Jan 26th: Defying Gravity

If I told you someone survived a terrorist bombing and a six mile fall without a parachute - would you believe me?  Well, January 26th is full of stories that shouldn't have worked - but actually did!   

• In 1979, CBS took a gamble on a show about moonshine-running cousins in an orange car with a Confederate flag. Critics hated it, but 40 million viewers disagreed. The Dukes of Hazzard became a cultural phenomenon where the real star got 35,000 fan letters a month—and it wasn't even human.. 
• In 1972, Vesna Vulović wasn't supposed to be on Flight 367. A scheduling mix-up put her on a plane that would explode at 33,000 feet. While 27 people died, she survived the longest fall without a parachute in history. 
• Today is Peanut Brittle Day - and the origin story is lost to history.  Many suggest it was invented by accident.  Here’s my guess:  1891, Georgia, a woman desperate to belong grabbed the wrong ingredient in a moment of panic.  Check out this fun little origin story and see for yourself how the Ladies Auxiliary reacted.  

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 wild, engaging tales about unlikely heroes, impossible survivals, and accidental masterpieces? You'll walk away rethinking what's actually possible when everything goes wrong. 

Fun links from today's stories (these links worked in early-2026 - not sure how long the links will be available):

• 11 minutes of the General Lee jumping gullies, cars, trucks and Rosco P. Coltrain over and over!
• What the OG Lotus 1-2-3 looked like!

Gift ideas for folks who celebrate January 26th:

Watch all 7 seasons of The Dukes of Hazzard or show off the General Lee.  Including that fun car horn!

Check out Vesna’s life story when her DC-9 exploded.

Celebrate Peanut Brittle Day.

Posters & movies of today’s famous folks:  Ellen Degeneres, Eddie Van Halen, Wayne Gretzky and Bessie Coleman.

Fun gift options to celebrate today’s holidays: Green

~~~ DayStrider Fun ~~~

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

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro & Podcast Trailer
• 2:14 Dukes of Hazzard
• 10:51 Vesna Vulovic
• 20:20 Peanut Brittle
• 31:37 Famous Birthdays & Gift Ideas

Transcript

Truman Pastworthy: 0:02

Welcome Seeker. Did you know that on this day in 1972, a flight attendant fell six miles from an exploding airplane and lived to tell about it? Seems impossible, right? And speaking of defying the odds, a TV show, the execs didn't even care about changed Friday nights forever, starting on this day in 1979. That's right. Today is January twenty sixth, and we're celebrating some amazing gravity-defying feats. Our journey starts in Hazard County, Georgia, when the General Lee jumped its way into family rooms and the hearts of all Americans, whether you're redneck or not. And then we'll make our way to Central Europe to learn how a Guinness World Record was also set on this day when Vesna Vulovic survived a terrorist attack, a perilous fall, and all kinds of broken bones. Finally, we'll stride back to Georgia to hear my version of how the peanut brittle was invented. My way of celebrating peanut brittle day. The portal's humming, history secrets are waiting, and our day striding adventure begins now. So grab your curiosity and let's take to the air together. Yeehaw. 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. If I were to challenge you to come up with a weekly Netflix show that involved action and layered in comedy, where do you think you would start? Would you consider using rednecks who were moonshiners and loved outrunning and out foxing the law? I don't know, but surely you'd layer in some sexual sizzle with a hot actress who struts around in Daisy Dukes, right? Well, on this day in 1979, CBS did exactly that. They got some good old boys who were meaning no harm, who'd been in trouble with the law since the day they were born. And not only that, they created an infamous character in the spirit of the Batmobile and the mystery machine, whose horn you'll instantly recognize. In all its bright orange glory, it became an instant icon and was featured in every episode but one of the Dukes of Hazard. Yep, so today we're striding back to the early 80s, when the Dukes of Hazard captured the minds and imaginations of millions of viewers on Friday nights. In fact, it became so popular that in some southern states they actually moved their Friday night lights, high school football games, to Saturday so folks could tune in. Now let that sink in a moment, because Friday night football is nearly a religion in places like Georgia and Alabama. And since this was way before the days of video on demand, even before VCR taping was a thing, if you missed a show, well, you just missed it. So they rescheduled their precious football games for a TV show. And what a show it was. With Bo and Luke Duke having their way with Boss Hog and his bungling deputies, Enos and Roscoe P. Co. Train. And of course, the teenage boys definitely didn't want to miss any glimpses of those OG Daisy Dukes. That Daisy Duke wore herself. Mm-hmm. That's right. Here's something that'll shock you. The Dukes of Hazard almost never happened. The CBS execs needed a filler show because they had a gap in their Friday night lineup. So they called on Guy Waldron to come up with something fun. And it was just supposed to be nine weeks long, not even a full season. CBS didn't even promote the show in the beginning. They just put it on the air. Well, as many of you know, the show went on to set viewing records. Crazy, right? And even crazier, since Waldron had very little time to get creative, he basically ripped off many of the concepts from his own movie called Moonrunners about a family of moonshiners. And he hired Wayland Jennings to write the peep song.

Waylon Jennings: 5:20

Just a good old voice.

Truman Pastworthy: 5:22

And also be the show's marriage. And he wanted car chases and car jumping scenes. Lots and lots of car jumping. And Waldron originally wanted to feature a Pontiac Firebird, the hugely popular car that was featured in the movie Smokey and the Bandit, starring Burt Reynolds. And not a surprise, that movie also included car chases and bungling cops. But that car wasn't the best for jumping ramps. It turns out that the 1969 Dodge Charger was better engineered for this sort of action. And so a star was born. They painted it bright orange, welded the door shut, gave it an iconic horn that everyone recognized. My goodness, that car looked good flying through the air, jumping over streams and gullies, and Roscoe's police car blocking the road. Of course, all those jumps were disastrous to the actual car, basically destroying the metal frames on pretty much every single jump. Which brings up another interesting stat. They actually ruined over 300 of these chargers to make the show over the seven seasons of jumping. That's almost two ruined General E's per episode, people. Now remember, in the beginning, they didn't care because it was only going to be for nine weeks. They had plenty of Dodge Chargers to play with. Imagine this. You're sitting there on the front porch enjoying a cold beer, and a helicopter shows up out of nowhere and starts hovering over your 1969 charger you've got parked in the driveway. What the heck? Yeah, they actually hired pilots to low fly over the countryside looking for 68 and 69 chargers that they could buy, paint, and well, just ruin on the next jump. Yeah. And of course, these car jumps were dreams come true to the stunt drivers. Sometimes getting over 40 feet in the air, which is easily taller than your average two-story house. And these were all real jump scenes in the beginning. They shied away from special effects back in these days. So they had to rig the cars to look real good up in the air. They modified the front suspension and made other adjustments to capture those stunning jump scenes from every angle. If you've never seen the show, you can check these out in some YouTube videos. I left a link in the notes for you. Now surprisingly, less than two dozen of the original General Lee's still exist today. And they are worth a pretty penny, folks. Some of them about $150,000. Whew. But the sad fact is most of those ruined cars were just smashed up in junkyards. Gone forever. But you know what did survive the test of time? Daisy Dukes. That's right. Cut off short shorts. And what's truly funny to me is today's kids Google, why are they called Daisy Dukes? Well, they get a little surprised when they learn that these were Catherine Bach's do-it-yourself invention just for this television show. Catherine played Daisy Duke, and she actually cut up her own jean shorts for that very first episode. And they turned out to be so provocative that the CBS execs required that she wear flesh-colored pantyhose during filming. Yeah. And from there, those cutoff shorts became a part of American fashion, and we've called them Daisy Dukes ever since. They've become iconic. They've been wrapped about by Deuce in 1993. Look at those girls with the Daisy Dukes on. You remember that song? And Katy Perry mentions them in her California Girls song in 2010.

Katy Perry: 9:25

Daisy Dukes Keys.

Truman Pastworthy: 9:27

All from the good old days. Now, by the time the Dukes ended their run in 1985, they piled up almost 150 episodes over seven seasons. And at its peak, it was the number two rated show on television, right behind the show Dallas. In fact, the Dukes and the Ewings paired up to create one of the most powerful two-hour blocks in TV history. Now don't worry, J.R. Ewing, he's going to be featured in our March 21st episode. Anyway, the Dukes of Hazard proved something that Hollywood keeps forgetting. Sometimes the biggest hits aren't the ones anyone plans for. They're the ones that just connect with the heart and humor, and a bright orange Dodge charger flying through the air. CBS wanted nine weeks of filler, and they got seven years of lightning in a bottle. That's all for today, folks. I've got to go figure out how I can install this horn onto my Hyundai. Roses are red and Daisy Dukes faded blue. Rating this pod would be so nice of you. Boss Hog got you scared about what you could say? Type Yeehaw, this dang show just made my day. So for Christmas this year, someone got me a Guinness book of world's records. And like anyone would do, I was flipping through it, and one entry stopped me cold. A woman named Vesna Volovic holds the record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute. Well, take a guess. Go ahead. I'll wait a second while you think about it. If you're thinking something like 10,000 feet, maybe because people do skydiving and they jump from that height, meh, it's a good guess. But it's wrong. Try tripling that amount. 33,300 feet. That's right. Vesna Volovic fell six miles straight down without a parachute on this day in 1972 after a bomb in the luggage compartment exploded and blew the plane apart. Wait, what? That's right. Our hero not only survived an insane fall, she also survived a terrorist bombing. And guess what? She wasn't even supposed to be on that flight that day. That's right. Due to a mix-up, the other Vesna was supposed to be working that day as a flight attendant. And who knows if we'd even be telling this story if that other Vesna was working flight 367 that day, leaving out of Denmark, and heading to her home base in what was then called Yugoslavia, now Serbia. So yeah, Flight 367 was cruising along at 33,000 feet. You know, just another routine day for its 23 passengers. And Vesna, she was in the back with her co-workers, probably thinking about what she'd do when she got home. And then boom! A bomb exploded. And the plane was shredded to pieces. No Mayday call. No warning. One second the plane was there on the radar and then vanished. Scattered all across the countryside of what is now the Czech Republic in thousands of damaged pieces. But our Vesna, she was lucky. She was in the back of the plane prepping in-flight drinks when the bomb exploded somewhere up and towards the front. And the blast slammed the drink cart into her and pinned her in, trapping her there. And thankfully for her, the tail section didn't shred apart like much of the plane, and instead the big hunk just started a free fall. Now can you imagine what that must have been like? You're pinned by the drink cart, looking down the aisle towards the front of the plane, except the whole front of the plane is gone, and you're just staring out this big giant opening, and you're spiraling around and you see the sky and the clouds, and suddenly you see the horizon and then the forested mountains, and then you're back to the sky and clouds again. I can't even imagine how crazy that must have been. Now, of course, Vesna doesn't remember seeing any of this or pretty much anything about her three-minute plummet to Earth. That's right. She fell trapped in that tail section for just over three minutes. Now pause right there a second. When I say three minutes, maybe it doesn't feel all that long, but try holding your breath for the next three minutes and you'll see how long that really is. All right, so we've said Vesta was very lucky, right? She avoided being exploded in the bomb blast. She avoided being sucked out into the sky. And at altitudes of that height, blood pressure matters too. Right? If you have high blood pressure and suddenly a hole opens up in the lane and the cabin depressurizes, and you could die just from heart problems. But Vesna had naturally low blood pressure. One more invisible shield protecting her as she was falling for that three minutes through the air. And on top of that, the thin air probably knocked her unconscious, making her body limp. And so there was less stress on her body when the plane impacted with the ground. Now, speaking of impacting the ground, right? Vesna was stuck in a big chunk of metal falling from the sky six miles. Wouldn't that thing have just been crushed flat immediately upon hitting, right? Like you do with the soda can that you're recycling, just smushed down. Well, Vesna has some more amazing luck here. The tail section didn't land in some cow pasture. It actually hit at an angle against a very steep, snow covered mountain. So instead of the blunt force of a smash landing, it was kind of like glancing off the mountainside into the snow and then smashing through little trees and more snow until it got to bigger trees, all helping slow the plane's landing down. It's kind of like how they do for an action hero movie if a if the tail section was just falling. They'd get it to land just right so the action hero could jump out and keep on his adventure. Yeah, so anyway, this favorable landing angle, some snow and some trees, saved Vesna from a devastating landing. But let's be clear here, she wasn't unscathed like some action hero would be. She suffered internal bleeding and broke many bones, including a crushed pelvis, both legs, as well as other bones and three spinal vertebrae that were crushed, which caused her to have temporary paralysis from the waist down. Oh, and she fractured her skull, and that caused her to be in a coma for several days after this fateful fall. But guess what? Her luck didn't stop there. Uh-uh. One more thing in her favor was the very first looky loo that made it to the scene, Bruno, he happened to have been a medic in World War II back in his day. Yeah, so he's strolling along here exploring the wreckage, and he got to the tail section of the plane. He heard her unconscious body's raspy breathing, trying desperately to stay alive, and upon finding her, he immediately began first aid. And he kept her warm and safe until the rescuers arrived. That's amazing. Of course, the doctors, they weren't sure she'd even survive, but she did. And they weren't sure she'd wake up from her coma, but she did. And then they weren't sure she'd be able to walk again. But she did. Yeah. We're talking about Vesna Volovic here, people. She defies gravity. So poo-poo on those doctor prognosises. But it was several months of brutal recovery until she was able to walk out of that hospital and get on with her life. But guess what? Here's something fun. She won a Guinness world record, right? Well, back when she was younger, she grew up loving the Beatles. So much so that she moved to England to watch them play, go to concerts, and improve her English, which eventually led her to becoming a flight attendant in the first place. And then you fast forward to the end of all this mess, and guess who presents her with a Guinness World Record certificate? Paul McCartney himself. The same beloved Beatle whose music made her dream big enough to become a flight attendant in the first place, now hands her Guinness World Record. You know what? Sometimes life writes better stories than we ever could, right? Of course, Vesna lived over 40 years after this incident. And yes, she kept her job at the airline and eventually flew again. Could you imagine that? Falling six miles from an exploding plane and then choosing to get back onto another one? A little bit of courage there, right? Although when people called her lucky, she'd push back. She once said, If I were lucky, I never would have been in this accident. And my mother and father, they'd still be alive. The crash didn't just break her bones, it broke her parents' hearts, and the stress shortened their lives. Yeah. So to everyone else, she was a hero. But to herself, she was just the one who survived. Vesna passed away in 2016 at 66 years old, still holding a record that will probably never be broken. And guess what? Maybe that's okay. Maybe this is one record, the world should just be fine, never seeing challenged or broken. So cheers to Vesna Volovic, the woman who fell from the sky, walked away, and lived to tell about it. May the rest of us have boring. Uneventful flights for the rest of our days. A time traveler's delight descending from high to witness a miracle gravity defy. If impossible tales help inspire you, please share with your friends. They need miracles too. One day in Willow Creek, Georgia, the afternoon sun didn't just shine, it pressed. It was heavy, thick as molasses, and it was currently melting Margaret Hayes' ala roos cake that she planned to serve later that evening. The cream had gone slack and the custard was weeping as the dessert listed to one side like a sinking ship. And Margaret watched as the window frame shadow crept across the pine floorboards. It was inching past the table legs and towards the doorway like an unwelcome guest, which is exactly what would be arriving in about an hour. But these visitors they were more like inquisitors. Margaret wiped her hands on her apron and stared at the disaster cooling on the counter. Her mind spinning a montage of the past six years that she'd spent in this unwelcoming town. Jefferson Hayes had brought her back from County Cork in the old world under circumstances the church ladies whispered about, but never quite understood. Oh she was tolerated, liked even, but never quite one of them. And she'd been so proud of the potato cakes that she'd served at her last ladies' auxiliary gathering. Golden and perfect, just like Grammy taught her, traditional Irish, until misses Dorothya Blackwell had taken that one polite nibble with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she sat the cake back down.

Mrs. Dorothea Blackwell: 22:12

How rustic, Margaret. Such peasant charm.

Truman Pastworthy: 22:19

The other ladies laughed. Oh, it was kindly, of course. Everything in Willow Creek was done kindly. And Margaret, she smiled at that. She poured herself some more tea, but she died a little inside. So today was gonna be the day she would serve them something unmistakably American, refined, beyond reproach. Except now she was staring at a collapsed custard, and the sun's shadow had almost reached the doorway, which meant it was nearly four o'clock, which meant the ladies would arrive in an hour, which meant mamma she turned. Her son Liam sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by bowls and sacks of peanuts. Nine years old, freckled, with his father's steady hands and her own auburn hair, he'd been chucking peanuts all afternoon, sorting them into bowls by quality just the way Jefferson had shown him. The chip bowl held all the shells and her blue mixing bowl for the decent nuts, and his father's silver shaving bowl, rinse clean, of course, for the perfect specimens.

Liam Hayes: 23:34

Mamma, you alright?

Truman Pastworthy: 23:37

Margaret realized that she'd been standing perfectly still for quite some time. I'm grand, love. But she was not grand. And she needed that interruption. It helped her refocus. Doing some calculating, she found the sugar, butter, molasses, and salt. She could make Irish toffee, the kind Grammy made. It was elegant if you poured it right, sophisticated if you cut it into perfect squares, and there was just enough time. So Margaret worked fast as the shadow crept through the doorway. The mixture melted and began to bubble, turning that deep amber color that meant chemistry was happening, transformation was underway. And she reached out for the cream of tartar, the secret to smooth, pliable toffee, and her fingers closed around an empty jar. She stared at it. Nothing was left but residue. The mixture was bubbling and demanding attention, and there wasn't enough time to borrow from a neighbor. Then her eyes landed on a small tin of baking soda, and she thought, huh, white powder is white powder, right? Although Grammy's voice screamed otherwise inside her head. The pot sprang to life as the powder drifted in. Everything began hissing and foaming. The candy was seizing and puffing up. No, no, no. Margaret grabbed the wooden spoon and beat at it, but it was transforming too fast, becoming something she didn't recognize. Mama, Liam stuttered. It's ruined the words came out sharp, the tears hot and sudden. Liam jumped from his chair. His nine year old brain did what nine year old brains do when mamma's crying. You fix it. So he grabbed his father's shaving bowl, the one filled with hours of careful work, and dumped the peanuts into the foaming mass. Margaret's eyes bulged as the peanuts plopped in, sounding like rain on a tin roof. The mixture latched onto the nuts and held them so tight in its amber grip, Margaret pulled the pot off the stove and poured the whole mess onto her largest marble slab. It spread out thin, pocked with nuts, hardening into something strange. Not toffee, not anything she'd ever seen. And just then the back door opened. Jefferson Hayes tromps in, tracking red Georgia Clay across the floor. Immediately he saw his wife's red eyes and the flood of tears dripping off her chin. And then his son standing there, jaw dropped, empty bowl dangling in his hand. And finally, he noticed a strange amber sheet studded with peanuts.

Margaret Hayes: 26:37

What was that? Maggie. All of it, the custard, the toffee, everything in their coming, Jefferson. You can hear them coming.

Truman Pastworthy: 26:51

And sure enough, through the window, they could see figures moving up the lane, chatting away. Skirts and parasols and judgment in petticoats. Jefferson walked over to the Oddity and broke off a shard of the cooling candy. He examined it in the fading sunlight and put it into his mouth. And the candy made a sound, a crack that echoed in the quiet kitchen. His eyes widened. Margaret. His voice was strange. What did you make?

Margaret Hayes: 27:25

I made rocks. I made rubbish.

Jefferson Hayes: 27:28

I made you made something extraordinary. She stared at him. He broke off another piece and handed it to Liam. Try it, boy. Liam bit down cautiously. Another crack, and the candy shattered into sweet, salty flakes that melted on his tongue. And his face lit up. Mamma, this is good. Now listen up, both of you. Your Grammy, back in Cork, she used to make something like this, an old recipe. What did she call it, love? Margaret's face squinched up. What what? Her Grammy never made anything like this. What what was Jefferson getting at? That this candy was so different and and brittle, and that was the only word that escaped her mouth. Brittle He squeezed her hand. That's right. Brittle. And you've added in some southern delight. It's supposed to be this way. It's supposed to break. Just then? They all heard the quiet knock at the door. Minutes later, Margaret Hayes stood in her parlor, surrounded by the ladies' auxiliary. The tea was poured and the serving board had a pile of deep golden shards. Mrs. Dorothea Blackwell, she arrived last, just like always. She swept into the room and saw the candy. Well, her voice cut.

Mrs. Dorothea Blackwell: 29:03

Irish confections, I presume. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised given she paused, causing more tension. Given your heritage And just then Margaret felt Jefferson's hand rest on her shoulder. Maybe she never quite belonged in this town, but he loved her dearly. And strengthened by his support, she lifted her chin.

Margaret Hayes: 29:32

It's an old family recipe, misses Blackwell.

Truman Pastworthy: 29:35

But we added in some peanuts to give it some Georgian flair. It's called a peanut brittle. Mrs. Blackwell picked up a shard examining it like evidence. She bit down and the crack echoed through the room, and every teacup frozen in midsip. Mrs. Blackwell chewed slowly, and her expression didn't change. And then she took another bite and then another. The silence stretched so long that Margaret thought she might faint. Margaret Mrs. Blackwell's voice had changed. This is what is? How did you achieve such wonderful structure? Another woman reached for a piece, and then another. And within minutes the board was empty. Margaret caught Jefferson's eye winking as he left the room. And that recipe card, it stayed in Margaret Hayes' kitchen for many years. Written in her precise hand, peanut brittle, Grammy's recipe, 1891. And Liam made it for his children, and they made it for theirs. And the recipe was handed along to anyone who asked for it. And by the 1920s, peanut brittle was appearing in church cookbooks all across the South. And the funny thing was so many of those other families claimed to have passed down the original recipe. Now perhaps their origin story was the actual truth. But of course, we'll never really know. What we do know is that today is peanut brittle day, celebrating this amazing treat. And so I hope you enjoyed my version of what might have happened in a small southern kitchen about 130 years ago. What a ride through time today, folks. We got to stride back to January 26th and soar through the air, setting all kinds of records. Some of you still wear Daisy Dukes, and a few of you still sing just a good old boys. But all of you will cherish the memory of seeing the General Lee defy gravity as the Duke Boys jump their way into the history books. Would you believe that people wrote thousands of fan letters to that iconic car? Yep. And talk about defying gravity? Our hero of the day, Vesna Volovic, survived the impossible. A terrorist bomb and the atmosphere's harshest conditions weren't enough to stop the drink cart, a steeply sloped mountain, and a curious gawker from keeping Vesna alive so that she could earn an amazing Guinness World Record. And we also got to celebrate Peanut Brittle Day by striding to a small town in Georgia in the early 1890s to hear one person's tale of how the amazing dessert was accidentally invented. January 26th is filled with many amazing stories, and I didn't get a chance to tell them all. A basketball player who scored 135 points in a high school game, the discovery of the largest diamond in the world, and the day a certain president said, I did not have sexual relations with that woman. Maybe we'll have to have a day strider doubleheader for this day in the future. We'll have to see. If today's stories made you grin, there are dozens of other stories waiting for you in our back catalog. If stories about sensationalism help you escape the day-to-day, then you'll enjoy hearing about Tanya Harding's dirty deeds on January 8th. And you'll also want to hear how Hulk Hogan came to get his name on March 27th. If you were amazed by Vesna's survival and you'd like to hear how people made their way, you