WEDNESDAY, Feb 26 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR WEDNESDAY, February 26, 2025
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: A&M AUTOLAND – Sweet Selection

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.)

FOR PETE’S SAKE DAY
The Days Of The Year website says this:
“For Pete’s Sake Day celebrates one example of a ‘minced oath,’ where an offensive word or phrase is substituted by something more acceptable in society. Why has Pete been singled out for special attention? In the case of this particular minced oath, Pete is likely to refer to St. Peter.”

(INTERNATIONAL) CARNIVAL DAY
From various sources:
International Carnival Day is a vibrant celebration that captures the spirit of merrymaking before the Lenten season begins. This global festivity has ancient roots, tracing back to pagan times and evolving through medieval European customs. Traditionally, Carnival was a time for indulgence and revelry, marking the days leading up to Lent, when people would abstain from meat and other pleasures. The term “Carnival” itself is believed to come from the Latin phrase “carne levare” or “carnelevarium,” which means to remove or take away meat, signifying the onset of Lent’s fasting period. In the U.S., Mardi Gras is the final day of Carnival. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” referring to it being the last day of consuming rich, fatty foods, most notably red meat, in preparation for the Christian fasting season of Lent, during which such foods are avoided.

LEVI STRAUSS DAY
The inventor of the heavy-duty work pants which became today’s “jeans” was born on this day in 1829.

NATIONAL BACON DAY

NATIONAL (AND WORLD) PISTACHIO DAY

TELL A FAIRY TALE DAY

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

NEW SOAP OPERA: “BEYOND THE GATES”

Daytime soap operas have long been disappearing from television. Once numerous, now there’s only The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS), General Hospital (ABC), and The Young and the Restless (CBS). (* Or, to group them all together, The Beautiful Young Hospital.) It’s been 25 years since there was a new one. But CBS believes it’s time for a comeback. This week, the network has launched “Beyond the Gates,” not only a daytime drama but one centering on a successful, wealthy Black family. The series follows the Duprees, who reside in an affluent gated community just outside of Washington, D.C. While the family are all successful politicians, doctors and businesswomen, behind closed doors is the real intrigue, with forbidden love, juicy secrets and over-the-top plotting. It has been pointed out that, for the hour that it’s on the air, each episode is only 37 minutes long.
* Hmmm… however will they fill all that extra time? I wonder… hmmmm…
* Okay, just kidding. As we all know, the other 23 minutes will be pharmaceutical commercials.
* The episodes are 37 minutes long, but 15 minutes of each episode shows everybody stuck in that famous D.C. traffic.
* The show kicks off on an exciting note, with everybody in the family getting DOGEd, and they have to look for work.
* What they should have done is introduce the family members as they’re spending a week at an exotic tropical hotel.

AUDIO: OZZY OSBOURNE FILMING DOCUMENTARY ABOUT FINAL SHOW

As you may have heard, Ozzy Osbourne is determined to perform “one last time” this summer amid mounting health issues. The experience is, of course, being filmed for a documentary, called “Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now.” It’s been filming for the past couple of years through his various medical setbacks. Now 76, Osbourne hurt his spine during a 2019 fall, and the following year, he shared that he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In 2023, he announced his retirement from touring. But now, he says, “My fans have supported me for so many years, and I really want to thank them and say a proper goodbye to them. That is what the Villa Park show is about.” Ozzy is attempting to take the stage for one final performance with his Black Sabbath bandmates as part of a sold-out, all-star celebration at Villa Park in his hometown of Birmingham on July 5.
* It’ll be like watching phone videos of my grampa, if we put eyeliner on him.
* He’s going to have to change “Iron Man” to “I am Carbon Fiber Parts Man.”
* Black Sabbath these days consists of Geezer Butler, Geezer Ozzy, Geezer Ward and Geezer Tony Iommi.
* This could turn out pretty good if they make extensive use of stunt men.
* What’s that old saying: “Old rock stars never die, they just… never die.”
CLIP: There’s nothing sadder than watching these old timers try to bow out gracefully. In fact, there’s an oldies concert scheduled this summer: Last Gasp Oldies Concert.
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)com/prep/wp-content/uploads/04-18-OldiesConcert2010(dot)mp3

THE BUZZ

WHAT IS CHEATING THESE DAYS?

