#33: Did you know that before 1752 New Year's Day in England and its colonies was March 25th, not January 1st? Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierson.net/podcast-new-years-day-used-to-be-march-25th/

Who Dat

Dec 19th, 2019 2m 47s

#32: Did you know the phrase “Who Dat” was first used by Herman Melville in his 1851 novel “Moby-Dick?” Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierson.net/podcast-who-dat/

I Play Center Linebacker

Dec 17th, 2019 9m 43s

#31: When I was twelve, we moved from California to Louisiana. In California, I played baseball. I lived baseball. But in Louisiana there was no baseball. Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierson.net/podcast-i-play-ce

I step off the top of a football stadium

Dec 12th, 2019 10m 25s

#30: When I walk, my head is down, and I scour the ground for nickels, dimes and quarters. It’s a poor boy habit I developed when I was twelve, but that tendency to look down before I make a step almost resulted in my death when I took a dare a

Jesus Lied

Dec 10th, 2019 5m 28s

#29: With my title — “Jesus Lied” — many Christians will probably presume this is yet another attack on their religious beliefs, while non-Christians will think this affirms what they already believe — that Jesus, if there was such a person, wa

The Curse of the Frog

Dec 5th, 2019 8m 17s

#28: When I was in high school, I knew a boy who went by the nickname “Bwana” because he loved outdoor critters. He used to keep a pet snake, and every morning some of us boys would watch when it was feeding time.

Money Games: How to Force the NFL to Play Their Stars

Dec 3rd, 2019 4m 39s

#27: When a company tries to sell at full price, a diluted version of its own product customers tend to react strongly. Sometimes even petitioning their elected representatives to exert regulatory pressure on the company.

A Confession: My role in last century’s tulipomania

Nov 28th, 2019 5m 26s

#26: This is, I guess, a confession of sorts about the role I played in last century’s video game fad. The years in question were 1978-1981.

The roll of the dice

Nov 26th, 2019 5m 32s

#25: Did you know it was Galileo (1564-1642) who first figured out the percentages for each roll of the dice?

The Tattle Tail Priest

Nov 21st, 2019 7m 3s

#24: Bleach. The smell of bleach and pine. A lot of what I do in the classroom, when it's not grammar, when it's not composition, is intuitive.

I Have to Teach Kids How to Play

Nov 19th, 2019 5m 33s

#23: People spend most of their waking moments staring at their boxes. That is, their TV's, and when they venture forth, they fixed their eyes and even smaller rectangular boxes. Their electronic devices.

George Washington was Born on Two Different Days

Nov 15th, 2019 3m 18s

#22: Did you know George Washington was born on February 11, 1732, and February 22, 1732?

Green Eggs and Ham Revisited

Nov 12th, 2019 7m 51s

#21: There's more to “Green Eggs and Ham” than is dreamt of in your philosophy.

Thank You for Your Service

Nov 7th, 2019 15m 45s

#20: Thank You for Your Service. The Federal Government reinstated its draft lottery during my senior year in college. It was based on the birth dates of young men born before 1950. Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpi

Losing the Election to a Dead Man

Nov 5th, 2019 1m 56s

#19: How do you lose an election to a dead man? Did you know that the longest-serving member in the U.S. House of Representatives Donald Young of Alaska lost a congressional election to a dead man? Podcast show transcription available here: ht

The Inventor of the Stolen Base

Oct 31st, 2019 3m 50s

#18: Did you know the stolen base originated because someone questioned authority? Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierson.net/podcast-the-inventor-of-the-stolen-base/

Why lefties are called southpaws

Oct 29th, 2019 1m 54s

#17: Did you know baseball stadiums used to be constructed so that the pitcher was pitching from east to west. Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierson.net/podcast-why-lefties-are-called-southpaws/

A Sin Against the Baseball Gods

Oct 24th, 2019 2m 8s

#16: Did you know the first time Major League Baseball committed the unforgivable sin of starting a baseball season in March (instead of April, as the baseball gods had always decreed it) a home plate umpire dropped dead on the baseball field?

The Priest’s Hole

Oct 22nd, 2019 6m 41s

#15: Did you know there was a “priest’s hole” in many an old English manor house so that outlaw priests could escape undetected when the authorities came in search of them? Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierson.net

My love for a free press and a mimeograph machine, part two

Oct 17th, 2019 5m 39s

#14: After college, I was drafted into the U.S. Army. This was during the Vietnam War. Instead of being sent to Vietnam, however, I ended up in Germany as an army postal clerk. Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierso

My love for a free press and a mimeograph machine, part one

Oct 15th, 2019 7m 17s

#13: I went to a Catholic seminary for high school. It was a boarding school, and there were only three times each year that we could go home -- Christmas, spring break and summer vacation. Podcast show transcription available here: https://ww

God versus Man: Who was created in whose image

Oct 10th, 2019 6m

#12: Did God create man in God’s image? Or did man create his gods in man’s image? Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierson.net/podcast-god-versus-man-who-was-created-in-whose-image

The Bat in the House

Oct 8th, 2019 11m 32s

#11: It is humbling when a man cannot protect his wife and home from an invading menace that’s smaller than a poodle. Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierson.net/podcast-the-bat-in-the-house/

Wally Zeringue and the decentralization of Congress

Oct 3rd, 2019 6m 29s

#10: In my novel And Lead Us Not, President Wally Zeringue proposes many provocative policies, among them, that members of Congress be housed in barracks. Podcast show transcription available here: https://www.davidpierson.net/podcast-wally-ze

The Crop Circle Squirrel

Oct 1st, 2019 7m 8s

#09: You have probably seen aerial pictures of crop circles, strange patterns in wheat fields that appear to be deliberately made. No one knows who or what made them, though many educated people, like me, have jumped to the conclusion that they