December 15, 2024 • 9 mins
In honor of the holiday season, we are re-releasing our 12 Days of Christmas special! For the next 12 days, we will re-release one episode a day, each one with our own spin on the classic holiday theme, "The 12 Days of Christmas."
Cindy tells the story of the Aflockalypse.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to
me four calling birds, whichreminds me Katie.
What do poison calling birds?
Which reminds me, katie.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
What do poison, calling birds, heavy drinking
and murder all have in common?
Those are the four things thatwere on my christmas list this
year.
How did you know?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
surprise, katie, you weren't supposed to find out,
it's supposed to be a surprise.
no, what those things all havein common are four calling birds
.
What?
Just to back up for a hotsecond.
Apparently, actually, katie,you already kind of addressed
this in our very first 12 Daysof Christmas episode, but in the
(00:57):
original version of the 12 Daysof Christmas, the calling birds
were referred to as CollieBirds, and subsequent variations
of the song referred to thebirds as Canary Birds, collie
Birds, colored Birds, curlyBirds, corley Birds and then
finally Calling Birds, which, ofcourse, as you mentioned in our
(01:21):
first episode, was published byFrederick Austin in 1909, along
with his new tune, which is thetune that we sing the 12 Days
of Christmas to now.
The original collie bird wasthe European blackbird, as
collie meant black, as in collie.
So, katie, have you ever heardof the Aflacalypse?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
No, what's the Aflacalypse?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Let me enlighten you.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Can I be an avocado for the Aflacalypse?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Of course, katie.
Anything for you.
Of course, katie.
Anything for you.
On January 1st 2011, theresidents of Beebe, arkansas,
woke up to find thousands ofdead blackbirds strewn all
across the roads.
Shortly thereafter, 500blackbirds rained down from the
(02:29):
skies in Louisiana.
Katie, was this UFOs?
No, was it government?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
testing of energy weapons, solar waves, the end of
time.
I was going to say it's the endof times.
It's the end of times.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Well, cue the rational and lame scientists
coming in and taking away mostof the fun conspiracy theories
Although I do say most of thefun conspiracy theories.
According to these quote birdscientists, not quote they
really are bird scientists.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
They have master's degrees.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
What was happening was not that unusual and these
events, aptly called die-offs,were not connected.
So in the case of theblackbirds in Arkansas, it was
initially thought that thedeaths were caused by some kind
of weather phenomenon, like amicroburst or a strong downward
draft.
But since the die-off tookplace on New Year's Eve, the
(03:18):
death of all of these blackbirdswas most likely caused by
fireworks.
According to scientists at theArkansas Game and Fish
Commission, the blackbirdsprobably flew low to avoid the
turn-of-the-year fireworks andcollided with objects.
Oh, that's unfortunate.
But Katie Graham Madge, who isthe conservation spokesman for
(03:42):
the Royal Society for theProtection of Birds, believes
the birds may have been poisoned.
He argues that it was kind of astrange coincidence that the
mass deaths involved thisparticular species of blackbirds
, which is the red-wingedblackbird, which is considered a
quote agricultural pest.
Really, yes, I didn't know that.
(04:04):
They're beautiful.
Madge says quote.
It is intriguing.
Oh, he's British, so heprobably goes.
It is intriguing that the birdat the epicenter of this
particular incident is also themost hated.
You see what he said KatieMurder.
The birds were murdered.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Well, were they murdered or were they just a
murder, like a group of crows isreferred to as a, or ravens is
referred to as a murder, murder.
So maybe it was misunderstood.
It wasn't really murdered, theywere just in a group.
How about?
Speaker 1 (04:35):
you ask their surviving relatives what they
think?
Perhaps?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I also just want to point out that we as Americans,
when we realize that someone isBritish, we automatically give
them like a very posh Englishaccent.
It's never like the terribleand I know it's not a real one
like the terrible dick van dykeone.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
The bird at the epicenter of this particular
entity is the most hatedgovernor.
I just realized I have notpracticed my british accent in a
long time.
It's like hard.
It's harder than it sounds.
Yeah, oi, oi, okay.
Madge also says that theseblackbirds are sometimes
(05:21):
targeted with a poison thataffects the bird's water
repellency.
The birds get wet and cold anddevelop pneumonia and die Martin
Fowley, is that an amazing lastname?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
He's born to be an ornithologist.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
He is born to work at Bird Life International.
