Audio • Bits & Breaks • Entertainment • Fun & Games • News & Nuggets • News Attack! • Number for the Day • Television • Wacky-But-True
DATEBOOK: DECEMBER 2, 2022
• Dan Butler (Bulldog on Frasier) is 68
• TV journalist Stone Phillips is 68
• Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey) is 59
• Lucy Liu (Kill Bill) is 54
• Rena Sofer (24, Just Shoot Me) is 54
• Joe Lo Truglio (Charles Boyle in Brooklyn Nine-Nine) is 52
• Britney Spears is 41
• Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 39
• Singer-musician Charlie Puth is 31
IT HAPPENED TODAY
• 1901: Gillette patented the first disposable razor.
• 1927: The first Ford Model A was unveiled in New York City’s Waldorf Hotel and in 35 other cities around the U.S., Canada and Europe. It replaced the Model T and sold for between $395 and $495.
• 1952: In what could be called one of the earliest reality shows, Denver’s KOA-TV transmitted the first human birth to be seen on TV to 49 stations on the NBC network. It was a part of the program The March of Medicine.
• 1978: At a double wedding in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a confused father gave his two veiled daughters in marriage to the wrong grooms. Days later, when dad discovered the mistake, both girls said it was okay; they were quite happy with the wrong husbands.
• 1994: “Hollywood Madam” Heidi Fleiss was convicted in Los Angeles of three counts of pandering.
• 2001: A New Zealand motorist told police he was driving with his lights off at night because he was looking for a black hole in space. The 35-year-old amateur astronomer lost his driver’s license for 15 months after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.
• 2004: An intense fire consumed half of the roof of the Associated Milk Producers Inc. butter packaging plant in New Ulm, Minnesota, sending melted butter flowing out of the facility. The plant was holding an estimated 3 million pounds of butter at the time of the fire.
• 2014: Comedian Bill Cosby resigned from the board of trustees of Temple University following renewed sexual assault allegations.
• 2020: U.S. Attorney General William Barr said there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, despite claims by Donald Trump.
SPECIAL EVENTS
• Bartender Appreciation Day
• Faux Fur Friday
• International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
• Fritters Day
• Mutt Day
• Play Basketball Day
• Special Education Day
DATEBOOK: DECEMBER 3, 2022
• Ozzy Osbourne is 74
• Daryl Hannah (Splash) is 62
• Julianne Moore (Still Alice, The Hunger Games movies) is 62
• Brendan Fraser (The Whale, The Mummy trilogy) is 54
• Holly Marie Combs (Charmed) is 49
• Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip, The Kitchen) is 43
• Anna Chlumsky (My Girl films, Netflix’s Inventing Anna) is 42
• Dancer and actress Jenna Dewan (Step Up, Take the Lead, American Horror Story: Asylum) is 42
• Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia) is 37
• YouTuber Marques Brownlee is 29
IT HAPPENED TODAY
• 1818: Illinois became the 21st U.S. state.
• 1990: ABC’s Nightline aired Madonna’s Justify My Love video a week after MTV had banned it.
• 1999: NASA lost radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.
• 1999: Tori Murden became the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean alone. The trip from the Canary Islands to the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe took 81 days.
• 2003: Driving mostly on fear and just three tires, a 62-year-old Milwaukee man traveled roughly 5 miles with a bullet in his abdomen after his car was shot. After arriving home and showing the wound to his wife, the man was taken by ambulance to an area hospital. The bullet was successfully removed.
• 2012: Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, reached the end of our solar system and entered interstellar space.
• 2019: Spotify said Drake was the most streamed star of the 2010s with 28 billion streams.
