Jordan Birnbaum

What Will Mark Malkoff Think Of Next?

Jun 14, 2013

MM
Stage· 287 messages
Jun 14, 2013
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:00 AM

Mr. Malkoff, I presume?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:00 AM

Maybe...
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:00 AM

Oh dear - is there an imposter at your computer
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:00 AM

Ha. You never know. Jordan, great to be here!
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:00 AM

Mark - thank you so much for doing this, and thank you so much to everyone for being here!
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:01 AM

I'm dressed in a tux. I forgot we're only typing.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:01 AM

Happy to be here.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:01 AM

Well we can always tweet the picture later
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:01 AM

It won't go to waste
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:01 AM

Thank goodness!
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:01 AM

It took me seven hours to tie the bow tie.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:01 AM

so I have to say that I have spent a good deal of time watching many more of your videos the past few days
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:02 AM

You and my mother.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:02 AM

and I have been laughing hysterically
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:02 AM

And father I should add.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:02 AM

has she as well?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:02 AM

Thanks. So happy to hear it.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:02 AM

★ Spotlighted from C. Brian Smith

“PRISM”

MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:02 AM

Yeah, my parents find everything I do online.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:02 AM

Now C. Bri - we all appreciate the NSA reference
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:03 AM

Very timely.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:03 AM

So I have a million questions. do you have 1 million answers?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:03 AM

Shoot.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:04 AM

For context, Mark produces The Bill Murray Show. (starring Mark Malkoff)
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:04 AM

Yes, which is on My Damn Channel.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:04 AM

care to give our audience a little background on the project?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:05 AM

Yes, basically I'm attempting to get Bill Murray to come have dinner at my apartment. I've been leaving messages on his 800 number.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:05 AM

We have some mutual friends. Hopefully that will help, but Bill Murray is pretty hard to get a hold of.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:05 AM

My personal guess is it'll take a few years.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:05 AM

Do you have any idea if the show is helping you makle progress?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:06 AM

I mkean, you cook him something every episode - I have to think at some point he'll get hungry
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:06 AM

I'm pretty sure he's at least aware of my project. One of his friends called Murray and said he'd direct the dinner video. We'll see.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:06 AM

If Murray says no maybe I'll change it to Louie Anderson.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:07 AM

All right cool. Louie maybe more available if he's not diving. one pf
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:07 AM

Yes, you would think Murray would want pasta cooked by my wife.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:07 AM

I'll take some
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:07 AM

Maybe after dinner Louie can dive into my bathtub.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:08 AM

That actually made no sense. I should try to sleep more than 3 hours a night.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:08 AM

OK -so on My Damn Channel - you have a huge amount of programming, most of it starins the imagination
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:08 AM

strains
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:08 AM

Yes, I stay busy.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:08 AM

I like to pick video ideas that are challenging and often seem borderline impossible to pull off.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:08 AM

So why don't we start with your visitng all 171 Starbucks in NY in 1 day. Are you a masochist?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:09 AM

That was brutal. I attempted to visit all 171 Starbucks in Manhattan in less than 24 hours, make a purchase, and consume something.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:09 AM

It took a month of planning and practice.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:10 AM

During the shoot I had to go to a store every 7 minutes for 23 hours straight.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:10 AM

so was there caffeine / sugar overload?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:10 AM

and how do you practice?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:10 AM

I was a mess. It was a hot July day.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:10 AM

After 12 hours I couldn't walk in a straight line.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:10 AM

I was dizzy.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:10 AM

hot coffee or iced?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:10 AM

I had no abandon my bike. My friend, Jill, rescued me with her car and drove me to the remaining locations.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:11 AM

more iced, but some hot.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:11 AM

You shouldn't drink and ride
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:11 AM

I learned the hard way!
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:11 AM

I was up for 27 hours. My body was in pain for days. When I got home my wife was horrified. I was covered in dirt.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:11 AM

