What the HELL Were You Thinking?

Episode 324: Miss Cleo Hung Up On Me

This week Host Dave Bledsoe gets into a drunken brawl with a psychic over their prediction and is arrested for punching out a Zoltar Machine. (Again) On the show this week we follow up last week’s 900 Numbers with the face that scammed millions of Americans: Miss Cleo! (We can say that now, she’s isn’t around to sue us!)

Along the way, we learn about that one time Dave had his penis cursed by a witch he was dating. (Justified, we are sure) Then we dive right into the story of Psychic Readers Network, and Youree Harris, AKA Miss Cleo. From her humble origins scamming a community theater company in Seattle through her rise to fame as a fake Jamaican fortune teller demanding you call her now for your free psychic reading. (Not free and not a psychic reading) We take a look at what it was like to be a “psychic” on the network doing the readings. Finally, we read the stars who let us know how the Federal government put the hammer down on the Psychic Readers Network for fraud. Lastly, we tell you how Miss Cleo spent her remaining years on the planet. (Hint: still scamming!)

Our Sponsor this week is Fast Eddie’s Psychic Readers, see the past present future at 1-800-SCAMMER! We open the show with Miss Cleo and close with Guitar Space seeking answers in the tarot.  

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The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music https://youtu.be/rsRL2zZrlw4

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

Miss Cleo on Her Allegedly Fake Patois and Getting Ripped Off By the Psychic Readers Network

https://www.vice.com/en/article/4w3edj/we-spoke-to-ms-cleo-about-her-fake-patois-and-getting-ripped-off-by-her-old-bosses

Miss Cleo left a trail of deception in Seattle

https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/article/Miss-Cleo-left-a-trail-of-deception-in-Seattle-1081919.php

I Was a Hotline Psychic for Miss Cleo

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/fashion/mens-style/hotline-psychic-miss-cleo-commercials.html

FTC Charges "Miss Cleo" Promoters with Deceptive Advertising, Billing and Collection Practices

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2002/02/ftc-charges-miss-cleo-promoters-deceptive-advertising-billing-and

Miss Cleo Comes Out

https://www.advocate.com/politics/commentary/2006/09/25/miss-cleo-comes-out

With Psychic Friends Like These …

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2002/03/yah-mon-i-predict-you-re-going-to-jail.html

Uncited Additional Reading:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/business/media/tv-psychic-miss-cleo-dies.html

https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/26/entertainment/miss-cleo-youree-harris-obituary/index.html

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-legend-of-miss-cleo

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/sfl-111502-miss-cleo-psychic-story.html

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/09/02/380352.htm

https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/2002/02/arscmp.pdf

https://www.thewrap.com/grand-theft-auto-makers-sued-by-psychic-readers-network-over-miss-cleo-doppelganger/

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/09/02/380352.htm

https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/pop-culture-phenomenon-miss-cleo-remains-a-mystery-6323143

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/apr/04/former-psychic-network-miss-cleo-content-with/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Cleo

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/27/the-bizarre-legacy-left-behind-by-the-actress-who-played-miss-cleo/

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/570867/miss-cleo-psychic-empire

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Show Notes: Episode 323: $2.00 for the First Minute .99 Cents Each Additional Minute

This week Host Dave Bledsoe INSISTS he NEVER made ANY calls to Chubby Girls With Big Butts back in the 1990’s, despite what the phone records say (Over $800 in charges) On the show this week we dial up all the details on 900 Numbers and how they helped America cry when nothing else could. (From the size of the phone bills)

Along the way we learn WHO WAS PHONE! as we take back to the days before the Internet helped Americans pretend celebrities wanted to talk to them. (Think Instagram without the bikini clad models) Then we dive right into the sad fate of Larry the Lobster and how lucrative his short sad life was. From there we learn the myriad ways 900 number owners ripped you off, including Santa Clause. Finally, we see what happens when you take advantage of the dumbest Americans so blatantly that Congress actually has to get off it’s ass to DO something. (Don’t worry, they screwed it up and had to go back and try again.)