What, in today’s modern relationships, is considered cheating on your partner? According to a survey of 2,000 sexually active adults commissioned by LELO, a Swedish maker of sex toys and massage products, here’s where things stand:
– Americans considering behaviors like “harmless flirting,” chatting with an ex, and watching adult videos as forms of cheating.
– A third (37%) of respondents said they would directly confront their partner if they noticed them hiding their phone password.
– Nearly half (49%) of respondents would confront their partner about keeping pictures of an ex on their phone or social media accounts.
– 62% would confront their partner about maintaining text conversations with an ex.
– Only 32% would feel jealous if their partner was dancing with someone else. Likewise, only 31% would feel upset if someone bought them a drink. (* More drink money for me!)
– More than half (53%) of those surveyed confessed they’ve either been dishonest or avoided discussing something that secretly bothered them with a partner.
* Bring these numbers up at dinner tonight with your spouse.
* What would the results of this survey be in, say, Las Vegas?
* I think, when you look at the data here, what it all comes down to is this: Buy LELO massage oil.
* There’s also a couple of good arguments in there for having a burner phone.
* PHONE TOPIC: Are you secretly keeping in touch with an ex? Why? Is it romantic, business, or something else?

U.S. NEWS

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR CONTAMINATING GROCERY WITH HER URINE

A New Hampshire woman was arrested on Friday for allegedly contaminating items at a grocery store with her urine over the course of several years and posting videos of it online. Kelli Tedford, 23, an “online content creator,” posted videos showing her contaminating items at Monadnock Food Co-Op in Keene, New Hampshire. The grocery store immediately removed the contaminated products upon being notified of the incident on Feb. 10 and issued a recall. The affected products include quinoa, cornmeal, polenta, coconut shreds and walnuts.
* Sounds like the recall would have affected at least twos of people.
* “Cleanup on aisle everything.”
* She’s been creating content with the contents of her bladder.
* I bet she did it during the wee hours of the morning.
* The worst part? The Monadnock Food Co-Op’s slogan is “We’re Number 1 in Keene.”

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

SMUGGLER HAD COCAINE ON THE BRAIN

A man was arrested last Thursday while trying to board a flight from Cartagena, Colombia, to Amsterdam, after officers found cocaine hidden under his toupee. The drugs were estimated to be worth more than $10,000. The 40-year-old suspect was stopped at security when the body X-ray showed something unusual on the top of his head. It was discovered to be a thick wig, under which were about 15 BabyBel Cheese-size cups of cocaine.
* Hmm. Another coke-head.
* Cocaine is bad, but – come on, a bad toupee? Have you no shame?
* Now he’s got hell toupee’.
* Looks like he… missed his connection.
* Dang. Now I’m gonna have to get some BabyBel Cheese on the way home.

COUPLE ON PLANE MADE TO SIT NEXT TO DEAD WOMAN

A couple on a long-haul Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne, Australia to their dream holiday in Venice, Italy, had a bit of an ordeal. The woman sitting next to them died suddenly mid-flight – and they were forced to sit next to her body for the rest of the journey. Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin said the woman collapsed in the aisle shortly after going to the restroom. The cabin crew tried their best to save her, but she couldn’t be revived. But then, they found they could not move the woman – she was rather large and would not fit down the aisle, even with a wheelchair. So they had to leave her in her seat – next to the couple. Another passenger invited Jennifer to sit with her, but Mitchell had to sit next to the blanket-wrapped corpse for the remaining four hours of the flight.
* So she was the opposite of “too big to fail.”
* I shouldn’t say this, but… I would pay EXTRA to have somebody that quiet sitting next to me on an airplane.
* And, yes, everybody knows airplane restrooms can be fatal.
* I hope seeing Venice wasn’t on her bucket list. That would be EXTRA sad.
* The poor woman boarded as a passenger but left as carry-on. (Carrion. Get it? Old joke.)

BUTTER THIEVES CAUGHT

On Sunday in Owen Sound, Ontario, a loss prevention officer at a supermarket spotted three men stealing several containers of ghee, a type of clarified butter originating from India. The men left the store in a vehicle before turning up at a different supermarket nearby. That same loss prevention officer, who was now off-duty, also happened to be at the store and recognized the three men. He called police, who arrested them. More than $1,000 worth of butter and $300 worth of ghee was recovered by police.
* Butter late than never.
* Holy oleo, Batman!
* Sounds like the work of the Ina Garten Gang.
* Caught yellow handed!

