DayStrider: Tales from a Time Traveler

Feb 12th: Shape Shifters Unleased

• Truman Pastworthy • Episode 22

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Before February 12th - the innards of the baseball were out of control, ice skating was seasonal and the shape of our nation would look completely different!

  • But along came Albert Spalding - who standardized that ball and invented a few other shapes you are familiar with!
  • And year-round ice became a thing at the Madison Square Garden - reshaping the future of the sport of ice skating.
  • A few of the largest memorials in the country are shaped after a president who reshaped his face at the urging of an 11-year-old.

If it's a special day for you or for someone you care about, why not learn a little more about today by listening to some fun, engaging tales of the past.  You’ll find yourself a little smarter and have some great stories you can tell while waiting in line at the bank to have your spare change rolled up.  If you need some great gift ideas, we have those too (along with links to where you can find them on Amazon).

The rest is under construction!



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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? :-)



Truman:

Welcome, Seeker. Did you know that at one point they stuffed baseballs with dried fish eyes? Huh? And would you believe that a cute letter from an 11-year-old girl led to the most recognizable beard ever? Yep. Today, we're striding through time to hear tales of innovation and engineering while uncovering some stunning tidbits about a leader who kept America together during its most trying time. This isn't just any day in history. It's February 12th. And these origin stories are about to flip everything you thought you knew on its head. Our journey begins with one man's quest to save baseball from the chaos of fisheye fastballs. And he ended up revolutionizing every major sport that you can bounce, throw, or kick. And then we'll chill out a little. As we discover how bringing ice indoors gave rise to the most popular Winter Olympic event. And then we'll crash the birthday party of one of America's most important leaders. A man whose face you've seen more times than any other in human history. A penny for your thoughts on who that might be. We'll return you to your normal self armed with enough stories to fill a piggy bank. Yeah. The portal's humming, history's secrets are waiting, and our day striding adventure begins now. Grab your curiosity, and let's

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get

Truman:

