What the HELL Were You Thinking?

Show Notes Episode 489: We Built This City on Flake and Blow

This week Host Dave Bledsoe puts on a Hawwian shirt, drops a Jimmy Buffett record on the turntable and mixes up a Bahama Mama before anyone figured out that he was not part of the wedding and threw him out of the venue. (This happens a lot.) On the show this week we head south to a city of sun, sand and billions of dollars worth of cocaine, we talk about the Miami Drug Wars!

Along the way we discover that a television news man was the most trusted man in Dave’s family. Then we dive right into the history of what would become Miami Florida, and the first snow birds who moved there after they retired. From there we get into how the CIA helped kick start the cocaine trade in America. (This isn’t just something “funny” Dave said, this happened.) We learn how the Cubans were all murdered by the Colombians (Scarface was a documentary really) and took over the Miami trade for themselves. We meet the scariest woman in Miami (and Bogota, and, well everywhere) before we get down to the business of finding a way to take all the drug money and put it to work.  (Real Estate baby!)

Our Sponsor this week is Fast Eddie’s Investment Services, investing involves risk and it doesn’t get much riskier than Fast Eddie.  We open with Miami news coverage of the drug wars and close with the T Sisters explaining big city commercial real estate. (If you hate the Starship version, you are REALLY going to hate the T Sisters!) 

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social

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

The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ

The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq

Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/3JphLIPqhpg?si=QjZOk1u3m6IU_BoS

Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop

Citations Needed:

KILLINGS IN FLORIDA OVER DRUGS ON RISE

https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/22/archives/killings-in-florida-over-drugs-on-rise-40-deaths-this-year.html

MIAMI CRIME RISES AS DRUGS POUR IN

https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/12/us/miami-crime-rises-as-drugs-pour-in.html

America’s Drug War

https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/drug_wars/story3.html

Miami flooded by cocaine cash

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/02/11/Miami-flooded-by-cocaine-cash/8767634712400/

PBS Frontline: Drug Wars

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/interviews/mcdonald.html

SUSPECT HELD ON $10 MILLION BOND IN A CRACKDOWN ON DRUGS IN MIAMI

https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/28/us/suspect-held-on-10-million-bond-in-a-crackdown-on-drugs-in-miami.html

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Show Notes Episode 488: Coke Is IT!!

This week Host Dave Bledsoe was in a bathroom stall with white powder all over his face. (He passed on the shitter eating a powdered donut. Again.) On the show this week, we kick off a series of shows about cocaine, the drug that made white people think disco was for them!

Along the way we learned that Dave was never cool enough to even try cocaine! (Pussy) Then we dive right into the history of Bolivian Marching Powder, Columbian Nose Candy, Frosted Flakes and many many other euphemisms for it. We trace the history from a neolithic hunter named Jerry (probably) who first tried the leaves of the coca plant, to the quack doctors who sold cocaine as a nostrum for uppity women to the drug that made rock and roll so fucking cool! We hear from happy customers about THEIR cocaine experience and then we kill the buzz with what all those great movies and songs created. (An international crime syndicate)

Our Sponsor this week is A Guy, if you need little something, you need to know A Guy, We open with Freebasing the news and close with Ella talking about that Wacky Dust. 

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social

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The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ

The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq

Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/-XgMlylPgWE?si=bjaQ-5tZEMrNGM5e

Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop

Citations Needed:

Wikipedia: Cocaine History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine#History

What does a cocaine high feel like?

https://www.quora.com/What-does-a-cocaine-high-feel-like

Highs, horns and bugs crawling

https://www.nytimes.com/1974/09/01/archives/cocaine-the-champagne-of-drugs-highs-horns-and-bugs-crawling-for.html

Cocaine and Hollywood

https://www.nytimes.com/1978/07/11/archives/cocaine-and-hollywood-suspicions-are-rife.html

'Benign' drug of the '70s is a scourge in the '90s

https://www.deseret.com/1999/8/24/19462324/benign-drug-of-the-70s-is-a-scourge-in-the-90s/

Cocaine: Middle Class High

https://time.com/archive/6595044/cocaine-middle-class-high/

The Cocaine War In Context : Drugs and Politics by Belen Boville:

https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Cocaine_War_in_Context/TuwWHcyka8wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=cocaine+boom&pg=PA48&printsec=frontcover

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It was the fuel that ran the 70’s and 80’s. It gave us disco, hair metal and pretty much every country music song between 1971 and, well now. There is at least a 30% chance that you were personally conceived while your parents were high as balls on it.

