On Today’s Show
➢ Last night on “The Tonight Show”, Jimmy started the show by talking about the chaos at the Capitol. (From “The Tonight Show” on Wednesday, January 6, 2021)
➢ At some point, you’ve probably cracked an icicle off the gutters and eaten it like a cold, flavorless popsicle. But here’s something you DIDN’T know. Katie Nickolaou is a meteorologist in Sioux City, Iowa. And she’s going viral with a TikTok video she posted that explains why icicles are filled with bird poop.
Quote, “When icicles form, it’s from water that melts off your roof and runs down the side of a building. You know what else is on your roof? Bird poop. A lot of it.”
That’s not to say you’ll get sick from licking the bird poop in an icicle . . . but really, is that something you WANT to lick?
➢ Here’s our favorite monolith so far. A guy in Utah put one in his front yard, just to get a laugh out of his wife who’s fighting cancer.
➢ A movie based on the invention of the Rubik’s Cube is in the works. The film will tell the story how Professor Erno Rubik’s toy became a pop culture phenomenon in the ’80s and beyond. The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 and was licensed as a toy in 1980, and to date over 450 million have been sold around the world. No scheduled release date has been announced.
➢ Blake Shelton proposed to Gwen Stefani in what seems like a perfectly Blake Shelton-type of way. He gathered family at their ranch in Oklahoma, then he proposed by having her get the “fire starter.” When she opened the cabinet . . . there was the ring. Surprise! (From “The Tonight Show” on Tuesday, January 5, 2021)
TODAY IS……………….
- “Orthodox Christmas” in many countries worldwide. Why? Both Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches still use the old Julian calendar.
2012 [09] Lady Antebellum singer Hillary Scott weds drummer Chris Tyrrell near Albany, New York
2019 [02] Amazon overtakes Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable listed company for the first time, worth $797 billion
2020 [01] Rascal Flatts announce they are breaking up following a farewell tour slated for June. They don’t get the chance, as the tour is cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE
“Take This Job And Shove It” by Johnny Paycheck began two weeks as the Number One single on the country chart in 1978
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Four Things to Look Forward to in January
- In sports: The NFL playoffsstart this Saturday . . . Alabama and Ohio State face off in college football’s National Championship next Monday . . . and the Winter X Games start January 29th.
- Lots of new TV this month: “The Bachelor”starts tonight . . . Fox’s “Name That Tune” reboot lands this Wednesday . . . “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” and “The Chase” hit ABC on Thursday . . . and HBO’s Tiger Woods documentary airs this Sunday. Also, the CW’s “Walker, Texas Ranger” reboot hits January 21st.
- In other events: The Presidential Inaugurationis just over two weeks away on January 20th. And the Grammy Awards will air on CBS January 31st.
- And finally, the holidays: The big one is Martin Luther King Day on January 18th. But here are a few more holidaysto put on your calendar . . .
Houseplant Appreciation Day is the 10th . . . Clean Your Desk Day is the 11th . . . National Bagel Day is the 15th . . . National Popcorn Day is the 19th . . . Peanut Butter Day is the 24th . . . Holocaust Remembrance Day is the 27th . . . and the 31st is National Hot Chocolate Day.
FOUR RANDOM FACTS
- If all of the gold in the world was melted down, it would fit into less than three-and-a-half Olympic swimming pools.
- After “Top Gun”came out, the number of men joining the Navy to become Naval pilots went up 500%.
- The Stanley Cup can hold 23 beers. (That’s 23 12-ounce bottles . . . or just over two gallons.)
- The original name for Frank Sinatra’ssong “New York, New York” was “Theme From New York, New York”, and it was the theme song for the Martin Scorsese movie “New York New York” in 1977.
That version was performed by Liza Minnelli. Sinatra re-recorded his own version in 1979 that became the version everyone knows.
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GOOD NEWS
A guy in Philadelphia named Ben Berman has been raising money for charity by making pizzas in his kitchen, and then using a pulley system to drop them to people from his second-story window.
Instead of charging, he asks them to donate to charity. And he’s raised over $30,000 during the pandemic.
