Secretly Incredibly Fascinating - Rest Areas

Episode Date: September 20, 2021

Alex Schmidt is joined by comedian/podcaster Billy Wayne Davis ('Conan', host of 'Podcast Wayne Davis') and comedy writer/podcaster Diana McCallum (FromSuperheroes.com, host of 'Talk From Superheroes') for a look at why rest areas are secretly incredibly fascinating. Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week's bonus episode.

Rest areas. Known for having bathrooms. Famous for snacks, too. Nobody thinks much about them, so let's have some fun. Let's find out why rest areas are secretly incredibly fascinating. Hey there, folks. Welcome to a whole new podcast episode. A podcast all about why being alive is more interesting than people think it is. My name is Alex Schmidt, and I'm not alone. I'm joined by Billy Wayne Davis and by Diana McCollum. Billy Wayne Davis is a returning guest. You may remember him from the Butter episode. Also, I hope you know his stand-up comedy, his special Live at Third Man Records,

his appearances on Conan and Last Comic Standing and more shows. You can also see Billy on tour later this year in Kansas, Oregon, California, Louisiana, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Visit bwdtour.com for dates and for tickets. And then Billy's also an amazing podcaster, frequent guest on many shows. He made an amazing show called Grown Local, and now he's making an amazing podcasting Patreon called Podcast Wayne Davis. It is called Podcast Wayne Davis. I know, it's great. And then Diana McCollum is a new guest who I've been a big fan of for a long time. She's the co-creator of FromSuperheroes.com. That's a whole slew of hilarious internet pop culture comedy. Diana also co-hosts a fantastic podcast. In that vein,

podcast is called Talk From Superheroes. It has been nominated for six Canadian podcast awards, and this episode's links are your friend for finding it. Also, I've gathered all of our zip codes and postal codes and used internet resources like native-land.ca to acknowledge that I recorded this conversation on the traditional land of the Lenape people with extra taping on the traditional land of the Lenape people and Canarsie people. Acknowledge Billy recorded this on the traditional land of the Gabrielino-Wartongva and Keech and Chumash peoples. Acknowledge Diana recorded this on the traditional land of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabeg, Mississauga, and Wendat peoples. And acknowledge that in all of our locations, native people are very much still here. That feels worth doing on each episode.

And today's episode is about rest areas. Rest areas are one of the three patron chosen topics for this month. Thank you so much to Frank Murphy for a great suggestion there. We will immediately define what we mean by rest areas because that varies by country and also by what people mean. I think you know of them as that roadside stop and a stop that most of us never think about again, it's time to think about them deeply because they are the title of the podcast. So please sit back or stand up and then do that one bending over stretch and do that one shoulder stretch because you've been driving a long time. You need it, buddy. Either way, here's this episode of Secretly Incredibly Fascinating with Billy Wayne Davis and Diana McCollum. I'll be back after we wrap up. Talk to you then.

Billy, Diana, thank you both so much for doing this. And of course, I always start by asking guests their relationship to the topic or opinion of it. Either of you can start, but, thank you both so much for doing this. And of course, I always start by asking guests their relationship to the topic or opinion of it. Either of you can start, but how do you feel about rest areas? I mean, doing what I've done for the past 15, 16 years, I know a lot about rest areas. I've slept in them. I've had, you know, I've peed in a lot of areas of the rest area because sometimes the bathrooms aren't open. Sometimes you just get to the rest area and you're like, well, I'm going to pee on this bush because that's what's happening. Also, there's a meet-up aspect to it that you learn to recognize pretty quick of being like, oh, this isn't for resting.

I got to go. Yes, they're doing. The of resting it's it is like activities there's yeah i think they're neat too if i'm being honest because they serve a purpose and you can tell right away which states take care of them and which states don't and it's usually like as you enter a state it's usually how well they take care of the roads is pretty parallel with how well they take care of the rest areas god i know so much stupid stuff i'm so sorry it's it's like i think about what i'm gonna pass down to my children and they're gonna be like i don't care about i'm like listen this is if you've ever if you ever get addicted to telling

jokes this is important information i i was sort of assuming maybe from stand-up you'd know a bunch and also if there's any states you want to put on blast today for poor maintenance i'm already going through the inventory as we go through i'm gonna it's gonna i know as soon as you said the topic it reminded me the topic i was like oh my brain's gonna pop in with like remember that place like yeah i shouldn't do that that's bad some of them are beautiful they've designed them around vistas and things like that totally yeah and some of them are strictly like I think, whoever was in charge is probably closeted. And they're like, this is a good location for... You're right, it is.

This is a good location for closeted meetups, which is a sad part of our country's history. Yeah, public service and people aren't comfortable with it. I'm just saying like it's just clear like oh this was someone this was for you guys not for me yes yes this is and then you kind of get happy that that kind of stuff happened but even then it's there's a little sadness too that they had to do it that way with but you know what i mean you're like yeah it's cool you guys had a place but also damn i can go anywhere you know right and diana how about you um i am pretty much the exact opposite um i mean i love resting i'm pro rest i rested before we podcast i'm gonna rest after i'm done podcasting so progress but uh But in terms of I think I've been to one rest

stop in my entire life, which is wild to think when you brought up this topic, because my family didn't have a car growing up. So we didn't go on like road trips and I fly or take a train everywhere I go. I don't drive either. I could only think of one I'd even been to when I was in grade 10 on the way back from a Taekwondo tournament. I know we stopped at a rest stop. I've been to more in an hour than you have in your whole life. Like I've stopped at a convenience store, but I don't think that's a rest stop. I think these are very different things. And my very clear memory of the rest stop is we were like eating in the diner. And it's the first time in my life that I like really felt small because I was like this like 100-pound girl.

And there's like everyone else see these burly truck drivers like just surrounding me. And I'm like, oh, I just won a Taekwondo tournament. But these guys could break me in half, all these dudes shuffling their pie. And then my second memory was it was the best pie i've ever had and i've been like chasing that for for the rest of my life um but yeah very very little rest stop interaction i'm pro them i uh i just haven't rested as much as i'd like i guess i can go ahead and say if you're in a diner that's not a rest stop a diner's not a rest stop but it had like a gas station attached gas station you're at like a you're like a you're like a i guess

that's just more like a like a that's where the an off ramp is what that is okay well maybe they're different in canada but in the northeast i will, I will say in the Northeast, they do have them in the middle, and they do have gas stations and a little food court. Okay. Yeah, you've lived a weird, blessed life up there. Well, this is a good distinction to get into, because in the U.S., we've got public rest areas run by like the government. And there's usually not a whole restaurant, right? There's like vending machines, bathrooms and a nice park. We'll talk a lot about those and then a little bit about what I would call like a travel center where there's a huge gas station, huge restaurant, diner kind of thing, probably fast food.

