TUESDAY, Aug 5 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR TUESDAY, August 5, 2025

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.)

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT (First Tuesday in August)
The NATW website says this:
“National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement providing a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances. Neighborhoods host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and various other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits and much, much more.”

NATIONAL OYSTER DAY

NATIONAL UNDERWEAR DAY
Founded by online intimate apparel retailer Freshpair in 2003 as a campaign promoting body confidence and self-acceptance for women, it now encompasses a more inclusive approach to body positivity for all genders.

WORK LIKE A DOG DAY
Established to encourage people to put maximum effort into getting things done, whether it’s school homework, house chores, office work, or personal projects.

August is:

Black Business Month
Family Fun Month
International Peace Month
National Back to School Month
National Catfish Month
National Crayon Collection Month
National Goat Cheese Month
National Golf Month
National Panini Month
National Peach Month
National Sandwich Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

AUDIO: “MARRIAGE STORY” FIGHT SCENE USED TO SCARE WOLVES

The iconic (* if you say so) fight scene from the movie “Marriage Story” is now being used by the U.S. government to scare off wolves. In the Academy Award-winning 2019 film starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, the climax amid their custody battle includes a brutal, screaming fight and Adam Driver’s character punching a wall. The Department of Agriculture selected the audio of the scene to haze the wolves, scaring them off from killing cattle and livestock on farms across America. One USDA district supervisor said, “I need the wolves to respond and know that, hey, humans are bad.”
* Do the wolves have discussion groups where they break down the scene?
* I hope the wolves understand that, while both these people have their faults, they each have their motivations for doing what they did.
* What, they couldn’t get the rights to a clip of “Real Housewives”?
* When they want to make the wolves bored and confused, they play a clip of Adam Driver from “Megalopolis.”
* (while playing clip) Hey I recognize these voices. I used to live in an apartment downstairs from these people.
CLIP: A heavily edited clip of the fight scene from “Marriage Story.”
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)com/prep/wp-content/uploads/MarriageStoryFightScene(dot)mp3

THE BUZZ

THE SENTENCE THAT STUCK WITH YOU

Reddit asked, “What’s a single sentence someone said that stuck with you forever?” Some of the responses:
– “When learning to drive: ‘Always expect everyone else to do something stupid.'”
– “‘No one thinks about you as much as you do.’ Genuinely changed my perspective on myself.”
– “When you have a problem that can’t be fixed with money, that’s the moment you realize you have a real problem.”
– “Assume ignorance, not malice.”
– “‘You’ll never change.’ It was a catalyst that spurred me to actually change.”
– “My husband said, ‘Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey.’ Every time I use a screwdriver I’m saying that in my head.”
– “From dad: ‘You have my phone number, a place to sleep, and the clothes on your back. Everything else you’ll be able to figure out.’”
– “Years ago, my art professor and I were having a conversation. She finished up by saying, ‘Anyway, you’re important.’ My partner and I say it all the time to each other now.”
– “When you come to a fork in the road, take it, you never know when you might need a fork.”
– “No one really knows what they are doing.”
* PHONE TOPIC: What’s a sentence that has stuck with you?

U.S. NEWS

TWO STABBED OVER 4-YEAR-OLD EGGPLANT SANDWICH

Last Thursday morning, two New Jersey bakery owners were attacked by an irate customer with a knife, who claimed they served him the wrong sandwich four years ago. Abed Assad and his brother Mohammad, owners of Baladna Bakery in Paterson, New Jersey, said the man came in complaining that, four years ago, he was served an eggplant sandwich despite asking for an egg sandwich. He claimed to be allergic to eggplant and became ill after eating it. They offered to give him a refund or store credit, but the argument escalated and eventually turned violent when the suspect stabbed Mohammad in the chest and slashed Abed in the arm. The suspect, whose identity is not yet known, fled the store after the attack. The two men went to a hospital for treatment.
* “I’m sorry, sir, you must want the Waffle House out by the interstate.”
* Everything was going fine until one of the brothers said, “Do you have the receipt?”
* So the argument escalated when they … egged him on?
* Instead of stabbing them, he should have let them take another stab at getting the sandwich right.

