Commute | The Podcast

What slight do baseball legends Ken Griffey Jr., Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams have in common? Why does the Baseball Hall of Fame voting process frustrate us all?  Yes, these things are related. In the 1980s, one-hit wonder band Tommy Tutone rose to prominence with their catchy single 867-5309/Jenny, but what about the people who actually owned that phone number? We check in on a few of them. For ye...

Companies will try almost anything to get you to notice them - with some things more outlandish than others. So, did Taco Bell really try to purchase the Liberty Bell? Ted Slauson is like any average person. He gets up, heads to a job, spends time with his family, and has hobbies - it just so happens one of those hobbies is memorizing every prize and price on the long-running game show The Price i...

Thanks to pop culture we’re all familiar with the Tunnel of Love ride. A couple floats into atunnel (riding in a swan-shaped boat), emerging more in love on the other side. But raise your hand if you’ve ever actually seen one. Seeing no hands, we’ll continue... It’s rare today to find a piece of land that someone doesn’t claim ownership of. Who knew that extended to… the moon? Podcasts entertain u...

1) What can rats and cobras teach us about unintended consequences?  More than you may think. 2) For over 40 years, he’s been producing parody songs such as “Amish Paradise” and “Eat it.” How has Weird Al Yankovich not only survived but thrived for decades in the brutal world of comedy? 3) You’ve probably seen it before, the famous slogan - “keep calm and carry on,” has been molded to fit just abo...

It’s a question that wasn’t meant to be answered, but you know how scientists can be. So, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? You’ve probably heard about the infamous 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast where Orson Welles sent the nation into a panic by staging a pretend alien invasion. While the alien attack never happened, the national panic was real - or w...

1) Although most of us only play rock, paper, scissors to settle a petty dispute or see who has to take out the trash, there is (of course) an entire subculture that takes the game VERY seriously. 2) In the 1990s, CD clubs offered deals that seemed too good to be true - like promising eight new albums for a penny.  Of course, nothing is ever easy. 3) Ever since the rise of COVID-19, health experts...

1) The restaurant Cracker Barrel has always been known for made-from-scratch biscuits and the little table peg game, but it's quickly becoming known for something else - internet controversy. 2) Seventy-five ingredients (seriously). Multiple retirement ceremonies. Passionate fans. Is there anything the McDonalds McRib doesn’t have going for it??  3) We’ve heard it our entire lives - wait 30-6...

1) An unsolved death. Mannequins. “The most kissed girl in the world.” CPR. This segment has it all.  2) When goods and services are bartered or traded without using money it’s called a shadow economy, and there’s one community that will give you just about anything for ice cream.  3) Ever wondered why when you think of breakfast you think of bacon and eggs?  It’s because Edward Bernays told you t...

1) You go to a restaurant. Here comes the bill and now you're faced with a final question: how much are you going to tip? Where did the concept of tipping come from? Why are we still doing it? 2) We all do online shopping - but we all started doing it WAY more during the pandemic. Why do we love it so much? Can you really be addicted to it? 3) The cake comes out, and everyone starts singing -...

1) Genghis Khan was an awful man - it’s impossible to argue otherwise. But it would also be hard to argue that he’s not your great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. 2) Coming soon to a theater near you - a horror movie about…Winnie The Pooh?! How?! 3) The film “Minions: The Rise of Gru” is a box office darling. But what’s this - teenagers are wearing suits to go see it? http://www.commute...

1) Texas once had a litter problem, one the state government was spending $20 million per year to address. This week we explore how the Texan battle cry, Don’t Mess with Texas, helped turn things around. 2) Crypto Currency has lately taken a dive. While celebrities like Matt Damon were trying to convince you to “be brave” and invest, other industries were going down with the ship. 3) RadioShack wa...

It’s estimated that over 150 million Americas consume coffee daily - roughly 50% of the entire U.S. population! The history of coffee, though, is not as straightforward - bans, political unrest, and religious villainization abound! When the hit Netflix show Stranger Things masterfully utilized the 1985 song “Running up that Hill” from rocker Kate Bush in a season four episode, it did more than per...

