The comedy4cast network. Let's dog ear that for now. This is comedy4cast, episode 804. This story is all wet. 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 Monday, August 12, 2024. First up, the technology of running shoes is now a billion-dollar industry, with near daily advances in materials and production. But one Silicon Valley startup, FastForward, believes they have tapped into an unexplored area of athletic footwear.
Using innovative dyes and the latest version of Adobe Illustrator, they have crafted double triangle graphics that can be applied to the toe of virtually any shoe. The triangles replicate the Fast Forward icon that appears on most audio and video players. FastForward CEO Zephyr Rio said the company did suffer a major setback when one of its early prototypes was applied backwards and the runner slammed into a wall behind them.
As a precaution, all footwear triangle graphics now come with an arrow that shows the direction they should face. We were told that FastForward is currently researching the feasibility of adding setting a third triangle, but fear that humans were simply not meant to run that fast. Now let's get to our actual for real odd news story. Back in June, James Kane and Barbie Agostini were visiting Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Hey, that's where the 1939-40 and 1964-65 World's Fairs were held.
Maybe they were there to see the Unisphere, or visit the former site of It's a Small World, or go to the New York State Pavilion, that building you see at the end of Men in Black. Cool! Oh, they were there to do magnet fishing. Okay, well, I guess that's cool. It was cool. In fact, Kane and Agostini found some cool cash. Now they just need to figure out how to save it. You see, using the magnet, they reeled in a safe that contained around $100,000 in water-damaged $100 bills.
I'll bet there must be an interesting story behind how that got there. And maybe there is, but we'll never know what it was. The New York Police Department told the couple the cash was theirs to keep, since investigators were unable to find any evidence connecting the safe or its contents to a crime. So, with the most salvageable-looking cash from the safe in a plastic bag, Kane and Agostini took a bus to Washington, D.C.
Their hope was that they could have the bills cataloged and replaced at the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In your dreams! Oh, never mind. A treasury employee estimated there appeared to be between $50,000 and $70,000 worth of recoverable cash in the plastic bag. The man told Kane and Agostini that the money would be counted and replaced with fresh cash, which they would be able to take home tax-free. The process is expected to take about nine months.
The couple, who took up magnet fishing as an outdoor activity during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, said their previous discoveries included an empty safe, a grenade, multiple guns, a drone, and an entire motorcycle. I really hope those things were all found together, because that would make a very interesting story. This looks like a job for the Group of Explorers.
And finally, Odd News Plus is happy to introduce a new segment, Coffee Conversations, where we slow down the pace and enjoy some coffee while chatting about some of our recent stories. How am I supposed to talk like this? 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.