FRIDAY, Feb 2 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR FRIDAY, February 2, 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.)

CREPE DAY
The Days Of The Year website says this:
“Celebrate Crepe Day (as opposed to Pancake Day) with a crispy, thin, French-style crepe – we recommend the classic lemon-and-sugar approach, but why not go crazy and experiment?”

GROUNDHOG DAY
(See our Groundhog Day Facts below.)

NATIONAL HEAVENLY HASH DAY
The National Day Calendar says this:
“National Heavenly Hash Day is celebrated annually on February 2nd. When it comes to defining Heavenly Hash, the only ingredient that seems for certain is a variety of marshmallows, marshmallow creme or whip. Nearly every brand of ice cream has their version of Heavenly Hash and recipes range from fruity salads to chocolate bars with nuts.”

RHEUMATOID AWARENESS DAY

SLED DOG DAY

WORLD PLAY YOUR UKULELE DAY

WORLD WETLANDS 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

TITLE OF NEW BEETLEJUICE SEQUEL: “BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE”

Warner Bros. has announced an official title for their upcoming Beetlejuice 2 movie: “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Of course, if you say Beetlejuice three times and toss in 20 million dollars it summons Michael Keaton. Keaton and Winona Ryder will reprise their roles as Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz, with Catherine O’Hara to return as Lydia’s mom. Original director Tim Burton has returned as well.
* I was hoping thay’d call it “Beetlejuice 2: Electoplasmic Boogaloo.”
* If they wait as long to make a third one, they will literally have to summon Michael Keaton from the dead.
* “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” I wonder how many points that’s worth in Scrabble?
* If you think that’s a long title, just wait for the sequel to “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

THE BUZZ

GROUNDHOG DAY FACTS

Here are some facts about Groundhog Day:
– The earliest mention of Groundhog Day is a diary entry made by James L. Morris of Morgantown, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 2, 1840.
– The first reported news of a Groundhog Day observance didn’t come until 1886, when it was mentioned in the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
– The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where crowds as large as 40,000 gather each year. The tradition of watching a groundhog emerge from his burrow began as a custom among the German “Dutch” community in Pennsylvania in the 1880s.
– The club that runs the Groundhog Day events claims that famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil is immortal – and that it’s been the same Punxsutawney Phil for all the years of the tradition. He’s not.
– How accurate is weather forecaster Punxsutawney Phil? Records kept by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club show Phil has predicted 108 continued winters and only 20 early springs as of 2024. According to the Stormfax Almanac, that works out to a 39% accuracy rate for Phil. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, Phil has been right about 40% of the time over the past decade. For example:
In 2021, Phil predicted more winter. According to NOAA, his forecast was about half right. February 2021 was the coldest since 1989, but March turned out to be warmer than average. Winter doesn’t end until more than halfway through March.
Phil saw his shadow again in 2022, which meant another prediction of a continued winter. NOAA experts said he again missed the mark. While February was slightly colder than average, March’s temperatures were much warmer than average.
* How does this work? Does the groundhog have an alert scheduled in its iPhone calendar app?
* Punxsutawney Phil is not immortal? What’s the deal, then? It’s a zombie? A vampire?
* Other Groundhog Day facts:
– Punxsutawney is an old Indian expression meaning, “Separate the white man from his money.”
– To get him out of the hole, they lower a small child down on a rope, to poke him with a stick.
– In the event of illness, Punxsutawney Phil’s understudy is a giant rat named Dennis.
– The Punxsutawney groundhog has eaten 8 fingers over the years. You never hear about that.
– Punxatawneyans really need something more to occupy their time.
CLIP: From “Groundhog Day,” the clock radio goes off and plays Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe.”
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)(com)/prep/wp-content/uploads/groundhog-day-clock-radio(dot)mp3

