October 14, 2025 • 7 mins
Not every mirage is an illusion.
As we continue our 2025 run of Odd News stories, this time we travel to Africa for the story of a mirage that might be something even more unique? We explore an unusual sight that has been drawing weary travelers and social media influencers alike to the middle of nowhere. It's an oasis, but one unlike any you've ever seen before. Tune in to find out if this is the paradise you've been dreaming of, or if it's just another way to get burned.
Then, we'll turn back the clock to celebrate the Platinum Anniversary of comedy4cast with a classic clip. If you've ever been to a theme park with someone who is a meticulous planner, you'll feel right at home with this one. We're revisiting a timeless comedy4cast episode that proves a perfect vacation isn't always about sticking to the schedule.
Lending their voices in this episode are Bonnie Kenderdine and Nathan Alvord.
>> Guest Star: Bonnie Kenderdine>> Guest Star: Nathan Alvord>> You can also support comedy4cast by becoming a patron on Patreon>> Or you can get Clinton a Dunkin' card or a cup of coffee via Ko-Fi>> Follow comedy4cast on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, MeWe, and Mastodon >> Give us a call via the Super Secret Phone Line (213) 290-4451>> Also check out Clinton's other podcast, The Topic is Trek>> Certain sounds effects heard on comedy4cast are courtesy of freeSFX and FreeSound.org
Click here for a transcript of this episode.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The comedy4cast Network. Let's dog ear that for now.
Well, hi. Clinton here. Welcome to the Dog Days of Pumpkin Spice Season.
Yes, August got away from me because life. So this is my unofficial extension of Dog Days.
(00:20):
For more information on that, go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com.
I always use Dog Days to give you 31 episodes full of some interesting,
yet totally useless, odd news.
And this year, to celebrate the Platinum Anniversary of comedy4cast,
or PAC for short, I'll end each Dog Days episode with part of a classic comedy4cast
(00:43):
episode. So, let's get started with...
Odd News PAC!
You've probably seen a movie or a cartoon where someone is trekking through
the desert. Their canteen empty, often the result of a hole made by a stray bullet.
There are vultures circling overhead. And they hear the sound of rattlesnakes
(01:05):
or maracas every time they look up at the sun.
By the way, why do they always look up at the sun? Are they wondering why it's so hot and bright?
Because those are pretty much the things the sun is known for.
Anyway, hungry, thirsty, and tired, the traveler suddenly stops and rubs their
eyes. Are they seeing what they're seeing?
(01:25):
They are on the horizon, a tropical oasis.
It's an aesthetically pleasing mix of lush vegetation, plus a right-sized pond of water.
The wanderer rushes towards the sanctuary.
It's only after they've tried to drink or dive into the water that they discover it's all just a mirage.
An optical illusion caused by the bending or refracting of light.
(01:47):
Or in this case, special effects and set design.
Now, picture yourself in a similar situation, walking through an African desert.
It's then that you spot a pink refrigerator with a matching metal table and two chairs.
You rub your eyes, assuming the image will disappear. Nope, still there.
(02:07):
Cautiously approaching, you decide to try to grasp the refrigerator door handle. It feels real.
You swing the door open and discover there are refreshing drinks inside. Yes.
Have you gone over the edge? No, no, no. You've just discovered the refrigerator
that was installed by the Namibian government's tourist board.
It's located about a 20-minute drive from the main north-south road that runs
(02:31):
through the Namib desert.
The pink refrigerator is powered by solar energy and was designed to be an actual
oasis in the desert for weary travelers.
The fridge is restocked several times a day with various drinks such as bottled water and iced tea.
And it's all free of charge. At least for now. Because the Barbie pink fridge
has become a popular spot for Instagramming and can often be empty by the end
(02:55):
of the day. So you decide to relax.
Even snap a selfie to share with the world. Then you sit down to take in the view.
When you remember that the sun heats up everything in the desert,
including metal chairs! Woo-hoo-hoo!
And now, let's celebrate 20 years of comedy4cast with this classic clip.
(03:16):
In June of 2006, I gave you, the listener, a glimpse into how I go about visiting a theme park.
My family swears this isn't a sketch, it's a documentary. Here's a clip.
Okay, team, we need to review our performance out there today. Oh, dear.
Let's start off with the rope drop when the park opened. You were a little slow
(03:38):
off the mark there, kiddo.
Sorry, Dad, I think I fell asleep. Well, you should have hit the hay a bit earlier
last night. We discussed getting to the park before the official opening time, now didn't we?
Yeah, but I didn't know you meant four hours ahead of time.
Sometimes Disney changes their mind at the last minute and the park opens early.