to it. 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. Do you have any idea how many baseballs get used in a major league game these days? And when I say used, sometimes I mean barely touched, right? Think about it. You see a pitcher throw the ball and it hits the dirt just ahead of home plate and the catcher stops it. And then he holds up the ball to the ump who replaces it immediately. That ball's done. See ya! Sorry, little ball. That tiny dirt mark makes you unworthy to be pulverized by a bat deep into the outfield. Meh. Anyway, did you know that back in the day, the home teams provided the baseballs and that someone made them to their desired specifications? Yeah, now I'm talking way, way back in the day here, when the balls were not exactly the same size across the different cities. Back when teams stuffed their baseballs with rubber or whatever weird materials they had laying around. And I do mean weird, because some balls supposedly had dried fish eyes inside of them as the core. Yeah, fish eyes! And you want to talk about home team advantage? Depending on who they were playing, the home team could make the balls more bouncy or make them seem dead as a brick. And they would love to switch balls mid-game to really mess with the other team. Tom Brady would love to have played in this era, right? Actually, that's a great person to bring up, because the Tom Brady or the Michael Jordan of baseball pitchers back in those days... His name was Albert Spalding. And one year, he won an incredible 47 games as a pitcher. What? Yeah, 47 wins out of total 70 games they play in a season. Yeah. Today, pitchers start maybe 30 of the 162 games they play, and the very best pitchers might win, might win 20 of those games. So our man Albert, he was a beast in his time. And guess what? Albert was done with all these Frankenballs. Yeah, one game he's pitching a ball stuffed with grass clippings, and then the next it's a soggy mess weighed down with tobacco juice. And so he took a stand. Enough of this madness. Baseball needed one official ball made the same way every time and used by everybody. And just like that, On this day in 1876, Albert Spalding put his money where his mouth was. Literally. And he and his brother opened a sporting goods store in Chicago selling the very first standardized baseballs. And let me tell you, this was the sports world's version of the iPhone launch. Yeah, completely changing the playing field. Now let's pause right here a moment because I'm willing to bet that you have either played with or worn some kind of sporting equipment that had the Spalding name stamped or stitched on it somewhere, right? Think about it. I'm feeling pretty confident. If you're having some doubts about my bold statement, keep listening. Spalding baseballs were the official ball of the majors for 100 years, all the way up to the late 1970s. So these Spalding balls would have been used by the Little Leagues as well during that time. But wait. There's more. Our man Albert was also responsible for popularizing baseball gloves. You see, he not only pitched, he played first base. And back in his day, before gloves were a thing, he had to catch those fisheye balls with his bare hands. Oh, my. So the Spaldings started making and selling baseball gloves, which, of course, propelled their growing franchise of sporting goods stores. So you know how Nike sells the Air Jordan shoe nowadays? Well, back then, Spalding made a baseball glove specifically for Babe Ruth. How about that? Yep. Now hold on a second. Some of you are saying, Truman, I never played baseball. So there's no Spalding for me. I'm not done yet. We need to talk about basketball. If you've played hoops, chances are you used a Spalding ball. Why is that, Truman? Well, because Spalding is actually the folks who invented the literal basketball. That's right. So hold on. They didn't invent the actual sport. That was Dr. James Naismith. And shameless plug, you can hear all about his invention in the December 21st episode. But anyway, about five years after James invented the sport, He called Albert up because he needed help. He needed a ball that could easily be dribbled. Can you imagine how that conversation must have gone? Ring, ring. Hello, Albert Spalding speaking. Mr. Spalding, hi, how are you? James Naismith here. I've invented a new sport and I need your help with the ball. A new sport, Dr. Naismith? What are you talking about here? Yeah, players throw a ball into elevated peach