It’s SEPTEMBER. There are officially 21 days til Fall, 61 days til Halloween, 87 days til Thanksgiving, 116 days til Christmas, and, perhaps most importantly, 122 days til we can slam the damn door on 2020. People were shaking their heads saying, “What a year!” starting in March, we’re pretty sure, but now humankind is getting super close to closing it out for good. Has anyone checked the Mayan calendar to be SURE they weren’t actually talking about 2020? No? Could…you…you know…could someone do that just to be sure this isn’t actually the year we blow to smithereens?
But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. Today, it’s still September, and only just, so we’re kicking off the month with a slew of subjects you can celebrate each and every day of the month. September kind of puts August to shame in its American and International days of observance, tbh. In today’s podcast, we mention some of the more quirky days such as No Rhyme or Reason Day, Lazy Mom’s Day, multiple Pizza Days and National Cheeseburger Day. But National Food Bank Day, World Beard Day, National Read a Book Day, National Ants on a Log Day, and National Teddy Bear Day are runners up if you’re interested in observing the off-beat. You can find the entire list of fun, sublime, and serious topics at nationaldaycalendar.com.
Although there were tons of days to talk about, Kym and Kris chose one day each to discuss in-depth, and you can’t get more adventurous and fun than CHICKEN BOY and BACON. As we said in the show, it really sounds like a fantastic premise to a new comic book and if anyone decides to do it just give us credit for the concept ya’ll!!
CHICKEN BOY
Today, September 1 is National Chicken Boy Day. We’ve never heard of it, and it’s got its roots here in California! For more information about Chicken Boy, and even better…how to observe this amazing day (including that link to the downloadable art to color and hashtag), go here or click on the sub-head above for the Wikipedia page.
But the place to be for all things Chicken Boy is at chickenboy.com where you can buy your fill of souvenirs, tee-shirts, and really geek out reading the blog. We seriously don’t understand how we’ve never known any of this before.
Talking about the Chicken Boy statue prompted a whole discussion about the various statues we’ve grown up with here in Orange County, CA:
Bob’s Big Boy
How many of our listeners and readers ate at a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant growing up? We miss that good old burger and fries diner experience. There are a few left in Southern California, but not many (5 to be exact). You can get a complete list of the restaurant’s locations throughout the United States here.
Jack’s Chicken Broaster
As we discuss in the episode, the rooster that used to be in front of Jack’s Chicken Broaster in Orange, CA, is now sitting atop the same building, but with a new eatery called Taqueria El Nuevo Perico #2. That broasted chicken and potato wedges dinner was the best we’ve ever had.
Hitch-N-Post
And just up the street from the rooster (literally, they are about a mile and a half apart on East Chapman Ave as you head for the hills), you’ll see the Red HP Horse standing proudly on top of the old Hitch-N-Post tack and feed store.
Western Exterminators
Apparently the Western Exterminators statue (named, ironically, “Little Man”) that we remember seeing on the 55 Freeway South (in Santa Ana, CA) is well documented along with it’s fellows in other locations throughout California. Roadside Architecture’s website is devoted to, well, roadside architecture, and they have a nice history about Little Man toward the bottom of the page, with dates and statue locations.
Truly Nolen
Kym brought up the yellow, mouse-costumed cars we see zipping around and we got half the name correct. The company is Truly Nolen, and while their cars are not the same as the huge fiberglass statues we discussed, they have an honorary place in this discussion because CUTE!
BACON
There was almost as much to talk about bacon as there was Chicken Boy. Literally, we’re still hungry from all that good food talk. International Bacon Day is celebrated worldwide the first Saturday of September, so this year it’s September 5th. And because bacon is so perfect, it is celebrated TWICE a year in America, with NATIONAL Bacon Day on December 30! Here is a list of all the things we discussed about bacon (and a couple Kris forgot):
- WHATEVER Day. Do you really need to know whether it’s international or national? Just remember….SEPTEMBER 5 and DECEMBER 30 are BACON DAYS. Here is the website with more information about this week’s day of baconalia.
