History's Greatest Dumpster Fires

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

In this episode, Ed is going back to his childhood from the 90's to talk about one of his favorite movies: Kevin Reynolds' and Kevin Costner's epic fill Waterworld.

Waterworld came out in 1995 and was touted as the most expensive movie ever made in human history. With an eye watering price tag of $175 million, the many creators of the movie as well as the executives who fronted the bill tried to make a cookie cutter no-fail format that can only result in huge success. Can you see where this train of thought can lead? Sounds a lot like "there is no way that this plan can fail!"

Well, here we are. A movie written by a Harvard graduate, directed by one of the most popular directors of the day, Kevin Reynolds who directed Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starred Kevin Costner as the lead and Dennis Hopper as the villain. The movie was filmed in the middle of the ocean with nothing but practical special effects and very little CGI. When it was all said and done the budget and filming times ballooned, but there was no way it could fail right? For the 90s this movie was going to be a huge hit. 

And then it released and absolutely BOMBED and it bombed hard! 

Take a listen and Ed will go over the cautionary tale yet again, that just because you think you have a fool proof plan, doesn't mean it's going to work out. Just because you follow a "formula of success" doesn't mean you'll have success. Throwing money at something doesn't guarantee that nature will obey your wishes. 

For more details and notes about the episode, check out the website. You'll find the back catalog of over 50 episodes. 

You might also want to check out Episode 46 - The Byford Dolphin Incident  for when you get to the part about one of the stuntmen who nearly died from the bends in one scene. You'll thank Ed later for it. 

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

Today is the day that you get to hear the thrilling end to one of the craziest and depressing moments in American history up to the 1850: The tragedy of the Donner Party. Check out Episode 52 and Episode 54 for the background that feeds into this conclusion. Be sure to give those a listen on thedaysdumpsterfire.com to get caught up. 

Where Kara left off, the Donner party had already been trying to survive in the wild during a winter and as food ran out, desperation forced the living to consider the dead a viable source of food. And in this episode we discover that just because they were eventually "rescued" they weren't out of the woods yet... LITERALLY. In what turns into a situation of hope and survival, we get to see that even though everyone was suffering the decent, kind, and crazy strong among our species will rise to the top to help others. 

Kara mentions that there is a fair amount of hidden coins and other pieces of jewelry hidden in the Sierras from the Donner Party and if you want to read up on it and perhaps try and find it on your own, you can find some of the details here.

Lastly, be sure to keep checking thedaysdumpsterfire.com  for updates and to see the latest of artwork that Kara uploads (rumor has it that the artwork for this episode may or may not include a blinged out double decker Conestoga wagon.

So sit back, relax, and think hard about the next time you want to take a shortcut in life, after all, look what happened to the Donner Party. 

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

Check it out! Kara, Deja, and Ed got the second part of Donner, Party of 90! published for the world to listen to. In this episode, Kara continues the discussion into the famous (and very... taboo) Donner Party where 90 men, women, and children ventured out west in 1846 to make a new life in California. However, after being informed about a supposed "short cut" the party got stuck in winter weather west of what we know to be Reno, Nevada. With no hope of discovery let alone rescue, the Donner party hunkers down to ride out the winter and hopefully there will be enough people alive to actually rescue when the snow melts. 

In this episode, Kara tells the story of the Party of Forlorn Hope, which consisted of 15 men, women, and children that attempted to crawl their way out from the Donner party to try and get help. However, this group got stuck in what was suppose to be a two week adventure ballooned into 33 days! Instead of finding someone to help them, it seemed as though they only found death, and he took a huge toll on the party. As a result, the Party of Forlorn Hope had to make impossible decision and commit unfathomable act to survive when people were dying around them!

If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, check it out here: Donner, Party of 90! Fire -Episode 52.

If you want to see previous episodes that Kara, Deja, and Ed have done over the years, check it out here. You can also see Kara's artwork that is inspired by the podcast topics at www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com 

Lastly, be sure to email the gang here at The Day's Dumpster Fire at [email protected] and provide suggestions for future episode ideas or even trashcan fire!

Stay tuned because your favorite hot messes are working on Part 3 and Ed has a banger of a pallet cleanser coming up shortly!

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

Have you ever tried taking a shortcut or was given the directions involving a shortcut, only to find out that it tripled the amount of time it would have taken if you just stuck to the normal path? Human beings LOVE shortcuts, but most of the time a shortcut is a recipe for disaster. However, the worst shortcuts result in humans having to eat other humans to stay alive due to all the delays that "shortcut" provided. 

In this episode, Kara introduces the first part of a two part series about the Donner Party incident in the winter months of 1846 and 1847. In this first part, Kara is going to set the stage for who was involved in the Donner Party and why they were traveling to California and just exactly was this sketchy shortcut? We're going to learn about the major players, the decision makers, the shakers and stirrers of the party, and most importantly, learn about a massive double decker ox-pulled wagon and how it would get stuck in a McDonalds drive-thru today. 

