BONUS: Glow-in-the-dark critters, a bowling prodigy, sports jersey emotions and the Pittock Mansion

Hey y'all, I'm Maddie. And I'm Poodle. And together, we host the podcast Reality Gays. We are two ridiculous homosexuals who love nothing more than talking about reality television and tearing in a new one. So whether it's 90-day fiancé, love is blind, love after lockup, or any other trash TV show about lonely hearts looking for love. Your gay besties got you covered, y'all. New shows every week. Follow and listen to Reality Gays wherever you get your podcast. It's reality gays. Let's love. Welcome to a Weird News Roundup presented by Odyssey's Something Offbeat podcast. We explore strange tales reported on by Odyssey's radio newsrooms from coast to coast. I'm your roundup host, Lauren Barry. This week, we're looking into animals that secretly glow in the dark. And a bowling prodigy who's smashing records and wowing veteran players at alleys across the country. Then, we're going to hear about why sports fans, football fans in particular right now, have such strong reactions when their teams change up their uniforms. To end the show, we're headed to Portland, Oregon, to explore the Piddock Mansion with a renowned historian. First up, did you know that some squirrels glow in the dark? Yes, squirrels. Though the ones we're talking about are also flying squirrels, so they're kind of special. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently revealed their glow-in-the-dark secret in a post on Facebook. After that, Cody Norton of the Michigan DNR joined Amanda Forrester of Odyssey Station WWJ News Radio in Detroit to explain what's going on with these glowy, fuzzy, flying little animals. In the... post that kind of kicked this interest off by the Michigan DNR. One of the facts that was included is that they glow in the dark. So how does that work? Sure. So they do glow to each other and to other species that can see ultraviolet light. So when humans are out in the woods and a flying squirrel flies by, we can't see that unless they are illuminated with like an artificial UV light. And so that's actually exactly what happened in 2019, I believe. Some researchers from Northland College in the northern part of Wisconsin were out surveying lichens, which are one of their food sources. And they were using UV lights, ultraviolet lights, in order to actually look for like different species of lichens because they will also kind of fluoresce under UV light. And they had a flying squirrel glide by overhead and notice that it's belly.

Basically, like, glowed bubblegum pink as it flew over. And so that, I mean, this was not known until, you know, what, seven or so years ago. So pretty amazing, pretty, you know, not well studied. But there's a couple different, basically it's only their belly that does this. So their back does not emit. UV light or you know it's not visible in that way there's We don't really know why or what the function is. There's a couple theories, basically that they might be communicating with other flying squirrels. So both of these species do nest in colonies. Northerns, like up to eight individuals. Southerns might be more like 20. And then sometimes you're on the higher end of that number like during wintertime when they're, they actually like huddle together in their nests and stay warm throughout the winter. But a lot of those nests are hollow in trees, so there's just a small opening on a tree trunk. So the thought is maybe, you know, basically an individual being inside of there would help glow and light their way to get back. But one of the kind of goofy things or concerning things is that like owls, which are a big predator of fine squirrels, can also see UV light. So that could be why only their stomachs for us. So when they are pressed up against a tree or on the ground, you know, that light won't be visible or nearly as visible. But then when they take flight or are in the, you know, in a hole scaring around, you might be able to see that light more if you're, you know, another squirrel. I'm Tobin Heath and I'm Kristen Press. We're World Cup champions, Olympians, and the host of the recap show. Week in and week out, we sit down with sports legends, cultural icons, and global change makers to talk everything from clutch games to causes that matter. This is about creating the future of women's sports, a future that's honest, inclusive, and real. Join us for our reimagined journey. Follow and listen to the recap show wherever you get your podcasts. Now we're headed to Missouri. That's where 14-year-old bowling whiz Avery Bourne is from. She's won two national championships already this year, and she's ready to knock down even more pins. Avery and her dad, who also happens to be her coach, and her little sister, joined the Dana and Parks Show out of Odyssey Station KMBZ in Kansas City to discuss her bowling success. and some things you might not know about competitive bowling. Avery, sweetheart, what year were you? How old when you started bowling? I was four years old. And what did you like about it? Because at age four, you know, most people are, most kids are gluing macaroni on pages in, like, preschool. What was it about bowling that you loved at age four?

really know much like i just got put in leaves because my grandpa and my grandma own a bolland alley in excelsior springs and so they just wanted me to try it out and i ended up liking it but i would always get angry because i was in the bumper league for a little bit when i was four and i would throw it straight down the middle and not get as many of pins as the other kids who would be bouncing it off the we're 55 and we're still in the bumper league clint dad when did you know this was something Like, when did you know what age where you were like, she's really good? About the age of 10 is when we realized that she was picking up things that some of the other kids in leagues were just not understanding. picking your game up quite a bit. But dad, to the novices in the room, and that's me and Dana, when you say she was picking up things that other kids her age, what do you mean by that? So, like, counting boards, like the board you stand on and you start, you know, counting the boards on the lane, hitting marks on the lane, like what dot and what the arrows mean. And, you know, and billiards, kind of like the same thing with the dots on the side of the rails. You know, it's bowling's the same. It's geometry. you know finding that right angle and the right ball and just her hand placement behind the ball it's just it's a net she has a natural ability and her grandfather's teaching has just really brought out the best And what she has. And real quick, just for our other listeners, you said girls bowling, especially with college scholarships, has just exploded. She's already getting attention from some big name colleges. Sure. Yeah. She's got quite the following on social media. You know, obviously Division I colleges can't talk to her yet. You have to be a junior in high school before D1 can start talking to you. But the interest is there. And scholarships in women's bowling is... is huge um one because there's just not as many girls yeah as there are on the boys side now with boys there was over a thousand boys in the u18 division you know at junior gold and there was 179 u14 girls wow so now that jumps up there was like 300 in u16 and u18 but You know, at this age, most girls haven't really started to develop that skill set. Yeah. Avery, tell us about your perfect 300. You are the youngest person in the history of the state of Missouri to bowl a perfect game. I think that's pretty cool. And the bowling alley that I threw it at, my papa actually used to work there too before he bowled, or I mean, before he bought the one now. Were you in a competition when it happened or were you just bowling? Yeah, it was a tournament. It was a... family tournament. So, like, I bow... I think I was bowling with my dad. And you're used to throwing strikes, but just not that many, maybe in a row one after another after another. Did you start getting nervous, like, toward the ninth frame? Yeah, well, just going through your mind as you go to those late frames. I know that when I start getting on, like, a streak like that, I get, like, fast with my feet, and then, like, my timing gets messed up and everything, so I was just telling myself to, like, stay slow and, like...

Not mess up. But with the last ball that you were throwing? I mean, was there a crowd gathered around? Yeah. You were shaking. I was. And what was your reaction when all of them fell? I was just like, oh, my gosh. Just pure joy and giddiness. Were you there, Dad? Were you there? Oh, I was there. Yeah, it was a family. It was the Missouri Bowling proprietors family adult youth tournament. And it was the zone round. So we already advanced out of the house round and we were at the zone round to go to state. And she beat me pretty bad. And you're Avery's little sister. What does it like to go and watch her compete? Um, well, sometimes I'm like super bored because I'm not all into that stuff. Didn't say the darndest things. Yeah, you're a dancer, not a bowler. Yeah, I'm not really into that stuff. But when it came down to when she was, uh, the 300, I, my dad told me to record. And I had no clue what was going on. So I thought it was just recording for Instagram or TikTok. Right. And. Everyone, like when all of the pins fell down, everyone started like cheering. And I was like, what is happening? Avery, what do you hope? And let's start with this. What has bowling given you? What has the sport given you? It's given me tons of friendships from all over the country. And it's given me opportunities to go to college and hopefully go to college and to start saving money for college. Because there's cash prizes in some of these, right? So, yeah, bowling is the only sport where youth can start earning scholarships at the age of five. Wow. And the USBC has a dedicated, what they call a smart account. So any funds that you win through leagues or tournaments or whatever scholarship opportunities, it goes into an account and is held in that account until... the bowlers ready to continue their education after high school. What a great idea. Yeah. Next up, we're going to be staying in the world of sports to hear about why people get so emotional when their favorite team decides to change up their jerseys. And we're also going to visit a one-of-a-kind mansion on the West Coast. That's all after a short break on this Weird News Roundup from Odyssey's Something Offbeat. Thank you for listening to this special presentation of Weird News from Odyssey's Something Offbeat. People get passionate about sports teams that they love. They get passionate about the games, the players, the stadiums, the management, and the jerseys. For Buffalo Bills fans, the jerseys have been a particular point of contention recently. How intense does the uniform passion go there? And nationwide. Maybe more than you'd imagine. NFL reporter Andrew Lind of Sportslogos.net, which leaked the new gray bills jerseys around four months before they were officially unveiled,

