DayStrider: Tales from a Time Traveler

Sep 28th: Confucius say: Tis A Great Day

• Truman Pastworthy • Episode 1

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September 28th is a special day in history because it changed everything philosophically and also medically!  It’s true - and you can sit back and listen to some stories of events that occurred on this very day in the past: 

  • The birth of one of the worlds greatest philosopher,
  • The “invention” of nighttime football , and
  • The greatest medical discovery of all time (and it was an accident).   

If it's a special day for you or for someone you care about, make time to learn a little more about it by listening to some fun, engaging stories.  AND, if you need some great gift ideas, we have those too (and we’ve made it easy to find them with some Amazon links down below).

Gift ideas for folks who celebrate September 28th for any reason:

Full disclosure:  If you use these gift idea links and make a purchase, I will make a small commission.

My promise:  Every penny will be reinvested into this podcast to help it grow and flourish . . . or perhaps even to help spawn new podcasts.


~~~   DayStrider Fun   ~~~


Text me your favorite time travel movie!!!


~~~ DayStrider Fun ~~~


Do you want to be mentioned here in the podcast? Or do you want me to do a shout-out for a loved one? All you need to do is send me an e-mail: daystriderstories@gmail.com


Better yet, you can record your own shout-out by leaving me a voice message using this SpeakPipe link


Do you have a story that you wish to share? Join me as a guest and let’s tell the world together! Once again, just send me an e-mail or find me here on Facebook: Truman Pastworthy


If you had as much fun listening as I did creating this episode, please click "follow" in your favorite podcast platform . . . oh . . . and even better - why not share it with a friend (or three)! I’m betting you know just the perfect person who would enjoy today’s stories!


If you feel adventurous, how 'bout writing a great review? :-)



SPEAKER_00:

