The comedy4cast network. Let's dog ear that for now.
This is comedy4cast, episode 806. Lately, not so stately.
It's time once again for the Dog Days of Podcasting, a call for podcasters to
try to put out a podcast every day in August.
For more information and to hear all the shows, go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com.
Here at the comedy4cast studios, we've been working on a new format for this year's Dog Days.
Sure, like in years past, there will be an actual odd news story, but that's not all.
So, let's get started with Odd News Plus.
Here are our odd news stories for Wednesday, August 14th, 2024.
First up, it's time for another gardening tip straight out of the middle-aged farmer's almanac.
Pests feeding on your plantings can ruin your garden. The almanac suggests that
instead of using expensive and potentially harmful insecticides,
simply apply a thin coat of car wax to all surfaces of the plant.
Bugs will slide right off.
Is this almanac getting its ideas off of TikTok?
Now let's get to our actual for real odd news story. Forget about saving Gotham
City from the Joker Batman.
You need to call a plumber. If you've ever seen the 2005 movie Batman Begins,
then you may recall having seen Bruce Wayne at his stately Wayne Manor.
The fictitious house bizarrely built directly over a cave.
And while the location is real, it's not Wayne Manor.
It's Mentmore Towers, located in Buckinghamshire, England.
And before you ask, there is no cave below it.
Or is that what Batman wants us to believe? Mentmore has been featured in several
films, including Eyes Wide Shut, The Mummy Returns, Brazil, and more.
But if you want to get someone's attention, just drop the Bat's name.
The mansion and surrounding property sits on 494 acres of land.
It was built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschilds family.
The sprawling home features a revival
of late 16th and early 17th century Elizabethan and Jacobean styles.
Mentmore Towers was originally created as a display case for Baron Mayor de
Rothschild's huge fine arts collection.
A display case? I don't think Rothschilds knew what those were.
Because anyone out there with a collection of action figures or bowling trophies
could have hooked him up with a supplier who would have probably given him a volume discount.
Mentmore was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, best known for designing the Crystal
Palace, and it was one of the earliest homes to have the home comforts of a
built-in hot water and central heating system.
Better still, there's a library that has secret rooms behind bookcases.
Now, if you could open them by using a button hidden inside a statue of Shakespeare,
that would be perfect.
Following the baron's death, the house was inherited by his daughter,
Hannah Primrose, Countess of Roseberry, and so on down the line.
In 1999, the property was purchased by billionaire property developer Simon Halabi.
Halabi had intentions to convert the manor house into a 170-suite, five-star hotel.
With a bat cave. I mean, a pool. I'm sure there would have been a pool. But we'll never know.
Halabi's property empire took a huge hit during the 2008 housing market collapse,
and plans for Mentmore vanished like a bat in the night.
For the past few decades, Mentmore Towers has sat abandoned,
succumbing to the elements.
Ceilings are collapsing. Mold and dust are taking their toll,
and the only visitors these days are urban explorers.
Alfred has really been lax in his duties.
Officials have inspected the mansion in hopes of restoring the building to its former glory.
A spokesperson for Historic England said, We are working closely with the owners
and Bucks County to ensure a positive future for Mentmore Towers and Parkland.
Unfortunately, that was in May of 2022.
So someone fire up the Bat Signal. Or better yet, fire up Alfre's old Rolodex
and get someone out here to fix the front door.
And finally, hidden fees. Hotels, airlines, concerts, and online retailers advertise
one price and then tack on hidden fees that can equal or exceed the price of the goods or services.
Recently, CEOs of some of the major offenders were testifying on Capitol Hill,
and Congress has just received a bill for their appearance.
It includes a charge for responding to specific questions, labeled Personalization Fee,
a charge for not allowing them to testify over Zoom, labeled Change of Venue
Fee, And in regards to repeated demands by committee members that the companies
change their practices,
a Client Change Request Fee.
That about wraps it up for today's Odd News Plus.
A big thanks to the comedy4cast patrons for helping make this show possible.
Story, voices, and original music by Clinton Alvord. Copyright 2024 All rights
reserved Talk to you next time But for now, that's it We're done,
done, done, done, done Bye-bye.
Music.