DayStrider: Tales from a Time Traveler

Mar 27th: Knot Your Average Heroes

• Episode 24

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Heroes come in all shapes and sizes!  Some hold communities together when tragedy strikes - while others flex their 24 inch biceps!  Either way, our world would be a whole lot different without the heroics that took place on March 27th.  Today’s stories prove that strength and staying power come from the most unexpected places!

  • When North America’s biggest earthquake struck, Genie Chance transformed from a part-time radio reporter into Alaska's beating heart during chaos and uncertainty.
  • Would you believe that the infamous sleeper hold is actually real?  And that it was used by one of Professional Wrestling’s biggest heroes to actually knock a TV host unconscious - live on air! 
  • Finally, we’ll help you solve this fun little riddle:

I'm needed at the ends but not in the middle, Solving my purpose isn't much of a riddle.

I'm handled each day, yet ignored in plain sight. Without me a simple act becomes quite a fight.

Kings had me made of gold to flaunt royal flair, But I’m usually quite plain and paired with a pair.

When I’m broken or missing, things start to fray, and I’m called by a word that you never did say.


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 for that sunrise service to finally get going.  If you need some great gift ideas, we have those too (along with links to where you can find them on Amazon).

Fun links from today’s stories (these links worked in early-2025 - not sure how long the links will be available):

The rest is under construction!



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 02:

Welcome, Seeker. It's March 27th, and we're going to kick today off with a riddle. So put your thinking cap on and turn up the volume just a bit. Are you ready? Here we go. I'm needed at the ends, but not in the middle. Solving my purpose isn't much of a riddle. I'm handled each day, yet ignored in plain sight. Without me, a simple act becomes quite a fight. Kings had me made of gold to flaunt royal flair, but I'm usually quite plain and paired with a pair. When I'm broken or missing, things start to fray, and I'm called by a word that you never did say. You want to hear that again? Well, just hit the back button a couple times and give it another listen, because it's tricky. And if you can't get it, I'll drop some hints between the segments and then reveal the answer and why it's connected with March 27th. All right, well, let's get to it. Today's journey begins in Alaska, where North America's most powerful earthquake shattered a city. We'll meet the heroic mother of three who stepped up to become the voice that held the entire community together. Then we're going to flash forward to the 80s pro wrestling scene and meet an entirely different kind of hero, one whose mania is going to run wild on you. And finally, we'll answer that riddle as we zoom in on one of history's tiniest heroes, a simple invention that's been saving us from frustration for thousands of years, even though you probably didn't even remember what it's called. The portal's humming, history's secrets are waiting, and our Daystriding adventure begins now. Grab your curiosity, and let's flex our way into the past. 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. Heroes come in many fascinating varieties. There are those larger than life figures who bend ordinary moments to their will. And then there are the accidental heroes where everyday people are running an errand with their son in one minute and holding an entire community together in the next. Today's hero was a part-time radio reporter and mother of three when she woke up. But 59 hours later, she was the darling of Alaska. Proving that sometimes disaster finds the hero the world didn't know it needed. Tragedy struck Anchorage, Alaska on this day in 1964. The most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America shook the city and the surrounding area for almost five minutes, laying waste to the city, knocking down buildings, splitting apart roads, and shaking its citizens literally and figuratively, plunging them into a snowy darkness that would last for days. On the scene that long weekend was part-time radio reporter Jeannie Chance, and she became Alaska's voice of calm in the chaos, broadcasting from a damaged public safety building using car batteries for power. As you can imagine, that day started off like many other in Anchorage. It was actually Good Friday, so it was more special than others. People had taken off work to get their Easter weekend started. Folks were prepping for big Sunday meals. Churches were getting their final rehearsals in for their big Easter ceremonies. And Jeannie was actually driving into town on an errand with her 13-year-old son when the earthquake hit. And that was around 5.30 in the evening. She was stopped at an intersection, and at first when the car jolted up and slammed down, Jeannie thought a tire must have blown. But then she realized that the entire roadway ahead of her was rolling up and down, and the buildings lining the street, they were literally swaying as glass windows shadowed and cracks began to form everywhere. She couldn't put her head around it. And you've seen how this looks in movies, right? You've seen what happens with the buildings and the chaos. But the folks living through the quake also describe feelings of panic and helplessness. Of not being able to walk or move because the ground was undulating up and down and beneath you and knocking you over. And the fear and panic streaking through your body as you tried to escape the basement of a building for fear that it's going to collapse on you. Or wondering, where's your loved one? What's happening to them right now? Are they safe? Crazy, right? Imagine what Jeannie and her son must have felt when minutes after the quake ended, the front half of the brand new five-story JCPenney building collapsed. the one they were headed to on their errand, literally broke off from the rest of the building and fell and crumbled to the ground, smashing the cars that were lining the street out front. That's where they would have parked. And in these moments, Jeannie's radio reporting instincts took over. Her mind was racing with what to do next. How do I report on this event? And even as chaos was unfolding right in front of her eyes, she grabbed Winston Jr. and headed to the public safety building just blocks away. And thankfully, it was undamaged from the quake. She knew that this would be the epicenter of activity as the city began the major effort to recover. To restore power, control water damage, keep the streets safe from looters. Yes, city officials were worried about looters even back in 1964. And most importantly, the rescue missions to find anyone and everyone who may be buried in the rubble somewhere. It took her about an hour, but Jeannie got her son home, changed into her cold gear, hugged and kissed her family goodbye, and then got back to the public safety building ready to start broadcasting. And in the meantime, the KENI radio engineers got their antenna tower working again. It was only moderately damaged, lucky for them, and running on generator power, and she started to broadcast. She found a desk at the public safety building that was unoccupied and just began talking. She addressed the public in a steady and calm voice because her mission was to keep everyone else from panicking, even though, in her own mind, it was racing in a hundred different directions. And she was trying to process this disaster herself. And she was in a position where she had to make snap decisions about what she would say on air versus what she should keep to herself at that moment in time for the good of the listeners. For example, while making her way to the public safety building, she witnessed a woman's body had been severed in half. Probably not something to mention at that moment on air. However, she also observed strangers struggling to heave a crumbling building off of a car to rescue someone trapped inside. A great story to share about her fellow citizens working together as heroes. Yeah, Argenie was now acting as a public servant, as well as the community mom during these chaotic hours. And city officials, they would be hurrying to their next thing. They'd stop and hand her sheets of paper with messages that they wanted to get out, as well as orders that they might have had for their rescue teams or their engineering teams. And at the same time, concerned citizens looking for lost family members would track her down and beg her to announce their concerns. And guess what? We actually have recordings of her broadcast that someone was able to dig up. So you can hear those instructions in her own words.

