This Was A Thing: The Retro Podcast

Ah, to be 19 again. It's a time of possibilities, insecurities, of worrying about what adulthood is really going to be like. On the other hand, if you're Shawn Fanning or Sean Parker, your worries at 19 were a little bigger. As in, "multimillion-dollar legal battles with the entire music industry" bigger. And all because of a piece of software that let you listen to and download music from all acr...

You may remember  This Was A Thing 's deep dive last season into "The Super Bowl Shuffle," where the Chicago Bears showed everyone how a sports team song can become cultural phenomenon. Well, the "Shuffle" was great for sports fans, and even helped out Chicago communities that were in need. But in 1985, the same year that the "Shuffle" was recorded, another hit single was released that took t...

If you’ve ever ordered at a chain restaurant, then you know the homey feeling of knowing you’re about to eat the exact same meal as you could get at any other location. And even though the Golden Arches or a pair of red braids and freckles are some of the most recognizable franchise mascots today, if we flashback to the mid-1900s, then Simple Simon and the Pieman would’ve been just as recognizable...

Tony the Tiger, Jake from State Farm, the GEICO Gecko – so many ads are inseparable from their spokespeople. And maybe one of the most versatile and quirky of those characters, Mr. Ernest P. Worrell, would sell you anything from buttermilk to loans with his signature enthusiasm, stylish denim vest, and unforgettable catchphrase… Ray teaches Rob about how Jim Varney, a.k.a. Ernest, and John Cherry...

Here at  This Was A Thing , we love a good political scandal. And even though they pop up like weeds nowadays, back in 1972, right before a story broke about a certain hotel and a certain series of tapes by a certain president who shall not be Nixoned, uh, named, the hot goss around Washington was all about one figure in particular. Especially because he could have been next in line to be the...

In a world before Zoom conferences, virtual meet-ups, and social media, getting together and connecting with other people took a lot of time, and traveling to other countries was pretty much a non-starter for any normal person. And when countries wanted to show off their shiny new inventions and of course make other countries jealous, how were they supposed to do that? Well, what if there was one,...

In honor of the New Year, This Was A Thing is making some serious resolutions: 1. We're going to find even more ways to work Bea Arthur into future episodes.  2. Ray and Rob are going to start a new Patreon perk - "Fight Club with Fred Silverman." 3. We will not program any computers in any way that could even possibly cause an infrastructure catastrophe. If that last resolution sounds oddly...

Do you need a sunny day to sweep those winter clouds away? Join us for a little stroll down the memory lane of merchandising, because there's nothing more sure to lift you out of your blues than a certain Muppet with a nose like an orange, a song in his heart, and a vibrating motor installed inside his belly. Ray teaches Rob about the origins for this best-selling behemoth, including how a chimpan...

After  The French Connection  and  The Exorcist , William Friedkin needed something big. Something bold. Something daring. And when someone brought him the novel  Cruising  he found a property that more than fit the bill. Unfortuantely, it also ended up being a quagmire of political controversy and ambiguous plot lines that modern audiences are still trying to figure out....

It was love at first sight: you watched them enter the room, heard their adorable laugh, chatted with them all night, and thought to yourself: "Someday, I'm going to leave this person and want to split their assets 50-50…"  Rob teaches Ray about "palimony" and talks through two landmark cases that catapulted the term into the zeitgeist; the history of common law marriage; why Ray has now name...

Are you looking for a story that is 100% guaranteed to blow your mind? A true crime tale that'll leave you wondering how crooks got away with it for so long in the first place? Well, hold on to your girdle, because this one's a doozy. It's got everything: insurance scams, fake passports, an undercover sting operation, Israeli really bank accounts, and huge sales on some of the best TVs and VCRs ar...

Are you looking for a story that is 100% guaranteed to blow your mind? A true crime tale that'll leave you wondering how crooks got away with it for so long in the first place? Well, hold on to your girdle, because this one's a doozy. It's got everything: insurance scams, fake passports, an undercover sting operation, Israeli really bank accounts, and huge sales on some of the best TVs and VCRs ar...

Late-night TV celebrity interviews are fun diversions, but when Hollywood needs real, gritty, hard-hitting journalism, there's only one man for the job. And if it takes mispronouncing every single name in the business, then honey, he's way ahead of you. Rob teaches Ray about Sammy LaBella, a.k.a. Skip E. Lowe, whose dreams of stardom led him to befriend, interview, and/or bed more Hollywood person...