SPECIAL EVENTS
• Coats & Toys for Kids Day
• Earmuff Day
• Global Fat Bike Day
• International Day of Persons with Disabilities
• Let’s Hug Day
• Apple Pie Day
• Green Bean Casserole Day
• Rhubarb Vodka Day
• Roof-Over-Your-Head Day
DATEBOOK: DECEMBER 4, 2022
• Game show host Wink Martindale is 89
• Max Baer Junior (Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies) is 85
• Jeff Bridges (The Old Man, The Big Lebowski) is 73
• Patricia Wettig (Thirtysomething, Brothers & Sisters) is 71
• Chelsea Noble (Growing Pains) is 58
• Marisa Tomei (May Parker in Marvel films, My Cousin Vinny) is 58
• Fred Armisen (Portlandia, Saturday Night Live) is 56
• Jay-Z is 53
• Tyra Banks is 49
• Ronnie Ortiz-Magro (Jersey Shore) is 37
IT HAPPENED TODAY
• 1956: During a Carl Perkins recording session also involving Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis Presley visited the studio and jammed with Perkins and Lewis extensively with the tape recorders rolling. (Cash reportedly participated briefly in the jam before leaving the studio with his wife and daughter.) The four men become known as the Million Dollar Quartet, and the complete tape from the legendary session was eventually released on compact disc in 1987.
• 1980: The rock group Led Zeppelin formally announced its breakup.
• 1998: The only U.S. factory making Scrabble tiles closed today. The Hasbro-owned Milton Bradley Wood Products Company in Fairfax, Vermont, which had churned out 1 million of the lettered tiles a day for 20 years, closed and let an outside company produce the tiles.
• 2003: A Dutch teenager who tried to rob a taxi driver was arrested after the cabbie took charge. Though the 17-year-old had a knife, without hesitating the 41-year-old cabbie got out of the car, pulled his passenger from the back seat and threw him into the trunk. He then drove straight to the police station.
• 2004: A man in India drove 375 miles without using his hands in an attempt to get into the record books. It took him 15 hours to drive the distance with his hands tied to the driver’s seat and the wheel, brakes and clutch controlled by his legs only.
• 2011: In Koblenz, Germany, 45,000 citizens waited to return home after bomb squads diffused World War II bombs that were hidden under the Rhine River for nearly 65 years.
• 2018: It was announced that Native Americans had just one migration, from Siberia to the New World, at most 23,000 years ago.
SPECIAL EVENTS
• International Cheetah Day
• Cookie Day
• Dice Day
• Sock Day
• Wear Brown Shoes Day
• Wildlife Conservation Day
NUMBER FOR THE DAY
20,000: Bison roaming across the United States.
NEWS ATTACK!
According to the latest statistics, the state with the shortest lifespan is Mississippi at 71.9 years. [Nearly 72 years in Mississippi is long enough for anybody.]
Researchers say there are now 20,000 bison roaming across the U.S. [And ten percent are now electric.]
Christmas is three weeks from Sunday. [I made it easy on myself this year. Everyone in my family is a getting a (station name) back scratcher.]
A study found that marijuana users are twice as likely to experience a type of acute heart stress that resembles a heart attack. [What do they prescribe for that, medical marijuana?]
Researchers say if you inherited the likelihood of heart disease from your parents, you can effectively override your genes by living a healthy lifestyle. [Of course, if you also inherited a comfy couch and a lifetime supply of nachos, you’re in trouble.]
According to British researchers, 70 percent of women require up to 20 minutes to decide whether or not to order dessert. [So that’s what they’re talking about in the ladies room.]
Actor Jonah Hill’s real name is something different so he’s legally changing it to Jonah Hill. [He should mess with all of us and change it to Jonah Hill Jr.]
In a global study of 4-day work weeks, 97 percent of participants said they’d like to keep it that way. [The other 3 percent were promoted to management.]
NEWS & NUGGETS
GLOBAL 4-DAY WEEK TEST WAS A HUGE SUCCESS _ The verdict is in: A four-day work week is good for business. After six months, most of the 33 companies and 903 workers testing the schedule, with no reduction in pay, are unlikely ever to go back to a standard work week. None of the 27 participating companies who responded to a survey by 4 Day Week Global said they were leaning towards or planning on returning to their former five-day routine. About 97 percent of the 495 employees who responded said they wanted to continue with a four-day week.
… The majority of companies taking part in the trial were based in the United States and Ireland. Those responding to the survey rated their overall experience 9 out of 10, based on productivity and performance.
… 4 Day Week Global, a nonprofit organization, collaborated with researchers at Boston College, University College Dublin and Cambridge University for the trial.
USE A PING PONG BALL TO TELL IF YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE NEEDS WATER _ Real Christmas trees look great, but they can be a pain when it comes to watering them. If your tree has low-hanging branches it can be difficult to see whether or not you need to fill the tree’s water. A Reddit user suggested this real tree hack: put a ping pong ball in the water reservoir. When you can see the ball, it’s floating so you know your tree has enough water. If you can’t see the ball, then you know you need to give it water. Add water until you can see the ball again, and your tree won’t be thirsty.
