On Today’s Show

December 1, 2020 9:35 am Published by

➢ Humans as a species have dodged at least one bullet in 2020. It turns out an asteroid the size of a bus missed Earth by just 240 miles on Friday, November 13th—but it wasn’t detected by experts until the following day. Experts say had it come much closer it would have burned up in the atmosphere over the South Pacific. Its orbit brought the estimated 16 to 33-foot wide body about the same distance from Earth as the International Space Station, making it the closest asteroid to pass by Earth on record to date.

 

➢Most people would see a meteorite crashing through their home’s roof as a problem, but a man in Indonesia instead saw dollar signs. The 33 yr old man was working outside his home  when he says the meteorite crashed through the roof of the house. It turns out it’s a 4.5-chunk of CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite, a rare variety of meteorite, and was valued at $1,858,556 by experts. He didn’t disclose the amount he was paid for the object, but indicated it was over $1 million. He says he’ll use the money to expand his family’s farm, and also plans to donate some towards the building of a local church.

 

➢ According to a new study out of the University of Birmingham in England, drinking hot chocolate can make you SMARTER.

The researchers say it’s because of some molecules in cocoa called flavanols . . . and they make your brain WORK faster and more efficiently.

There’s only one downside:  If your brain is already functioning really well, the flavanols won’t help you out.  And since you’re a genius, that means you.  But for the rest of us . . . bring on the hot chocolate.

 

 

➢ A scuffle recently took place at a convenience store in Lauderhill, Florida that has gone massively viral. The fight which a bystander caught on allegedly started when Guy 1 opened the door for Guy 2, and Guy 2 disliked this. Guy 1 then took offense and tried to block Guy 2 from paying, then they started punching one another and Guy 1’s pants fell down. A store employee then tried to diffuse the 2 a.m. scuffle, before Police eventually responded. Neither man pressed charges. The video has over 4 million views.

 

➢ NBC is inviting the Grinch to share its holiday season: The network will air a two-hour production of “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical!” on December 9. The musical production will star Glee’s Matthew Morrison as the small-hearted Grinch, and Denis O’Hare as his hapless mutt Max. The musical will feature the hit songs ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch’ and ‘Welcome Christmas’ which were played on Broadway during the holiday seasons of 2006 and 2007.

 

TODAY IS……………….

  • “Advent Calendar Day”, the day many kids begin opening one compartment on their seasonal calendar each day through December 24th.

 

  • “World AIDS Day”, the annual day of AIDS awareness and education, first declared by the UN’s World Health Organization in 1988. The official symbol of “World AIDS Day” is the red ribbon. In some communities, the occasion is observed as “Day Without Art”.
  • “Rosa Parks Day”, is celebrated on either February 4, her birthday, or on December 1, the anniversary of the date in 1955 when she was arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus and give her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. She has become a symbol of the American Civil Rights Movement.

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

2012  Shania: Still the One by Shania Twain started a 91 show residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 91 shows grossed $31,879,697 at the box office.

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

FOUR RANDOM FACTS

  1. Hurricanes and typhoons are the same thing . . . the different words are just used in different places.  Hurricanes are in the Atlantic and northeast Pacific, and typhoons are in the Indian Ocean and south Pacific.

 

  1. “Three Men and a Baby”was directed by . . . Leonard Nimoy –  (Spock on Star Trek)

 

  1. Before settling on the Seven Dwarfs we know today, Disney also considered Chesty, Tubby, Burpy, Deafy, Hickey, Wheezy, and Awful.
  2. The Louvre was built in Paris in 1190 as a fortress in case the Vikings ever raided the country.  It didn’t become a museum until 1793.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

GOOD NEWS

A South Carolina couple found dozens of gold and silver coins worth $25,000 while settling into their new home in Columbia, and quickly returned them, with James and Clarrisa Munford, who are both retired from the Army, saying they never thought of keeping the coins.

 

Last month, James Munford was checking out the built-in drawers in a closet of the home they closed on in mid-October when he found two cases holding 46 gold Liberty $5 coins and 18 Morgan silver dollars that were made in the 1800s.

