comedy4cast #813

Odd News+ for August 21, 2024

"A Record Of Unusual Size"

Written by

Clinton Alvord

CAST

(in order of appearance, where possible, otherwise by actor)

ID ANNOUNCER.......................COMPUTER
CLINTON............................CLINTON ALVORD

INTRO: COMEDY4CAST STUDIO

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ID ANNOUNCER

The comedy4cast network. Let's dog ear that for now.

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CLINTON

This is comedy4cast, episode 813: A Record of Unusual Size.

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CLINTON

It's time, once again, for the Dog Days of Podcasting. For more information and to hear all the shows, go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com.

Let's get started with "Odd News+"!

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SFX: TRANSITION WHOOSH.

STORY 1: SETTING UP A FLOWER BED

CLINTON

Here are our Odd News stories for Wednesday, August 21, 2024.

First up, it's time for another gardening tip straight out of the Middle-Aged Farmer's Almanac. Here's some advice on starting a flower garden.

The first step is to look at the space you will be using, because matching your flowers with the shape of the flower bed is important. If your space is limited, consider tall, narrow flowers such as delphinium or hollyhocks. They will not require that much room.

But if you want to grow leafy plants like Goatsbeard or Russian Sage they will need at least a queen-size bed. If the plant tosses and turns a lot in it's sleep, consider a California king.

That was so close to being useful advice.

SFX: TRANSITION WHOOSH.

STORY 2: BREAKING RECORDS

CLINTON

Now lets get to our actual, for-real Odd News story...

On this show we've often referred to odd and unusual facts or accomplishments that are the recipient of a Guinness World Record. Say, for instance, the Texas woman with the world's widest tongue -- 3.11 inches wide, in case you were wondering. Or the Barcelona resident who owns 3,615 cell phones. Or the Nigerian man who twerked for 3 and a half hours. How do you rest after that? Can you sit down?

But those people aren't greedy. They get a Guiness record and they move on. However, some folks are clearly over-achievers. Take the example of David Rush. Rush officially holds the record for the most currently-active Guinness World Records. A total of 181 records.

And that doesn't mean Rush has only ever been awarded 181 records. Oh, no. He has had a lot more than that. But the others have been broken by other people.

It means that of all the records Rush has been awarded, he is still the record holder for 181 of them.

You might reasonably conclude that David Rush is an outlier. An awards junkie. That he has to be unique, right? Wrong. In fact, he only has one more currently-active record than Silvio Sabba, who currently holds 180 records. Followed by Ashrita Furman, with about 150, and Andre Ortolf, who has about 100 titles to his name.

It's insane!

Let's plus that odd factor a bit more. Because that 181st world record that David Rush was awarded, the one that pushed him to the top of the Guinness heap, was for smashing 55 vinyl recordings in 30 seconds.

You heard right. David Rush broke the Guinness World Records record number of world records by getting a world record for breaking records.

I need a nap.

SFX: TRANSITION WHOOSH.

STORY 3: AIRLINE SEATS

CLINTON

And finally, window seat, middle or aisle seat? It's a decision airline passengers make every day. But which is truly better? To find out, we sent 11 lab mice on a cross-country flight.

Spoiler alert. It did not go well.

It turns out that the serving cart wheels that sometimes run over your feet if you are sitting in the aisle seat are a bit less forgiving when they run over something a lot smaller.

Also, the bottom edge on the hard plastic window shade is a little sharp. Which is something one of our mice found out when it slid down while they were looking out the window.

And, one mouse misunderstood the assignment all together and placed themselves in a checked bag that got lost in transit.

The good news? We now know the center seat is best.

The bad news? Peanut and Coco, you will be missed. And Nibbles? We'll keep checking with luggage claim, just in case.

OUTRO: COMEDY4CAST STUDIO

MUSIC: 'END THEME'

CLINTON

That about wraps it up for today's Odd News+. A big thanks to the comedy4cast patrons for helping make this show possible.

Story, voices and original music by Clinton Alvord, Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.

Talk to you next time. But for now, that's it. We're done, done, done, done, done. Bye bye!

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