WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Sidebar: Pilot

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

In the pilot episode of Sidebar on Radio Free Hillsdale, Lauren Scott, Maddy Welsh, and Emilie Moneyhon discuss wacky news stories about an extreme Swiftie, a claw machine mishap, an unexpected McDonalds delivery, and more. Then Emilie quizzes Lauren and Maddy to see if they can determine which of her three zany headlines is a lie. Finally, they cover some news blunders and bloopers. 

You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. And this is Sidebar, the show where we bring you the news you probably won't find on the front page. I'm Lauren Scott. I'm Maddie Welsh. And I'm Emily Moneyhun. Today we have stories about an extreme Swifty, a claw machine mishap, and an unexpected McDonald's delivery. Now let's get into it. Our first story for today is about a Swifty who identified 34 Taylor Swift songs in one minute to break the world record. I'm reading from UPI News Outlet. It says a dedicated Swifty from Pakistan broke a Guinness World record by correctly identifying 34 Taylor Swift songs from their lyrics in one minute. The 20-year-old had to listen to the lyrics being read out loud by a man without any. any music to identify each song. That's pretty crazy. I really hope Taylor Swift gives this guy free tickets to the Aeros Tour.

Yeah, this is pretty impressive. I definitely could not do that. I mean, I like Taylor Swift. I just don't listen to a lot of her music. My sisters, on the other hand, are obsessed with her, and I don't know, they can maybe compete with this guy. I do find it hard to believe, though, considering there's so much overlap

between the lyrics and her songs could be one out of a thousand. Yeah, that is true. I'll read a quote that this guy said. By the way, I'm not saying his name simply because I don't know how to pronounce it. So, sorry, I'm sure you could just look it up and easily find his name.

But a quote from him, he says, I've been listening to Taylor Swift since my childhood. I am a diehard fan of her. I have listened to each and every song of her. I can identify almost any song of hers from the lyrics. This guy apparently is also not a first time Guinness World record setter. He previously set records for the most animals identified from animal sounds in one minute, and that was 23, animals identified.

And the most Justin Bieber songs identified from their lyrics in one minute, and that was 29. But, and this is what the story says, he said his latest title is the one like gives him the most pride. So it sounds to me like this guy just sort of has a gift with memory. Moving on, we have Kentucky convenience store bathrooms transform into disco clubs. And we have a little clip for you. Things are really hopping at the hop shop in Florence. And the crowd isn't there just to buy gas or snacks.

They're curious about the big red buttons in the bathrooms. When we tell people to go in there and push the button, because a lot of people come out and say, well, I didn't push it because it tells me not to. And we'll say, well, he's winking at you, so we want you to push it. One push sets the balls in motion and starts a party in the potty. You know this is cool. They'll just burst into laughter, and then they come out and they run out and grab family and run back in the bathroom. And it just brings a lot of joy.

There are now five hop shops in northern Kentucky with disco bathroom. and more to come. Nice song in it. They're a viral sensation on social media. TikTok star Mr. Grouchy came to this opening, leaving fans flushed with excitement. It's pretty wild, pretty fun time in there. It's funny, I love it.

I love reading all the comments on social media, just again, the cleanest bathrooms, the coolest restroom, because it's unexpected. A lot of stores wouldn't encourage people to stop just to go to the restroom, but here they believe it's good business, to give people a good place to do their business. After spending time in the bathroom,

The Chants in the dark. Most people also spend some money at the checkout. Alex Hudson of Florence may be the biggest fan of the flashy facilities. I love pressing this button every time. She celebrated her 20th birthday by taking her friends to each disco bathroom. They're like, you're doing what for your birthday? I'm like, you heard me correct. I said I'm going to every single day.

I'm going to every single hop shop location. It's just a good feeling in any of the bathrooms. Managers say they know travelers have gone out of their way to boogie in the bathrooms. We had a 60-year-old lady that went in and she came out and she said that was the best day of her life. Hop shops are on to something in sync with their customers, giving them a fun place to go when they got to go. I think this is something that we should implement into all bathrooms at Hillsdale College. Yeah, I really don't, I try not to make a practice of pressing red buttons and bathrooms, but this looks great. Yeah, you know, I really think that Hillsdale College would have to do less work, you know, advertising online classes and CCAs and things like that.

If we just had a few disco balls in the bathrooms, I just think overall it would be a lot less work for people. Yeah, you're so right. I think SAB should really look into this. I agree. Moving on, or should I say flying across the world, we have a story for you coming from Queensland, Australia, about a three-year-old who climbed into a Hello Kitty claw machine because he wanted to get a toy, and they actually ended up calling the police to rescue him.

I thought they were going to call the police to arrest her. Let's hope not. He's only three. I think this is a completely understandable thing to do. Would you have done anything like this as a child, Maddie? I personally would not have, but I know of many children who would. Yeah, because Maddie was a loser. Well, that's a little bit mean.