Our Sponsor this week is 1-900-HI GAVIN, chat with a recording of America’s favorite podcast producer, Gavin St Games, for a fee! We open the show with an actual 900 number you called and cried on, and close with Michael Simmons who just wants you to pick up the phone!

Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music https://youtu.be/rsRL2zZrlw4

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

The Rise and Fall of the 1-900 Number

https://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-1-900-number/

12 (Non-Sexual) Uses for 900 Numbers in Decades Past

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/24272/12-non-sexual-uses-900-numbers

Uncited Additional Reading:

https://www.fastcompany.com/3053732/how-dialing-1-900-in-the-90s-foreshadowed-the-internet

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/the-30-weirdest-1-900-numbers-from-the-80s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premium-rate_telephone_number

https://www.decades.com/lists/back-in-the-80s-people-called-1-900-numbers-to-meet-celebs-eavesdrop-on-nasa-and-cry

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/weird-1-900-numbers

https://jezebel.com/lets-revisit-the-glory-days-of-the-1-900-number-1787497986

https://www.marketplace.org/2021/03/25/why-dont-we-use-900-numbers-anymore/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/03/03/900-lines-are-ringing-up-a-number-of-complaints/4f561788-3a20-4ee3-99ff-f04378c027ee/

Real 900 Number Ads

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-12-op-2413-story.html

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Episode 322: American Gerbilo

This week Host Dave Bledsoe slips in the shower and winds up with his Jameson bottle in a very painful place. (Spilled all over the bathroom floor) On the show this week we examine that time people said Richard Gere put a gerbil in his butt because they were scared of gay people. (Richard Gere: not gay, much to disappointment of some gay men)

Along the way we use actual math and science to bust the myth of pumping a rock star’s stomach for semen. (He isn’t good at math, but it seems to check out) From there we dive into the details of why Richard Gere was chosen to be the gerbil host despite being a heterosexual sex symbol and dating a string of extrodinarily hot women.(Because straight men were feeling really inadequate) Then we examine the dark impulses that made this joke spread so far, so fast and persist for so long. (If you guess rampant homophobia, you win this pet gerbil!) Finally we look at how we evolved beyond the small minded homophobia of attacking gay men, into the small minded homophobia of attacking trans people. (We’ve come so far,so fast!)  

Our Sponsor this week is the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Rodents, who want you to keep a rodent in your heart, not your butthole. We open the show with a very bad answer on The Feud and close with Eddie Murphy explaining what you SHOULD put in your butt.

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The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music https://youtu.be/07P538K83iUWe are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed: 

Richard Gere on Gere

https://ew.com/article/2012/08/31/richard-gere-gere/

A HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE CULTURAL HISTORY OF RICHARD GERE’S ASS GERBIL

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/richard-gere-gerbil-incident-story-fact-check

At Last, Rod Stewart Breaks His Silence on Getting His Semen-Filled Stomach Pumped

https://gawker.com/5955202/at-last-rod-stewart-breaks-his-silence-on-getting-his-semen-filled-stomach-pumped

AIDS: homophobic and moralistic images of 1980s still haunt our view of HIV – that must change

https://theconversation.com/aids-homophobic-and-moralistic-images-of-1980s-still-haunt-our-view-of-hiv-that-must-change-106580

A Complete History Of Gerbiling So Far

https://www.theawl.com/2012/11/a-complete-history-of-gerbiling-so-far/

What Did We Get Stuck In Our Rectums Last Year?

https://defector.com/what-did-we-get-stuck-in-our-rectums-last-year/

Increasing trend in retained rectal foreign bodies

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5081549/

Has anybody ever stuffed a gerbil up his ass?

https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/savage-love-gerbil-stuffing/Content?oid=9073674

Uncited Additional Reading:

The Case of the Missing Gerbil

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1499810?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Acbc9f683cce30c5d67bba69af56b8e6e&seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents

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Show Notes Episode 321: The REAL Legend of Boggy Creek Charles B Pierce

This week Host Dave Bledsoe is tossed out of 237 Pub-N-Pool outside of Texarkana after accusing the waitress of being the Boggy Creek Monster. (He thought it was a pick up line) On the show this week we talk about the Fouke Monster and the man who made millions making a movie about it! (No, seriously!)