Welcome, Seeker! You've just clicked your way into podcast history. That's right, you're about to hear the very first Daystrider episode ever recorded. And guess what? Because we're so nostalgic, we decided to keep everything as it was originally done. Except for this bonus intro, of course. You'll discover that the original format is mostly the same as it is today. Three fun stories about things that happened on this day in the past. When you compare this episode with many of the others, you'll note that we've added a famous birthday segment, thanks to a listener's suggestion, and the gift ideas segment has evolved a little as well. Oh yeah, check out that original artwork that you're seeing on your screen. It's a blast from the past too. But it's got its retro charm, right? In this episode, you'll definitely catch me laughing at my own jokes, and that's never going to change, because I just can't help myself. You might also hear a few stumbles here and there, and even a little re-recording magic as I try to clean up the audio. But hey, that's part of the charm, right? We all learn by doing. Yep. Alrighty, so let's stride back to where it all began, and see how this Daystrider journey got kicked off. Time's a-tickin'. So let's get to it. Today we're celebrating September 28th. So if that's special for you or someone you care about, then come stride with me. I've got some great stories to share about the birth of a great philosopher, the birth of nighttime football, and the discovery of the greatest advancement medicine has ever seen. That's some great company to be in, my friend. Welcome, seekers, to the enchanting world of Daystrider, the podcast where we embark on a daily journey through history. I'm your travel guide, Truman Pastworthy, and together we'll explore some fascinating stories that happened on this exact day, but from some time in the past. From groundbreaking inventions to remarkable birthdays... and extraordinary events to quirky national holidays, we've got it all. So kick back, relax, and open your mind for some lighthearted stories that'll leave you saying, huh, I never knew that happened on this day. Alrighty then, let's get to it. We'll start off today by learning about a great philosopher that calls today his birthday. And I'd like to kick it off with a little story. One that will make you think, yep, That's exactly what a philosopher would say. One day, out on the learning hill, the great professor decided to end lessons early and have a Q&A session. He allowed all the students to stop by and ask him questions. And one of the students asked a question about a great idea that he had heard. Basically, it was, when you hear a great idea, should you put it into practice at once? And the great professor told that student, you should always first ask someone. before putting an idea into practice, which is good advice. But an observer witnessing this interaction thought it was conflicting advice. The observer had recently witnessed that same great professor, Kong Fusi, tell another person a different answer to the same question. The question was very similar. It was, should you put something into action right away if you hear a great idea? And Kong Fusi had told that person Yes, you should put it into practice at once. So the observer was a little confused and got in line. And when it was his turn for the Q&A, he said, Professor, I just heard you tell someone today that they should always first ask someone. And you told someone else last week that they should put it into practice at once. What's up? What's the deal? So before I tell you how Confucius responded to the observer, let me tell you a little bit more about the great Confucius. Yes, I called him Kongfuzi. That is actually his birth name. We Americans have turned it into Confucius. So today, September 28th, 550 BCE, that was his birthday. So that's about, what, 2,600 years old? That's quite a long time. But yes, Confucius started Confucianism. He didn't actually found it. Other people took his lessons and turned it into a philosophy-based following for over 2,600 years. But Confucius was credited with the founding of the Golden Rule. So you might remember the Golden Rule you learned in kindergarten. You know, the one that says, do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. So that's how the Chinese version of that story goes. But guess what? There are other religions and belief systems that also share the concept of the Golden Rule. So that's okay. We'll give it to Confucius. No, no worries. But you know what's ironic is September 28th is not only Confucius' birthday, it's also National Good Neighbor Day. So you can celebrate National Good Neighbor's Day and Confucius' birthday in harmony. All right, let me get back to my story. So Confucius told the puzzled observer, Today's seeker always makes hasty decisions, and therefore caution is advised. The previous seeker always hesitated before making decisions and therefore should be advised to act with expediency. And then he said, it's only natural that different people get different answers to the same question. Confucius sayings. You've heard them. They've been around for what? It's said a couple thousand years. I'm sure that you know a couple. Like Confucius say, wise man does not eat yellow snow. Or Confucius say, man who go to bed with itchy bum, wake up with smelly finger. Or Confucius say, man who sneeze without tissue, takes matter in own hand. These are actually the clean ones. There are plenty of dirty Confucius sayings, and you can find those with an easy internet search. But I'm not going to repeat them here for you. And of course, those are all made up. He never said any of those. You want to hear something crazy about Confucius? They actually have a book, a real authentic book, that has a list of all the names of Confucius and his descendants. The direct line of Confucius' son and his son after him and his son after him for 80 generations. So it's tradition in China to have an ancestry book. But they have one that has lasted 80 generations of direct descendants all documented in this book. That's pretty crazy, isn't it? And I was reading that he also has over 2 million known documented descendants. 2 million people over time. They're not all alive now, but 2 million people can call Confucius their grandparent. And it's believed that he likely has 3 million total descendants in all undocumented. That's crazy, isn't it? If you're an American football fan, then it's more likely than not you'll be watching some football action tonight. Under the Lights. Why do I say that? Well, on September 28, 2023, it happens to be a Thursday night. But in any given year, it's more likely than not you're watching nighttime football because the NFL blasts us with Sunday night football, Monday night football, and Thursday night football. And you can catch Friday night lights at the local high school. And of course, don't forget about college action on Saturday nights. At least five nights a week, you can watch football Under the Lights. Well, if you're watching that game with someone tonight on September 28th, the very first football game was played back in 1892 on that same day. Yep, so over 130 years ago, you could say that's when they kind of invented nighttime football. So let me tell you this story. In a little town called Mansfield, Pennsylvania, which is just outside of Philadelphia, it was hosting its annual county fair, and they decided they wanted to do something special for that fair. And it was because they had lighting. So this is 1892, as I said. So lighting had only been around for a little while, getting better and better quality of electric lighting. And so they decided to light up the fair with these lamps. There were 20 lamps that each had 2000 candle power and they had them spread all throughout