FRIDAY, Dec 20 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR FRIDAY, December 20, 2024
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: SONG – IT’S THE WORST TRAVELING TIME OF THE YEAR; 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 – 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.)

MUDD DAY
The National Day Calendar website says this:
“Mudd Day is observed annually on December 20th, the birthday of Dr. Samuel Mudd. After shooting President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth rode with co-conspirator David Herold to Mudd’s home in the early hours of the 15th for surgery on his fractured leg, before crossing into Virginia. Sometime that day, Mudd must have learned of the shooting but did not report Booth’s visit to the authorities for another 24 hours. This appeared to link him to the crime, as did his various changes of the story under interrogation, and on April 26, he was arrested. A military commission found him guilty of aiding and conspiring in a murder, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment, escaping the death penalty by a single vote. Mudd was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson and released from prison in 1869. Despite repeated attempts by family members and others to have it expunged, his conviction has never been overturned.”

NATIONAL FRIED SHRIMP DAY

NATIONAL SANGRIA DAY

NATIONAL UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER DAY (Third Friday in December)

SACAGAWEA DAY
The Checkiday Website says this:
“The bilingual Shoshone woman Sacagawea (c. 1788 – 1812) accompanied the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition in 1805-06 from the northern plains through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and back. Her skills as a translator were invaluable, as was her intimate knowledge of some difficult terrain. Perhaps most significant was her calming presence on both the expeditioners and the Native Americans they encountered, who might have otherwise been hostile to the strangers. Remarkably, Sacagawea did it all while caring for the son she bore just two months before departing. Sacagawea is believed to have died on today’s date in 1812, and today we honor her contributions and courage.”

WORLD SNOWBOARD DAY

December is:

Exotic/Tropical Fruits Month
National Egg Nog Month
National Fruit Cake Month
National Stress-Free Family Holiday Month
National Write a Business Plan Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Tomato Month
Winter Squash Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

KRYPTO, THE SUPER DOG, STEALS THE SUPERMAN TRAILER

Yet another Superman movie is coming out next June. They’re rebooting him again for, what, the fifth time in 20 years? A teaser trailer has been released and in this one, young Superman has a little doggie. The famous Krypto the Superdog, a part of the comics since 1955, makes his first appearance in a Superman film, and this is exciting fans. In the trailer, Superman, played by everyone’s favorite actor David Corenswet, crash lands in the arctic, and as he’s lying face-down in the snow, in flies Krypto the Superdog. Superman says, “Take me home,” and Krypto grabs Superman’s cape in his mouth and, well, we can only hope for the best. The film’s director, James Gunn, said fans’ reaction would determine whether Krypto appears in future movies. He points out that Krypto is “not nearly the best dog. There’s a lot more to Krypto than you see in this trailer.”
* As a Superdog, he licks his nuts for 2 and a half hours. Is that so super?
* What else does he do? Does Superman say “fetch” and Krypto comes home with that broken helicopter we put on Mars?
* If he was really such a superdog, he’d clean up his own super messes in the superyard.
* “Superdog” sounds like a giant hot dog with chili and cheese that you’d get at a boardwalk, and now I’m hungry.
* There’s not a Supercat ’cause it would just lay around and not care what Superman was up to.

THE BUZZ

SURVEY: $10B SPENT ON GIFTS NO ONE WANTS

A new survey from Finder, a credit card comparison site, finds that more than half of Americans (53%) will receive a Christmas gift they don’t want. The annual holiday spending forecast finds that roughly 140 million Americans will receive at least one unwanted present in 2024. The average cost of a gift this year is $72. Doing the math, that’s an estimated $10.1 billion being spent on gifts headed for the back of the closet.
– Clothing and accessories top 2024’s list of the most unwanted gifts people receive.
– Household items are the second least popular holiday gifts.
– Cosmetics and fragrances are the third least wanted.
* Great news for retail shops, no?
* I wonder how the carbon footprint from all that wasted wrapping paper compares with the jet fuel Taylor Swift burned during her Eras tour?
* There’s still time to return everything you’ve bought and switch to Walmart gift cards.
* 10 billion on gifts no one wants. And that’s just fruit boxes from Harry & David.
* Who’s behind this Finder website? Scrooge? The Grinch?
* I believe a very wise woman once said – and I believe this is true – that all I want for Christmas, is you.

HOW I IMPROVED MY LIFE THIS YEAR

Reddit asked, “What did you do in 2024 that improved your life?” Some of the responses:
– “Lost 85 lbs and started substitute teaching!”
– “Cut back on takeout food, from once a week to once every 6-8 weeks.”
– “Stopped drinking energy drinks, started drinking water.”
– “I gave up alcohol in February. It’s a decision that benefits me daily.”
– “I started Pilates, at home, by myself, so nothing fancy. But it’s been pretty cool for my body.”
– “First full year as a dad and husband.”
– “I replaced all the windows on the south side of my house with the most direct sun. This saved us a bit on the electric bill and made the house more comfortable.”
– “Taking yoga classes three times a week and stretching every day in the morning. It created a great momentum for me to work on bigger problems in my life.”
– “I started going to bed early before midnight. My life became different.”
– “I got married and got two kittens. Probably the 2 best decisions of my entire 32 years on this Earth so far.”
* PHONE TOPIC: See? It’s possible! What changes did you listeners make this year that improved their life?