joined Odyssey Station WBEN News and Talk in Buffalo this week to explain. Your site, Andrew, actually leaked a picture of the new Bill's gray jersey back in April. So you've been looking at this for some time, and now you're seeing reaction from fans. Is it what you expected? Yeah, I'd say it definitely is something that I expected just because it's such a stark contrast from what they've worn historically. I mean, in the early 2000s, you obviously had probably what I would call the worst. uniforms that you guys had in your history but um over the last 15 years you have that classic look with the white helmet the blue jerseys the white pants and then the further you get away from that you're going to have these polarizing reactions from fans i think like the younger fans they're going to be more into it you know this bright blue helmet uh with the metallic finish the gray those kind of things like those are those are pure color rush kind of uniforms And I can see that the younger generation might like it, but the people who grew up, you know, watching them in the 70s and know exactly what the standing buffalo is and, you know, the charging buffalo and, you know, those kind of things. Like they are so used to those that this is just not going to be something that they really fall up with. Yeah, so this is technically the color rush. I hate how all these have names, by the way, Andrew, but this is the color rush jersey. You mentioned that some fans might like, but. I don't know. I could see liking the pops of color. The bills have done all blue in the past. They've had the red jerseys in the past. What is up with gray? And the bills aren't the only team who's done gray like. I mean, I actually recently just did a series on our website that was detailing the best and worst uniforms in each team's history. And the uniforms that I selected for the Detroit Lions were a blue helmet, gray jerseys and gray pants. You know, a couple years later for the bills to follow through and do that a very similar look to it. It's like, it makes me wonder why the bills would choose to go in this route when that received such a negative reaction from fans two or three years ago up in Detroit. On that point, do teams do any kind of focus groups to gauge fan reaction for alternate uniforms, especially one that is so radically different from anything they've ever worn? Yeah, the bill did suggest that they had done like focus groups with fans leading out to it. I know that that's something that teams tend to do more with full-on rebrands. We had the Texans a couple years ago that they started gauging fan interest in logos and colors and word marks and those kind of things. And then for that to end up developing into what their current look is, you could see like those.

those positive things that they pulled from from those play and focus groups. But this, just the gauging the reaction that I saw when those jerseys were leaked back in April, when I started reporting that it was just going to be a blue helmet with with the horns and the eye and the stripe. People were like, why is this happening? Like, nobody wants this, especially after they added the red helmet last year for the final game at Highmark Stadium. You know, you would like to see that maybe become more of a focus. Tough to understand. You know, the jersey has a Bill's logo on the front chest. It's kind of like, you know, the Jets have worn the Steelers were the logo on the chest. But if you go by the release, the logos on the chest, Because it represents the love we have for our team and the pride so many have shown. Andrew, what do you make of all these? This isn't a Bill's thing. This is just like a uniform thing now across all sports where every stitch is explained by some marketing person is representing something. What do you make of it? We actually, in the uniform community, we have a term for that. We call it Nike speak. And it dates back to when college programs started unveiling the pro-combat uniforms back in 2009, 2010, and so forth. There was always a purpose and always a reason. And really, I think that a lot of the designs happen. It's like the blue collar on this uniform. The blue collar doesn't exist because the bill said, hey, we want a blue collar on this that represents our fan base and those kind of things. It exists because they sat down with Nike. There was collaborative efforts into creating this design. And then afterwards, you say, oh, hey, we have this blue collar. Can we add some sort of description to it? And that's where that Nike speak comes into place. Our final stop this week is in Portland, Oregon. That's where renowned historian Paula Gangopajee serves as CEO of Pidduck Mansion. Kelly and Bob Phillips of Own the Road with Kelly and Bob out of Odyssey Station KRLD-1080 in Dallas, visited Paula G at the mansion for their America 250 tour of the nation. Let's listen in to a bit of their adventure.

