2016 is a whopping 77.47 miles per hour. That's nearly 125 kilometers per hour. That's faster than most highway speed limits.

Pull over. Ooh, crashing at that speed wouldn't feel good. No doubt. But chances are, you'll never go that fast. Just remember to stay safe and have fun. Well, I'm ready to give these new rollerblades a try. Here I go. Hey, this is fun. I can turn and slow down and... Whoa, whoa.

I'm okay, but my violin. Oh, yeah. Smarty pants, when you roller skate, leave your violin at home. Take a minute now and leave us a five-star Apple review. You might hear it on the show. And don't forget, you can listen to Who Smarted Anywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music, including hands-free listening powered by Alexa on all Apple, Android, and Echo devices.

A super smarty shout out to Carver in Denver, who loves listening to Who Smarted before bed and then sharing the fun facts the next day at breakfast. How cool is that?

This episode, Roller Skating, was written by Dave Rollerboogie Beaudry and voiced by Taya Get Down Garland, Max Cool Moves Kamaski, Adam Blades Davis, and Jerry Kolber. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Helmut Hahn. Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios. Our associate producer is Max Kamaski. The theme song is by Brian Tospin Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex-Davis.

Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex-Davis and Jerry Colbert. This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.