INTERNATIONAL NEWSGOOGLE STREET VIEW CATCHES MAN LOADING BODY INTO HIS TRUNK

Somebody noticed an unusual picture on Google Street View. It happened in the Spanish town of Tajueco. As the Google camera moves up the street, you can see a man appearing to load a body bag into the trunk of a red car. Police were alerted, investigated, and noticed that a Cuban man had been reported missing a year ago in the the town. The Street View images, which have gone viral online, have helped officers locate the body of the missing man. Police discovered the victim’s dismembered remains buried in a cemetery a short drive from where the image was taken. Two people have been arrested – the wife of the dead man and a bar worker in Tajueco.
* It’s all part of a new feature, Google Snitch.
* ♫♪ As I Google Street Viewed the streets of Tajueco / As I Google Street Viewed Tajueco one day / I saw a young hombre disposing a body / Right there on my screen in the cybercafe.” ♪♪ (sung to “Streets of Laredo”)
* Crimes on Street View. This could have been a pretty cool gimmick on “CSI: Cyber.”
* You think this bad? Homeowners associations are using Street View to spot residents they can fine for not keeping up their lawns.

SHARK COMES OUT OF WATER, GRABS CROCODILE ON AUSTRALIAN BEACH

A new viral video out of Australian shows a hungry shark eating a large crocodile. A woman named Alice Bedwell took the video. She was at Town Beach in Nhulunbuy, Northern Australia, on December 13 when she recorded the encounter. There’s a medium-sized crocodile, still alive but in obvious distress, lying belly-up on the beach in the surf. A large shark, 3/4 of the way out of the water, wiggles over to the crocodile, chomps down on it a few times and then drags the struggling croc back into the water. Eventually, both disappear beneath the surface.
* Well, it’s not like I’m rooting for either one.
* “Hungry shark” is a little redundant, no?
* So sharks are now coming up on to the beach to hunt. The more you know, huh?
* And while that woman was filming the shark and the crocodile, a dingo grabbed her baby.

TRENDING

SOMEONE IS SELLING DIRT FROM MORGAN WALLEN’S OLD HOME

A Nashville man is selling dirt from the site of country star Morgan Wallen’s former home. The man, referred to as “Dirt Man,” is packaging and selling small bags of dirt from beneath the country star’s old place of residence, he claims, marketing it as a collectible for the singer’s fans. The house — in the heart of Nashville — has been torn down since Wallen rented it with his band when he was just getting started. A post on Facebook reads: “Anyone in need of clay fill dirt — I have a couple small trailers worth, 2.5 yards each. It’s from underneath the deck where Morgan Wallen previously lived.” Prices range from $10 to $200, depending on the amount purchased.

PINK FLOYD IS THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR ROCK BAND… TATTOO

A new survey has found that Pink Floyd is the most popular rock-band tattoo, followed by Guns N’ Roses and Rammstein. The tattoo shop LLTattoo in Switzerland conducted the study by examining Google search volume data. In first place with over 13,000 monthly searches worldwide was Pink Floyd. Guns N’ Roses had 10,600 searches, and German industrial metal band Rammstein took third with over 10,500 searches.

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

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

Jonah Hill (actor) … 41
David Cook (singer, “American Idol” 7th season winner) … 42
Chris Robinson (singer with The Black Crowes) … 58
Jenny Agutter (actress, “Call the Midwife”) … 72
Dick Wolf (creater, producer of “Law and Order” and other TV shows) … 78
Peter Criss (former drummer & singer with Kiss) … 79

Today’s Birthdays grade: For fans of Kiss, The Black Crowes, Jonah hill, and Dick Wolf and his 38 “Law & Order” shows, today gets a B.

[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!

“Besides the fact that I make movies, there’s nothing interesting about my life at all, unfortunately.”

(A) Leonardo DiCaprio
(B) James Cameron
(C) Jonah Hill

ANSWER: (C) Jonah Hill

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2002 – The nation’s 10 biggest brokerages agreed to pay $1.44 billion and fundamentally change the way they did business to settle allegations they’d misled investors by hyping certain companies’ stocks.
* So much for Bill Clinton causing the booming 90s economy.

1892 – Pneumatic tires were patented, in Syracuse, NY.
* And if the inventor was smart, while he was at it he also patented the tire patch.

1879 – Thomas Edison privately demonstrated the first successful incandescent light (light bulb) at Menlo Park, NJ.
* His dad yelled at him to turn it off when he wasn’t in his room, because he was wasting electricity.

1851 – The first YMCA opened.
* They did pretty good, considering it would be over 100 years ’til they got that catchy “Village People” jingle.

1803 – America doubled in size by buying over a million square miles of the Louisiana Territory from France.
* How appropriate as we head into holiday feasting to celebrate doubling in size.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2017 – Lady Gaga signed a Las Vegas residency deal for $75m with the Park MGM Theater.

2012 – Adele was named Billboard’s top artist of 2012, while her hit record “21” was named top album of the year in the music magazine’s annual review. The 24-year-old was the first to receive both accolades two years in a row and the honors for Adele came in a year which saw her win six Grammy awards and dominate the U.S. charts.

2006 – Eminem and his high school sweetheart Kim Scott divorced for a second time, less than a year after they remarried. The couple agreed to share custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Hailie.

2001 – Tommy Lee branded his ex-wife Pam Anderson an unfit mother. The drummer filed papers with the Los Angeles Superior Court alleging his sons told him “We hate Mommy” and his son Brandon had been using the f-word he learned from his mommy.

1986 – The Bangles started a four-week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Walk Like An Egyptian.”

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. 59% of women do THIS before the holidays. What is it?
Go on a diet

2. If you have THIS in your home, it’s probably 6 to 10 years old. What is it?
A real Christmas tree

3. According to Consumer Reports, 38% of women and 24% of men admit they will do THIS during the holidays. What is it?
Regifting

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