Early? The nighttime cleaning crew asked us to move aside so that they could
(04:00):
get into the park. Now, now, no need to dwell on this subject.
Let's move on. Once we got to the hub, there seemed to be some confusion.
Bonnie, you started to head off towards Fantasyland. What was up with that?
I couldn't read some of your handwriting on the touring plan.
All I could make out was mountain.
So I headed off toward the mountain. We were going to Space Mountain.
(04:21):
You were headed toward the Matterhorn. But that looks more like a mountain than
Space Mountain. Space Mountain looks like a spaceship.
Are you questioning the logic of the Imagineers?
No. Good. It still looks like a spaceship.
And what was the holdup in Frontierland? I wanted to take a few pictures.
People with photography skills far greater than ours have spent thousands of
(04:45):
dollars to take millions of pictures of Disneyland.
When we get home, we'll do a Google search and grab some. But we're not in those pictures!
That's what Photoshop is for.
Right now, we need to stick to the touring plan. Uh, Dad, can we eat soon?
All I had to do was a churro. Well, I had lunch on the plan, but someone forgot
(05:08):
to call ahead for the 1118 reservation at the Blue Bayou restaurant.
That was on your to-do list. No, it wasn't. Yes, it was.
You told me the items on the list with a Mickey head beside them were yours.
Right. And the ones with the Minnie head were yours.
And see, there's a Minnie head right beside Blue Bayou. See the red bow? That's not a bow.
(05:32):
It's pasta sauce. You spilled some when you were reworking the plan for the
hundredth time at dinner last night.
I'll eat it. I'm so hungry.
Well, wasn't it worth it? I didn't hear anyone complain when I got those great
spots for the fireworks.
Of course you didn't hear it. You had us hold the spot while you went off to
(05:54):
ride Buzz Lightyear 15 times.
Oh, are we jealous? I finally beat your high score.
Almost. Look, it's been a long day.
I've been spun, splashed, spooked, spieled, and shuttled.
I've had a giant boulder roll at me, the Death Star shoot at me,
300 audio-animatronic children sing at me, and now our son is eating a touring plan.
(06:20):
Can we please go to dinner? All right, all right.
But first, I think we need to review tomorrow's touring plan. Oh, no!
That about wraps it up for today's Odd News Pack.
But first, a shout-out to the comedy4cast Patreon patrons,
including our producer-level patrons, Paul Barry from the A Window to the Magic
(06:42):
podcast and Kirby Bartlett-Sloan from the 20-megabyte Doctor Who podcast.
You, too, can support comedy4cast and get episodes before everyone else
for as little as $2 a month.
Just search for comedy4cast, all one word with the number 4, on Patreon.com.
Lending their voices in this episode were Bonnie Kanderdean and Nathan Alvord.
(07:06):
Additional voices, script, and original music by me, Clinton Alvord. Copyright 2025.
All rights reserved. Talk to you again next time. But for now,
that's it. We're done, done, done, done, done. Bye-bye.
The comedy4cast Network. Let's dog ear that for now.
Well, hi. Clinton here. Welcome to the Dog Days of Pumpkin Spice Season.
Yes, August got away from me because life. So this is my unofficial extension of Dog Days.
(00:20):
For more information on that, go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com.
I always use Dog Days to give you 31 episodes full of some interesting,
yet totally useless, odd news.
And this year, to celebrate the Platinum Anniversary of comedy4cast,
or PAC for short, I'll end each Dog Days episode with part of a classic comedy4cast
(00:43):
episode. So, let's get started with...
Odd News PAC!
You've probably seen a movie or a cartoon where someone is trekking through
the desert. Their canteen empty, often the result of a hole made by a stray bullet.
There are vultures circling overhead. And they hear the sound of rattlesnakes
(01:05):
or maracas every time they look up at the sun.
By the way, why do they always look up at the sun? Are they wondering why it's so hot and bright?
Because those are pretty much the things the sun is known for.
Anyway, hungry, thirsty, and tired, the traveler suddenly stops and rubs their
eyes. Are they seeing what they're seeing?
(01:25):
They are on the horizon, a tropical oasis.
It's an aesthetically pleasing mix of lush vegetation, plus a right-sized pond of water.
The wanderer rushes towards the sanctuary.
It's only after they've tried to drink or dive into the water that they discover it's all just a mirage.
An optical illusion caused by the bending or refracting of light.
(01:47):
Or in this case, special effects and set design.
Now, picture yourself in a similar situation, walking through an African desert.
It's then that you spot a pink refrigerator with a matching metal table and two chairs.