It’s a special Independence Day edition of Commute! This week we revisit some of our favorite 4th of July-related segments from past episodes: The countless fireworks tents you see will soon retreat into hibernation until next year. Where do they come from?  Where do they go? We call an expert to get the inside  (and gross) details on working at a seasonal fireworks tent. For nearly 50 years, the...

It may feel good in the moment but pettiness rarely, if ever, ends well. This week, some examples. You’re familiar with Popeye, the sailor who found superhuman strength from eating spinach?  Those green leaves earned a reputation as a superfood from the tie-in. Was it warranted? Chick-fil-A has built its business on a commitment to customer service. How important is customer service to the bottom...

1) When Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on their famous western expedition, it wasn’t just to find more opportunities for commerce. Instead, Jefferson had a bizarrely personal request for the adventurers. 2) Unlike much of the world, public restrooms are free to use in America. But why, and are we better off because of it? 3) There have been 275 million copies of Monopoly sold worldwide sinc...

1) The dot com bubble from 1995 to 2000 was fueled by speculation of how profitable mainstream internet use could be. Some, like Amazon, rode the waves to riches. For others, like Pets.com, things got quickly out of hand. 2) LOL. We text it without even thinking about it. So, where did LOL come from? 3) Comic books are filled with fascinating stories of unique characters. Batman. Superman. Wonder...

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...

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy remains a favorite topic of conspiracy theorists six decades after the event. It probably doesn’t help that we don’t know where his brain is… The murder of Amber Hagerman has saved more than 1,000 kids. It changed the way child abductions are handled. Why does her own case remain unsolved? Yo Dawg! In the mid-2000s, MTV was full of music videos and re...

1) Ride-hailing services like Uber have dominated the industry for more than a decade. Open the app, order a ride, and you’re on your way. But remember those yellow taxis we used to call? Well, they have feelings, too. 2) Paul McCartney is the most successful and famous rock musician of the last 50 years. At one point his fans thought he was dead and secretly replaced by a double. Things are about...

Do we ever stop to think where the words we use came from? Case study: Bluetooth. Wouldn’t it be great if you could gamble and never lose? Houston furniture mogul Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale may have figured it out.  In 1579, a mysterious man from Africa arrived in Japan and lived quietly and anonymously, but by the end of his time there he would become a legend. http://www.commutethepodcast.com...

Video games are big business, pulling in over $37 billion per year in domestic sales. So why can’t we make a good movie based on one? In the late 1600s, the town of Salem, Massachusetts, dissolved into total hysteria and violence during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. But what caused the panic in the first place? Acclaimed chef David Ruggerio had it all - published cookbooks, a show on the Food N...

Prices are increasing at the fastest rate since the early 1980s. While we all feel it at the grocery store and the gas pumps, inflation is hitting another market sector, as well - the Tooth Fairy. We’ve heard of someone or something being blacklisted, right? An action has happened that brings with it a level of distrust and rejection. In 2005 a new type of blacklisting began, but this blacklist of...

Smoking or non-smoking? Until the late 1990’s, this was the question at restaurants, bowling alleys, and on airplanes. Why did the smoking option go away? And we examine one town in America actually trying to completely eliminate smoking.  The Patterson-Gimlin film has been the definitive Big Foot documentation since 1967. It didn’t take long, though, for the two men to disagree on just what they...

For over 80 years the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile has been one of the most recognizable vehicles on the road, but when’s the last time you passed one? Solitaire and Minesweeper were preloaded in almost every PC in the 90’s. So - why? And did Microsoft have ulterior motives? During prohibition, the US government tried to legislate away alcohol. While the ban was eventually lifted, some questionable tu...

You find them in big cities and small towns, rural areas and urban subdivisions and, while cute to some, they’re a nuisance to many.  Where do all the deer come from?! Being tall has its advantages, but its disadvantages can be daunting. The touching life of Robert Wadlow. For almost 15 years, Flo has been getting people to switch to Progressive Insurance at an amazing rate. But if not for five un...