I JUST LEARNED THIS

Reddit asked, “What really obvious thing did you just realize?” Some of the responses:
– “Water towers are for water pressure, not just a town putting its name on a tank.”
– “When I was 15 I realized rice isn’t pasta chopped in small pieces.”
– “That the sound of a snap is your finger hitting your hand, not rubbing off your thumb.”
– “I was like 25 when I found out the jugs of washer fluid outside the gas station aren’t free. I was walking out of the gas station with a buddy one day, grabbed a jug of washer fluid, and he asked me ‘did you just steal that?’ And I was like ‘No dude it’s free.’ Turns out I stole washer fluid for nearly ten years of driving and no one ever said anything to me about it.”
– “That sign you see near schools with the two people crossing holding books? I suddenly realized it wasn’t two women with purses.”
– “That the name ‘Circle K,’ gas stations all over the US, is just another way to say OK.”
– “Frigidaire the refrigerator company? ‘Frigid air!’ Blew my mind.”
– “It’s called a ‘funny bone’ bc it’s a humerus.”
– “That only a minority of people cough when using a q-tip in their ear. I ALWAYS cough. Turns out that only about 2% of the population experiences this phenomenon. It’s called Arnold’s ear cough reflex, caused by stimulating the vagus nerve.”
– “I am 27yo and just realized libraries are free!”
– “People who ask for advice only want to hear what they want to hear.”
PHONE TOPIC: What amazing thing have you learned only recently?

U.S. NEWS

GUY GETS INTO DISNEY WORLD WITH 46-YEAR-OLD $8 TICKET

While going through his family house, a guy found a 46-year-old ticket for Disney World Resort’s Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando. Matthew Ables said it was from 1978 and was originally worth $8. He just assumed it was an old family keepsake until he realized that it’s never been used, and there was no expiration date. So – putting all this on video, of course – Ables flew to Orlando to see if they’d let him in. The ticket booth worker stamped “void” all over the ticket and gave him a yellow pass, granting him access to the park. Entry for an adult currently starts at around $109 for a day pass. Adjusting for inflation, his 1978 ticket would have a current value of around $38.
* He got in with an $8 ticket, but I bet he didn’t get out for less than 200 bucks.
* Plus he had to pay airfare – another $300. Boy, he really showed them!
* They wouldn’t let him ride on any ride that was built after 1978, though.
* 1978. So their housecleaning schedule is to tidy up every 46 years or so?
* He also found a birdcage in a back bedroom with three tiny skeletons.

DIAPER-WEARING SPA OPENS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

A new spa has opened in Atkinson, New Hampshire, catering to “diaper-wearing” adults who want to role-play as young children. “The Diaper Spa” says it is a “safe and judgment-free zone” for visitors (* Oh, I’m not so sure it’s ‘judgement free’) to pamper themselves with “snacks…playtime, story time, nap time, cuddle time, changing time, coloring, nursery rhymes and sing-a-longs,” according to its website. (* Wait – did you say ‘changing time?’) Services include an “Adult Baby-Diaper Lover” (ABDL) nursery spa care at $300 an hour, or an all-day “premier spa experience for $1500.” Spa owner Dr. Colleen Ann Murphy, an integrative medicine physician and sexologist, explained that her spa is meant to be a place of healing for people who’ve experienced trauma. She says, “A lot of times it’s childhood trauma when they were in diapers or just getting out of diapers and they want to feel that safety that they had before that.”
* (to member of your morning team) “_____, why are you googling directions to Atkinson, New Hampshire?”
* These aren’t rug-rats, they’re more like rug-manatees.
* The worst part of the Diaper Spa? The strained peas.
* If I want to see a bunch of diaper-wearing adults acting like babies, I turn on C-SPAN.
* Charging $300 and $1500 to satisfy peoples’ fetishes? It’s like taking candy from a baby.

HEINZ ISSUES EMOTIONAL SUPPORT KETCHUP BOTTLE

Who are the advertising geniuses behind this: Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Heinz ketchup company has come up with the Emotional Support Ketchup Bottle. It’s a classic glass Heinz bottle of ketchup, but with a plastic bottle stopper, like a sport water cup, so you can drink ketchup straight from the bottle if you want. The bottle also comes with a handy carrying strap, so your ketchup will always by your side, ready to comfort you whenever you need it. The Heinz Emotional Support Ketchup Bottle is available for a limited time only on Amazon, priced at $7.99.
* I get the emotional support thing, but why tie this in to Valentine’s Day? Is it like a kink thing?
* If you walk into a fancy steak house, are they going to say, “Sir, you can’t bring that ketchup in here.” And you say, “It’s my emotional support ketchup. The law says I’m allowed. Can I get a bowl of water for it?”
* A big bottle of Heinz is $4.75 for a big plastic bottle, so… it’s a $4 joke you can make exactly once.
* How long ’til someone is enraged that Heinz is shaming people who need emotional support animals? Four more minutes?