And then like maybe a shop and maybe other stuff like that that to me is kind of a rest area rest stop too and then there's some countries where i read that in ontario it's especially built up where they have like it's called an on route and it's like government run but with businesses all at once so not every country's like the U.S. with this either. I hope not. That goes for most things, yeah. I hope there are new ideas out there. Yes, yeah. Most countries don't do it that way.

They're like, God, that's good. That is good. And Diana, where was your carless childhood? Was it in Canada? I was in Canada, yeah. I lived in New Brunswick, Canada. And now I'm in Ontario. Oh, right on. okay yeah i think it's it's such a highway thing and if you don't own a car i feel like you're not on highways you're either in like a taxi or something else yeah i live in toronto so i'm like i'm i'm just taking the subway and cabs everywhere

cool yeah yeah no i didn't own a car for a while which being from tennessee really threw off my friends but i was like i lived in seattle and then new york and then la for a little bit without a car la i wouldn't suggest but like the rest of those cities uh the rest of i was so shocked when i got to la like, oh, you have what you call public transit, but that's not what is it. It does not work well. I feel bad for people that have to use it here where you're like, ah. It's tough, yeah. But yeah, I do understand where you don't have to have a car.

You're like, no, the bus goes to my house. My dad, when I lived in Seattle, loved that we could walk down from from my apartment get on the bus and it would take us to the baseball game for three dollars he still talks about it and it was 12 years ago it he's like you remember when you lived and i was like and we took the bus to the ballgame i do remember that yeah it was three dollars he's a man i was like god it was3. We're next to the dugout today. Isn't that cool? He's like, nah, that day we took the bus. I'm like, I can.

I feel that way whenever I'm in a city where you can take the subway straight to the airport. I'm like, wow, three bucks to the airport? Yes. Yeah. It only takes 90 minutes. And you're like, yeah, but still, it's cool. I can read a book. Yes.

I'm the same way. Yeah, but a cab is $10 and it takes five minutes. I don't care. What cab is $10? What airport is five minutes, man? I'm just, I'm making a point. You're making a new country. That's what I'm doing.

Making a cool point with ridiculous. country yeah making a cool point but ridiculous like because i grew up in the chicago suburbs and they added that subway to the airport function after i moved away and it felt amazing coming back to that i was like you can just take the blue line there and they were like yeah it's a whole new city man it's amazing i'm excited for you it it is genuinely so exciting as a person with anxiety. You're like, so there won't be construction on the roads. I can go straight to the airport. Three dollars. Yeah.

Well, am I. And then for me, my my main big rest stop memory or like experience is that they it is it's not it's a business. But Illinois has what are called oases around chicago it's like the tollway oasis is is the name they've chosen even though it's not a watering hole but it's a bridge over the highway and it's a pedestrian bridge full of little restaurants like mcdonald's and panda express and stuff and then in researching this i found out they bulldozed my favorite one because they expanded the highway by a lane and it was too wide for the bridge to go over it anymore so that was tough tough break why was

it your favorite it was where my dad would wait to pick us up from the airport and it was the one that we went through the most the there's like kind of one for each direction coming in and out of chicago so it was our go-to just where we were. So they bulldozed your memories. Yeah, it's gone. Yeah. Man, that happens a lot. I thought it was going to be because it was the Dunkin' Donuts that did the coffee right

and then you went real sentimental and it got me. I thought it was like, yeah, they had this pizza I really liked and now it's gone. And now you're like, this is where my dad

taught me how to read. And you're like, f*** me. and now it's gone. And now you're like, this is where my dad taught me how to read. And you're like, f*** me.

Always throwing those sentimental curves. So good. Yeah. There was my crib over the freeway. I would gaze at the cars and learn, learn the world. He's the rock, he's the rock-a-bye baby. He was dangerous.

He's a dangerous dad. He took dangerous. He's a dangerous dad. He took a lot of risk, my dad. Well, this is great. I think I also am amazed we have such a range of experiences with rest areas. But I think from here we can get into on every episode. Our first fascinating thing about the topic is a quick set of fascinating numbers and statistics. And this week, that's in a segment called I Love Math and Stats. Put another fact in the podcast, baby.

I love math and stats. So do a little reading a nerd out with me. Bow, bow, bow, bow, bow. I love. thank you. Thank you for this. That was jammed. Thank you for whoever supplied it. Yeah, this is Johnny Davis this week.

Thank you, Johnny Davis. And we have a new name for this segment every week. Please make them as silly and wacky and bad as possible. Submit to SifPod on Twitter or to SifPod at gmail.com. And Johnny submits a lot. Really appreciate it, Johnny. But yeah, we got to say some numbers here. And this will be probably the most we talk about commercial rest areas. It'll mostly be public ones in the big takeaways. But to initially, initially start off,

first number here is more than 46,000 miles, more than 46,000 miles or more than 74,000 kilometers. That's the current total length of the U.S. interstate highway system. And History.com says that the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 is what kind of started that. They funded it and built it and created this whole situation where there's somewhere to stop. I appreciated the conversion to kilometers, by the way, up here in Canada. Very helpful for me.

A lot of international listeners. They appreciate it, yeah. Fair enough. Not just me. Sorry, listeners. Canada. Very helpful for me. A lot of international listeners. They appreciate it. Yeah. Fair enough. Not just me. Sorry, listeners. It's not all about me. So that's how many highways you got.

Is that all the highways? So I feel like your highways are like owned by different people or something. No. In America. No, it's all just. Oh, there's a lot of a lot of them are like given person names, but they're still just a regular numbered highway. Okay. Yeah.

Yeah, they give them names, and then people can adopt them so they clean them up and they get assigned. But mostly, I think there's federal money involved, and then there's state money involved, too. federal money involved and then there's state money involved too and it all depends on you know the dumb state's politics on how well the roads and stuff are it's really i did i was once getting driven around by a relative who lived like just over the state line in a lower tax state and like while they were bragging about the lower taxes we were just hitting potholes like all of the time. It was really tangible what that gets you. I went to school in Kentucky.

In Tennessee, the roads are very good because there's a couple interstates that go through. And it's about transit and getting all the trucks to where they need to go and all that and then you go into kentucky and it's like it's all about education and i did go to school in kentucky because it was cheaper uh which is funny but then i the i guess they took all that money and just put it in education because the roads you would just be like boom boom and we're in kentucky and you're like not all you can do different stuff with different money like you can do it was just like this really weird thing like hey the roads because schools it was just like a weird this or this kind of thing right yeah i feel like you'd also do bad at school if everyone's got like

shaken baby syndrome from the roads people aren't gonna if you've got like crazy potholed roads your whole life your education system's gonna be strained the teacher's like why do all my students have those cartoon wiggle lines around them in first period that's weird little little tweety birds it's weird the biggest shock for me i'm from new brunswick and in canada and new Brunswick all has single lane highways. Like all of our highways are single lane. I don't think there's any doubles anywhere. And the second you enter any province we're connected to, the highway just doubles. And you're like, whoa, so much space.

Can actually pass someone safely. That's crazy wow i came from a similar small town where it was like there is a couple like four lane highways you know where it's like you could really open up and race somebody out there you know you you don't have to die if a moose crosses the road if the highway is wide enough it's nice but our senior skip day we drove to atlanta me and another guy and i was behind him and we went to a braves baseball game and i watched him almost wreck and die in front of us and then afterwards we got you know when we got to that i was like hey man what happened and he was like, oh, I've never seen that many lanes.

And I just started counting them, and I just started drifting. And I was like, okay, all right. We shouldn't. This might have been a big mistake. Okay, he hit too many potholes. I mean, he just – he's a secret service agent now that I come to think of it. So, you know. Wild.

So lanes were his like counting sheep and he just kind of nodded right i think he was just like wow there's like 12 and he's just as he's doing that he just forgot he was driving and like i was behind him like oh my god my friends are gonna die and then yeah yeah it's like it's like he saw a road in niagara falls just the wonder of it. He was like, I'm not thinking anymore. This is the grand Canyon of freeways.

That's adorable, man. He was so honest about it too. He wasn't, he didn't even try to play it off. Like people were messing with him in the car. He was like, no,

I'd never seen that many lanes. And I started counting them. And I was like, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard. Someone almost died for. I was overtaken by the majesty of 12 lanes that i forgot rules even existed it was a big day for him he saw john smoltz in person and he had to sit down they remember he was it was a pretty big day your friend's got a blessed life where he is just overwhelmed constantly with the beauty of the things he sees. Yeah, it's cool.

It's fun. No, genuinely. I love it. Here's a place to take your friend because the next number is 120. And 120 is the number of gas pumps at the Buc-ee's Travel Center that's being constructed in Sevierville, Tennessee. If people don't know, Buc-ee's is a chain of, it's Texas-based, but it's a chain of massive travel centers. And it's Texas at the heart of it.

It is huge. And, oh, it is so Texas. I'm not even mad at it. That's texas it i was like you stuck to what you're doing and you did it i hate to say it but it's impressive and the thing is like wherever this tennessee one is that's going to have 120 pumps they announced it 2021 and that was more pumps and more square footage than the previous largest one in New Braunfels, Texas. And so it made the local news in both locations that there's a new largest Buc-ee's in the world. And there's a little bit of a rivalry going on.

Oh, man, because, yeah, Texas will just add more. Yeah, I'm sure they're going to. They're probably adding more right now. Yeah, they'll bulldoze a house and just put some more in though and the person owning the house would probably be like yes absolutely yeah i didn't realize we was losing so yes please i did not know that yeah yeah can we put on take what you need deep in the heart of texas can we play this while you push my house over? Push my house over? A little nudge. The next few numbers are also about humongous American travel centers.

The next one is more than 10,000 square feet. And more than 10,000 square feet is the size of just the fireworks shopping area at Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza in the U.S. state of Nevada. Fodor's says they have more than 10,000 square feet of fireworks shopping, and then they also have 40 acres of fireworks launching pads on site,

so you can go ahead and use what you bought. Oh, my God. Where is this? It's in Nevada, like Southern Nevada. So you could drive up there, I guess, Billy, if you want to just swing up. Well, I'm doing some road trip. I'm planning next year's touring, so that sounds like a fucking... Yeah, Moapa, Nevada.

Get up there. And I don't tour like most people where it's like big cities. I'm like, ah, there's some stuff I want to see. You guys, let's go. Is there a sign as you approach that is like, your dog's going to hate this? Oh. We have a

firework field coming up. Where there are just constantly fireworks. You want to teach your dog a lesson? Come out here. You want to make your dog appreciate the quiet of the city? Come on out to the firework field. Oh, does your dog hate sirens?

Here, take them here. The freeway just splits for good boys and bad boys. Whichever route you need. When there's really, there's one more like travel center thing here this number is 12 million u.s dollars 12 million u.s dollars is the annual total sales at wall drug whoa yeah i've never been have either of you been no i've never i have no idea what a wall drug i've never been there's a walmart that sells drugs i've seen the the stickers and all that the ads it's like a it's like a midwestern sea rock city kind of vibe right yes yeah so walder there's a

town called wall south dakota it's just called wall and in the 1930s there was the hustad family running a small drug store just like a family- run drugstore in a small South Dakota town. And then they decided to try a thing to like bring people in, which is that they offered free ice water and put up billboards in like every direction saying, come here, you can get free ice water. And also if people have heard the refrigeration episode of this show, they know that like free ice in the 1930s was a big deal. So more and more people came, and it has grown and sort of metastasized into a humongous facility and business. which are free for military personnel. There's statues of dinosaurs and jackalopes to pose with. There's a restaurant. There's a chapel.

There's an art gallery. It's just this humongous thing that bloomed out of a pharmacy trying to bring people in. Hillbilly trickery. I was about to say you got to have the dinosaurs. That's the draw. Yeah. There's a place you drive through. I think it's in Oklahoma.

It's like Robertson or Richardson ham. And there's these simple red and white signs that are like the best ham sandwich you'll ever have. And it's like 75 miles out is when you start seeing them. And the first time I drove through i'm like i'm gonna get that ham sandwich don't do it it's oh it was fine but it's it's white bread on just a simple like daily sliced thin slice of ham i thought we're gonna come in there get some country ham on a like that right because we're in the middle oklahoma and i was like oh this is five dollar you just charged me five

dollars for 75 cent sorry to cuss i know but this it's it's appropriate you drove so far you know yeah it's appropriate you can bleep uh it's appropriate for like a 75 cent sandwich do you know what i mean where i was like like, oh, this is advertising. I'm not mad at you, but I'm never coming here again kind of thing. You've got to offer more. I need a picture of a dinosaur if you're not going to do the sandwich. It can't be an obvious trick as soon as I get the sandwich where I'm like, you've got to give me more foreplay, dude.

This is awful. It should be $5 for a picture with the dinosaur and you get a free sandwich. Yes. Yes. And then you don't care if the sandwich is good. If you're doing a marketing trick, which is what that is, you got to offer more if you're going to do the marketing thing. Or get something that they don't have a big sign about because the overhead of the price of the sandwich

goes into the sign advertising. Yes. It's $1 sandwich, $4 sign. Yes. That's how the money goes. Diana, are you available to move to Oklahoma? Because these would fix their thing. You could make a fortune.

With their ham sandwich marketing? Yeah. I could just say ham in that real funny way all the time and then just under new under new management i would pull in at least one more time at least okay one guaranteed customer i think you get more i think you get more people like me like okay maybe they're maybe there's like there's like a penny machine where i smash a penny or something there's's something new. I'm going to take the old side, leave it up, and just in Sharpie write, with more ham. That would get me too. Now with more ham.

Hey, we're not. Those are the two things I want out of everything. Other countries do it different, and now with more ham. In all situations, great. I would pull over immediately. I would be like, I need to see the new sandwich. And do you have a photo of the old sandwich? Here's what we're doing.

Two very important questions. Here's what we're doing. Here's what we're now doing. All right. Well, there's two more numbers for this section, and they're more about public rest areas. One of them is 20 people. is one of them is 20 people. And 20 people is the minimum capacity of a Texas highway rest area tornado shelter.

According to FEMA, the... I don't like that they know that number. Yeah. What do you mean minimum? Like it won't open unless there's 20 people in there? Oh, like construction planning wise, they have to make it at least that big. Oh, they have to hold 20. Okay, sorry.

They're like, we don't open the doors unless there's 20 people waiting to get in. Larry, open the door. You have misread that rule. This is why Diana is not from Tornado Country. She'd be like, oh, there's only three of us. We can't go in.

That's not enough people. We need 20 people to activate this shelter. Someone explain it. Oh, my God. I can't believe this is how we die. Oh, no. I only know how to deal with snow. I'm so sorry.

Let us in. Minimum. No, I can't. You need 17 more people. We're going to kill you, and that's the only person that's going to die. Well, you got to follow the rules. You got to write these rules real clear, please. What happened?

The tornado strangled her. We don't know how it happened. The tornado's little hands came out. And then we got in and she wanted to go outside. And then the tornado took her keys. Opened the door. The tornado's over.

The cops show up like, hey, there's only five of you in here. That's not allowed. You're all under arrest. God, no one can read here. Oh, no. Doesn't arrest you for the murder just for being at the shelter. It's like, I got to move. They take the shelter seriously. Yeah, you need a quorum.

But yeah, FEMA has regulations for the official Texas Department of Transportation tornado shelters and rest stops in north and west Texas where there are a bunch of them. It has to be at least 13 feet by 11 feet big with capacity for at least 20 people. And it's a good place to stop if there's a tornado. You're on the highway in Texas. Yeah.

I like it. Great service. Really good. Especially now that I know I can just go in even if I'm not 20 people. That's wonderful. Yeah. We really cleared this up. It's good. Well, and the last number here is 165 miles and that's over 265 kilometers. But 165 miles is the length of Utah State Route 95. And bringing that up because that entire 165 mile highway has no rest areas at all. Which seems bad to me, but Popular Mechanics has a whole write up about it. They say it can take four hours to drive it because it's also kind of a scenic route through deserts and by parks and stuff. And along the there are no rest areas no commercial facilities no communities no gas no food no repairs no nothing even though that's a

huge highway oh that's awesome are they not allowed like no one has taken upon them to open up a thick ham sandwich shop yeah that's what i would guess is like it's protected, which is really rad. And it's not like it's 165 miles. So it's not like you're in this desolate place. It's a scenic drive. So if something happens, there's going to be another dingbat like you coming right around the bend. You're like, hey. And you're like, hey, what's up? Yeah, I didn't.

I saw it. And they're like, yeah, no, no. Come on, we'll fix it so that's that's a good it's not like you're in like the outback in australia where you have to take like three gas tanks because you're just in the middle of nothing for days yeah yeah i wasn't so much worried about gas and stuff i'm worried about like my bladder over four hours but i guess i could if i know if i know i'm gonna be four no you can pee in the desert i don't want to well you shouldn't be going on this trip okay well

trip canceled okay yeah it is not made for you parts of the world you're never gonna see i guess oh and i mean we have established i haven't been to a rest stop so it was pretty unlikely although i still wouldn't if i went on this trip no you would not if i went to utah i still wouldn't see a rest stop but you wouldn't pee in the desert i mean if i really had to, but yeah, I mean, I think that's what we're talking about here is like I would pee in the desert if I really had to. Yes. But I mean, I mean, a desert actually sounds bad. I would like a tree or some kind of shrub. Yeah.

The article claims that the closest thing to a human amenity on the whole thing is a set of pit toilets at natural bridges, national monument. So it's not a plumbing toilet, but there is like one monument along this entire route where there's a hole in the ground, but that's, that's it. And also they talked to Kevin kitchen of the Utah department of

transportation. He says, quote, many motorists traveling through this area of the state comment that they choose this route precisely because of the isolation and the ability to escape roadside amenities, end quote. No, it does sound nice. It's a whole different mentality. Yeah. Just like completely get away from it. It sounds really lovely if you know it's coming up and a nightmare if you have no idea it's coming up if you haven't like checked are there rest stops yeah u.s highways there will be a sign that's like next rest area 62 miles and then you like

make decisions real fast i hope they have that yeah next rest mile 165 is like oh oh i would i would most guarantee i've driven several of the interstates and united states completely and oh wow they will they do a great job of letting you know and most of them like yo this is for the next 100 miles don't mess up because it's not like that but it is like the language it's stern it's a stern sign being like hey we're sick of going to go get you guys here so just pull over here get gas and then there's also my favorite thing and i've i've learned this the hard way is there will be like one gas station in the middle of nowhere and then but they know what they've got and you're like wow i've never seen seven dollar gas before and you're like yeah well welcome to the middle of new mexico and you're

like touche i think they got spaceship fuel here too this. This is a $10 ham sandwich here. That's not ham. That is not ham. Sham sandwich. What? Next thing here is a big trumpet sound for a big takeaway. Before that, we're going to take a little break. We'll be right back. I'm Jesse Thorne. I just don't want to leave a mess.

This week on Bullseye, Dan Aykroyd talks to me about the Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters, and his very detailed plans about how he'll spend his afterlife. busters and his very detailed plans about how he'll spend his afterlife. I think I'm going to roam in a few places. Yes, I'm going to manifest and roam. All that and more on the next Bullseye from MaximumFun.org and NPR. Hello, teachers and faculty. This is Janet Varney. I'm here to remind you that listening to my podcast, The JV Club with Janet Varney,

is part of the curriculum for the school year. Learning about the teenage years of such guests as Alison Brie, Vicki Peterson, John Hodgman, and so many more is a valuable and enriching experience. One you have no choice but to embrace because yes, listening is mandatory. The JV club with Janet Varney is available every Thursday on maximum fun or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you. And remember no running in the halls. Well, uh, this, we can get into the first takeaway, I think, because it's about a remote place as well.

Takeaway number one. One rest stop in Norway pays tribute to war heroes with an incredibly beautiful public toilet. And I sent you both a couple pictures of this thing because it's incredible looking. I encourage people to go see it. But it's, I now have like a goal rest stop to see. It's this amazing Norwegian rest stop on the coast. Oh, this one with the like little bridgey part? Yeah, yeah.

Oh, this is two photos of the same thing. Okay. Oh, that is a nice toilet. I mean, like you can't see the toilet itself. The structure. Oh, that is a nice toilet. I mean, like, you can't see the toilet itself. The structure.

Yeah, there's a little structure with sort of a wave-shaped ceiling on it, a roof on it. And it is a public toilet on the coast of Norway in front of these amazing mountains. It's beautiful. Yeah. It looks dangerous, too. Like, slippery. Yeah, don't swim, I don't think. Yeah.

No, I think that's some good concrete you'll get a grip there is that how see i'm not familiar with the ice oh no you're fine there it's icy around it but the actual bathroom looks safe i'm more upset that these lights are gonna cause silhouette shadows obviously of my personal situation i'm in there like it's frosted glass but there are definite silhouettes happening it does look

oh you're right like where it could be really sexy but also like this is silly this is I've seen that like

there's sexy there's silly and there's gross there's three different settings for a public bathroom I've seen it I'm not like a club guy but one time like like promoters and

djs when you go to like they misread who you are sometimes or that's just who they are and you're going with them because that's how this works sometimes and they took me to this club and it was like where everyone's face is angular and you're like, where do you get your clothes? I don't even know where you guys shop. Like that one of those places. Where do you get this angular face? Well, just like everyone's just like, where you're like, oh, if I saw you guys out, I'd be like, what?

Your face is geometry. But that's where I was at one of those places and the guy was having fun, but they had those sexy silhouette things. And it wasn't, i think that's i had the most fun with that because like like you said like there's like three people that can pull that off sexy and they didn't want they did it for like five minutes and the rest of the night it was just like this is not what you guys think think it is. You're seeing people's very private happenings. Yeah, and then they're just like, no one's as angular as the camera,

as that director can do. Oh, man. I was like, this is the funniest thing I've ever seen because these are very sexy people not being sexy. Sorry. I'm off on tangents, but we're i have a very i have a very unsexy bathroom story as well uh i was at a dance club and i went to the bathroom and uh i got in the bathroom fine it was a stalled bathroom it was not frosted glass like this one is but i don't know

what happened if someone knocked into or whatever i couldn't open the door to get out like i was trapped in here i was pretty i was pretty sober i was only a little buzzed like this wasn't like i couldn't figure a door out it's a very basic lock and i was like it is just jammed and uh i had to crawl underneath the door and i really scared someone oh i bet yeah like a ring monster yeah like ah yeah i crawled out and like i've got like long That's like the worst nightmare situation. And, like, I've got, like, long brown hair, like the girl in the ring, and I just, like, flip it up as I emerge from underneath the bathroom stall door.

And you're buzzed, so you're, like, a little more confident than you should be in that situation. Oh, I'm like, I can make it under there. You're like, hey, what's up? You're like, no confidence right now. No. But also very gross. It's a bathroom floor at like, no confidence right now. No. But also very gross. It's a bathroom floor at a dance club.

Absolutely disgusting. But I refuse to be trapped in there. A lot of hot people out there tonight, huh? How do you feel about this? Yeah. Oh, my God! Because there's definitely some high people in the bathroom. We're like, this place is cursed. Just someone trying to do cookout. Oh, my God, there's definitely some high people in the bathroom who are like, this place is cursed.

Just someone trying to do cookout. Oh my god, there's a monster! Clubs are just a bad idea. This bathroom is like, I think it benefits from being designed by a top Norwegian architecture firm where they're shooting for amazing concrete and frosted glass. But it also is that thing where it's so advanced, it feels impractical because it is like not just walls like I'm used to. And it is almost on a platform being presented to whoever else is at this rest stop. It's very it's very prominent. Well, you know, there's yeah, there's truckers that have talked about this like

man i had to drop a deuce at that weird truck stop i hate that one you know people can see you i hate it you know people can see you but it's also like almost too nice to use i'd be like that's not a washroom oh yeah that is because it is it's multiple things and it's it's called the ured rest area u-r-e-d-d also known as the ured plasen it's in yildiz skal on the coast of norway and it was designed by the oslo-based studio haugen zohar architect air because they built a viewing area for the sea with marble benches and an amphitheater and And then they built what Atlas Obscura calls a striking wave-shaped public restroom. And they say that the minimalist design makes it seem to glow in the dark at night because the glass is lit.

And then in the daytime, you have a view of the sea as you're using the toilet. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Oh, I like that. I'd be awesome. Let it go. Let's just let it all out. This is the Rick and Morty sketch where he's got the toilet in the middle of the forest. That'd be nice.

It's free. Now I'm for this. I have went all the way around, and I am complete. I also like to think about that there are tourists, because Norway has a lot of amazing architecture too so there are i just imagine there are tourists and there's just some lady going like and we had to drive way far to see this toilet he had to see because of you're like that's happening right now some lady's just like what is why do we have to see a toilet i don't understand he wanted to poop while the sun set and i actually i kind of get that i'm coming around she gets there

she sits down she's like i'm sorry it this is amazing i'm sorry i was like it was beautiful or it's the man it doesn't have to be the woman i just it's just in my relationship that would be my wife being like why do we have to see it and then we get there and she's like i see and i'm like see it's a cool toilet it's a cool don't get i don't want emails it can be any gender flopped i just like the voice i do is more fun well this is like remote because also part of why it's so nice and part of why it's there is as i said it's also a memorial to soldiers because the ured was a norwegian submarine and in at the start of world war ii norway was too many there's already too many

dropping deuces there's a submarine it's just oh i feel like none of the people involved had any sense of humor and that's a huge problem sometimes where they're like you guys we can't yeah there's gonna be torpedo jokes there's yeah it's just so many jokes you guys we can't do't do it. But at the start of World War II, Norway was almost immediately occupied by the Nazis. And so then the Norwegian government in exile ran a navy to try to mess with them. And the Ured was a submarine that in 1943

tried to sneak saboteurs onto the Norwegian coast at this spot to go mess with Nazi industry. But they are believed to have hit a mine. All 42 people aboard were killed. So there's an actual really lovely war memorial here. And then also they built the finest, most Scandinavian toilet they could possibly build along with it. most Scandinavian toilet they could possibly build along with it.

So many jokes I had to hold in as you were giving all that information. It was hard. I'll be honest. It's physically hard. I feel like this is a weird one because like if someone just told me I died in a war and there was like a memorial to me that was a toilet, I'd be like, well, screw you guys. I got a toilet memorial. But then it's really pretty. So I'm like, you really got to sell them with the photo it is conflicting all of it is super because even as a lot happening can you imagine being a soldier like we made you

a memorial and like wow that is thank you that is here it is means a lot wait till sunset if you could just the lights are gonna come up there might be someone in there you'll see their silhouette I don't understand my culture I really well there's

two more takeaways from the main episode now let's get into takeaway number two. U.S. public rest areas started going away in the 2000s and 2010s. We still have public rest areas in the U.S., but a lot of them are closing and for specific reasons. Oh, can I guess? Yeah, yeah. Hell yeah. I will turn to a game show um it's because of these travel centers and because of gas mileage i'm sure that contributes because yeah there's

more businesses along the highway than ever before and the travel centers are bigger than ever before but it's also like budget cuts on the great recession and and u.s states all kind of saying like it costs a lot of money to run surprise it's surprising but it costs a lot of money to just run like a bathroom and a vending machine at a nice spot and so they're closing them to say we can't well like in some states they can't all be wall drugs yeah there's like making 12 million and there's like old ladies and old men giving you information in some of these places and then they have to there's also upkeep there's always someone uh mowing the lawn and doing all that so that does i understand i do think about that when i

stop at them i'm like man this is not cheap but it is I think it's important. So yeah, also like building, you know, taking care of our roads, that's important. For one example of one in 2015, the state of Florida closed one rest stop in Punta Gorda off of interstate 75. I don't know where that is, but that's a place. But Florida closed one rest stop and they say that they saved $300,000 a year in maintenance and will also profit from selling the land. So that's a big chunk of money just from the one. That's an all right chunk of money. I mean, if your sandwiches are five bucks, though.

That's not what we're talking about, though. This is a poop and pee place. There's no sandwiches. But I feel like they— Here is also another thing we're talking about florida who knows where those numbers actually came from true uh that whole state is corrupt as hell that's why you move to florida is you're like i'm i do corruption and i'm going home schemes that's where we're going so it just soundsifts. So it just sounds, $300,000 for one sounds like a lot for just maintenance.

That sounds. And then selling the land, all that. It's a scheme. I feel like it's just all my scam stuff. Like, I'm not cynical, but I am skeptical about certain things. And when you said Florida and that much money and then selling the land, I was like, die, f*** off, all of you. Sorry. Hey, it's Florida, man.

It's what happens. Alex, do you have any examples from a state that isn't Florida that we can trust? Yeah, that is. That is, yeah. We're like, here's some stats from Florida. You're like, well that we can trust. Yeah, that is. That is, yeah. We're like, here's some stats from Florida. You're like, well, I'm out. I can't. Other states, it's like $10 a

year. Wait a minute. Hold on. Yes. Hold on. I'm picturing a very different bar graph when you get to Florida out of all the other states. Well, this one had free daiquiris and there's a strip club in the back and right there we go there we go that's the 300,000 we're talking about there we

yeah this seems like the kind of thing where ever since the the turn into the 21st century like u.s states are just grabbing excuses to close these uh the first big excuse was the Great Recession. And that led to within a year to Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, and some other states all closed or reduced these. And then in the past 10 years, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia, Maine, Colorado, and Vermont have closed some of their rest areas. Also, in 2019, the state of Connecticut experimented with closing the bathrooms at all seven rest areas in the state. They tried doing a thing where every Connecticut rest area does not have a bathroom. How'd that go? And people didn't like it.

No. People were upset, yeah. No! go and uh people didn't like it no people were upset yeah i if you have a rest area that doesn't have a bathroom i feel like that's such a mouse trap like why would you do that to somebody you know especially if it's not a new facility like i'd show up and i'd be like i know you got bathrooms in there i've been here before there's a bathroom behind that door and and I'm going to jimmy it open, and I'm going to use it. Commercial truck drivers have routines, and part of those routines are that. Like where, hey, I time this out, I do this, this, and this, and then I stop here because my body says I have to. And I'm cool with it because me and my body have this agreement that every day I do this here.

And then I get to go on with work and it doesn't affect anything. And then the state was like, hey, you can't do that anymore. And I was like, yeah, I can. I just won't do it inside that building, which was nice. And closing all of them is awful because, like, if you get to one and it's not open, you might be like, oh, well, there's another one in, like, 30 minutes. And then that one's also closed? Yeah, that's where you poop in the parking lot. That's what happens.

Yeah, I mean, the second one is going to be the breaking point. Like, I'm going to try to get to a second. Yeah, there's some state officials looking at it like, well, the first one isn't the issue. It is. I feel like we could keep it closed. one isn't the issue it is i feel like we could keep it closed i feel like the second one that is uh that is now a biohazard uh i feel like we need to open it back up yeah yeah and they and apparently they undid all this and changed it because obviously but um but there's like if you're in the u.s your state government either recently or probably soon will think about closing some rest areas and watch out.

You know, could happen. Well, it's clear that's a – I don't want to get all political, but that is clear the states you named had a specific leaning business-minded party in charge. Yeah. And then people – like those places are for people that don't have a lot of money right so they can also travel and go see places and make it affordable so now when you do that it's just another way to fleece poor people is what they're doing big time and i hate getting preachy about that but we have to start calling that out at every instance and it's going to get exhausting because they're doing it at every turn

but until we start calling that out it's going to keep happening and they're going to take away every cool part of what we've built so and i hate being the funny guy that has to say stuff like that. Just really. No, it's great that you got levels. Yeah. Yeah, they definitely will. You know, the rich don't stop there, so they're like, we're not going to fund it,

and then no one gets to pee. Yeah. Yeah. And it feels like it also feels like it plays into policies that like treat women worse because i can just i can pretty much just pee or poop in the woods as a man much more easily like it's this really impacts me less getting that with the desert earlier yeah i don't want to go in the desert it's awkward like this this i've i feel male politicians are making a lot of these decisions like what there's trees but yeah okay oh well they're that's just i don't even think that's just they're not even thinking about women to be mean to them that's how that's yeah right

new that's how far sexism but that's what i mean i don't mean that in like a like i just mean that as a point like like those type mofos like that don't even there's no empathy to be like this would be mean because women need this this and this like they're not even empathetic enough to be like i wonder what women think ever like that's not so when people come at them they're and they're like you don't like women they're like, you don't like women, they're like, hey, I don't feel either way about women. Like, that's where you're like, oh, it's like it's way worse than you think it is. I didn't even consider women. I can't be sexist.

Whoa, hey, listen, that's never crossed my mind. Women. And you're like, good. Yeah, that's who you're actually dealing with. You're trying to make them have feelings they don't have. And there's one more takeaway here for the main episode. Let's get into it. Takeaway number three. The U.S. state of New Jersey is obsessed with naming rest areas after

celebrities. And one time that swung an election for governor. The state of New Jersey, famous for the turnpike and stuff, and then has many rest areas. The basic story is just that they're constantly naming them after celebrities. Scott Simon of NPR covered an announcement in July 2021 where New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced nine new rest stop namings for celebrities. So there are now New Jersey rest stops named after Toni Morrison, baseball great Larry Doby, Celia Cruz, Judy Blume, Connie Chung, James Gandolfini, Whitney Houston, John Bon Jovi, and Frank Sinatra. Okay. And how did this sway the election? There's a separate story for the election. Yeah. But it's just a thing New Jersey does apparently all the time. And there's also, Scott Simon says there's a rumor that Bruce Springsteen was approached and turned it down. Like they're really into naming stuff after people there. and says there's a rumor that Bruce Springsteen was approached and turned it down.

Like, they're really into naming stuff after people there. They'll name the whole turnpike after Springsteen when he dies. That's just a given. Like, he's not dumb. He's like, hey, just... And I do think it's weird that they name them after people that aren't dead. Like, you named a couple people that I was like, they're still alive. Like, that's... I guess it I was like, they're still alive. Like that's, I guess it's cool,

but it's also weird. Like I have some, I have a friend who works for Willie Nelson and outside Austin city limits, there's a statue of him. And, uh, we were, it is awesome. But I was also like,

Hey, that's weird. Cause he's, he's not dead. And my buddy's like, yo, no, he's very aware of how weird that is. He was like, he was very gracious when they did it and all that. But he was like, when he went back that night, he was like, man, I wish they'd wait until I die.

That's weird. That kind of like, he is still kind of like, there's a weird part of that where it's like, hey, that is your Russian things here. I am still doing stuff. I'm picturing. No, you're done. I'm picturing Springsteen.

You're done. You did it. And you're like. You peaked. Yeah, you don't want to see a statue that's like, you peaked. Look how good you did. I'm still. What?

Especially as an artist. I think as an athlete, you're like, like you're right i am old and i can't jump like you're right that's yeah you're like 32 as an athlete and you're like of course absolutely yeah i do really like for these rest stops i'm glad they name multiples of them at once because i don't know it would feel it would feel more insulting if you were the only rest stop announced that day. But if I got a rest stop the same day as Whitney Houston, I'd be like, oh, yes, I did it. Yeah. I'm up there with Whitney.

There's a spectrum, too, of accomplishment in New Jersey. Gandalf Finney was an amazing actor, but it's just like a different level of art. Those are two. I'm not making fun of it. I like that New Jersey can recognize like, hey, there's all kinds of art in New Jersey. They're all just waiting to be renamed after Springsteen. It is. There's just like a second plaque behind all the current plaques that when he dies will just take them all off.

And they're all named after Springsteen. I think any celebrity is like, I, it's like even Gandolfini is big. He's huge. He's a huge, Whitney Houston, huge. Sinatra even, like, I don't know. Yeah, he's a big, yeah. Against Springsteen. But not as, he's not, not to New Jersey.

I think Sinatra and Whitney Houston probably bigger stars in the world. In the world. Yeah. Feels like it took a long time for Sinatra. Did they all think he already had one or? That's probably, they're probably like, oh, we didn't rename the city of Newark after him.

Ah, shoot, I forgot. Like. That is. I thought Trenton was Sinatraville we didn't do that okay well all right they should rename Atlantic City Frank Sinatra town I think it would that'd be pretty cool yeah the city I want people to go there directly this feels like Atlantic City it's not oh blue eyes bill this is old blue eyes bill this well and and very last story of the main It's not. Old Blue Eyesville. This is Old Blue Eyesville. Well, and very last story of the main episode. So I mentioned swinging an election for governor of New Jersey.

