THURSDAY, Jan 30 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR THURSDAY, January 30, 2025
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: PROMOS-TO-GO

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 – including “holidays” created by the National Day Calendar and Wellcat websites to drive traffic to their websites – or the hundreds of disease awareness listings which occur each year.)

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY

SCHOOL DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE AND PEACE
The National Today website says this:
“School Day of Non-violence and Peace is observed in schools worldwide on January 30 to motivate tomorrow’s citizens to find non-violent solutions to conflicts. The day originated in Spain and has spread across the world, reminding us of the teachings of pacifists and advocates of non-violence, including Mahatma Gandhi, the legendary apostle of world peace who was assassinated on this date in 1948.”

January is:

Adopt a Rescued Bird Month
Be Kind to Food Servers Month
Family Fit Lifestyle Month
Financial Wellness Month
Get Organized Month
National Candy Month
National Clean Up Your Computer Month
National Hobby Month
National Skating Month
National Train Your Dog Month
Walk Your Pet Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

WHAT TO WATCH – New and Returning Shows and Movies
Premiering Thursday through Sunday
Listings sourced from the TV Guide, EW and other websites

THURSDAY, Jan 30

“Scamanda”
ABC – New Docuseries
Synopsis: Unravels the story of California native Amanda Riley, a young wife, mother and devout Christian whose life suddenly takes a terrible turn when she is diagnosed with Stage 3 blood cancer. Amanda begins documenting her battle online, captivating thousands, but it was all a scam to solicit donations for her supposed “treatment.”

“You’re Cordially Invited”
Prime Video – New Movie
Synopsis: When two weddings are accidentally booked on the same day at the same venue, each bridal party is challenged with preserving their family’s special moment while making the most of the unanticipated tight quarters. With Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon.

Season Premieres:
Netflix – “Mo”
Netflix – “The Recruit”
Prime Video – “School Spirits”

SUNDAY, Feb 2

“Grammy Awards”
CBS – Awards Show

SUPER BOWL TOILET PAPER COMMERCIAL ENCOURAGES VIEWERS NOT TO WATCH IT

Angel Soft bath tissue is going to run a Super Bowl ad that encourages viewers to NOT watch, but instead use its 30 seconds to take a bathroom break. The spot, timed to air close to halftime, will see Angel Soft’s animated mascot Angel with a countdown timer letting viewers know how much time they have left. In other news, a :30 spot for the Super Bowl this year is costing $8 million.
* That’s $8 million literally down the toilet. Literally.
* This doesn’t sell Angel Soft bath tissue or create Angel Soft customers. You know what would? Run a commercial that displays a QR code for 30 seconds that gets you half-off a big package of Angel Soft sold and delivered via Amazon. And I thought of that in less than a minute. Morons.
* The commercial’s so dumb, even the animated mascot looks embarrassed.
* Going to the bathroom in 30 seconds? What am I, 14 again?

THE BUZZ

DUMB HEADLINES

Time for another episode of Three Dumb Headlines. These are actual, word-for-word headlines of stories found on the internet. There’s no story, no context, just the actual headline. Discuss them amongst yourselves. Then, encourage listeners to vote for the Dumbest Headline on your station’s social media page. Maybe ask them to leave a comment. Reveal the results in the next break.
Today’s Dumb Headlines:
1. “Meet the World’s First Adult Diaper Influencer”
2. “Michelle Pfeiffer Loves A Black Turtleneck”
3. “Only A Bra Manufacturer Could Make NASA’s $100,000 Apollo Space Suits”
And here’s a spare, in case you don’t like one of those three: “Doctor Explains Why Shoppers Feel The Urge To Poop In Hardware Stores”

I THOUGHT THEY WERE EXAGGERATING UNTIL I TRIED IT

Reddit asked, “What did you think people were exaggerating about until you experienced it yourself?” Some of the responses:
– “Back pain. I use to think it was just an excuse for others not wanting to do something. One ruptured disk later…”
– “The pain from kidney stones. Just awful. back pain is very real and sucks.”
– “Having 2 instead of just 1 monitor. You would think you were living as a caveman before.”
– “How good winter tires really are.”
– “Hawaii. The air, the water, the sand, all the same temperature as your body, and the constant sunshine and perfect breeze. Hawaii just refuses to not be amazing.”
– “The Grand Canyon.”
– “The traffic in Atlanta.”
– “The loss of both parents. You feel like a fully adult orphan.”
– “The joy of having a bidet on your toilet. Total game changer.”
– “The overwhelming love you immediately feel when you hold your child for the first time.”
– “Airfryers.”
* PHONE TOPIC: What is something you thought people were exaggerating about until you experienced it yourself?

