She was the First Lady for only three years but she did more in those three chauvinistic years than most women were allowed to do in their lifetime.....perhaps even killing her husband. This week Rob teaches Ray about Florence "Flossie" Harding who was one of the most influential first ladies most people have never heard about. They crack open the history books and explore look at how Flossie made her first husband disappear, how she kept Warren Harding on a short leash, the Presidential Love Ch...
May 10, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Grab some sunscreen, flip-flops, and get ready to cool down because we are going to Hawaii to explore the origins behind the Aloha Shirt. Learn about the Hawaiian Craze of the 1910s, the Fashion Father Alfred Shaheen, Elvis Presley's fashion choices, and so much more! Rob gives Ray a lesson in the history of how the Aloha shirt came to be, the political activism behind the shirt, what elements make your Aloha Shirt worth money, and why this shirt gave birth to Casual Friday. If you like what we ...
May 03, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Edwin Booth, the titular head of the Booth Acting Dynasty, gets a thorough exploration with Brody Karn, Esq. We are releasing this bonus episode to celebrate 10k downloads! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 29, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Right Now! You’re reading a description for this week’s episode, Crystal Pepsi. Right Now! This particular episode is a little different, let’s be CLEAR. Right Now! Crystal Pepsi was a flash in the CAN (and bottle!) and we’re going to teach you all about it! Right Now! They also ran a Super Bowl commercial for it that featured a Sammy Haggar lead Van Halen, singing their hit song, “Right Now!” Right Now! Crystal Pepsi was released to the public in 1992 and (SPOILER WARNING!) was off of store she...
Apr 26, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 34
REEFER MADNESS! It’s taken over this fine country, so we decided it was time to cover it! Run for your life, marijuana is polluting the minds of America’s youths! “Reefer Madness”, originally titled “Tell Your Children”, was an exploitation and propaganda film released in 1936, 1938, or 1939…. Seriously, they didn’t keep an accurate record of the film’s release. It was meant to teach about the dangers of grass, dope, ganja, that sticky icky icky icky… And the film worked! People were terrified! ...
Apr 19, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Do you feel lost? Like you need some direction? Do you have $2000 ready to throw away? Then call me now! Learn about the fortune teller who couldn't forsee the police knocking on her door: 1990s icon Miss Cleo. Rob gives Ray a lesson in the history of TV psychics, the brilliance of late night marketing, Dionne Warwick and the Psychic Friends Network, the worst dialect work ever committed to screen, the dissolution of tv psychics, and why you should never listen to Sylvia Browne. If you like what...
Apr 12, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Do you smell that? We’re not saying its you! It’s Smell-O-Vision! That’s right, Smell-O-Vision! When you were looking for a movie with a gimmick, and 3-D has ran it’s course, then Smell-O-Vision just may be for you! Invented by Hans Laube in 1939 and brought to a wider audience by Mike Todd Jr. in 1960, Smell-O-Vision certainly left a smell with audiences and critics alike. It’s not like Mike Todd Jr. was a nobody… his father helped create the Cinerama Dome, he produced films like “Michael Todd’...
Apr 05, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Turn your dials to station Manhattan Neighborhood Network station 13 because we are going to explore the confidentially, untalented denizens of Stairway to Stardom. Learn about the most optimistic master of ceremonies, Frank Masi, who unwittingly gave birth to America's obsession of televised shock and awe. Rob gives Ray a lesson in the history of public access television and how the Government's attempt to connect communities went horribly awry, the dreams of Frank Masi, the song stylings if Lu...
Mar 29, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Ever watch one of those old movies and wonder why in the world the actors are speaking in such an old timey way? Well, that way is actually called the TransAtlantic Accent and was not at all how most real people spoke in the 1930s, but in the movies they did. This week Rob teaches Ray about the origins of the transatlantic accent, how two men wanted the world to speak in World English, the "good breeding" of Jackie Kennedy, Bette Davis speaks like a lady, Mr. Feeney brings the accent back, how t...
Mar 22, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 29
We here at “This Was A Thing” LOVE Ms. Liza May Minnelli! March 12th just happened to be her birthday, so we wanted to throw her a little birthday celebration! The woman DESERVES it, for heaven's sake! Liza isn’t just known for being the daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, for her Oscar-winning performance in “Cabaret”, or for the greatest concert of all time, “Liza with a Z”. Ms. Minnelli isn’t even just known as one of the few EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, & Tony) winners. Liza is...
