Underunderstood: Recent Episodes
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There are questions the internet just can't answer. But that doesn't mean we can't find them.
On each episode of Underunderstood, we find a question the internet can’t answer — maybe it’s a dead-end Wikipedia page, an abandoned Reddit thread, or an unanswered question on Twitter — and we fill in the gaps. It’s part chat show, part documentary, and almost always surprising.
It's been a while! We have a quick update about our schedule, plus details about our first-ever LIVE SHOW!
Underunderstood Live
Tuesday August 1, 2023, 7pm
Caveat, NYC (21+)
Tickets (both live and virtual!) at Caveat's website
Hollywood is stockpiling scripts for full seasons of unreleased television shows. Are they throwing them out or saving them for a rainy day?
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstoodHave a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- Why Are TV Writers So Miserable? (The New Yorker)
- Hollywood Writers Strike (Democracy Now!)
- Film and TV writers are striking (CNN)
- Writers strike focuses on whether AI could take jobs from screenwriters (CBS News)
- Writers On Set (George R. R. Martin’s Not A Blog)
- Alex O’Keefe (Linktree)
- The Bear (Hulu)
- 2023 Writers Guild Award for Comedy Series (YouTube)
- Reed Hastings on Colbert (YouTube)
- Amazon? HBO? Netflix thinks its real competitor is… sleep (CNBC)
- We Watched It All | Netflix (YouTube)
- Writers Are Not Keeping Up (wgacontract2023.org)
- Reed Hastings on Building a Streaming Empire (YouTube)
- Hollywoodstrike.org
- wgacontract2023.org
Sometimes the truth is stranger than the hoax.
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstoodHave a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- even if it's fake it's real (sippey.com)
- Street View Birth (Andy Wyeth)
- turning random internet drama into songs, part 2 (Twitter)
- Lubalin on TikTok
- Meet The Musician Turning Random Internet Drama Into TikTok Bops (Buzzfeed News)
John revisits a wild pitch about a mysterious television performer.
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstoodHave a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- The first special (YouTube)
- 2002 thread on The Magic Cafe
- It's No Secret (Chicago Tribune, 1998)
- The unmasking (YouTube)
- The Masked Magician on Diagnosis Murder (YouTube)
- Virginia Magicians Sue Fox TV To Stop Revelation of Secrets (Washington Post, 1998)
- Street Magic Finally Revealed (YouTube)
- A trick from the fifth special (YouTube)
There’s a formula that dictates restaurant prices in New York City airports. Adrianne digs into what does — and doesn’t — add up.Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstoodHave a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.Show notes:
- Cooper Lund's tweet
- Concessionaire Street Pricing Manual (PDF)
- The Cibo Express website
- Why Does a Plastic-Wrapped Turkey Sandwich Cost $15 at the Airport? (Hell Gate)
An obscure pro wrestling-adjacent reality show from 2001 was mired in scandal. Was it really rigged?
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- Another Reality TV Show Is Under Fire (New York Times)
- Manhunt on IMDB
- The Stingray (Wayback Machine)
- Twenty-One (Wikipedia)
- Prohibited practices in contests of knowledge, skill, or chance (FCC)
- JK’s letter to the FCC (Wayback Machine)
- Steve Beverly’s letter to the FCC (Wayback Machine)
- Survivor rules: the contract that details pay, tie-breakers, prohibited behavior, and more (Reality Blurs)
Billy shares a new (old) segment, we examine how real MTV Cribs was, and an important update about the missing broccoli game!
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
(02:56) MTV Cribs
- Inside Travis Barker's Surprisingly Tranquil Calabasas Abode (Architectural Digest)
- 'I'm Into Cadillacs' Travis Barker's Home & Car Collection (MTV on YouTube)
- I Just Found Out That "Cribs" On MTV Was Kinda Fake And I Feel So USED (Buzzfeed)
- MTV Cribs Ja Rule (YouTube)
- Lawyer: Ja Rule Innocent in Club Clash (E! Online)
- Tony Hawk, JoJo & Ryan Nyquist (MTV on YouTube)
- Redman's Staten Island 'De La Casa' (MTV on YouTube)
- Redman | Drink Champs (YouTube)
- Redman: MTV Tried to Get Me to Rent a House for "Cribs" (YouTube)
(35:44) Broccoli Game Follow-up
- FirestarterMethod’s comment (Reddit)
- ハゲパラ Let’s 育毛 (Appget)
- ハゲパラ〜おっさんの毛栽培ゲーム〜【育成・放置】 (APKPure)
Billy helps a listener uncover the true origins of a popular unreleased song.
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- Daft Punk – Pee Is Stored In The Balls (Full Unreleased Demo) (YouTube)
- Pee is Stored in the Balls (Know Your Meme)
- What’s the Deal With Boners? (Cosmopolitan)
- Daft Punk’s ‘Random Access Memories’ leaks online (The Verge)
- Daft Punk – Pee Is Stored In The Balls (Alternate Mix) (YouTube)
- HOME – Resonance uploaded by Electronic Gems (YouTube)
- The Nostalgia of HOME’s Resonance, Explained (YouTube)
- Home’s verified artist page (Spotify)
- @RNDYGFFE on Twitter – tweet one, tweet two
- Pee Is Stored In The Balls (Unreleased Demo) playlist (Spotify)
- Did Daft Punk actually make pee is stored in the balls? (Reddit)
- After 8 years, I’ve managed to figure out what vocoder is responsible for the “Robot Voice” (Reddit)
- Randy’s original Tumblr post (slimetony.com)
- Randy’s tweet about music being free to use (Twitter)
- HOME – Odyssey (archive.org)
We take listener calls and emails about lost video games, plus a Triscuit update.
