WEDNESDAY, Mar 12 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR WEDNESDAY, March 12, 2025
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: A & M AUTOLAND – St Patrick’s Day – Snakes

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.)

GIRL SCOUT DAY
The Girl Scouts website says this:
“Girl Scouts’ birthday, March 12, commemorates the day in 1912 when Girl Scouts of the USA founder Juliette Gordon Low officially registered the organization’s first 18 members in Savannah, Georgia.”

NATIONAL BAKED SCALLOPS DAY

NATIONAL PLANT A FLOWER DAY

NATIONAL WORKING MOMS DAY

March is:

Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month
American Red Cross Month
Employee Spirit Month
Expanding Girls’ Horizons in Science and Engineering Month
Gender Equality Month
Irish-American Heritage Month
National Craft Month
National Women Inventors Month
National Women’s History Month
Read an E-Book Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

WIFE OF REALITY TV STAR TRIED TO HIRE A HITMAN

The wife of a reality TV star has been arrested in an alleged murder-for-hire plot. Victoria Goodwin, 32, allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill her husband, 48-year-old “Ghost Adventures” star Aaron Goodwin, while he was filming his show. Police said Victoria was in communication with a Florida prison inmate and provided information about her husband’s location and filming times in California where he was shooting “Ghost Adventures.” The prisoner was allegedly communicating with the hitman. The plot was uncovered when corrections officers found and seized the inmate’s contraband phone. According to the arrest report, Victoria allegedly set aside $11,515 to pay for Aaron’s murder and sent specific messages about a $2,500 upfront payment. She is currently being held on $100,000 bail. Aaron and Victoria got married in 2022, at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion.
* It’s a reality TV ghost hunting show. I don’t think she’s after his money.
* She wanted to ghost him – and not the social media way.
* If only the show had this much real drama.
* So, what, she has him killed, but then he comes back and haunts her the rest of her life? Not a smart move.
* He was on “Ghost Adventures,” now he’s switching to “Survivor.”

DOES “SEVERANCE” FREAK OUT YOUR DOG?

A strange report has popped up on Reddit regarding the Apple TV show “Severance.” The Reddit thread is titled “I think my dog is afraid of Severance,” with pet owners detailing their dog’s odd reactions whenever the program is on. The problem appears to be all the office sounds, particularly the elevator dings and the security card beeps. Some of the comments:
– “My normally brave pupper is terrified of those elevator dings.”
– “My German Shorthaired Pointer doesn’t like the beeping sound whenever one of the actors scans their badge to access the elevator so she’ll get up and leave.”
– “I noticed my dog acting strangely while my husband and I were watching Severance. Last night he was literally shaking. It is definitely all the beeps, his biggest fear is the smoke detector.”
– “Dog actually left the room and went upstairs by herself as soon as I started the new episode this evening, even though several friends came over to watch the episode with me and all my dogs usually love having extra people available for evening TV cuddle time.”
– “This isn’t helpful, but my dog hates Brian from Family Guy. Only Brian.”
Jacob Ribicoff, one of the show’s sound editors, said, “I consistently used some high-pitched sounds,” noting dogs’ super-sensitive hearing. Some dog experts also say that the visuals of the show might be affecting the dogs; blue is a color they seem to notice more than others, and the show is filmed with a bluish tinge.
* Somebody’s gonna be getting a call from PETA.
* We’ve had reports of dogs running out of the room when our show comes on the radio.
* PHONE TOPIC: Does your dog freak out at “Severance”? Does it hate/like any other show?