Mar 15, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 28
To start off the second half of season one, we decided to go for the most popular kind of podcast: TRUE CRIME! Hollywood is filled with scandals, but there haven’t been many bigger Tinsel Town scandals, than The Lana Turner Murder Trial. In the 1950’s, Lana Turner was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Sadly, she was dating a violent mobster named Johnny Stompanato. Mr. Stompanto’s violence came to an end when he was discovered stabbed to death in 1958 in Turner’s home. The person holding th...
Mar 08, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Imagine if Marvel and Lucasfilm teamed up to make a movie nowadays. It would be huge! Well, back in 1986, that wasn’t the case… In fact, “Howard The Duck”, was the opposite of huge. What was supposed to be a comedy, hardly had audiences QUACKing up. Most Audiences thought it was rather FOWL. It wasn’t a success and Universal Pictures was stuck with the BILL. George Lucas was the man that decided to turn a Marvel comic about a sassy, wise-cracking anthropomorphic duck into a summer blockbuster. U...
Mar 01, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Pogs… or Milk Caps if you’re a boomer…. were like a flash in the pan in the mid 90’s. Collectable pieces of cardboard that ended up fading out just as quicky as they were introduced. Just like marbles before them, Pogs got banned from schools. Pogs caused schoolyard scuffles and because kids were playing for keeps, they were essentially gambling… Playgrounds were becoming Las Vegas… Kids couldn’t get enough of that sweet, sweet circular cardboard. This week, Ray teaches Rob all about how Pogs is...
Feb 22, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 25
This week love is in the air and nothing says love like downloading Hinge, Tindr, Grindr, and FarmersOnly to find that perfect mate for you….until someone better comes along. But before the technological revolution how did people meet one another? Through the personal ads of course. This week Rob teaches Ray about 17th Century ways of mating, coded sexuality needs in Europe, why it was frowned on for women to seek love, the assholery of Benjamin Franklin, how people scammed others through love, ...
Feb 15, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 24
There hasn’t been anything quite like “The Super Bowl Shuffle”… And for good reason. Professional athletes can be boastful from time to time, but in 1985, it was taken to a whole new level! All lead by Bears Wide Receiver, Willie Gault. The Chicago Bears would produce a single (the first of its kind on Audio Cassette), film a music video (Second in sales to “Thriller”), and win a Super Bowl (beating those darn Patriots!) all in the course of an NFL season. “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was a sensatio...
Feb 08, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Zhere once waz a drink zhat made ze world ztand up and zake notice......Ok, we can't do this anymore. It was Zima, a clear malt beverage that intoxicated, barely, the entire world for a brief and shining moment. This week Rob teaches Ray about the Clear Beverage Craze of the 1990s, the very bizarre commercials of Bartles & Jaymes, how the Russians changed the game of marketing, the sad trajectory of the Zima Man, the urban legend of breathalyzers and Zima, and how gender norms played a part ...
Feb 01, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 22
She was an Academy Award winning actress, one of the first AIDS activists, and an icon around the world for her stunning beauty. She also broke gender norms and societal expectations with eight trips down the aisle with seven different men.....not all at the same time, of course. Rob teaches Ray about Elizabeth Taylor and her eclectic group of husbands which include: The great Uncle of Paris Hilton, a social climbing actor, an indomitable showman, America's sweetheart, an alcoholic Welshman, a R...
Jan 25, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was one of the most popular silent film comedy stars of the 1910’s. After signing a big contract in 1920, it seemed that Arbuckle was on top of the world! That is until a wild party ended in the very suspicious death of a young actress named Virginia Rappe. Tabloid papers took the story and ran with it....without a true investigation. Faced with sexual assault and manslaughter charges....was Arbuckle able to prove his innocence? This week Ray teaches Rob about the insane ...
Jan 18, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 20
It's a mad, mad, mad, mad story about money, movies, and madcap mysteries! In 1963, one of the most serious film directors decided to prove to the world he could be funny......well, sort of........What he ended up creating was the The Treasure Hunt Comedy, a forgotten staple of film comedies. Rob teaches Ray about It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Scavenger Hunt, Million Dollar Mystery, and Rat Race . Along the way we learn that Milton Berle's ego was as big as his cigar, the pretentiousness of M...
Jan 11, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Happy New Years, dear listener! Getting healthy is a classic New Years Resolution and what better way to get trim than with Thigh Master! Thigh Master had a major grip on early 90’s fitness, but it wouldn’t get to the top without the help of a wonderfully peppy spokesperson Suzanne Somers. Yes, Chrissy Snow from “Three’s Company”, herself! She “used to do aerobics ‘til she dropped! Then she found Thigh Master!” This week, Ray teaches Rob the secret to shapely thighs, talks about an important mee...
