TUESDAY, Apr 15 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR TUESDAY, April 15, 2025
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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. We present only those specially designated days we feel your listeners would find most interesting or significant.)

JACKIE ROBINSON DAY
Wikipedia says this (and more):
“Jackie Robinson Day is a traditional event which occurs annually in Major League Baseball, commemorating and honoring the day Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. April 15 was Opening Day in 1947, Robinson’s first season in the Major Leagues. Initiated for the first time on April 15, 2004, the festivity is a result of Robinson’s memorable career, best known for becoming the first black major league baseball player of the modern era in 1947. His debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers (today known as the Los Angeles Dodgers) ended approximately eighty years of baseball segregation. He also was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, remembered for his services with the number 42 jersey.”

MCDONALD’S DAY
On this day in 1955, Ray Kroc’s first McDonald’s franchised restaurant opened in Des Plaines, Illinois.

NATIONAL GLAZED SPIRAL HAM DAY

RUBBER ERASER DAY

TAX DAY

TITANIC REMEMBRANCE DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“Titanic Remembrance Day is dedicated to the memory of the Titanic, and over 1500 people who died. On this day in 1912, the Titanic sank in the icy waters of the north Atlantic ocean. The Titanic was called ‘unsinkable’ and the ‘safest ship afloat’ by her builder and designer. However, on her maiden voyage from England to New York City, the cruise ship Titanic hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. This occurred on April 14, 1912 at 11:40p.m. Two hours later, with a gaping gash in her side, the ship quickly sank in icy waters. 1,522 passengers and crew died. The historic sinking of the Titanic spurred numerous television documentaries, specials, and big screen movies. The Titanic had a sister ship, the Olympic. The ships were constructed around the same time, with the Olympic starting first. The Olympic was launched in 1910. She served as a cruise liner until pressed into service during WWI as a troop carrier. She was retired in 1935.”

U.S. TAX DAY

WORLD ART DAY

April is:

Adopt a Greyhound Month
Car Care Month
Celebrate Diversity Month
D.E.A.R Drop Everything and Read Month
International Guitar Month
Jazz Appreciation Month
Keep America Beautiful Month
National Card and Letter Writing Month
National Garden Month
National Humor Month
National Poetry Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

LADIES IN SPACE

Well, the ladies went up, the ladies came down. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket took off Monday morning with its star-studded, all-female crew of singer Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez, “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King, along with three less-famous crewmates: civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, independent film producer Kerianne Flynn, and aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe. The New Shepard 31 soared through the Texas sky, spent just a few minutes in space before returning to Earth in a soft parachute landing in the Texas desert, all as part of a historic 11-minute space tourism flight.
– Oprah Winfrey was at the launch, sobbing as her best friend Gayle King took off.
– Lauren Sanchez said, “I can’t put it into words. We got to see the moon! The Earth looked so quiet … I don’t think you could describe it.”
– Katy Perry revealed that she sang Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” during the flight rather than one of her own songs to celebrate humanity. She said, “I think that is not about me. It’s not about singing my songs. It’s about a collective energy in there. It’s about us.”
* “Katie, shut up with the singing! It’s only an 11 minute flight!” Worse than a crying baby.
* And afterwards, they all still couldn’t decide where they wanted to go to lunch.
* I guess they’re still cleaning all the feathers out of the capsule from the pillow fight.
* Remember when celebrities used to care about their carbon footprint?
* Men, ask your wives what they think of going into space, you know what they’ll say? “Oh, that’s just dumb.”

AUDIO: JACK BLACK SHOWED UP AT “MINECRAFT” SCREENING TO REMIND KIDS NOT TO BREAK THE MOVIE THEATER

The “Minecraft Movie” has been causing young boys to go nuts, as young tweens do. There have been reports of rowdiness, audience members loudly quoting lines, popcorn throwing, and even bringing chickens into the theater in celebration of the infamous “chicken jockey” scene. Over the weekend, the movie’s star Jack Black showed up at a theater – some sources say it was the Westfield Century City theater in Los Angeles – to tell the kids to chill the hell out. Doing a funny voice, Black first announced, “Please no throwing popped corn, and also no Lapis Lazuli, and also absolutely no Chicken Jockey,” Black then walked doing the “I… am Steve!” quote and carrying the pickaxe he has in the film. The boys went absolutely crazy as Jack quickly walked through the audience, and then took off.
* Jack Black is the world’s best crazy uncle, right? Isn’t he?
* This whole phenomenon is amazing. Do you know how hard it is to get 10-12 year old boys excited about anything?
* Now kids at the movie are screaming “We’re tearing the place apart if Jack Black doesn’t show up!”
* The cast of that new movie ‘Warfare’ tried a similar stunt, showing up in costume, sent everybody screaming for the exits.
CLIP: Jack Black pops into a Minecraft Movie screening.
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)com/prep/wp-content/uploads/JackBlackAtMinecraftMovie(dot)mp3″>