 

He texted photos of the coins to the former owner and arranged to return them. CNN said the former owner, who didn’t want to be  named, said he didn’t realize the coins were missing and would never have known if the Munfords had decided to sell them and keep the money.

 

Munford said of the owner, “He just thanked me because he said there’s not too many honest people out there” who would have done that.

______________________________________________________________________________

 

BIRTHDAYS

[75] Bette Midler, singer / actress

 

[50] Sarah Silverman, comedian

 

 

Are These the Ten Most Important Inventions of All Time?

We might have put “radio” a little higher on this list, but maybe we’re biased.  A new survey ranked the 20 most important inventions of all time.  And radio just missed the Top 10 at #11.  Here are the top ten inventions in order . . .

  1. Electricity.  Or technically, harnessing electricity.
  2. The telephone.
  3. Vaccines.
  4. The lightbulb.
  5. The Internet.
  6. TV.
  7. Computers.
  8. Cars.
  9. Anesthesia.  (Before 1846, they just druggedpeople up with opiates or got them drunk.)
  10. Airplanes.

 

Radio is 11th.  Here’s the rest of the Top 20 that ranked lower:  Steam-engine trains . . . cameras . . . the printing press . . . clocks . . . optical lenses . . . the compass . . . boats . . . helicopters . . . and tractors.

____________________________________________________________________________

 

WE’RE STRESS-GRINDING OUR TEETH

The state of the world in 2020 has many people stressed out, very stressed out. A recent survey of over 3,400 dentists reveals the majority report seeing a rise in stress-related oral health conditions since the pandemic began.

 

This includes jaw grinding and clenching, chipped and cracked teeth, and symptoms of disorders (or dysfunction of the jaw muscles, joints, and nerves.) There’s hope, though, thanks to a retainer-like device known as the night guard. Typically worn while sleeping, the device relaxes the jaw and helps prevent teeth grinding by acting as a barrier between teeth.

 

One New York City-based dentist described the recent surge of patients requesting night guards as “extraordinary.” It’s estimated that 80 to 90 percent of the population likely grinds and clenches their teeth in cycles associated with stress.

 

  

Four Things to Look Forward to in December

We’ve made it to December.  Just a few more weeks before 2020 is behind us.  Here are a few things to look forward to this month . . .

 

  1. In sports:  Lots of NFLaction, and college football’s bowl games start December 19th.  Also, the MLS Cup final is December 12th.

 

  1. In movies:  The movie-musical “The Prom“with Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and James Corden hits Netflix next Friday.  “Tenet“ will be on-demand December 15th.  The new Pixar movie “Soul“ hits Disney-Plus on the 25th.  And “Wonder Woman: 1984“ finally hits theaters and HBO Max on Christmas Day.

 

  1. On TV:  A ton of Christmas specials happen this month, including “The Grinch Musical“on NBC next Wednesday.  And the newest “Masked Singer” spin-off called “The Masked Dancer“ hits Fox on December 27th.

 

  1. And finally, the holidays:  Christmas is the big one, but not the only one . . .

 

National Cookie Day is this Friday . . . National Brownie Day is next Tuesday . . . Hanukkah starts December 10th . . . National Ice Cream Day is the 13th . . . Ugly Sweater Day is the 18th . . . the first day of winter is December 21st . . .

 

Festivus is the 23rd . . . Kwanzaa starts on the 26th . . . and December 31st is New Year’s Eve, when we finally say goodbye to 2020.

 

 

 

TUESDAY DECEMBER 1ST  

 

  1. Well, there was GOING to be Tuesday night football but because even more Baltimore Ravens tested positive, the gameis now going to be . . . tomorrow AFTERNOON.  Yes, get ready Wednesday afternoon football, at 3:40 Eastern time, as the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers, take on the team with the record number of positive COVID tests, the Baltimore Ravens.  (They’ve had 22 players test positive.  The game will be on NBC early, so they can guarantee their commitment to air the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.)

 

We’re afraid to make any promises about scheduling these days, but the NFL has planned a tripleheader for the day after Christmas this year.

On Saturday, December 26th, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Detroit Lions at 1 PM ET. Then, at 4:30 PM ET, the San Francisco 49ers will play the Arizona Cardinals. At 8:15 PM ET, the Miami Dolphins will be up against the Las Vegas Raiders.

