TUESDAY, May 13 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION
MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP EMAIL AND TEXT VERSION FOR TUESDAY, May 13, 2025
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY:
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.)
FROG JUMPING DAY
The Days of the Year website says this:
“National Frog Jumping Day has its roots in a charming blend of literature and tradition, celebrated annually on May 13. The story that sparked this whimsical holiday is ‘The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,’ penned by Mark Twain in 1865. The actual event that further solidified this tradition is the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, first held in 1893 in Copperopolis, California.”
LEPRECHAUN DAY
The Days of the Year website says this:
“The celebration of National Leprechaun Day is rooted in the rich tapestry of Irish legends. These small, supernatural creatures are not just central to Irish folklore but have also become symbols of Irish culture around the world.”
NATIONAL APPLE PIE DAY
NATIONAL FRUIT COCKTAIL DAY
WORLD COCKTAIL DAY
World Cocktail Day is a global celebration of cocktails; it marks the publication date of the first definition of a cocktail on May 13 in 1806. In response to a reader’s inquiry, Harry Croswell, editor of the New York tabloid The Balance and Columbian Repository, defined a cocktail as “a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters.”
May is:
Chip Your Pet Month / Pet Month
Date Your Mate Month
International Civility Awareness Month
National Barbecue Month
National Bike Month
National Egg Month
National Hamburger Month
National Military Appreciation Month
National Salad Month
National Salsa Month
Older Americans Month
ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES
NO MORE NUDITY AT CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
Officials at the Cannes Film Festival have announced dress code restrictions just ahead of opening night. The festival said that “for decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the Red Carpet, as well as in any other area of the Festival.” (* Thanks a bunch, Kanye!) The new rules also state: “Voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theatre are not permitted.”
* Why even go then?
* No nudity at Cannes? I’m sorry, but I thought this was America.
* No more nudity at the Cannes Film Festival? They forgot the comma: “No, MORE nudity at the Cannes Film Festival.”
THE BUZZ
FOREIGNERS SHOCKED BY AMERICA
Reddit asked, “Non-Americans of Reddit, what’s something that absolutely shocked you when you first visited the US?” Some of the responses:
– “The distance between places was the biggest thing to get my head around.
– “We were driving towards the grand canyon in the middle of nowhere with no building around and suddenly there was a fireworks shop next door to a preschool.”
– “The listed price in stores not being what you pay.”
– “That everybody is asking how I am doing, straight after the ‘hi.'”
– “I took someone from overseas to a baseball game. The things that impressed her: 1) The enormous ketchup tub with a pump at the snack counter. 2) You could order something from the vendor, pass your twenty dollar bill down the row, and your food and change would be passed back.”
– “The portion size in restaurants.”
– “So many cereal options.”
– “How early people eat dinner.”
– “One British boyfriend of mine was flabbergasted at the size of my parent’s bathroom sink.”
– “I’m originally from South Korea, and in high school all my Korean friends were shocked that we were allowed to wear what we wanted to school.”
– “The gaps around the stall doors in public restrooms took some getting used to!”
– “The accents. In Canada, there are a few regional accents, but on the US, there were SO MANY.”
– “How much violence was on standard television.”
– “Nobody walks. I took a 20 minute walk to the supermarket and my American girlfriend thought I was crazy.”
– “That you can book a ticket on a plane or bus, and it doesn’t guarantee you a seat!”
– “When I first moved here, toilet paper shocked me a lot.”
* Yeah, electric toilet paper does take some getting used to.
* When Europe discovers ice cubes, THEN you have a right to complain about the U.S.
* PHONE TOPIC: Did you ever have a foreign friend shocked by something here in America?
U.S. NEWS
BEAR BREAKS INTO SEVEN CARS IN ONE NIGHT
The Avon, Colorado, police were called out to investigate a report of a car with a suspiciously open door last Friday morning. Officers actually found seven unlocked vehicles had been entered overnight. An officer discovered the suspect’s print on the side of a car: A big, dirty bear paw print. Police say no damage was done, likely because there were no food items left inside the cars.
* No food, just drugs. It’s Colorado.
* The bear picked the only seven cars in the state without food wrapper tossed into the back seat.
* Though the bear was later spotted selling seven catalytic converters to a chop shop.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
MAN SWIMS ENGLISH CHANNEL, CLIMBS EVEREST
A man has summitted Mount Everest after swimming, cycling and running more than 8,000 miles. Mitch Hutchcraft, a former Royal Marine, was doing what they call sea-to summit. He started by swimming the English Channel last September 15 (21 miles across). Then he cycled 7,400 miles from Europe to India. He then ran 560 miles to Kathmandu in Nepal, before starting his 223-mile trek to Everest basecamp. He finished the challenge – 240 days later – when he topped the world’s highest mountain on Sunday. Hutchcraft called it “the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. But I couldn’t be happier and more proud of finishing this epic adventure.”
* That’s an amazing achievement. Just fantastic. The world will long remember— what was his name again? What did he do again? Wow. Wow. What was his name again? Oh, right. Anyway…
* Maybe if he had climbed Mt. Everest in the swimsuit he wore swimming the Channel, that would have been something.
* I’m satisfied if I can get out of bed in the morning without a crick in my neck.
* I bet he comes home and his wife says, “Well, the lawn needs mowing.”
AUDIO: JAPAN DEVELOPING ON AUTOMATIC ZIPPER
Japanese company YKK is the world’s largest zipper manufacturer. Chances are, any zipper on your clothing right now says YKK on the pull tab. Anyway, YKK has developed a prototype self-propelled zipper. It’s a little gizmo, about 5-inches long, with a built-in motor and a spinning worm gear that winds its way through the zipper teeth on either side and pulls it closed behind it. The mechanized zipper will zip itself up at the push of a remote button. The next step will be to miniaturize the gadget.
