FRIDAY, Oct 18 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR FRIDAY, October 18, 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.)

HARD-BOILED GUY / B-GIRL DAY
The Hard Nosed Sleuth blog says this:
“Celebrate the golden days of pulp fiction and film noir … on October 18 – the anniversary of the release date for the cinematic masterpiece “The Maltese Falcon.”

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE DAY

NATIONAL MASHED POTATO DAY

NATIONAL NECKTIE DAY

NO BEARD DAY
The National Day Calendar website says this:
“Whether you have had your beard for years or it is relatively new for you, this is the day to shave it off and go smooth. Perhaps your partner doesn’t like your beard, or you just haven’t shaved it off for years. No Beard Day is the day to see what you look like without it.”

October is:

Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
American Cheese Month
Car Care Month
Child Health Month
Consumer Information Month
Cookbook Month
Country Music Month
Fire Prevention Month
National Pizza Month
National Popcorn Month
National Service Dog Month
Vegetarian Awareness Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

NEW UNIVERSAL THEME PARK OPENS NEXT MAY

Universal Studios has announced the opening date for its fourth Orlando theme park, called “Epic Universe.” The new park will open May 22, 2025. Epic Universe will contain four distinct lands:
– “How to Train Your Dragon” land, a Viking village with dragons.
– “Nintendo,” with Mario Kart and Donkey Kong rides.
– “Harry Potter” land, which has been around for awhile.
– “Dark Universe” featuring the Universal monsters.
– “Celestial Park,” with shops and restaurants and shops and, probably, some shops. (* No rides, but they still will take you for a ride.)
Tickets for the park go on sale October 22. Go to universalorlando.com for information.
* Beware – you know how theme parks love to open before all the rides are finished.
* There will also be lots of new parking for all the new workers who’ll be living out of their cars.
* Funny how this news comes two days after Disney dominated the news cycle with its “No Waiting In Line” pass, which cost as much as the actual park admission.
* They’re telling you now in case you want to cut back on Halloween candy and Christmas presents, so you can afford to go.

THE BUZZ

60 PERCENT OF PEOPLE BELIEVE THEY COULD SOLVE A MYSTERY

According to a new survey from ThriftBooks of 2,000 horror, mystery, thriller and true crime readers, 60% believe they could solve a real-life mystery. In addition:
– 33% have slept with the lights on after reading a scary book.
– 21% have checked under the bed.
– 20% have refused to answer the door when the doorbell rang after finishing a spooky book.
* These are the people who thought Sting was the murderer in the first season of Only Murders in the Building.
* Here’s a mystery. Why the hell do we still have an electoral college?
* Or Daylight Savings Time?
* Seriously, here’s a real mystery. I went to the ThriftBooks website, first thing you see is The Hobbit, The Great Gatsby, Animal Farm, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Charlotte’s Web. All under five bucks. How are they still in business?
* Of those 60 percent who think they could solve a mystery, how many can never find their reading glasses?

A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EXPERIENCE

Reddit asked, “What’s something you’ve only seen once in your life but will never forget?” Some of the responses:
– “A sea turtle making its way to the ocean for the first time.”
– “I was walking on a country road, cornfields on one side, the river on the other and saw monarch butterflies everywhere – hundreds of them. Went back the next day and didn’t see a one. I later learned I got to witness a monarch migration.”
– “I was on an oceanographic expedition on my night shift. We saw something shiny in the water and it was a bunch of glowing dolphins, playing among some bioluminiscent organisms, got covered in them and they turned bioluminiscent themselves, all this while they were swimming and jumping in the dark water, the most incredible thing I ever saw in my life!”
– “Synchronized flashing of a field of lightning bugs was a site to behold.”
– “A gorilla giving birth.”
– “A hawk grabbed a fish from right out of the river, and as it was trying to regain height a bald eagle zoomed in a snatched the fish from the hawk, all 10 feet from the boat I was on.”
– “The fabled green flash at the moment of sunset over the ocean.”
– “Discarded pastries floating down the Danube at dawn.”
– “I got to see my kidney before they put it in me.”
* PHONE TOPIC: What once-in-a-lifetime thing did you see? (No death or mutilation stories!)