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Show Notes Episode 487: Trade You Three Beenz for a Flooz

This week Host Dave Bledsoe offers to trade the bartender stock options in his internet start up Beer Me only to have his IPO flop badly. (Again) On the show this week we head back the heady days of the late 90’s when everyone had an internet startup ready to fail, the Dot Com Bubble!

Along the way we are reminded why you should never take financial advice from a podcast host. (Particularly a drunk who doesn’t host a finance podcast) Then we dive right into what it took to turn the internet from an open forum dedicated to the sharing of knowledge and ideas into the cesspool of hate, conspiracy and commercialism that is it today! (Hint: Money.) Then we chart the rise and fall of a generation of dot coms as they grew from tiny venture capital funded stupid ideas into giant stock financed stupid ideas! (That’s capitalism baby!)

Our Sponsor this week is BadIdea.com, if you have a stupid idea, we will give you money for it! We open with news footage of the stock market crashing and close with Wyatt McCubbin explaining what happens when the stock market crashes.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social

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The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ

The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq

Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/jlR_g0k6jdo?si=DSdGI8O0zxYo5MsY

Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop

Citations Needed:

What Was the First Thing Sold on the Internet?

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-was-first-thing-sold-internet-180957414/

17 Companies That Failed During the Dot-Com Bubble: What Can They Teach Us About the NFT Market?

https://www.startwithnfts.com/posts/17-companies-that-failed-during-the-dot-com-bubble-what-can-they-teach-us-about-nfts/

What Was the Dot-Com Bubble & Why Did It Burst?

https://www.thestreet.com/dictionary/dot-com-bubble-and-burst

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Episode 486: It Could Use More Snot

This week Host Dave Bledsoe proffered a Mickey Mantle rookie card in exchange for the clearance of his bar tab despite the fact that it was clearly printed on cardstock by an inkjet low on cyan. (They forced him to eat it before they tossed him out.) On the show this week we examine the disgusting kids collectible that swept the nation in the mid 1980’s (It was like pervy Pokemon!)

Along the way we discover that Dave had no friends as a kid. (Just like now!) Then we dive in collectible cards and where they came from. (Smarmy nobles and cigarettes.) Then we opened up a pack of Topps Bubble Gum to see what we got.  (Dammit it’s Bobby Bonilla!) We discuss how Topps branched out in the parody “novelty” card market with some clever takes on capitalism and that morphed into a disgusting parody of the most popular toy of the early 80’s: The Garbage Pail Kids.  

Our Sponsor this week is Dave-O-Mon Cards, gotta drink ‘em all! We open the show with the trailer for the Garbage Pail Kids movie and close with the Donna’s signing about the kids in this country.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

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Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/okCHKTYNFXk?si=bKqXncifC07skqFn

Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop

Citations Needed:

Wikipedia: Cigarette Card

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

The Snot-Soaked History of the Garbage Pail Kids

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/643322/garbage-pail-kids-history

Trash for Cash: An Oral History of Garbage Pail Kids

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/77142/trash-cash-oral-history-garbage-pail-kids

THEY'RE NASTY, THEY'RE UGLY, AND CHILDREN LOVE THEM

https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/05/nyregion/they-re-nasty-they-re-ugly-and-children-love-them.html

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Show Notes Episode 495: Avon, Amway and Tupperware, OH MY!

This week host Dave Bledsoe devises a plan where he recruits two people to pay for his drinks and they recruit two people to pay for their drinks and one of his, everyone profits. (It didn’t work because no one likes him enough to buy even ONE drink for him.) On the show this week we took a look back at side hustles in the 70’s and 80’s (And maybe buy some Tupperware.)

Along the way we learn that Dave might not be the worst uncle out there? Then we dive into the history of direct sales in America (Buy Farmwhoofer, buy the best!) before we head back to the beginnings of an American institution and how it made generations of American women feel pretty.  Then we move right along to the origin story of all those plastic bowls with missing lids in your parent's kitchen cabinets. (Seriously, none of these lids fit any of the bowls we have!) Then we talk about the granddaddy of multi level marketing scams. (Allegedly) And how Amway created something kind of like a cult around selling generic crap and how it is screwing us even today!

