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

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♪ "ID JINGLE" ENDS ♪

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This is comedy4cast,
episode 878, Extreme Green.

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It's time once again for the August
Dog Days of Podcasting Challenge.

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For more information and to hear
shows from all the participants,

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go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com.

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Comedy4cast is taking this time to
provide you with some interesting yet

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totally useless odd news. In fact, 2 odd news
stories that we think deserve each other.

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So, let's have some fun
with Odd News Times Twos.

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Our first stop, or should I say pit stop,
is in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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[ ELECTRONIC WHOOSH ]

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Does this story involve vehicles in a race?
Oh, you bet. Formula One?

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NASCAR? Top Fuel Dragster? Well, no, no,
and no. Then what does it involve?

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Before we answer that, we need to head
to Woods Hole, Massachusetts for our

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second odd news story.

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[ ELECTRONIC WHOOSH ]
[ WATER SPLASH ]

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Oops! Sorry! Overshot that a bit, and we
seem to have ended up in Eel Pond,

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which hopefully is named after a person
with that name. Let me just check that.

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[ TYPING ]

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Nope, it's because there are eels. Hang on.

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[ ELECTRONIC WHOOSH ]

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Okay, that's better. Speaking of eels,
we're here about a different type of

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aquatic inhabitant, kelp.

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I know. Contain your excitement. Since
the 1970s, there's been on-again,

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off-again research into the idea
of using kelp as bio fuel.

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You see, while solar and even wind power
can get a car from point A to point B,

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even point C, D, and E on a good day,
larger craft, like ships and airplanes,

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require liquid fuel, bubbling crude,
oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.

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But by now, we're aware of both the
environmental risks and or volatile supply

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chain issues associated with
petroleum products.

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Even with all that, outside of wrapping around
your foot at the beach, kelp hasn't caught on.

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Which is odd, because the oil we
do use is also a marine product,

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formed from the remains of ancient
algae and plankton. SpongeBob!

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Hang on, you may say.

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Isn't oil made from old dinosaurs?
Actually, no, I would reply.

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In fact, any dinosaur remains
would actually contaminate the oil,

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possibly because T-Rex was well known
for not washing its claws.

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In fairness, though, it couldn't reach
the dispenser with its tiny arms.

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[ DINOSAUR GROWLS ]

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Where was I? Oh, right here. Kelp.
Through a process that uses heat and pressure

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to produce fuel, known as hydrothermal
liquefaction, this humble seaweed could

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power those ships and aircraft
without any petroleum.

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That's because it simulates
the way petroleum was created.

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But doesn't take 100 million years.

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Even better, kelp is pretty darn easy
to grow, making it very sustainable.

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And even better-er, bio fuel ends up
emitting far less greenhouse gases than

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the petroleum we currently use.

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What does far less mean? Between 50
and 70 percent less. In some cases,

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even over 80 percent less.

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Okay, let's go seaweed. Not so fast.

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While researchers have been able to
breed kelp that can produce up to three

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times more biomass and conventional
strains, energy companies are reluctant

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to commit to large-scale aquaculture
production without proof that there is

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a demand for the product.

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And aquaculture farmers are reluctant
to scale up their production without a

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guaranteed buyer.
Very much a catch-22 situation.

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Also, scaling up the bio fuel industry
would require sustained government support

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as the production capacities
lowly build up to a critical mass,

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or in this case, biomass.

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And interest has traditionally ebbed
and flowed based on petroleum supplies.

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There's also the question of where the
aquaculture facilities would be located.

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The majority of coastline in the United
States is already in use for recreation,

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fishing, or conservation.

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But while we ponder the future of
seaweed, it's time to leave Woods Hole and

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head back to Indianapolis.

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[ ELECTRONIC WHOOSH ]

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Today, the vehicle runs aren't meant to
set records for speed or endurance.

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It's all about miles per gallon.
This is the 2026 Shell Eco-Marathon,

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a competition where the winners are
the vehicles that can go the farthest on

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the least amount of fuel.

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The cars have to maintain an average
speed of at least 15 miles an hour,

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23 kilometers an hour, over a
distance of 10 miles, 16 kilometers.

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Oh, here comes the team from Brigham
Young University. They're using gasoline

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to power their entry, a single-occupant
vehicle known as Super mile age.

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Yeah, a bit on the nose, but I'll allow it.

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Super Mileage isn't going to replace
your family crossover anytime soon.

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To get on this ride,

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you must be no more than 5 feet 4 inches
tall and weigh less than 120 pounds.

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And that's 12 pounds more than the vehicle
itself weighs, thanks to a carbon fiber body.

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The car body, not the driver. And the gas
tank? It holds a whopping one ounce of fuel.

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You heard me, one ounce. And how did
Super mile age do in this year's Eco-Marathon?

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It won with a fuel efficiency equivalent to...

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[ DRUM ROLL ]

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2,145 miles a gallon.

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♪ SHORT MUSICAL FANFARE ♪

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You could drive super mileage from
Utah to New York on one gallon of gas.

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Of course, since the tank only holds one
ounce, you'd need to refuel every 20 miles.

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Bring lots of snacks
that don't weigh anything.

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So what did we learn today? I think it's that
winning the Eco-Marathon in Indianapolis,

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Indiana probably had the Brigham
Young team asking, Hoosier daddy?

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♪ "END THEME" [MUSIC IN AND UNDER ]

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

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But first, a very special shout-out to my
Patreon patrons, including producer-level

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patrons Paul Barrie from the A Window to
the Magic podcast, Kirby Bartlett-Sloan,

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Chuck Tomasi from the Technorama podcast,
Kyle Nishioka, Brian Martzolf, Amy Murphy,

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and Steve Ng from steveng5.com.

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That's S-T-E-V-E-N-G, the number 5,
dot com. You too can show your support.

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Just search for comedy4cast,
all one word with the number 4r,

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on Patreon.com. Original script, voices,
and original music by me,

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Clinton Alvord. Copyright 2026.

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All rights reserved. Talk to you
again next time. But for now,

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that's it. We're done, done,
done, done, done. Bye-bye.