U.S. NEWS

CHAMPIONSHIP JUMP ROPER SAVES DROWNING MAN

A champion rope jumper from Westfield, Indiana, used his jump ropes to save a drowning man from a frozen pond after the man fell in trying to save his dog. The dog was chasing geese on the semi-frozen pond when it broke through into the water. His 18-year-old owner went after it, but he fell in. A young boy nearby heard the yelling and ran to get his father, David Fisher, who is a championship jump roper. He is a world record-holder for jump-roping while sitting down. I don’t know what that means. Mr. Fisher said he instinctively went right for his bag of jump ropes and pulled out the double-Dutch ropes, tossed an end to the young man in the water, and pulled him and his dog out of the pond.
* Good thing he’s a jump roper and not, like, a weight lifter.
* As he pulled him out, Mr. Fisher kept going, “Mabel, Mabel, set the table / Do it as fast as you are able /
Don’t forget the SALT-PEPPER-KETCHUP-MUSTARD-SALT-PEPPER-KETCHUP-MUSTARD…”
* Of course, the whole time, the geese were doing that honking that sounds like laughing. Geese are jerks.
* The takeaway: Westfield, Indiana needs some leash laws.

FLOOD MUSEUM CLOSED FOR FLOODING

The Great Johnstown Flood Museum in Pennsylvania, which commemorates the 1889 catastrophe that killed 2,209 people, was closed on Monday – due to flooding. This time, though, it was internal flooding caused by a water leak stemming from the recent extremely cold weather. A valve failure on the building’s third floor caused the flooding that sent water pouring through the walls, resulting in damage to the carpets, drywall and ceiling tiles. Officials report that “nothing of historic significance was affected.”
* You fools! Jack up the ticket price and sell it as “The Great Johnstown Flood Museum 4-D Immersive Experience.”
* At least reopen it with a new name: “The Great Johnstown Museum Of Irony.”
* “And in this room we have an exhibit of one of the side effects of flooding – mold.”
* Town officials are not going to be happy when they hear about the Great Johnstown Rock Slide Memorial, either.
* I’m wondering if they shouldn’t get rid of the word “great” when naming their tourist sites.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

AUDIO: MERMAID ATTACKED BY BIG FISH

A woman performing as a mermaid at a Chinese aquarium was attacked by one of the fish. Masha, a 22-yer-old Russian woman, was swimming as a mermaid at the Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park mermaid show when a very large fish tried to clamp its mouth around her head. According to witnesses, the fish’s jaws opened wide, encircling the Russian performer’s face (* I think I once dated that fish) but fortunately, after a brief struggle, she managed to break free and swim to the surface. The fish did eat Masha’s goggles and nose clips and left some injuries to her face and neck. Despite this, she was forced back into the aquarium to complete her work shift. The freshwater aquarium features native species from the Mekong and Yangtze Rivers, although the type of fish responsible for the attack remains unspecified.
* A kissing gourami? (that’s joke for all your tropical fish enthusiasts.)
* “She’s injured! Is there a sturgeon in the house?”
* Maybe the fish was trying to get some tail.
* I guess it was just an Act of Cod.
* “The Little Mermaid 4: Bite Me!”
CLIP: They don’t know what the fish was, but witnesses said they heard this just before the fish attack. (“Barracuda” by Heart)
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)(com)/prep/wp-content/uploads/Barracuda-Song-edit(dot)mp3

JAPANESE MAN BUYS SUSHI FOR STRANGERS WITH STOLEN MONEY

Many good people of the town of Kitakyushu, Japan, have found themselves treated to free sushi at the local restaurants. A very generous 71-year-old local man named Kazunori Inagaki would go out to expensive sushi restaurants or bars and announce that he was picking up the tab for every single customer in the place. The costs ran up to 300,000 yen (US$1,900) but Mr. Inagaki seemed happy to do it. When asked what he did for a living, he claimed to be a strawberry farmer. This was a lie. What he was, was a burglar. Investigators say that between September of 2023 and October of 2024 Inagaki broke into 63 homes in the area, with the total haul from the burglaries coming to roughly 9.3 million yen (US$60,000). Asked why he did it, the 71-year-old said, “I paid for them because I wanted to look cool.”
* Stealing isn’t cool. Unless you look like George Clooney in “Ocean’s 11.”
* You want to look cool, take a video of yourself picking up the tab and put it on TikTok.
* Yeah, the whole situation sounded pretty fishy.
* He wanted to look cool; now he’s going into the cooler.

ALMANACNOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

February 2, Sunday – Groundhog Day
February 12, Wednesday – Lincoln’s Birthday
February 14, Friday – Valentine’s Day
February 17, Monday – Presidents Day / Washington’s Birthday
March 9, Tuesday – Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras
March 9, Sunday – Daylight Saving Time Begins
March 17, Monday – St. Patrick’s Day
March 20, Thursday – Spring begins, Spring Equinox is 5:01 a.m. EDT

BIRTHDAYS

Wilmer Valderrama (actor, “NCIS”, “That 70s Show”) … 45
Christian Bale (actor) … 51
Phil Collins (singer, drummer for “Genesis”) … 74
Dick Cheney (ex-U.S. vice president) … 84
Vanessa Redgrave (actress) … 88
Gene Hackman (author, retired actor) … 95

Today’s Birthdays grade: 80s musical giant Phil Collins; two extremely gifted American actors (sorry, Wilmer); and Brit icon Vanessa Redgrave, who, now at age 88, still does the opening and closing narrations for “Call the Midwife.” But there’s also Dick Cheney, who creeped us out for 8 years as George W. Bush’s vice president. Grade: B-minus.

[Want to try something different with the daily birthdays? Try grading them! Some days have “good” celebs, some have “great” celebs, some have “lousy” celebs. For fun, give the group an arbitrary grade: A-plus through F-minus. Sidekick will give you our take on it; you can to take the concept and run with it.]

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

“If everyone really knew what a jerk I am in real life, I wouldn’t be so adored in the slightest.”

(A) Tom Hanks
(B) Dr. Phil
(C) Christian Bale

ANSWER: (C) Christian Bale

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2017 – Scientists in central China revealed the oldest known human ancestor, a 540-million-year-old fossil of Saccorhytus, the fin-less precursor to fish.
* It was discovered holding a ticket stub to a Rolling Stones concert.

2005 – Iraqis voted in their country’s first free election in a half-century; President George W. Bush called the balloting a resounding success.
* That’s why things have been working out so well over there.

1962 – Two members of the “Flying Wallendas” high-wire act were killed when their seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit.
* These ill-conceived pyramid schemes always collapse in the end.

1933 – Adolph Hitler was named Chancellor of Germany.
* And you thought they made bad hiring decisions at YOUR job.

1894 – The pneumatic hammer (jackhammer) was patented.
* We’re not quite sure by whom, since the signature on the patent form is so shaky.

1862 – The U.S. Navy launched its first iron-clad warship, The Monitor.
* It turned out much better than the cement ship they had been working on.

1790 – The first lifeboat was tested at sea.
* Unfortunately, they had to sink a lot of ships to test the lifeboats.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2016 – David Bowie reached No.1 in the American album charts for the first time with “Blackstar,” released two days before his death on January 10th. In addition, it was learned that Bowie left an estate valued at about $100m, according to his will, which was filed in New York. Half would go to his widow, Iman, along with the home they shared in New York. The rest was shared between his son and daughter. Bowie’s personal assistant, Corinne Schwab, was left $2m and another $1m went to a former nanny, Marion Skene.

2015 – Marion “Suge” Knight was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with a fatal traffic incident. The record producer had earlier surrendered to police after he was declared a suspect in a hit-and-run incident where one man died. In October of 2018, he was sentenced to 28 years in prison. He is serving his sentence at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, a California state prison near San Diego, and will be eligible for parole in 2034.

2013 – Mick Jagger was named the most stylish rock star of all time by lifestyle website Complex. Jagger lead their top 50 list ahead of Prince, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious and Keith Richards. Complex stated “Even today, he wears silk scarves and suits with more rakish appeal than most men – and he’s pushing 70.”

2010 – Neil Young was named the Musicares person of the year for his “influential artistic accomplishments and philanthropic work.” A string of artist including Elton John, Norah Jones, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, John Forgarty, Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crowe performed his songs as he was honored by the US Recording Academy at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

1999 – After spending 11 weeks on the chart Britney Spears started a two-week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “…Baby One More Time.” Britney’s debut album also went to No.1 on the U.S. chart on the same day.

1988 – During a court case it was revealed that Frankie Goes To Hollywood had not played on their hits “Relax” and “Two Tribes.” The court was told that top session musicians were used to make the records.

1973 – Rock band “KISS” was formed.

1969 – The Beatles performed their last gig together with a free London concert on the roof of Apple studios.

1917 – The first jazz single was recorded – “Livery Stable Blues” by the Original Dixieland Jass Band.

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. Over 100 billion of THESE are consumed in the world each year. What are they
Bananas

2. Americans throw away about 2 billion of THESE a year. What are they?
Disposable razors

3. In China, they produce about 300 billion of THESE every year. What are they?
Eggs

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