Wait, That's Random: This Day in History

After today’s regular episode, I have one more thing to share.  Wait, That’s Random  is taking a hiatus so I can make more room for audiobook work, the people I love, and—if everything goes according to plan—the occasional moment when I’m not working at all. This isn’t goodbye. It’s just a pause. And no, for once, I won’t see you tomorrow.

It’s Friday, September 18, 2026—and National Ceiling Fan Day, celebrating the appliance that keeps us cool while making us question which direction it should be spinning. Familiar cartoon figures finally receive identities, four musicians show the world what they’ve been hiding, and one prestigious bank discovers that its railroad investment has gone badly off the rails. Today we explore how telev...

It’s Thursday, September 17, 2026—and National Monte Cristo Day, when breakfast, lunch, and dessert somehow end up sharing one sandwich. A cloth merchant discovers an entire population hiding inside the human mouth, an unsuccessful businessman creates his own throne, and television fans turn a fictional name into part of NASA history. Today we explore Antonie van Leeuwenhoek’s unsettling examinati...

It’s Wednesday, September 16, 2026—and National Play-Doh Day, celebrating the childhood favorite that began its life as wallpaper cleaner. A horse-drawn wagon arrives on Wall Street carrying a mystery that remains unsolved, while an office machine changes the way the world handles paper—with one unusually alarming accessory. Today we explore the deadly 1920 Wall Street bombing, the revolutionary b...

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 — National Double Cheeseburger Day The United States could safely welcome its nuclear rival—but apparently couldn’t get him past the gates of Disneyland. Today we follow Charles Darwin to the Galápagos, discover why Marilyn Monroe’s famous New York footage couldn’t be used, and join Nikita Khrushchev on the American tour that took him everywhere except the Magic Kingdom...

Monday, September 14, 2026 — National Cream-Filled Donut Day A heavyweight champion went through the ropes, landed on the reporters, and somehow returned to win the fight. Today we explore the wonderfully chaotic Dempsey–Firpo championship fight, enter a Soviet military exercise built around a real nuclear explosion, and meet IBM’s one-ton hard drive with room for roughly one modern phone photo. A...

What connects a talking Great Dane, 276 new cars, and three very important Wednesdays? Charlie discovers how complaints about violent cartoons helped create Scooby-Doo, why Oprah had to explain her own legendary car giveaway, and how America scheduled its first presidential election before it had a president—or an Election Day. Plus, National Bald Is Beautiful Day and the gentle seven-foot-two act...

What connects an unwanted working vacation, a television Western, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Charlie discovers how Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit while his coworkers were on vacation, why Bonanza was essentially a weekly advertisement for color television, and what happened when the Harlem Globetrotters played an unscripted game after 8,829 consecutive victories. Plus, National Video Gam...

On September 11, 1941—exactly sixty years before it was attacked—construction began on the Pentagon. Charlie also shares how Dan Rather made Hurricane Carla visible with a transparent map, how a forgotten contract clause gave Carol Burnett her legendary television show, and the unexpected connection between birthday director Brian De Palma and Star Wars. The episode begins with a moment of silence...

How does a struggling inventor become wealthy from a machine he couldn’t sell—and can the right cough really be worth one million pounds? Today we explore Elias Howe’s sewing-machine patent war, discover how recently France was still using the guillotine, and listen closely to the suspicious game-show performance of Charles Ingram. Along the way, we celebrate the birthday of José Feliciano, the gr...

Wednesday, September 9, 2026, brings us National Wiener Schnitzel Day—which still sounds more like a dachshund-shaped food truck than a breaded veal cutlet. Why did America declare independence before officially choosing its name, and how did a wartime bombing lead to an extraordinary friendship? Today we explore the moment the United Colonies became the United States, a Japanese pilot’s failed at...

Tuesday, September 8, 2026, brings us Star Trek Day—and the comforting idea that every unexplored planet apparently comes with breathable air. How does America’s oldest continuously occupied European-established city end up in Florida, and how do seven Navy destroyers follow one another onto the rocks? Today we explore the founding of St. Augustine decades before Jamestown and Plymouth, the Van Bu...

Monday, September 7, 2026 — Labor Day The famous title came later—and so did the story America remembers. Today we explore Napoleon’s costly victory at Borodino, discover the crushing terms of the Boxer Protocol, and revisit the Atlantic City promotion that became Miss America. Along the way, we celebrate the birthday of Buddy Holly, the rock-and-roll pioneer whose famous name began with a misspel...