SKELLY THE 12-FOOT SKELETON IS BACK WITH FRIENDS

Skelly the giant skeleton decoration is back at Home Depot this year, although the 12-foot Halloween yard decoration has sold out every year since its debut in 2020 so it may already be tough to find. This year, Skelly has some new friends: a 5-foot skeleton cat ($199) and two varieties of skeleton dog, one 5-footer ($249) and a 7-footer ($199). Home Depot is also now selling two types of giant scarecrows that stand 15 feet tall ($399 each).
* If you haven’t ordered one by now, you’re boned.
* The scariest thing is what people are willing to pay for cheesy yard decoration.
* I would pose the skeleton dog running off with one of Skelly’s arms in his mouth.
* $299 for the giant skeleton, but how much to rent the storage unit to keep it in the rest of the year?
* It should only be a couple of months before Skelly has its own podcast, Netflix special, and Lego movie.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

DANISH ZOO REQUESTS PET DONATIONS, TO FEED TO THE CARNIVORES

A zoo in Denmark is asking for donations of small pets as food for its predators. The Aalborg zoo, in northern Denmark, said it is trying to mimic the natural food chain of the animals housed there. The zoo explained in a Facebook post that “if you have a healthy animal that needs to be given away for various reasons, feel free to donate it to us,” suggesting guinea pigs, rabbits and chickens as possible donations. They also noted that they are interested in receiving horses. They assure the pets will be “gently euthanized” by trained staff.
* Parents, keep a close watch on your kids when you go to this zoo.
* I’d stay away from the snack bar, too.
* Oh, please. Stick a couple rabbits in a cage and before you know it you’ll have more food than you’ll know what to do with.
* If you have a misbehaving dog, read him this story when you get home.
* If you donate a pet, can you watch? I mean, of course you’d pay extra, but, can you watch?

ROMEO AND JULIET, AS PERFORMED BY VEHICLES

A week-long production of “Romeo and Juliet” in Estonia last week used a cast of vehicles to tell Shakespeare’s story of star-crossed lovers. The play was performed in an unused limestone quarry in the Estonian countryside. More than a dozen vehicles, including city buses, fire engines, a delivery truck and a cement truck drive around on the area designated as a stage. A red Ford pickup plays the role of Juliet; Romeo is a rally truck. Two excavators waved their mechanical arms at each other threateningly in a recreation of the fatal sword fight between Tybalt and Mercutio. The production was without dialogue, although it was accompanied by fireworks and music. At one point, a car was thrown from a cliff. Said co-director Paavo Piik, “It’s basically a big experiment about what it means to do Shakespeare today and whether we can find new ways to do it.” Audience reaction? One woman said, “I came into it expecting it to be really silly, but it was really good. I really liked it.” Another: “Even though it was cars, it felt really sweet and cute. Like when you had the scene where the cars were, you would assume, kissing, the energy was captured really well.”
* “Nuanced” would be a good word to describe Shakespeare performed by industrial machinery.
* At the end when they die, instead of taking poison do they just pour sugar in the gas tanks?
* Imagine Hamlet as a taxicab: To beep or not to beep.
* I think we have the idea for the next “Cars” sequel.
* Oddly, there were complaints about not enough parking.
* Shakespeare and cars. This opens up a lot of possibilities:
– “Two Gentlemen from a Kia Sedona”
– “King Cab Lear”
– “Hemi the Fifth”
– “The Taming of the Shrewbaru”
– “A Midsummer Night’s Jeep”
– “Anthony and CleoPorshe”

TRENDING

DIDDY DENIED BAIL

Sean “Diddy” Combs, who has been behind bars since his arrest in September, won’t be getting out ahead of his Oct. 3 sentencing. Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw his trial, rejected a bail request Monday. While Combs was acquitted last month of racketeering and sex trafficking, he could still get up to 20 years on two lesser prostitution-related counts, though a much lower sentence is expected.