Yeah, again, reading from this UPI news outlet, the Queensland Police Department said in a Facebook post that the boy named Ethan had climbed into the claw machine filled with Hello Kitty plush toys through the prize shoot and was unable to find his way back out. It is great, though, that he actually did get a toy at the end of it all, so all his trouble was not for nothing. So what kind of message does this send the kids? If you climb in a claw machine, you'll get a free toy.

It's actually probably a better way to get one than actually using the claw. Up next, we've got a story about a different kind of delivery at McDonald's. This story is about a baby who was born in a McDonald's parking lot in Wisconsin. The story says, a baby impatient to meet the world was born in the parking lot of a Wisconsin McDonald's when his parents weren't able to get to the hospital in time. Annalisa Beck and her husband, Daniel, they've just welcomed their third baby. But the delivery, let's just say, Kiana, it happened fast. How fast?

Think fast food. The Bex gave birth to their little boy in the parking lot of a McDonald's during a snowstorm in Wisconsin earlier this month. This is a pretty great way to come into the world, I think. Yeah, you know, I actually have heard that there's this chemical that McDonald puts in their burgers that has actually, like, proven to make multiple women go into labor. Are you serious? No, I'm totally making that up.

Oh, okay. Well, you know, there was a myth that I think people still believe. And it's that if you give birth at Disney World, then your baby can attend Disney World for free for his or her entire life. And there were so many women who would go to Disney World and try to give birth in the middle of the park that Disney World had to literally release a statement and be like, hey, this is not true. Like, your kid will not get to come to Disney World for free if you give birth year. Well, hopefully this kid will be able to go to the McDonald's play place for free. You want to know what my biggest fear is? What? Getting stuck in a trash compactor. Well, guess what?

For this woman in Manchester, New Hampshire, that exact thing happened. From AP News, a woman fell in. into a dumpster while throwing out her garbage and was later rescued from a trash truck that had compacted the contents while she was inside, fire department officials in New Hampshire said. Luckily, neighbors heard her screams and the trash compartment was equipped with a camera. The driver spotted the woman stuck inside and called 911. By then, the driver had reportedly compacted the garbage up to four times, the Manchester Fire Department said in a news release.

Is this actually your greatest fear, Emily? No. But now it is. Quite frightening, but she was okay after this happened. How okay is okay? I mean, she still has to live with the memories of being in a trash dumpster being compacted four times. That is terrifying. It says the woman was taken to a hospital after Monday's misadventure, and her name was not released.

You're listening to Sidebar on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. and now Emily has a little something for us. All right, guys, we're going to play two truths and one lie, but with news stories. I have here two true news stories and one new story I made up. Can you tell which is which? Let's start off first with Bring a piece of Mighty Mac Home. St. Ignis, Michigan.

Looking for the most undeniably Michigan souvenir? We know of a bridge for sale in the UP. Pieces of one, at least. All right, so the Maconall Bridge Authority is selling 5 by 11 inch and 5 by 8 inch size great pieces for $20 each. So like pieces of the great from the McAnall Bridge. Since 2016, they have been selling old parts of the bridge that are set to be replaced. Are we supposed to guess? Are you going to read the other ones?

No, I read the other ones, but you have any questions? Um, not really. It's super wordy. Oh, okay. Is this an edding session right now? No, it's okay. Okay, you can tell us the next one. Okay, number two.

McDonald's employee makes a stink about the stink. Local Ann Arbor McDonald's faces lawsuit, filed by employee claiming personal injury caused by a busted sewer line beneath the establishment. Another McDonald's story. Chloe Sandoval says she has not been able to smell straight for weeks on account of being forced to work a full day shift under what her lawyers are calling untenatable work to be.

I hope this is not true because I don't want... This sounds like food contamination waiting to happen. Yeah, exactly. She's quoted to say, I don't know why I even had to be there. Nobody was going to eat anywhere, with it smelling down the whole block. Finally, best for last. Number three, preteen and father wrangle python to rescue pet guinea pig in their backyard. With the help of her father, a 12-year-old was able to save her pet guinea pig from being eaten by a python.

It says the father looked on as the girl swung the python. Guinea pigs still in mouth around like a helicopter propeller. The guinea pig is recovering just fine. What a champ. Okay. This is a hard one. It is. But you want to know what?

I think I actually saw the one about the bridge on Twitter. So I think that one is true. Well, yeah, definitely the bridge one is true. And I also think that the McDonald's one is true. And I think the L'L's one is true. And I think the last one's a lie because you were laughing at it too much. I think it's a big fat lie because it was like just too good. Like I wish I could read a new story like that.

I wish, but I think that you made it up. Okay, so you're saying the guinea pig story number three was a lie? Yes. The McDonald's was a lie. No way. Yeah, do you want to see the video? Wow. Yeah.

Can we play it for our audience? No, you can't hear anything. Sorry, guys. I guess we'll get to watch it later. I'll show you and you guys. Look it up. Look it up. That's the title of the article is preteen and father, Wrangle Python to rescue pet, guinea pig in their backyard.