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BIRTHDAYS
[57] Nicolas Cage, actor
[47] John Rich, country singer (Big & Rich)
[39] Lauren Cohen, actress (‘Maggie Greene’ on “The Walking Dead” since 2011)
THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2021 (if everything works out…):
✓ The Tokyo Olympics: After being postponed in 2020, they are now scheduled to begin this July. (And remember: New events include skateboarding and surfing!)
✓ 3 Missions to Mars: In 2020, China, the UAE, and NASA all launched Mars missions, all of which are expected to arrive at the Red Planet next month. 2021 will likely be the year of new discoveries on Mars.
✓ Traveling and large gatherings (and yes, concerts!): If the vaccines work out as planned, expect to see steps toward the lifting of travel bans, and the ability to attend large gatherings.
✓ New TV shows and movies: The “Friends” reunion is set for March. A “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” reboot will arrive, and the movies “Cinderella”, “No Time to Die” and Black Widow are all set to be released. Plus, a new “Coming to America”, a new “Fantastic Beasts” and a new “Dune” with Timothee Chalamet.
✓ 6G: Now is the time to brush up if you don’t understand 4G and 5G, because Japan and Korea are working on 6G, which could improve remote working and schooling, plus awesome things like holograms and virtual and augmented reality.
✓ Drone delivery: Walmart, Amazon, UPS and other companies are stepping up their drone game, so don’t be surprised if packages start landing at your door soon.
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We May Have to Jump Ahead in Time to Catch Up with the Earth’s New, Shorter Minutes
You know how 2020 felt like the longest year ever? Technically it was SHORTER than we realized.
According to scientists who work on the atomic clock, the Earth is rotating FASTER now. Like, Sunday was technically only 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59.9998927 seconds. And last year had 28 days that were shorter than the shortest day in 2005.
Now, it’s probably not something to be WORRIED about . . But WE need to catch up. You may remember the few times we’ve had “leap seconds,” where we added an extra second to catch up with the Earth.
Now we may need the first-ever NEGATIVE leap second . . . where we have a 59-second minute.
Obviously, that difference won’t matter much to you, but it can have a major effect on things like satellites that rely on perfect timing.
NEW US DIETARY GUIDELINES SAY NO CANDY, CAKE FOR KIDS UNDER 2
The U.S. government has new dietary guidelines that ruin all the fun for kids under the age of two. This is the first time the government has released dietary guidelines for infants and toddlers, and on Tuesday (December 29th) they recommended feeding only breast milk for at least six months, and noted that children under age two should not consume added sugar. The dietary guidelines are re-issued every five years by the Agriculture Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Specifically, the recommendation says babies should only have breast milk at least until they reach six months, and if breast milk isn’t available they should get iron-fortified infant formula during the first year. They should also get supplemental vitamin D beginning soon after birth, and can start eating real food at about six months— they should be introduced to potential allergenic foods along with other foods.
As for adults—the guidelines echo previous ones: adults should limit their sugar intake to less than ten percent of the calories per day, and men should stick to no more than two alcoholic beverages per day, while women should have no more than one per day.
THURSDAY JANUARY 7TH
- Last month, PRESIDENT TRUMPencouraged his followers to “march” at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6th to coincide with Congress’s scheduled certification of the election results.
He promised that it would be, quote, “wild.” And not surprisingly, it was. But what few of us expected was that it would turn into a violent riot, with masses of people storming the Capitol . . . BREAKING IN . . . and threatening everyone inside.
The rioters deployed “chemical irritants” on the police . . . smashed windows . . . broke into the building . . . marched through the halls . . . shouted . . . waved Trump, “MAGA,” and Confederate flags . . . clashed with police . . . and some even wandered around in the chambers.
One intruder sat at the front of the Senate, where Vice President MIKE PENCE had been before the lockdown . . . and another went into the office of House leader NANCY PELOSI. He posed for photos and left a threatening note on her desk.
One woman was shot and killed. She was one of the rioters and it sounds like she was shot by U.S. Capitol police, but that’s not 100% clear. Three other people died during the chaos, but their deaths were due to, quote, “medical emergencies.” There aren’t any further details.
