A teenage robber walks into a convenience store on Christmas Eve, waves a gun around, and demands money. Unfortunately for him, the man behind the counter has a few surprises of his own. Meanwhile, a Wisconsin woman decides she's going to become a substitute teacher. No credentials. No authorization. No apparent interest in actually teaching. What could possibly go wrong?
This week on The Shallow End, Jethro and Lindsay bring you two astonishing true stories of terrible decisions, spectacularly misplaced confidence, and consequences nobody saw coming.
First, it's Christmas Eve 2017 in Leicester, England, where a cocky 17-year-old armed robber decides to terrorize a neighborhood convenience store just before closing time. What he doesn't know is that the store's owner, a father of two, happens to be a trained karate black belt. Within seconds, the would-be criminal discovers that threatening the wrong person can lead to a very long night on the floor of a grocery store. It's a spectacular case of instant karma, complete with flying potato chips, a desperate plea for mercy, and a Christmas miracle nobody ordered.
Then, we head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where a 23-year-old woman allegedly walks into her former high school and convinces administrators she's a substitute teacher. Once inside the classroom, her bizarre behavior leaves students stunned and parents furious. Racial insults, inappropriate questions, and an astonishing explanation for why she did it all turn this case of fake teacher impersonation into a serious school security scandal.
Plus, a listener shares the unforgettable story of a backyard sword fight that went horribly wrong, proving once again that live weapons, amateur reenactments, and The Phantom of the Opera are not necessarily a winning combination.
Armed robbery gone wrong. Instant karma. Fake teachers. Backyard sword fighting. It's another trip into the shallow end of the gene pool, where questionable judgment meets painfully predictable consequences.
Join Jethro and Lindsay for The Shallow End, the comedy podcast celebrating real people making spectacularly bad decisions.
Make good choices. Your life might depend on it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

A teenage robber walks into a convenience store on Christmas Eve, waves a gun around, and demands money. Unfortunately for him, the man behind the counter has a few surprises of his own. Meanwhile, a Wisconsin woman decides she's going to become a substitute teacher. No credentials. No authorization. No apparent interest in actually teaching. What could possibly go wrong? This week on The Shallow End, Jethro and Lindsay bring you two astonishing true stories of terrible decisions, spectacularly misplaced confidence, and consequences nobody saw coming. First, it's Christmas Eve 2017 in Leicester, England, where a cocky 17-year-old armed robber decides to terrorize a neighborhood convenience store just before closing time. What he doesn't know is that the store's owner, a father of two, happens to be a trained karate black belt. Within seconds, the would-be criminal discovers that threatening the wrong person can lead to a very long night on the floor of a grocery store. It's a spectacular case of instant karma, complete with flying potato chips, a desperate plea for mercy, and a Christmas miracle nobody ordered. Then, we head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where a 23-year-old woman allegedly walks into her former high school and convinces administrators she's a substitute teacher. Once inside the classroom, her bizarre behavior leaves students stunned and parents furious. Racial insults, inappropriate questions, and an astonishing explanation for why she did it all turn this case of fake teacher impersonation into a serious school security scandal. Plus, a listener shares the unforgettable story of a backyard sword fight that went horribly wrong, proving once again that live weapons, amateur reenactments, and The Phantom of the Opera are not necessarily a winning combination. Armed robbery gone wrong. Instant karma. Fake teachers. Backyard sword fighting. It's another trip into the shallow end of the gene pool, where questionable judgment meets painfully predictable consequences. Join Jethro and Lindsay for The Shallow End, the comedy podcast celebrating real people making spectacularly bad decisions. Make good choices. Your life might depend on it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A teenage robber walks into a convenience store on Christmas Eve, waves a gun around, and demands money. Unfortunately for him, the man behind the counter has a few surprises of his own. Meanwhile, a Wisconsin woman decides she's going to become a substitute teacher. No credentials. No authorization. No apparent interest in actually teaching. What could possibly go wrong?
This week on The Shallow End, Jethro and Lindsay bring you two astonishing true stories of terrible decisions, spectacularly misplaced confidence, and consequences nobody saw coming.
First, it's Christmas Eve 2017 in Leicester, England, where a cocky 17-year-old armed robber decides to terrorize a neighborhood convenience store just before closing time. What he doesn't know is that the store's owner, a father of two, happens to be a trained karate black belt. Within seconds, the would-be criminal discovers that threatening the wrong person can lead to a very long night on the floor of a grocery store. It's a spectacular case of instant karma, complete with flying potato chips, a desperate plea for mercy, and a Christmas miracle nobody ordered.
Then, we head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where a 23-year-old woman allegedly walks into her former high school and convinces administrators she's a substitute teacher. Once inside the classroom, her bizarre behavior leaves students stunned and parents furious. Racial insults, inappropriate questions, and an astonishing explanation for why she did it all turn this case of fake teacher impersonation into a serious school security scandal.
Plus, a listener shares the unforgettable story of a backyard sword fight that went horribly wrong, proving once again that live weapons, amateur reenactments, and The Phantom of the Opera are not necessarily a winning combination.
Armed robbery gone wrong. Instant karma. Fake teachers. Backyard sword fighting. It's another trip into the shallow end of the gene pool, where questionable judgment meets painfully predictable consequences.
Join Jethro and Lindsay for The Shallow End, the comedy podcast celebrating real people making spectacularly bad decisions.
Make good choices. Your life might depend on it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="noopener noreferrer">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