I was a mess.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:11 AM

I actually find it interesting that you're married AND allowed to have a friend named Jill.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:12 AM

Ha. It was my director's girlfriend at the time.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:12 AM

My crew all got sick.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:12 AM

why were they drinking with you?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:12 AM

It was the hardest shoot I've ever done by far.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:12 AM

No, it was just brutal. The pace of having to go to a store every 7 minutes for 23 hours. It was really hot out.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:13 AM

My one crew person had to stop after ten hours.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:13 AM

Another threw up.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:13 AM

The things we do for art
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:13 AM

Exactly!
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:13 AM

A lot of people told me it was impossible.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:13 AM

It felt good to pull it off.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:14 AM

All right -so assuming it took a few months to get the caffeine out of your system, how long until you moved into Ikea for a week?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:14 AM

★ Spotlighted from Lucy Dyer

“no jordan,he just wanted his coffee fix...”

Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:14 AM

★ Spotlighted from C. Brian Smith

“Sounds like a blast.”

MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:14 AM

I did 171 Starbucks in I think July 2007. I moved into IKEA to live for a week in Jan 2008.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:14 AM

Living in IKEA was the best.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:14 AM

Roller blading with security at 3am.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:15 AM

Messing with customers.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:15 AM

So explain exactly how you convinced them to let you do it
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:15 AM

Lisa Loeb played a concert for me and my wife in the store.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:15 AM

I'm just really persistent.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:15 AM

★ Spotlighted from Blake Ian

“I was never allowed to have friends named "Jill" in my last relationship”

MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:15 AM

It took me a few months to convince them.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:15 AM

I followed up a lot.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:15 AM

We did a few calls.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:15 AM

but what do you say when you call them up? Don't they think you're crazy?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:16 AM

I told them it would be huge publicity for them and that's exactly what happened.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:16 AM

you were certainly right
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:16 AM

Ha. They had seen my 171 Starbucks video which helped. I emailed them.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:16 AM

I told them there was no downside for doing it.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:17 AM

except the lawsuits
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:17 AM

Customers drove hours to come meet me.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:17 AM

Very true.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:17 AM

My living area was tons nicer than my NYC apartment.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:17 AM

We're going to talk about the Mark Malkoff Challenge in a bit, but...
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:17 AM

Sure.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:18 AM

I challenge anyone to watch the footage of you in IKEA without as huge grin on their face the entire time.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:18 AM

Aw. Thanks.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:18 AM

★ Spotlighted from Lucy Dyer

“*note to self*...2if you want to live at IKEA,make a complete nuisance of yourself"....gotcha!”

MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:18 AM

★ Spotlighted from Blake Ian

“Mark Malkoff is to Comedy what David Blaine is to magic!”

Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:18 AM

So what were some of the most surprising developments of your time. The staff seemed to love you...
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:18 AM

did you see that coming>?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:19 AM

Not really. Employees cried when I left at the end of the week.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:19 AM

Have you stayed in touch with them? When is the reunion?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:20 AM

The craziest thing was the media. There were constant camera crews. My friends in Japan and Italy discovered it by reading about it in the newspaper.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:20 AM

Yes, I email with a few people at IKEA. They are great.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:20 AM

I would live in IKEA again in a heartbeat.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:20 AM

So when the story broke about the horse meat in the meatballs, did you have to think back to what you ate when you lived there?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:20 AM

They made me tofu meatballs.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:21 AM

nice alternative
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:21 AM

Tasty for sure.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:21 AM

worst customer experience?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:21 AM

Honestly none.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:21 AM

Maybe when a dude lied down in my bed.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:21 AM

that's a violation, bro
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:21 AM

He didn't understand I was really living there.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:21 AM

He should be jailed.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:21 AM

those were your sheets!
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:22 AM

Exactly!
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:22 AM

★ Spotlighted from C. Brian Smith

“see #3: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/22-signs-that-demand-an-explanation”

Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:22 AM

★ Spotlighted from Craig Unger

“Can we see the IKEA or Starbucks on MyDamnChannel”

Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:22 AM

★ Spotlighted from Lucy Dyer

“mark's first night at IKEA!! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9q0sB_Xp6A”

MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:22 AM

http://www.marklivesinikea.com/
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:23 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwYxuV2dVzw
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:23 AM

All right -so if the Ikea project allowed you to live in luxury, many of your other projects seem designed for you to torture yourself.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:23 AM

Like living on an airplane straight for 30 days?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:23 AM

You broke the world record for most flights taken in a 30-day period as an attempt to overcome your fear of flying
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:24 AM

guesss it was a good lead in - we went to the same place
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:24 AM

I did. 135 flights in a month. I couldn't shower the entire time. Baby wipes.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:24 AM

Why would you do this to yourself?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:25 AM

I had a fear of flying. I'm all about extremes. I figured I'd have to trap myself and force myself to fly a lot to get over the fear.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:25 AM

It's essentially what happened.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:25 AM

did it work?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:25 AM

is that immersion therapy?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:25 AM

Yes. After about a week and half of talking to the pilots and flight attendants I got over my fear. They were more or less my unpaid therapists.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:26 AM

Well, they're obviously qualified
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:26 AM

as psychotherapists, I mean
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:26 AM

They say, "Turbulence is like being in the ocean and going over a wave."
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:26 AM

"It's like driving over gravel."
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:26 AM

Rather that's what the pilots told me.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:26 AM

But then did you develop a fear of bathing?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:27 AM

or an addiciton to baby wipes?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:27 AM

Almost
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:27 AM

phew
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:27 AM

dodged a bullet on that one
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:27 AM

The baby wipes actually weren't bad. They got me clean.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:27 AM

miracle fabric
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:27 AM

My wife flew with me on the weekends to see me.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:28 AM

so she would spend the entire weekend with you on the plane?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:28 AM

We had our anniversary on the wing of a plane with a catered meal
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:28 AM

Yes, my wife would fly wherever I went on the weekends.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:28 AM

They ended up putting my face on a plane which I couldn't believe.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:28 AM

I guess my next question is, "How do you get someone to love you that much?" (your wife I mean - not the airline)
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:29 AM

Ha. It's tough sometimes. I've put her through a lot.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:29 AM

No I'm asking for advice.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:29 AM

We did a video that's coming out soon where we were handcuffed for 48 hours.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:29 AM

It's called "The Marriage Challenge"
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:29 AM

of course you are
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:30 AM

All right - let's get to one of my favorites
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:30 AM

The weird thing is I have sleeping problems. I slept better handcuffed!
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:30 AM

Maybe you should call your pilot friends. That sounds like a topic for psychotherapy.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:31 AM

You're probably right.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:31 AM

OK - so I think my favorite Mark Malkoff Challenge is the Bus vs. the Big Wheels
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:31 AM

★ Spotlighted from Rick Rosner

“Next stop, sleeping in a dog crate.”

MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:32 AM

Yes, I was frustrated with NYC buses. So I raced a NYC bus on 42nd Street one mile while riding on a child's big wheel.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:32 AM

I won by 2 minutes!
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:32 AM

Take that, MTA.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:32 AM

Was it scary riding on 42nd in a Big Wheels in traffic?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:32 AM

Terrifying.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:32 AM

http://www.mydamnchannel.com/Mark_Malkoff/Big_Wheel_vs__Bus/BigWheelVsBus_6922.aspx
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:33 AM

I was in traffic on a big wheel surrounded by taxi's.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:33 AM

So was it excruciating on your legs, or are big wheels surprisingly easy to peddle?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:33 AM