Speaker 01:

We have a very important message for all electricians and plumbers of Fort Richardson. All electricians and plumbers of Fort Richardson, please go to building 700 immediately. All electricians and plumbers of Fort Rich, go to building 700 immediately.

Speaker 02:

As well as some of the community messages. I'll just run a string of them for you here.

Speaker 01:

Howard Forbes would like it be known that he will be at Mike Whitmore's. A message to Kenneth Sadler. Mrs. Sadler is fine. Kenneth Sadler is out in the bush and listens on a transistor radio. Mrs. Sadler is fine. A message to Walter Hart at Kenai. A message to Walter Hart at Kenai. Lee Hart is fine. Jim Murphy and Bill Somerville at Point Hope. Your families are A-O-K. Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Fisher... That's pretty neat stuff, right? Now, of

Speaker 02:

course, at this time, Jeannie's husband was very supportive of her efforts and encouraged her to go out and do a great job. which was notable for that time in America's history. You're probably thinking, duh, he better be supportive. But that's not the mainstream thinking in the mid-60s. I'd like to give you a little perspective. So a few years before this fateful day, There happened to be a harrowing shipwreck, and Jeannie raced up the coast to cover it and interviewed the survivors and provided amazing coverage for her fellow Alaskans. The rest of America wanted this scoop too, but when a New York news anchor received the tapes to share the story, he actually called back to Alaska and asked if a male could redo the interviews Jeannie had done and retell the story. Because, you know... News like this just wouldn't sound right coming from a woman. Really? Yeah, I know. It's hard to swallow. But that's how things were back then. Jeannie was a woman and a mom trying to make her way in a man's world as a radio journalist. But her family knew she had the goods. I found this fun little quote that her daughter Jan, who was then eight, reportedly told a neighborhood boy. You see, my mother is not like yours. She doesn't stay at home and bake cookies. She works. She's Jeannie Chance. That's pretty impressive for an eight-year-old girl. Anyway, the rest of the state and even the rest of the nation got to know Jeannie Chance. For 59 hours, she broadcast from that public safety building. The KENI sister stations in Fairbanks had picked up our broadcasts and then relayed them out to their surrounding areas. And same thing happened in Juneau. And some of the radio waves made their way to the lower 48, where they were relayed out to a good bit of the rest of America. One radio journalist from Nebraska said, picked up some of the story, and then called Jeannie once the telephones were restored. And she gave him the scoop right there over the phone. And he had the presence of mind to broadcast that live on the air as they talked. And his broadcast was recorded and shared with other radio stations. And eventually it was played on 111 different stations all around the world. Yeah, and different news agencies, they sent reporters to Alaska to cover the story. And once the airport was repaired enough to allow planes to land, the very first wave of reporters would head straight to the public safety building and track down Jeannie Chance, asking for her by name. She was stunned. Yeah, over that weekend, she became the voice of Alaska. In those three days, she communicated thousands of messages and reunited hundreds of families by broadcasting their desperate notes. She coordinated rescue efforts through her microphone when all other communications had failed. And perhaps most remarkably, she restored calm to a city that had literally been ripped apart at its seams. When the aftershocks finally subsided and Jeannie signed off for her final time, she had no idea that she'd just catapulted herself into Alaska's history books. The Alaska legislature passed a special citation honoring her work. She was named Alaskan of the Year, and her broadcasting efforts during the disaster were recognized by a number of journalism organizations across the country. Yeah. Jeannie's measured approach in such a volatile time made her one of the most trusted public figures in Alaska. So much so that four years later, she was elected to the House of Representatives, and several years after that, to the State Senate, where she championed education and women's rights. You go, Jeannie. Her legacy reminds us of the importance of doing what is right in times of upheaval. And you can ask anyone who was huddled around their battery-powered radios during those terrifying days, and they'll tell you Jeannie's real achievement wasn't measured in all those accolades. It was measured in the collective sigh of relief. In those dark hours, when the earth wouldn't stop moving and families couldn't find each other, they clung to Jeannie's words like a lifeline thrown across the chaos. They tell you, if Jeannie says we'll be okay, then by God, we'll be okay. And years later, when asked about her marathon broadcast, Jeannie simply said, I was just doing my job. And that's the thing about accidental heroes. They never see themselves coming. They just show up when the world needs them the most. Roses are red and boots are brown. Did my riddle cause you to scowl or frown? If you went with shoelace, nope, that's not it. A hint's coming your way in a short little bit. I want you to join me on a date. That's right. And we're going to the movies. And all you need is five bucks. What? Yeah, because it's 1982 and school's out for the summer and we're going to the movies. Yeah, the Eye of the Tiger. It's been playing on the radio and it's a great song. And the Rocky franchise just came out with its third installment. And we've got to go. I heard it was awesome. Much different than those first two movies. Are you ready? Yeah, let's go. The ticket's only going to cost us $2.50. Our bag of popcorn, $2. And guess what? We'll have two quarters left over. So we'll pop over to the arcade after the flick. And fill the time while we're waiting for mom to come pick us up. It's going to be awesome.

Unknown:

Yeah.