🗣 TOPIC: What’s your favorite Christmas hack?
EAT SOME CHEESE _ People who eat 1½ ounces of cheese a day might be less likely to have a heart attack. Researchers (Soochow University) say eating a bit of good quality cheese a day might actually help reduce your chances of developing certain coronary heart diseases by up to 14 percent. Researchers suggest that although it contains high levels of saturated fat, the calcium in cheese stops much of that fat being absorbed by the body — while simultaneously raising levels of ‘good’ cholesterol.
COLOR OF DISHWARE CAN TRICK TASTEBUDS OF PICKY EATERS _ Are you a picky eater? You may want to give some foods you don’t like another chance… in a different color dish. A new study finds the color of bowls and plates can actually influence the taste perception of certain people — especially those who are very picky about what they eat. Researchers (University of Portsmouth) say this is the first study to find a link between the color of dishware and food neophobia, or the reluctance to eat or try new foods.
TO FLIGHT SLEEPINESS, TAKE A NAP _ Wanna fight sleepiness? Coffee works for both young and middle-aged people, but napping is more efficient in younger people. A sleep clinic in France had people drive 125 miles in the evening. They then drove the same distance between 2 and 3:30AM after having either a cup of coffee, a cup of decaffeinated coffee or a 30-minute nap. Those who got the decaf saw a big increase in driving problems such as crossing lane lines. While coffee and a nap both showed better results, the younger drivers saw more benefits from snoozing.
SANTA HAS JUST 34 MICROSECONDS IN EACH HOME _ A study out of Sweden found Santa’s Christmas Eve journey to homes around the world may seem impossible, but with 2½ billion homes, he needs only 34-microseconds at each stop. Researchers figured there are 48 people per square kilometer on Earth, and 20 meters between each home. So if Santa travels against the Earth’s rotation he has 48 hours to deliver all the presents.
UPSET TUMMY? TRY SPARKLING WATER _ If you eat too much at the holiday gathering and get an upset stomach, just sip some carbonated water and you’ll soon feel like your old jolly self. Research (Federico II University in Naples) found that sparkling water — long used as a tonic for upset tummies — really does work.
ELON MUSK IS READY PUT CHIPS IN HUMAN BRAINS _ Elon Musk says he’s “confident” that brain chips developed by his neurotechnology company, Neuralink, will be ready for human trials within six months. The company hosted an event at Neuralink’s headquarters in California this week.
… Neuralink’s brain chip, which is around the size of a coin, has tiny wires embedded with electrodes that aim to monitor brain activity and electrically stimulate the brain. Neuralink aims to embed the chip into a person’s skull with a robot the company is also developing. At the event, Musk demonstrated the brain-computer interface technology by showing a video of a monkey apparently fitted with a Neuralink brain chip. The creature was said to be “telepathically typing.”
… At first, the brain-computer interface hopes to give those suffering from paralyzing conditions a way to communicate via their thoughts. In the future, Musk says the company plans to develop technology that could restore full-body functionality to someone with a severed spinal cord.
WHAT TO GIFT SOMEONE YOU DON’T LIKE _ Gotta give a gift to someone you don’t like? A survey found the best gift for that person is a donation in their name. That way the person gets nothing, a charity gets the money, and the planet doesn’t get one more thing tossed in its landfills.
CHEEZ-IT MADE THE ULTIMATE NIL MOVE FOR BOWL SEASON _ It’s just about to be college football bowl season and that means it’s just about time for Cheez-It to re-establish themselves as the nation’s most committed bowl sponsor. On Thursday the company announced that four players competing in this year’s Cheez-It Bowl and Cheez-It Citrus Bowl would get the chance to stay in the “Feelin’ the Cheeziest” hotel rooms before the game.
… They also announced that fans will have the chance to earn a cheezy experience of their own. Fans who attend the Cheez-It Bowl pep rallies will have the chance to stay in a replica of these hotel rooms on the field at Camping World Stadium and watch the game from the replica room. • IMAGE
PEPSI WANTS YOU TO DRINK SODA MIXED WITH MILK _ ‘Tis the season to mix milk into your soda. According to Pepsi, anyway. Pepsi launched a campaign Thursday encouraging customers to try the combination and use the hashtag #PilkandCookies (as in Pepsi plus milk) to showcase their Santa-friendly concoctions. Those who participate in the online challenge running through Christmas Day will have the chance to win cash.
