comedy4cast #818

Odd News+ for August 26, 2024

"Far From The Shire"

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 818: Far From The Shire.

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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: HOROSCOPE

CLINTON

Here are our Odd News stories for Monday, August 26, 2024.

First up, a look at your daily horoscope. If you're a Gemini, a playful and flirtatious energy surrounds you today. Be mindful of your words and actions, as a casual remark could be misinterpreted. Remember the last time that happened? You had to fake your own death and move to Dayton.

SFX: TRANSITION WHOOSH.

STORY 2: HOBBITS

CLINTON

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

"The Lord of the Rings" is the gift that seems to keep giving. And giving. And giving. Whether you wanted it or not. Like a relative shoving more food onto your plate at Thanksiving. "No, gran-gran, I don't want any more Silmarillion."

And, thanks to new information about a 20-year-old discovery, we've just been reminded that at least one element of the story has worked its way into the real world and is here to stay.

Back in 2004, some fossils were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores. A group of explorers, or THE group of explorers, had come across fossils of an early early human species that stood about 3 1/2 feet tall. Their diminutive size earned the species the nickname "Hobbits."

And, like everything else "Lord of the Rings," someone's always coming along to reinterpret the story. Meaning, it's no suprise that we have new information on the species that is officially classified as Homo floresiensis.

A new study suggest that ancestors of the hobbits were even shorter. by around 2 and a half inches.

The original hobbit fossils date back to between 60,000 and 100,000 years ago. The new fossils were excavated at a site called Mata Menge, about 45 miles from the cave where the first hobbit remains were uncovered.

Researchers have debated how the hobbits evolved to be so small and where they fall in the human evolutionary story. They’re thought to be among the last early human species to go extinct.

Scientists don’t yet know whether the hobbits shrank from an earlier, taller human species, Homo erectus, that lived in the area, or from an even more primitive human predecessor. More research – and fossils – are needed to pin down the hobbits’ place in human evolution.

Great. Expect another sequel.

SFX: TRANSITION WHOOSH.

STORY 3: COFFEE OR TEA

CLINTON

And finally, coffee or tea. Which is better? To find out, we sent 8 lab mice to a local coffee shop.

Spoiler alert. It did not go well. In order to drink the coffee or tea, the mice had to dive into the cups. And while mice are, by nature, good swimmers, they are not, by nature, good at swimming in water that has been heated to 195 degrees Fahrenheit.

The good news is, we got our beverages for free when we pointed out there were mice in our drinks. The bad news? Cookie, Pip, Shadow and Buttons, you will be missed.

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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