In the 1990s, they created a Howard Stern rest area in the state of New Jersey. And it was in exchange for him endorsing the republican challenger in 1993 for governor who then proceeded to win by only about one percentage point and a huge upset uh so there's a reasonable likelihood that howard stern in 1993 had enough juice to like sway the election for governor in new jersey as a joke as a joke totally as a joke yeah yeah as not political that's and we all learn this okay he knew this this is what's really funny is like we all learn that lesson that if you have that power in high school that you can sway an election if you're popular to do to do a joke you can if you have enough charisma

and people and likability it's very very easy to do that and most people most djs and public people know that so they don't do that yes but he he did it because he was like, yeah, that's funny. You dum-dums. The details here, if people want them, and also New Jersey, for some reason, has odd-numbered year elections for governor, which is real weird in the United States. That probably helped depress turnout. But the South Jersey Courier-Post says that in 1993, Democrat Jim Florio was running for re-election. The Stern Show people decided to endorse whoever called first. And Republican challenger Christine Todd Whitman got his endorsement, won in 1993, won again in 1997, went on to be George W. Bush's director of the EPA.

Stern really launched her if he had made any difference here. But she after winning in 1993, she returned to the Stern show in January 1995 with like the documentation and signage for the Howard Stern rest area, which was on Interstate 295 going northbound in Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey. Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey. And then in 2003, the new Democratic governor, Jim McGreevy, shut down the whole rest area completely. Didn't rename it, just shut it down completely. Oh, didn't rename it. So for about eight years, there was a running Howard Stern rest area in New Jersey. The official reason for closing it was finances, and it fits in with all these other U.S. states closing them. But the urban legend is that, like, too many Stern fans went there to fool around and do Stern things, like, at his rest area. Yeah, they did. You know, which is probably true. Yeah, that makes sense.

Of course they did. Yes. Yeah. He is one of the only celebrities I can think of. I'm like, yes, he would want a rest stop named after him. And obviously he did and he wanted it. But there's so few that I'm like, who even wants one? Like, ah, Howard Stern.

Howard Stern, the cast of Jackass. Only one time to think of. Yep. Well, it's free advertising too, is what it is for him. He's a genius. Sorry, but, is what it is for him. He's a genius. Sorry, but that's the right adjective before him. The type of genius he is. It's the guy that's like in your friend group or the girl in your friend group who's like on some level making those decisions to entertain you, even though they want you to believe, like, I'm just a mess up.

And you're like, no, you get. Yeah. You're getting reinforcement for this. And we're part of it. You're very excited about it. Yeah. And that's what makes the whole thing go around. It's those people who are just like, hey, what's this wrench do?

And you're like, don't, but kind of do. You know what I mean? Well, now I'm going back, and I really hope some of those Norwegian soldiers were like Howard Stern types who are very excited about their toilet. Oh. I mean, they could have been.

Maybe it's fun Navy guys. Like, yeah. Maybe they really would have loved this. I mean, they are submarine dudes. Submarine dudes are weird dudes. And I don't mean that as a negative. I just mean it as a, y'all are weird. You're fun to talk to.

But my friend Owen's dad was a Navy. He was a submarine dude. And this is funny. He was from Alabama originally, but, you know know he ended up in bremerton washington and and they've got a nice house but he had this little part of the living room it was like this little nook where he had his chair and the tv and he would just sit over there and that's where he and i was like oh he was on submarines and they never noticed it and they're like oh my god you're right i was like yeah he's got his little nook it's like this he would just sit in the corner and just his little area it was they had never truly noticed it but i was like hey that's he made he made himself a little

that's how he relaxes he's just sitting over there i was like oh my god you're right i was like yeah that's cool. That's funny. He loves when it rains and there's water all around him, but he's safe and dry inside. I mean, he lives in Bremerton, Washington. Yeah, that's all it is. It's just damn. Yeah. Man. I really, I really wish the TV was in the attic and he had a periscope.

Just like, oh, that letterman. You know? He doesn't even have a TV. He just has a periscope, but he watches the neighbor's TV through the little periscope. Or it's just a radar. It's just the weather radar. Or just pong. He's like, pong.

Pong. That's what he's watching. Folks, that is the main episode for this week. My thanks to Billy Wayne Davis and Diana McCollum for visiting the Welcome Center for this topic. Right? We deserve a Welcome Center to the Welcome Centers. That's what I feel. Anyway, I said that's the main episode because there is more secretly incredibly fascinating stuff available to you right now. If you support this show on patreon.com, patrons get a bonus show

every week where we explore one obviously incredibly fascinating story related to the main episode. This week's bonus topic, super fun, it is the world's secret rest areas for birds. Visit sifpod.fun for that bonus show, for a library of five dozen other bonus shows, and to back this entire podcast operation. And thank you for exploring rest areas with us. And that, I don't know, that phrasing has a fun vibe. It's like we all hit the vending machine. Anyway, here's one more run through the big takeaways. Takeaway number one, one rest area in Norway

pays tribute to war heroes with an incredibly beautiful public toilet. Takeaway number two, U.S. public rest areas started dying off in the 2000s and 2010s. And takeaway number three, New Jersey is obsessed with naming rest areas after celebrities, and one of them swung a gubernatorial election. after celebrities, and one of them swung a gubernatorial election. Those are the takeaways. Also, please follow my guests. They're great. Billy Wayne Davis is on tour. Find his stand-up show dates at bwdtour.com. Close to the release of this podcast, you've got the September 2021 Moon Tower Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas. And then he's on tour later this year in Kansas, Oregon, California, Louisiana, Tennessee,

and North Carolina. And find Billy's all new personal podcasting Patreon by searching the name Podcast Wayne Davis. And then Diana McCollum is the co-creator of FromSuperheroes.com, amazing and funny comedy website. She also co--creator of FromSuperheroes.com, amazing and funny comedy website. She also co-hosts the Talk From Superheroes podcast. That podcast has been nominated for six Canadian podcast awards, and you can find it by searching the name Talk From Superheroes or by following this episode's links. Many research sources this week. Here are some key ones. Many research sources this week.

Here are some key ones. Two great articles were crucial to knowing about the Ured Rest Stop on the coast of Norway. One article is from Atlas Obscura. It's by Megan Neal. Other article is from Dazeen.com, and that is by Ailyn Griffiths. Also amazing work by Jenny Burgle of the Pew Research Center and by Scott Simon over at NPR, very well-known NPR person. Find those and many more sources in this episode's links at sifpod.fun. And beyond all that, our theme music is Unbroken Unshaven by the Budos Band. Our show logo is by artist Burton Durand.

Special thanks to Chris Souza for audio mastering on this episode. Extra, extra special thanks go to our patrons. I hope you love this week's bonus show about the bird rest areas. It's amazing. And thank you to all our listeners. I'm thrilled to say we will be back next week with more secretly incredibly fascinating. So how about that? Talk to you then.