If you're not familiar with the Donner Party incident and you have a strong stomach towards... errrr... ummmm... uhhhh... exotic foods, check out The Day's Dumpster Fire website. There you'll find more details of what happened in this particular event as well as a back catalog of over 50 episodes of humans doing what they do best: messing stuff up so they can learn so they can mess more stuff up! Furthermore, you can check out Kara's artwork as she typically "draws" her inspiration for images from various episodes. 

If you know of dumpster fires in history that you want to learn more about, send us an email at [email protected]. Check us out on Instagram for more little tidbits of dumpster fires. 

So sit back, take a listen, and remind yourself to always second guess someone's suggestion of taking a shortcut... unless you're into to potentially needing to eat people... then in that case DON'T DO IT!

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

Have you ever been lucky enough (or unlucky enough) to take on a project from  a coworker or fellow student who single handedly ran the entire thing into the ground? Did this person do such a terrible job that it cost them their job? Moreover, when you started to clean up the project from this person you quickly asked yourself, "what in the actual @#^! happened here? 

If this has ever happened to you, then you would have a pretty good understanding of what the American engineers experienced when they took over the Panama Canal project from France in 1904 after they had run the whole operation asunder. 

Admittedly, the French really did give it their best effort, but they were not prepared for the difficult working conditions in Panama in the 1890s and they were lacking much of the technology that America had at its disposal in 15 years. 

In this episode of The Day's Dumpster Fire, Ed and Kara take a stab at the Panama Canal and the 400 hundred year relationship Europe had with the region which was rocky to say the least. The concept was simple: the isthmus of Panama is only 50 miles wide. On the east side is the Atlantic Ocean, on the west side is the Pacific Ocean. If we can get goods and eventually ships through this little swath of land, then we can save THOUSANDS of miles and avoid sailing around South America. 

However, this little strip of land proved to be vexing and it all came to a head when France vowed to complete the project, especially after completing the Suez Canal just prior, and after 22,000 lives and millions of dollars lost to... well who knows, France eventually had to throw in the towel and let America try and finish it off. 

Take a listen and relish the fact that you never had to finish a project of this magnitude from a coworker! More importantly, learn from the mistakes the French made and learn how good old fashioned American ingenuity stepped up and completed one of the greatest engineering feats in human history. 

For more details, check out The Day's Dumpster Fire website  as well as take a look at Kara's stellar artwork. You'll also get to see the full catalog of over 50 dumpster fires this little podcast has investigated over the years. 

If life has you down, or you've just recently really botched up something you planned to be 100% fool proof, then take a listen and relish in the fact that you're the subject matter of one of these episodes. And if you ARE a good candidate to be the subject matter of this podcast then shoot us an email at [email protected] Kara and Ed would love to hear from you. 

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

Nobody thought it possible that Ed could edit 50 episode of The Day's Dumpster Fire... especially Ed. But here it is in all it's glory. More importantly Deja is back so Kara needs to mediate and work overtime in keeping them in check because they tend to let things fly off the rails. 

In this episode the crew looks back on 50 episodes of a show they had no idea would actually work. Kara, Deja, and Ed reflect on the episodes that had the greatest impact on them as well as those episodes that legitimately changed their lives even in the smallest degree. 

The Day's Dumpster Fire isn't your typical show that explores our species' greatest achievements, but more importantly, the special connection that humanity has with failure and what it teaches us. 

This episodes marks a hallmark in the world of humanity messing things up beyond all recognition. Where it's intentional like Episode 25 where composer seemingly tried to create the worst possible music on par with Geneva Convention War Crimes. Or a gigantic flood of molasses that in Episode 14 that somehow killed a lot of people... in the middle of winter! The crew dives into Salman Rushdie's work as a writer and how it cost him an eye in Episodes 28 and 29

Ed had his daughter on to show the toxicity of the perception of "weight gain" and how it is a detriment to young women everywhere in Episode 34. As well a conversation with a survivor of one of the worst atrocities in human history in Episode 49.

In episodes 30, 28, and 29 as well as Episode 27 where the number of face palms exceeds a normal legal limit in the sheer insanity of humans trying to solve a problem by injecting more problems. 

In Episode 40 a dude by the name of Marv tried to take out his frustrations on his town with a gigantic bulldozer.

Lastly in Episodes 35 and 36, Kara sheds light on King Loui

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

Hey there!

We got a very different episode for you. We'd even prefer not to call it an episode, but rather an interview with a remarkable woman: Charlotte Adelman. 

In conjunction with the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, link to their website can be found here, Kara and Ed were able to take their students to the society's building which tells the stories of those who experienced the worst human atrocity in human history... and we pray that the world never sees one of these again, the Nazi devised plan to eradicate entire races of human beings. 

Kara and Ed were able to schedule an in person interview with Charlotte in front of their class as well as let their students ask Charlotte questions of their own. An opportunity not too many more youth will have a chance to experience. 

Charlotte was born into a bless life surrounded by friends and family, and a mother who could lay claim or at least be a runner up for Mother of the Century. However, all of that was taken away when at the young age of 10 she had to go into hiding as her entire social circle was split up and ultimately lost to the hands corrupted by hate and ideology devoid of ethics. To this day Charlotte does not know what happened to her Mother and friends, but she knows where they were headed too. 