… A Pepsi spokesperson said combining Pepsi and milk “has long been a secret hack among Pepsi fans.”
… Is it a “secret hack”? One of the characters on the classic sitcom Laverne & Shirtly (1976-1983) often drank milk and Pepsi.
FLYING BROOMSTICK ILLUSION BECOMES TIKTOK’S MOST-VIEWED VIDEO _ An online illusionist with a large social media following earned a Guinness World Record when one of his TikTok videos reached 2.2 billion views. Guinness World Records announced Zach King of Agoura Hills, California, had the most viewed video on TikTok with his video titled Zach King’s Magic Broomstick.
… The video, which featured King using a mirror to give the illusion that he was flying on a broomstick in the style of Harry Potter, earned 2.2 billion views by March 2022, Guinness World Records said. The video was posted two years ago today (December 2, 2019). • VIDEO
WACKY-BUT-TRUE
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: GOLFER BITES OFF MAN’S NOSE IN ARGUMENT OVER GAME _ An argument between two Mississippi men over a golf game led one golfer to bite another. Mark Wells of Biloxi initially fled the scene in a Tesla before turning himself in. The victim of the bite lost his nose. Yeah, you heard that right… the biter bit off the nose of the other guy. The nose was not found. Officers were told that Wells and the victim had been arguing throughout the day over a golf game they played at a resort course.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: POLICE FOLLOW SMELLY SHOPLIFTERS _ Two shoplifters in Italy were caught by police who simply had to follow their smell. The thieves accidentally smashed a one liter bottle of perfume as they ran out of the shop and the cops followed the scent into an alley where they caught them.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: ROAD IN INDIA STOLEN _ Have you ever heard of an entire road being stolen? In Inida (Bihar) a bizarre case of theft has shocked villagers. When they woke up one morning, they found a 2 kilometer road had disappeared and crops had emerged. Apparently some road thieves used a tractor to plow the road and sow wheat fields in its place. When the people of the village objected, the troublemakers retaliated by attacking those villagers and threatening them with sticks and rods. On Wednesday, several residents of the village brought their complaints to a Zonal Officer who promised to look into the situation.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: MAN SHOOTS FATHER OVER NOSE BLOWING _ Adam Carter of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been arrested after allegedly shooting his father, Ronnie Carter. According to the police report, the two started arguing and Adam got a gun from his room. Ronnie reportedly told his son he should “shoot me right here!” Adam allegedly did, and called law enforcement to turn himself in. Ronnie was taken to the hospital but died from his injuries. The source of the argument is also in the report: Ronnie Carter blew his nose — which Adam said makes him extremely angry.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: ASTRONOMER BANNED FROM TWITTER OVER METEOR _ Twitter’s software determined that Mary McIntyre had tweeted six seconds of “intimate content” without consent from the party depicted. Because of this her account was suspended. The clip depicted a meteor; McIntyre is an astronomer in England. Her appeals were unsuccessful. That meant McIntyre was off Twitter for three months. Locking her Twitter account made her “feel a bit cut off from the astronomy world.” Eventually the BBC covered the story, and Twitter relented, reversing the suspension.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: MOOSE MESS _ In Soldotna, Alaska, rescue personnel were called about an animal which had fallen into a home’s window well, smashed through the window, and ended up dazed in the basement. Not just any animal: a moose. Seven firefighters, three Fish and Game biologists, and two wildlife troopers responded. A biologist sedated the animal, and then the dozen humans rolled it onto a “people mover” tarp and hauled it upstairs and outside. Luckily, it wasn’t a full-grown moose. A biologist treated the moose’s minor injuries from the fall and, after it woke up, it ambled off.
ON TELEVISION
FRIDAY
SHARK TANK (8p ET, ABC) – New. Products include a way to attract hummingbirds, a fire-defense system, and a wearable fitness design makes it easier and faster to sweat.
PAC 12 CHAMPIONSHIP (8p ET, FOX) – Utah vs. USC.