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
Slope Rider
- Slope Rider official website
- iOS Emulation Finally Cracked – Stop Skeletons From Fighting (YouTube)
- touchHLE, a high-level emulator for iPhone OS applications
- Timecoded link to ad in 2009 Apple event (YouTube)
- Monte Boyd’s Slope Rider thread on Mastodon
- macos9.app
- Stream Mixed-Up Mother Goose (1991, MS-DOS) (Internet Archive)
- Mixed-Up Mother Goose Deluxe (1995, Mac) (Macintosh Repository)
- UTM | Virtual machines for Mac
- Slope Rider download (Macintosh Repository)
- Slope Rider running (poorly) in UTM (YouTube, unlisted)
- Monte Boyd’s Commodore 64 games (itch.io)
- Monte Boyd’s website
Broccoli Man
- Film restoration: Saving our cinema heritage – CBS Sunday Morning (YouTube)
- APKMirror and APKPure
- I know an APK is technically an installer package and not “an executable app file.” Don’t @ me. -Billy
Triscuit
- Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for Baking Biscuit, Crackers and the like (Google Patents)
- Medical Press and Circular – July 29, 1903 (Google Books)
- The Sketch, Vol. 43 (Google Books)
- “Common wheat” on Wikipedia
Billy helps a listener return to VMK, the online world where they remember “learning all the bad words.”
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- Expedition Theme Park’s video about VMK (YouTube)
- Sam from Expedition Theme Park also has a new podcast called Expedition Enthused
- One Name, Two Games: Virtual Magic Kingdom (Pop History)
- Habbo Hotel promotional videos from the mid-2000s (YouTube)
- Isometric video game graphics (Wikipedia)
- Amazing video about eBoy directed/edited by our editor Ryan Manning (YouTube)
- Virtual Magic Kingdom (Fandom)
- VMK Values (Disney VMK via Internet Archive)
- Fans protest end of virtual Disney site in front of Disneyland (Orange County Register via Internet Archive
- Investigation into Habbo Hotel (Channel 4)
- Preserving Worlds (Means TV)
- MyVMK
Writer Sage Boggs thought he discovered why Triscuit is called Triscuit. But the cracker brand has a confusing and mysterious relationship with its own name.
A rough version of this story originally ran on our bonus podcast, Overunderstood. This updated version contains some new information and reporting.
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- Sage’s viral tweet (Twitter)
- John’s original tweet to Triscuit (Twitter)
- Some old Triscuit advertisements (Twitter)
- Triscuit’s response to Sage (Twitter)
- Triscuit tweets about three ingredients (Twitter)
- “Filamentous cracker” patent (PDF)
- “Continuous heating and baking machine” patent
- Snopes article on this matter (Snopes)
- Charles Louis Richter questions the answer (Twitter)
Billy helps a listener track down a forgotten collaboration between Mario and Biz Markie.
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- Mandela Effect (Wikipedia)
- Mario – Just A Friend (YouTube)
- Biz Markie – Just A Friend (YouTube)
- Biz Markie performing at The Apollo (YouTube)
- Freddie Scott – (You) Got What I Need (YouTube)
- Miley Cyrus – The Climb (YouTube)
- Grand Upright v. Warner Bros. (Wikipedia)
- Copyright Criminals (PBS)
- Sampling Wars (LA Times)
- De La Soul finally streams (Washington Post)
- How Copyright Law Hurts Music (The Atlantic)
- Albums you can’t find on streaming (CBC)
- Biz Markie on 30 years of ‘Just a Friend’ (EW)
- Beat Mann Sessions: With Biz Markie (Bandcamp)
- Mario at Glass City Expo 2002 (YouTube)
- Mario on The Early Show (YouTube)
- Mario on 93.5 KDAY (YouTube)
- Napster on CNN (YouTube)
- Usher Blames Album Delays On Napster Leaks (MTV News)
- Usher – Just A Friend (YouTube)
- Mario on Hot 104.1 (YouTube)
- Mario AOL Sessions interview (YouTube)
- Just A Friend 2002 (Old School Version) (YouTube)
- Just A Friend 2002 (feat. Biz Markie) (Spotify)
- Just A Friend 2002 (Radio Edit (Old School Version)) (Soundcloud)
- The Japanese CD version of Mario’s self-titled album also has the remix (Discogs)
- Biz Markie final interview (YouTube)
A Redditor starts receiving boxes full of 1980s memorabilia from the long-defunct California Raisins Fan Club. Who is sending this raisin mail?
A different version of this story previously appeared in our bonus feed, Overunderstood. If you've already heard that episode, there's a lot of new material in this one.
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- The first California Raisins TV commercial (YouTube)
- I received two packages/letters from a seemingly defunct california raisins fanclub at my home address with very rare 1980s collectors items (Reddit)
- thecaliforniaraisins.com
- https://dizzodesigns.com
- Were the California Raisins Created Because of Systemic Racism?(Mandatory)
- Mail #1 and #2
- Mail #3
- UPDATE: I received another package & letter from a seemingly defunct california raisins fanclub (Reddit)
- Archive of the sweatshirt eBay listing
- Mail #4
- UPDATE 2: The Seemingly Defunct california raisins fanclub Has Once Again Sent Me A Bunch Of Assorted 80s Merch (Reddit)
- USPS Letters from Santa
- Mail #5
- Bart Baggett’s website
- Bart’s handwriting comparisons (PDF)
We hear a message from a listener about a scam call. Then, Adrianne runs after a curious message on a city bus.
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- How Can I Verify If a Debt Collector Is Legitimate? (CFPB)
- "EMERGENCY CALL POLICE" on MTA Bus Destination (Reddit)
- Bus with signs reading “Emergency! Call police” and “Help! Call 911”? (Reddit)
- Bus Messaging (Reddit)
- Opie and Anthony clip (YouTube)
- Man attacks MTA bus with driver, passengers inside (Fox 5 New York)
- Aaron Gordon's current newsletter, Urbababble
- When a Bus Driver Told a Rider to Wear a Mask, ‘He Knocked Me Out Cold’ (NYT)
A listener question sends Billy on a deep dive into an MTV reality show.
Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882.
