We'll have a new episode next week, but this week, we revisit one of our most popular episodes from 2023:

We’ve all failed. Most of us would rather not talk about it, but the Museum of Failure does more than talk about failures. It celebrates them.

U.S. airlines lose millions of pieces of luggage annually. Most of them don’t just vanish, they end up in the same place. (It’s not the landfill.)

It’s been a calling card of the dining experience at Olive Garden for decades - unlimited breadstick and salad refills. But even unlimited things have their limit.

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast

You know the healthy average human temperature is 98.6 … but it’s not, and we’ve known that for over three decades. 


The Statue of Liberty is world famous - but is the  iconic sculpture based on a real person?


Pop Tarts changed breakfast 60-years ago. It was the prize in a high-stakes race between rival cereal-makers to get to the toaster pastry finish line first.  

Sources:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/544046/why-myth-average-human-body-temperature
https://www.statueoflibertytour.com/blog/the-woman-behind-the-statue-of-liberty-who-is-lady-liberty/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-contentious-history-of-the-pop-tart-180984270/

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast

Who decides what time it actually is? France tried to change it once. It involved decimals.


Many of us shower once a day. Do we need to? Does it do more harm than good?


Americans throw away $70 million in coins every year. One company decided to go dumpster diving.

Sources:
https://www.engadget.com/that-time-france-tried-to-make-decimal-time-a-thing-143600302.html
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240423-theres-no-need-to-shower-every-day-heres-why
https://www.wsj.com/finance/americans-throwing-away-coins-28ca794c

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast

Have you been excited to see a movie but also frustrated because it was years away from release? What if it wouldn’t be released until after you were dead, and what if that was the plan?


Smokey Bear has been warning people about the dangers of forest fires for decades. But where did he come from? Is he up something more than simply preventing fires?


Peanuts, the beloved comic strip with Charlie Brown and Snoopy, is as family friendly as it comes. Except for the time it killed off a character.

Sources:
https://ew.com/article/2015/11/19/john-malkovich-robert-rodriguez-100-years/
https://www.treadmagazine.com/outdoor-adventures/campsite/smokey-bear/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/charlotte-braun-peanuts-character-disappeared

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast

One day, everyone in Japan will have the same last name. 


Art takes time - unless it doesn’t. Some hit songs have come together rather quickly. 


William Henry Harrison served as President of the United States for a month. What happened?

Sources:
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/02/japan-sato-only-name-by-2531-marriage-law
https://www.businessinsider.com/songs-took-short-amount-of-time-to-write-2020-4#dolly-parton-wrote-not-one-but-two-successful-songs-in-one-day-14
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/science/what-really-killed-william-henry-harrison.html

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast

Some people make money from corporate jobs, while others find a way to be their own boss. Matt Farley does a little of both. Oh, and it’s often by way of songs about bathroom humor.


Today we collectively experience something that doesn’t happen often - a total solar eclipse. Can we look at it, even for a split-second? How will pets react?


Conventional wisdom says we need 7-8 hours of sleep per night. You know what it feels like to get less, but what if you sleep more?  Can we get too much sleep?

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/31/magazine/spotify-matt-farley.html
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-04-03/2024-eclipse-astronomy-facts
https://www.gq.com/story/too-much-sleep

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast

When we think of execution methods, the guillotine seems quick and therefore painless. Maybe not…


Chocolate Chip Ice Cream was once an in-demand flavor. Are we now on the brink of it going away… forever?


Americans just spent $5 billion on Easter Candy, a lot of it in the form of chocolate bunnies. How did this creature become so seasonally popular?

Sources:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/502594/death-guillotine-painless
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/business/chocolate-chip-ice-cream.html#:~:text=The%20Scoop%20on%20Ice%20Cream,decline%20aren't%20exactly%20clear
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/how-to-eat-chocolate-easter-bunny-candy

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast

Hotels and airlines avoid it. More than 1/3 of Americans say they fear it. What makes #13 so bad?


Did you attempt the Presidential Physical Fitness test in your elementary school P.E. class?  Did you pass?  Did an actual president declare that we should do this?


During Covid, more than 50 million people registered as active bird watchers - the most participants in any sport in America and, now post-Covid, they’re still watching. Dave calls one “birder” to get the scoop.

Sources:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/why-row-13-missing-airplanes
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/presidential-fitness-test-origins-history
https://time.com/6231886/birdwatching-mental-health/

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast

*Episode 118 Rebroadcast*

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.

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast

England offers incredible tea selections and passionate soccer fans. They also drive on the other side of the road.


Iowa Hawkeye basketball standout Caitlin Clark hasn't just broken records and won a lot of games, she's had an impact that goes beyond the court. 


Years ago, a rat fell into wet cement in Chicago leaving an outline of its body in the sidewalk. The neighborhood thought this a quirky local story … then the rest of the world discovered it. 

Sources:
https://www.thrillist.com/amphtml/travel/chicago/chicago-rat-hole-oral-history
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/upshot/caitlin-clark-popularity-attendance.html
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/02/business/why-americans-drive-on-the-right-and-the-british-on-the-left?cid=ios_app

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast