FRIDAY, Feb 16 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR FRIDAY, February 16, 2024
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: THE FRIDAY CLUSTERFLICKS

TODAY IS …
(All days repeat annually on today’s date unless otherwise noted; days may or may not be called “National”/”International”/”World” depending on source; sources listed often have additional info. We generally do not list special days which were created by commercial companies for the purpose of marketing, or the hundreds of disease awareness listings which occur each year.)

DO A GROUCH A FAVOR DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“Do a Grouch a Favor today. Do it and make the world a better place. Everyone has been a grouch at one time or another. Some people are seemingly grouches all of the time. It’s in their nature. Others are occasional grouches, influenced by events in their lives, lack of sleep, the weather, etc. A few people are good at disguising their grouchy mood. But, they still need cheering up. Look around for someone who is in a grouchy mood today. Then, do him or her a favor that will cheer up their day. There’s plenty of grouches out there to practice on. Try it on all of the grouches that you see today, and watch the results!”

NATIONAL ALMOND DAY

NATIONAL INNOVATION DAY
The Dates About Traveling The World website says this:
“National Innovation Day, which is observed annually in the United States every February 16, was created to encourage children and young people to be creative and innovative.”

February is:

Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month
African American History Month
Celebration of Chocolate Month
International Boost Self Esteem Month
International Friendship Month
National Bird Feeding Month
National Snack Food Month
National Sweet Potato Month
Spunky Old Broads Month
Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

SWEETPEA, PUPPY BOWL STAR, DEAD AT 4 MONTHS

The sweetheart of the Puppy Bowl is dead. Sweetpea, the smallest puppy ever to appear on the annual show – just 1.7 pounds – died unexpectedly on her way to the hospital for a check-up last November. A little history: The Puppy Bowl we saw last Sunday was actually filmed back in October 2023. Sweetpea was born on July 1, 2023 with hydrocephalus, a neurological disorder caused by a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain’s cavities. She also had a hole in her heart. She was taken to an animal shelter where she was well-cared for, with repeated ultrasounds and echocardiograms. By the time Sweetpea turned eight weeks, the hole in her heart had closed up on its own. Around that same time, in September, she was selected to be in the Puppy Bowl, filmed in October 2023. In early November, Sweetpea worked the kissing booth for the rescue shelter’s annual fundraiser. Sweetpea kissed hundreds of people there for an event that brought in over $26,000. But on Nov. 20, 2023, Sweetpea was headed to a check-up with the University of Georgia when she died in the car. An autopsy later revealed that she passed away because her kidneys were deformed, and she wasn’t able to process protein. The rescue shelter said, “We knew when she came to our rescue, she was going to be a medical nightmare. We made sure she was taken care of well and gave her the best life possible with her short life expectancy.”
* Her little heart was just too small to hold all the love that was given to her. Same thing happened to Julia Roberts in “Steel Magnolias.”
* Thanks, Puppy Bowl. You could have saved us a lot of heartache with just a few thousand dollars’ worth of MRI’s.
* Are they going to return all the money wagered on the Puppy Bowl because of this outrageous fraud?
* They run these puppies through the grind of the big game, and then they spit them out the other end, broken and damaged. There needs to be a movie about this starring Will Smith.

THE BUZZ

KIDS SAY THE DARNEDEST THINGS

Collected form the internet, here’s another round of “Funny Names That Kids Call Things”:
– “My 4-year-old has a tummyache and before she went to bed she asked how you get the egg out of your body, so that’s how I found out she’s spent her whole life thinking we get tummyeggs when we don’t feel well.”
– “My 4 y.o. calls cream cheese ‘scream cheese.’ It makes me laugh, but he doesn’t know why it’s funny. ”
– “When my daughter gets mad she says ‘ocean’ instead of ‘oh s–t’ [the S word] and I’m fine with it.”
– “My 4yo just asked for ‘corn off the bone.'”
– “The 6yo has just informed us that the skin behind your knee (when you bend it) is called your ‘leg pit.'”
– “Today the 3yo called yolks ‘egg cheese.'”
– “My 4 yo called nipples ‘booby buttons.'”
– “When my son jumps off the jungle gym instead of yelling ‘Geronimo’ he yells ‘Home Depot!'”
* PHONE TOPIC: Does your kid have a funny name for something?

HEY – NEW WORDS YOU CAN START USING TODAY!