Show notes:
- A Deep Dive into ‘Just Tattoo of Us’, the Greatest Show on British Television – Vice
- ‘Just Tattoo of Us’ Is the Best Worst Show on TV – The Wrap
- Just Tattoo of Us: like getting waterboarded by a Ministry of Sound compilation – The Guardian
- Top 3 Harshest Tattoos – JTOU U.K. on YouTube
- Snooki And Nico Tortorella Talk New Show ‘How Far Is Tattoo Far?’ – Today on YouTube
- Snooki & Nico Tortorella’s Tattoo Reality Show Is TV’s Biggest Emotional Roller Coaster – Refinery29
- Girl forced to get ‘S**T’ emblazoned on her bum – The Mirror
- This ‘Ballsy’ Tattoo Is Petty As Hell – MTV on YouTube
- Ephemeral
- On “How far is tattoo far” by Snooki, are the tattoo’s real or fake ? – Reddit
- Contestants on MTV’s ‘How Far Is Tattoo Far?’ Get More Than a Free Tattoo – Distractify
- dollarztatu’s post on Instagram
- Angelina on HFITF’ – MTV on YouTube
- Angelina’s tattoo visible on Instagram: May 25, 2021, March 28, 2022, May 25, 2022
- Does Angelina have a tattoo of… her engagement ring? – Reddit
- @darcywindebank22’s video on TikTok
- Screenshot of Darcy’s tattoo
- Darcy on HFITF – MTV on YouTube
- BDave on HFITF – MTV
- BDave’s tattoo visible on YouTube: June 2019, October 2020, January 2023
- Connor and Trevor showing their tattoos, March 2019 – YouTube
- Darcy talking about her HFITF experience – YouTube
MTV has not yet responded to our request for comment.
Who sang the Cole Porter songs in the 1972 film "Sleuth"?
This is an episode of our bonus patron-only show, Overunderstood. To support the show and hear Overunderstood every week, join our Patreon!
Show notes:
- Sleuth (Wikipedia)
- Sleuth (IMDb)
- The Sleuth Saga Carries On (Reddit)
- The scene in question (YouTube)
- Cole Porter sings "Anything Goes" (YouTube)
- Thread on the Soundtrack Collector forum
- Massive thread on the IMDb 2.1 forum
- "One More Kiss, Dear" (YouTube)
- A page of the Sleuth cue sheet
John goes on a quest to find a sticker that may or may not have existed.
Support Underunderstood and get our bonus podcast by joining our Patreon!
Show notes:
- 04:00 – Mark Goodman and the dial position sticker (YouTube)
- 07:12 – MTV Your Favorite Music Promo (YouTube)
- 07:56 – Worthpoint
- 14:12 – Our theme song and other music is available to stream
- 22:45 – Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! commercial voiced by Jan Gabriel (YouTube)
- 26:54 – A detailed discussion about this setup and MTV specifically (Radio Discussions)
Billy investigates a theory that Apple products are packaged with a signature fragrance.
Want to join us for "the world's largest trivia contest"? Visit https://underunderstood.com/trivia to sign up.
Support Underunderstood and get our bonus podcast by joining our Patreon!
Show notes:
- 02:00 – Kevin Purdy
- 02:10 – iFixit
- 02:22 – Carbon Switch
- 02:26 – ImportYeti
- 02:39 – #importyeti on TikTok
- 04:14 – Apple on ImportYeti
- 04:34 – GrandPerspective
- 09:50 – H.S. Code: 330720 Personal Deodorants - ImportYeti
- 11:50 – Does Apple intentionally make its products' packaging smell compelling? - Quora
- 15:23 – 90FM Trivia
- 15:40 – A video we worked on about the trivia contest
- 16:17 – Join our trivia team by signing up here!
- 18:20 – Joanna Stern
- 20:46 – Joanna tweeting about the new MacBook smell in in 2012 and 2014
- 21:28 – New Mac Candle - Twelve South (archive.org)
- 22:10 – New Mac Candle Hands-on - 9to5Mac
- 25:25 – Dave Applegate - LinkedIn
- 26:54 – Copy of Apple CSV file
- 27:36 – Google results for ASA Apple Inc.
- 29:32 – Similar data on Zauba
- 30:17 – How Do We Get This Data? - ImportYeti (YouTube)
- 31:48 – Apple Has Increased Use of Cargo Ships - MacRumors
- 33:00 – Items under code 330720 with "personal effects" in the description - Zauba
- 35:52 – Why do Apple stores all smell the way they do? - Quora
- 36:35 – What is a fact that you know about Apple products that most people don't know? - Quora
- 38:48 – Packaging PD team job listing - Apple
- 45:46 – Monkeys Spinning Monkeys by Kevin MacLeod
We were honored to be guests on Twenty Thousand Hertz’s annual Mystery Sound competition, where the four of us competed to name a variety of obscure sounds. We’re sharing that episode now. Plus, some personal news!
Twenty Thousand Hertz tells the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. Listen in your favorite podcast app.
Support Underunderstood and listen to over 60 episodes of our bonus podcast by joining our Patreon!
For updates on how to join us for the world’s largest trivia contest, keep an eye on our Twitter and Instagram.
An end of the year two-part episode! First, where do Trivial Pursuit questions come from? And then, why is it so hard to find a Pizza Hut Classic?
Show notes:
Trivial Pusuit
- 02:53 – The Ultimate List of Every Trivial Pursuit Version Ever Created (Trivia Bliss)
- 04:28 – My life as a Trivial Pursuit question writer (Darryn King)
- 12:45 – Fred Worth's appeal after losing a copyright case against Trivial Pursuit (Justia)
- 16:43 – Not-so-trivial errors (BoardGameGeek)
Pizza Hut Classic
- 24:40 – Used to Be a Pizza Hut
- 25:29 – Warren Pizza Hut reopens as Pizza Hut Classic (WFMJ)
- 26:48 – Pizza Hut Classic - Warren, Ohio (Valley Spotlight on YouTube)
- 28:13 – Warren Pizza Hut Classic (@rolandopujol on Instagram)
- 30:11 – Eureka Springs, AR location (Ramblin' Backroads on YouTube)
- 32:46 – Craig Robinson Pizza Hut Commercial (Instagram)
- 33:56 – The Retrologist
The current list of known Pizza Hut Classic locations:
- Warren, OH
- Kilmarnock, VA
- Bryson City, NC
- Tunkhannock, PA
- Sayre, PA
- Spring Lake Park, MN
- Wadena, MN
- Park Rapids, MN
- Eureka Springs, AR
- Dahlonega, GA
- Clayton, GA
- Lavonia, GA
- Carrizo Springs, TX
- Fairfield, TX
Unconfirmed:
- Bloomfield, IA
- Weatherford, TX
These pop singers thought they were going to be the first band in space. What happened?
Support the show and listen to over 50 episodes of our bonus podcast by joining our Patreon!