MATT ROGERS: HAVE YOU HEARD OF CHRISTMAS? (10p ET, Showtime) – This new holiday special, based on Rogers’s live show of the same name, has music, sketches and celebrity guests.
CHRISTMAS WITH THE CAMPBELLS (AMC+) – Justin Long and Brittany Snow star in this holiday romcom. When Jesse (Snow) gets her heart broken by her boyfriend Shawn (Alex Moffat, Saturday Night Live) right before Christmas, she reluctantly agrees to still spend the holiday with his parents and handsome cousin (Long).
FIREFLY LANE (Netflix) – The second and final season will be released in two parts. The first part, out today, has 9 episodes. The final 7 episodes will be released sometime in 2023.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES (Disney+) – This new animated adaptation of the second book in the book series finds Rodrick Heffley (Hunter Dillon) get left in charge by his parents, who are stepping out for the weekend; much to the chagrin of his brother Greg (Brady Noon). However, Rodrick sways Greg’s objections by promising to throw a party that could earn a sixth grader like Greg rockstar-level cred.
LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER (Netflix) – Emma Corrin (The Crown) and Jack O’Connell (Skins) star in this new film adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s controversial romantic novel about a married woman who engages in a torrid affair with the estate gamekeeper.
PENTATONIX: AROUND THE WORLD FOR THE HOLIDAYS (Disney+) – In this new special, a cappella group Pentatonix is struggling to find inspiration for their annual holiday album, when their manager mistakenly locks them in a magic mailroom.With the help of some Disney magic, we’re soon on a whirlwind tour around the world, discovering holiday traditions and inspiration from Pentatonix fans all around the globe.
RICHES (Amazon Prime) – This limited series is set in the corporate offices of a Black-owned cosmetic giant in England, whose patriarch leaves behind turmoil after dying. As the business hangs in the balance, his different sets of children collide as they vie for control.
SCROOGE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Netflix) – This loose remake of the live-action 1970 musical Scrooge also features songs from that film. Luke Evans voices the title character in this animated version, with the voices of Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley and Jonathan Pryce as well.
THREE PINES (Amazon Prime) – This new series, based on the best-selling book series, follows the kind Chief Inspector Gamache (Alfred Molina) as he investigates the ruthless murders happening in the village of Three Pines.
SATURDAY
COLLEGE FOOTBALL (8p ET, ABC) – The 2022 ACC Championship game finds the North Carolina Tar Heels take on the Clemson Tigers in Charlotte, N.C.
ROBBIE THE REINDEER: HOOVES OF FIRE (8p ET, CBS) – Animated special.
THE STORY OF SANTA CLAUS (9p ET, CBS) – This animated special features the voices of Ed Asner, Betty White, and Tim Curry.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (11:30p ET, NBC) – New. Keke Palmer hosts, with musical guest SZA.
SUNDAY
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (8p ET, NBC) – The Dallas Cowboys host the Indianapolis Colts.
CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE (8p ET, ABC) – New. Celebs playing tonight are RuPaul, Gayle King and Julie Bowen.
FIT FOR CHRISTMAS (8:30p ET, CBS) – In this new holiday film, a Christmas-obsessed fitness instructor begins a holiday romance with a mysterious businessman that plans to turn a beleaguered community center into a financially profitable resort.
ENTERTAINMENT
IN THEATERS AND STREAMING _ New movies in (select) theaters, streaming, and video on demand.
• Top Gun: Maverick (Theatrical re-release) — After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator, but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN’s elite graduates on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it.
• Violent Night — When a group of mercenaries attack the estate of a wealthy family, Santa Claus must step in to save the day (and Christmas).
• 2nd Chance (Theaters) — A documentary chronicling the life of Richard Davis, the man who invented the concealable bulletproof vest – shooting himself 196 times in the course of his career to prove the effectiveness of his vests.
• Emanicpation (Theaters) — A runaway slave forges through the swamps of Louisiana on a tortuous journey to escape plantation owners that nearly killed him.
• Framing Agnes (Theaters) — Turns the talk show format inside out in response to media’s ongoing fascination with trans people. The film breathes life into six previously unknown stories from the archives of the UCLA Gender Clinic in the 1950s.
• Hunt (Theaters) — A spy movie based in the 1980s National Security Planning.
