Commute | The Podcast

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 innovating the sports mascot industry. Where did he come from? And where might he be going?
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Sources:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/77729/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-life-savers
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/us/placebo-buttons-elevators-crosswalks.html
https://theathletic.com/4554282/2023/06/01/san-diego-chicken-ted-giannoulas/?amp=1

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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.

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Sources:
https://www.livescience.com/5517-truth-secret-recipes-coke-kfc.html
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/gloucester-cheese-rolling-return-pandemic-american-winner
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/jul/12/weekend.davidnewnham

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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 friends. For the select few maybe keys to that first car. And then there are the people who had a concert at their house by Elton John.

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Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/14/us/underground-power-lines-trnd/index.html
https://nypost.com/2022/06/21/why-new-jersey-wont-let-you-pump-gas-yourself/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/05/how-to-hire-a-pop-star-for-your-private-party

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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 identify themselves. 

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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 accidentally filmed something that could help us to better understand what actually happened. There’s just one problem – no one knows who she is.

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Sources:
https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/polybius-the-most-dangerous-video-game-to-never-exist/
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/05/1174381307/beck-music-adele-beyonce-volume-pop-indie-alternative-study
https://allthatsinteresting.com/babushka-lady

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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/folklore/bermuda-triangle
https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/commercial-awareness/legal-spotlight/ask-an-expert-could-sleepwalking-lead-to-jail-
https://www.history.com/news/accidental-inventions

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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 we had to depend on it to communicate with each other? Something to keep in mind if you ever plan to visit La Gomera.

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Sources:
https://www.wired.com/insights/2013/05/a-boy-and-his-atom-the-worlds-smallest-movie/
https://nowiknow.com/i-guess-you-could-say-they-excel/
https://medium.com/weeds-wildflowers/this-islands-unique-whistled-language-was-almost-gone-then-reborn-as-unesco-intangible-cultural-91a2e10051e9

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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.

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Sources:
https://nowiknow.com/the-1-hotel-where-privacy-isnt-included/
https://www.businessinsider.com/truth-behind-scenes-tv-court-show-2018-10
https://nowiknow.com/the-i-dont-care-collect-call-scam/

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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. 

Every day, passionate love letters get delivered to jails all over America…addressed to convicted serial killers.

Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/bohemian-grove-where-the-rich-and-powerful-go-to-misbehave/2011/06/15/AGPV1sVH_blog.html
https://www.howtogeek.com/880368/where-do-weather-apps-get-their-info-from/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2018/12/22/hes-jailed-life-after-murdering-his-wife-kids-so-why-do-women-send-him-love-letters/

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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 EVERYTHING. This week we explore password dos and donts - and learn the most used passwords. 

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Sources:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/from-the-brick-to-the-iphone-the-cellphone-celebrates-50-years-180981910/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/tylenol-murders-1982
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/common-password-mistakes-people-expert-advice/

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

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