Speaker 02:

And 20 minutes into the movie, we meet the ultimate male. That's right. Rocky is doing a charity event with pro wrestling's heavyweight champion of the world, Thunder Lips. And the six foot seven chiseled monster of a man towers over Rocky, who's actually only five feet eight. It's an awesome show of intimidation. And Thunderlips makes an immediate impression. He's taunting the crowd, flexing his massive biceps, kissing the sky, and posing with his posse of ladies in the corner. It's such a great scene, I'm going to leave a link to it in the show notes. And at the ding of the bell, Thunderlips goes ballistic on Rocky. Body slams and leg drops and throwing him off the ropes and all kinds of crazy wrestling moves. And eventually, he picks him up high in the air and holds him above his head like he's using Rocky for a workout. And then he literally throws him out of the ring into the crowd. You can hear Rocky shouting, catch me. And just like that, in a mere seven minutes, the incredible Hulk Hogan, who played Thunder Lips in the movie, catapulted professional wrestling from an obscure regional wannabe form of entertainment into nationwide fame. Basically, the sport of professional wrestling went viral thanks to Hogan's performance. Now, when Stallone was working on the script for this scene in the movie, he went to Vince McMahon. You recognize that name, don't you? Well, today you do. Back in 1982, very few of you might have ever even heard of Vince McMahon. Anyway, Stallone asked for the biggest and boldest wrestler in the business. And it was easy to point to Hulk Hogan, who was an up-and-comer learning to command attention in the ring and get crowds on their feet. But here's the crazy part. McMahon didn't actually want Hogan to do the scene because of kayfabe. What did you say? Kayfabe? Yeah, I'll explain that in a second. So Hogan was faced with a decision. Hollywood or pro wrestling? And he picked Hollywood. And at the time, this got him fired. But in the end, the WWF, which is now the WWE, is so glad he made this move to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. And that's awesome for them, right? But what's the deal with this kayfabe thing? Well, pro wrestling followed a strict code called kayfabe, which meant that no one would ever reveal that it was fake. Pro wrestlers were supposed to stay in character at all times and tell everyone that everything was real. And McMahon enforced this especially. He would fire people and discredit them if they broke the code. Yeah, he and everyone else worried that the code would be broken when Hogan made it obvious in the movie that it actually wasn't real and instead was entertainment.

Unknown:

Ha ha ha.

Speaker 02:

