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Something Offbeat: Century old streetcar tracks found, AI ghosts, 'death' pants and Play-Doh for adults
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00:03The podcast Campus Files is back with more stories of scandal, crime, and intrigue on
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00:22Welcome to a Weird News Roundup presented by Odyssey's Something Offbeat podcast.
00:27We explore strange tales reported on by Odyssey's radio newsrooms from coast to coast.
00:35I'm your Roundup host, Lauren Berry.
00:38This week, we're visiting ghosts of a long-gone streetcar system that was recently discovered
00:44under a Detroit-area roadway.
00:47We'll also hear about the new frontier that artificial intelligence has opened up for
00:53ghosts with programs that offer to recreate loved ones who have passed away.
00:59After that, we're going to hear about the new, quote, death pants that are wreaking havoc
01:05and causing people to laugh quite a bit at viral social media posts.
01:11Finally, we'll end the show hearing about the launch of a new version of Play-Doh just
01:17for adults. To get things started, come along with me to Royal Oak, Michigan, an inner ring
01:23suburb of Detroit. A project is currently underway there to create a plaza with outdoor seating.
01:30In the process of making that plaza, century-old streetcar tracks were discovered underneath
01:36the roadway. Amanda Forrester of Odyssey Station WWJ News Radio in Detroit recently discussed
01:44this find with the Royal Oak Historical Society's Robert Mueller. Here's some of their talk.
01:50Why don't we start with kind of the obvious, what is a streetcar and what were they used for?
02:00Okay. Amazingly, at the turn of the 20th century, we had an electric rail system running all through
02:08eastern North America. Streetcars were generally the ones that were running back and forth within
02:14your city, but there was also the interurban. So you could have, in Royal Oak, gotten on an
02:20interurban car, and you might have changed because you were hitting different companies and gone, say,
02:26all the way to St. Louis for a few dollars. It almost sounds funny to me today because we're
02:34thinking so much about, like, electric rail today, and here we had this entire network.
02:40What killed it? And it started killing it in the late 40s in Royal Oak, and it killed it completely
02:47in Detroit. They still had a streetcar system. I'm not sure how far it went, but I know it came
02:52up
02:52Woodward to where the State Fair was, and you could have got a streetcar and ridden all the way down
02:57to
02:57go shopping at Hudson's or something. Basically, Henry Ford killed streetcars. He and Firestone,
03:06who made tires. In fact, they lost in the Supreme Court because they were doing things that weren't
03:10quite kosher. Basically, I think we're telling a lot of cities they'd sell them buses cheap if they
03:19got rid of their streetcars. And 1956, Detroit finished getting rid of it. What I've been told is
03:26those streetcars were sold to Mexico City, and they're still being used. Royal Oak had, like I said,
03:32their system lasted until I think it was 48, at which point buses were messing it up. I mean,
03:40a streetcar, we've got some historical references where people commented that the streetcar came in
03:46and I can go to my friend's house and only have to walk a mile now instead of walking the
03:51whole six,
03:51seven miles to their house. And today, most people would, you know, walking a mile would be terrible,
03:57but people were excited about this. When buses and cars came in, it's really hard to change the streetcar
04:06tracks. That isn't going to happen. And that bus can change its route overnight. So it pretty well
04:12caused the doom of streetcars. That's sort of a basic thing of how they operated. They were electric.
04:20They had wires that had to go overhead. And a little mast went up and ran on the wires. And
04:26so
04:27it was an electric motor that was powering the streetcar. When I hear streetcar, like I kind of
04:32default to like the ones that you see in California, like San Diego and San Francisco. I know that they
04:39like famously had those streetcars, but you don't really picture it in Detroit. And I'm assuming it's
04:46because of the prevalence of cars. Um, but what does a discovery like this mean? Uh, when you're
04:55looking at tracks that have been lying under a roadway for decades, kind of just waiting to be
05:03found over a hundred years, about 120 years on those, they just pulled up. I'm not sure what they're
05:09doing downtown right now. I don't know why they had to tear so deep because when they just resurfaced
05:15Washington, they went down to the rails, they cleaned everything off between the rails.
05:20Um, they couldn't have a rail that was coming loose. Cause I guess when they put asphalt,
05:25which is hundreds of degrees, um, they would then bend up through the road, which, you know,
05:30meant you had to redo your road. So there was a few areas they cut them out, but most of
05:35them,
05:35they were able to put asphalt right over the top. Yeah. They broke all the cement out and they
05:40obviously dug all the way down, pulled out the ties, pulled out the rails. So I'm not sure
05:44what they're doing that needed that because, um, there's probably many, many places under Detroit
05:51that the rails again are still under the modern road. I'm sure Woodward Avenue, uh, has that.
