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The comedy4cast network. Let's dog ear that for now.

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This is comedy4cast, Episode 810. One Big Plug.

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It's time once again for the Dog Days of Podcasting, a call for podcasters to

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try to put out a podcast every day in August.

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For more information and to hear all the shows, go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com.

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Here at the comedy4cast studios, we've been working on a new format for this year's Dog Days.

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Sure, like in years past, there will be an actual odd news story, but that's not all.

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So, let's get started with Odd News Plus.

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Here are our odd news stories for Sunday, August 18th, 2024.

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First up, as a public service, Odd News Plus is pleased to bring you notes from

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your community calendar.

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Tomorrow night, your local civic center will be holding its monthly meet and greet event.

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This is a great opportunity to get out there and introduce yourself to your neighbors.

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Light snacks will be served, but BYOC, bring your own coffee.

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Later in the evening, for those interested in participating,

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the theme for the fall festival will be discussed.

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Personally, I think that's a horrible theme for a festival. But it's your community.

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Now let's get to our actual, for real, odd news story.

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On yesterday's show, we went tiny with a story about the smallest house in Britain.

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So it's only fair to jump over the pond again to hear a story about the other

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end of the size spectrum.

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Meet former electrician for the ambulance service, Steve Wainwright.

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He's a man who had too much time on his hands when he retired from the electrical circuit.

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Wainwright said he felt a bit lost. He had always enjoyed engineering,

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building things, and DIY projects, but nothing in particular was striking his fancy.

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Until one day, when a prolonged bout of rain stopped him from working on various outdoor tasks.

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Sitting in his easy chair, Wainwright looked at his trusty tape measure and

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did what anyone would do in that situation.

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He wondered if he could build one just like it, but ten times as large.

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Yes, yes he could. In practically no time at all, Steve had crafted a gigantic

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16-foot power-lock tape measure, complete with retractable giant tape.

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Well, that was fun. But you may be wondering what Steve's wife had to say about this bizarre build.

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Naturally, she did what anyone in that situation would do.

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She challenged Steve to build her a lipstick 10 times normal size.

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Is there something in the water in Cambridgeshire? No matter.

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Steve built the lipstick and kept on going.

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Among other things, he has crafted oversized versions of a Master lock,

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a house key, a clothespin, and even a huge pencil and pencil sharpener.

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The 61-year-old admits his creations are less about practicality and more about dreaming big.

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When you've created an electrical plug that's two and a half feet wide,

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I'd say it's all about dreaming big and 0% about practicality.

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But one thing about the colossal constructs is practical.

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Wainwright chooses to create items at 10 times their normal size because the

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conversion is easy math.

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People's reactions to the giant items are generally positive,

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but Steve has noticed a distinct difference between the reactions of men and women.

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Apparently, men say things like, Wow, that's out of this world!

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While women are more prone to comment, What on earth are you going to do with

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that? Where are you going to put it?

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For the record, giant or otherwise, Wainwright says he has the creations placed

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in little gaps around the house.

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Until, of course, he creates enormous versions of those little gaps.

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And finally, an amateur farmer recently proved that they truly have a green thumb.

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Ms. Willow Hardy of Taunton, Massachusetts, was credited with growing the largest

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brussels sprouts ever recorded in the Bay State.

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We reached out to Ms. Hardy, who said the only problem with growing a huge brussels

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sprout is that now she has a huge brussels sprout.

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And ain't nobody gonna want that.

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That about wraps it up for today's Odd News Plus.

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A big thanks to the comedy4cast patrons for helping make this show possible.

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Story, Voices, and Original Music by Clinton Alvord. Copyright 2024.

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All rights reserved. Talk to you next time. But for now, that's it.

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We're done, done, done, done, done. Bye-bye.

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Music.