But what really happened that day was literally millions of people who were just like me, who already thought pro wrestling was fake and never really paid much attention, we tuned in. We wanted to see what this Hulk Hogan thing was all about. And we got hooked by the heroes as well as the villains at that time. And pro wrestling's popularity soared and the sport entered its golden era in the mid-80s with Hulkamania leading the way. Yes, that's right. The Hulk was quickly rehired, and he led the way, brother. Let me try one of Hogan's catchphrases here. What you gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you? That hurt my throat a little. Yep, and Hulkamania took off, and it was so incredibly popular that in April of 1985, Hulk Hogan actually made the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. In fact, he's the only active pro wrestler to have ever had that honor. which is pretty amazing. But 1985 was a crazy year for the Hulkster for a very different reason. And it happened on this day in history. Hulk Hogan and Mr. T were traipsing across the nation, promoting the first ever WrestleMania. WrestleMania I, that's right. And one of their stops was on a comedy show hosted by Richard Belzer. And backstage, Belzer was trying to get the two to admit to him that wrestling wasn't real. But they weren't taking the bait. Instead, they were getting frustrated as Belzer needled them and asked them questions and they just wouldn't answer. And actually, they brought their frustration with them out onto the stage when they got in front of the cameras. And Mr. T basically shut down and went silent and just scowled at Belzer. And of course, Hogan's frustration was mounting right up to the point where Belzer challenged him by saying, hey, put a move on me. Let's see if it's real. Go ahead. Try it. Put a move on me. And Hogan refused at first. He didn't want to because Belzer wasn't trained. But the crowd was taunting him and Belzer was chirping away like a tough guy. So Hogan got talked into it. What he should have done, he just walked off the set. But what happened? was Hogan put him in a sleeper hold. And when you re-watch the video, it appears that it actually worked and knocked Belzer out. And when you listen to Hogan's autobiography, you learn that he actually did apply enough pressure in the right spots to make the sleeper hold work. Belzer actually passed out, and Hogan let him drop to the floor. On the video, you can tell that Belzer was out cold, and you can hear the thunk as his head hits the ground. And what's fun about this scene is Mr. T, he remained calm, sitting there saying, oh, he's going to be fine. He's just asleep. He'll wake up in a second. Just give him one more second. He'll be fine. And eventually, Belzer pops up off the floor and after an awkward pause, sends the show to a commercial break. And then, as he turns to head off stage, you can actually see blood running down the back of his head onto his jacket. He definitely got injured when he fell. Hogan took the kayfabe stuff seriously that day, much to his regret. Because even though Belzer blew the incident off that day, I guess the popularity of WrestleMania the following week and his greed got the best of him, and he sued Hogan for $5 million. What? Yeah, $5 million. Of course, they settled, but I still think it was a big settlement. That's crazy, right? We have a minute, so before I let you go, I wanted to share how Hogan got the name Hulk. Because at this time in history, the Hulk was actually a green monster played by Lou Ferrigno on the TV show The Incredible Hulk. That's right, you youngsters out there, there's an OG Hulk way before today's Marvel version of the character. Anyway, so this is a couple years before the Rocky movie, when Hogan was actually called Terry Boulder. His birth name was Terry Bolea, but that was too boring, so he went by the name Terry Boulder. And he was on a talk show with Lou Ferrigno, who I just mentioned, and the host of the show commented that Terry was much bigger than Lou. He actually was a little taller, and his arms were a bit bigger. And Terry responded... That's because I'm the real Hulk. And when that show aired, the name stuck. People began to call him Terry the Hulk Boulder. And eventually, Vince McMahon had a spark of alliteration and started billing him as Hulk Hogan. Yeah, so let me try my Hulkamania voice here to wrap us up. All right, here we go. Listen up, Daystrider Nation. What you just heard wasn't what you wanted. It was what you needed, brother. Thunderlips didn't just shake Rocky Balboa, he shook America to its core. So tell me, little Hulkamaniacs, what you gonna do when this podcast runs wild on you? A time traveler's delight and food for your mind. Are you ready for your hint? I promise, it's kind. When threading your boots, you perform a draglet, and that word you see, it rhymes with baglet. So we opened today's show with a riddle. And then, between our heroes, Genie and the Hulkster, there was a fun little hint. And then just now, we gave you the remaining bit you needed to remember