Bakers Dozen

Interesting facts and trivia about radio

  1. At 12:00 AM 12/14/1993, NYC classical station WNCN became “active rock” WAXQ, without telling anyone ahead of time. Listeners expecting Bach on their radio alarms got AC/DC instead.
  2. KDKA in Pittsburgh was (in 1920) the first commercially-licensed radio stations in the U.S., and is the one of the few radio stations east of the Mississippi whose callsign starts with K and not W.
  3. A decade before Wolfman Jack arrived there, Paul Kellenger was the star of all night radio at XERF in Mexico. Mellow-voiced Kellenger sold (besides mail order baby chicks), for a dollar, autographed pictures of Jesus Christ. They were pictures of Jesus, alright, but the signature said “Sincerely Yours, Paul Kellenger”)
  4. David Sarnoff was a Jewish immigrant and Marconi operator who relayed news of the Titanic sinking to the crowds outside Wanamaker’s Department Store where his station was and suggested to Marconi this indicated there was probably a huge market for instant home radio. In a famous memo he was told, basically, that the idea of home radio was silly.
  5. You know how DJ’s often talk over the instrumental opening of a song, right up until the vocals begin? This takes some practice to get right and is known as" hitting the post."
  6. The Gambling family has 3 generations John Bradley, John Alfred and John Robert who were hosts of WOR Radio’s (New York City, 710 AM) morning show Rambling with Gambling (now known as The John Gambling Show) over the course of over 75 years (1925–2000 and 2008–present).
  7. BMIR – 94.5 FM (aka Burning Man Information Radio) is the official pirate radio station of Burning Man
  8. In spite of being many times more expensive than a computer would be now in terms of price v. average income, the radio so changed American society in such a short period of time in the 1920s that the 1930 Census asked about home radio ownership.
  9. I was an intern at WHBC in Canton, Ohio in January 1986, and read the hourly news several times on the air.
  10. Border Blasters were Mexican radio stations that broadcast at much higher power than American stations and were therefore able to be heard in much of the American southwest. These stations were eventually restricted by a 1972 agreement between the United States and Mexico.
  11. Lucille Ball claimed to have picked up coded transmissions through fillings in her teeth that led to the discovery of an underground Japanese radio station in Los Angeles while filming DuBarry was a Lady in 1942.
  12. At 12:01a.m. on 1 August 1981, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles was the first music video broadcast on MTv.

Interesting facts and trivia about radio

  1. At 12:00 AM 12/14/1993, NYC classical station WNCN became “active rock” WAXQ, without telling anyone ahead of time. Listeners expecting Bach on their radio alarms got AC/DC instead.
  2. KDKA in Pittsburgh was (in 1920) the first commercially-licensed radio stations in the U.S., and is the one of the few radio stations east of the Mississippi whose callsign starts with K and not W.
  3. A decade before Wolfman Jack arrived there, Paul Kellenger was the star of all night radio at XERF in Mexico. Mellow-voiced Kellenger sold (besides mail order baby chicks), for a dollar, autographed pictures of Jesus Christ. They were pictures of Jesus, alright, but the signature said “Sincerely Yours, Paul Kellenger”)
  4. David Sarnoff was a Jewish immigrant and Marconi operator who relayed news of the Titanic sinking to the crowds outside Wanamaker’s Department Store where his station was and suggested to Marconi this indicated there was probably a huge market for instant home radio. In a famous memo he was told, basically, that the idea of home radio was silly.
  5. You know how DJ’s often talk over the instrumental opening of a song, right up until the vocals begin? This takes some practice to get right and is known as" hitting the post."
  6. The Gambling family has 3 generations John Bradley, John Alfred and John Robert who were hosts of WOR Radio’s (New York City, 710 AM) morning show Rambling with Gambling (now known as The John Gambling Show) over the course of over 75 years (1925–2000 and 2008–present).
  7. BMIR – 94.5 FM (aka Burning Man Information Radio) is the official pirate radio station of Burning Man
  8. In spite of being many times more expensive than a computer would be now in terms of price v. average income, the radio so changed American society in such a short period of time in the 1920s that the 1930 Census asked about home radio ownership.
  9. I was an intern at WHBC in Canton, Ohio in January 1986, and read the hourly news several times on the air.
  10. Border Blasters were Mexican radio stations that broadcast at much higher power than American stations and were therefore able to be heard in much of the American southwest. These stations were eventually restricted by a 1972 agreement between the United States and Mexico.
  11. Lucille Ball claimed to have picked up coded transmissions through fillings in her teeth that led to the discovery of an underground Japanese radio station in Los Angeles while filming DuBarry was a Lady in 1942.
  12. At 12:01a.m. on 1 August 1981, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles was the first music video broadcast on MTv.
  13. Orson Welles broadcast an adaptation of HG Wells’ War of the Worlds on October 30, 1938. The broadcast was presented like a series of news bulletins which frightened many listeners but launched Welles to great fame.

Next: Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love

(There are more, but I’ll start with that one)

Next: Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
    Not all episodes, but some. (If only they did not go out of their way to hire young women with annoying “like Delta Delta Delta” delivery.)

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown

Dan Harmon (creator of Community) and his friends talk about whatever in front of a live audience.

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind
  5. A Way With Words

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind
  5. A Way With Words
  6. Missionlog Podcast

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind
  5. A Way With Words
  6. Missionlog Podcast
  7. Fresh Air

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind
  5. A Way With Words
  6. Missionlog Podcast
  7. Fresh Air
  8. Stuff You Should Know

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind
  5. A Way With Words
  6. Missionlog Podcast
  7. Fresh Air
  8. Stuff You Should Know
  9. Car Talk (At least I used to. Sniff)

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind
  5. A Way With Words
  6. Missionlog Podcast
  7. Fresh Air
  8. Stuff You Should Know
  9. Car Talk (At least I used to. Sniff)
  10. Hello Internet (CGP Grey)

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind
  5. A Way With Words
  6. Missionlog Podcast
  7. Fresh Air
  8. Stuff You Should Know
  9. Car Talk (At least I used to. Sniff)
  10. Hello Internet (CGP Grey)
  11. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind
  5. A Way With Words
  6. Missionlog Podcast
  7. Fresh Air
  8. Stuff You Should Know
  9. Car Talk (At least I used to. Sniff)
  10. Hello Internet (CGP Grey)
  11. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me
  12. StarTalk

Podcasts that you listen to.

  1. Savage Love
  2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
  3. Harmontown
  4. Stuff to Blow Your Mind
  5. A Way With Words
  6. Missionlog Podcast
  7. Fresh Air
  8. Stuff You Should Know
  9. Car Talk (At least I used to. Sniff)
  10. Hello Internet (CGP Grey)
  11. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me
  12. StarTalk
  13. The Nerdist

Olympic events they decided not to have in Rio this year

  1. Gator wrestling

Olympic events they decided not to have in Rio this year

  1. Gator wrestling
  2. Full frontal nudity Scrabble

Olympic events they decided not to have in Rio this year

  1. Gator wrestling
  2. Full frontal nudity Scrabble
  3. Sitting around

Olympic events they decided not to have in Rio this year

  1. Gator wrestling
  2. Full frontal nudity Scrabble
  3. Sitting around
  4. Short-fingered Vulgarian Hairstyling

Olympic events they decided not to have in Rio this year

  1. Gator wrestling
  2. Full frontal nudity Scrabble
  3. Sitting around
  4. Short-fingered Vulgarian Hairstyling
  5. marathon meditation team relay

Olympic events they decided not to have in Rio this year

  1. Gator wrestling
  2. Full frontal nudity Scrabble
  3. Sitting around
  4. Short-fingered Vulgarian Hairstyling
  5. marathon meditation team relay
  6. Mosquito larvae synchronized swimming

Olympic events they decided not to have in Rio this year

  1. Gator wrestling
  2. Full frontal nudity Scrabble
  3. Sitting around
  4. Short-fingered Vulgarian Hairstyling
  5. marathon meditation team relay
  6. Mosquito larvae synchronized swimming
  7. Beach body-part scavenger hunt