Fly, Eagles, fly.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Don't put that Philadelphia Eagles coffee mug on this side of the studio.
This is the New York Jets side of the office.
Oh, okay, Adam.
So I can't put this mug on your side?
Absolutely not.
Fine.
Then I'll just move my chair here.
So now it's the Eagles side.
So please move your Jets flag.
Oh, I see how it is.
All right, then.
I'll just move this desk.
And now you can put your bobblehead collection over in Scranton.
Good morning.
Then move your Jets helmet back to Schenectady.
Guys.
Hi, Pam.
Good morning.
Are you two gerrymandering the office?
Uh, yes.
Nope.
No.
Kinda.
Maybe.
He started it.
Okay.
I think we need to get into this one.
I'm Pamela Kirkland.
And I'm Ryan Willard.
It's Friday, September 12th.
This is a 10 News Deep Dive.
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Let's go, Jets!
I am so annoyed.
He is not splitting up the office fairly.
What you two were doing is actually kind of similar to what's been going on in Texas and California.
Really?
I guess, but I don't see it.
Then I think we should cover five things to know about gerrymandering.
Okay, number one.
What exactly is gerrymandering and how is it different than redistricting?
Let's start with some basics.
Members of the U.S.
House of Representatives and state and local legislators in towns and counties are elected from districts.
Districts divide states and the people that live there into different territories, and those territories vote on who represents them.
Redistricting is how we change the districts to determine who represents us.
Every 10 years after the US Census.
Redistricting happens to ensure that each district has roughly the same amount of people, reflecting the shifts in people moving around.
This is done to try and keep representation fair and balanced as populations change.
Gerrymandering is a manipulative form of redistricting, where boundaries are drawn to give one political party or group an unfair advantage.
It's what Some politicians do to favor their party and expand their power.
Think of it this way.
Redistricting is like redrawing teams in kickball so they're fair.
Gerrymandering is when one kid takes all the best players on their side.
So redistricting is the process that is supposed to happen, which keeps things fair.
And gerrymandering is when you cheat that process to make it unfair for one side?
Yep.
How do you actually gerrymander?
Well, that brings us to number two.
The second thing to know are the techniques politicians and map drawers use to do so.
Cracking and packing.
Um, what?
That sounds like a TikTok dance that I don't know.
No, it's a real thing.
Cracking is when you split up a set of voters into multiple districts, so their voting power is divided.
When the voting group is cracked, it's just what it sounds like.
They have a much harder time electing the candidate they want in any district, because they're too small of a group of voters to be effective.
And packing?
Well, packing is the opposite of cracking.
Congressional mapjars pack groups of parties into as few districts as possible.
And while the packed groups might elect the candidate they want by a lot of votes, their voting strength is weak everywhere else besides the packed area.
And it doesn't have to be packing or cracking.
Map drawers who gerrymander can use both to create an advantage.
I'm ready for the third thing to know, which is, where did the word gerrymandering come from?
Yes, number three.
Back in 1812, Elbridge Gerry was the governor of Massachusetts.
A new voting map was drawn that gave his political party an advantage.
Gerry thought the plan was, quote, highly disagreeable, but he signed on it anyway.
One of the districts on the map looks so weird and squiggly that a cartoonist drew it as a giant salamander.
The drawing appeared in the Boston Gazette newspaper in March of 1812 in an article about the redistricting with the headline, gerrymander and the name just kind of stuck so wait he didn't even like it but he signed it anyway and then a monster noodle turned it into a word we still use today yep history is interesting that way okay i'm ready to take on the fourth thing to know number four texas shenanigans this past summer President Trump pushed Texas Republican lawmakers to do an unusual mid-decade congressional redistricting outside of the normal 10-year process.
He wanted to gain five additional Republican seats in the U.S.
House of Representatives.
Following the president's request, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called a special session of the Texas legislature to vote on the new district map.
This prompted the Texas House Democrats to break quorum, which means they walked out of the meeting, so the vote could not be passed.
It still got pretty messy with the House Democrats even leaving the state to stop a vote from being held.
After threats of sending the FBI after them.
They returned and the Republican-controlled Texas State Senate approved the new map and Governor Abbott signed it into law.
So, while the new map is law, multiple lawsuits have been filed against it, alleging that the Voting Rights Act and the US
Constitution were violated.
The cases are working their way through federal courts and will determine if the maps can or can't be used for the 2026 midterm elections.
And while all of that was happening, the fifth thing you need to know was also happening.
Number five, California steps into the ring.
Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to Texas's situation by what he calls fighting fire with fire.
Normally, California's congressional maps are drawn by an independent citizens commission, not by politicians.
That rule was created so the process would stay fair.
But because of the actions in Texas, Governor Newsom called for a special election ballot nicknamed the Election Rigging Response Act.
If voters approve it, the law would let California switch to a legislature-drawn congressional map.
That could potentially make Republican seats into Democratic seats only in special situations like the one happening now.
So Californians have to vote on whether politicians can take back map-drawing power from the Independent Commission.
Exactly.
It will be decided in a special election on November 4th, 2025.
California Republicans have tried to sue and block this, and President Trump said the Department of Justice would sue California for doing the exact same thing he told Texas to do.
I have to say, this all sounds absolutely bonkers.
Has this ever happened before?
Not like this it hasn't.
It is very unusual for a president to call for state redistricting to help his own party.
And it's also unusual for a state to openly gerrymander because another state openly gerrymandered.
Yeah, this is wild stuff, and we have to keep our tenors posted.
J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!
Ugh, he's still here!
Okay then, maybe we should take a quick break.
