Culture Dumps

As the year 2000 approached, the world was in a panic. It was believed that the computer systems that were heavily relied upon for almost all basic functions of modern society would seize to exist. Planes would fall from the sky, banks would lose all their money, nuclear reactors would fail. Well, that didn’t happen. Guess it’s good thing canned foods last a long time, because people h...

If you lived in the suburbs in 2001 chances are you owned or wanted a pair of Osiris D3’s. The most infamous skate shoe of all time was not so well known for its design or usefulness in the world’s most popular extreme sport, it was well known for being the biggest most god awful shoe the booming skate apparel market had ever seen. But, as with all our dumps, there is much more to the...

Janet Jackson was one of the biggest stars on the planet in 2004. She was also booked to perform at the biggest annual televised event America has to offer. Millions upon millions of album sales and her established reputation of being an icon were not enough to protect her from public scrutiny after the most notorious “wardrobe malfunction” of all time. This is Nipplegate! 

The success story of Scatman John is truly an anomaly. A struggling jazz singer records a novelty dance song centered around an incredibly polarizing style of vocalization. Suddenly in his 50s, the Scatman finds himself an international superstar. While technically a one hit wonder, John’s positive outlook makes his road to stardom truly unique. Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop!

The world’s biggest metal band is hardly a Culture Dump, but their 2002 documentary “Some Kind of Monster” and the album that followed “St. Anger” are definitely Culture Dumps. A high paid therapist, aging rock stars, a massive societal shift in how music is consumed, what could go wrong???

Live television is risky, especially when gangsters are involved. In 1986 Geraldo Rivera entered the basement of a run down Chicago hotel in hopes of discovering lost treasures of the golden age of gangsters. What he found was a successful career and the biggest joke in live television history. Spoiler alert, THERE WAS NOTHING THERE!

In our most upsetting episode yet we dive into the rise and fall of Jared Fogle aka Jared, the Subway Guy. At one time he was the most recognizable spokesperson in the world, now he is serving a 15 year prison sentence. Warning: this episode deals with sexual abuse, discretion is advised.

This week Ryan is joined by Eric D, the mind behind Meth Syndicate. They discuss one of the staples of 1990’s television advertising: “Pure Moods.” What began as a compilation of the most cutting edge music the easy listening genre had to offer ended as a minor footnote in popular culture. 

You guys like balloons? You like disasters? Well this episode is for you! We dive into the biggest balloon related mishap of all time, Balloon Fest 1986. With two deaths, horse problems, and years worth of environmental damage this episode has it all. Also Cleveland.

Our friend Andy Paz joins Ryan for the third installment of Culinary Dumps. We try and make sense of Heinz’s notorious EZ Squirt line. In the early 2000’s Heinz took major risk by releasing a newly designed ketchup bottle as well as a slew of new colors of the world’s most beloved condiment.  Green, Teal, Purple, Orange, and Pink ketchup? What could go wrong? We also got to tal...

The Disco Demolition has gone down as one of the most negative reactions to a seemingly innocent cultural movement. Filled with racial and societal implications, the Disco Demolition is as sad as it is ridiculous. Join us as we revisit the night when thousands of rowdy baseball fans gathered to blow up a giant crate of disco records. 

We go all the way back to a simpler time, when recess was king, when we still felt special, when love came in the form of a purple dinosaur named Barney. Ryan and Parks layout the history of the beloved character as well as the man behind the giant purple mask. Turns out this Dino has been getting busy since the show ended.

The Culture Dumps team (along with guest Audra Isadora) gears up for the most celebrated women’s music festival of all time, Lilith Fair! What started as the brain child of Sarah McLachlan and ended as a now forgotten chapter in popular music has just as many layers to the story one would expect from a Culture Dump. Girls to the front!

For our second installment of our food series, “Culinary Dumps,” Ryan and Adam breakdown what might be the most entertaining salad dish of all time. The McSalad Shaker. Interactive and healthy, what could go wrong! Also, there is a dead rat story. 

We finish up our mini series on tragic pop stars Milli Vanilli. Their lip sync game catches up to them in the worst way. But was the blame fairly placed? It usually is not. Stay tuned for a very bizarre and touching KFC commericial.

We dive into what was perhaps the biggest scandal in pop music history. Milli Vanilli was the sacrificial lamb of lip synching, a practice commonly used in today’s pop music. Perhaps they took it a step too far? Or were they puppets in a nefarious shadow organization of music industry moguls? Milli Vanilli were the only artists in history to have a Grammy revoked. They also loved to party an...

It’s time for our Halloween special! For the debut of our food-focused side series, “Culinary Dumps,” we discuss the infamous black bun clad Halloween Whopper. Enjoy, and don’t look into the toilet!

Welcome to Culture Dumps! Throughout this series we will be diving into the bleakest corners of pop culture. Whether it’s music, tv, celebrities, food, or events, if it was forgotten or a failure  we will talk about it! For our first episode we talk about the all but forgotten Hands Across America when millions of Americans held hands for fifteen minutes in a row spanning the entire United St...