Our Sponsor this week is Ponz-Co, we promise it’s not illegal.  We open with the burp to seal wonder of Tupperware and close with Chutes and Ladders who are falling in love with the Avon Lady!

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

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The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closer:https://soundcloud.com/chutesandladdersmusic/avon-lady?in=chutesandladdersmusic/sets/cosmetics&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

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Citations Needed:

Avon’s History

https://www.reps-r-us.co.uk/avons-history/

Secret History Of: Tupperware

https://www.independent.co.uk/property/interiors/secret-history-of-tupperware-2100910.html

Social Marketing Before the Internet

https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/social-marketing-internet

How Does Amway Work? A comprehensive guide

https://www.amway.com/en_US/amway-insider/about-amway/how-does-amway-work

Inside ScAmway The alluring life offered by the world's largest 'multi-marketing' business closely resembles a sham.

https://www.culteducation.com/group/815-amway/1710-inside-scamways.html

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Show Notes Episode 313: I Would Smoke 500 Miles, And I Would Smoke 500 More (Redux

This week Host Dave Bledsoe wakes up coughing from what he is sure is just cat dander and allergies, and proceeds to light the first smoke of the day!  (We’re sure everything is fine!) On the show this week, we open up that one drawer in the kitchen with all the menus and a phone book from 2001 to see how many Marlboro Miles we can find in there!  (25 miles, only 400 packs of Marlboro Reds to go to get that awesome windbreaker!)

Along the way we learn of Dave’s formative years using an addictive chemical to give him the illusion of being cool.  (Cigarettes, not alcohol.That came slightly later.) From there we dive into the history of cigarette advertising in the 80’s and 90’s after Nixon kicked them off the television.  (Someone must have failed to contribute to Dick’s campaign!) We learn how the Brands needed something new and exciting to capture that youth market, and cowboys were NOT cool in 1992!  (Except for you Garth Brooks!)  We go on to talk about Marlboro Miles, the Marlboro Old Country Store and how you could spend $500 bucks on a ten dollar igloo cooler!  Then we spend some time with the Camel that Kills, Joe Camel.  (Joe didn’t kill kids, but he DID help kill big tobacco!) Finally, we explain that advertising isn’t what made kids smoke, it was the stress of life lived with Baby Boomers. 

Our Sponsor this week is Cancer Cash, the smoking loyalty program that earns money for your future cancer treatment!  We open the show with the Merchants of Death and close with Brian Schmidty explaining the distance he and his friends will travel to pass out on your doorstep!

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

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Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music:https://youtu.be/VBkVhBBQ2ME

Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop

Citations Needed:

Cigarette brand loyalty in Australia: findings from the ITC Four Country Survey

https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/23/suppl_1/i73.info

THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising; The Marlboro Man Is Missing in Action in New Campaign

https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/23/business/media-business-advertising-marlboro-man-missing-action-new-campaign.html

THE MOST SINISTER CIGARETTE PROMOTION OF ALL TIME

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-most-sinister-cigarette-promotion-of-all-time

Joe Camel (1974-1997)

https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/bcoppola/2017/09/17/joe-camel-1974-1997/

Joe Camel, a Giant in Tobacco Marketing, Is Dead at 23

https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/11/business/joe-camel-a-giant-in-tobacco-marketing-is-dead-at-23.html

Joe Camel Video ABC  https://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/july-10-1997-end-joe-camel-ads-10616510

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Show Notes Episode 484: Thank You For Smoking

This week Host Dave Bledsoe had a protracted coughing fit he blamed on “the damn cat” and not the decades of cigarettes he continues to consume.  (Not the cat’s fault) On the show this week we look at the nicotine tinted world that existed before we all had to go outside to smoke.

Along the way we discover that Dave is willing to blame anyone but himself for his addictions before moving right along to the topic of how the cigarette became the coffin nail of choice for millions of Americans. (It was all very American, war and advertising.) Then we learn from first hand sources (It’s Dave so he is probably making it up) what the world was like behind the haze of all that smoke.  From the backseat of your Mom’s car to coach class of an international flight, people had them and they smoked them. (Is there a nostalgic longing for smoking inside a bar? Yes.) We close out with how the world is actually better now that smokers have to go outside. (Even for the smokers!)