the name of that little plastic covering at the end of your shoelaces. because it was escaping you all along, right? Well, if you've watched Phineas and Ferb with your kids, or as a kid, you might remember them featuring the aglet in one of their episodes. Yeah, they did a Tip of the Day song, belting out A-G-L-E-T, don't forget it, as a concert song. Yeah. What makes this tiny invention so worthy of its own musical number? Well, it's because we've all experienced that moment of frustration when an aglet breaks and suddenly threading those shoelaces becomes nearly impossible. Yeah. And today we're going to learn what our tiny plastic hero has been hiding right under our noses. It won't surprise you to learn that its origins are French. Oh, way the word. Aguillette means needle tip. So let's shine some light on this overlooked and often unthought of invention. In just a few millimeters of material, the aglet embodies the perfect marriage of form and function. And we've collectively agreed to forget it even exists at all. That is until one breaks, like I said before, and suddenly you're stabbing those eyelets with what looks like the business end of a miniature witch's broom. Yeah, if you have a tall pair of boots with a half a dozen eyelets and you need to run your laces through and they fray apart at the end, well, it doesn't take long until you're invoking your inner sailor's vocabulary. Yeah, the aglet is a perfect example of you don't know what you've got until it's gone. So let's bounce from the riddle to trivia time. Any guesses as to how old shoelaces are? Go ahead, grab a number. 500 years? Nope. 2,000 years? Nope. There's actual evidence that mankind has been using shoelaces for much longer. So when hikers discovered Otzi the Iceman back in 1991, who was frozen for 5,000 years in the Alps, archaeologists were stunned to find that he wore primitive leather boots with laces. Imagine that. Back when woolly mammoths still roamed the Earth, our ancestors were already dealing with the same shoelace problems we have today. The only difference, poor Otzi didn't have aglets. which probably made getting dressed in the Ice Age that much more challenging. By the way, we're actually going to meet Otzi on September 19th. But for now, know that shoelaces actually predate the pyramids. The aglet officially came to be only 230 years ago when on this day, Harvey Kennedy is credited with patenting the modern metal tip shoelace. But unofficially, people have been using lace coverings long before the Age of Enlightenment. Yeah, humanity's relationship with aglets is like a love story spanning millennia. First came the awkward dating phase, where Egyptians were experimenting with wax and resin 3,000 years ago. Then the Romans got fancy with bronze tips, showing off a little to keep interest up. But the real commitment ceremony happened when the European royalty turned aglets into literal jewelry with gold and silver tips that became coveted status symbols. Now, to be fair, the kings and queens needed their ornate aglets for more than just shoes. Because remember, back then, before the zipper, clothes were held together by buttons or string laces. And so tunics and breeches and cloaks were all in need of laces. adorned with fancy aglets, of course. And during my research on aglets, I came across the fact that King Louis XIV had a rather large collection of aglets for his clothing, and many were quite ornate. And we know from other readings that the Sun King had a very large staff to maintain his pomp, each with specialized duties. So it's plausible that at one point in time, someone had the title of Keeper of the Royal Aglets. Imagine having that job. Yeah. I also came across the mention about a duel in the 1500s because one nobleman copied the unique aglets of another nobleman. That's crazy. But what I couldn't find was the details on this one. So I thought, hey, why not glorify today's unsung hero with a fun little tall tale? So here we go. We're in London. The year is 1568. The fashionable but hot-headed Lord Fitzwilliam Fancy Pants strutted through the court, sporting revolutionary spiral-patterned gold aglets that caught the light with every step. And the lovely Lady Joanna Glitterlove couldn't tear her eyes from his dazzling adornments. although she didn't care about Fancy Pants himself. She'd been known to fawn over particularly sparkly nobles, a fact that Fancy Pants mistook for personal admiration. But then enter Sir Smugworth Coppington, blessed with chiseled features and the moral compass of a weathervane. Noticing Glitterlove's aglet fascination, he commissioned identical sparklers, but with one crucial difference. Later, when Coppington sauntered into the court, on the day Glitterlove was in attendance, disaster struck faster than a fraying shoelace. Fancy pants roared across the banquet hall as Glitterlove drifted towards Coppington, like a moth to a flame. Nonsense, replied Coppington with a smirk. Mind spiral clockwise, far superior to the counterclockwise twist in your pedestrian wardrobe. Well, they got into an argument