Through the kind actions as well as a degree of bravery found only in a few, Charlotte was brought into a home where she had to hide for the duration of the war, cared for by a family who was working to keep themselves alive. 

This episode is not like the others on this podcast. It is one thing to read an account of what happened all those years ago, but it's another thing entirely to be able to talk to someone brave enough to relive the tragedy day in and day out in hopes something like the holocaust can never, ever, happen again. 

For more details as well as pictures from Charlotte's presentation, head over to thedaysdumpsterfire.com 

This episode will never be monetized for The Day's Dumpster Fire podcast and if any money is generated it will go the The Arizona Jewish Historical Society. To donate yourself please click here to contribute to the work they do on a daily basis. 

Music for this episode was written and produced by:

Music Restored: Cinematic Violin Background music.

Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQTCZjYXKN0&list=PL71bdnhyFY-e1Rvcmn__8NCPPdjzn_CgL

Beautiful Piano Music: Nostalgia by Chris Bazam

Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfFZl2Fho7

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

In today's episode, Kara is going to ask you if you have ever had "buyer's remorse" and if you have ever had a business venture fail due to factors outside your control. 

Most of us have either experienced one or the other and many of us have experienced both. In the "American Dust Bowl Fire," Kara is taking you back to a time in American history where a handshake was more binding than any contract and many Americans lived in a vastly different country. After the stock market crash of 1929, many Americans had to reinvent themselves in a time that became known as the Great Depression. It could be argued that even though the Great Depression took a toll on millions of American families, this time period shaped a generation that would change the world. 

Among those families whose lives were disrupted the most were those living in the mid west and those living in Panhandle took it even harder when one of the worst droughts in American history coincided with the worst economic downturn the nation had ever experienced up to this point. 

To add salt to the wound, this drought that ruined thousands of cash crops in what would be known as "no man's land" was for the most part preventable! It is this realization that Kara takes us back to the 1800s where a fledgling ambitious nation offered whatever it could to prospective families to move out west at all costs. In doing so, these families tilled the ground and destroyed the delicate ecosystem that made the ground suitable for all live stock. These actions from the 1800s came to a head in the early 1930s which resulted in a dumpster fire of unequaled scope. 

For more details, notes, pics, and especially more of Kara's artwork, check out The Day's Dumpster Fire website! Feel free to peruse our catalog of nearly 50 episodes and binge listen till your ears fall off. If you have ideas for future episodes or just have questions for your hosts, send them an email at [email protected]. When Kara and Ed aren't researching the next great dumpster fire, they will happily respond to members of this awesome community of human beings who not just celebrate success, but failures as well. 

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

Hey all, 

It's a bit late, but Ed and Kara out Episode 47 out on thedaysdumpsterfire.com which involves the crazy stuff that goes on in the waters around the North Pole like lots and lots of tricky to deal with polar bears. In mid to late 1500s Dutch navigator and respected cartographer Willem Barentsz looked at how explorers were trying to get to India by sailing around Africa or sailing west only to hit the Americas, but Barentsz looked to the north of Europe and figured he could close the gap by simply sailing through the North Pole waters. 

While on a paper map it looks like a great idea, but in a very real spherical world that doesn't work out so well. Nothing behaves as it should. Ice has a mind of it's own, polar bears are shockingly hard to deal with, the cold makes everything made of metal super weak, and it's not uncommon for your ship to get stuck for months on end. 

So come join Ed and Kara as they discuss the early days of human exploration of the oceans where Murphy's Law says, "Hold my beer and watch this..." as Barentsz and crew set out to redefine maritime navigation. 

Be sure to check the website thedaysdumpsterfire.com for show notes, Kara's famous drawings and feel free to drop a line to [email protected]!

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/

Wanna send us a message? Click on this link on any device that can send text messages and let us know what you think or give us ideas and we'll give you a shout out on a future episode! And don't forget to check out our website: www.thedaysdumpsterfire.com

In this episode, Ed takes you into the world of saturation diving where you'll learn how the human body can adapt to absorb extreme conditions only found at the bottom of the ocean. 

When we go swimming at the pool, we take it for granted that the depths that some members of society live and breathe in especially when it comes to a lovely concoction called Heliox. 

When you spend weeks under water your body absorbs inert gases like nitrogen and even helium, but when you come to the surface, that gas has to go somewhere. In most cases it's out through your lungs but if you come up too fast, those gases escape through any means possible like through boiling blood and even explosion. 

This is call explosive decompression. 

In this episode, Ed will explore what explosive decompression looks like and what can happen if you're standing too close to the hatch when when you're environment changes from 10 atmospheres of pressure down to one in a fraction of a second. 

Hey before you go! Email us your "Trashcan Fires" to

[email protected] (be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line

We would love to see your stories where you tried to plan out every little detail, but when you executed that plan, it all went horribly wrong shortly after and turned into your own Dumpster Fire.

Be sure to put "Trashcan Fire" in the subject line followed by the title of the story and whether or not we can use your name.

Check us out on the ol Instagrams!
https://www.instagram.com/thedaysdumpsterfire/