U.S. NEWS

THE NEIMAN MARCUS 2024 FANTASY GIFT CATALOGUE

Neiman Marcus has released its 2024 Christmas Catalogue, containing the usual, ridiculously expensive, fantasy gifts. Here are the wildest ones:
– Judith Leiber Couture Crystal Mahjong Set, made of 10,000 hand-set crystals in156 hand-cut Italian resin mahjong tiles. – $20,000
– Miron Crosby Celestial Boots: Each of these boots has pavé diamond stars set in 18-karat gold, embedded in black leather. If you buy the boots, you also get an astrological reading from a famous astrologer – $28,000
– Marylin Fitoussi VIP Style Experience: You and a partner get a three-night trip to Paris, including a style experience with Marylin Fitoussi, the costume designer for Netflix’s “Emily in Paris.” After spending the day shopping for clothes, you’ll have dinner with Fitoussi and actor Jean-Christophe Bouvet. You’ll then get to see behind the scenes of the show followed by a personal fitting and full makeover from the show’s hair and makeup team – $175,000
– Messika Jewelry & Safari Experience – An 18.05-carat yellow diamond necklace that you can wear while you are on a safari in Namibia. The package includes a five-night stay in the Kalahari savannah and a two-day safari with photographer Ami Vitale. You’ll also get a tour of Messika’s diamond-polishing factory and go home with two professional cameras, and the photos taken on the safari by Vitale printed, framed and shipped to your home – $777,777 (* For that money, I want them to fly me to Thailand to take a picture with Moo Deng the Pygmy Hippo.)
– 18th-Century Royal Coach – A real, historic, antique seven-foot-long horse-drawn coach that was designed for the Spanish royal family of King Charles III. It’s made of iron and wood and adorned with hand-painted scenes – $1.9 million (* For an extra 50 bucks, they’ll throw in a horse and a buggy whip.)
* What, no Legos?
* If you’d like to order any of these gifts, call now: 1-800-RIPOFF.
* Imagine what a deal these were three years ago, before inflation went crazy.
* I’ll wait for Oprah’s Favorite Things before I decide, thank you.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NEW FIRE STATION BURNS TO THE GROUND

A brand new fire station in western Germany that cost of tens of millions to build burned to the ground because it did not have a fire alarm. The town of Stadtallendorf proudly unveiled the new structure less than a year ago, but early on Wednesday a fire that had started in a battery charger spread to the whole building. No one was injured, although 10 fire engines were destroyed. As officials investigated the blaze it came to light that the building had no fire alarm. It was not legally required to have a fire alarm because it was classified as a building holding equipment, not a fire station.
* Well whoever made THAT decision got burned.
* “Call 911!” “But WE’RE 911!” “Crap!”
* A battery charger? I though maybe someone slid down the fire pole in a wool sweater and fired off a massive bolt of static electricity.
* What’s the German word for ‘irony’?
* Just make sure everybody in Stadtallendorf is real, real careful with matches and stuff for the next couple months.

UZBEKI TEENS PRETENDING TO BE CATS AND DOGS

Teenagers in Uzbekistan have been dressing up as dogs and cats and attacking people in a viral video trend. They’re calling it quadrobing, which is when you move or run on the ground with all four limbs, like a dog or a monkey. In the videos, teenagers wear animal masks and fake paws and crawl around on all fours, barking, growling and meowing. There have been videos of a group of quadrobers lumbering along a pavement in the city of Tashkent wearing masks and tails. At least one teenager, dressed as a dog, bit a passer-by. The Uzbek interior ministry has threatened to fine the parents of quadrobing teenagers 1.9 million Uzbek soum (about US$150).
* A good public worming would nip this in the bud.
* Halloween should be interesting.
* Maybe threaten to import some Haitians from Springfield, Ohio.
* If 12,666 Uzbeki soums equals one US dollar, maybe teens pretending to be dogs isn’t your country’s main problem.
* “Release the mountain lions!”