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

BRAZILIAN MOVIE-GOERS LOCKED IN THEATER

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, about 40 people were locked into a screening of the Oscar-nominated movie “The Holdovers,” starring Paul Giamatti. The movie was over, and the lights didn’t come up. When they got out to the lobby they found the staff was gone and the security gate drawn and locked. Several people called the fire department, who came and rescued the group, who were was trapped for about 30 minutes before being freed.
* If they’d set the place on fire, I’ll bet the firefighters would’ve made it in 5.
* Brazilian movie-goers? Boy, that’s a lot of movie-goers.
* At least they weren’t stuck with “Aquaman 2.”
* I hope they cleaned out the popcorn and candy counter.
* Time for the employees to review that “How to Close the Theater” checklist.
* Lots of people wish they could get into movies. And sometimes people want to get out.

285-YEAR-OLD LEMON SOLD AT AUCTION

A 285-year-old lemon found in the back of an old cabinet drawer was auctioned for $1,780 in England. The auction house, Brettells Auctioneers, received a 19th century cabinet to sell. A photographer was taking pictures of the cabinet when a hard, black, rock-type object was discovered in the back of a drawer. It was a lemon, inscribed with the message: “Given By Mr P Lu Franchini Nov 4 1739 to Miss E Baxter.” The auction house decided to try and sell the old lemon. It got a high bid of $1,780. Meanwhile, the cabinet sold for just $40.
* In 1739, giving an engraved lemon to the one you love was all the rage. They called it the Lemon Pledge.
* So did the relationship between Mr. Franchini and Miss Baxter bear fruit? Apparently.
* Unless she soured on him.
* Maybe it was some sort of weird ‘Buy a cabinet, get a free lemon’ promotion at the furniture store: “It’s a Citrus of Savings at Ye Olde Bosworth’s Furniture Barn!”
* When life gives you lemons, try to sell them to some sucker for hundreds of dollars.

TRENDING

THE PRICE OF A SUPER BOWL TICKET: $8,000

Ticket prices for this year’s Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are the highest they’ve ever been. The average price is hovering around $9,800. The cheapest ticket is $8,188, which is more than 50% more expensive than the cheapest ticket price of last year’s Super Bowl during this time, when it cost $5,997.

LANA DEL REY GOING COUNTRY

Pop music chanteuse Lana Del Rey is now getting into the country racket. The 38-year-old singer-songwriter announced a country album titled “Lasso” will be coming this September. Lana says, “We’re going country. It’s happening. That’s why producer Jack Antanoff has followed me to Muscle Shoals, Nashville, Mississippi, over the last four years.”

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

TODAY – Groundhog Day
February 10, Saturday – Chinese New Year (The Year of the Dragon)
February 12, Monday – Lincoln’s Birthday
February 14, Wednesday – Valentine’s Day
February 19, Monday – Presidents Day / Washington’s Birthday
February 13, Tuesday – Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras
March 10, Sunday – Daylight Saving Time Begins
March 17, Sunday – St. Patrick’s Day
March 19, Tuesday – Spring begins, Spring Equinox is 11:06 p.m. EDT
March 20, Wednesday – First full day of Spring

BIRTHDAYS

Zosia Mamet (actress, “The Flight Attendant”, “GIRLS”) … 36
Rich Sommer (actor, “In the Dark,” “Mad Men”) … 46
Shakira (singer) … 47
Robert DeLeo (rock musician, Stone Temple Pilots) … 58
Christie Brinkley (model & former wife of Billy Joel) … 70
Brent Spiner (actor, Data the android in Star Trek franchise) … 75
Howard Bellamy (singer, the Bellamy Brothers) … 78
Graham Nash (musician, Crosby, Stills Nash & Young) … 82

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

“I don’t go out without makeup.”