230: The Fake Substitute Teacher

A man goes looking for another drink and somehow ends up at the center of one of the most bizarre jewelry heists imaginable—complete with stolen construction equipment, a handful of gold, and possibly the least intimidating getaway vehicle in criminal history.
Then, a woman in New Zealand suffers cardiac arrest in a supermarket parking lot and is miraculously revived by a passing stranger. But while paramedics are fighting to save her life, someone else is hard at work making sure she doesn’t escape the consequences of overstaying the 90-minute parking limit.
Also, a listener shares an unforgettable story from his late uncle’s time as a Marine in Vietnam. It’s another collection of astonishingly poor decisions, bureaucratic absurdity, and the kind of true stories that could only be found in The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

A man goes looking for another drink and somehow ends up at the center of one of the most bizarre jewelry heists imaginable—complete with stolen construction equipment, a handful of gold, and possibly the least intimidating getaway vehicle in criminal history. Then, a woman in New Zealand suffers cardiac arrest in a supermarket parking lot and is miraculously revived by a passing stranger. But while paramedics are fighting to save her life, someone else is hard at work making sure she doesn’t escape the consequences of overstaying the 90-minute parking limit. Also, a listener shares an unforgettable story from his late uncle’s time as a Marine in Vietnam. It’s another collection of astonishingly poor decisions, bureaucratic absurdity, and the kind of true stories that could only be found in The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A man goes looking for another drink and somehow ends up at the center of one of the most bizarre jewelry heists imaginable—complete with stolen construction equipment, a handful of gold, and possibly the least intimidating getaway vehicle in criminal history.
Then, a woman in New Zealand suffers cardiac arrest in a supermarket parking lot and is miraculously revived by a passing stranger. But while paramedics are fighting to save her life, someone else is hard at work making sure she doesn’t escape the consequences of overstaying the 90-minute parking limit.
Also, a listener shares an unforgettable story from his late uncle’s time as a Marine in Vietnam. It’s another collection of astonishingly poor decisions, bureaucratic absurdity, and the kind of true stories that could only be found in The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="noopener noreferrer">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

223: Grand Theft Forklift

A man drifts 23 miles into the Mediterranean on an inflatable mattress, armed with little more than a piece of wood and a wildly misplaced sense of confidence. Then, an aspiring bodybuilder develops an unconventional training regimen involving steroids, zero exercise and up to 24 beers a day—before wandering away from the competition to visit a pub.
Plus, a listener learns why garage-door cables should never be cut with hedge clippers. It’s another collection of spectacularly poor decisions on this episode of The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

A man drifts 23 miles into the Mediterranean on an inflatable mattress, armed with little more than a piece of wood and a wildly misplaced sense of confidence. Then, an aspiring bodybuilder develops an unconventional training regimen involving steroids, zero exercise and up to 24 beers a day—before wandering away from the competition to visit a pub. Plus, a listener learns why garage-door cables should never be cut with hedge clippers. It’s another collection of spectacularly poor decisions on this episode of The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A man drifts 23 miles into the Mediterranean on an inflatable mattress, armed with little more than a piece of wood and a wildly misplaced sense of confidence. Then, an aspiring bodybuilder develops an unconventional training regimen involving steroids, zero exercise and up to 24 beers a day—before wandering away from the competition to visit a pub.
Plus, a listener learns why garage-door cables should never be cut with hedge clippers. It’s another collection of spectacularly poor decisions on this episode of The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="noopener noreferrer">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