• Spoiler Alert (Theaters) — The story of Michael Ausiello and Kit Cowan’s relationship that takes a tragic turn when Cowan is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
• Nr. 10 (Theaters) — Günter, found in a German forest as a four-year old, grows up in a foster family. Four decades later, he leads a normal life: he earns a living as a stage actor, spends time with his daughter Lizzy, and has an affair with a married woman. He doesn’t start wondering about his origins until a stranger on a bridge whispers a single word in his ear.
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Disney+) — Back in middle school after summer vacation, Greg Heffley and his older brother Rodrick must deal with their parents’ misguided attempts to have them bond.
• The Eternal Daughter (Theaters + VOD) — In this ghost story from acclaimed filmmaker Joanna Hogg, a middle-aged daughter and her elderly mother must confront long-buried secrets when they return to their former family home, a once-grand manor that has become a nearly vacant hotel brimming with mystery.
• Four Samosas (Theaters + VOD) — An unmotivated South Asian American rapper, along with three other first time thieves, plans a heist on a grocery store owned by his ex-girlfriend’s father, in order to steal her wedding diamonds and disrupt her pending engagement.
• Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Netflix) — An unhappily married aristocrat begins a torrid affair with the gamekeeper on her husband’s country estate.
• Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (Netflix) — A supernatural, time-traveling, musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’s cult Christmas story
• Sr. (Netflix) — Follow the tender but appropriately irreverent account of the life and career of Robert Downey Sr., the fearless and visionary American director who set the standard for countercultural comedy in the 1960s and 1970s.
🔈 GET BUDDY THE ELF’S SPAGHETTI MEAL KIT _ Anyone who has seen Elf with Will Ferrell can tell you that when it comes to sustenance, elves stick to four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup. However, one of Buddy the Elf’s most famous feasts in the movie only features a couple of those delights. In one of the silliest and most amusing scenes, Buddy, having observed that his newfound family enjoys spaghetti, decides to add a little elf flair to the meal by covering it in chocolate sauce, marshmallows, candy, maple syrup, and even chunks of chocolate Pop-Tarts. It’s not exactly the most appetizing dish, but that’s not stopping the meal kit subscription service Hello Fresh from bringing this Elf meal to your doorstep.
… Yep, Hello Fresh will be selling Buddy the Elf spaghetti meal kits that bring together spaghetti with maple syrup, chocolate syrup, marshmallows, chocolate nonpareil candies, crumbled chocolate frosted pastries, and more. • VIDEO
… Starting Monday, Hello Fresh will be selling these Buddy the Elf spaghetti meal kits for $14.99, with each kit containing pre-portioned ingredients and a step-by-step recipe card that makes two servings of this sweet pasta recipe. • LINK
🔈 202 SHARK WEEK EPISODES FOUND TO BE FILLED WITH JUNK SCIENCE _ The Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week is the longest-running cable television series in history, filling screens with sharky content every summer since 1988. It’s the perfect combination of reality TV, science, and educational programming… right? Apparently not.
… As scientists and conservationists have long argued, Shark Week is a major source of misinformation and nonsense about sharks, the scientists who study them, and how people can help protect endangered species from extinction.
… In a study (published in PLOS ONE), researchers tracked down copies of 202 episodes, watched them all, and coded their content based on more than 15 variables, including locations, which experts were interviewed, which shark species were mentioned, what scientific research tools were used, whether the episodes mentioned shark conservation and how sharks were portrayed.
… The episodes reviewed were full of incorrect information and provided a wildly misleading picture of the field of shark research. Some episodes glorified wildlife harassment, and many missed countless chances to teach a massive audience about shark conservation. Bottom line: Shark Week shows are filled with junk science.
INDIANA JONES TRAILER _ The first trailer for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was released Thursday. It stars Harrison Ford as archaeologist Indiana Jones in the fifth installment of the film series. It is the first film in the series not directed by Steven Spielberg nor with a story written by George Lucas, with Spielberg serving as a producer instead. John Rhys-Davies reprises his role as Sallah, and new cast members include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, and Antonio Banderas. • VIDEO
TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS TEASER _ Paramount Pictures is giving a glimpse of the new film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The studio shared a teaser trailer for the sci-fi action movie Thursday. Rise of the Beasts is based on the Transformers toy line and is the seventh installment in the Transformers film series. The movie is a sequel to the 2018 film Bumblebee. • VIDEO
… The new film takes place in the 1990s and follows a young man who is caught up in the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, alien robots who can transform into different vehicles and other forms.