Show notes:
02:50 – NASA on mission to planet pop (New Scientist)
04:57 – Put Your Arms Around Me (Natural/YouTube)
06:32 – I Love the USA (Weezer/YouTube)
11:45 – Steve Kipner
15:35 – Claire's press release
19:48 – Journalism about Lou Pearlman from The New Yorker, Tyler Gray, and Lance Bass Productions
25:29 – Veit Renn
35:27 – Danny O'Donoghue (Wikipedia)
40:25 – Columbia Disaster: What happened and what NASA learned
47:25 – Jon Fuller's website / Spotify / Apple Music
Why has the same California license plate been showing up in movies and TV shows for two decades?
Support the show and listen to over 50 episodes of our bonus podcast by joining our Patreon!
Show notes:
- 01:39 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Villains" episode
- 02:16 – The Xandermobile
- 02:54 – A113 summary
- 03:43 – Screengrab of the plate in "A Star Is Born"
- 04:11 – Screengrab from "Matchstick Men"
- 04:52 – Screengrab from "Ray Donovan"
- 04:59 – "Furious 7" scene with 2SAM564
- 06:21 – Flim
- 26:19 – ISS Props
- 27:40 – Vehicle registration plates of California
- 29:27 – California DMV Sample License Plate Order Form (PDF)
- 33:52 – 2GAT123.com's License Plates
- 35:34 – Studio Graphics
Laffy Taffy created a dream joke writing job. But is it real?
Support the show and listen to over 50 episodes of our bonus podcast by joining our Patreon!
Show notes:
- 00:56 - Laffy Taffy - Wikipedia
- 01:50 - PDF of Laffy Taffy jokes - mrclegg.com
- 02:40 - Depressing Laffy Taffy joke - Reddit
- 03:53 - com4tablynumb1's post - Reddit
- 04:50 - com4tablynumb1's photo - Imgur
- 05:46 - Laffy Taffy Is Having a Joke Contest - Thrillist
- 07:50 - Nick Cannon's annoucement video - Facebook
- 08:27 - Laffy Taffy Selects Its First-Ever Chief Laugh Officer - Business Wire
- 13:58 - Mitch Hedberg's notebooks - YouTube
- 20:40 - Richard Bowen at the Laugh Factory - YouTube
- 27:14 - Richard and his trophy - Business Wire
- 27:26 - Richard Bowen and Nick Cannon - Shutterstock
- 31:35 - Contact Us - Ferrara Candy
The Circle is back for Season 2, and there's a mysterious catfish named John. Who is this "full time psychic, part time Santa"?
This is an episode of Overunderstood, our Patrons-only feed. To get a new episode every week (even between Underunderstood seasons!), visit patreon.com/underunderstood.
We're working on season 5 of Underunderstood! Stay tuned to our Twitter and Instagram for updates on when we'll be back.
Show notes:
- The Circle on Netflix
- Season 2 Trailer (YouTube)
- Pimeyes
- Kris Kringles are forking over cash to take ‘Santa’ classes (New York Post)
- Dave Saunders (@santadept25)
Underunderstood is recruiting a team for the legendary 90FM Stevens Point TRIVIA! contest. It’s a three-day event from April 16-18 where teams from anywhere compete to answer arcane, nearly un-Googleable trivia questions.
If you’re interested in participating with Underunderstood’s team, email us at hello@underunderstood.com with the subject “Trivia,” and we’ll add you to a special Discord channel and set you up with all the details you need.
- The article and video that started it all (“it” being Underunderstood’s fascination with Stevens Point and TRIVIA!)
- More information about the contest: https://www.90fmtrivia.org/AboutTheContest.pdf
We are going on break and will be back with more episodes for season 5. (But as always, there will be a new episode of Overunderstood every week on our Patreon.) In the meantime, here are some podcast recommendations from the hosts and other Underunderstood listeners.
Similar to Underunderstood: Endless Thread, Decoder Ring, Every Little Thing, You’re Wrong About, the Bobby episode of Heavyweight, Oh No Ross and Carrie
Not that similar to Underunderstood: Twenty Thousand Hertz, Potternaught, Flash Forward, Podcast But Outside, The Culture Journalist, Plant Crimes
Adrianne tries to understand the associations around the cartoon beagle in Japan.
If you like the show, support us on Patreon and get access to our bonus show, Overunderstood.
Show notes:
- 01:49 – Hello, Habits: A Minimalist’s Guide to a Better Life (Fumio Sasaki)
- 04:35 – Peanuts – October 4, 1991
- 10:28 – Mia Sato
- 11:40 – ‘PEANUTS’ Celebrates 70 Years With Limited Heinz Ketchup Bottles
- 11:58 – Instagram account tracking Snoopy collabs
- 11:58 – Snoopy Japan blog
- 13:30 – The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2020 (Forbes)
- 13:43 – Merchandising Snoopy: The case of licensing Peanuts in Japan (Stephen J. Lind)
- 17:28 – Beyond Cuteness: An Emerging Field of the Psychology of “Kawaii” by Professor Hiroshi Nittono – YouTube
- 18:40 – Shuntarō Tanikawa (Wikipedia)
- 19:23 – MetLife press release (2014)
- 19:47 – DeepL Translate
- 21:20 – Essay by Masuhiko Hirobuchi (2009)
- 23:22 – Alisa Freedman
- 32:37 – Minimal & Ism
A few “side quests” from our inbox: tampons in the freezer, a missing iCarly cover, and some long lost fruit snacks.
If you like the show, support us on Patreon and get access to our bonus show, Overunderstood.
Tampons in the freezer
- 01:33 – Thread on ShittyGifRecipes
- 07:50 – Janelle Flom
- 09:02 – Wig (about :49 seconds in)
- 09:25 – Credit cards?! (About :54 seconds in)
- 11:30 – TikTok divided over video of woman’s revenge on fellow plane passenger (Yahoo)
The missing Miranda Cosgrove cover
- 14:48 – 'iCarly' and 'Drake & Josh' were actually both on Nickelodeon, not the Disney channel.
- 15:16 – r/MirandaCosgrove
- 15:50 – Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls
- 15:58 – CORRECTION: It actually peaked at No. 1
- 16:14 – Miranda’s wikipedia page
- 17:04 – List of iCarly episode titles, from “iPilot” to “iBust a Thief”
- 18:20 – See: lyrics controversy section of the wikipedia page
- 19:00 – Beautiful Girls on WhoSampled
- 19:40 – A better explanation of rights and cover songs, because Regina is definitely not a lawyer
- 20:05 – Back of the jewel case
- 21:00 – Beautiful Girls (Nickelodeon Mix)
- 22:50 – CORRECTION: The band’s name is SugarPop, not SuperPop.
- 24:20 – Beautiful Girls (Reply) - JoJo
- 25:50 – JoJo, Miranda Cosgrove, and Selena Gomez at the Teen Choice Awards in 2008
Mystery fruit snacks
- 28:24 – Betty Crocker Scooby Doo fruit snacks
- 32:20 – Surf’s Up Tutti-Fruit Fruit Snacks package
- 32:27 – Rollerblade Fruit Snacks package
- 36:18 – Rollerblade Fruit Snacks pouch
Why is Eminem getting credit for a rhyme a Canadian puppet did first?
If you like the show, support us on Patreon and get access to our bonus show, Overunderstood.
Show notes:
- 00:51 – Adrianne’s story on featured snippets
- 02:07 – Screenshot of 1st search
- 02:10 – Screenshot of 2nd search
- 03:01 – Rhymetime With Eminem | YouTube
- 04:51 – Under the Umbrella Tree | Wikipedia
- 05:28 – Summer 1993 Disney Channel Commercial Breaks | YouTube
- 07:02 – Lena Dunham on Here’s the Thing
- 09:00 – What word rhymes with orange? | Yahoo Answers
- 13:32 – Eminem rhyming with orange | Genius / YouTube
- 17:17 – Rag & Bone - puppet theatre cofounded by Kathy MacLellan
- 20:21 – Bob Stutt | Wikipedia
- 24:27 – Under the Umbrella Tree | Lost Media Wiki
- 24:29 – Under the Umbrella Tree Episode List | Angelfire
- 24:49 – Under the Umbrella Tree full episodes playlist | Encore+ / YouTube
- 26:34 – UTUT - Jacob’s World Record | YouTube
- 28:12 – Noreen Young | Wikipedia
- 31:43 – Grant Barrett bio
- 32:04 – A Way with Words
- 33:10 – Never get your etymologies from memes. | Grant Barrett on Twitter
- 34:30 – The Athenaeum, Aug. 16, 1862 | Google Books
- 35:38 – Willard Espy’s orange rhyme | A Man of My Words by Richard Lederer / Google Books
- 37:00 – Orange Poetry by alexz | Wordnik
- 37:19 – Uncle, can you find a rhyme for orange? | Google Books
- 40:30 – Revealing What Rhymes with ‘Orange’ | Merriam-Webster
- 41:18 – Gresham’s law | Britannica
Adrianne tries to deconstruct how a big city got a seemingly low-prestige area code.
If you like the show, support us on Patreon and get access to our bonus show, Overunderstood.
Show notes:
- 02:41 – LincMad.com
- 04:00 - Adrianne says here that Idaho got area code 702. This is not correct!! Idaho got 208. We regret the error.
- 04:43 – The rotary dial demonstrated in an AT&T video from around the time area codes were added
- 07:41 – AT&T, or Atlantic Telephone and Telegraph, was a monopoly provider of telephone service until it was broken up in 1983 as part of an antitrust settlement with the U.S. government. That’s really all you need to know, although a good book about this is The Master Switch
- 06:52 – A table of the original area code assignments
- 18:13 – Mark J Cuccia on the 50th anniversary of the North American Numbering Plan
- 18:34 – Mark J Cuccia mentions the Boston “anomaly”
- 19:03 – Nation-wide Toll Dialing (Bell Laboratories Record, October 1945)
- 19:19 – Billy worked on a video about the AT&T archive at The Verge
- 27:07 – 201, 609 And Now, Oh My, 908 (The New York Times, 1991)
- 32:40 – An example of Telephone Topics, the in-house magazine for New England Telephone
- 32:45 – It was actually “Tracing the Telephone in Western Massachusetts”
John pieces together the definitive timeline of when Cool Ranch Doritos became Cooler Ranch Doritos.
If you like the show, support us on Patreon and get access to our bonus show, Overunderstood.
Show notes:
- 01:19 – Mandela Effect on Snopes
- 01:31 – Doritos on Wikipedia
- 02:51 – Doritos' Long, Slow Descent Into Madness
- 05:07 – John's bag
- 14:57 – SNAC International
- 16:00 – Doritos Nacho Cheesier commerical
- 22:30 – taquitos.net
- 24:58 – Jeremy's Cooler Ranch review
- 29:50 – Woman Recreates Engagement Shoot With A Bag Of Doritos
- 35:00 – George Foreman Doritos commercial
The storied history of a United States Forest Service mascot, and why the government wanted him incinerated.
This is an updated version of an episode of Overunderstood, our bonus podcast available exclusively to Patreon subscribers. It's $5 a month to become a member, and you get an episode of Overunderstood every week, as well as access to our community Discord server, virtual events, and other bonus perks.
Show notes:
- Where it all began (Symbols.gov via Archive.org)
- Boing Boing post from 2007
- Every time you masturbate ... God kills a kitten
- The Ballad of Woodsy Owl (Forest Service)
- The Ballad of Woodsy Owl cover by KITSCH CLUB
- Retro PSA Give A Hoot Don'T Pollute - Woodsy The Owl
- Woodsy Owl PSA
- Woodsy Owl on German Wikipedia
- Johnny Horizon
- Woodsy Owl Funko Pop
- Woodsy Owl licensing pitch
- A Brief History of Woodsy Owl
If you unearth a body after seven years, will the makeup still be there?
If you like the show, support us on Patreon and get access to our bonus show, Overunderstood.
Show notes:
- 0:46 – ‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’ by Ottessa Moshfegh
- 1:00 – Ottessa Moshfegh
- 1:39 – Rouge Dior 999
- 1:59 – Can One Red Lipstick Really Look Good On Everyone?
- 2:50 – Thierry Mugler
- 3:18 – The Compounds in Red Lipstick
- 7:10 – Rouge Dior 999 ingredients
- 12:30 – The Mortuary Science Professor Who Came ‘Out of Nowhere’ to Help N.Y.C.