224: Twenty-Three Miles from Common Sense

The Shallow End Episode 231: Porch Pirate Karma and the Woman Who Declared War on Delivery Robots
A porch pirate picks the wrong driveway, and a 78-year-old woman goes to war with the robots. Just another day in the shallow end of the gene pool.
First, JG takes us to Mississauga, Ontario, where an attempted package theft becomes a spectacular exercise in instant karma. When a homeowner catches a would-be thief in the act, the suspect makes a desperate escape in his Toyota Yaris—only to back directly into a snowbank. What follows is seven glorious minutes of spinning tires, increasingly desperate decisions, and some surprisingly polite Canadian hospitality. And yes, the whole thing was caught on video.
Then Lindsay introduces us to Carolyn Marvin, a retired university professor in Philadelphia who's taken a rather unusual stand against automation. Convinced that autonomous delivery robots are stealing jobs from human workers, she's decided to fight back by standing directly in their path. Her one-woman rebellion against what she calls "sidewalk cyborgs" has attracted police attention, sparked an online debate, and raised some wonderfully absurd questions about the First Amendment.
Plus, a listener shares a genuinely terrifying lesson in firearm safety that could have ended very differently.
From porch pirate fails and instant karma to delivery robots, bizarre arrests, and questionable decisions, it's another helping of real-life human foolishness served with the usual laughter, disbelief, and occasional good judgment.
Welcome to The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth—where poor decisions make great stories.
Got a spectacular lapse in judgment to share? Email us at <a href="mailto:lifeguard@shallowendpodcast.com">lifeguard@shallowendpodcast.com</a>. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

The Shallow End Episode 231: Porch Pirate Karma and the Woman Who Declared War on Delivery Robots A porch pirate picks the wrong driveway, and a 78-year-old woman goes to war with the robots. Just another day in the shallow end of the gene pool. First, JG takes us to Mississauga, Ontario, where an attempted package theft becomes a spectacular exercise in instant karma. When a homeowner catches a would-be thief in the act, the suspect makes a desperate escape in his Toyota Yaris—only to back directly into a snowbank. What follows is seven glorious minutes of spinning tires, increasingly desperate decisions, and some surprisingly polite Canadian hospitality. And yes, the whole thing was caught on video. Then Lindsay introduces us to Carolyn Marvin, a retired university professor in Philadelphia who's taken a rather unusual stand against automation. Convinced that autonomous delivery robots are stealing jobs from human workers, she's decided to fight back by standing directly in their path. Her one-woman rebellion against what she calls "sidewalk cyborgs" has attracted police attention, sparked an online debate, and raised some wonderfully absurd questions about the First Amendment. Plus, a listener shares a genuinely terrifying lesson in firearm safety that could have ended very differently. From porch pirate fails and instant karma to delivery robots, bizarre arrests, and questionable decisions, it's another helping of real-life human foolishness served with the usual laughter, disbelief, and occasional good judgment. Welcome to The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth—where poor decisions make great stories. Got a spectacular lapse in judgment to share? Email us at lifeguard@shallowendpodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Shallow End Episode 231: Porch Pirate Karma and the Woman Who Declared War on Delivery Robots
A porch pirate picks the wrong driveway, and a 78-year-old woman goes to war with the robots. Just another day in the shallow end of the gene pool.
First, JG takes us to Mississauga, Ontario, where an attempted package theft becomes a spectacular exercise in instant karma. When a homeowner catches a would-be thief in the act, the suspect makes a desperate escape in his Toyota Yaris—only to back directly into a snowbank. What follows is seven glorious minutes of spinning tires, increasingly desperate decisions, and some surprisingly polite Canadian hospitality. And yes, the whole thing was caught on video.
Then Lindsay introduces us to Carolyn Marvin, a retired university professor in Philadelphia who's taken a rather unusual stand against automation. Convinced that autonomous delivery robots are stealing jobs from human workers, she's decided to fight back by standing directly in their path. Her one-woman rebellion against what she calls "sidewalk cyborgs" has attracted police attention, sparked an online debate, and raised some wonderfully absurd questions about the First Amendment.
Plus, a listener shares a genuinely terrifying lesson in firearm safety that could have ended very differently.
From porch pirate fails and instant karma to delivery robots, bizarre arrests, and questionable decisions, it's another helping of real-life human foolishness served with the usual laughter, disbelief, and occasional good judgment.
Welcome to The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth—where poor decisions make great stories.
Got a spectacular lapse in judgment to share? Email us at <a href="mailto:lifeguard@shallowendpodcast.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">lifeguard@shallowendpodcast.com</a>. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="noopener noreferrer">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