that spiraled out of control from there. Gloves were slapped, honor was questioned, and swords were drawn over what the court chronicler dubbed the most ridiculous reason two men ever attempted murder. The duel left both men with matching scars, but empty arms. For in all the fracas, Glitterlove quite literally bumped into master jeweler Bartholomew Brighteyes, whose eyes sparkled like perfectly cut diamonds whenever he gazed upon her. And they made a perfect match. All right, let's wrap this thing up, shall we? So the next time you're tying your shoes, take a second. to appreciate those tiny plastic tips. These unsung heroes that have literally kept it together throughout all of human history. From Ice Age adventurers to dueling noblemen to cartoon characters, the humble aglet reminds us of a powerful truth. Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference. And maybe that's the real lesson here. In a world obsessed with disruption and the next big thing... Perhaps true genius lies in simply making what already exists work a little better. After all, Harvey actually made quite a bit of money from his improvement. The interwebs say it was over $2.5 million in today's money. So I guess the question is, what small, overlooked problem could you solve that just might change the world? What a ride through time today, folks. We got to meet three totally different kinds of heroes. We witnessed how Jeannie Chance's steady voice blossomed into Alaska's lifeline during 59 hours of chaos. Then we learned how a seven-minute movie scene and one ill-advised sleeper hold changed the trajectory of professional wrestling and its biggest hero. And don't forget that practical hero, that little tiny plastic thingy that keeps your shoelaces from unraveling. It's easy to see that without March 27th, our world just wouldn't be the same. Whether it's how communities come together during disasters, how we entertain ourselves on weekend nights, or how we manage to tie our shoes without losing our minds. And who knew that shoelaces predated the pyramids or that the Hulkster's biceps were bigger than the Incredible Hulk himself? From accidental heroes to tiny plastic saviors, history's greatest stories come in all sizes. Why not share these stories with someone who appreciates the little things? And remember, when life's ground starts shaking beneath your feet, just ask yourself, What you gonna do when Daystrider runs wild on you, brother? Oh, goodness. And you know what else? If today's stories made you grin, there are dozens of other stories waiting for you in our back catalog. Yeah, if you love hearing about amazing women and their accomplishments, then you gotta meet Clara Barton on May 21st and Ella Grasso on January 8th. If larger-than-life sensationalism feel better to you than watching the regular news, you gotta check out Ice Skating's Biggest Scandal, which also happens to be on January 8th. And if you like hearing clues to try to guess what the main story's all about, then you'll enjoy the very first segment of the December 9th episode, which remains our most popular episode of all, where you get to try to figure out the company that I'm talking about. It's a good one. Every day has a story, and they're so much fun. And guess what? We're going to stride through them all until we're done. If you enjoyed the bonus episode about Bailey Vitello and his dog mushing team, then you'll be proud to know that he finished fifth in the 2025 Iditarod. But sadly, Senator, his lead dog, suffered some injuries and had to be pulled from the race. I've heard from Breonna that Senator recovered fully, so that's awesome. But great work, Team Bailey, on that fifth place finish. After you share today's special stories, you can also mention the following famous folks who celebrate their birthdays today. Mariah Carey leads the way for us on March 27th, and I was shocked to learn that she's in her mid-50s. She's hitting that age very well. No offense, Mariah. She's a singer and songwriter who's famous for her vocal range. But I'd throw out that she's most famous for her 1994 rendition of All I Want for Christmas is You. It's a good one. Quentin Tarantino crashes today's party with Blood Splattered Style. The former video store clerk turned cult director revolutionized cinema with his non-linear storytelling in Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. And in true Tarantino fashion, he's promised his upcoming 10th film will be his grand finale. Though, like his movie endings, I'm betting there's a twist coming. And Fergie brings today some Boom Boom Pow! Before conquering charts with the Black Eyed Peas and that iconic gotta get get earworm, she was a child star on Kids Incorporated and later struggled with crystal meth addiction. I didn't know that. The Fergalicious solo artist reinvented herself multiple times, proving that when it comes to pop culture staying power, she's still got it. Gotta get, get, boom, boom, pow. All right, Wilhelm Renschen illuminates our historical birthdays with a discovery that lets us see right through you. Yeah, this