Hankering to travel somewhere warm? Somewhere with exciting sightseeing? Somewhere you can be cursed by the spirit of a vengeful Egyptian monarch? Then have we got a place for you! Ray teaches Rob about the archeologists responsible for the discovery of the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen, the Egyptian ruler who is now best known as King Tut; the misfortunes and maladies that befell many of those...

If you turn back the clocks to the early 90s, it would be impossible to avoid all the late night jokes about Vice President Dan Quayle. Likewise, if you followed the 90s TV scene, you couldn't miss the fact that Candice Bergen was raking in the Emmys for her role as the titular Murphy Brown on CBS. So when two media behemoths like that unexpectedly went head-to-head, it was bound to be a battle fo...

On top of giving us the truly epic Dustin, Steve, and Eddie bromance and boosting Kate Bush's album sales,  Stranger Things  also deserves the bulk of the credit for bringing  Dungeons and Dragons  back into the zeitgeist. So, given that newfound popularity, it's hard to imagine how the very same game was once decried by a large - and largely conservative - contingent of the U...

Wigs, plugs, toupés - so many solutions to hair loss, but all with their own issues and drawbacks. Was there any hope for real change? Was baldness an unavoidable condition? Would someone ever come along and provide a solution that truly brought satisfaction to those wanting to return to their days of luscious locks? Enter Sy Sperling: a man with a flat yet dulcet voice, a bald patch, and a dream....

Having a tough day? Life got you down? Does your body feel like it’s suffering from a severe lack of goat’s blood, steroids, and placenta? Oh, and also meth? Then we know just what the doctor should order, and which doctor should order it! Rob teaches Ray about the infamous Max "Dr. Feelgood" Jacobson, and his wide ranging celebrity clientele; his unsavory and unsanitary business practices; how hi...

Just imagine: it's the end of the week, and all you want to do is crash on the couch, switch on the TV, and chillax. Luckily for you, it's also the early 90s, which means there's no black hole of streaming services to get lost in, so no need to stress about making that choice we all struggle with nowadays: "What should I watch?" Instead, you can just pop something into your Easy Bake oven, grab a...

Extra, Extra, read all about it! Extra-terrestrial stock brokers discovered on Wall Street running a pump-and-dump scheme to boost stock prices for personal space tech investments. If you want to learn more, drop that Times or Journal - this exclusive story can only be found in a very special publication. Ray teaches Rob about the wacky and wild history of Weekly World News; its origins as a last-...

Have you ever been on a New York subway? How about the Munich U-Bahn? Let's make it easier: have you walked down any sidewalk and/or generic walkway in any major and/or minor city in any of the six major global continents? Great! Then you've almost definitely seen a colorful poster featuring one to several dancers, all inviting you to put "China Before Communism" and see a show that could very wel...

Oh yes, you read that right. So gird your loins and clear your Tuesdays, because we're launching next week with a the first of a whole season of new episodes that are bigger, badder, and thing-ier than ever. But you'll have to tune in to hear it! And hey, why not tell a friend while you're at it? You can both share the joy of hearing Rob tell Ray about the zaniness that was the 1989 Oscars, and li...

America just celebrated Labor Day, and we all know the two things that day has historically signified: it’s the last chance to wear white shoes (thank you, Elle Woods), and, until 2014, it was also the only chance to tune in to the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual fundraiser - better known to most people as the Jerry Lewis Telethon. Rob teaches Ray about Good Jerry, Bad Jerry, and all the...

Does your Venn Diagram of interests include Dale Cooper,  Saved by the Bell,  and  Robocop ? Also, are you 17 or older? Then you're in luck! Because in 1995, after achieving cinematic fame with  Basic Instinct,  Paul Verhoeven and Joe Eszterhaz teamed up for another film, this time set in the world of Las Vegas exotic dancers and show business, and the results were...contr...

In the ancient, pre-Google days, if someone wanted to get sports scores, or chat with a “naughty friend”, or obsess over your favorite celebrity, you couldn’t just type into a browser - the world wide web was a long ways off. But never fear! Just call this number, pay a incidental (read: exorbitant) fee per minute, and you’re guaranteed to find what you’re looking for. Ray teaches Rob about the me...