- 13:27 – Mortuary Makeup Artists Give Us Their Best Beauty Tips
- 14:05 – About Amber – Mortician in the Kitchen
- 15:00 – Refinery29: This Is What It’s Really Like To Do Makeup… On Dead People
- 18:35 – American Chemical Society
- 19:00 – Lab Muffin Beauty Science breaks down Lipstick Science
- 21:10 – Stability Testing Guidance for Product Safety and Shelf-life Insight
- 22:40 – Shelf Life and Expiration Dating of Cosmetics
- 27:00 – Microbes A-Z: Your Questions Answered
- 31:50 – Kalon Massage Cream
An 88-year-old is being charged with a felony after selling "jailbroke firesticks" at a Florida flea market.
If you like the show, support us on Patreon and get access to our bonus show, Overunderstood.
Show notes:
- 00:56 – Sheriff Grady Judd - Wikipedia
- 02:59 – Amazon Fire TV Stick - Wikipedia
- 03:50 – iOS Jailbreaking
- 04:22 – Rooting (Android) - Wikipedia
- 09:33 – VPN - Wikipedia
- 11:45 – F.S.S. 812.15 - Unauthorized reception of communications services; penalties.
- 15:20 – Nilay Patel - Twitter
- 15:36 – About The Verge
- 15:41 – Decoder with Nilay Patel
- 16:16 – Local news report about Napster (2000) - YouTube
- 16:44 – Why news sites benefit from having writers with legal backgrounds - Poynter
- 17:01 – CNBC segment on Kazaa
- 23:40 – Cynthia Conlin & Associates
- 29:47 – Dan Marino statue on Google Street View
- 30:46 – Mobdro FAQ
- 40:54 – Sheriff Judd reads "Oh, the places you'll go!" by Dr. Seuss - YouTube
- 42:30 – Full response from the Polk County Sheriff's office
- 42:34 – Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
- 43:21 – ‘Star Trek’ and Dr. Seuss Mash-Up Not Protected, Court Rules - NYT
- 44:00 – The officially sanctioned reading of ‘Oh, the Places You'll Go!’ by Michelle Obama - YouTube
A listener emails Underunderstood: "Jeff Goldblum has a tattoo in Jurrassic Park - no one noticed, no one can identify. Help!"
Show notes:
- 01:20 – Clip of Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) with the flare in Jurassic Park
- 06:50 – The Reddit post
- 08:50 – Jeff Goldblum’s community number
- 10:22 – Correction: The word “tattoo” does show up in Jurassic Park, the book once. Quote: “We got another hadro dead. Juvenile.” Muldoon bent down among the flies and checked the skin on the sole of the right foot. A number was tattooed there. “Specimen is number HD/09.”
- 12:42 – Jurassic World: Dominion started shooting in February 2020. Universal Studios halted production on March 13. The film was mostly shot in England.
- 16:40 – Ana Maria Quintana’s IMdB page
- 18:45 – Here’s a typical continuity analysis of the goat scene. This writer actually concludes it was not an error. If you feel compelled to email us about this, please don’t — we won’t appreciate it. Try one of the many active Jurassic Park forums instead!
- 19:30 – Jurassic Park is the 40th top-grossing film of all time. Movie theaters boosted it to the top of the box office again in 2020, when COVID-19 put new releases on pause.
- 21:10 – Christina Smith’s IMdB page
- 24:50 – Dom Nero on Twitter
- 25:50 – Dom’s article about Colin Trevorrow’s Star Wars script
- 40:10 – Wikipedia page for Blowup (1966), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Support Underunderstood on Patreon and get access to our Discord community and bonus podcast, Overunderstood!
Why does no one remember a set of singing vegetables from an Oklahoma grocery store in the 80s?
We have a Patreon now! Sign up to support the show and get access to our bonus podcast, Overunderstood.
Show notes:
- 01:27 - Homeland on Wikipedia
- 02:45 - Stew Leonard's on Wikipedia
- 05:46 - Matt's Reddit post
- 06:45 - Melody Farm Follies on YouTube
- 06:45 - Melody Farm Follies on YouTube
- 13:06 - An incredible promo video for Big Fresh
- 13:15 - Animatronics at Big Fresh
- 13:40 - Jungle Jim's
- 14:20 - Anti-drug animatronics at Mollie Stone's
- 15:22 - Stew Leonard's in Paramus, NJ
- 19:50 - Photo #1
- 20:35 - Photo #2
- 21:51 - Another Melody Farm Follies video
- 24:10 - VP Animations
- 28:00 - The old Homeland logo on a store
- 30:06 - Bobby Gosh's music credits
- 31:04 - Advanced Animations
- 37:25 - Dick McCormack on Wikipedia
A famous datset of Reuters articles from the 1980s includes “Blah blah blah.” in place of some stories. Why?
We have a Patreon now! Sign up to support the show and get access to our bonus podcast, Overunderstood.
Show notes:
- 00:31 - The link Jess sent
- 8:31 - SGML
- 8:46 - This is what the blahs look like and this is what all the entries look like.
- 24:00 - FTP
- 24:34 - Linguistic Data Consortium
- 29:00 - RCV1 at NIST and David D. Lewis’s README
- 30:22 - Construe-TIS: A System for Content-Based Indexing of a Database of News Stories (Phil Hayes and Steven Weinstein)
What ever happened with those mysterious seeds that were showing up in U.S. mailboxes?
- 00:33 - Michigan Department of Agriculture tweet
- 03:10 - USDA answers frequently asked questions about the mystery seeds, including “What should I do if I already planted the seeds?”
- 02:30 - Facebook post from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
- 03:52 - Invasive species are no joke!!!!
- 04:50 - As of this writing, Snopes said there was no motive determined for the seed shipments: Are Americans Receiving Unsolicited Mailings of Seeds from China? (Snopes)
- 09:32 - USDA still hasn’t found anything to cause major concern, but it has now identified more species and some viruses. This is an updated comment as of Nov. 18: “Altogether, we have identified approximately 460 taxa of seeds. We have detected 2 quarantine insect pests using x-ray and 28 Federal Noxious weeds based on identifications by APHIS botanists.