Along the way we learn about that one time Dave went Bigfoot hunting. (He got drunk in the woods) and then we move straight on to the story of the Fouke Monster, a large hairy ape man that lives in the swamp. (Call him Cletus!) After knocking out the nonsense, we get to the point of the show when we meet Charles B Pierce, filmmaker, advertising mogul and Mayor Chuckles of Laffalot Club! (It isn’t as creepy as it sounds.) We learn about his breakthrough movie about the Fouke Monster and then his career making movies. (Do we cover the chick being stabbed with a trombone? You KNOW it!) Then we wrap it up with our usual tasteful retrospective on Charle’s life AND the Fouke Monster!

Our Sponsor this week is Cryptid Controls, when you’ve got a problem Orkin can’t solve, call Cryptid Controls! We open the show with the lesser of Charle’s Boggy Creek movies and close with Billy Cole and the obligatory Fouke Monster Song!

Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music:https://youtu.be/lB-uGUAcOmg

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

Special Hat Tip to Last Podcast on the Left for the moan of a poop splattered redneck that inspired this week’s show

Fouke (Miller County)

https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-miller-county-6115/

The Art of the Possible: Charles B. Pierce’s Arkansas Cinema

https://filmmakermagazine.com/102185-the-art-of-the-possible-charles-b-pierces-arkansas-cinema/

Wikipedia Charles B. Pierce

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_B._Pierce

Uncited Additional Reading:  

https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213600/http://www.arkansasmediaroom.com/news-releases/listings/display.asp?id=185

https://web.archive.org/web/20030803215531/http://texarkanagazette.com/articles/2001/06/24/export15709.txt

https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-monster-2212/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Boggy_Creek

https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/the-legend-of-boggy-creek-movie-2192/

https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2018/aug/01/gettin-boggy-it/736988/

https://www.eldoradonews.com/news/2019/feb/25/legend-boggy-creek-lives/

https://fosterdickson.com/2019/10/11/southern-movie-42-boggy-creek-1972/

https://www.whereyat.com/retro-cinema-emthe-legend-of-boggy-creek/em?fbclid=IwAR1gHwBtDzbIihPBvdSsn9s5Re_j7PPnIo9ITJtsyKmRik7zR4Z3ZCXMYEA

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/theleafchronicle/name/charles-pierce-obituary?n=charles-pierce&pid=140376055

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Show Notes Episode 320: Call Me...Chris Gaines

This week Host Dave Bledsoe INSISTS he is an aging rock star by the name of Duke Blaze and is not responsible for the bartabs incurred by this Dave Bledsoe character. (It...did not work) On the show this week we examine the Life of Chris Gaines who blazed like a falling star for about three months and then crashed into the ocean. (Honestly, we thought this podcast would do the same!)

Along the way, we learn that Dave used to dress in snakeskin boots and a big dumb hat because he thought it would get him laid. (It didn’t) Then we dive into the career of a country music legend who changed the songs drunks sing in bars forever! (Give it a shot, just start singing “Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots” and see what happens!) Then we recall that time Garth thought he might play Major League Baseball. (Forgot about that didn’t you!) Finally we get around to talking about the odd moment in late 1999 when Garth Brooks decided he wanted to be a sex addicted Australian rock star in the movies, and everyone laughed and laughed and laughed. (Honestly, SNL was down right MEAN about it!)

Our Sponsor this week is the new music documentary The Diamond Dave Project, and movie 30 years in the faking! We open the show with WH1’s Behind the Music and close with Grover Anderson in a loving tribute to Chris Gaines.

Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/2702OMYV2Ag

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

Garth Brooks Going to Spring Training With Padres

https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/146801/

Remember When Garth Brooks Became Chris Gaines? Here’s Why He Did That.

https://www.wideopencountry.com/17-years-ago-garth-brooks-alter-ego-bewildered-world/

Chris Gaines Greatest Hits (aka In The Life Of Chris Gaines)

http://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=797

In the Life of Chris Gaines

https://web.archive.org/web/20071113163425/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/garthbrooks/albums/album/208047/review/6067373/inthe_life_of_chris_gaines

In...The Life of Chris Gaines

https://ew.com/article/1999/10/01/inthe-life-chris-gaines/

Remembering Chris Gaines, Garth Brooks’ Sex-Addicted Alter Ego

https://www.thedailybeast.com/remembering-chris-gaines-garth-brooks-sex-addicted-90s-alter-ego

10 Alter Egos of the Music Industry

https://www.britannica.com/list/10-alter-egos-of-the-music-industry

Garth Brooks opens up about Chris Gaines era: 'My ribs are still sore from getting the s*** kicked out of me for it'

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/garth-brooks-opens-up-about-chris-gaines-era-my-ribs-are-still-sore-from-getting-the-s-kicked-out-of-me-for-it-200451806.html

Garth Brooks Says New Chris Gaines Music Really Is Coming

https://tasteofcountry.com/garth-brooks-chris-gaines-new-music-2021/

Party Off, Garth: The Short Life And Long Death Of Chris Gaines

https://www.stereogum.com/1876750/party-off-garth-the-short-life-and-long-death-of-chris-gaines/columns/sounding-board/

Uncited Additional Reading:  

https://theboot.com/chris-gaines-garth-brooks-facts/

https://theboot.com/chris-gaines-garth-brooks-facts/

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Episode 319: The True Tale of Dallas Egbert

This week Host Dave Bledsoe thought he was lost in the old steam tunnels beneath his favorite bar, but soon figured out he drunkenly stumbled into the women’s restroom. (Again) On the show this week we tell you the true tale behind the boy’s disappearance that launched Tom Hanks’ career. (And made Dave’s parents force him to quit playing Dungeons and Dragons)

Along the way we meet James Dallas Egbert III struggling with real demons that were never mentioned in the Monster Manual. Then we introduce Brother Shamus William Dear, who helped find Dallas and bring him home. (For a little while.) From there we go into detail about what really happened when Dallas disappeared and why Dungeons and Dragons was ever brought up in the first place. (Hint: It sold newspapers) Finally we discuss why even the best intentioned lies always wind up doing more harm than good. (Yeah, like forcing Dave to sell his beloved Dungeon Master’s Guide and buy Heavy Metal albums, which did not work out well for ANYONE!)

Our Sponsor this week is the Live Action Roleplayers Association of America, who want you to know they aren’t weirdos like the Furries! We open the show with Tom’s Magnum Opus and close with Juniper Tree Song’s dirge for Dallas, the person not the city.

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The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

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www.whatthehellpodcast.com

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The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://junipertreesongs.bandcamp.com/album/jts011-dare-to-be-nothing

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

The truth behind the disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III

https://web.archive.org/web/20101009024247/http://www.geeksix.com/2009/08/the-truth-behind-the-disappearance-of-james-dallas-egbert-iii/

The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III

https://web.archive.org/web/20141212161017/http://kushjar.com/the-disappearance-of-james-dallas-egbert-iii/

Dragon Rumblings

Kask, T.J. “Dragon Rumblings”. The Dragon. Vol IV, No 4. October 1979.

Uncited Additional Reading:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dallas_Egbert_III

https://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/state_news/1979/state_news_19790824.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/18/us/when-dungeons-dragons-set-off-a-moral-panic.html

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/09/disappearances-dragons-the-james-dallas-egbert-iii-story/

https://boingboing.net/2014/11/11/the-truth-about-the-dungeon-ma.html

http://www.ptgptb.org/0006/egbert.html

https://landofnod.blog/2015/08/09/dragon-by-dragon-october-1979/

https://www.reddit.com/r/georgetown/comments/6pz8vt/secrets_of_campus/

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Show Notes Episode 318: It’s A Pirate’s Life for Me Part Two: Downloaded from Napster

This week Host Dave Bledsoe boots up his old laptop from college and is happy to discover he still remembers the password! (That’s because it is the same one he uses today and is the kind of thing an idiot would have on his luggage!) On the show this week we wrap up our series on music piracy with the halcyon days of Napster before the music industry flooded it with porn and viruses!  (Yeah, we KNOW it was you, assholes!)