may enjoy how Anne Frank survived by hiding on June 25th, or how the Tootsie Roll helped save lives on February 23rd. And on March 27th, we feature Jeannie Chance, who survived one of the biggest earthquakes in all of history. The peanut brittle story isn't my first tale on this show. My first one is featured on March 17th, and I also voiced some imaginary insiders for the Guggenheim episode on October 21st. But maybe you enjoyed the origin story of a wonderful treat. Well, that March 17th episode also has the actual true origin story of the Irish coffee. And that October 21st episode I just mentioned, it has the actual true origin story of nachos. So go check them out because every day has a story and they're so much fun. And we are going to stride through them all until we're done. She's made us laugh in so many ways, I probably can't even list them all. Talk shows, game shows, movies, and on and on. What hasn't Ellen tried that's funny? She's done stand-up and TV shows too. Just keep swimming, Ellen. Just keep swimming. Wayne Gretzi's up there too, turning 65 this year. You've heard that name associated with ice hockey. He's known as the Great One. He essentially transcended the game and over his career set 61 different NHL records. Yeah, some of them are gonna get broken, but his name will forever be cemented as an ice hockey legend. Eddie Van Halen, who's no longer with us, will celebrate him today anyway. He's known for revolutionizing the rock guitar and playing the lead guitar for many years in the Van Halen rock band. One thing I didn't know about him was that he couldn't read sheet music. Everything he did was based on sound. That's amazing, right? From our history books, we celebrate Bessie Coleman's birthday today. She's the first black woman to hold a pilot's license. But guess what? In 1921, she wasn't able to earn that license here in America due to racial and gender barriers, so she had to go to France to learn. And then she came back home to wow the crowds with amazing stunt shows and pave the way for other aspiring aviators of color. You go, Bessie. Have you watched Money Heist on Netflix yet? If so, then you know Maria Pedraza, the 50th most famous person born today, according to FamousBirthdays.com. She was Allison Parker in that show, and she's also performed in another Netflix show called Elite. Fun fact: she was trying to make it in the world as a dancer, but suffered a broken leg from a car accident. So her mom convinced her to try modeling and acting instead, and bam, she's now one of the hottest Spanish actresses out there. And from the Centenarians Club, I'd like to introduce you to Elizabeth Kirkby. She turns 105 today. Wow. She's a household name in Australia from her days as a soap opera star in the 70s. She's also one of the oldest ever doctors, earning a PhD from the University of Sydney when she turned 93. Wow. I hope I'm still podcasting at the age of 93. This woman did it all. She was a sheepherder, an actress, she was a member of Parliament in Australia, and a radio broadcaster. What didn't this woman do? It's inspiring. What will you do with your life if you knew that you could live to be 105? As you already learned, January 26th is peanut brittle day. No one seems to know why they chose this day, but here we are. Today is also Green Juice Day. Now, if you can't hear it in my voice, my face is all squinched up with a disgusting look as I share this with you. Green juice can only be made with yucky stuff, right? But yeah, it became a thing about 10 years ago to help people recover from their failed New Year's resolutions. Did you make a New Year's resolution this year to kick off 2026? If you've already stopped going to the gym and you revive that habit of a midnight Oreo dunking, here's your solution. Try some green juice. I won't be. Now, this next day, it's one that I can easily support. In case you didn't know it, I love spreadsheets. And in fact, I track my entire research and schedule to produce this show on a spreadsheet. I use Google Sheets because it's free, but I am old enough to remember the first electronic spreadsheet, Lotus 123. Yep. It came out on this day in 1983, and it was awesome. Eventually, Bill Gage stamped it out with his ubiquitous Excel, but thank goodness we can still celebrate Lotus 123 on this day each year. Do you have a loved one who celebrates January 26th? Yeah. Well, if you do, and you want to make them feel really special this day, I've got some gift ideas that will turn you into their hero. Why do you say that so confidently, Truman? Well, it's because these gift ideas are customized to their special day. And not only that, many of these ideas are things that they don't already have or own. They're unique. And guess what else? You can find links to them in