… Transformers: Rise of the Beasts opens in theaters June 9, 2023.
JONAH HILL IS CHANGING HIS NAME _ Jonah Hill wants to be Jonah Hill. The 38-year-old actor has filed documents in Los Angeles Superior Court to legally change his name from Jonah Hill Feldstein to his stage name of Jonah Hill.
… Hill has a famous younger sister, actor Beanie Feldstein, who uses the family name.
HARRY & MEGHAN TRAILER _ The trailer for Harry & Meghan landed Thursday. The new Netflix series that will show the former royals telling their own story of their marriage and the trials they subsequently dealt with through the royal family as a result. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been fairly open about their relationship and the treatment they dealt with both in the media and at the palace throughout their few years as tenured royals. It seems as though this doc will cover both the history of their love story as well as their new lives in California since leaving their roles in England. • VIDEO
SIMON COWELL TROLLED AFTER APPEARING UNRECOGNIZABLE IN VIDEO _ Former American Idol judge Simon Cowell raised concern from fans after appearing unrecognizable in a Twitter video — just months after he said he was done with Botox. The clip has since been deleted as trolls slammed his appearance with many comparing him to a “Madame Tussauds waxwork.”
… In the clip, posted Thursday, the 63-year-old TV personality encouraged people to contact him in order to audition for Britain’s Got Talent. The most striking part of the clip was the appearance Cowelll, who sported an especially shiny face, nearly luminescent white teeth and seemingly enhanced features many Twitter commenters accused of being indicative of some sort of cosmetic procedure.
DUNE PREQUEL SERIES ADDS TO CAST _ The Dune prequel series at HBO Max has added Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, and Chris Mason to its cast. Currently titled Dune: The Sisterhood, the series is set 10,000 years before the events of Dune and is based on the novel Sisterhood of Dune. The show “follows the Harkonnen Sisters (Emily Watson, Shirley Henderson) as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit.” It is currently in production.
DISNEY ANNOUNCES SLIGHT DELAY FOR THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 3 _ Star Wars revealed that the release of the next season of The Mandalorian on Disney+ has been delayed. Season 3 will debut March 1, 2023, as opposed to its original February 2023 window.
THE B-52s ANNOUNCE 2023 LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY _ If you’re one of the people holding tickets for the sold-out B-52s concerts at The Classic Center in Atlanta next month, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be seeing their final performance. You’ll just have to make a trip to the Southwest to do so. The band has announced a 2023 Las Vegas residency at the Venetian Theatre. Tickets for the ten-date residency will go on sale December 3 for shows running from May 5 through September 3.
EMMYS TO PRESENT LEVAR BURTON WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD _ The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced Thursday that it will give LeVar Burton a Lifetime Achievement Award. Laurence Fishburne will present the award to Burton. Burton hosted Reading Rainbow since 1983. The PBS series introduces young viewers to reading and further discusses the subjects of books chosen. Burton also hosts the podcast LeVar Burton Reads and launched the LeVar Burton Book Club. He authored children’s books The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm and A Kids Book About Imagination, and the science fiction novel Aftermath.
PRO AUDIO
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BUDDY THE ELF’S SPAGHETTI MEAL KIT
Hello Fresh will deliver a Buddy the Elf meal kit to your door.
→ December 2 Entertainment
SHARK WEEK JUNK SCIENCE
Researchers say Shark Week is filled with junk science and misinformation. Here’s the theme to Jaws.
→ December 2 Entertainment
PHONER: GIFTS YOU SHOULDN’T BUY
With Christmas coming, ask your listeners share some gifts you shouldn’t buy kids.
→ 4 real callers
DROPS!
• Did you know if you replace your coffee with green tea, you can deprive yourself of the joy in your life.
• I don’t really wanna do the work today.
• I have decided I no longer want to improve myself. I am a beautiful disaster and I accept myself as such.
• Oooooooh the chickens have finally come home to roost on this guy.
• Get out, get out, get out.