We have also identified 6 quarantine significant viruses or viroids using molecular testing.” Also, here are some photos of U.S.D.A. investigating the seeds with microscopes. * 14:29 - Jason Koebler and Emanuel Maiberg of Motherboard. The last story Underunderstood collaborated on with Motherboard was this one. * 15:05 - Hundreds of Americans Planted 'Chinese Mystery Seeds' (Motherboard) * 19:16 - Zack Franklin in action * 22:44 - Amazon explains fulfilled by Amazon and a little bit about fulfilled by merchant. * 30:55 - ”The mysterious seed is back! Shenzhen cross-border seller actually sends parcels here” (forum post) * 31:31 - Moss’s website for Amazon sellers and Moss on Zhihu. * 34:07 - Honest Buyers Club on Facebook is an example of one of these groups. Once you get involved, you’ll start to get one-on-one messages from sellers. To clarify, I (Adrianne) have never actually ordered anything, I just lurk and try to harass people into doing an interview (100% failure rate). I’m definitely not endorsing giving your address out to strangers on the internet, but I think these guys are mostly legit. So, maybe you could give them, like, a PO box? * 36:06 - ”Evaluation blacklist” — a crowdsourced list of people who accept free gifts without providing the requisite review
Billy digs into how The Masked Singer got a studio audience to show up during COVID.
If you like the show and want access to our bonus feed, Overunderstood, join our Patreon for $5 a month: patreon.com/underunderstood
Show notes:
- 00:35 - The Masked Singer (Wikipedia)
- 02:29 - King of Mask Singer (Wikipedia)
- 05:00 - After the Mask - May 6, 2020 (YouTube)
- 05:07 - The Masked Singer s04e01 (Tubi) - skip to 1m5s to see the clip we're talking about
- 08:43 - FOX MLB virtual fans (YouTube)
- 08:58 - tweet 1
- 09:12 - tweet 2
- 09:33- tweet 3
- 09:42 - tweet 4
- 10:16 - health disclaimer (JPG)
- 10:53 - Unreal Engine credit (JPG)
- 11:09 - Unreal Engine (Wikipedia)
- 12:26 - The 9/11 photo story
- 14:43 - Kyle Montplaisir on Talent Recap
- 20:00 - Dragon's performance (YouTube)
- 21:54 - voting disclaimer (JPG)
- 22:12 - How Does 'The Masked Singer' Voting Work This Season? (Cosmo)
- 23:43 - Gremlin Reveal (YouTube)
- 27:14 - Pixotope
- 27:29 - Nickon Mirsepassi
- 31:05 - Giraffe performance
- 31:51 - DMX512 (Wikipedia)
- 35:13 - Lidar (Wikipedia)
- 36:31 - Silver Spoon
- Support Underunderstood on Patreon to hear twice as much of us every week
- or leave a (nice) review on Apple Podcasts
An unsolved mystery from our members-only podcast, Overunderstood. You can sign up and get access at patreon.com/underunderstood.
- 1:50 - Unfriendly Chimp Stolen From Cage In Central Park (NYT) - March 6, 1970
- 4:24 - Thief Says A Rare Bird Needed Love (NYT) — July 14, 1999 and Rare Bird Is Back in Hand, and So Is a Suspect (NYT) — January 28. 1999
- 6:31 - History of Central Park Zoos. There are no chimps today.
- 9:34 - Found a relevant crime, with a very different ending, while uploading these show notes: Chimps Stolen From Zoo Found Happy in Brooklyn Phone Booth (NYT) — October 25, 1966. Except apparently the Prospect Park zookeepers missed their chimps, who were "like babies to us" and started a ransom fund before they were found. The same kidnapper?? This story also notes that the chimps cost about $600.
- 10:18 - What the park zoo looked like in the 1970s. The zoo is also mentioned in here around 8:58.
- 13:55 - AWFUL CALAMITY. The Wild Animals Escape from Central Park. TERRIBLE SCENES OF MUTILATION. This was a hoax by the New York Herald in 1874.
- 15:40 - $60,000 for a chimp in 2009 and $600 for a chimp in the first half of the century
- 18:46 - Chimpanzees in Central Park Zoo, New York City, 1970. (Photo by Jill Freedman/Getty Images)
- 20:18 - Jill Freedman on Instagram. The photo of her with a beer was taken down, but you can see some of her work.
- 23:25 - This version of the photo has a caption and more specific date: "A chimpanzee wearing a tuxedo and roller skates sits on a chair at a photographic gallery opening." New York City, 1974. (Photo by Jill Freedman/Getty Images).
- 29:37 - The Wildlife Conservation Society told me they had no records, but stuff like this and this seems promising.
- 30:24 - CORRECTION: I said University of North Carolina in the episode, but I meant North Carolina State University. Ugh.
- 31:34 - Angry Keeper Stages Monkey House Lock‐In
- And more stuff here.
Regina searches for the true story behind a sexist remark.
Show notes:
- 00:40 - This is Geraldine Ferraro's Wikipedia page.
- 0:52 - And this is Walter Mondale's.
- 01:21 - This episode published on November 4, 2020, which is election day in the United States for the 2020 Presidential election.
- 01:31 - The 2020 Democratic National Convention kicked off on August 17, 2020. It was technically in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but because of the Coronavirus pandemic it was a mostly virtual event.
- 03:15 - Edit desk: Shades of sexism, published April 30, 2017, is the piece of Emily's that I am referring to.
- 04:05 - hereGeraldine Ferraro's full acceptance speech
- 04:30 - Walter Mondale's full acceptance speech
- 06:10 - Kamala Harris Tests America’s Relationship to Women in Power, published in The New York Times on August 19, 2020
- 06:57 - In 1992, Hillary Clinton got in some trouble for implying she didn't want to "stay home and bake cookies" and as a result ended up in a bake-off with Barbara Bush. She won, apparently due to using shortening instead of butter.
- 07:56 - Prematurely mentioned obituary in The Economist.
- 12:04 - Tom Brokaw was accused of sexual misconduct in April 2018. Here is an Opinions piece in The Washington Post that his former colleague wrote about the experience.
- 13:41 - The Vanderbilt Television News Archive.
- 15:56 - "The Lady Is a Pol," by Marie Brenner for New York Magazine's July 1984 issue.
- 17:07 - "out of sight of the cameras, her feet began doing a secret minuet, an odd, pigeon-toed dance. Her size 7 ½’s were sheathed..."