I did a week of research. The bus had a 20 percent change of winning.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:33 AM

you were favored?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:33 AM

My legs were in massive pain!
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:34 AM

did you train?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:34 AM

on a big wheels?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:34 AM

Only because I peddled like my life depended on it.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:34 AM

it kinda did
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:35 AM

It was tough to train because my legs hurt so bad.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:35 AM

so other times your Challenges involve interacting with strangers in strange ways. Can you explain how you were carried 9.1 miles by NYers?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:36 AM

★ Spotlighted from Blake Ian

“Peddled... BECAUSE your life depended on it”

Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:36 AM

great minds, Blake
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:36 AM

Ha. I was frustrated that NY has a reputation for being rude. I don't find it to be true. So I set out to disprove that myth by attempting to get people on the street to physically carry me across Manhattan.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:37 AM

155 people carried me over 9 miles.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:37 AM

It was the coldest day of the year! 11 degrees.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:37 AM

was that on purpose or just lucky?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:37 AM

Lucky.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:37 AM

you get lucky with weather a lot, huh?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:38 AM

Though my wife was not happy that was the day I picked. She would have liked summer.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:38 AM

so how far was the longest someone could carry you?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:38 AM

and was it piggy back, fireman's cradle, bear hug?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:38 AM

Someone carried me almost 20 city blocks on his shoulders.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:39 AM

Wow
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:39 AM

I got carried all different ways. People contorted by body. I was in a lot of pain for a few days.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:39 AM

anybody drop you?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:39 AM

Rather, contorted my body.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:39 AM

Thankfully no.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:40 AM

anyone shorter and lighter than you give it a go?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:40 AM

★ Spotlighted from Tawkers Admin

“Folks in the Forum - Remember to hit those three little dots and vote up the comments you like... Only the Overheard comments get seen by the Hosts... @Mark, the crew is having a blast watching your vids!”

MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:40 AM

I had men, women, and teens carry me. Older people too.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:40 AM

I wish I could seer the grammar wars in the audience...
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:40 AM

Yes, shorter and lighter.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:41 AM

So how long would it take to convoince someone you were serious?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:41 AM

Some New Yorkers didn't hesitate and carried me instantly. Other times it took me maybe fifteen or twenty seconds.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:41 AM

GO NYers!
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:42 AM

so you think you proved the point at a statistically significant level?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:42 AM

I absolutely do. Other countries saw the video and tried the experiment out.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:42 AM

I know it happened in London and Germany.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:42 AM

really? how did they do?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:43 AM

They did great. They didn't get nearly as far as I did, but that's okay.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:43 AM

Maybe NYers are actually the nicest.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:43 AM

I think they rank up there for sure.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:43 AM

Jordan, you would have carried me.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:43 AM

Which is a nice segway to your keys-to-the-city challenge. Gave you a chance to compare citizenry all over the country. Care to share?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:44 AM

of course i would have
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:44 AM

Sure. I traveled the country for a month trying to convince mayors to give me their key to the city. Within a month 95 mayors gave me their key to the city.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:45 AM

how hard is it to get a key to the city? And does that mean you averaged 3 a day?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:45 AM

Something like that. It was big cities like Baltimore, Tampa, and Milwaukee
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:45 AM

And then smaller towns where the mayor didn't even have an office.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:45 AM

geographically convenient
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:45 AM

so smaler was easier?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:46 AM

For the most part yes.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:46 AM

and they all have keys lying around?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:46 AM

It's not an order by demand kind of thing?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:46 AM

Some mornings I had no mayors booked. I'd start cold calling city halls. By the end of the day I'd sometimes have five new keys.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:46 AM

Yes, all the keys are in my NYC apartment.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:47 AM

Including a chocolate key.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:47 AM

you haven't eaten it?! where's it from? Hershey?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:47 AM

Twelve of the keys double as bottle openers. For real.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:47 AM

USA! USA!
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:47 AM

The chocolate key is from Palentine, IL
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:48 AM

for a sec I thought you wrote Palestine...
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:48 AM

Rather Palatine, IL
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:48 AM

Some towns gave me the first key in their history.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:49 AM

I'd ask mayors in the bigger places who the last person they gave they key to and they'd answer "Bill Clinton" "John Kerry"
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:49 AM

I kind of couldn't believe it.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:49 AM

★ Spotlighted from Blake Ian

“Useless Fact - Palatine is the name of the presidential candidate in Taxi Driver...”

Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:49 AM

★ Spotlighted from Rick Rosner

“In fact, they pay you to take one.”

Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:49 AM

★ Spotlighted from Rick Rosner

“They have a sale on keys to Lafayette, Louisiana”

MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:49 AM

I talked to a famous Senator. He told me he always threw the keys away.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:49 AM

OK -so I could spend hours more going through all these hilarious challenges. But I want to talk about the upcoming one with Skype.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:50 AM

Yes, lets talk Skype.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:50 AM

Can you give us a little background on the project?
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:50 AM

wait, am i missing Louisiana talk
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:50 AM

I attempted to talk on Skype with someone from every country in the world.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:50 AM

you snooze, you miss louisiana talk
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:50 AM

I can't give away the results, but I did end up talking on Skype to over a hundred countries.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:51 AM

It was kind of an incredible experience.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:51 AM

The video should be out in late August.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:51 AM

how did you go about finding people?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:51 AM

It was kind of hard. It look a while. I used Twitter and Facebook.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:52 AM

Couchsurfing turned out to be a huge help.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:52 AM

How's that?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:52 AM

Rather the site www.couchsurfing.com
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:53 AM

ahh - comprendo
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:53 AM

We got a lot of people from the site.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:53 AM

so I imagine these conversations must have run the gamut from inane to deeply moving to hilarious
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:53 AM

fair guess?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:54 AM

It was wild talking to China on Skype while they were in the middle of Tananmen Square
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:54 AM

Talking to Syria was heartbreaking.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:54 AM

wow - shouldn't our schools be getting kids doing this?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:54 AM

Definitely educational. I learned a lot.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:55 AM

what did you take away from it all? Do you feel like more of a global citizen? You feel more connected to people?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:56 AM

It made me want to travel more. It emphasized that even though we are separated by geography and sometimes culture, we're all the same.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:56 AM

It definitely made me feel more connected. I'd love to travel and meet them all in person.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:57 AM

So - in all these adventures, what are some of the biggest lessons you've from interacting with all these strangers? Is it that people aren't so bad after all? (goes against my philosophy)
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:57 AM

learned
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:58 AM

I learned the power of asking.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:58 AM

good answer, dude
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:58 AM

I asked people for insane stuff and was rewarded.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:58 AM

It's trained my mind to believe anything is possible.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:59 AM

I have the pleasure of knowing you, but if anyone in the audience spends some time watching My Damn Channel...
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:59 AM

I think you'll all understand what a loveable and special Mark is.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:59 AM

You are very kind.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 1:59 AM

I had so much fun doing this with you, man.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 1:59 AM

Especially saying that when I owe you lot of money.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 2:00 AM

I promise I'll pay one of these days.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 2:00 AM

Waiut, that was YOU?
MM

Mark Malkoff · 2:00 AM

Thanks for having me, Jordan! This was great.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 2:00 AM

I love what you guys are doing.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 2:00 AM

audience - I love you like always.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 2:00 AM

Yes, thank you, audience.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 2:01 AM

Thanks Mark - we're going to have to figure out a Tawkers Mark Malkoff Challenge!
MM

Mark Malkoff · 2:01 AM

Ha. Sound fun.
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 2:01 AM

see you all soon! G'nite.
MM

Mark Malkoff · 2:01 AM

Good night!
Jordan Birnbaum

Jordan Birnbaum · 2:02 AM

and if you're coming after the fact, hit the "top" button in the upper left corner to pick the Tawk up from the beginning.