Where's this story from? This is from USA Today. That is insane. It's actually a credible source. Yeah. I'm impressed with you, Emily, because you made up a fake quote for the McDonald's one. Did you come up with that on the fly? No, no, no, I wrote that down.

I thought of that. I'm so proud of myself because I'm working with two journalists. I was like, ain't no way that it's the McDonald's one because she has a quote in there. And I guess I was underestimating you that you wouldn't think to make up a quote from a fake person. But well done. I guess you're more good at manipulating than I thought you were. I'm a really good liar. All right.

Well, thank you so much for that fun time, Emily. Moving on to NewsFails. We're starting off strong with a horrendous pronunciation of. of a police officer given by a news anchor woman. To say their final goodbyes to this fallen Louisville police officer, D.D. Megadu-Dou. Mungu. I'm sorry. Men, gudu. Yeah, this one is a classic. Yeah, honestly, it's pretty unfortunate for all parties involved. I can't help but feel bad for the family of the woman whose name was mispronounced. And also for the woman who, who mispronounced it herself.

It's got to not be a great feeling to do that on TV where anyone in the world could see it. Yeah, we should do some follow-up research and just see where she's at today if she's still in this profession. Well, because something I have always wondered, if you look at the spelling of the officer's name, it definitely does not look like D-D mega-Doodoo.

So what I assume is that on the little telehealth, teleprompter, somebody wrote that as a joke, and then she just read it from the teleprompter. Because as she's saying it, she looks pretty confused, like, oh, do I say this? Do I not? And so I assume that that is what happened. Maybe an intern lost their job that day. Yeah, I did read a follow-up of this lady, and she now collects trash. And she one time fell into a trash combat. There's no way.

This is untrue. Emily is saying untruths. Our next news fail is from a UK news outlet ITV, and this comes from a tribute that they made for Stephen Hawking shortly after his death, and they played the wrong music at first. Here it is. Just before we leave you today,

we want to pay tribute to the world-renowned physicist and genuine genius Stephen Hawkin, who has sadly died at the end. He leaves behind a huge legacy, not just as a mathematician and astrophysicist, but also as an inspiration to millions. But it would be an empty universe indeed, if it were not for the people I love and who love me. I like the first song better. Believe it or not, this actually did happen. entertainment wrote,

As news of physicist Stephen Hawking's death broke, news outlets scrambled to put together tributes for the beloved figure. And being something as serious as death, you want to be as respectful and dignified as possible. That was most definitely the aim for the team at UK Breakfast Show this morning. But unfortunately, that's not what happened when the ITV program aired yesterday. They ended the show with a tribute to the brilliant mind and an accidental musical mess up.

Instead of playing emotive music, the clip started rolling with Megan Trainers' track All About That Bass. You know, as much as I loved this song in middle school, I don't even think that I would want it played as my tribute one day. Well, that's probably okay as long as ITV doesn't do your tribute. This next one speaks for itself. Ten people died in the Bronx last night due to a fire that killed 10 people in the Bronx last night during a fire.

Fire officials say all 10 people died due to the fire, which was too hot for their bodies. Yeah, that sounds like one of my papers. That was, in fact, not real, although that has fooled many people. It's from a TV show called Louie. I definitely thought that that news fail was real until today when we looked it up and found out that it's actually fake. It's from a show. Same here. I was completely fooled.

and that's on the power of the internet to influence your mind. All right, this one's not quite a news fail, but it is one of my favorite clips ever. Registered, microchipped, cleaned up after, desexed, leashed, not allowed on the beaches or in the parks outside certain hours. So how is it that these two are roaming their neighborhood, frightening the locals, and the council isn't stopping it? Now, yesterday morning, I came out into the front yard and the dogs were across the back. And as soon as they saw me, they came bounding over. And I just made it into the front door into... For all you who couldn't see that video, because none of you can,

there was a man making those dog noises. You should definitely look up the video because it's a sight to behold. Thank you for listening to Sidebar today. This is our very first episode. and we just wanted to tell you a little bit about the show and who we are. You might have heard Lauren and I's voices on Radio Free Hillsdale before. We are co-hosts of the Collegian Week in Review, which is a weekly news feature show,

where we talk to people who wrote or were featured in stories in the Collegian. And you may not have heard the voice of Emily Moneyhan, our third co-host for Sidebar. This is her first appearance on Radio Free Hillsdale. But we just wanted to bring a show to your airwaves that talked about the news, but made it a little bit more fun. Obviously, most people know about the main headlines, the front page stories, but there are a lot of stories out there that don't get enough credit. Maybe because they're not as influential, but they are funny or entertaining. And so the goal of this show is to bring those stories to you and allow you to be entertained by them.

Yeah, we just all are pretty interested in the news and we like laughing. So we figured we combine those two things and bring it to you. Thank you for listening to Sidebar on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM. I'm Lauren. I'm Maddie. And I'm Emily. See you next week.