The comedy4cast Network. Let's dog-ear that for now.
This is comedy4cast, episode 873. Bountiful Bye-Bye.
It's time once again for the August Dog Days of Podcasting Challenge.
For more information and to hear shows from all the participants,
go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com.
Comedy4cast is taking this time to provide you with some interesting,
yet totally useless odd news.
In fact, two odd news stories that we think deserve each other.
So, let's have some fun with Odd News Times Twos.
For today's first story, we're headed to India, and the home of Rachna Gurjar.
As you can plainly see, she has spread out a great deal of her jewelry,
cash, and other items on a table.
It's an impressive collection indeed.
Words alone don't do it justice. Don't you agree?
But why has she done this? Perhaps she's taking inventory. No, wait.
She's recording a video, describing everything.
Ah, something for the relatives, no doubt. No, hang on.
She's posting the video on social media.
While the video uploads, let's head to Panama for our second story.
This is the El Cano Archaeological Site.
For over 20 years, the location has been under study.
But something tells me it's about to become a star.
The site dates from somewhere between 800 and 1000 AD and has already yielded
some insights into ancient Central American culture.
However, this year the annual dig has revealed how complex the burial site really is.
Excavators found several human remains inside the tomb, along with carefully
crafted gold ornaments and ceramic pieces.
The gold objects include chest plates, earrings, and bracelets.
Some carry images of crocodiles and bats, symbols tied to local beliefs and
artistic traditions. Dang it!
For a second, I thought this might be the original Batcave. Researchers say
the quality and quantity of the items points to a person of great importance.
In ancient societies, gold served as a clear sign of authority.
It showed power, influence, and high standing within the community.
How times have changed, am I right?
The presence of so many valuable objects suggests the individual buried at the
center held a leading role. Ah, see?
Leading role. No longer the understudy.
But it also tells a tale about rank and ritual. Archaeologists say the person
surrounded by gold held the highest status among those buried.
The design of the tomb shows that social differences remained important…
Even after death.
Leaders appear to have carried their authority beyond the grave.
Well, they probably had someone else carry it for them, but point taken.
Okay, we're headed back to India.
Those videos have posted, and after a busy day,
Rachna and her husband have retired for the night.
I hope their friends like the videos.
Oh, hold on. It turns out that Rachna is a social media influencer with a bit
of reach, including one million followers on Instagram.
And it appears that a few of them might have been very interested in those videos,
because as Rachna and her husband slept, several unidentified men cut the fencing
around the property and made their way inside the house, where they proceeded
to lock the door to the room where the family was sleeping,
then apparently made off with jewelry and cash
worth somewhere between $8,000 and $10,500 U.S.
Also, for some reason, they took a carton of energy drinks.
Police sources believe the burglars may have watched the videos,
which would have given them an idea of the house layout, the presence of valuables,
and possibly even security arrangements.
So, what did we learn today?
I think it's that it's a good thing the internet didn't exist a thousand years ago.
Can you imagine those archeologists digging up a bunch of empty Red Bull cans?
I know it's hard to fathom,
but it seems this culture believed this nectar would give them wiiings.
Also, they spelled wings with three I's.
They were very strange.
♪ "END THEME" MUSIC IN AND UNDER ♪
That about wraps it up for today's Odd News Times Twos.
But first, a very special shout-out to my Patreon patrons, including producer-level
patrons Paul Barrie from the A Window to the Magic podcast, Kirby Bartlett-Sloan,
Chuck Tomasi from the Technorama podcast, Kyle Nishioka, Brian Martsolf, Amy Murphy,
and Steve Ng from steveng5.com.
That's S-T-E-V-E-N-G, the number five, dot com.
You too can show your support. Just search for comedy4cast,
all one word with the number 4, on Patreon.com. Original script,
voices, and original music by me, Clinton Alvord. Copyright 2026.
All rights reserved. Talk to you again next time. But for now,
that's it. We're done, done, done, done, done. Bye-bye.