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The comedy4cast Network. Let's dog-ear that for now.

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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, go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com.

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We always take this month to provide you with some interesting,

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yet totally useless, odd news.

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And this year, to celebrate the platinum anniversary of comedy4cast,

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or PAC for short, we'll end each Dog Day episode with part of a classic comedy4cast episode.

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

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If you drive, you know that roads can be tricky to maneuver.

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Sometimes you come across an unusually steep grade that feels more like a rollercoaster

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lift hill, where the other side only reveals itself once you have crested the top of the ridge.

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Please keep your hands and legs inside the vehicle and watch your hats and glasses.

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Or you come across a lane that hugs very close to the edge of a cliff where

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one wrong move could mean you're about to find out how good your vehicle is at flying.

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Or landing. Then there are tricky intersections where you're supposed to stop

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and see if vehicles are approaching on the crossroad But that road curves,

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making it impossible to tell if anything is approaching So you have to rely

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on your spidey senses to tell if a car or truck is barreling towards you Toss in roundabouts,

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merge lanes, and confusing exits And it makes you wonder if road engineers even

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drive cars Maybe they just walk everywhere The latest shining example of this

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can be found in the design of a new rail-over bridge,

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or overpass, in Bhopal, India.

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In fact, Central India's Madhya Pradesh government suspended seven engineers over

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the design of the bridge, a 28-foot-wide bridge that cost 200 million rupee, around $2.3 million US.

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What could be so wrong with this bridge, designed simply to cross over a length

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of railroad track? Maybe it's the sheer length of the bridge,

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which clocks in at 648 meters, or four-tenths of a mile.

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Yes, that is annoying, but the bridge does have to maneuver around existing

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structures once it is elevated.

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Maybe it's the wide curve on the road after a long straight section,

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making the bridge look like a huge question mark.

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Well, while that is something to question, it's not the big problem.

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Then what is the deal here? What is so bad about this overpass bridge?

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Why were seven engineers suspended?

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It's because, once the ramp that runs parallel to the railroad tracks reaches

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its full height, it takes a turn to cross over the tracks—a near 90-degree turn.

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No, not gradually. All at once. You're going one way and then BAM!

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Your car needs to be turned to face the side in some insane Tokyo drift maneuver.

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Now, in India, vehicles travel on the left side of the road.

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So if you're coming up the ramp, at least you have some clue about what is around the corner.

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But if you're coming down the ramp with the barrier wall on your left,

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it would be like that intersection I mentioned earlier where you don't know

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what's around the corner.

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But in this case, there's no stopping.

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You just go! Fortunately, the overpass is not in use.

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It is sitting there in all its twist and turn glory while the local government

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figures out how to fix the problem.

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Here's a suggestion. Don't use a 90-degree turn.

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And now, let's celebrate 20 years of comedy4cast with this classic clip.

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In this clip from the October 3, 2011 episode of comedy4cast,

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I acknowledge that I'm horrible at remembering names. and bring in a memory expert to help me.

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However, I want to see how good they really are. So I ask them to help someone else first. Good luck.

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We shall start with the basics, which, as I have said before, is repetition.

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Here, here is a picture of a young woman. Do you remember her name?

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Of course you don't. I have not told her to you yet, but I will.

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Her name is Yolanda.

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Now, repeat after me. Yolanda.

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Yolanda. Yolanda. Hhhhjoulanda. Hulanda.

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Hhhhhjulanda. Now, what is the woman's name?

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Not a clue. Think. Think with your mind. Her name rhymes with Rwanda.

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Kate Beckinsale? It is Yolanda. Yolanda. She's got the same first and last name?

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You wouldn't think her parents would have seen that coming. No,

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honey, don't call her Yorba Linda.

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Our last name is Yucatan.

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Look, I've got to go. I've got to get to the Borders bookstore before it closes.

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Cap, they've closed all the Borders. Wow, they're really tightening up on those immigration policies.

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Let's come at this from a different direction. A different angle,

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if you will. In this approach, we emphasize a particular sound in a name to help it stand out.

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We put the emphasis on the wrong syllable, as it were.

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Clinton, would you please give me a name so I can demonstrate?

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Sure. Bill.

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Perhaps one with more than one syllable? Oh, right.

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Jojo. And more than one sound? Ugh, picky, picky, picky.

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Um, Yvette. All right, we will emphasize the first syllable instead of the second.

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Yvette instead of Yvette. You see? Yvette. Yvette.

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Yvette. Yvette. No, even I can't see the difference.

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Never mind. This guy's a few corners short of a circle, if you know what I mean.

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What? Perhaps we should try a different approach.

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Cap, I want you to remember my name, which is Bernie.

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Really? Now, picture writing the name Bernie in the air.

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With what? What? A pencil? A pen?

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Does a sharpie write in the air? I don't... Yes, yes. A Sharpie writes in the air. Oh, okay.

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Are you picturing it? Nope. Why not? I don't have a Sharpie.

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Pretend you have one. Boy, this is a lot of work.

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Now are you picturing it? Nope.

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Now why not? Left the cap off too long. The darn thing's dried out. That's all right.

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Another technique is to picture writing the name on the person's forehead.

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It reinforces the memory you see.

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So try that. You're sure it's okay?

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Of course. Of course. So what's your name again? Bernie.

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How do you spell that? B-E-R-N-I-E. You sure about that?

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Yes, of course I am sure. Well, I've got some bad news.

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Well, I spelled it B-E-R-O-A-X. Well, that is... C

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7, open bracket, backslash. Well, right over it.

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Tried to rub it off and now it's all smudgy. Can't read it. All right.

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Imagine I'm wearing a name tag. Why are you wearing a name tag on your forehead?

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It is on my jacket. Now, hold on a minute. This imaginary name tag looks familiar.

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What? It looks just like the ones we sell down in the gift shop.

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Where did you get this? But I didn't... Show me your receipt.

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I don't have a receipt. I didn't buy anything. Whoa.

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I don't usually get a confession. Sweet.

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Come on, buddy. You're coming with me. This is ridiculous.

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And then I'm going looking for your peeps. My peeps? Your whole posse.

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Yolanda, Yolanda, Bill, Jojo, Yvette, and Yvette.

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Call my lawyer! Uh, sure. What's their name? His name is, uh... Uh...

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Oh, irony of ironies. That about wraps it up for today's Odd News PAC.

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But first, a shout out to the comedy4castt Patreon patrons,

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including our producer-level patrons, Paul Barrie from the A Window to the Magic

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podcast and Kirby Bartlett-Sloan from the 20-megabyte Doctor Who podcast.

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You too can support comedy4cast and get episodes before everyone else for

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as little as $2 a month. Just search for comedy4cast, all one word with

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the number 4, on Patreon.com.

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Script, voices, and original music by me, Clinton Alvord. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved.

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Talk to you again next time. But for now, that's it. We're done,

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done, done, done, done. Bye-bye.