05:58Um, I know Main Street and Royal Oak, they resurfaced it, but they didn't go as far,
06:04but they were far enough down that you could see the rust lines where the rails were. Uh, and we
06:09had
06:09old maps that showed where the system was. So we were sort of walking around to see, can we tell
06:14if
06:14they're still there? Um, but yeah, this entire system, but cars and buses just eliminated it of
06:24cars, even more. I mean, you know, you hop in your car, you drive somewhere. You weren't having to
06:29either walk or ride a horse in 1900, um, you know, to get two, three miles away from your house
06:38in Royal Oak. There was even a freight depot. You could have ordered things from stores in
06:42downtown Detroit would have been put on the streetcar, brought up to the Royal Oak freight
06:46depot, and you could have gone there and picked it up sort of the, uh, Amazon of 1900.
06:54Hey there, I'm Kendra Adachi and my show, the lazy genius podcast helps you be a genius about the
07:00things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. And you get to decide what matters.
07:05I'm not here to tell you what to do. I'm here to give you a new way to see episodes
07:10of the lazy
07:10genius podcast are full of compassionate time management tips and permission slips to do what
07:15makes sense for you. New episodes drop every Monday, follow and listen to the lazy genius
07:20podcast on the free odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. As we imagine the ghosts of Royal
07:27Oak at the turn of the 20th century, hopping on a streetcar, artificial intelligence companies
07:33are working on ways to make digital ghosts come to life. This idea has been around for a while.
07:40Last October, I even reported on news that actress Suzanne Somers' widower, Alan Hamill,
07:47was working to create an AI version of her at Somers' request. Now, several AI companies are working
07:55on creating these generative ghosts. Dana Wright and Sam Stevie III of the Dana and Parks show out of
08:03Odyssey Station KMBZ in Kansas City discuss the phenomenon this week.
08:08Jack Manning knows firsthand the emotional and practical challenge of memorializing a loved one
08:13in a way that feels appropriate. He lost his sister more than 10 years ago.
08:17Appropriate.
08:17He and his family spent hundreds of hours raising funds to organize a volunteer project honoring her.
08:21It took years, he says, of bake sales and 5K to raise money to honor her memory in a way
08:27that was
08:27meaningful to us. He told CBS News, I thought, surely there could be a way that technology
08:35can help us. Enter artificial intelligence. Manning, a doctoral candidate in information science at the
08:42University of Colorado, Boulder, is now studying the use of large language models, LLMs,
08:50to create what some are calling generative ghosts. Basically, AI chatbots trained on a dead person's
09:01social media posts, emails, audio and video recordings, photos, and other data to create a digital
09:14simulation that family and friends can, quote, interact with after an individual's death.
09:24Quoting here from Manning,
09:26it's definitely a growing sector. We are seeing growth in interest in how AI and grief intertwine.
09:33Well, obviously, there's growth in interest because two years ago, we didn't even think this was possible.
09:38A number of startups now offer these services. Seance AI.
09:44Yeah. At least they're honest.
09:47No. You Only Virtual and RE Memory.
09:52Seance AI.
09:54RE Memory lets users create lifelike avatars of their loved ones based on photos and voice recordings.
10:02Yep. This is the way of the future.
10:06We will never die.
10:07An associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who studies socio-technical
10:11systems, Manning and his colleagues observed study participants' reactions to the AI ghosts of
10:19people they had lost. Quote,
10:22Participants filled out a simple survey sharing positive memories of a loved one,
10:27talking about their upbringing, their core traits, and they were fascinated by how much
10:33this system can do with so little information.
10:38There are two basic kinds of generative ghosts.
10:41A simple, quote,
10:43death bot could be limited to playing back verbatim any statements recorded by a loved one,
10:48but would be incapable of simulating the deceased manner of communication.
10:52Generative ghosts, you guys, go significantly further by recreating the deceased's voice
11:01and manner of communication and offering the ability to interact with the living,
11:08even responding to questions in a recognizably familiar way.
11:15Literally inputting their personality into a digital cloud.
11:19No, no, no, no, no. Oh, and by the way, it's only $24 a month. This is not...
11:27Up next, we'll hear about a dangerous pair of pants that have been going viral on social media.
11:33And for Play-Doh lovers who feel that they've outgrown the classic toy,
11:38we've got some great news for you. That's when we get back from a short break
11:42on this weird news roundup presented by Odyssey's Something Offbeat podcast.
11:47Thank you for listening to this special presentation of Weird News from Odyssey's Something Offbeat.
11:55You might have seen posts or videos about these pants online.