231: Porch Pirate Walks The Plank

A bank robber disappears inside a 21-story apartment building while police close in. A short time later, he turns up badly injured in the basement—with the stolen cash still on him. His escape involved one of the worst plans in criminal history: a garbage chute, a 210-foot fall, and an astonishing amount of luck.
Then, Polaroid was once one of America’s most innovative companies, transforming photography by letting people hold a picture in their hands just moments after taking it. So how did a company that dominated instant photography and generated billions in sales end up bankrupt just a decade later? Lindsay and Jethro trace the remarkable rise, spectacular fall, and unlikely resurrection of Polaroid—and the technology that nearly killed it before helping make it cool again.
Plus, a listener discovers that karma, bath towels, garage doors, and security cameras can be an especially unforgiving combination.
It’s another trip into the wonderfully questionable side of human decision-making on The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth.
 
 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

A bank robber disappears inside a 21-story apartment building while police close in. A short time later, he turns up badly injured in the basement—with the stolen cash still on him. His escape involved one of the worst plans in criminal history: a garbage chute, a 210-foot fall, and an astonishing amount of luck. Then, Polaroid was once one of America’s most innovative companies, transforming photography by letting people hold a picture in their hands just moments after taking it. So how did a company that dominated instant photography and generated billions in sales end up bankrupt just a decade later? Lindsay and Jethro trace the remarkable rise, spectacular fall, and unlikely resurrection of Polaroid—and the technology that nearly killed it before helping make it cool again. Plus, a listener discovers that karma, bath towels, garage doors, and security cameras can be an especially unforgiving combination. It’s another trip into the wonderfully questionable side of human decision-making on The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A bank robber disappears inside a 21-story apartment building while police close in. A short time later, he turns up badly injured in the basement—with the stolen cash still on him. His escape involved one of the worst plans in criminal history: a garbage chute, a 210-foot fall, and an astonishing amount of luck.
Then, Polaroid was once one of America’s most innovative companies, transforming photography by letting people hold a picture in their hands just moments after taking it. So how did a company that dominated instant photography and generated billions in sales end up bankrupt just a decade later? Lindsay and Jethro trace the remarkable rise, spectacular fall, and unlikely resurrection of Polaroid—and the technology that nearly killed it before helping make it cool again.
Plus, a listener discovers that karma, bath towels, garage doors, and security cameras can be an especially unforgiving combination.
It’s another trip into the wonderfully questionable side of human decision-making on The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth.
 
 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="noopener noreferrer">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

229: The 21-Story Getaway

The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth
 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth
 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="noopener noreferrer">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

The Shallow End - Series Trailer

From the Webby Award-winning creators of The Box Of Oddities Podcast comes The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth.
Friends since childhood, Lindsay Schnebly and Jethro Gilligan Toth have always shared a love for stories of people doing ridiculously dumb things. They found it wildly amusing as young boys. They still do today. This is your invitation to pour a strong drink and join them for true stories that are tragically hilarious.

Comedy

Society & Culture

History

From the Webby Award-winning creators of The Box Of Oddities Podcast comes The Shallow End with Schnebly and Toth. Friends since childhood, Lindsay Schnebly and Jethro Gilligan Toth have always shared a love for stories of people doing ridiculously dumb things. They found it wildly amusing as young boys. They still do today. This is your invitation to pour a strong drink and join them for true stories that are tragically hilarious.

Share The Shallow End

Sign up to save your podcasts

The Shallow End

The Shallow End episodes

About The Shallow End

Best of The Shallow End

More shows like The Shallow End

Astonishing Legends

History Goes Bump: Ghost Tours For The Mind

Jim Harold's Campfire

The Paranormal Podcast

Hillbilly Horror Stories Paranormal Podcast

American Hauntings Podcast

GraveYard Tales

Southern Gothic

The Box of Oddities

Real Life Ghost Stories

The Night Owl: True Ghost Stories

Scared To Death

One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries

The Paranormal Report with Jim and Dar Harold

From Beneath the Hollywood Sign