MB S2 E5 Money Design Script / page 1 VOICEOVER: This episode of Million Bazillion was filmed before a live studio audience… not really. --Theme Music-[FADE UP APPLAUSE] JED: Welcome back to Million Bazillion, where we help dollars make more sense. I’m Jed. BRIDGET: And I’m Bridget! Thanks for joining us for this VERY SPECIAL LIVE episode of our show! <crowd reacts with thunderous applause> JED: See, you guys sent us So. Many. Questions about why money looks the way it does...like why is it green? How do we pick who and what’s on it?-BRIDGET: All very important questions. And we couldn’t decide which ONE we should answer…so we discussed it… JED: And we NEGOTIATED with each other... BRIDGET: And we decided the best compromise was to answer ALL of the questions you have about money and why it looks the way it does. Or at least, as many as we could fit into the show. JED: That’s right! And then we thought, if we’re going to answer a whole bunch of questions, why not do it in front of a LIVE studio audience. Let me hear you guys, make some noise!! [WILD APPLAUSE] JED: We’ll be back after this with your questions about why money looks the way it does, and a really smart guest who's going to help us with the answers! --Asking Random Kids-KIMBERLY: And now, it’s time for asking Random Kids Not So Random Questions. Today’s question is: If you could design your own money, what would it look like? That was TK TKTKT. This has been asking Random Kids Not So Random Questions. --Asking Random Kids-[APPLAUSE CROSS FADE W ARK] MB S2 E5 Money Design Script / page 2 JED: Wecome back to this special episode of Million Bazillion, today in front of a live studio audience! We’re diving deep into your questions about why money looks the way it does! BRIDGET: That’s right! Because money is very useful! Look under your seat….we gave you all a dollar!! CROWD GOES CRAZY KID IN AUDIENCE 1: Hey, my seat only has gum under it! BRIDGET: Now look at that dollar REALLY carefully! Do you see how detailed it is? JED: Oh I do! I’ve got an American ONE dollar bill here...It’s green...I see the picture of George Washington on the front...the back has that fun weird pyramid… oh - and there’s a cool eagle… and lots of plants… and are those spiderwebs? I gotta say, the images are all so clear and intricate! So much detail! And yet it’s all so tiny! PICKUP BRIDGET: And did you know that every country has different art on their bank notes? That’s another word for bills. A lot of countries use different bright and beautiful colors for their money! They make the bills different sizes! It’s art that just happens to fit into your wallet. JED: Okay, let’s get to answering your questions! Today’s guest is a very special one. Her name is Ellen Feingold and she’s the money curator at the Smithsonian museum. That means she’s in charge of all the money the museum has in their collection. BRIDGET: And that’s a whole lot...they’ve got money from around the world, and back in time...the money is all shapes and sizes! And she gets to decide which money is on display when people visit! JED: It’s pretty cool. Let’s give Ellen a warm Million Bazillion welcome! [APPLAUSE] [[JED: Ellen Feingold, welcome to the show. ELLEN: My pleasure. Thanks for having me. JED: All right, let's start with a question from the audience, come on down, and ask your question into that microphone! Hi, I am Veehan from Los Angeles. I am seven years old. And my question is, why is money green? And has important people on it? MB S2 E5 Money Design Script / page 3 JED: What a great question from Veehan! Can we get a round of applause for him? [APPLAUSE] Get that kid a free shirt! So Ellen, let’s get your answer to the first part of his question. Why is American money green? ELLEN: That is a great question. American banknotes were first made in the early 1860s. And at the time, we only had black and white photography. So the people that were designing the banknotes decided that it would be a good idea to choose a bright color that couldn't be reproduced by using a photograph or taking a photograph of another banknote, as part of the design. So the very first banknotes, federal banknotes made in the early 1860s had a bright green color, and they got the name greenbacks. And that became the that sort of popular way of referring to American money. And it stuck. It also is green is also seen as a sign of trustworthiness. And green ink was seen as very robust in the 1920s when our current bills that we ha