Commute | The Podcast

Can pizza tip us off to issues of national security? The evidence seems to be clear.  After a big sporting event - Super Bowl, World Series, or National Championship Game - it’s amazing how quickly the winning team t-shirt is available. How is this possible, and what happens to the losing team's shirts? Asteroid Beenu is currently on a collision course with Earth. Have we got a plan for this?...

It's almost Halloween season.  Soon kids, dressed as their favorite characters, go door to door asking for candy. But does the fun have an age limit?  How old is too old?  Have you planned for your funeral? When you do, you’d better prepare for a dent in the bank account. Cemetery real estate doesn't come cheap.  Have you ever thought the teenagers on TV shows look older than any teenage...

Every day, millions of truck hit the roadways to deliver the goods and services we’ve come to take for granted. This week: what it takes to be a truck driver. Seven of the most common birthdays are all in the same month. But just wait until you hear about the most UNcommon! Theaters in the 1940s and 1950s looped a movie continuously throughout the day. Moviegoers arrived to see their film of choic...

Artificial intelligence is everywhere: education, science, healthcare, work; but what about church? How would you like to have a conversation with Jesus? We imagine making an Olympic team and competing against the world's best on a global stage, but have you heard of the Magic Olympics? Subtitles are a TV viewing feature to assist people who are hard of hearing, so why are folks who can hear...

We all love a feel-good sports movie. The underdog learning to win, the budding romance, the dad who works too much….  When The Mighty Ducks became a hit in the 90s, Disney loved the movie so much that they made a real team. If you’re listening to this on release day, it’s Labor Day and you’ll have to put away your white clothes until next Spring. Why? When you pause a DVD you see a floating logo...

An airport realized that people kept urinating on the floors of the men’s bathroom. It came up with an interesting solution that is now used all over the world. The Beatles are considered the greatest band of all time. Why did it take them so long to have a song reach a billion streams on Spotify? And what’s a billion streams worth, anyway? What if you went to a restaurant and you knew up front th...

Our birthday is a special day - a good reminder to pause and celebrate another year of life. It’s also the day we’ll most likely die.  If you saw the movie Oppenheimer you know how destructively deadly nuclear weapons can be. Obviously it’s not a big deal that we’re missing a few of them, right? Virtual wallet apps like Venmo are incredibly convenient. They’re also incredibly generous in giving aw...

At any wedding you’ve likely heard and danced badly to the Cha Cha Slide, but its success was accidental. This week we discuss how a well-meaning uncle tried to help but inadvertently changed weddings forever. In the 1940s, one out of every 18 newborn girls was given the name Linda - a success rate no name has attained since. Today? Its popularity ranks in the 800s. Enter the Linda Club.  Think yo...

From U.S. presidents to athletic coaches, some folks need a little less privacy than others. You know the heart symbol ❤️ looks nothing like the real thing, right? How did it come to represent an actual heart? You’d think we discovered all of the dinosaurs by now, wouldn’t you? Not so. How many remain undiscovered? Sources: https://www.insidehook.com/article/news-opinion/the-weird-disgusting-art-o...

Money men. Elon Musk. Warren Buffet. Jeff Bezos. Chris Reynolds?  “From nearly $3 million to barely $3.” Almost overnight, Non-Fungible Tokens went from invaluable to worth, well, almost nothing.  Since the early 1980’s Mario has been the face of the video game industry   This week, where that face and name came from. - Sources: https://www.the-sun.com/money/6369937/quadrillionaire-accidentally-de...

It’s not uncommon to have something lost in the mail, but typically it’s not something irreplaceable … like human remains. Is it hard to make new friends as an adult, or is it just you? Traveling internationally soon?  We have your back with our guide to proper etiquette across borders and cultures. - Sources: https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjxkm/the-usps-has-452-wayward-cremated-bodies https://...

The iconic Apple logo features an apple with a bite missing. How did they decide on that image? It depends on who you ask. Some are heroes in a traditional way and save a puppy from a burning building or rescue someone from drowning. Then some are like Roger Anderson and go after telemarketers.  Would you trade your friends in for a free cheeseburger? Well, a few days, Burger King asked that very...