He says that the fireworkexplanation is a plausible one,
but he says I also heard somereports that some birds were
acting drunkenly, which wouldimply poisoning.
Can you imagine, katie?
Can we all just imagine a drunkcalling bird at 2am?
(06:01):
Hey, it's just me.
Pick up your phone.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I miss you, I miss what we were, I miss what we had
.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, take meback.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Stop calling.
According to Arkansas officials, preliminary testing showed no
sign of disease in the deadbirds and that they died of
quote acute physical trauma.
But according to Madge, he saysthis could have occurred when
they came into contact withbuildings or the ground.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
When they fell out of the effing sky Exactly.
Remember, kids, it's not thefall that gets you, it's the
impact, it's the pavement, it'sthe pavement.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
So what I think is so noteworthy about this a
flockalypse is that even ifthese are these events events
like the one in Louisiana andthe one in Arkansas and there's
other reports you know acrossthe entire world even if these
events aren't connected, they docause a lot of hysteria.
(07:12):
And the fact that I think inthis case, like the one in
Arkansas and the one inLouisiana, because they took
place on New Year's right andthey occurred back to back, this
caused a lot of people to kindof panic and they were trying to
connect the dots to figure outwhat was going on.
So they kind of saw that maybethere was some kind of like
(07:33):
larger conspiracy at play thanjust like these natural die-offs
.
But according to KristenSchuller, who is a scientist at
the US Geological Survey'sNational Wildlife Health Center,
she says, quote there's nothingapocalyptic or anything that is
necessarily out of the ordinaryfor what we would see in any
given week.
These die-offs occur amongbirds, fish and other creatures
(07:56):
and can range in size fromdozens to thousands.
More research is needed toreally understand why these
die-offs happen.
So that is the story of thecalling bird a floccalypse.
Hey, katie.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Cindy.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
It's just 2 am and I just thought I'd give you a call
.
I'll just tell you that I loveyou.
Cindy, it's just 2 am and Ijust thought I'd give you a call
.
I'll just tell you that I loveyou.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Click.
No, I would never do that.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
It's just me, your calling bird friend Calling
collect.
You have a collect call fromyour calling bird friend.
Do you accept this charge?
Yes, thank you.
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to
me four calling birds, whichreminds me Katie.
What do poison calling birds?
Which reminds me, katie.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
What do poison, calling birds, heavy drinking
and murder all have in common?
Those are the four things thatwere on my christmas list this
year.
How did you know?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
surprise, katie, you weren't supposed to find out,
it's supposed to be a surprise.
no, what those things all havein common are four calling birds
.
What?
Just to back up for a hotsecond.
Apparently, actually, katie,you already kind of addressed
this in our very first 12 Daysof Christmas episode, but in the
(00:57):
original version of the 12 Daysof Christmas, the calling birds
were referred to as CollieBirds, and subsequent variations
of the song referred to thebirds as Canary Birds, collie
Birds, colored Birds, curlyBirds, corley Birds and then
finally Calling Birds, which, ofcourse, as you mentioned in our
(01:21):
first episode, was published byFrederick Austin in 1909, along
with his new tune, which is thetune that we sing the 12 Days
of Christmas to now.
The original collie bird wasthe European blackbird, as
collie meant black, as in collie.
So, katie, have you ever heardof the Aflacalypse?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
No, what's the Aflacalypse?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Let me enlighten you.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Can I be an avocado for the Aflacalypse?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Of course, katie.
Anything for you.
Of course, katie.
Anything for you.
On January 1st 2011, theresidents of Beebe, arkansas,
woke up to find thousands ofdead blackbirds strewn all
across the roads.
Shortly thereafter, 500blackbirds rained down from the
(02:29):
skies in Louisiana.
Katie, was this UFOs?
No, was it government?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
testing of energy weapons, solar waves, the end of
time.
I was going to say it's the endof times.
It's the end of times.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Well, cue the rational and lame scientists
coming in and taking away mostof the fun conspiracy theories
Although I do say most of thefun conspiracy theories.
According to these quote birdscientists, not quote they
really are bird scientists.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
They have master's degrees.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
What was happening was not that unusual and these
events, aptly called die-offs,were not connected.