Dictionary.com has added several Gen-Z slang words as part of the website’s 327 new entries. Here is how to sound fresh and groovy:
– The ick: distaste towards another person or entity. As in, “That guy gives me the ick.” (* Is that different than “That guy GAVE me the ick”?)
– Mid: mediocrity or something that is unimpressive or disappointing.
– Bussin’: feeling great, amazing or wonderful.
– Boobne: Pimples or acne on the breast that come as a result of sweat and bra chafing. (* Is a pimple on your butt ass-ne? Are pimples on the back of your leg knee-ne?
– Greedflation: high prices for consumer goods and living expenses.
– Sound bath: listening to a bevy of bells and chimes for aural therapy and mental well-being.
– Bechdel test: a measure used to chart the representation of female presence in works of fiction. To pass the Bechdel test, the movie or TV show must include at least two fairly important female characters who talk to each other about something besides a man.
– Squish: an intense feeling of infatuation that is not romantic or sexual in nature; a platonic crush.
– Barbiecore: the surge of Barbie culture and all that is pink.
– Bed rotting: spending an excessive amount of time in bed. In Scotland, this is called the “hurkle-durkle,” which is a term also making it way around the intenet in the last month. (* I thought hurkle-durkle is when she drinks too much and barfs, but you’re still willing to have sex with her.)
– Skiplagging: When you want to fly from, say, Florida to North Carolina, but that flight is more expensive than a flight from Florida to New York that makes a stop in North Carolina, so you book the cheaper flight to New York but get off the plane in North Carolina. You save money, and the airlines hate that.
– Girl dinner – a low-effort, odd assortment of food cobbled together as a last-ditch meal. (* So, basically, weekend breakfast.)

U.S. NEWS

FLORIDA MAN STEALS YARD STATUES, GIVES THEM TO EX-GIRLFRIEND FOR VALENTINE’S DAY

In Winter Haven, Florida, a man spent Valentine’s Day in jail accused of stealing lawn statues out of a front yard and gifting them to his ex-girlfriend. Police say Anthony Lewis, 33, was riding his bicycle when he saw two crane statues in a woman’s front yard and thought they would be a nice gift for his ex, because he wanted to “make-up” with her. The statues were returned to their rightful owner and Lewis, who has 39 previous burglary and theft charges, was arrested.
* Yeah, when he hit 40 burglaries and thefts, the police thought it was probably time to lock him up.
* He should have gone with garden gnomes. That’s what gets the babes.
* He gives her the cranes, she gives him the bird.
* He should have stolen a wheelbarrow to carry the lawn cranes.
* This is Florida. How did he not steal pink flamingos?

TENNESSEE BILL WOULD BAN COLD BEER SALES

A bill working its way through the Tennessee legislature would prohibit selling cold beer. According to its summary, the bill prohibits a store “from selling at retail refrigerated or cold beer.” The bill was introduced by Sen. Paul Rose and Rep. Ron Gant, who represent parts of West Tennessee near the Memphis area. Gant said this would serve as a deterrent for people who are considering cracking open a beer behind the wheel. He also said it might not fix the problem completely but it might make the alcohol less readily available.
* I don’t think they drink much beer in Tennessee, do they?
* Just to be sure it’s not cold, beer stores would also have to close from December to March.
* The Guinness Ale people are going, “Fine by us!” (They like to serve their ale warm, you see.)
* The same with sellers of ice and refrigerators.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

AUDIO: BATHROOMS STOP WORKING ON DREAMLINER TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT

Eight of the nine bathrooms stopped working a Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying more than 200 passengers from Amsterdam to Los Angeles on Monday. Soon after takeoff, flight attendants realized that just one bathroom on the plane was working. The pilots first considered heading back to Amsterdam about an hour into the flight, but then for some reason decided to continue. Then two hours later, the jet did a U-turn over Greenland and returned to Amsterdam, meaning passengers had a 6 ½-hour flight to nowhere. The airline then replaced the 787 with another one, which departed from Amsterdam nine hours later than originally scheduled.
* All systems WEREN’T go, and they kept on going.
* The policy is to wait long enough so you waste everybody’s ENTIRE day.
* 200 passengers, one bathroom. That’s a helluva holding pattern.
* There was a line out the door, I bet. And because it was a Boeing plane, I’m being literal.
* Time to add another item to the preflight checklist.
CLIP: Our little “Dreamliner” song.
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)com/prep/wp-content/uploads/01-22-DreamlinerSounder(dot)mp3

SWISS BOBSLEDDER RUN OVER BY HIS OWN SLED

Swiss bobsled athlete Sandro Michel is recovering from emergency surgery after a training crash. Michel was the brakeman in a four-man sled when it crashed Tuesday during training for this weekend’s World Cup races in Altenberg, Germany. He was thrown from his seat in the crash and was on the ice when the sled—after it came to a stop—starting sliding back down the chute. Michel was run over by the bobsled. He was airlifted from the track to a hospital about 75 miles away where he had surgery on his hip and thigh area and suffered chest injuries as well.
* Is that all? He’s Jeremy Renner Lite.
* Slayed by a sled.
* It’s like the bobsled version of the Stephen King movie “Christine,” the car that was out for revenge.
* As for the bobsled, it was put in time out and fined $2,000.

ALMANACNOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

February 19, Monday – Presidents Day / Washington’s Birthday
March 10, Sunday – Daylight Saving Time Begins
March 17, Sunday – St. Patrick’s Day
March 19, Tuesday – Spring begins, Spring Equinox is 11:06 p.m. EDT
March 20, Wednesday – First full day of Spring

BIRTHDAYS

Elizabeth Olsen (actress, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in “WandaVision” and Marvel’s “Avengers” movies, sister to Olsen twins) … 35
Christopher Eccleston (British actor, “True Detective: Night Country”) … 60
Andy Taylor (guitarist with Duran Duran) … 63
John McEnroe (former tennis player, commentator on the sport) … 65
Ice-T (rapper, actor, real name Tracy Lauren Marrow) … 66
LeVar Burton (actor, “Roots”, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) … 67

BIRTHDAY QUOTE QUIZ – Ask your listeners “Who said it?” HINT: Today’s their birthday!

“Everybody loves success, but they hate successful people.”

(A) Donald Trump
(B) Justin Bieber
(C) John McEnroe

ANSWER: (C) John McEnroe

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2006 – The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) was decommissioned by the United States Army.
* But the reruns will live on forever.

2005 – The NHL announced the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season due to a labor dispute. It was the first time a major sports league in North America lost an entire season to a labor dispute.
* Boy was that a kick in the teeth.

1972 – Basketball great Wilt ‘The Stilt’ Chamberlain hit 30,000 career points on this night.
* Nicely keeping pace with the number of women he hit on.

1968 – America’s first 911 emergency telephone system went into operation in Haleyville, Alabama.
* At first, people were confused because the phones had no “11.”

1937 – The DuPont Corporation patented nylon, which was developed by employee Wallace H. Carothers.
* It’s always nice when you can make your own fetish come true.

1932 – The first patent was issued for a tree, to James Markham for a peach tree.
* God sued for infringement.

1659 – The first known check was written, which is still on display at England’s Westminster Abbey.
* The family is wishing someone would cash it so they can balance the checkbook.

1568 – The entire population of Holland was sentenced to death by the Spanish Inquisition.
* Touchy, touchy!

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2007 – After staying in a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than a day, Britney Spears shaved her head at a hair salon giving herself a buzzcut in front of approximately 70 photographers. This was the beginning of a public meltdown for Spears, who filed for divorce from husband Kevin Federline months earlier and was negotiating custody arrangements for their two children.

2005 – Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens, was awarded substantial damages from The Sunday Times and The Sun of Britain, after they had printed articles alleging he was involved in terrorism. Both newspapers apologized to the 56-year-old musician for the “false and highly defamatory allegations.” The papers also paid his legal bills and pledged not to repeat the allegations. The money awarded was given to Tsunami relief projects.

2005 – Kid Rock was arrested for allegedly punching a DJ at a strip club in Nashville, Tennessee. Police were called to the incident but Rock escaped from the club. Shortly after, he was pulled over by an officer who got an autograph but did not do a breath test despite smelling alcohol. The officer was later fired. The star was eventually arrested a few hours later, taken to a night court and released on $3,000 bail.

2003 – 50 Cent was at No.1 on the U.S. album chart with his debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.”

2002 – Thieves broke into George Michael’s London home and stole over $170,000 worth of paintings, jewellery and designer clothes and drove off in his $136,000 Aston Martin DB7. They also caused $340,000 worth of damage to his home.

1992 – Mick Jagger was refused entry into Japan and had to appeal the decision from a hotel near the airport. The country objected to his drug record.

1975 – Cher started her own weekly music and comedy show on CBS-TV. The singer had co-hosted The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour with her former husband. Cher’s new show featured a female guest each week.

X-TREME TRIVIA CHALLENGE

Every installment of X-Treme Trivia Challenge includes three mystery factoids. Create your own “Impossible Question” contest – great for listener giveaways and phone interaction starters! Also a perfect sponsorship opportunity!

1. When people were asked “If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?”, THIS was the #1 answer. What was it?
Pizza

2. 20% of millennials say they’ve never eaten THIS. What is it?
A Big Mac

3. According to studies, people who eat while doing THIS consume 32% less food than those who don’t. What is it?
Looking in a mirror

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