12:01They're blowing in the breeze on a beautiful summer day in some of them.
12:05Then, all of a sudden, the woman wearing the pants trips and stumbles.
12:11Sometimes she'll fall down altogether.
12:13You see, these aren't just any wide-legged pants.
12:18They're the Zara Death Pants.
12:21Given that nickname for their apparent tendency to trip their wearers.
12:26Not because they've actually caused any deaths.
12:29For $45, the polyester trousers with an elastic waistband look stylish and trendy.
12:35But are the wipeouts worth it?
12:39Chad Hartman of Odyssey Station WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities
12:44and CBS News reporter Jamie Ucas discussed what's going on with these death pants
12:51and whether it's okay to laugh at the videos.
12:55Let's listen in.
12:59Wide-legged pants that have come back, the Zara pants that have come back,
13:06including Dave on a story today, about a number of injuries where women are just getting used to
13:13the Zara pants and the wide leg at the bottom, and they're tripping and falling.
13:19Are you wearing the Zara pants?
13:23Zara.
13:24Zara, excuse me.
13:27I do not have the Zara pants, but I have gotten totally on board with the baggy jean trend.
13:34It's taking me back to high school.
13:36I'm having fun with it.
13:38I'm wearing baggy t-shirts, maybe a flannel over the t-shirt.
13:42I'm all in on the trend.
13:44We ran this story because all of us got it in our feed,
13:48probably because a lot of us are kind of on the baggy pant trend.
13:52So here's my question for you.
13:54Are you the person who secretly laughs and loves when someone falls,
14:01or do you feel like embarrassed and terrible for them and it's awful?
14:06Okay.
14:07We have to have the caveat that I know the person is not injured in some way.
14:15Okay?
14:16Well, the Zara pants are, like, they're calling them death pants.
14:19These people are getting, like, scrapes on their hands.
14:22I know.
14:22I know.
14:22I know.
14:23You know what I say about that?
14:24Calm down.
14:25I mean, I think we all know death, getting a scrape on your hand as you brace yourself,
14:32isn't quite death.
14:35Let me put it this way.
14:36If it's a friend of mine and they're okay, I'm chuckling.
14:42I am.
14:43Now, if, let's say, they're formally dressed and it's a big event and they're walking in the event,
14:55then I'm like, oh, no, not this.
14:57Not now.
14:58I mean, come on.
14:58Have it when it's just me and her out for a happy hour or something like that.
15:03Not in front of a big crowd.
15:05That's more problematic.
15:07You normally lead with your heart, but you also have a keen sense of humor.
15:13I'm going to say you have the ability to do both, and you certainly, more often than not,
15:19are going to feel bad, but you also are capable of laughing.
15:23Oh, I think these videos are hilarious.
15:28That's the way to answer it.
15:30That's the way to go.
15:32I think as someone who is clumsy and especially in my teen years was very clumsy,
15:41I think about now I have the ability to laugh at myself and other people.
15:48It's not malicious, right?
15:50Like as a teenager being clumsy, it was like the most mortifying, awful thing ever.
15:56So I think in some ways I find it funny because it's like, well, look how much I've been able
16:00to grow and laugh at myself.
16:04If you can't poke fun at yourself, then you need to start.
16:08Come on.
16:09Life is serious.
16:10It's serious, and there are times we have to be serious and have to show our intellect.
16:17Sometimes we just screw up and make a fool of ourselves, and you've got to own it, admit it, and
16:23just chuckle.
16:23That's definitely the way to go.
16:25I mean, some of the quotes here in the story,
16:28the deadly Zara pants claim yet another victim.
16:32Another quote.
16:33They do really need a hazard warning.
16:36Here's another one.
16:37There should be a Netflix documentary about these pants.
16:41I'm a victim.
16:42Can I be interviewed for the documentary?
16:45Oh, my goodness.
16:47Dave Harrigan, it's someone you know.
16:51They're fine.
16:53It's not over for them, but they fall right in front of your eyes.
16:57What's your move?
16:58Laugh at my butt off.
17:00Yeah.
17:00You saw what we were doing yesterday before the show.
17:03Explain to Jamie the video that we watched.
17:07You had already watched about five times before me.
17:09I then watched it three times and laughed heartily each time.
17:13I was crying, laughing multiple times, watching video of an older gentleman umpiring a youth baseball game
17:21who took a foul ball to the groin, not one, not two, but three times in the first four innings,
17:28and the last time you thought he died, and I don't think I've laughed harder in years.
17:34Okay.
17:35Can I just say the thing that the video I'm laughing about, because it looks like a Wile E. Coyote
17:41-like cartoon,
17:42is that guy getting hit by the bison in Yellowstone.
