36 Recorded February 22, 1973

Jayne Meadows, Henry Morgan, Anita Gillette, Richard Dawson

Raymond Sokolov, food editor of the New York Times: “I tasted dog food”

Sokolov and his Saluki Cleo taste-tested eight commercial brands of dog food for a 1972 column. As a columnist and food critic for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and many other publications, Sokolov would gain attention in part for provocative stunts like this one. For a history magazine, he once wrote a column about cannibalism, presumably without taste testing. His memoir Steal the Menu (Knopf 2013) is a look back at forty years covering the food beat. He is also the author of many other works, including several cookbooks.

Jane Barbe from Atlanta, Georgia: “My recorded voice tells the time on the telephone”

Generations who’ve grown up with satellite-connected smart phones will find this hard to believe, but once upon a time, the best way to get the accurate time was to call a telephone number and get it from a recording. Barbe’s voice was one of the most famous, and Barbe herself eventually became something of a celebrity because of it. Her pre-recorded voice told callers the time, the temperature, weather, horoscopes, even messages like 'the number you have dialed is unavailable.' Like most in-demand voice artists, Barbe also lent her dulcet tones to a variety of other projects, including commercials and films.

Special guest Don Knotts: “I’m sitting on your lap”

That’s all it is. With the panel blindfolded, Don is sitting on Steve’s lap center stage. Just a brief, silly game. Knotts rose to fame on Steve’s variety show, especially in the “Man on the Street” interview segments in which he always played a jittery, nervous fellow. He achieved TV legend status as Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968) where he won five Emmy Awards. He would later entertain a new generation of TV viewers as landlord Ralph Furley in the final five seasons of Three’s Company (1977-1984).

Mrs. [Bernie Allen] from Paris, California: “My hen laid these green eggs”

The eggs are in a basket and are therefore not visible to the panel. When we finally get a look at them, they are extremely pale green, hardly noteworthy. Dr Seuss made Green Eggs and Ham famous in his 1960 children’s classic, but there’s nothing wildly unusual about green eggs. They have frequently been reported to pop up on farms, and there are a variety of reasons (and theories) as to why, mostly having to do with the genetic makeup of the hen. The original series featured a farmer with green eggs way back in 1954 ( E109 ).