BITS & BREAKS
KILLER QUOTES
• Never mistake motion for action. —Ernest Hemingway
• Nobody really wants to hear about anybody else’s injuries. Or how your back feels. Whose back doesn’t hurt? —Peyton Manning
• Just treat everybody like it’s their birthday, even if they don’t deserve it. —Robby Novak, a.k.a. Kid President
STUNT: DECORATE OUR (JOCK) TREE!
Got some extra prizes? Invite a few listeners to come by the show to decorate your (Jock) Tree. If your stunt guy or producer is Bill, they’ll decorate the Bill Tree.
Put him on the street, wrap a bunch of lights and glittery garland around him and invite listeners to bring an ornament by to hang on him. Everyone who puts an ornament on the (Jock) Tree gets a small prize and is qualified to win something big. Get lots of photos for the website and don’t forget to alert the media.
A HOLIDAY POEM
I’m always first with the Christmas lights
And it makes my neighbors frown
They say it’s an unfair advantage
Since I never took them down.
SCIENCE SHOWS REDHEADS HAVE GENETIC SUPERPOWERS
Redheads, it turns out, are pretty special people.
• They smell better. A Dr. Augustin Galopin first recorded this fact in his 1886 book Le Parfum de la Femme. He reportedly detected that red-headed women emit a particularly distinct aroma — that of ambergris, an earthy and sensual scent. Science would later prove that skin mantle — a thin, acidic film on our skin’s surface — is actually more acidic in redheads, causing perfume to more quickly evaporate when applied and potentially emitting a unique smell of its own.
• They tolerate pain better. Research indicates that redheads have higher thresholds for pain.
• They don’t need as much D. Thanks to higher concentration of red hair and pale skin in cloudy European environments, redheads adapted a greater ability to create their own vitamin D. So when a redhead goes outside, he or she produces more vitamin D in a shorter amount of time than people with other hair colors. This gives an evolutionary advantage, since low levels of vitamin D can lead to ailments like rickets, diabetes and arthritis.
• They know when it’s getting cold. Redheads feel hot and cold temperatures more severely than anyone else. At the University of Louisville they discovered this hidden gift (in 2005) and hypothesized that the redhead gene, MC1R, may cause the human temperature-detecting gene to become overactivated, making redheads more sensitive to thermal extremes. So if a redhead tells you they’re feeling a bit chilly, you’d better grab a blanket, because winter is coming.
52 THINGS I LEARNED IN 2022
Each year, writer Tom Whitwell releases a list of “52 Things I Learned”. He’s just published his list of 52 things for 2022, which includes:
• In the UK and Australia, people tend to turn left when entering a building. In the US, they turn right.
• In 1739, there were three times more coffee shops per person in London than there are today.
• 37 percent of the world’s population, 2.9 billion people, have never used the Internet.
• Older travelers use airport restrooms to hear flight announcements, because acoustics are much clearer.
• In the 1920s, new car sales were falling, so the industry promoted the term ‘jaywalking’ to blame accidents on pedestrians, rather than aggressive drivers.
• The Chinese government has launched a crackdown on ‘weird’ and ‘ugly’ fonts.
• Researchers asked 100 people whether a reasonable person would unlock their phone and give it to an experimenter to search through. Most said no. Then the researchers asked 103 other people to unlock their phone and give it to them. 100 of them complied.
FUN & GAMES
TRIVIA: This happens to 99.9% of Japanese, 65% of Canadians and 47% of Americans. (Cremation)
TRIVIA: According to a survey, 15 percent of us say this is our favorite place to hide money. (Our shoes)
TRIVIA: Your husband’s come home from work wearing a gibus. What’s he got on? (A hat. Specifically, a collapsible top hat named for its inventor, Antoine Gibus, a nineteenth-century Parisian hat maker.)
ANSWER WRONG AND WIN
• A game you might find in a casino.
• A tool you would use to rake leaves?
• How many wheels does a bicycle have?
• The color of most Christmas trees.
• What country is known for Italian food?
BOWL GAME OR NOT
College football’s bowl season is here… and there are a lot of them. I’m going to name some college bowls, you tell me if they’re real, or not:
• LendingTree Bowl
• The Huggies Diapers Bowl (NOT)
• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
• Pinstripe Bowl
• United Letter Carriers of America Pepper Spray Bowl (NOT)
• Duke’s Mayo Bowl
• Sugar Bowl
• The UPS UPC Code Bowl (NOT)