baskets. Hmm, I'm sorry. Did you say peach baskets? Yes, sir, you got it. We nail them up wicked high on the gym wall. But the problem is, we keep having to climb up and poke the ball out with a stick after every score. So what do you want me to do? Make you a better stick? Nah, nah, we need a ball. Right now we're using everything from soccer balls to stuffed pillowcases. Yesterday, some knucklehead tried using a medicine ball, and damn near took out a window. Um, Dr. Naismith, are you sure this game of yours is gonna catch on? Trust me, Mr. Spalding, this is gonna be huge. Though I should mention, players ain't allowed to run with the ball. Huh? You can't run with it. Nah, you gotta bounce it. We call it dribbling. Dribbling? Like a baby does on a bib? Very funny, Bobo. So, can you help me or what? I'll send you some prototypes. But mark my words, this basketball of yours will never be as popular as baseball. Wicked awesome. You're a real life saver, Mr. Spalding. Yeah, that's a good one. And as you know, basketball did take off. And the Spalding's riches rose right along with it. Yep. And in the 30s, the Spalding folks figured out how to make a basketball without laces. And then in the 50s, they made the balls orange so that it was easier for players and fans to track it as it flew around the court. And the Spalding basketball became official in the NBA in the 80s and remained so for almost 40 years. So once again, it's probable that if you played hoops as a youth, you've used a Spalding basketball. And wait a second, why stop there? Someone needed to standardize the American football, right? Yep, and you guessed it, the Spauldings to the rescue. They created the unique prolate spheroid shape. Huh? Prolate spheroid? Yeah, I know. That's what they call the pointy oval football shape. And... We're not done yet. Let's soar over the net to the sport of volleyball, which also happened to be invented in Massachusetts. And that inventor also needed a new ball for his new sport. Now, don't worry. I'll spare you from having to hear my imitation of William Morgan's accent. But yeah, they needed a ball that was lighter than a basketball. but heavier and more durable than just a bladder filled with air for the older folks who were learning to play this new game at their local YMCA. Yeah, so how about that run for the Spauldings back in their time? And they got into tennis and golf and other sports as well. Oh, and they didn't stop with just making the balls. No, they improved standardized backstops, backboards, goals, and volleyball nets and tennis rackets and on and on. Yeah, so if you've ever dribbled, thrown, spiked, or smacked a ball, odds are you've had a Spalding in your hands. Not bad for a guy whose frustration with fish eyes turned into a dynasty of sports. From the pitcher's mound to the basketball court to the football field, Spalding just wasn't making balls. He was making history. Game, set, match. Roses are red and balls are for play. If you wrote a review, that would make my day. Can't think of the words? Here's what you do. Type this pod's a grand slam, fun all the way through. Imagine you're a young woman in the late 1870s, gliding across the ice, the crisp air brushing against your cheeks. You live for skating. It's your passion. But there's a major problem. Your season is painfully short. Three, maybe four months is all you get in a good year. And the ice, it's anything but smooth. Jagged edges, stray branches poking out here and there. And watch out for those thin spots you could go plunging through. Every single glide is a gamble. And despite all these risks, you just love skating, and you wish there was a better option, a way to get ice year-round without moving to the North Pole. There has to be a way, right? You've heard rumors of a doctor down in Florida who's been making ice for decades. Yeah, Dr. Gorey developed a way to help his malaria patients recover by using ice that he made any time he needed it. Imagine the possibility. Ice on demand. Could this be the answer? Maybe can someone come up here in the north and make us some ice too? And in big enough blocks that we can skate on them? We can only dream. Well, actually, to make ice, we need to keep our heads right up in those clouds you were just dreaming in. Clouds of ammonia, that is, created with fire. Sounds crazy, but in the 1870s, that's exactly what they did. Instead of sitting around waiting for the pond to freeze, they figured out how to burn their way to ice.

