Speaker
Chuck Bryant
Appearances over time
4 episodes
Episodes
4
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Only about 30% of hemangioma (strawberry mark) birthmarks are visible at birth; most develop between 4–6 weeks, and nearly all are visible by 6 months.
Don Cornelius personally funded the Soul Train pilot for $400, a decision that meant he retained 100% ownership of the show.
Confucius, a vegetarian and noted knife-hater, wrote that 'the honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen, and he allows no knives on his table,' helping propel chopstick adoption.
Approximately 1% of babies are born with congenital moles, which vary widely in color, size, and whether they have hair.
At its peak in August 2000, Enron's market cap hit $70 billion, making it the 7th largest publicly traded company in the world.
China alone produces 80 billion disposable chopsticks every year, a figure that shocked even a parliamentary hearing where it was first publicly corrected from the previously cited 57 billion.
American Bandstand had been on the air for nearly two decades before Soul Train arrived, making Soul Train's immediate impact even more remarkable.
When Enron filed for bankruptcy, all 20,000 employees were let go, many with only hours' notice to pack up their desks.
One rank-and-file Enron employee had nearly $350,000 in company stock in his 401(k) that ultimately sold for just $1,200 after the collapse.
Average Enron employee severance was about $4,500, while management bonuses — separate from stock cashouts — totaled more than $55 million.
Johnson Products, makers of Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, was founded in 1954 and became one of Soul Train's earliest and longest-running sponsors.
Using chopsticks engages over 50 muscles and 30 joints across the fingers, arms, shoulders, and wrists — far more than a fork.
Mongolian spots, bluish-gray birthmarks common in African, Asian, and Hispanic children, usually fade by ages 6–7 and can be mistaken for bruises.
Don Cornelius hosted his final Soul Train episode on May 10th, 1993, after which he handed the reins to a younger generation of hosts.
The English word 'chopstick' is believed to derive from Chinese Pidgin English meaning 'chop chop' or 'quickly,' though the etymology is hard to definitively pin down.
Blood is never blue — not even when deoxygenated. Veins appear blue because blue light can't penetrate as deeply as red light, so it reflects back to the surface. Red light goes deeper and gets absorbed, making deep tissue appear blue to the eye.
A Syrian child born with an axe-mark-shaped birthmark allegedly recounted memories of being murdered in a past life, naming the killer and the village. Village elders investigated, located the accused, and reportedly obtained a confession and found the buried remains. Documented or not, the story is hard to shake.
A UK birthmark support group described a mother who had explanation cards printed about her child's birthmark because she couldn't always handle strangers approaching to ask about her child's face. The real problem isn't the birthmark — it's everyone else.
Melanoma is widely written off as a minor skin issue you just get removed. In reality, it can spread through the body with terrifying speed and kill. Atypical moles are a key warning sign, and the cultural messaging around melanoma has badly failed the public.
Pulsed dye lasers target a specific wavelength of light absorbed by the pigment of a birthmark but not by the surrounding skin. That light energy converts to heat inside the birthmark, destroying the clustered blood vessels. Multiple treatments can eliminate port wine stains — though it feels like hot bacon grease on the skin.
Café au lait birthmarks — light brown spots that can appear anywhere on the body — are usually harmless. But having 6 or more, especially larger than a dime, may indicate neurofibromatosis (NF1), a nerve condition. It's not a death sentence, but it is a sign to see a doctor.
Port wine stains are the only birthmark type with a partially identified genetic cause: a molecular switch permanently stuck in the 'on' position. About 6% of cases are linked to Sturge-Weber syndrome, a neurological condition — and 100% of Sturge-Weber patients have the port wine stain.
Atypical moles are the ones you want a doctor to examine — they're amorphous in shape, have color gradients, and are associated with melanoma. Most people don't take melanoma seriously, but it can spread through the body faster than almost any other cancer.
Mongolian spots are deep-pigment birthmarks common in African, Asian, and Hispanic babies that appear as bluish-gray patches on the lower back and buttocks. They're easily mistaken for bruising and typically fade by ages 6–7.
The UK organization changingfaces.org advocates for people with facial differences by pushing back on society rather than the individuals. Their message: people with birthmarks or other facial differences aren't cognitively or physically impaired. The rest of society needs to adjust its reaction.
Birthmarks fall into two broad families: vascular (caused by clusters of blood vessels near the skin) and pigmented (caused by concentrations of melanin). Neither type is fully understood by science, but understanding the difference determines how doctors monitor and treat them.
In early 2001, Fortune journalist Bethany McLean published 'Is Enron Overpriced?' — among the first public challenges to the company's finances. Short-seller Jim Chanos had already been betting against Enron since 2000, having noticed that Enron's cost of capital exceeded its return on investment, making it mathematically not profitable. He made hundreds of millions shorting the stock.
While strangling California with fake blackouts, Ken Lay hosted a private meeting at the Peninsula Hotel in LA with Arnold Schwarzenegger — long before Schwarzenegger had declared any political ambitions. The resulting public fury over blackouts fueled a recall election that removed Governor Gray Davis and installed a governor far more friendly to Enron.
Enron began as a boring natural gas pipeline company formed from a 1985 merger, posting a $14 million loss in year one. Within 15 years, hiring Jeffrey Skilling and exploiting federal deregulation transformed it into a $100 billion revenue machine — almost entirely built on financial smoke and mirrors.
Because birthmarks have no known cause, cultures worldwide invented explanations blaming the pregnant mother. Being startled and touching her face, eating too many strawberries, drinking port wine, gazing at fire — all were supposedly capable of marking the unborn child. The X-ray version persisted into the modern era.
Analysis
What they talk about
- Society & Culture 57%
- Business 31%
- Health & Fitness 6%
- History 6%
Connections
Shows they appear on and people they share episodes with. Drag to explore.