17:46Yes.
17:47And goes flying into the air.
17:49Like, it looks like a cartoon.
17:51Like, what's happening?
17:52He also has, like, the greatest Christmas card ever.
17:57Did you love Play-Doh as a child?
18:00Did you make, like, a lot of slightly lopsided dinosaurs,
18:04and then forget to put the rest of the Play-Doh back in the little container
18:08so that globs of the stuff dried right into your Barbie's hair?
18:14No, that's, that was just me.
18:15Well, for those of you who, like me, loved Play-Doh,
18:19and want a nostalgic experience without going to a kid's toy store to buy some,
18:25you now have a new option.
18:27Hasbro, that's the company that makes Play-Doh,
18:30just came out with a version for adults.
18:33ABC's Sue Yoon joined Odyssey station WBEN News & Talk in Buffalo with all the details.
18:43Has launched its first Play-Doh for adults.
18:46Sue, tell us about this.
18:49Hi, yeah, Play-Doh has a CEO, sorry, Hasbro has a CEO now who's trying to age up a lot
18:56of its offerings,
18:57toys and games, and Play-Doh launched a collection called Blooms yesterday,
19:02which is a floral arrangement you can make using Play-Doh,
19:07and you can actually, and it comes with a finishing spray and a vase that you could,
19:12you know, kind of preserve what you make and keep it around if you want as decor.
19:17So it's a little bit different than the Play-Doh that we're used to from kids, our kid years?
19:23Yeah, well, it's definitely, it feels similar,
19:26but it's definitely marketed differently with some different colors.
19:29It looks a little bit more sophisticated and grown up in its packaging.
19:32It comes in tubes instead of those canisters that we remember,
19:38and the scents a little different.
19:39Okay, what's the expectation then with this grown-up market?
19:43And I'm wondering, when you say grown-ups, I mean, could we even be talking seniors?
19:48Oh, yeah, definitely.
19:50I mean, I think they're thinking of like, you know, tweens,
19:53like people who age out of the original Play-Doh that we think of.
19:58Yeah, I think it goes to any age.
20:01I was thinking about making some of these with my mom.
20:04I just kind of, I think it's playing into this trend right now we have where crafting is very popular.
20:09People are trying to spend less, trying to get less screen time.
20:13People are drinking less and looking for things to do, you know, in person and kind of connect with other
20:19people.
20:19And I think it's great for that.
20:21It's tactile.
20:22And actually, I was joking that I'm having some hand issues lately,
20:24and I play with putty at night as PT, and this would be great for that also.
20:29I think there's a lot of people that are probably perking up listening in this and saying,
20:34you know what, this is just what I need.
20:36Is there more of this stuff to come?
20:39Does it seem maybe even from other companies?
20:42Oh, I think so.
20:43I think in general, like, you know, companies are trying to appeal to different markets
20:46and expand the markets that they have.
20:49But the Hasbro CEO told me yesterday that this is the first collection of several more.
20:56And he wouldn't tell me exactly what was next, but he hinted at paintings or sculptures or architecture.
21:02And if you think of a company like Lego, they've kind of aged up their audience in terms of these
21:07special
21:08and elaborate collections, right, like where you can build the Taj Mahal or, like, a famous sneaker
21:15or now, I think, the $800 Sagra, the big cathedral in Barcelona.
21:24I'm putting the name right now.
21:25I can't do it.
21:26It's escaping me, too.
21:27But I know exactly what you mean.
21:29Definitely for, you know, an elevated older crowd, you know, not just for kids, right?
21:35Yeah, exactly.
21:37Well, soon.
21:37$100 news, though.
21:38Yeah.
21:39Thank you so much for listening to this Weird News Roundup presented by Odyssey's Something
21:45Offbeat podcast.
21:46This episode was written and produced by me, Lauren Berry.
21:51Special thanks to WWJ News Radio in Detroit, the Dana and Parks Show out of KMBZ in Kansas
21:58City, WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities, and WBEN News and Talk in Portland.
22:05You can find all of these programs and the Something Offbeat podcast on the Odyssey app
22:12or wherever you get your podcasts.
22:17I'm Jenna Fisher.
22:18And I'm Angela Kinsey.
22:20And together, we have the podcast Office Ladies.
22:22Just because we finished rewatching The Office does not mean we're going anywhere.
22:26Every Wednesday, we'll be sharing even more exclusive stories from The Office and our friendship
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22:33Plus, you can revisit all the Office Ladies rewatch episodes every Monday with new bonus
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22:40So follow and listen to Office Ladies on the free Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts.
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