Nerd Alert:

Yeah,

Truman:

before electricity, they burned wood or coal to heat an ammonia solution to boiling. Then you compress those boiled gases, and when you're ready, you let that gas expand, and this expansion creates an intense amount of cooling, which can quickly freeze water into solid blocks of ice. Sounding all clear, the nerd alert's over. Okay, Truman, so you're saying that they took these blocks of ice and set them all up side by side to make a surface we can skate on? No, not really. That would probably suck as a skating surface anyway. And besides, these early ice pioneers, they weren't thinking about twirls and toe loops. No, they were thinking about beer. Cold beer, cold food, and bigger profits. No one cared about figure skating. Well, not until this day in 1879 anyway. But we'll get to that in a second. As ice-making technology progressed over the decades, they discovered how to recycle the chemicals in closed systems. And they expanded the size of the ice blocks they could make based on the size of the tubing network they pumped their chemicals through. And there were lots of practical improvements. But wait a second. What about our skaters? They needed a dreamer. Someone who could see beyond beer barrels and into the future of entertainment. Enter... Thomas Rankin. While others saw ice as storage, he saw a stage. A grand glistening arena where skaters could dance on frozen water. And lucky for him, he knew just the right showman to help make it happen. P.T. Barnum. You know that name from the circus, right? Yeah, Barnum and Bailey. Yep. That Barnum, who just happened to be a partial owner of the original Madison Square Garden in New York. And he actually had some extra room in the building. So Rankin and Barnum worked together to make a space in the original Madison Square Garden into an ice rink. Yeah, and on this day in history, over 2,000 New Yorkers showed up just to witness magic. Before them lay a shallow pool of water, encasing long rows of iron pipes. And they held their collective breath as the machines roared to life, pumping that ammonia stuff. Would it work? Huh? Slowly, surely, something incredible happened. Oh my, it's like a miracle right in front of our eyes! Ice! Smooth and solid and gleaming under the gaslights. There was oohing and aahing everywhere in the crowd. Some bent down, hesitating. They reached out, touching history for the very first time. Yes, it really was ice! Indoors! Wow! And once finished, the ice was smooth and even. And nowhere to be found were those pesky sticks jutting out. And of course, no more fears of plunging through any thin spots. It worked and it was beautiful. All right, who's ready to give it a try? Step right up. And that's how beginning on this day in history, you could skate on man-made ice pretty much anytime you wanted. Now we could take our figure skating dreams to a whole new level. And not only did they make dreams come true, they invented a new business model. Yeah, it cost 50 cents to get the chance to skate, which is about $15 in today's money, so that's reasonable. And they had ice rink monitors, just like they have today. And the concept of skating counterclockwise got its start as well. Wait a second, why do we skate in that direction anyway? Well, most people are right-handed, and so they want the wall on their right so they could use that to help them stay standing. And of course, most people's right leg is stronger. And that's their push leg. And so, yeah, that's why they skate counterclockwise. Now you know. Imagine being among those first witnesses watching the ice freeze right before their eyes. How cool must that have been? No pun intended. You can actually watch some very cool videos of ice making as well. I'll leave a link in the show notes to one that I found fascinating to watch. What was also amazing was how the sport of figure skating took off. Now with a place to skate year-round and a surface that was much smoother and consistent than a pond, people could try more challenging moves. Longer spins, bigger and higher jumps, advanced choreography, and that was just the beginning. Ice rinks started popping up everywhere, each one a testament to this incredible invention. One example, the North Avenue Ice Palace in Baltimore, Maryland. Yeah, it opened for entertainment, skating, and early ice hockey games in 1894. Yeah, the rink was constructed with layers of waterproof paper and wool surrounding the cold pipes that ran through and froze the water. Within two years of its opening, the rink hosted the first college hockey game between Yale and Johns Hopkins University. But I'm sorry to say that Yale beat the Blue Jays 2-1 that day. But nowadays, they can put ice rinks anywhere. I was on a cruise ship a year ago, and they had an ice rink right there in the ship. Yeah, now, it was small. It was about a third of the size of Rankin's pioneering invention. But they did shows on it and offered free skating to cruisers. It was amazing, on a cruise ship even. So, yeah, the next time you lace up your skates, remember the dreamers, the inventors, the showmen who made it all possible. Take a moment to appreciate the magic beneath your feet. It's not just ice. It's a story of innovation, passion, and the enduring power of a dream that refused to melt away. A time traveler's delight as we glide through time, past echoes of greatness, both grand and sublime. If these tales have sparked joy or broadened your view, please share with your friends. Let them journey here too. All right, folks, it's trivia