So in the case of theblackbirds in Arkansas, it was
initially thought that thedeaths were caused by some kind
of weather phenomenon, like amicroburst or a strong downward
draft.
But since the die-off tookplace on New Year's Eve, the
(03:18):
death of all of these blackbirdswas most likely caused by
fireworks.
According to scientists at theArkansas Game and Fish
Commission, the blackbirdsprobably flew low to avoid the
turn-of-the-year fireworks andcollided with objects.
Oh, that's unfortunate.
But Katie Graham Madge, who isthe conservation spokesman for
(03:42):
the Royal Society for theProtection of Birds, believes
the birds may have been poisoned.
He argues that it was kind of astrange coincidence that the
mass deaths involved thisparticular species of blackbirds
, which is the red-wingedblackbird, which is considered a
quote agricultural pest.
Really, yes, I didn't know that.
(04:04):
They're beautiful.
Madge says quote.
It is intriguing.
Oh, he's British, so heprobably goes.
It is intriguing that the birdat the epicenter of this
particular incident is also themost hated.
You see what he said KatieMurder.
The birds were murdered.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Well, were they murdered or were they just a
murder, like a group of crows isreferred to as a, or ravens is
referred to as a murder, murder.
So maybe it was misunderstood.
It wasn't really murdered, theywere just in a group.
How about?
Speaker 1 (04:35):
you ask their surviving relatives what they
think?
Perhaps?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I also just want to point out that we as Americans,
when we realize that someone isBritish, we automatically give
them like a very posh Englishaccent.
It's never like the terribleand I know it's not a real one
like the terrible dick van dykeone.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
The bird at the epicenter of this particular
entity is the most hatedgovernor.
I just realized I have notpracticed my british accent in a
long time.
It's like hard.
It's harder than it sounds.
Yeah, oi, oi, okay.
Madge also says that theseblackbirds are sometimes
(05:21):
targeted with a poison thataffects the bird's water
repellency.
The birds get wet and cold anddevelop pneumonia and die Martin
Fowley, is that an amazing lastname?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
He's born to be an ornithologist.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
He is born to work at Bird Life International.
He says that the fireworkexplanation is a plausible one,
but he says I also heard somereports that some birds were
acting drunkenly, which wouldimply poisoning.
Can you imagine, katie?
Can we all just imagine a drunkcalling bird at 2am?
(06:01):
Hey, it's just me.
Pick up your phone.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I miss you, I miss what we were, I miss what we had
.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, take meback.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Stop calling.
According to Arkansas officials, preliminary testing showed no
sign of disease in the deadbirds and that they died of
quote acute physical trauma.
But according to Madge, he saysthis could have occurred when
they came into contact withbuildings or the ground.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
When they fell out of the effing sky Exactly.
Remember, kids, it's not thefall that gets you, it's the
impact, it's the pavement, it'sthe pavement.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
So what I think is so noteworthy about this a
flockalypse is that even ifthese are these events events
like the one in Louisiana andthe one in Arkansas and there's
other reports you know acrossthe entire world even if these
events aren't connected, they docause a lot of hysteria.
(07:12):
And the fact that I think inthis case, like the one in
Arkansas and the one inLouisiana, because they took
place on New Year's right andthey occurred back to back, this
caused a lot of people to kindof panic and they were trying to
connect the dots to figure outwhat was going on.
So they kind of saw that maybethere was some kind of like
(07:33):
larger conspiracy at play thanjust like these natural die-offs
.
But according to KristenSchuller, who is a scientist at
the US Geological Survey'sNational Wildlife Health Center,
she says, quote there's nothingapocalyptic or anything that is
necessarily out of the ordinaryfor what we would see in any
given week.
These die-offs occur amongbirds, fish and other creatures
(07:56):
and can range in size fromdozens to thousands.
More research is needed toreally understand why these
die-offs happen.
So that is the story of thecalling bird a floccalypse.
Hey, katie.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Cindy.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
It's just 2 am and I just thought I'd give you a call
.
I'll just tell you that I loveyou.
Cindy, it's just 2 am and Ijust thought I'd give you a call
.
I'll just tell you that I loveyou.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Click.
No, I would never do that.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
It's just me, your calling bird friend Calling
collect.
You have a collect call fromyour calling bird friend.
Do you accept this charge?
Yes, thank you.
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