Sunday, September 6, 2026, is National Read a Book Day—and listening to an audiobook counts, which is remarkably convenient for someone who has narrated a few. Today’s stories involve a ship abandoned before a famous voyage, an American general returning home with the enemy, and an ancient delivery that remained beneath London for eighteen centuries. Today we explore the failed companion ship that...

Saturday, September 5, 2026, is National Be Late for Something Day—the rare day when showing up on time means you may be doing it wrong. Today’s stories involve official paperwork for facial hair, a parade that nearly started without any marchers, and a literary legend that leaves out six years of rewriting. Today we explore Peter the Great’s attempt to shave Russia, the jewelers who rescued Ameri...

Friday, September 4, 2026, brings National Lazy Mom’s Day—an observance best celebrated by letting Mom ignore the laundry and allowing everyone else to locate their own clean towels. Today’s stories are filled with ideas that seemed unlikely, incomplete, or nearly worthless—right before history proved otherwise. Today we explore New York’s first self-service restaurant, where customers ate standin...

Thursday, September 3, 2026 — U.S. Bowling League Day What happens when a city moves its sewage downstream—and a crowded passenger ship sinks directly beside the outfalls? Today we explore the horrifying location that made the Princess Alice disaster even deadlier, the contaminated dish that led Alexander Fleming to penicillin, and Malcolm Campbell’s dangerous pursuit of the 300-mph barrier. Along...

Wednesday, September 2, 2026 — National Blueberry Popsicle Day How did a state-fair speech become a presidential philosophy—and why did the document ending World War II require handwritten corrections? Today we explore Theodore Roosevelt’s famous “big stick,” the misplaced signature that scrambled Japan’s surrender document, and the fifteen additional minutes that transformed America’s evening new...

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 — National No Rhyme (nor Reason) Day Sometimes the story everyone remembers is only what happened after the real assignment was completed. Today we explore the solar storm that powered disconnected telegraph lines, the classified Navy mission behind the discovery of Titanic, and the Cold War chess championship that ended with a telephone call. Along the way, we discover...

Monday, August 31, 2026 — National Trail Mix Day How do you successfully rob a bank—and then get caught by giving the money back to it? Today we explore America’s first major bank robbery, the devastating earthquake that made South Carolina’s ground behave like liquid, and the deadly radio attack Nazi Germany staged before invading Poland. Along the way, we discover how an emergency appendectomy l...

Sunday, August 30, 2026 — National Toasted Marshmallow Day Sometimes the strangest phrases, inventions, and cities begin far more literally than we remember. Today we explore the deadly prison aboard HMS Pandora, the famous Washington–Moscow hotline that was neither red nor a telephone, and the newspaper advertisement that started selling Houston before the city really existed. Along the way, we u...

Saturday, August 29, 2026 — National Chop Suey Day A twitching needle, a borrowed company name, and a warning written in bending steel lead us through a day when small details had enormous consequences. Today we explore Michael Faraday’s breakthrough experiment with electromagnetic induction, discover why the Goodyear company was named after a man who never worked there, and revisit the visible wa...

Friday, August 28, 2026 — National Bow Tie Day A pharmacist’s soda gets a better name, two teenagers turn $100 into a delivery empire, and a loom company begins building cars. Today we explore Caleb Bradham’s transformation of Brad’s Drink into Pepsi-Cola, follow UPS from a Seattle basement, and discover how Toyota grew from an automatic-loom business. Along the way, we celebrate the birthday of S...

Thursday, August 27, 2026 — National Just Because Day A hole mocked as foolish, an explosion heard across an ocean, and a beloved nanny whose creator wanted part of her movie removed. Today we explore Edwin Drake’s commercially successful oil well, discover how Krakatoa rang the atmosphere like a bell, and follow Mary Poppins to its Hollywood premiere. Along the way, we celebrate the birthday of M...

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 — National Toilet Paper Day A single classroom, a famous waterfall, and a tiny car quietly rewrote everyday life. Today we explore the first free public kindergarten in America, discover how Niagara Falls began powering cities, and revisit the little car that changed urban design forever. Along the way, we celebrate the birthday of Macaulay Culkin, the child star who bec...