time. Who do you think is the most reproduced image in all of history? I know, it's a crazy question. Whose face has been printed in books and painted on walls and hung in posters the most in the entire world throughout all of time? Well, where do you even start to answer that kind of a trivia question? Some of you may have immediately thought of the lovely Mona Lisa, right? And that's a pretty good guess. But if you're religious, then you surely thought Jesus Christ, right? Millions, no, probably billions have images of Jesus in their home over the course of history. Now before I keep going, there's no factual solution, right? There's no website to Google to get an actual answer. We would have to do some serious estimating. And so I asked a handful of AIs to help me. And they got into some serious, detailed estimations. I was actually impressed. And on average, across all the AIs, they decided that Mona Lisa has probably been reprinted about 3 billion times through all of history. And then, of course, Jesus blows her away with 15 billion reproductions through all of history. But what's surprising is these numbers are microscopic. Because the AIs also did an estimate for how many times a face has been printed on money, on currency. So Queen Elizabeth II, right, she was a monarch for over 70 years, and her face has been printed on lots of money, to the tune of 520 billion reproductions. Yeah, and then General Mao Zedong from China, he too is on currency, and he of course ruled in the most populated country on the planet. So he topped out the estimates at 560 billion times that his face has been reproduced. It's like we have a winner, folks. Not quite. There's one more face who's on the most humble of currencies. Can you guess who that might be? It's his birthday today. And so if you guessed Abraham Lincoln, ding, ding, ding, you win. Your prize is that you get to help blow out the candles on his cake. So what are you talking here, Truman? Why do you say this? Well, Lincoln was the first president to appear on circulating currency, and they started doing it on this day in 1909, so 100 years after his birth. Now hold on to your calculators, folks, because from 1909 to 2009, 100 years, we minted enough pennies to make an accountant's head spin. Are you ready? $454 billion. pennies went into circulation. And that's not any AI estimate. That's actually from the U.S. Mint records. And what's even more crazy is in the last 15 years, another 80 billion pennies were minted. Unfortunately, at a cost of three cents each, because it costs more than a penny to make a penny, which is insane. Yeah, but that's crazy numbers, right? And then you can throw in Lincoln's recognizable mug on the $5 bill, which I didn't bother including, and reprints in the school textbooks and all that. His face is easily the number one most reproduced image in all of history. Man. And of course, when you think about that image, you'll recall that he's sporting his beard, right? Well, did you know that Lincoln is also the first president to keep a full beard while in office? Yeah, only five presidents in all have sported facial hair while serving in office. And are you ready for another surprise? Lincoln grew his beard at the urgings of an 11-year-old girl. Yeah, young Grace Bedell wrote the presidential candidate a letter encouraging him to let his whiskers grow. She wrote, and I quote, You would look a great deal better, for your face is so thin. Ha ha ha! Yeah, that's what she wrote. Leave it to a child to share the blunt truth. But even better than that, she went on to say, All the ladies like whiskers, and they would tease their husbands to vote for you, and then you would be president. How about that? Yeah, and I'm not kidding here, people. This actually happened. And not only that, Lincoln wrote her back. And not only that, he actually met with her. Yeah, so after he was elected... He had to journey from Illinois to D.C., and they didn't have airplanes back then, so he took a train. And on his trip, he stopped over in Grace's hometown. You know, they stopped at the train station. Lincoln got out, gave a little speech, and then he called out into the crowd for Grace. And someone pointed her out because she was blushing and stunned silent. And he actually left the platform, walked into the crowd, and embraced her with hugs and kisses as thank you before heading on his way. Oh, I know, that's cute, right? Yeah, so Lincoln was the first printed on money, and the first sporting a beard, but sadly, as we all know, he was the first president to be assassinated. Now, I'm not going to retell the story about that fateful night at Ford's Theater, but I'd like to share a chilling detail that foreshadowed it. John Wilkes Booth, he wasn't just some random actor who snuck into the theater that night. He was a regular performer there. In fact, just weeks before the assassination, Lincoln attended a performance where Booth was playing a villain. And check this out. During his evil monologues, Booth would turn and deliver his lines directly towards Lincoln's box. Each venomous word, a dress rehearsal for the real tragedy to come. Isn't that creepy? The president was sitting there watching this show, unaware that the actor on stage delivering these venomous lines was secretly plotting his fate. Actually gives me the chills just saying it. Oh, goodness. But Lincoln's legacy isn't defined by how his story ended. It's actually immortalized by the words he spoke eight score and one year ago at Gettysburg. Picture this, a crisp