German physicist stumbled upon what he called x-rays in 1895 and revolutionized medicine overnight. And guess what? We'll explore his accidental discovery on November 8th. Stay tuned. And the 50th most famous person born today, according to famousbirthdays.com, is Carly Joy. She's described on the website as a selfie and self-portrait picture taker who has earned a following of more than 450,000 people on Instagram. Come on now, really? Yeah, so I went and looked, and she pretty much is a selfie picture taker. Mostly she's in workout clothes and skimpy bathing suits. Maybe what I should do is take a selfie this summer in my bathing suit after I work on my base tan and lose a few pounds. Or maybe I won't do that. Thank you, Truman. You don't want to see that anyway. March 27th is International Whiskey Day. So that's pretty obvious of a day where everyone gathers around to celebrate their favorite whiskey or try a new whiskey. There's Irish, Scotch, Canadian, and Japanese whiskeys. And then there's a corn-based variety called bourbon whiskey. And hiding in there is also Tennessee whiskey, separate because of some kind of filtering. But plenty of varieties to explore, so cheers to that. Today is also Viagra Day. On this day in 1998, Viagra was approved by the FDA for use in America. Now, we all know what that little blue pill is and what it does, but did you know that it was discovered by accident? Yeah, the effects of the pill were actually side effects from what the original drug was intended to do. Imagine being in a room with a bunch of folks all testing some new blood pressure medicine, and suddenly, 30 minutes into the wait, All the men suddenly start to get aroused for no apparent reason at all, and some to much embarrassment, I bet. Yeah, that had to be a funny day. Today is Scribble Day, and it's meant to enjoy the simplicity of scribbling, especially because everyone can do it. And on a deeper level, it's celebrating art and showing that anyone can be an artist. All right. So, you need a great gift idea for your loved one? Well, in addition to retelling the stories that you just heard about this day in history, you can have them open up a gift that's customized to their birthday. And I have several great ideas for you, and as always, you can find links to these in the gift idea section of the show notes. Now, I know I always say that these gift ideas are so unique, there's no way your loved one won't have one of these. And today... Definitely lives up to that standard. Pay attention. Now for sure, the books about the Great Alaskan Earthquake are great reads. But since that event was so long ago, there's really no great Jeannie Chance stuff available out there. But you could bend it a little and just go with her first name and check out The magic genie lamps that I found. They come in all different colors and sizes. And yes, it's a stretch, but hey, make some magic happen here on March 27th. The Hulk Hogan gift ideas, now these are endless. He's got bobbleheads and action figures and t-shirts and posters and plush toys and more. But what was really cool, you can get a shadow box that contains that Sports Illustrated magazine cover that he had from 1985. That's pretty neat. And then there's a really practical gift for the someone who has everything. I bet they don't have a shoelace repair kit with aglets and an aglet crimping tool. Uh-huh, how about that? The famous folks that were born today all have some great books, CDs, or wall hangings that are nice. But I found something really interesting for you. Now I know you put your Christmas stuff away months ago, but you could still get your loved one a Mariah Carey Christmas tree ornament. Yeah, that'd be a fun little thing to have and then a little trivia event for them to have on their tree. Similarly, today's special holidays have unique gift ideas. The whiskey-related gifts are nearly endless. There's actual whiskey and then whiskey smoker kits and special ice cube kits for whiskey drinkers and whiskey glasses and decanters and books and on and on. So pretty much anything whiskey. And then there's also Viagra-related gift ideas. Some prescription and some not. But be careful if you're at work and you're flipping through those links because there's some interesting things there. So anyway, my point is, no more hemming and hawing about the person who has everything. Because if they celebrate March 27th, they do not have some of these things. I am sure of it. And as always, if none of those customized gifts for folks who adore March 27th work for you, well... You can up your gift-giving game and make someone's birthday really special. How's that? Well, you could dedicate a shout-out right here on this podcast, and they'll be memorialized forever. I can do the shout-out for you if you send me an email, give me their name and something fun you want to share, or you can do your own shout-out by using the SpeakPipe link that's available in the show notes. Now, today's shout-out is from a daughter to her mom, who's a regular listener, so she'll recognize the voice.