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

Sept. 1, Monday – Labor Day
Sept. 11, Thursday – Patriot Day
Sept. 19, Friday – National POW/MIA Recognition Day (The third Friday of September)
Sept. 22, Monday – Fall begins (Autumn Equinox is 2:19 p.m. EDT)
Oct. 13, Monday – Columbus Day
Oct. 16, Thursday – National Boss’s Day
Oct. 31, Friday – Halloween

BIRTHDAYS

Jesse Williams (actor, “Grey’s Anatomy”) … 45
Stephanie Szostak (actress, “A Million Little Things”) … 54
Terri Clark (country singer) … 57
Mark O’Connor (country fiddle player and composer, six-time CMA Musician of the Year) … 64
Maureen McCormick (actress, Marcia on “The Brady Bunch”) … 69

Today’s Birthdays grade: Today’s list represents country music and TV, but it’s an especially big day if you know the phrase “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” We’ve got an original cast-member (Marcia herself!) from a show that was never a ratings hit or a critical success, but took off in syndication, spawning TV reunion films, spinoff series, and satirical film treatments. Grade: A-minus.

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

“If you aren’t going to do something all the way, don’t do it.”

(A) Elon Musk
(B) Caitlyn Jenner
(C) Maureen McCormick

ANSWER: (C) Maureen McCormick

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2010 – Thirty-three workers were trapped in a copper mine in northern Chile after a tunnel caved in. (They were rescued after being entombed for 69 days).
* On the bright side, they missed that awful “Yogi Bear” movie.

2002 – The coral-encrusted gun turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor was raised from the floor of the Atlantic.
* Hey, with the military stretched so thin around the world, we need all the weapons we can get!

1962 – Actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home at age 36. Her death was ruled a probable suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills.
* Yes, it can be very stressful being a fabulously attractive sex symbol. Believe me, I know.

1921 – The first baseball game to be broadcast on radio aired on KDKA in Pittsburgh.
* It went over big with people who were tired of watching the players scratch themselves.

1914 – The first electric traffic light was installed, in Cleveland, Ohio.
* It didn’t take long for people to learn that Red means Stop, Green means Go, and Yellow means Go Faster.

1861 – The U.S. government enacted the first income tax. All incomes over $800 were taxed 3 percent.
* People worked at jobs that paid just $800 a year? What – were they all in radio?

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2021 – Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, 80, announced he would be unable to accompany the band on its 2021 U.S. tour, based on medical advice. He died later that month on August 24.

2021 – Singer Tony Bennett, 95, gave his last ever performance, the second of two sold-out shows with Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. A week later, Bennett, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, announced he was retiring from performing.

2009 – Steven Tyler was airlifted to a hospital after falling off the stage during a gig at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The 61-year-old Aerosmith singer fell from a catwalk onto a couple of fans, suffering neck and shoulder injuries. About 30 minutes after the accident, guitarist Joe Perry came out to tell the crowd that the remainder of the show had been cancelled.

2009 – A 53-year-old who claimed he was secretly engaged to Miley Cyrus was charged with trying to stalk the singer. Mark McLeod was arrested after trying to contact the Hannah Montana actress on a film set near Savannah, Georgia.

2007 – DNA testing on about a dozen people who claimed late soul star James Brown was their father revealed that at least two of them were telling the truth.

1983 – Crosby Stills Nash & Young member David Crosby was sentenced to five years in jail in Texas for cocaine and firearms offenses. Crosby slept through most of his trial.

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. 24% of women say that a man who has THIS is more attractive than one who doesn’t. What is it?
A scar on his face

2. 70% of women said that a “real man” must be able to do THIS. What is it?
Change a tire

3. In a recent survey, 77% of women said THIS is a big “no” for any guy over the age of 30. What it it?
An earring

(c) 2025
MORNING SIDEKICK RADIO SHOW PREP & COMEDY
8062 West Massey Circle
Littleton, CO 80128
USA
morningsidekick(at)gmail(dot)(com)
Tel: 303-727-9111