Okay, tenors, here's a quick, odd fact for you.
Some voting districts are drawn into such weird shapes that people give them nicknames.
There's one in Illinois called the upside-down elephant and another in Florida nicknamed the goofy kicking Donald Duck.
Yeah, sometimes maps look less like fair districts and more like silly doodles.
At least they don't look like.
And we're back and I have to say I.
One of the cool but also crazy parts about the United States of America is how different each state actually is.
You're not wrong.
And each state has a lot of really random, weird laws.
Did you know that?
I did, actually.
The laws aren't always enforced, but apparently they still exist.
I bet I know more than you.
Oh, right.
Bring it on.
Here are some really, really weird laws.
In Arizona, donkeys are not allowed to sleep in bathtubs, which apparently traces back to the 1920s, when a donkey was swept away in a bathtub during a flood.
In Oregon, it's illegal to whistle underwater, though I'm not sure that's even possible.
In Connecticut, a pickle must bounce to be legally sold.
So if I want to buy a pickle, I have to throw it on the ground to see if it bounces, and that's what makes it a legal pickle.
Apparently.
And in Gainesville, Georgia, it's illegal to eat fried chicken with anything other than your hands.
The law was created as a joke to honor Southern traditions, but a tourist once got in trouble as a prank for breaking that law.
So I'd get in trouble if I used a spork to eat the chicken?
Why would you use a spork to eat fried chicken?
Don't ask me questions I don't want to answer.
Just give me more Southern fried chicken, please.
In Alabama, you're not allowed to wear a fake mustache in church if it causes...
Laughter.
In Arkansas, it's illegal to honk your horn near a sandwich shop after 9 p.m.
In Florida, it's illegal for an unmarried woman to parachute on Sundays.
So an unmarried man can parachute on Sundays?
What if the unmarried woman jumped out of the plane in Florida but landed in Georgia?
I do not know, Ry, but did you know that in Minnesota, wrestling a fighting bears is prohibited?
Um...
Yeah, that's a law I don't plan on breaking anywhere.
Especially with Fat Bear Week coming up.
I would get crushed.
In New York, it's illegal to take tiger selfies, which means you can't take a close-up photo with a tiger.
Yep, that's another law I do not plan on breaking.
I want more weird laws.
Do you know any more?
I wonder if our tenors know any.
Not off the top of my head, but I bet our trivia master Owen does.
Let me check with him.
Welcome to the Trivia Room.
Hi, Owen.
I was just talking about weird laws with Ryan and was wondering... If I had any?
Yeah, exactly.
How'd you know that?
I wouldn't be the Trivia Master if I didn't.
Also, I was just listening to you two.
So, wanna hop on the Trivia Throne?
It would be an honor.
You and Ryan named quite a few weird laws.
But in Alabama, which of these things are illegal?
Is it... A. Stealing someone else's crawfish can get you up to 10 years in jail.
B. You aren't allowed to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket.
C. Video games cannot be played from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.
Or D.
It's illegal to bathe in either ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise.
Hmm, that's a tough one.
Alabama definitely has a lot of crawfish, so I could see it being illegal to steal someone's.
I don't understand how or why you'd carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket, bathing in ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise.
I'm really unsure about this one, but I'm going to go with B. The answer is B.
You're not allowed to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket in Alabama.
That feels like a bad idea anyway, but why is it illegal?
It's actually illegal in Alabama and Kentucky.
The law was made a long time ago when people would steal horses, which is obviously illegal.
But if the horse followed you, you might be able to say you weren't stealing it, right?
Well...
Sneaky thieves would use ice cream to lure horses away by putting the cone in their back pocket and walking past a horse.
The horse might be tempted to follow the smell of the ice cream and the thief.
I don't see how that would work.
Did someone say ice cream?
I heard about ice cream and I want some ice cream.
Um, okay.
That makes more sense now.
Thanks, Owen.
Tenors.
If you want to be on the trivia throne, or if you have a piece of trivia for me to ask, send us an email at Hello at the 10newscom.
And we might have you on the show.
Look, Rye, our teams are in different divisions, but they are similar colors.
So maybe during football season, we can have the whole office just be green.
Now we're talking.
I'm glad you two worked that out.
Now let's give 10 new snaps to some of our listeners.
And before that, here's a quick note for the grownups.
It's time for 10 new snaps.
A tenor named The Elemental Master commented and said, I want an episode on space.
Okay, we'll definitely put that on the list to explore.
And a tenor named Zuri555 gave us an Apple review with a million stars and said Can you make more episodes of video games?
Um, I'm sure Ryan will be happy to.
Of course I will.
Also, a tenor named Archie said, you might remember me from August.
I love the 10 News, but I wish they came out on Thursdays and Fridays.
Keep up the good work, and I love the gaming episodes.
Thank you so much, Archie.
I don't know if you know, but our deep dives come out once a month and usually drop on a Friday.
So once a month, we do have episodes on a Thursday and a Friday.
And two extra notes for the grown-ups.
You can now get ad-free versions of our episodes when you join the Tenors Club on our website.
And if you want to help support the 10 News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes.
The whole team thanks you for your support.
The 10 News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.
The 10 News creative team is thinking up some weird laws so they can implement them into the 10 News studio and includes Tracy, Notta Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino, Bernard Brian not Ryan Douglas.
And Carson, not so Harry Potter.
Big thanks to Owen not slowing down for anybody.
Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle.
And our executive producers are Donald Albright, Albright, Albright.
And show creator Tracy takes the leads Kaplan.
I'm Pamela Kirkland.
And I'm Ryan Willard.
Thanks for listening to the 10 News.