THE BUZZ

MY WORST BONUS

Reddit asked, “What’s the worst ‘Bonus’ a job has ever given you?” Some of the responses:
– “My old retail job gave us all turkey vouchers for Thanksgiving. When we went to redeem them turned out they were actually $5 off if you bought a turkey worth $25 or more.”
– “Working at Target, my annual review got me an 8 cent raise.”
– “When I worked at McDonald’s we got a VACATION family photo from the owner as a Christmas card.”
– “Ice cream sandwiches. We didn’t get raises because ‘it was a tough year.’ There was an ice cream truck out front. My director went out and came back with the Value brand ice cream sandwiches. Two thirds of my team quit within six months.”
– “A chocolate box with 5 small chocolates. To thank us for the release of a product that doubled the company’s revenue.”
– “A poker chip with ‘APPRECIATION’ written on it. Literally a token of appreciation.”
– “I worked at a big auction house for people with lots of money, doing manual labor. For Christmas we got a coupon for a cup of coffee from the coffee shop in the building.”
– “I worked at Macy’s for the holidays one year. We had a record Black Friday, so they got us Little Caesars (one slice per person) while managers had a catered lunch from one of the nicer restaurants nearby. Later, when I worked for Hyundai, we met a production goal, so we had an excellent dinner served to us by the management, as well as a two weeks pay bonus.”
– “I was the top sales person for a public company – I got a trophy.”
– We all got mugs with our names on them, but my name was spelled incorrectly.”
– “Plain white coffee mug that says Amazon, except the n fell off so it says amazo.”
– “I was an elementary school teacher: one year we got…keychains. We all put them in a big envelope and sent them back.”
– “I got a frozen strip steak one Christmas. Just one. I told my wife she was out of luck.”
– “I once got more work for doing good work.”
* PHONE TOPIC: What’s the worst bonus you ever received?

U.S. NEWS

GIRL SCOUT COOKIES… OF DEATH!

The food companies that make Girl Scout cookies have been sued by consumers over the alleged presence of “heavy metals” and pesticides in the Scouts’ popular Thin Mints and other cookies. A proposed class action was filed on Monday night in Brooklyn, New York federal court against the cookies’ licensed producers, ABC Bakers and Ferrero USA’s Little Brownie Bakers. It cited a December 2024 study commissioned by GMO Science and Moms Across America, which tested samples of 25 cookies from three states. The study claims that Girl Scout cookies contained at least four of five heavy metals — aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury — that can harm people’s health or the environment, often at levels exceeding regulators’ recommended limits. It also said all samples contained glyphosate, a pesticide used in some weed killers, with – no, god, no! – Thin Mints containing the highest levels. The Girl Scouts had addressed the study in a Feb. 6 blog post, saying heavy metals occur naturally in soil, with trace amounts not a safety issue, while glyphosate is found “nearly everywhere” in the food chain. Girl Scouts also said its bakers are committed to complying with all food safety standards.
* Except when they’re not.
* Somebody just earned their P.R. Crisis Management Badge.
* “The pesticide glyphosate is found nearly everywhere in the food chain – why are you picking on us?” So the Girl Scouts are the victims here.
* Delicious Girl Scout cookies: the secret’s in the cadmium!
* I don’t want to say there’s a lot of aluminum, but you can get $5 for a box of cookies at the recycling center.
* If I die from eating Thin Mints, I’ll die a happy man.

FLORIDA WOMAN ASSAULTS BOYFRIEND WITH WHOLE WATERMELON

In Dunedin, Florida, a woman has been charged with domestic battery for allegedly throwing a whole watermelon at her boyfriend. During a “verbal confrontation” Sunday evening in their motel room, where they are living, Shelly Hardwick, 51, allegedly tossed a whole watermelon at her 56-year-old boyfriend, who quickly moved out of the way, according to police. Hardwick admitted that she threw the watermelon “only out of frustration” and denied trying to hit the boyfriend, but the cops looked at him and saw there were “watermelon seeds on his face and clothing.” Hardwick was arrested for domestic battery, a misdemeanor.
* Great gourd-a’mighty!
* Is this a regular woman, or, like, She-Hulk?
* Police reported that the watermelon was seedy, just like the motel.
* The Russian shot put team has been making inquiries as to Ms. Hardwick’s availability in 2028.
* I expected this story to be juicier.

BODY CAUGHT IN FISHING NET WAS EMBALMED

Last week, a woman’s body was was caught in the nets of a fishing boat off the coast of Massachusetts. Officials now believe she had been buried at sea. The fishing vessel caught the wrapped body with its nets about 40 miles off the coast on Thursday night. Massachusetts State Police took custody of the remains. The chief medical examiner found that the woman was in the 60-year-old age range and had numerous cancerous tumors. According to the district attorney’s office, the body had been embalmed and appeared consistent with a burial at sea. There were no indications of foul play, and the police now consider the case closed.
* They would have examined things further, but frankly the body was pretty icky.
* So much for a solemn, dignified burial at sea.
* Maybe the family didn’t want to pay extra for the chains and concrete blocks.
* So did they put her back in water? Let her drift out with the tide? Give her back to the fishing boat for chum?
* Yuck. It’s gonna be a couple days before I can eat fish again.