TRENDING

TAYLOR SWIFT BROUGHT ONE BILLION DOLLARS OF FREE PUBLICITY TO THE NFL

It is now estimated that Taylor Swift brought a billion dollars’ worth of publicity to the NFL this past season. Apex Marketing — a 10-year-old firm that provides sponsorship and brand analytics for entertainment and sports venue owners and commercial brands — calculated the billion dollar value by tracking how much Swift was mentioned in the same breath as the NFL. That includes in newspapers, radio stations, television broadcasts and social media posts. They estimate she brought in $992,361,912 of free publicity by dating Travis Kelce and showing up at games. Says Eric Smallwood, president of Apex. “If you were a brand and you wanted to go and buy media for your product or service, you would have to spend this amount to garner this level of media exposure.”

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

March 4, 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
April 1, Tuesday – April Fools Day
April 15, Tuesday – U.S. Tax Day
May 11, Sunday – Mother’s Day
May 26, Monday – Memorial Day

BIRTHDAYS

Erykah Badu (R & B singer) … 54
Jennifer Grant (actress, “Babylon,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” daughter of Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon) … 59
Michael Bolton (singer) … 72
Jonathan Cain (keyboardist with Journey) … 75

Today’s Birthdays grade: If you think today’s birthdays are uninspiring, you should see the ones we left out. Like one of the leads in “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D.” Grade: D.

[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!

“A lot of my success comes from Black music. It’s something I’m very proud of.”

(A) Eminem
(B) Justin Timberlake
(C) Michael Bolton

ANSWER: (C) Michael Bolton

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1998 – A jury in Amarillo, Texas, rejected an $11 million lawsuit brought by Texas cattlemen who claimed Oprah Winfrey’s televised comments about mad-cow disease caused the beef market to plummet and cost them millions of dollars.
* It was hard to find twelve people who were upset beef prices went down.

1993 – (Jokes not appropriate) – Six people were killed and more than a thousand injured in New York City when a van packed with a 1,210-pound bomb exploded in the parking garage underneath the World Trade Center. The explosion left a gigantic crater 200 feet wide and caused over 591 million dollars in damage. Dr. Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman (“the blind sheik”) and 14 of his followers were accused of the bombing. Rahman was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison.

1936 – In Germany, Adolf Hitler launched the Volkswagen automobile, and announced a plan to distribute it worldwide.
* Starting with Poland.

1930 – The first red and green traffic lights ever were installed, in Manhattan.
* And thirty seconds later, the first person ever yelled, “Go, you idiot! It’s green! Whaddaya, blind?”

1895 – Michael Owens of Toledo, Ohio patented a glass-blowing machine.
* And immediately started turning out hundreds of little glass dragons and sorcerers.

1882 – Shredded wheat became the first commercially manufactured breakfast cereal.
* And gerbil cage bedding.

1870 – New York’s first subway trains started rolling.
* They’re about due for a wash.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2015 – The childhood home of former Beatle Paul McCartney sold for $231,000 at an auction in Liverpool. McCartney moved into the three-bedroom house in 1947 at the age of four with his parents Jim and Mary, and lived there for six years.

2011 – It was announced that Queen’s “We Will Rock You” was still the most-played song at U.S. sporting events, according to a survey from BMI, the royalty-distribution service.

1998 – Rocker Tommy Lee of Motley Crue fame was formally charged with abusing his wife, actress Pamela Anderson Lee, and one of their sons, Dylan.

1997 – First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word or Nonmusical Album for “It Takes A Village.”

1995 – Former Led Zeppelin duo Jimmy Page and Robert Plant kicked off a year-long world tour in Pensacola, FL supporting their live “No Quarter” reunion album.

1990 – Cornell Gunter, former lead tenor for the Coasters, was murdered in Las Vegas, NV at the age of 53.

1985 – Tina Turner won Grammys for “What’s Love Got to Do with It” and “Better Be Good to Me.”

1983 – Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” topped the Billboard Album chart – and was well on its way to becoming the best-selling album of the year, worldwide. It spent 37 non-consecutive weeks at No.1, produced a record-breaking seven Top Ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and earned an unprecedented eight Grammy Awards. Today, it remains the world’s best-selling album of all time.

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. Chances are, you’ll do THIS at least five times today. What is it?
Get something to drink

2. Odds are 1 in 4 that you’re wearing THIS today. What is it?
Something blue

3. If you’re 35 or older, there’s a good chance you did THIS at some point already today. What is it?
Watched TV news

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