You rub your eyes, assuming the image will disappear. Nope, still there.
(02:07):
Cautiously approaching, you decide to try to grasp the refrigerator door handle. It feels real.
You swing the door open and discover there are refreshing drinks inside. Yes.
Have you gone over the edge? No, no, no. You've just discovered the refrigerator
that was installed by the Namibian government's tourist board.
It's located about a 20-minute drive from the main north-south road that runs
(02:31):
through the Namib desert.
The pink refrigerator is powered by solar energy and was designed to be an actual
oasis in the desert for weary travelers.
The fridge is restocked several times a day with various drinks such as bottled water and iced tea.
And it's all free of charge. At least for now. Because the Barbie pink fridge
has become a popular spot for Instagramming and can often be empty by the end
(02:55):
of the day. So you decide to relax.
Even snap a selfie to share with the world. Then you sit down to take in the view.
When you remember that the sun heats up everything in the desert,
including metal chairs! Woo-hoo-hoo!
And now, let's celebrate 20 years of comedy4cast with this classic clip.
(03:16):
In June of 2006, I gave you, the listener, a glimpse into how I go about visiting a theme park.
My family swears this isn't a sketch, it's a documentary. Here's a clip.
Okay, team, we need to review our performance out there today. Oh, dear.
Let's start off with the rope drop when the park opened. You were a little slow
(03:38):
off the mark there, kiddo.
Sorry, Dad, I think I fell asleep. Well, you should have hit the hay a bit earlier
last night. We discussed getting to the park before the official opening time, now didn't we?
Yeah, but I didn't know you meant four hours ahead of time.
Sometimes Disney changes their mind at the last minute and the park opens early.
Early? The nighttime cleaning crew asked us to move aside so that they could
(04:00):
get into the park. Now, now, no need to dwell on this subject.
Let's move on. Once we got to the hub, there seemed to be some confusion.
Bonnie, you started to head off towards Fantasyland. What was up with that?
I couldn't read some of your handwriting on the touring plan.
All I could make out was mountain.
So I headed off toward the mountain. We were going to Space Mountain.
(04:21):
You were headed toward the Matterhorn. But that looks more like a mountain than
Space Mountain. Space Mountain looks like a spaceship.
Are you questioning the logic of the Imagineers?
No. Good. It still looks like a spaceship.
And what was the holdup in Frontierland? I wanted to take a few pictures.
People with photography skills far greater than ours have spent thousands of
(04:45):
dollars to take millions of pictures of Disneyland.
When we get home, we'll do a Google search and grab some. But we're not in those pictures!
That's what Photoshop is for.
Right now, we need to stick to the touring plan. Uh, Dad, can we eat soon?
All I had to do was a churro. Well, I had lunch on the plan, but someone forgot
(05:08):
to call ahead for the 1118 reservation at the Blue Bayou restaurant.
That was on your to-do list. No, it wasn't. Yes, it was.
You told me the items on the list with a Mickey head beside them were yours.
Right. And the ones with the Minnie head were yours.
And see, there's a Minnie head right beside Blue Bayou. See the red bow? That's not a bow.
(05:32):
It's pasta sauce. You spilled some when you were reworking the plan for the
hundredth time at dinner last night.
I'll eat it. I'm so hungry.
Well, wasn't it worth it? I didn't hear anyone complain when I got those great
spots for the fireworks.
Of course you didn't hear it. You had us hold the spot while you went off to
(05:54):
ride Buzz Lightyear 15 times.
Oh, are we jealous? I finally beat your high score.
Almost. Look, it's been a long day.
I've been spun, splashed, spooked, spieled, and shuttled.
I've had a giant boulder roll at me, the Death Star shoot at me,
300 audio-animatronic children sing at me, and now our son is eating a touring plan.
(06:20):
Can we please go to dinner? All right, all right.
But first, I think we need to review tomorrow's touring plan. Oh, no!
That about wraps it up for today's Odd News Pack.
But first, a shout-out to the comedy4cast Patreon patrons,
including our producer-level patrons, Paul Barry from the A Window to the Magic
(06:42):
podcast and Kirby Bartlett-Sloan from the 20-megabyte Doctor Who podcast.
You, too, can support comedy4cast and get episodes before everyone else
for as little as $2 a month.
Just search for comedy4cast, all one word with the number 4, on Patreon.com.
Lending their voices in this episode were Bonnie Kanderdean and Nathan Alvord.
(07:06):
Additional voices, script, and original music by me, Clinton Alvord. Copyright 2025.
All rights reserved. Talk to you again next time. But for now,
that's it. We're done, done, done, done, done. Bye-bye.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com