the show notes, so you can order them and get to their place just in time. Like what you ask? Well, of course, you can get a complete set of the Dukes of Hazard seasons on DVD. As well as the movie. And that famous car? There's all kinds of die-cast versions, printed posters, and paintings of that car. But naturally, the most fun find is a set of Dixie car horns. So your loved one can surprise the neighbors with this. At any time, day or night. And if you want to read more about Vesna, you can check out a book about her life by MR Moon. And I guess if your loved one's into airplanes, you could get them a model of a DC9 jet plane. I have a link for one of those too. To celebrate Peanut Brittle, there are literally dozens of brands of Brittle that you could get your loved one. I found one brand from Nashville where they've mixed bacon into the brittle as well. Now there's a fun twist. And all the famous folks who were born today, they all have some great books or CDs or wall hangings that you might want to be on the lookout for. And links to those are in the show notes, including one where you can buy a 2023 Bessie Coleman quarter. That's right. She was featured in the American Woman Quarter series. So no more hemming and hawing about the person who has everything because they do not have a mini jods charger painted orange in their collection. Or any of these other fun gift ideas. And if none of those outstanding ideas work, there is one other way to make this day special. You could dedicate a personalized shout-out right here on this podcast, and they'll be memorialized forever. Yeah. I can do the shout-out for you if you email me their name and something fun you want to share. Or you can do your own shout-out by using the speak pipe link that's available in the show notes. Today we didn't have anyone call in to celebrate someone's birthday. So I'm going to do a tribute to Bob Eucher, the longtime voice of the Milwaukee Brewers who was born on this day in 1934. Here's some of his famous quotes from Major League.

Bob Eucker: 42:36

Just a reminder, fans, about Die Hard Knight coming up here at the stadium. Free admission to anyone who was actually alive the last time the Indians won a penalty. Personally, I think we got hosed on that call. Rookie Sensation, Ricky Fullman on the pitch now. You can close the book on the killer. Thank God. And so we got one goddamn hip. Don't worry, nobody's listening anyway. But I'm telling you, these Cleveland fans are great. Listen to them get behind them. We'll bring up Haywood who leads the league in the most unoffensive category, including Nose in. This guy's kneezes, he looks like a petty favorite. Heywood's a convicted felon is any money. Money in me cling to man. He's not the best color man in the league for nothing. Here comes the thrill. Silly! Someone's winning! Oh my god!

Truman Pastworthy: 43:57

Good times, right? Rest in peace, Bob. 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. Gastriderstories at gmail.com. Alright, folks, time to wrap things up. I sincerely appreciate you checking in and giving today's show a listen. I hope you enjoyed my peanut brittle story. I sure had fun creating it. And I've considered making an entire podcast of short stories. But man, they're hard to write. And AI, it still isn't as much help as you would think. But speaking of AI, it is very good at writing code and program for apps. In fact, I have an app out there right now in beta testing. Have you heard of the game Five Crowns? It's a fun card game that you can play with up to seven friends or family members. And I was able to create a fun, engaging scorekeeping app for that game that Apple has actually approved. All from using AI. Clawed code to be exact. So if you want to check that out, send me an email or text me, and I'll get you the link. Now between this episode and the next one, I am working on creating a mobile phone game. So we'll see if I can actually get the mechanics to work. But rest assured, after each attempted app success or failure, and there's been some of those, I come back to storytelling. And guess what? We're about to cross over 3,000 downloads all time, Day Strider fans. That's incredible. So for sure, we'll see you again in March or April. And if you have anything special you want to hear about, just reach out and let me know. Oh, guess what? It's Ididerod time, and our Team Bailey is back on the trail. I already got a Facebook message that he's running it again this year. So be sure to follow Team Bailey in the Ididerod. Thanks so much for listening. Until next time, this is Truman Passworthy, reminding you that every day has a great story. And we'll be striding through them all to find some more goodies for you. Knock it out there and make your own great story today.