 

  1. • “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (CBS): The 1964 seasonal classic about the reindeer with the incandescent nose who guides Santa’s sleigh through a bad storm on Christmas Eve.
  • “Let’s Make a Deal Primetime” (CBS): Celebrating the holidays with Christmas decorations and festive-themed games and deals.
  1. Dwight Howard got paid $5.4 million this past season to play mediocre ball and win his first championship with the L.A. Lakers, and he’s complainingabout playing for “free”.

 

  1. Here’s well-traveled comedian Jim Gaffigan talking about airport security questions.

 

 

Now a Monolith Identical to the One in Utah Has Appeared in Romania

A few weeks ago, someone spotted a mysterious structure in the remote desert in Utah.  It was a 12-foot steel monolith that looked very alien-like.  And then, this past Friday, it DISAPPEARED.

The newest twist?  Another virtually identical monolith was just found near an ancient archaeological landmark in ROMANIA.  Yes, halfway around the world, another one of these showed up.

And there’s no word on where THAT statue came from, when it went up . . . or when the aliens are going to beam down to reclaim it like they did with the one in Utah.

And one more note on the whole monolith thing:  After it was found in Utah, lots of people hiked to see it.  There aren’t any bathrooms anywhere close in the area.

So the Bureau of Land Management says, quote, “Visitors who flocked to the site . . . left behind human waste as evidence of their visit.”

Also, someone posted on Instagram he saw some men remove the Utah statue because they didn’t like all the attention and people it was bringing to the area.

 

 

 

INGRID ANDRESS FINDS THE JOY IN CHRISTMAS DESPITE ‘WEIRD YEAR’

Ingrid Andress recently released a brand new song called “Christmas Always Finds Me,” which she co-wrote. She was inspired by all the craziness of 2020, but Ingrid tells us the song speaks to the silver lining. [“‘Christmas Always Finds Me’ is about being able to celebrate Christmas no matter where you are, or who you’re with, and it was inspired by this year, actually, because it’s been such a weird year, but at the end of the day, we still get to celebrate Christmas and that is a beautiful thing.”]

Ingrid’s latest single is the title track of her debut album, Lady Like.

 

 

KENNY CHESNEY’S ‘HAPPY DOES’ MAKES HIM . . . HAPPY

Kenny Chesney was drawn to his latest hit, “Happy Does,” for the same reason he hopes this fans are — it put an immediate smile on his face. He tells us: [“I love the idea of the people that listen to this music living their best life and I think it’s really hard in today’s world, in this social media world of getting drawn in to what everyone else is doing and how everyone else is living their life instead of concentrating on your own. You know, it’s just being happy and having gratitude. Those are the things that I try to lean on and when I heard ‘Happy Does’ it made me smile a lot and I really believe it’s the kind of song that my audience will gravitate to.”]

“Happy Does” is the second single from Kenny’s Here And Now album, which was released earlier this year.

 

 

SARA EVANS TO HEADLINE THREE DIFFERENT VIRTUAL CONCERTS NEXT MONTH

Sara Evans will be performing a live series of virtual full band concerts in partnership with VYE over three nights from December 10-12.

Each virtual date will have its own theme. The first show will include Sara’s biggest hits and fan favorite album cuts. The second night will feature all of the cover songs from her latest album, Copy That. Lastly, she will perform a virtual version of her annual Christmas concert tour named after her holiday album, At Christmas. Each show will also include surprise special guests who will perform with Sara.

Sara also recently starred as “Belinda” in the Hallmark Channel movie, A Nashville Christmas Carol,. Her co-stars include Wynonna Judd, RaeLynn, and Kix Brooks.

 

CMA COUNTRY CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCES

Did you enjoy DARIUS RUCKER and violinist LINDSEY STIRLING performing “What Child Is This” on last night’s “CMA Country Christmas”?  Well, you can listen again and again . . . because they released a version as a digital single.

 

 

Here’s Dan + Shay performing “Christmas Isn’t Christmas” last night on “CMA Country Christmas”.  (From “CMA Country Christmas” on Monday, November 30, 2020)

 

Categorised in:

This post was written by Dave Palmer