(A) Clint Eastwood
(B) The Joker
(C) Shakira

ANSWER: (C) Shakira

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2020 – It was “Palindrome Day” – date 02/02/2020 reads the same forward and backward … the last time this happened was November 11, 1111 A.D.)

2012 – A cold snap across Europe killed more than 100 people (over 400 people by Feb. 8).
* On the anniversary of the global warming announcement (next item below). Awkward!

2007 – The world’s leading climate scientists said global warming has begun and is “very likely” caused by humans and will be unstoppable for centuries.
* Or, a drop in solar activity is leading to a Little Ice Age. Place your bets!

1964 – The GI Joe action figure debuted and became the most popular American boy’s toy.
* Until Madonna began her recording career in the early 80s.

1935 – The first lie detector test was administered.
* And I invented it!

1893 – The first close-up motion picture was filmed. For whatever reason, it was a film of comedian Fred Ott sneezing.
* Little did those 19th Century movie makers realize what other bodily fluids would one day be filmed.

1892 – The bottle cap was patented.
* Can you imagine getting a penny for every bottle cap ever made? AY CARUMBA!

1886 – The first Groundhog Day – a ritual ceremony in Pennsylvania in which a large rodent forecasts the first day of spring – took place.
* Followed by a big whoppin’ groundhog barbecue.

1848 – Mexico sold California, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas to the U.S. for $15 million.
* Today, you can barely build a HOUSE in California for $15 million.

1709 – The British sailor who inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Robinson Crusoe,” Alexander Selkirk, was rescued after being marooned on a desert island for 5 years.
* That’s the good news. The bad news is, he didn’t make a penny from the book.

1653 – New Amsterdam was founded, the city which would be renamed New York.
* Good thing, because “New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam” would have been pretty awkward to sing.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2021 – Marilyn Manson was dropped by his record label following claims by actress Evan Rachel Wood that she was “horrifically abused” by the musician. Loma Vista Recordings said it would no longer be working with Manson and would cease promoting his latest album “effective immediately.” Manson denied the allegations, saying they were “horrible distortions of reality.”

2008 – The Spice Girls cut short their reunion world tour, blaming “family and personal commitments.”

2004 – TV network CBS apologized for an incident during the Super Bowl half-time show, when one of Janet Jackson’s breasts was exposed after Justin Timberlake ripped her top during a raunchy duet. Cameras quickly cut away from the scene but CBS was still flooded with calls from angry viewers about the half-time entertainment, produced by MTV. Timberlake insisted it was an accident, saying “I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the half-time performance of the Super Bowl.”

2003 – Jennifer Lopez started a three-week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “All I Have.”

1989 – George Michael received undisclosed damages in excess of $170,000 from Britain’s The Sun newspaper over articles that stated Michael had gatecrashed a party given by Andrew Lloyd Weber, and was drunk and abusive.

1985 – Foreigner started a two-week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles charts with “I Want To Know What Love Is.”

1979 – Sex Pistols bass player Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose in New York. There had been a party to celebrate Vicious’ release on $50,000 bail pending his trial for the murder of his former girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, the previous October. Party guests said that Vicious had taken heroin at midnight.

1974 – Barbra Streisand started a four week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with the theme from the film “The Way We Were.” The single won an Oscar and a Grammy for “Song of the Year.”

1973 – Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake and Palmer injured his hands when his piano, rigged to explode as a stunt, detonated prematurely during a concert in San Francisco.

1959 – Appearing at Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, Iowa: Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper. This was all three acts’ last-ever gig before being killed in a plane crash the following day.

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. THIS happens to more people on a Monday than any other day. What is it??
They lock their keys in the car

2. People are less likely to do THIS on a Tuesday than any other day of the week. What is it?
Buy gasoline

3. The middle of the week in the middle of the day is the best time to do THIS. What is it?
Call customer service. Lines are the least busy at noon on Wednesdays.

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