Satiric radio commentary for the 90s from the man who drained Lake Michigan and filled it with hot chocolate!!!
STAN FREBERG HERE...


Happy St. Patrick's Day To Green Mold!

Stan Freberg here. Today is St. Patrick's Day. My mother is of English and Irish heritage from the Connor clan, and my friend John Crean (rhymes with "green") in Newport, California, is a serious Irishman. But in all their talking about "the green" over the years, I've never heard them salute the green mold that brought about the discovery of penicillin. More on this little-celebrated green, after this. [:60 SPOT BREAK]

Freberg again with a St. Patrick's Day salute to green mold. When I was single I had some of that growing in the back of my refrigerator. But wait! Back in 1928, the British bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin.

He noticed that some staphylococcus bacteria he was studying in a culture dish reacted badly to a green mold that had accidentally formed. The mold was penicillium notatum, as in "John McEnroe showed up at the party, but no Tatum." Luckily, a decade later, Doctors Chane and Foley showed it was effective against many infections, and cut the name down to merely "penicillin," or they wouldn't have been able to get it on the label.

So once again, the world wouldn't've had that powerful first antibiotic, if it weren't for Sir Alexander Fleming discovering what that green mold did to bacteria. So I say, along with green hats, ties, shamrock pins and green sport coats, it's about time Irish persons everywhere gave the green mold that brought about penicillin an Irish salute.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, from Stan Freberg here.



Copyright (C)1997, Stan Freberg/Freberg, Ltd. (but not very) Distributed by Dick Brescia Associates and Radio Spirits, Inc.