TRENDING

TIGER WOODS HAS ACHILLES TENDON SURGERY

Tiger Woods has not featured on the PGA Tour since last July. On Tuesday, he wrote on social media: “As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured. This morning, Dr Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon. I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support.” Also: “The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery,” added Dr Stucken.

BILLY JOEL HAD SURGERY

Billy Joel announced Tuesday that he’s postponing four months of upcoming shows due to “a medical condition.” A statement on his Instagram page read, “The current tour will be postponed for four months to allow him to recover from recent surgery and to undergo physical therapy under the supervision of his doctors.” The message added that Joel, 75, “is expected to make a full recovery” and that his tour will resume at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on July 5, 2025.

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

March 17, Monday – St. Patrick’s Day
March 20, Thursday – Spring begins, Spring Equinox is 5:01 a.m. EDT
April 1, Tuesday – April Fools Day
April 15, Tuesday – U.S. Tax Day
May 11, Sunday – Mother’s Day
May 26, Monday – Memorial Day

BIRTHDAYS

Jaimie Alexander (actress, “Blindspot”) … 41
Titus Welliver (actor, “Bosch: Legacy,” “Bosch,” “Deadwood”) … 63
James Taylor (singer-songwriter) … 77
Liza Minnelli (singer-actress) … 79
Barbara Feldon (actress, “Get Smart”) … 92

Today’s Birthdays grade: A trio of iconic names (for Boomers), the star of Prime Video’s longest-running franchise (whose final season premieres on March 27), and the star of that kooky tattooed naked lady show. Grade: B-minus, mainly for fans of “Bosch.”

[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!

“A lot of women think being thin is the way to go, but I prefer to have some meat on my bones.”

(A) Melissa McCarthy
(B) Jennifer Coolidge
(C) Jaimie Alexander

ANSWER: (C) Jaimie Alexander

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2011 – A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan melted and exploded and released radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after a major earthquake.
* Should have gone with wind turbines.

2009 – Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty in New York to pulling off perhaps the biggest swindle in Wall Street history.
* That we know of.

1994 – The Church of England ordained its first female priests.
* And it went fine. No lightning strikes, no plagues of frogs, no swarms of locusts …

1993 – Janet Reno was sworn in as America’s first female attorney general.
* And this went fine, too. No lightning strikes, no plagues of frogs, no swarms of locusts …

1933 – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered the first of his radio “fireside chats,” telling Americans what was being done to deal with the nation’s Great Depression economic crisis.
* It was hard to feel good about a fireside chat when your fireplace was burning your furniture.

1912 – Army Captain Albert Berry made the first parachute jump from an airplane.
* You didn’t think it would have been a GENERAL who tried it first, did you?

1912 – In Savannah, GA, Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Guides, which later became the Girl Scouts of America.
* Which reminds me – we’re getting low on Thin Mints at home.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2013 – Bob Dylan was voted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, marking the first time a rock musician had been chosen for the elite honor society.

2012 – Taylor Swift, at that time a country star, beat Adele and Lady Gaga to be named the highest-earning pop artist of 2011. The 22-year-old earned $35,719,902 in 2011 from a combination of music sales, royalties and touring.

2009 – Hundreds of fans lined up at the O2 arena in London as Michael Jackson tickets went on sale to the public. The 50-year-old pop veteran had confirmed he would be playing a 50-date residency at the venue, beginning on July 8, 2009. Some 360,000 pre-sale tickets had already sold. Organizers said the This Is It tour had become the fastest-selling in history, with 33 seats sold each minute. Jackson had said this would be the last time he would perform in the UK. Jackson died on June 25, 18 days before the first slated performance.

2001 – “Over The Rainbow” was voted the Song Of The Century in a poll published in America. Musicians, critics and fans compiled the list by the RIA.

1969 – Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman at Marylebone Registry Office in London.

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. One in six Americans under the age of 20 have never done THIS. What is it?
Ridden a bicycle

2. Half of us have someone else do THIS for us, 37% of us do it ourselves, and 14% of us never do it. What is it?
Wash our own car

3. One in three adults will forget to do THIS today. What is it?
Put on deodorant

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