TRENDING

MORGAN WALLEN CREATES MUSIC FESTIVAL

Country star Morgan Wallen is launching his very own three-day music festival, called Sand in My Boots Fest. He shared the news on social media, saying, “Me and my team have been working on this for a while. We’re gonna be headed south to the beaches and I’m bringing some of my friends with me.” He says the lineup of performers and experiences will be hand-picked by Wallen himself. Sand in My Boots is set to take place in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 16,17 and 18 of 2025. A full lineup and ticketing details are expected to arrive soon.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD EARNS $1 MILLION A WEEK FOR SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SONG

Carrie Underwood, who’s been singing the Sunday Night Football theme song since 2013, allegedly scores a million dollars every week the theme is played on TV. While exact figures on how much Underwood makes aren’t publicly disclosed, according to the SportsKeeda website Underwood gets that million every Sunday night during football season when “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” gets played.

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

Oct. 31, Thursday – Halloween
Nov. 3, Sunday – Daylight Saving Time Ends, turn clocks back 1 hour
Nov. 11, Monday – Veterans Day
Nov. 28, Thursday – Thanksgiving
Dec. 21, Saturday – Winter begins, winter solstice occurs at 4:21 a.m. (EST)
Dec. 25, Wednesday – Christmas
Dec. 31, Tuesday – New Year’s Eve
Jan. 1, Wednesday – New Year’s Day

BIRTHDAYS

Joy Lauren (actress, “Desperate Housewives”) … 35
Zac Efron (actor, “The Greatest Beer Run Ever,” Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile”) … 37
Josh Gracin (Country singer and “American Idol” contestant) … 44
Jean Claude Van Damme (actor, more or less) … 64
Pam Dawber (actress, “Mork and Mindy”) … 74

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

“I’ve got a talent to act. No matter what any newspapers say about me I’m one of the most sensitive human beings on earth.”

(A) Lindsay Lohan
(B) Steven Seagal
(C) Jean Claude Van Damme

ANSWER: (C) Jean Claude Van Damme

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1996 – New York scientists announced they’d found an “absolute” link between smoking and lung cancer.
* And a year later announced they’d discovered the Earth was round.

1887 – Russia sold Alaska to the USA for $7.2 million.
* What a deal! A few more years of global warming, and that’s gonna be some sweet beachfront property.

1878 – Thomas Edison made electricity available for household use.
* Of course, since no electrical appliances had been invented yet, for the first couple years it wasn’t good for much besides practical jokes involving chair cushions and bare wires.

1842 – Samuel Morse laid his first telegraph cable.
* “I just laid some cable,” he announced, and everyone giggled.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2008 – Adele appeared on Saturday Night Live along with then US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The show earned its highest ratings in 14 years with a total of 17 million viewers. Adele, who performed “Chasing Pavements” and “Cold Shoulder,” topped the iTunes charts the following day and the singer’s debut album jumped thirty-five places to No.11 on the US chart the following week.

2000 – Internet firm DNA Visual Business Solutions filed a lawsuit against Britney Spears and her marketing company for failing to pay for the redesign of her website britneyspears(dot)(com).

1998 – Jay-Z started a five-week run at No.1 on the U.S. album chart with “Vol 2 … Hard Knock Life.”

1989 – During a gig at The Los Angeles Coliseum, Guns N’ Roses front man Axl Rose announced to the crowd that he was quitting the band.

1986 – Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac married Portuguese composer Eduardo Quintela.

1979 – Fifteen youths were arrested at an Earth, Wind and Fire concert and accused of mugging audience members.

1968 – The Jackson Five made their national TV debut on ABC TV’s Hollywood Palace.

1966 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their first gig as a band at the Paris Olympia.

1957 – Paul McCartney made his live debut with the Quarry Men at New Clubmoor Hall Conservative Club, Liverpool.

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. The average adult makes THIS purchase every 2.5 years. What is it?
New car tires

2. According to Car and Driver magazine, thieves break into cars and steal 70,000 of THESE every year. What are they?
Air bags

3. According to a survey, if you’re a redhead, you’re more likely to do THIS in a car. What is it?
Sing

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