Along the way we briefly visit Columbia House Records and explain why their business model actually DID work for so many years!  (Come to find out, people are really dumb!)  Then we dive right into the Information Superhighway circa 1999.  (Was there porn?  You betcha!) From there we say mean things about the recording industry for a good long while before finally getting around to talking about Napster.  (This show is really only tangentially about Napster, did you expect anything different?)  From there we talk about the rise and fall of file sharing, the fall and rise of the modern music industry and how throughout it all, it is still a corrupt, venal bunch of assholes dedicated to ripping off artists so they can make billions of dollars.  (#America) Finally we cover how the music industry recovered and found new and exciting ways to rip off the artists!

Our Sponsor this week is Polka Songs dot com, the source for all your pirated polka music!  We open the show with guys from Metallica telling you how shitty you are for downloading their music and close with Terra Naomi being caught stealing!

Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/T-I7ZpXphzY

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

A Brief History of The Music Industry

http://www.musicthinktank.com/mtt-open/a-brief-history-of-the-music-industry.html

Putting the Band Back Together

https://ir.citi.com/QnhL09FARMDbvMhnCWFtjkqYOlPmgXqWS5Wrjts%2B6usU7suR9o7uUEFwZNjmUfyrAn10iZxCkYc%3D

Napster: the day the music was set free

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/24/napster-music-free-file-sharing

12-year-old settles music swap lawsuit

https://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/09/09/music.swap.settlement/

Artists, Musicians and the Internet

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2004/12/05/artists-musicians-and-the-internet/

The Year The Music Dies

https://www.wired.com/2003/02/dirge/

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Show Notes Episode 317: It’s A Pirate’s Life For Me Part 1 Analog Days

This week Host Dave Bledsoe attempts to charm the bartender with a mixtape he made for the bar consisting of songs about the drinks he would like to get for free, only to find his 80’s nostalgic gesture RUDELY rejected! (They broke his Walkman, throwing him out of Applebees. Again) On the show this week we take to the high seas of music piracy with all the ways we stole music before Sean Fanning freed the music in the year 2000!

Along the way we learn a lot about Dave’s peculiar fondness for the song Goodbye Mary Lou from the Statler Brothers. (Mary Lou was the name of the first girl who knew better than to date him) From there we dive right into the history of music creation and the theft of music by the wealthy long before us peons ever dreamed of downloading I Want It That Way from Napster. (We love that song, but we refuse to PAY for it!) From there we learn how early music pirates swashed their buckles with sheet music and how suddenly, when corporate money became involved, that sort of thing became illegal. Then we learn how Congress finally got around to considering music worthy of copyright protection in 1909. (Again, see the part where corporate money became involved.) Finally we find out how your mixtapes scare the shit out of the record companies until Compact Discs came along and made you buy the White Album. (Again)

Our Sponsor this week is Dieter the Music Man’s Sheet Music Emporium, just the hits, not of the shit. We open with Dread Pirate Roberts and close with Woody Guthrie singing about a really great night of oral sex, we think.

Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/ufWdpNSs3DM

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

Music Piracy In… The Beginning

https://haveyouheard.it/music-piracy-in-the-beginning/

The Long History of Music Piracy

https://www.learnliberty.org/blog/the-long-history-of-music-piracy/

Sued for Playing Whitney: Bar Owners Fighting Relentless Drive for Music Fees

https://www.phillymag.com/business/2015/11/11/silk-city-bmi/

Music Piracy In… The 1980s

https://haveyouheard.it/music-piracy-in-the-1980s/

35 Years Ago: The U.K. Launches the ‘Home Taping Is Killing Music’ Campaign

https://diffuser.fm/home-taping-is-killing-music-uk/

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Episode 316: It Is NOT A Commercial, It’s A Cartoon

This week Host Dave Bledsoe demands recognition for his service in the Toy Wars of the 1980’s and at least 50% disability pay for the wounds he suffered. (He chipped his tooth while opening a beer bottle in his mouth.) On the show this week we talk about how in 1982 cartoons became toy commercials with toy commercials in them. (If you think Ronald Reagan had something to do with it, you win a prize!)

