Something Offbeat

The Federal Highway Administration announced new guidelines for Changeable Message Signs a few weeks ago. Those are the message boards on the side of the highway that display things like, "Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late." The new guidelines strongly discourage states’ departments of transportation from using “punny” messages on signs.

To discuss the story, Dr. Tripp Shealy, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Virginia Tech, and the lead author of a report commissioned by the Virginia Department of Transportation titled “Driver Response to Dynamic Message Sign Safety Campaign Messages," joined host Mike Rogers on this week's Something Offbeat.

Something Offbeat minisodes have a new name! We're calling them "Offbites." This week, Chris and Lauren discuss the hit that shattered Patrick Mahomes' helmet, a walking stick that almost sold for $700 on eBay, and the man who took his clothes off and went swimming at an Alabama sporting goods store.

Last fall, a horse escaped from its still on a flight from New York to Belgium shortly after takeoff, forcing the carrier to turn around and head back to its point of origin. To discuss what it takes to transport large animals, host Mike Rogers is joined by Lyndee du Toit, the CEO of the Johannesburg office of Air Charter Service, who has chartered cargo flights for everything from horses to rhinos in her career.

This episode celebrates one of the superstars of offbeat news: the Florida Man. We talked to Pete Melfi, creator of The Florida Man Games. He tells “Something Offbeat” host Mike Rogers everything you need to know about the inaugural event coming up next month – from throwing alligators to chugging beer and showing off mullets.

It's minisode time again! Chris and Lauren are back before Mike returns next week to discuss calendars from 1996 accuracy in 2024, whether or not it's ethical to try to shove someone's face into a deep fryer, and what the expectation should be for artwork on candy.

On this week's post-holiday season minisode, Kieran joins Chris and Lauren to discuss a renowned art sleuth, catacombs beneath the city of Paris, and Lauren's love of bright blue foods.

To wrap up the holiday season, Something Offbeat decided to go all-in on Festivus, a holiday that entered the zeitgeist as a plot device in a 1997 episode of the sitcom “Seinfeld” and has managed to become a lasting tradition.

Allen Salkin, author of “Festivus: The Holiday For The Rest of Us” joined the show to discuss the staying power of Festivus, arguably the most offbeat holiday celebrated during the holiday season. Why have people continued to connect with it?

Last month, the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois announced that one of its sharks laid an egg that hatched in August. The catch was that the female that laid the egg hadn't been housed with a male shark since her arrival at the zoo in 2019.

Mike Masellis, the lead animal care specialist at the Brookfield Zoo, joined host Mike Rogers to discuss the process -- called parthenogenesis -- and deliver an update on how the shark pup is doing.

Jeff Bezos is one of the richest men in the world and his name is nearly synonymous with success. However, reactions to a recent Vogue photo shoot revealed that even billions of dollars can’t save him from internet trolls. Included in the comments were suggestions that Bezos’s biceps were photoshopped. This made the team here at “Something Offbeat” interested in male body image, how its shaped by the internet and why we don’t seem to address it as much as female body image. Registered Dietician Nutritionist Aaron Flores, host to the “Men Unscripted” podcast, joined the show to help break it all down.

Chris and Lauren are back with another Something Offbeat "minisode." This week, they hear from a listener about giant inflatable holiday decorations, discuss whether they would eat an 8-month-old missing space tomato, and how a giant billboard with an image of Santa holding a gun would impact children.