Most of us hate small talk, but are we to blame? Would people really prefer to discuss their hopes and dreams instead of the weather? Imagine if the government offered you the chance to take a year or two off your official age. It just happened in one country.  This week represents the Fourth of July holiday season - and as soon as it passes, the countless fireworks tents you see each day will ret...

A grandparent can give you a firsthand account of a very different era of history. What if your grandpa was one of the first U.S Presidents? Scaling Mt. Everest is among the most remarkable of human achievements, but why do people get within eyesight of the summit then decide to turn around? One of the best-selling and most annoying toys of all time is back. How did this come to be??  Sources: htt...

Were lifesaver mints really created as a safe, non-choking hard candy option for consumers? Dave’s marriage may depend on it. What’s the first thing you do when you get on an elevator? Select your floor? Or are you one of the people who immediately start bashing the “door close” button? This week we uncover - does that button even work? Since the 1970s, San Diego Chicken has been reinventing and i...

Whether it’s a significant other, friend, or grandma, we’ve all had a meal where the chef added a “secret ingredient” to the recipe and, whatever it was, the meal tasted better - why? Every spring for 600 years, people from around the world have gathered in England to race downhill while chasing a wheel of cheese.  Have you ever wondered why we don’t have a universal language? Well, we almost did....

If you’ve ever had damage to a powerline leave you without electricity you’ve probably wondered - isn’t there a better way to do this? Burying them works for some places, would it work for everyone? New Jersey is known for beautiful beaches, amazing casinos and exciting nightlife. Just don’t try to pump your own gas there. A sweet 16 birthday party usually consists of cake, ice cream and time with...

1) In 1998 a construction worker found something extraordinary under Benjamin Franklin’s London-based home - human remains. What was the founding father up to?? 2) Dwight D. Eisenhower. Susan B. Anthony. Sacagawea. We keep trying dollar-coins, and they keep failing. Why?  3) Even if they know you well, people that suffer from prosopagnosia can’t recognize you - in fact, they often can’t even ident...

For a video game that never actually existed, it sure has caused some controversy. This week we explore the urban legend of the Polybius game.   There’s a war going on in the music industry right now – but it’s not over money, and there aren’t even really clearly defined sides. It’s a war over the volume.   She was present at one of the most significant events in history - and may have accidentall...

The Bermuda Triangle. Need we say more?   If you do the crime, you do the time. What about if you didn’t know you did the crime? Can you be held accountable for what you do while you’re asleep? Some of the most extraordinary things in life happen purely by accident. A few world-changing inventions actually came about while trying to do something else. Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/folklo...

A Boy and his Atom isn’t just the world's shortest movie - it’s the world's smallest movie.  Microsoft Office is utilized daily by companies of all sizes. Everyone uses Microsoft Word, but most of us can’t get much done with Microsoft Excel. Those who can? Now they get to prove it on the global stage.  Polling indicates that 67% of us can’t whistle or think we aren’t very good.  What if...

A Japanese hotel offered a room at just $1. Of course, there was a catch. If a TV judge, like Judge Judy, says you’re guilty of a crime - are you guilty? This week the legal authority (or lack thereof) in television courtrooms. Not long ago, pay phones could be found on every street corner and outside every business. People being who they are, phone scams were around back then, too. - Sources: htt...

Each summer, some of society’s richest and most elite members get together at a secretive resort in California. Depending on who you ask a lot goes on there -  everything from conversations about political policy to a fake sacrifice before an owl statue. There are a lot of choices for where we get our local weather reports - but there aren’t many options for how stations get that information.  Eve...

Fifty years ago, a call was placed that changed the world: the first-ever from a cell phone. We look back at where this has led us and yes, we somehow still have land lines.  How did a string of seemingly unconnected murders in the 1980s affect the packaging of almost everything we buy at the pharmacy today? If you’re like the majority of people, you use the same password or a variation for EVERYT...

In the late 1980s, waterbeds were a $2 billion-a-year industry. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who owns one today. “I’ve got shotgun!” is one of those social norms we all know. Why? Ludwig van Beethoven is among the most famous names in music history. So famous, in fact, that almost 200 years after his death even his hair is still making news. - Sources: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/...