Along the way we learn about Dave’s complex history with He Man and the Masters of the Universe. (He doesn’t like to talk about the time his parents yelled at them for playing He Man in the tub when he was almost 13! Hah HAH! They thought it was gay! HAH HAH!) Then we move right along to the history of the most influential toy company of the 20th Century and it is NOT the one you think it is, probably because this company didn’t make the Star Wars toys that made that other company so successful. From there we explain to you exactly how kids television went to shit so fast in the 1980’s. (The reasons will NOT shock you!)

Our Sponsor this week is the USS Flagg GI Joe Playset, teaching 80’s kids they were poor the hard way. We open with the commercial for wealth inequality and close with AMASIC signing about their Barbie Fetish. 

Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/PQ2WMrwdfHU

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

The Great Marketing Deregulation

https://bettermarketing.pub/the-great-marketing-deregulation-2125a0efe094

Masters of the Universe Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_the_Universe#History_and_versions_of_the_franchise

Weekday Cartoons Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekday_cartoon#1980s

Reagan Vetoes Bill Putting Limits On TV Programming for Children

https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/07/us/reagan-vetoes-bill-putting-limits-on-tv-programming-for-children.html

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Show Notes Episode 315: Can’t Avoid THAT Noid!

This week Host Dave Bledsoe found himself in a compromising position with a large plush doll he had assumed was an amorous Furry due to his state of intoxication. (Again) On the show this week, take a look back at the Cartoon Brand Mascots of the 1980’s in preparation for a whole other show we are planning NEXT week! (It's called FORESHADOWING PEOPLE! And it is a commonly used tactic in podcasting!) 

Along the way we head back to the very first Brand Mascot in history, Wilford Brimley! Then we learn about how raisin growers in California tried to kill each over dried up grapes! (This was a thing that happened!) Then we get to the business of 80’s nostalgia with all your favorite commercial mascots, Chester Cheetah, The California Raisins and that Red Dot that we heard somewhere people wanted to have sex with. (Someone PLEASE tell us this is not just a product of Dave’s Brain, and there ARE people out there who want to Do the Dot!) Then, because you can’t avoid it, the short sad life of The Noid! (You remember the Noid, but do you remember Mr. Noid? That is the problem!)

Our Sponsor this week is Gavvie the Lovable Producer, a new plush toy from Seltzer Kings. We open the show with Chester Cheetah proclaiming just and damn truth really, and close with GIl Scott Heron explaining Manhattan geography.

Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/btNbCUHAXvY

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

Quaker Oats Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaker_Oats_Company#Logo

STARDOM IS FEAT OF CLAY FOR CALIFORNIA RAISINS

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1988-01-25-0010260008-story.html

The Untold Truth Of Chester Cheetah

https://www.mashed.com/297982/the-untold-truth-of-chester-cheetah/

Death And Pizza: How Domino’s Lost Its Mascot

https://www.fastcompany.com/3032911/kidnapping-death-pizza-how-dominos-lost-its-mascot

How Domino's Pizza Lost Its Mascot

https://priceonomics.com/how-dominos-pizza-lost-its-mascot/

How Mascots Play A Crucial Part In Humanizing The Brand?

https://www.designmantic.com/blog/mascots-humanizing-the-brands/

Uncited Additional Reading

https://erinsweeneydesign.com/marketing/a-history-of-the-most-iconic-brand-mascots-since-1877/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_advertising_characters

https://www.rediscoverthe80s.com/2019/10/80s-food-advertising-mascots-video-games.html

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