November day in 1863. Thousands gathered at the battlefield turned cemetery, and the main speaker, Edward Evert, had just finished a two-hour oration when Lincoln rose to deliver what he called a few appropriate remarks. Those remarks were just 272 words, and they would become one of the most famous speeches in all of American history. Yeah. Remember that clever opening? Yeah, it's easy to remember, fun to say. All men are created equal was his main message, trying to say that the color of skin didn't matter. And what may be the most oft-repeated line from that speech is that government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Now, I know your history teacher made sure you didn't forget that powerful little phrase. Now, before I wrap us up, I wanted to share a fun story about Lincoln. So he was challenged to a duel once. Yeah. Apparently, he angered a politician after a series of nasty letters and back and forth editorials that were published in the papers. Yeah. And the other guy got so angry at Lincoln, he challenged him to a duel. Yeah. Now apparently, dueling etiquette at the time says that the person being challenged to the duel could pick the weapons they used. So since Lincoln was six feet four inches tall and had really long arms, he chose the broadsword. And the other guy was much shorter, putting him at a huge disadvantage. And before the duel, Lincoln was swinging around his sword, and high in the air, he chopped down a small branch. It was way up in the tree, and the other guy knew he was cooked. So he chickened out and called off the duel. That's right. No blood was shed that day. How about that? All right. So as you know, our bearded hero has definitely been memorialized in a huge way. There's a 19-foot statue of him in the Lincoln Memorial. But that's when he's sitting down. If the statue could stand up, it would actually be 28 feet tall. And then there's the 60-foot tall bust of his face carved into the side of Mount Rushmore. Pretty cool, right? Speaking of these, you want to hear something quirky? Lincoln's hands in the memorial are exact replicas of his actual hands. Yeah, for some strange reason, there were literal casts made of Lincoln's hands while he was in office. So the master carver was able to use these casts to create realistic hands in the memorial. I don't know. I don't make this stuff up. I just read it and then tell you about it. So anyway, from the smallest currency in your pocket to the largest sculpture in America, Abraham Lincoln's face has quite literally been carved into our nation's history. Happy birthday to one of the greatest presidents that's ever lived. What a ride through time today, folks. We uncovered some amazing stories that you never knew existed about people that everyone's heard of. Who knew that the Spauldings actually invented the original basketball and volleyball, along with standardizing all those other balls? Or that the very first ice rink in America was in the Madison Square Garden? And surely one of those many fun tidbits about Lincoln was a first for you, right? Yeah, it's easy to see that without February 12th, our world would look a lot different. Whether it's the shape of our sporting equipment or the shape of our nation itself. Why not share these stories with someone who loves being surprised? And you know what else? If today's stories made you grin, there's so much more waiting for you. That's right, if you're a sports junkie, then you won't want to miss the invention of basketball on December 21st and hear about a couple of Olympic athletes on August 16th who brought home tons of gold medals. If you're ever planning a trip to New York City to check off your iconic landmarks bucket list, make time for the Guggenheim Museum on October 21st and the Radio City Music Hall from December 27th. If blowing out candles for famous birthdays boosts your mood, you won't want to miss singing happy birthday to Confucius on September 28th or Chuck Berry on October 18th. P.S. If you love skating and you revel in scandal, don't miss January 8th's Scandal of the Century. Mm-hmm. Two ice skaters. Check them out. All right, after you share these special stories, you can also mention the following famous folks who celebrate their birthdays today. An actor from one of my favorite movies blows out the candle on this day each year. Do you remember who played Simi, Akeem's sidekick, in the movie Coming to America? Yeah, so Coming to America, Eddie Murphy, he played Akeem, and his meddlesome roommate and sidekick was... Yeah... If you said Arsenio Hall, you nailed it. He was also very popular in the mid-90s when he hosted a late-night talk show. Happy birthday, Arsenio. The OG Wednesday Addams is another year older today. So that's Christina Ritchie. Yep, she was discovered in a school play at the age of eight. And she had her first movie part by her ninth birthday in the movie Mermaids. She's all grown up now, and she played Zelda Fitzgerald in a Netflix series called Z, The Beginning of Everything. I'm going to have to check that one out. Another Truman favorite? Do you know who hosted the game show America Says? Huh, you've never seen that show? That's a shame. I think it's on the Game Show Network still. Anyway, John Michael Higgins adds another notch to his belt today. I think he's now hosting the game show Split Second, so you can check him out there and you'll recognize him right away. And then someone you may not actually recognize when you see her, but you've probably heard her before. Do you know the name Tara Strong?

