Underunderstood

The Guacfather

Listen Later

The origin story of a wobbly toy with a peculiar name.

We have a Patreon now! Members get access to Overunderstood, our bonus podcast. Check it out at patreon.com/underunderstood.

Show Notes:

  • 1:47 - Nickelodeon's Wild & Crazy Kids Gwok Ball on Dailymotion
  • 4:26 - Google Books Ngram Viewer results for "guac"
  • 4:57 - Maureen Down piece from the New York Times Magazine, May 29, 1994: The Lost Quayle Diaries
  • 5:27 - The New York Times, January 22, 1997: Snacks to Fix in Super Bowl Timeouts
  • 6:16 - "Guac" used in a 1993 episode of Norther Exposure
  • 6:34 - "Guac" used in a 2000 episode of Will & Grace
  • 7:46 - Guac Ball on Toy Directory
  • 8:12 - Creative Imaginations website, archived August 3, 2008
  • 9:25 - Wham-It on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in December 1989 (PDF)
  • 12:40 - Wham-It on Amazon, complete with photos of the can
  • 16:04 - Lars and the Real Girl, with which this story has - and I cannot stress this enough - nothing in common
  • 18:28 - Regina's Guac Ball
  • 19:42 - K·B Toys (RIP) on Wikipedia
  • 19:54 - Gymboree on Wikipedia
  • 24:57 - John asks Reddit: Is "guac" an old surf term?
  • 25:32 - Dave Chappelle coins "Zip it up and zip it out"
  • 26:32 - "Guac" in the LA Times, April 7, 1989
    • ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    UnderunderstoodBy Select Works
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    511 ratings

    More shows like Underunderstood

    View all
    Love and Radio by Love and Radio | QCODE

    Love and Radio

    2,253 Listeners

    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

    38,600 Listeners

    Radiolab by WNYC Studios

    Radiolab

    43,842 Listeners

    This American Life by This American Life

    This American Life

    90,653 Listeners

    99% Invisible by Roman Mars

    99% Invisible

    26,175 Listeners

    Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine by Justin McElroy, Dr. Sydnee McElroy

    Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine

    14,766 Listeners

    Imaginary Worlds by Eric Molinsky | QCODE

    Imaginary Worlds

    1,987 Listeners

    Reply All by Gimlet

    Reply All

    27,371 Listeners

    Twenty Thousand Hertz by Dallas Taylor

    Twenty Thousand Hertz

    3,918 Listeners

    Ologies with Alie Ward by Alie Ward

    Ologies with Alie Ward

    23,514 Listeners

    Endless Thread by WBUR

    Endless Thread

    2,662 Listeners

    Decoder Ring by Slate Podcasts

    Decoder Ring

    2,077 Listeners

    Unexplainable by Vox

    Unexplainable

    2,161 Listeners

    Search Engine by PJ Vogt

    Search Engine

    4,040 Listeners