#Mayday May 13

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Today for the 30-Day Podcast Coach4aday Challenge I am listening to an episode about the word MAYDAY.

Dealing with an emergency while boating or flying using the radio signal MAYDAY will summon help. Despite knowing it meaning I had no idea about its origin. So, I went searching on Spotify for a podcast that might enlighten me.

Day 13 Podcast-Short Stuff

“Stuff you Should Know” is a pretty popular podcast. Its popularity created a spin-off podcast called “Short Stuff”. It is 15-minute-or-less episodes about the most interesting things in the world around us. The episode I selected was called “Short Stuff: MayDay” and it aired November 2021. The hosts of Short Stuff are Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark.

Podcast Takeaways

To properly use this distress signal, you say Mayday three times. After that three-word sentence you report the name of your ship or plane, the emergency, location, and number of people on board.

Credit for the use of Mayday belongs to Frederick Mockford a radio operator. In 1923 London radio operators wanted a new and independent distress signal primarily for traffic between England and Paris. It originally began as a French word M’aidez’which sounds like Mayday.

In 1924, the Book of Wireless Telegraphy identified ‘Mayday’ as the international distress call.

Hefty fines exist for utilizing hoax Mayday calls.

Here is an example of a Mayday call