Jan 04, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Get out your tap shoes, Francis, we are going dancing tonight....and tomorrow....and for the next five months! This week we look at the swinging and sadistic world of 1930s Dance Marathons which were ways for Depression Era Americans to make some money dancing for hours on end....while other Americans watched and waited for injuries, blood, and violence! Rob gives Ray a lesson in the history of dancing in America, how Vernon and Irene Castle made sinful partner dancing wholesome, the Endurance C...
Dec 28, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Our listeners have been nice this year so Santa has told us to give you all a gift! Brody Karn, Esq. teaches us about one of the most intriguing fads of the 19th Century: Pedestrianism. There is a doping scandal, cheating accusations, Walkers becoming the faces of trading cards, ethnic turf walking wars, women breaking the glass ceiling of athleticism, and so much more! Plus, Nathan Lane stars in.......everything! This episode is part of our Patreon only episode library so if you like this one t...
Dec 25, 2021•50 min
Remember Cabbage Patch Kids..... those odd looking dolls with hard plastic heads that took the 80’s by storm? And how that storm turned into riots? In 1983 Cabbage Patch Mania ruled the holiday season and parents just HAD to get their hands on one for Little Carol and even Littler Patti. This week, Ray teaches Rob all about Bunny Bees, BabyLand General Hospital, and how creator Xavier Roberts MAY have stolen the idea for these dolls from a woman named Martha Nelson Thomas who he met at a small K...
Dec 21, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 16
A legend stuck in the past or a victim of ageism? To celebrate Being the Ricardos , we take a look at Lucille Ball's last sitcom, Life With Lucy ,...from which she was fired. Yes, the Queen of Comedy was fired! Rob teaches Ray about Lucille Ball's career post I Love Lucy, her bizarre television movies in the 1970s (including Lucy becoming President of NBC), how Lucy was courted by ABC, why The Cosby Show and The Golden Girls created Life with Lucy , Lucy's loyalty to her staff, and how she was b...
Dec 14, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Can you put together a meaningful thought or idea in six seconds or less? What about a moderately funny video? It’s hard! But there was some GOLD in them there Vine hills! Ray teaches Rob about how Vine helped launch the careers of Shawn Mendes, King Bach, and yes, even Jake and Logan Paul. We also revisit some of our favorite Vines of years past including Rob’s favorite – a teacher’s reaction to having a piece of paper thrown at them. “Whoever threw that paper, your mom’s a…” If you like what w...
Dec 07, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 14
A dirty old man or the first victim of cancel culture? Benny Hill was one of the world's most recognizable comedians. In the 1970s, he dominated UK television. In the 1980s, he was either loved/loathed in over 140 different countries. By the 1990s, he was cancelled, metaphorically and physically. Rob introduces Ray to the naughty world of Benny Hill, how Benny revolutionized television comedy, the international acclaim of Benny's visual brilliance, the little bald man Benny loved to slap on the ...
Nov 30, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 13
The Beach Boys were pioneers of the 1960s Surf Rock movement. When they felt it was time to move on from the sound the world loved, there was one main person standing in the way: Founding Member Mike Love. Mike Love wasn’t keen on changing their sound….to be honest, Mike Love wasn’t really keen on much of anything.....well except for Meditation and material possessions… Oh, and lawsuits! Mike Love really enjoyed taking his bandmates to court…... Ray tells Rob why Mike Love said things like “Don’...
Nov 23, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Batman has defeated countless crooks and criminals but there was one he could not defeat: Consumerism. Learn about the the 1997 summer blockbuster that made people question the merits of super hero movies and one so poorly received, it nearly killed the genre: Batman & Robin (1997) Rob gives Ray a lesson in the history of the Caped Crusader, the brilliance of Tim Burton, the Danny DeVito nightmares of McDonald's happy meals, bat nipples, the villainous toy manufacturers who became screenwrit...
Nov 16, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 11
McDonald’s. One of the most beautiful words in any language. It’s a franchise known around the world for all of it’s success! Sometimes they’ll even bring back menu items that are fan favorites, because that’s what the people want! McRib, anyone? But for all of this success, there were bound to be some failures… Or as we like to call them, McFailures. This week Ray teaches Rob about everything from the Hula Burger to McSalad Shakers. Onion Nuggets to the McLobster. Mighty Wings to the McPizza. Y...
Nov 09, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 10
You are a new country. You have a constitution. If anything goes wrong, don't worry, the constitution will tell us what to do.......or will it? Learn about the death of President William Henry Harrison, the first time a President died in office, and the forgotten constitutional crisis that followed, as well as a deep dive into the 25th Amendment that tried to correct those errors. Rob gives Ray a lesson in the history of the all too brief Presidency of William Henry Harrison, the controversial e...
Nov 02, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 9
