Commute | The Podcast

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 that there was a good chance that your order wouldn’t arrive the way you wanted it, and what if you were ok with that?

Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/09/whats-a-urinal-fly-and-what-does-it-have-to-with-winning-a-nobel-prize/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/05/10/the-beatles-billion-spotify-streams-most-streamed-songs-ever/70200833007/
https://www.openculture.com/2019/08/the-restaurant-of-mistaken-orders.html

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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 away your personal information.  

Sources:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/the-birthday-effect-explained
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220804-the-lost-nuclear-bombs-that-no-one-can-find
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/technology/personaltech/venmo-privacy-oversharing.html?searchResultPosition=1

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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 your kids are a little more rowdy tonight because of the chocolate bar they just snuck? You wouldn’t be alone, and you’d be wrong.


Sources:
https://www.kstatecollegian.com/2019/02/04/how-low-can-you-go-the-history-of-the-cha-cha-slide/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/linda-names-girls-baby-boomer-afc86ba8?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1
https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/busting-sugar-hyperactivity-myth

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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-of-the-toilet-power-meeting-lbj
https://www.history.com/news/what-is-the-origin-of-the-heart-symbol#
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-many-dinosaurs-remain-undiscovered-180982560/

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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.

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Sources:
https://www.the-sun.com/money/6369937/quadrillionaire-accidentally-deposited-account/amp/
https://cryptoslate.com/the-nft-of-jack-dorseys-first-tweet-originally-purchased-for-2-9m-is-worth-less-than-4-in-todays-market/
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/02/663372770/mario-segale-inspiration-for-nintendos-hero-plumber-has-died#:~:text=Angerer%2FGetty%20Images-,Mario%20Segale%2C%20the%20inspiration%20for%20one%20of%20the

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In 1996, Microsoft debuted a virtual assistant to help folks navigate Microsoft Office - a cartoon paper clip named Clippy. What started as “Aw, that’s kinda cute,” quickly turned to “Let’s kill him!”  How did it go so wrong?

In the 1990s, a movie about a goofy genie captivated the hearts of American moviegoers. No, it wasn’t Disney’s Aladdin or the Shaquille O’Neil feature, “Kazaam.” This movie was called Shazaam - and it doesn’t exist. We explore the bizarre reason that so many people are convinced that it does. 

Would you spend $4.99 on :30 of a hit song? Chances are that in 1999 you would have (and probably did). We’re exploring the history of HitClips - is it the strangest way we’ve ever consumed music?

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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.

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Sources:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjxkm/the-usps-has-452-wayward-cremated-bodies
https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/peculiar-etiquette-practices-world-map

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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 question. Of course, they got a response.

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Sources:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64049/did-alan-turing-inspire-apple-logo
https://www.wsj.com/articles/people-hire-phone-bots-to-torture-telemarketers-2dbb8457?st=dxmbw7s25arlzvh&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
https://www.cnet.com/culture/the-dark-secrets-of-whopper-sacrifice/

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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 retreat back into hibernation until next year. Where do they come from?  Where do they go? We called an expert to get the inside  (and gross) details on working at a seasonal fireworks tent. (Listener favorite from the archives)
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Sources:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjjxb/i-tried-to-cut-small-talk-from-my-life
https://www.wsj.com/articles/south-korea-age-law-change-1a9efc03

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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:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/11/29/president-john-tyler-grandson-harrison/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/06/everyone-is-in-that-fine-line-between-death-and-life-inside-everests-deadliest-queue
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230622442427/en/Furby-Is-Back!-Hasbro-Announces-the-Toy%E2%80%99s-Iconic-Return-With-a-Fresh-New-Look

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