* And make it waterproof.
* And put in an emergency stop in case it hits a blockage. You don’t want to zippity your doo-dah.
* And convince people to pay $30 more for an item of clothing with a robot zipper.
* Just wait until Russia figures out how to hack this.
CLIP: Oh, but America is ahead of the curve again – our classic “Venus Fly Clap” parody spot.
FAMILY MISTAKENLY ACCUSED OF DINE-AND-DASH, SUES
Last year, Peter and Ann McGirr took their two adult children for a meal at The Horse and Jockey pub, a restaurant in Tideswell, England. They paid $200 (£150) for the dinner and left. But soon afterwards, management at the pub falsely believed the family had pulled a dine-and-dash and promptly took to social media to call them out and shame them. The pub owner posted pictures of the family enjoying steak dinners and several beers and wrote that they had not paid. However, an investigation revealed that the mistake was due to an inexperienced staff member who neglected to ring up the payment in the till. The owner apologized and offered the family a free dinner. Nope. The McGirr family sued claiming bad press affected the reputation of their family-named business, McGirr Engineering. They won, and the court ordered the restaurant to pay $98,000 (£75,000) in damages as well as the family’s $52,000 (£40,000) legal costs.
* The family ate steak, the owner ate crow.
* This is outrageous. How can four people go out to a steak dinner these days and only pay $200?
TRENDING
TICKETMASTER STOPS HIDING FEES
Ticketmaster began its so-called “all-in pricing” Monday, May 12. From now on, you’ll be looking at the actual cost of the ticket right away as you buy, with no surprises at checkout. This is a result of the Biden administration’s crackdown on junk fees. Although Ticketmaster eventually agreed to go along with the changes, it spent more of its efforts fighting them.
P. DIDDY TRIAL: DAY 1
The jury was seated, and the actual trial is underway for Sean “Diddy” Combs. The 55-year-old music mogul may spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted in his sex-trafficking and racketeering trial. On Monday, prosecutor Emily Johnson gave her opening statement: “To the public he was Puff Daddy or Diddy, a cultural icon, a businessman, larger than life. But there was another side to him — a side that ran a criminal enterprise. But he didn’t do it alone. He had an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and helped him cover them up.” The defense is expected to argue that all the sex was consensual and accuse the government of prosecutorial overreach.
– Israel Florez, a security guard at the Los Angeles hotel where Combs attacked ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016 in an incident captured on surveillance cameras, testified first, saying Combs allegedly bribed him to keep silent about the incident and said he saw Ventura with a “purple eye” after the altercation.
– Daniel Phillip, a male escort, was the second to take the stand, testifying he was paid by Ventura to have sex with her at a hotel in 2012 while Combs watched in the corner, and then repeated the service multiple times with the couple at various hotels.
ALMANAC
NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES
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
Robert Pattinson (actor, “Mickey 17,” “The Batman,” “Twilight” movies) … 39
Lena Dunham (actress, writer, producer, director, “Girls”) … 39
Mickey Madden (bassist with Maroon 5) … 46
Darius Rucker (singer w/ Hootie and the Blowfish) … 59
Stephen Colbert (host of CBS’s “Late Night”) … 61
Dennis Rodman (kooky former NBA player) … 65
Stevie Wonder (singer/songwriter) … 75
Harvey Keitel (actor) … 86
Today’s Birthdays grade: Whenever you’ve got an actor who took up Batman’s cowl (how many have there been so far – 20?) you’ve got a good birthday list, plus we’ve got lifetime musical genius Stevie Wonder and a network late night talk show host, and more that aren’t bad. 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!
“Sometimes just when I say hello the right way, I’m like, ‘Whoa, I’m so cool.'”
(A) Joe Biden
(B) Pope Francis
(C) Robert Pattinson
ANSWER: (C) Robert Pattinson
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
2003 – The U.S. government unveiled a new version of the $20 bill – the first to be colorized in an effort to thwart counterfeiters.
* I just don’t think Andrew Jackson looks very presidential wearing a plaid sportcoat.
1821 – Samuel Rust of New York City patented the first practical printing press to be manufactured in the U.S.
* To be followed shortly thereafter by the first girlie magazines.
1607 – The English colony at Jamestown, Va., was settled.
* By brave souls who crossed hundreds of miles of ocean in primitive boats – just to get away from British food.
THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY
2008 – The US Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Frank Sinatra. The design showed a 1950s-vintage image of Sinatra, wearing a hat.
2003 – Michael Jackson launched a court case suing Motown Records. He filed the lawsuit in LA, saying he hadn’t been paid royalties due for the music he did with the Jackson Five in the 60s and 70s. The singer also claimed his music has been used in TV ads without his permission.
2002 – Soul singer Dionne Warwick was arrested after baggage screeners at Miami International Airport allegedly found 11 suspected marijuana cigarettes in a lipstick container. The charges against her were later dropped.
1985 – Bruce Springsteen married Julianne Phillips at Lake Oswego, Oregon. Julianne filed for divorce on Aug. 30th, 1988.
1979 – David Lee Roth from Van Halen collapsed on stage during a concert in Spokane, Washington.
1971 – On his twenty-first birthday, Stevie Wonder received his childhood earnings. Sort of. Despite having earned $30 million so far, he received only $1 million.
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. The average American drinks 3.6 gallons of THIS in a year. What is it?
Orange juice
2. The average American drinks almost 14 gallons of THIS in a year. What is it?
Milk
3. The average American drinks over 41 gallons of THIS in a year. What is it?
Soft drinks
(c) 2025
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