THE BUZZ

IT WAS EXPENSIVE, AND I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN

Reddit asked, “What’s a stupidly expensive adult purchase that you now swear by that you would buy again?” Some of the responses:
– “A high-end mattress. Once I got one that actually supported my back and kept me cool at night it was life changing. I sleep like a pampered cat now. No regrets.”
– “I paid 80 dollars for three pairs of socks because I didn’t look at the price. That was about 6 years ago and I’ve just had to get rid of the first pair. Worth every penny.”
– “Hotel right next to or in the airport for the night before the flight home, especially if it’s a relatively long flight.”
– “Speaking as a woman, decent bras.”
– “Professional movers. Greatest luxury item I’ve ever spent money on.”
– “My ebike. Never thought I would spend nearly 3k on a bike but it’s the best investment I’ve made in a city with horrendous public transit.”
– “We spent about $900 for an at-home euthanasia for our cat. We didn’t want him to be stressed out and scared in his last moments. 1000% worth it.”
– “Snowblower. Best invention ever.”
– “Star Trek: The Cruise was very expensive, but I enjoyed every minute of it and absolutely would buy tickets again if I could afford to.”
– “Girl Scout Cookies.”
* PHONE TOPIC: Do you agree with any of these? Have you bought something very expensive, but would buy it again?

U.S. NEWS

EGG TRUCK BURNS

Just in time for Easter, another egg disaster story: A semi-truck hauling thousands of pounds of eggs was fully engulfed in flames Friday night on Interstate 80 in Mokena, Illinois. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The driver, a real hard-boiled type, said there were about 24,000 pounds of eggs inside the truck. Heavy machinery was seen pushing the eggs off the road.
* “Omelette you clear that off,” said the policeman.
* So the Easter eggs died?
* I’ve burned eggs on the stove, but they’ve never burst into flames.
* Just curious – is anybody working on electric tractor trailers?
* The bird flu has wrecked eggs for Easter, and wiped out turkey farms for Thanksgiving. The tariffs have wrecked cheap Mexican fireworks for 4th of July, and Christmas toys from China. No one’s going to have a job by Labor Day, and the far right wants to end Halloween because of its ties to paganism. All that’s left is Mother’s Day, and I don’t know about you, but my mom’s starting to look a little extra frail lately.

NAKED CANADIAN TERRORIZES DISNEYLAND

A Canadian man on a drug-fueled bender was arrested on Saturday for walking around Disneyland buck naked. Footage circulating online shows the man on top of Tiana’s Palace, a Cajun restaurant in the park’s New Orleans Square, waving his arms in the air screaming “I am exposing myself” before he climbed over the restaurant balcony. He was eventually caught by Disney park police and arrested for trespassing, public nudity, and being under the influence of narcotics.
* Name a better way to experience Disneyland.
* Looks like he was taking Peter Pan’s Magic Flight without sitting in the little car.
* Maybe he was a new Disney character from Spaced-Out Mountain.
* Canadians are just so thrilled to be somewhere warm they can get over-excited.
* According to onlookers, he obviously came from It’s a Small World.

CALIFORNIA BILL TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO SLEEP IN THEIR CARS

A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require community colleges and state universities to create programs that allow students to sleep in their cars. The state, like many others, is in the middle of a housing crisis. No one can afford apartments, especially many students who are trying to improve their lot by attending community colleges. One in four California community college students has reportedly experienced homelessness in the last year. So, knowing it’s far from an ideal solution, Assemblyman Corey Jackson introduced the bill to require officially sanctioned overnight parking to, at the very least, give these students somewhere safe to sleep. Jackson says, “This just deals with the harsh realities that we find ourselves in.”
* Let ’em sleep in class. It was good enough for me, it’s good enough for them.
* So they can sleep in their cars, but there’s no place to shower? Yeah, that’s a harsh reality, alright.
* “Study group tonight in Marcia’s Toyota RAV4!”
* His first idea was rent-controlled apartments, but that resulted in too many death threats from landlords.
* Maybe someone can figure out a weird mortgage/car payment/student loan mashup, combine three tragic problems into one.

STAR WARS-THEMED VEGAS WEDDINGS

A Las Vegas wedding chapel is celebrating Star Wars Day on May 4 (“May the 4th be with you”) by offering wedding packages inspired by Star Wars. At The Little Vegas Chapel, couples can choose from two packages. One is titled “Yoda One For Me,” and the other one is called “Love Star.” Both wedding packages offer an officiant dressed as either Princess Leia or Darth Vader and include “custom Star Wars music,” bouquets and boutonnieres, professional photography, a video of the ceremony and a Star Wars-themed wedding certificate. The chapel features staff members wearing T-shirts saying, “Til Death Star Do Us Part.”
* Book early – trademark lawyers are currently making their way to Las Vegas.
* Who will E-wok you down the aisle?
* In the Yoda package, Pastor Yoda says,”This woman as your wife do you take?” “What?”
* Do you get Baby Yoda as a ring bearer?
* If it’s not your first wedding, can you change the theme to a Star Wars sequel?
* Don’t do it, men: It’s a trap!
* “You may now kiss the bride. Or would you just as soon kiss a wookiee?”
* You’ll feel a great disturbance in your wallet.
CLIP: A little something for the wedding night: our classic “C-3PAlis” parody spot.
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)com/prep/wp-content/uploads/C3P-Alis-Erection-StarWars(dot)mp3