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Yeah,

Truman:

I don't know, maybe. But she's the voice behind over 80 different characters from cartoons and movies and video games. Her most famous voice is probably Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls. And then two famous birthdays from history are household names with Abraham Lincoln, who we covered, and Charles Darwin, who we also covered in the past. Yeah, we featured him on the December 27th episode. So if you want to hear the story behind the theory of evolution, that one is worth your time. And then the 50th most famous person born today, according to famousbirthdays.com, is someone that most people have heard of, RG3. Yes, the Washington football team, or whatever they're called these days, has a number of famous quarterbacks, and Robert Griffin III is on that list. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2011 and was the NFL's Rookie of the Year in 2012. And he actually played eight years in the NFL. But sadly, he wasn't the same after a knee injury changed his career. So February 12th is lost penny day. Yeah. And the point of this day is to gather up your pennies from wherever you've left them and donate them to a cause because every penny counts. But before you dump those pennies into a coin star machine, here's a fun option for a handful of them. Create a team building activity. Yeah, so you gather a cup full of pennies, making sure you have one from each different year. And I'm pretty confident that your jar in the cupboard or that penny dish in the junk drawer has pennies from at least 40 different years, going all the way back to the 70s. And then all you do is pass the cup around the table and have each person pick a random penny. Then give them a moment to think, because they're going to describe what was happening in their life during the year shown on the penny. Yeah, it's pretty fun. Off you go. Share your stories. I'm telling you, it's a fun one. Today is also Hug Day. And that's an okay day by itself, right? Hug Day? But it's actually a day in a whole series of days. Yes, the Cupid's Cartel, who pushes us to spend more and more money on the Valentine's Day holiday, created an entire week. And Hug Day is the sixth day in a series leading up to the big one, Valentine's Day. But what the heck, hugs don't cost any money. So go find someone you care about and give them a hug today. If you're a foodie, then you'll be happy to know it's also Plum Pudding Day. I've never tried this dessert somehow, but I learned that the very best recipes call for allowing the final product to sit and age for four to six weeks. That's what it says. I also read that the recipe calls for raisins or currants as the fruit, not plums. Huh. All right. So apparently back in the day, raisins were called plums. I don't know. I didn't research what plums used to be called, so who knows? If you know, share. Send me a note. All right, so you need a great gift idea for your loved one? Well, in addition to retelling the stories you just learned about on this day in history, you can have them open up a gift that is customized to their birthday. And I have several great ideas for you, and as always, I'm sharing links in the show notes. And most days, I make the claim that these gifts are so unique, there's no way your loved one will have one. And today is no exception. Now you might think, wait a second, our first segment was sports equipment, right? Doesn't everyone own a ball or glove or racket? Wait a second, I'm willing to bet not everyone has one of those old red rubber dodgeballs from the elementary school days, right? You can get one of them with the Spalding logo stamped on it. That'd be cool. And then you can celebrate the ice rink invention by getting your loved one synthetic ice. Yeah, there's these plastic pieces that you puzzle them together and turn a wide open room or driveway or any open space you have into a skating surface. Yeah, synthetic ice. Check them out. They're in the show notes. And if your loved one likes desk trinkets, there are Abraham Lincoln busts and bobbleheads that would be a great addition to their collection. And the famous folks born today all have some great movies and shows and wall hangings that are good gift ideas. Similarly, today's special holidays have good gift ideas. For Penny Day, you could get them a penny collector wall hanging or portfolio. Some people have those for quarters, but do you have them for a penny? And then here's an awesome idea for Hug Day. Get them one of those sleeping pods called Hug Sleep. Yeah, you slide into it like a sleeping bag and it hugs you up nice and snug, helping you drift right off to sleep. But if you really want to up your gift-giving game, you have the chance to make someone's birthday special because you could dedicate a personalized shout-out right here on this podcast. And they'll be memorialized forever.

Intro music:

Yeah,

Truman:

I can do the shout-out for you if you email me their name and something fun, or you can do your own shout-out by using the SpeakPipe link that's available in the show notes. Today, I'm giving the shout-out to a great friend and mentor of mine, Steve. He's helped shape my personal and professional life, and he's always been there for me throughout all the years. Thanks, Steve, for your open mind and your unique perspective on life. Appreciate it. Now, as always, if you have a story that just needs to be shared about any day in the past, send me an email and let's connect. And guess what? The votes are in. That's right. In my last episode, I asked folks to share with me if they prefer my approach of publishing shows about this day on this day versus just picking some random day of the year and publishing whatever day it happens to be. So thanks for the feedback, folks. We are sticking with the tried and true pattern. But we have some flexibility this summer and fall, so if there's something you're dying to hear about, or if there's some origin story that you just want to hear, send me a note. We'll see if we can work that in to the schedule. We've got Hard Pretzel Day coming. That's going to be fun. But what else do you want to hear about? Anyway, in the meantime... I'm going to be hyping my next episode to everyone who will listen. I plan to publish on March 1st, the start of the 2025 Iditarod race. And the episode will be celebrating the very first edition of that race from March 3rd, 1973. And guess what? I had the opportunity to interview one of the 35 mushers competing in that race. Oh, yeah. So you'll actually get to hear from an actual Iditarod racer and hear the stories about him and his team of dogs and cheer them on while the race is taking place while you're listening to the episode. How about that? It's going to be cool. Hopefully not too cold that our man Bailey gets frostbite, which he has gotten before. But more to come. All right, thanks for listening. And like I said, on January 19th, you need to make 2025 an epic year. So go get to it. 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.