Speaker 00:

Hi, Mom. I love you. Happy birthday. You're the best mom ever. I appreciate everything you do and all you do for me. I love you so much.

Speaker 02:

Oh, that's cute, right? And yes, happy 29th birthday there, Mom. This is what, your dozenth 29th birthday? Something close to that. Anyway, as I mentioned, you can find the link to do that in the show notes. And as always, if you have a story that just needs to be told about any day in the past, send me an email and let's connect. All right, ding, ding, ding. Time to actually put Whiskey Day to good use and say cheers to, well, to all of you. Thanks to you, my faithful listeners, we've eclipsed 2,000 downloads. That is a fantastic achievement and one I'm really happy about. So thank you, the wonderful listeners, for this achievement. We're on our way to 3,000. Also, I watch and listen to content about podcasting, and I was surprised to learn how well we're doing. But not only that, how much upside for us remains. Thanks to all of you out there, the Daystrider podcast is in the top half of all active podcasts on the Buzzsprout platform. That's pretty cool. But what's scary is... According to one stat site, there are four and a half million podcasts in the whole world. Four and a half million. That's a lot of podcasts. And the site that I use for my bonus episode interviews, they say that in the last three days, 85,000 new shows were launched.

Speaker 03:

What?

Speaker 02:

Yeah, you heard that right. 85,000 shows seems insane to me. We'll have to see how many of those new shows gutted out and produced 24 regular episodes along with 9 bonus episodes, huh? Yeah, that's right. I'm about to get my Hulkamania voice back out, brother. But the main point here is, thank you so much for listening. And if you share this episode or any of them with a friend or family member, you will definitely make a difference. So please get out there and share away. Or I'm gonna come find you, brother. 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.