At least two explosive devices were found, but there have been many reports of pipe bombs, and the sounds of explosions and gunshots throughout the area.
In the end, MIKE PENCE acquitted himself well in the joint session, and Congress certified Joe Biden’s victory over Trump at about 3:40am this morning.
- In case you missed this just before the holidays Canada’s Chapman’s Ice Cream is installingtwo more sub-zero freezers just to help store the vaccine. They didn’t need them for ice cream but ordered them anyway, because they want to help “in any way” they can.
- Are you a slow reader? Here’s comedian Dennis Regan, who admits, he is, too.
KENNY CHESNEY’S NO SHOES REEFS LAUNCHES 32-ACRE UNDERWATER REEF PARK
No Shoes Reefs, a grassroots organization committed to creating healthier oceans and spearheaded by Kenny Chesney, has joined forces with several environmental and conservation organizations to deploy thirteen 10,000-pound goliath reef balls, about one-half mile off Delray Beach, creating “No Shoes Reefs 4.” This kicks off development for a 32-acre underwater reef park.
The reef balls are each 7-by-6-feet, and the pre-permitted artificial reef site is roughly 0.35-mile long by 0.13-mile wide.
Once complete, the 32-acre artificial reefs will include countless paths for underwater enthusiasts to discover new marine habitats from unique seagrasses to variety of fish species.
Luke Combs Kept 21 Members of His Crew on Payroll Last Year
There’s a long list of reasons to love LUKE COMBS. He’s an amazing songwriter, a terrific singer, loves his wife . . . and can shotgun a beer with the best of them. Here’s another one. He takes care of his people.
He posted a video several days ago thanking his fans for supporting him last year by buying his music and merchandise . . . and listening to his songs on the radio.
Because of that he was able to keep at least 21 members of his crew on payroll even though the pandemic crushed the music industry.
To me, that’s the real story. Luke didn’t have to keep them on payroll. He did it because he’s a good man. The video also featured clips of each crew member . . . all 21 of them . . . thanking the fans.
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MORGAN WALLEN SAYS NOSTALGIA IS ONE REASON ‘SEVEN SUMMERS’ IS FAN FAVE
Morgan Wallen followed up his career fourth Number One hit, “More Than My Hometown,” with “Seven Summers,” a fan-favorite that shattered streaming records at both Apple Music and Spotify last fall.
While Morgan can’t say for sure why this song is having such an impact on fans, he says he can see one obvious connection.[“Anytime that you can introduce nostalgia into a song it automatically tends to hit . . . if you land it right it usually hits well. Everybody kind of that inside of them. I’m personally drawn towards songs like that, and I also (think) maybe, you know, with the way things went in 2020, I think it has had maybe a lot of people thinking about the past and longing for things that they don’t really get to experience anymore. I think maybe both of those things kind of went hand-in-hand. The timing of the song just seemed to be right, I think.”]
FAST FACTS
Morgan will celebrate the release of Dangerous: The Double Album with a live performance of his new songs from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Jan. 12th. The one night only, full-band Nashville concert will be livestreamed for free worldwide on Morgan’s YouTube and Facebook pages at 9 p.m. ET.
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NIKO MOON HAD TO PUT HIS ‘SWAG’ ON HIT SINGLE
Niko Moon originally wrote his debut hit single, “Good Time,” with a couple of buddies, and while he liked the song, it lacked something when he went to record it. He called in his key people to help him make it sound more like him, and that’s what you hear on the radio today.
Niko tells us: [“We came up with this concept of relating having a good time to fishing. It’s like, ‘I’m just trying to catch a good time even if it takes all night,’ but the way we demoed it wasn’t really quite my vibe, so I was like, ‘Well, what if I take it to my writing team that I’m making my album with’ — which is my wife, Anna Moon, and Josh Murty — ‘and we put my thing on it and we give it that swag that the album is,’ you know, so we re-looked at it, kind of moved a couple of the pieces around and then it became what it is now.”]
Tonight, Niko will be playing a free livestream show on Facebook and YouTube at 8 p.m. ET.