So this would have been the original front entrance to the house, not the one that you came in through. The music room, this is where our family spent most of their times. And of course, as you can see, the view would have been gorgeous. This is the Steinwick piano. The original. The original. And we played. And the house, the architecture of the house is so wonderful that the music permeates through the entire house. Our host is giving us a tour of the Piddick Mansion in Portland, a home originally built by a man widely considered to be one of the state's founding fathers. It was built by Henry Piddock. who traveled the Oregon Trail from his boyhood home of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 19, back in 1853, what was originally intended to be his family's summer home, this 16,000 square foot mansion is today celebrated as a marvel of architecture, engineering, and modern conveniences of the early 20th century. This is the only remaining house, which is preserved as a museum. The other homes from this time period either have been torn down or are being used for commercial purposes or have been redesigned or our private residences. So this is, you know, when we were talking about that the capstone, you know, the legacy, this is like an iconic place where you can actually go in and see. And then you come to the kitchen. This is the original sink. Yeah. Gosh. Then the Butler's Fantry in White House is very similar in design. We feel wanted to leave a legacy for his love of Portland because his entire life is success. And he definitely was like that. a serial entrepreneur in my mind, because he not only was in publishing, he had several other businesses. He had a paper mill. They produced a paper for his newspaper. He was in sheep ranching, silver mining. He started a bank, real estate, of course. So he was doing all of those. But the fascinating thing about him is that... He was not just a money guy, you know, who was into like hardcore business. He was a philanthropist. He was into community causes. He was an active mountaineer. He climbed Mount Hood four times. And he co-founded a group that still exists called the Mazamas. That's a mountain climbing group. He was part of the Royal Rosarian Group that started the Portland Rose Festival. He was a bicyclist. So he was into all of them. these social things. When we take you on a tour of this house is a fascinating architecture. It's a French Renaissance chateau style. It's circular, in simple words. He built this house in a circular architectural, with the architectural design, because he could actually, on a clear day, see all the five mountains.

from the top floor of this building. Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Adams, you know, Rainier, he could see all of them. And still on a clear day here, we can see three of them. It was a beautiful place. The Piedek Mansion is sort of the, I would say it's like a capstone of the Piduck Legacy. There's no other place through which you can see the evolution of Portland from Stump Town to what it is today. The Piddocks were one of the founding families, having come on the Oregon Trail, going through the hardships back then. And Piduck, being the publisher of the Oregonian, has the statewide story too. It's not just Portland. So it is important because, to me, both the Henry Pittock story and the story of the mansion is about the story. of resilience that transcends time, that transcends the human experience and the human endeavor. Thank you so much for listening to this Weird News Roundup presented by Odyssey's Something Offbeat podcast. This episode was written and produced by me, Lauren Barry. Special thanks to WWJ News Radio in Detroit, the Dana and Parks Show out of KMBZ and Kansas City, WBEN News and Talk in Buffalo, and Own the Road with Kelly and Bob out of KRLD 1080 in Dallas. You can find all of these programs, including the Something Offbeat podcast, on the Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Sometimes it feels like the news is full of things that have never happened before. And that is not exactly true. In fact, it may have happened this very week, hundreds or thousands of years ago. I'm Sally Helm, host of the podcast History This Week from the History Channel. Trade embargoes, Thomas Jefferson tried them. Rent too high? We've been arguing about that for a while. Each episode is proof. The past isn't that far away. Listen to History This Week, available now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.