the fair. And Manfield was rocking, baby. Of course, you're thinking, that's not that many lights. It's really not. In today's standards, if you think of a high school football field today, it has much more candle power than what they had at this first fair. But hey, it's 1892. So anyway, the fair organizers were hyping up the fair, and they were working together with their sponsor, General Electric. And yes, that's the same GE that you know about today. General Electric was trying to promote its fancy new line of incandescent bulbs. So they wanted to do something special, and so on that Wednesday night of that fair, did I mention that Confucius was born on Wednesday also? Thought I'd throw that in. Anyway, Wednesday night was the marquee event. They were hyping it up. They got a local university called Mansfield University, who had just started their college football team, and Wyoming Seminary, a nearby college prep high school. Yep, a university playing a high school team. I don't know. And they kicked off the game at 645, and they got about 10 plays into the game before somebody smashed into one of the light poles that were in the middle of the field. Yep, it's true. So the lighting was so weak that they had to have poles not only surrounding the field, but light poles in the middle of the field so that the field could be lit up. It's a true story. And so it's still the first documented football game under the lights. They played about 20 minutes before they called it over. And like I said, there were 10 plays. And there's actually a reenactment of this event. You can go watch the videos on YouTube. Whenever you're watching that video, or if you happen to be watching a football game tonight, you can tell your friend or family member that today is also National Drink Beer Day, September 28th. So get a beer, clink glasses, and have some fun watching nighttime football. So I mentioned that we're going to talk about the greatest discovery medicine has ever seen. When you heard me say that, you had to be thinking vaccines, right? COVID is still on your brain, I'm sure. But it's not vaccines. What else do you think it might be? Perhaps x-rays? Those are pretty cool. Doctors get to see right inside of us without opening us up. But no, the greatest medical discovery happened by accident on a Friday morning when a tinkering scientist was paying attention to the dirty dishes. Alrighty, here's the story. The year was 1928, and that scientist, his name was Dr. Alexander Fleming, and he was conducting experiments at his office in the St. Mary's Hospital in London. Again, 1928. He was doing these experiments because he was working in World War I as a doctor and noticed lots of infection. When soldiers got injured, there was too much infection. Many soldiers couldn't be saved. And he was working on a way to help save the soldiers. So in order to do this, he had this huge collection of Petri dishes. And he was growing these different bacterias in these Petri dishes. Now that sounds like a fun experiment, doesn't it, folks? Okay, maybe that wasn't fun. But the fun part was he decided to go on a holiday. That's what they called it in England, on a vacation for a couple weeks with his wife and son. And naturally, when you go on vacation, you need somebody to take care of your pets while you're away, right? So his petri dishes needed somebody to monitor them, take care of them, make sure everything was fine. So he left that trusted job to one of his co-workers. And just like when you leave your pet with somebody and they're not always as good at taking care of your pet as you are, these co-workers weren't as good at taking care of his petri dishes as he was. So Alexander came back to the lab. and found that a window was open near the petri dishes. And man, he was frustrated because now all the petri dishes had to be clean and reset and start over. Because who knows what came flying in from the windows outside. But it's a darn good thing he was paying attention. Because as he was tossing those dirty dishes, dirty petri dishes, into the cleaning solution, he hesitated, knowing that one of them looked very unusual. Now, I'm not going to get into the science here. This is a storytelling podcast after all. So in simple terms, there was a splotch of space where the bacteria was missing, and that should not have been possible. So apparently, some penicillium mold spores blew in through that window that was accidentally left open and landed in one of these little dishes of bacteria and started killing off all the bacteria and left the splotch. So if you're listening carefully, you heard that mold spores name was penicillium. Yep. So you probably recognize the word penicillin as an antibiotic, and you've probably taken penicillin in the past for an infection. Well, that's exactly what it was doing. This mold spore was killing off bacteria that causes infection, and the doctor observed that. Now, it took something like 10 or 15 years to actually get from this observation to real penicillin that could be used on the battlefield. But sure enough, antibiotics were discovered by accident because of a mistake and an observant doctor. So Fleming went on to become famous. And these mold spores, they went on to save hundreds of millions of lives all around the world. Isn't that crazy? And there you have it, friends. Now you have some great stories to tell on your special day, September 28th. And just as a reminder, you share that day with the birth of Confucius, author of the Golden Rule, father of millions. You can celebrate playing the first football game under the lights. And you can feel good knowing that a medical miracle was discovered on your special day. But perhaps you're unfulfilled because you haven't gotten anything for your loved one. Or they haven't gotten anything for you. Of course, you may want something more than telling a fun story. Well, like I said in the football segment, it is Drink Beer Day. And I also said in the Confucius segment that it's National Good Neighbor Day. But not only that, it's also National Strawberry Cream Pie Day. I'm not sure if your local supermarket has strawberry cream pie, but it wouldn't hurt to go check. And if you can't find one, maybe you can make one. If you're not interested in desserts, it's also International Poke Day. So if you want to find the local poke shop in your neighborhood, why not try something new if you haven't tried a poke bowl? And of course, if none of those are cool enough birthday gifts, why don't you plan ahead for next time and send me an email or leave a comment here on this podcast with your first name and last initial and maybe a special quote you'd want included in a future podcast. I'll do some shout-outs to a random selection of people. They'll be forever memorialized digitally, right here with me. For example, happy anniversary, Stephanie V. from your Guapo. Yeah, don't ask me what that means. It's a special request, and you could have one just like it. And while you're at it, how about clicking that like button for me or leaving me a comment? There are over 500,000 active podcasts right now in the world. So your like and your share and your click would be outstanding help for me because if you had half as much fun listening as I did making this episode, it would be totally awesome if you clicked on one of those like or share or comment buttons for me. Your like and click and share would help me make mine go from the very smallest to the second smallest. That's doubling in size.

UNKNOWN:

Come on.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks so much for listening. Until next time, this is Truman Pastworthy reminding you that every day has a great story and we'll be striding through them all to find some more goodies for you. Now get out there and make your own great story today.