Positive Prep: Family Friendly Show Prep

POSITIVE PREP FOR WEDNESDAY 01-24-07
Delivering family-friendly show prep to radio since 1998
By Jason Sharp and Eric Allen

TODAY IS

Belly Laugh Day
National Compliment Day

SUPER BOWL SLOWDOWN

If office work has taken a back seat to football chatter, it must be the annual Super Bowl slowdown. Excitement over what has become the biggest single sporting event of the year in the United States may actually end up costing employers some $800 million in lost productivity the week before the big game.

Assuming employees, for example, spend 10 minutes a day talking about the game, making bets, surfing the Internet or shopping for a new television, their bosses will lose some $162 million per day. In a five-day workweek, that adds up to $810 million, based on average earnings and expected viewership.

**FYI: In Chicago and Indianapolis, the two cities whose National Football League teams will face off on February 4 in Miami, losses could reach $85 million in the run-up to the game, according to a study.

HEALTHY HUMOR

Giggling for just 15 minutes a day burns enough calories to shed up to five pounds of fat over a year, according to the International Journal of Obesity. A big belly laugh uses about the same energy as walking more than half a mile. Laughing makes the heart beat faster and works many different muscles.

Researchers measured the number of calories expended by 45 adults as they watched different TV programs, including nature and comedy shows. Bouts of laughter when watching the funny film used up to 20 percent more energy than at rest. This would mean that 10 to15 minutes of laughter a day could burn off between 10 and 40 calories.

**If you listen to (insert jock here), you better get walking!

AND SO MUCH MORE

Microwave ovens may be good for more than just zapping the leftovers; they may also help protect your family. University of Florida engineering researchers have found that microwaving kitchen sponges and plastic scrubbers known to be common carriers of the bacteria and viruses that cause food-borne illnesses sterilizes them rapidly and effectively.

That means that the estimated 90-plus percent of Americans with microwaves in their kitchens have a powerful weapon against E. coli, salmonella and other bugs at the root of increasing incidents of potentially deadly food poisoning and other illnesses.

**FYI: Food-borne illnesses afflict at least 6 million Americans annually, causing at least 9,000 deaths and $4 billion to $6 billion in medical costs and other expenses.

MARRIED TO YOUR COMPUTER

A new study finds 65 percent of Americans spend more time with their computer than their spouse - and, on average, wastes 12 hours a month fixing computer problems.

The Kelton Research study also finds that 84 percent of Americans say they are more dependent on their home computer now than they were three years ago. Moreover, in the same period, the average computer user experienced significant computer problems eight timesroughly once every four months. 52 percent of Americans describe their most recent experience of a computer problem as one of anger, sadness, or alienation.

**Don’t you wish, sometimes, that when you have a problem with your spouse it could be solved by a re-boot or call to tech support?

**Phoner: Do you feel you spend more time with your computer than loved ones?

NO BARK AND ALL BITE

Mail carriers have stopped delivering mail to around 24 homes on Navarre Road in Casper, Wyoming, because of Butch, a shepherd/chow mix. Casper Postmaster Susan Gray said Butch has chased carriers eight times since 2002.

Residents of the street must now go to a nearby community mailbox or to a post office box to get their mail. Owner Jolene Whittle said Butch has always had a problem with mail carriers, but said he has never attacked anyone. An animal shelter has offered to have an officer escort the postal carrier on the route.

**Or how about the owner locking up their dog?! That might work too, huh!

OH BABY!

AirTran Airways is defending its decision to remove a Massachusetts couple from a flight after their crying 3-year-old daughter refused to take her seat before takeoff. Federal Aviation Administration rules state that children age 2 and above must have their own seat and be wearing a seat belt upon takeoff.

Julie and Gerry Kulesza said they just needed a little more time to calm their daughter, Elly. AirTran Airways said she was delaying the flight and her parents were unable to get Elly in her seat. The airline reimbursed the family $595.80, the cost of the three tickets, and the Kuleszas flew home the next day. They also were offered three roundtrip tickets anywhere the airline flies.

**Phoner: Do you agree or disagree with the airline’s decision?

IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION

Q: According to a new study, owning one of these is good for your physical and mental well being. What is it?

A: A dog

BIRTHDAYS

Actress Mischa Barton, 21
Actor Ernest Borgnine, 90
Singer Neil Diamond, 66
Singer Aaron Neville, 66
Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Retton, 39
Evangelist Oral Roberts, 89
Comedian Yakov Smirnoff, 56
Singer/Comedian Ray Stevens, 68