- Chug-a-Lug! Kris was going to discuss bacon-flavored drinks, but forgot. So here’s maple-bacon flavored coffee, bacon-flavored soda, and bacon-inspired cocktail recipes. You’re welcome.
- Time to Pig Out. (Sorry not sorry). Today.com has a list of recipes to cook up for bacon day and foodformat.com has weird recipes with bacon. This should tide you over til December 30.
- Do You Smell That? Bacon perfume. It’s real. In the 1920’s, John Farginnay, a Parisian butcher, perfected a secret formula to happiness and it smelled like bacon. The formula was lost in a fire, but apparently years later someone has figured it all out and now you can buy the scent, aptly named “bacon” (with a line above the o that we can’t add, because stupid editing software), which you can buy at farginnay.com
- Pucker Up! Click here for bacon flavored lip balm.
- Mouthwatering Bacon Facts. Website bacontoday.com has the article, 17 Mouthwatering Facts About Bacon.
- More Bacon Facts. And more information at fee.org in this article, 15 Economic, Historical, and Health Facts about Bacon.
- And…More Bacon Facts. Website littlethings.com brings us Bacon Facts: 10 Things You Seriously Never Knew About the Delicious Strips.
ALL THE OTHER THINGS
This is where we clarify, correct, and generally eat crow for the things we say without actually knowing what we’re talking about.
- Private Label. This is what the “Private Label” is that Kris has never heard of. It’s NOT the name of a company, but refers to a third party manufacturer. Hey, we aren’t business majors, so pffffffft.
- The Rabbit Didn’t Die. Apparently Welsh Rarebit was originally called Welsh Rabbit, but changed to Welsh Rarebit because no rabbits were ever harmed in the making of it and it was misleading to name it as such. Good to know! Actually, it sounds yummy.
- Shout of Dolores. Wow. We had no idea. Mexican hero Miguel Hidalgo is credited with the battle cry for independence in the town of Dolores. Shout of Dolores Day is September 15, followed on the 16th by Mexico’s official Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo, on the other hand, is NOT a day to celebrate Mexican independence, but in fact is in remembrance of one battle during the Franco-Mexican War. It’s not celebrated so much in Mexico, but is very much a thing here in the states.
- Psychological Disorder. Pica is a psychological disorder, and is outlined here. AND yes, eating ice is considered part of this disorder, and is called pagophagia.
- What’s Yours? My Strange Addiction is the TLC show Kris was referencing. Do you have a strange or weird addiction? Let us know!
- Ewwwww! So if you’re interested in seeing that pimple popping, um, toy (?) featured on Shark Tank…here you go. And EW.
- If You Haven’t Lost Your Appetite. Hopefully we haven’t crushed your soul with that last entry. For that Weinerschnitzel restaurant offer for pumpkin spice goodies, check out their specials page. Apparently they had a coupon for last year for a free dipped soft serve, but we can’t find one for this year. It’s worth following them on their Twitter account if you’re interested!
- True Crush All The Time. If you’re into true crime, you’ve got to give True Crime All the Time and True Crime All the Time Unsolved podcasts a listen. The production for both shows is great, the hosts (Mike Ferguson and Mike “Gibby” Gibson) have great charisma and charm, but most importantly they really sincerely honor the victims and their families as they tell the stories. Just don’t tell Gibby Kris is crushing on him. SHHHHHHH. It’s our secret. ShhhZIPIT.
Ok, that’s it. Whew!
Check out The Mugly Truth Podcast’s episode “Chicken Boy and Bacon” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or (almost) anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast!
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© The Mugly Truth 2020 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2020. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox” by Espresso, Inc. through premiumbeats.com.
Featured photo Chicken Boy Statue by Marilyn Nix, from Wikipedia.
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