SPERM RACING

A startup company has announced the launch of the world’s first live sperm race. It will take place on April 25 in Los Angeles. The four men behind the company, known simply as Sperm Racing, recently raised $1 million in support of their efforts to put on the world’s first sperm race. It will be held in an arena. There will be an audience – 1,000 tickets are for sale, with another 100 VIP seats available. How will it work? First, a microscopic racetrack for the two sperm samples to compete on will be constructed. The course mimics a reproductive system and includes chemical signals, fluid dynamics and synchronized starts. Every move that the sperm makes is tracked by high-resolution cameras and livestreamed. There will even be stats, leaderboards, instant replays, and betting. The race itself is exactly like any other: the first sperm to cross the finish line wins.
* Unless it was just a one-night stand.
* Does the winner get a dozen eggs?
* Who thinks up a sperm race? What jerks!
* What kind of stroke do they use? The swimming sperm, I mean.
* No need to dress up, it’s come as you are.

ALMANACNOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

TODAY – U.S. Tax Day
May 11, Sunday – Mother’s Day
May 26, Monday – Memorial Day
June 14, Saturday – Flag Day
June 15, Sunday – Father’s Day
June 20, Friday – Summer begins (The June solstice occurs at 10:42 P.M. EDT)

BIRTHDAYS

Maisie Williams (actress, “The New Mutants,” Arya Stark on “Game of Thrones”) … 28
Emma Watson (actress, “Beauty and the Beast,” “Harry Potter” movies) … 35
Samira Wiley (actress, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Orange Is The New Black”) … 38
Seth Rogen (actor, writer) … 43
Ed O’Brien (guitarist with Radiohead) … 57
Emma Thompson (actress) … 66

Today’s Birthdays grade: Alums from huge entertainment brands Harry Potter and Game of Thrones; Seth Rogen, who has a solid hit on Apple TV+ with The Studio; plus a few more names and none too shabby. 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!

“I’m not entirely comfortable saying I’m an actor, because it seems like a very weird, almost dorky thing to say you are.”

(A) Patrick Stewart
(B) Daniel Craig
(C) Seth Rogen

ANSWER: (C) Seth Rogen

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2019 – Fire broke out in the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, causing extensive damage.
* Is the Hunchback okay? Is the Hunchback okay?

2000 – Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles became the 24th major league player to reach 3,000 hits.
* Big deal. Snoop Dogg can do 3,000 hits in one week.

1989 – Students in Beijing, China launched a series of pro democracy protests upon the death of former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang; the protests culminated in the Tiananmen Square massacre.
* In China, the squeaky wheel gets the casket.

1958 – The first automobile power brakes were demonstrated.
* On the upside, you could stop really fast. On the downside, your head tended to go through the windshield.

1947 – Jackie Robinson, modern baseball’s first black major-league player, made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day.
* And the sport of baseball hit a long overdue home run.

1912 – The British luxury liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. About 1,500 people died.
* Too bad lifeboats were one of the luxuries.

1766 – An invention was patented which used a wicker basket lowered by a pulley – the first fire escape.
* And to make the wicker basket even safer in a fire, they soaked it in kerosene.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2022 – The Coachella Valley music festival returned after a two-year hiatus due to Covid, with Harry Styles appearing as the headlining act on opening night in front of an audience of 100,000.

2015 – It was reported that in 2014, digital music revenues matched physical sales for the first time, with the digital market and the combination of CDs, vinyl and other physical formats each accounting for 46% of the global market.

2001 – Punk pioneer Joey Ramone of The Ramones died after losing a long battle with lymphatic cancer. He was 49.

1996 – Milli Vanilli singer (?) Rob Pilatus was jailed for 90 days by a Los Angeles judge for three violent attacks and parole violation.

1996 – The rest of Jerry Garcia’s ashes were scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. A small portion had been scattered in the Ganges River in India 11 days earlier. The Grateful Dead leader had died on August 9th, 1995.

1982 – Billy Joel spent a month in a hospital after braking his left wrist when his motorbike hit a car in Long Island, New York.

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. A recent survey found that most people lose about 3 of THESE a year. What are they?
Forks

2. More people have a blue one of THESE than any other color. What is it?
A toothbrush

3. According to a recent Yahoo! survey, the average person has over a hundred of THESE but only uses about 15 over the course of a year. What are they?
TV channels

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