Our Sponsor this week is Real Cigarettes, if you want nicotine why not try a real cigarette? We open the show with the Merchants of Death and close with Liel Bar Z who has a smoking problem.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social

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The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ

The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq

Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=547071959340314

Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop

Citations Needed:

The age of the cigarette

https://www.britannica.com/topic/smoking-tobacco/The-age-of-the-cigarette

Collection: Celebrities and Stars

https://tobacco.stanford.edu/cigarpipes/celebrities-and-stars/

Surgeon General’s 1964 report: making smoking history

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/surgeon-generals-1964-report-making-smoking-history-201401106970#:~:text=On%20a%20Saturday%20morning%2050,should%20do%20something%20about%20it.

Ban on Smoking in Airliners Doesn't Apply to the Cockpit

https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/10/us/ban-on-smoking-in-airliners-doesn-t-apply-to-the-cockpit.html

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Show Notes Episode 483: “Girl…I Want to Take You to a Fern Bar”

This week Host Dave Bledsoe goes through a bitter breakup with Mrs. Maria Santamarino who accuses him of stepping out with Mrs. Alice Dougherty, her arch rival at Arbor Terrace Teaneck. (He was.) On the show this week we wind up Romance Month with the rise and fall of the Fern Bar! (Blame TGI Fridays!)

Along the way we learn that Dave couldn’t even manage a bar in the basement of his home. (He caught himself drinking on the job and skimming the till.) Then we dive into the history of co-gendered drinking in America! (It is less boring than it sounds.) We chart women in bars through the waves of feminism and how important a place to get loaded when you are fighting the Patriarchy! We learn about Bar Nomenclature (Dance Clubs: Not Bars) and finally all about the Single Bars phenomena. (Yes, we explain the ferns.)

Our Sponsor this week is Last Chance Inn, even a fat guy with a podcast has a shot here! We open with an incredibly bad 80s movie and close with Electric 6, who has plans for the evening.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

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

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

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=547071959340314

Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop

Citations Needed:

The Underground Spaces Where Drinking While Female Was a Radical Act

https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/spirits/ladies-drinking-rooms-history/?srsltid=AfmBOooxZ3RHer7uSAoghgE-el_lk_6A3cwMBYd8Ter1sElXAEHt6z_H

“No Unescorted Ladies Will Be Served”

https://daily.jstor.org/no-unescorted-ladies-will-be-served/

How T.G.I. Friday’s Helped Invent the Singles Bar

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/how-t-g-i-fridays-helped-invent-the-singles-bar

Whatever Happened to the Singles Bar?

https://punchdrink.com/articles/whatever-happened-to-the-singles-bar-tgi-fridays-maxwells-plum

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Show Notes Episodes 482: Save the Last Dance For Me

This week host Dave Bledsoe was criminal trespassed from Arbor Terrace Teaneck for slow grinding with  Mrs. Maria Santamarino during the retirement village’s Valentine’s Dance. (Maria was into it!) On the show this week we remember the “fun” of high school dances in the 80’s, so grab your ruffles, soak yourself in Aquanet and let’s get ready to slow dance to Bon Jovi!

Along the way we discover that Dave was asked out on a date by a girl, once.(We don’t believe it either) Then we dive right into a quick history of “Prom” before we hit the dance floor.  We cover all the big dances, Homecoming (Football prom), the Snow Ball (a euphemism Dave keeps trying to make a thing), Sade Hawkins (nerd prom) and finally Senior Prom. (Wedding practice) Relive the memories with a tick-tock countdown the Best Night Of Your Life ™. (Or, if you are like Dave, and never went to prom tell you what all the cool kids did that night.) 

Our Sponsor this week is The King of the Prom, who wonders if he can interest  you in some life insurance.  We open with a disastrous prom date and close with Selina Joycee who would like to make a reservation on your dance card.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

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

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The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/8bf65Cun2lc?si=zvdXIdTMqls5n6zb

Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop

Citations Needed:

Prom in the 1940s and 1950s

https://web.archive.org/web/20161125043323/http://www.vintageinn.ca/2014/11/prom-in-the-1940s-and-1950s/

The History of Sadie Hawkins Dances

https://web.archive.org/web/20170222053933/http://prom.about.com/od/introtopromsformaldance/p/sadiehistory.htm

Sadies: An Ongoing, Outdated Dance

https://desertoasisweekly.net/9346/opinioneditorial/sadies-an-ongoing-outdated-dance/

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