- 17:51 - "The Rise of Geraldine Ferraro," written by Elisabeth Bumiller and published by The Washington Poston April 29, 1984
- 19:05 - Here are the details for Caroline's article, published in 2015.
- 20:46 - Some of the great research Caroline is referencing can be found in these research study results from Celinda Lake for Name It Change It with the Women's Media Canter and She Should Run.
- 23:07 - "Cosmetic Coverage," by Jennifer L Pozner
- 24:47 - The Representation Project.
- 34:39 - Check out our patreon to sign up and get access to Overunderstood as well as our Discord channel!
The origin story of a wobbly toy with a peculiar name.
We have a Patreon now! Members get access to Overunderstood, our bonus podcast. Check it out at patreon.com/underunderstood.
Show Notes:
- 1:47 - Nickelodeon's Wild & Crazy Kids Gwok Ball on Dailymotion
- 4:26 - Google Books Ngram Viewer results for "guac"
- 4:57 - Maureen Down piece from the New York Times Magazine, May 29, 1994: The Lost Quayle Diaries
- 5:27 - The New York Times, January 22, 1997: Snacks to Fix in Super Bowl Timeouts
- 6:16 - "Guac" used in a 1993 episode of Norther Exposure
- 6:34 - "Guac" used in a 2000 episode of Will & Grace
- 7:46 - Guac Ball on Toy Directory
- 8:12 - Creative Imaginations website, archived August 3, 2008
- 9:25 - Wham-It on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in December 1989 (PDF)
- 12:40 - Wham-It on Amazon, complete with photos of the can
- 16:04 - Lars and the Real Girl, with which this story has - and I cannot stress this enough - nothing in common
- 18:28 - Regina's Guac Ball
- 19:42 - K·B Toys (RIP) on Wikipedia
- 19:54 - Gymboree on Wikipedia
- 24:57 - John asks Reddit: Is "guac" an old surf term?
- 25:32 - Dave Chappelle coins "Zip it up and zip it out"
- 26:32 - "Guac" in the LA Times, April 7, 1989
The FDA gets salty.
- 0:01 - Underunderstood is on Patreon. THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who subscribed so far!
- 4:50 - TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS CHAPTER I--FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SUBCHAPTER B--FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION PART 164 -- TREE NUT AND PEANUT PRODUCTS Subpart B--Requirements for Specific Standardized Tree Nut and Peanut Products Sec. 164.110 Mixed nuts.
- 7:15 - People on YouTube like counting nuts:
Planters Mixed Nuts - Less Than 50% Peanuts? Let's Put It To The Test!
Are Planter's mixed nuts really less than 50% peanuts?
"LeSs ThAn 50% PeAnUtS" * 7:49 - Andy Rooney on mixed nuts * 14:57 - U.S. vs 25 bags of nuts * 19:10 - FDA's first proposed mixed nuts rule, 1968. If you've never had the pleasure of reading the Federal Register, you're welcome. * 22:49 - Wikipedia article on mixed nuts * 22:57 - Nicholas De Leon * 29:20 - Mixing Up the Nuts (Consumer, 1985). * 34:03 - “When does it stop being peanut butter?”: FDA food standards of identity, RuthDesmond, and the shifting politics of consumer activism, 1960s–1970s article. Paper by Angie Boyce about food standards of identity and a legendary consumer advocate. * 34:19 - Patreon, again! You can get access to our Discord where we talk about Trader Joe's snacks, and you get to help us pay for various pro software subscriptions.
Once a photo gets on the internet, it could end up anywhere.
- 0:01 - We have a Patreon now!
- 2:13 - Product on Amazon
- 4:10 - Billy's tweet
- 4:22 - Hellicus's tweet
- 4:48 - Ryan Broderick
- 7:00 - CCbeauty's webpage
- 10:00 - HDcrafter link 1
- 11:20 - HDcrafter link 2
- 12:53 - Buzzfeed article
- 14:33 - Medium account
- 15:29 - About.me page
- 17:18 - Mr. Sparkle
- 25:53 - The guy who replaced Ryan is everywhere
- 26:46 - iFlashDeal bib
- 28:26 - Buzzfeed article translated into Chinese
- 29:19 - Francis on 17qq
- 31:56 - Graphika report (via Input)
- 34:07 - foreigner face on Google HK
- 34:26 - foreigner on Google HK
- 34:37 - foreigner face on Baidu
- 35:37 - Baidu source
- 38:15 - New photos from Ryan
- 38:40 - The photo on Amazon has been updated again to a 3rd guy
- 39:14 - Ryan on new products (screenshot)
- 41:03 - Patreon
Underunderstood returns October 13, 2020.
Show notes:
- A Reddit theory about our absence
- Music from Underunderstood - Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music
- A fan dances to our theme song on TikTok
Adrianne tries to figure out if there is a right way to play Netflix’s awkward social media game.
- 10:08 - Social Learning and Coordination in High-Stakes Games: Evidence from Friend or Foe
- 11:55 - Friend or Foe clip - YouTube
- 15:35 - Shubham Goel for Governor 2018 and video of Shubham’s campaign speech - Instagram
- 19:15 - Shubham's diagram
- 21:44 - Here's Why Richard Hatch Won't Be on Survivor's All-Winners Season - Men's Health
- 23:24 - The Winner of The Circle Opens Up About Life IRL - Wired and ‘The Circle’ on Netflix: 20 Burning Questions Answered - Decider
- 25:11 - Teaching Prisoners' Dilemma Strategies in Survivor: Reality Television in the IR Classroom - Mark B. Salter
Why do so many Pennsylvania homes have freestanding toilets in their unfinished basements?
- 01:21 - Pittsburgh toilet - Wikipedia
- 02:44 - The dual toilets at Cloister Cafe - Yelp
- 04:19 - Peculiar Pittsburgh: The Pittsburgh potty ... explained - YouTube
- 06:50 - Documenting The Pittsburgh Potty - 90.5 WESA
- 07:46 - The original version of this story misidentified this quote. It's from realtor Stephen Cummings.
- 08:11 - Slavery in Pittsburgh - Popular Pittsburgh
- 11:33 - Architect Offers Explanation For Pittsburgh’s Basement Toilets (And It’s Not What You Think) - 90.5 WESA
- 15:16 - Andrea Allen
- 16:22 - Double D Plumbing - Manta
Is H&M using Billie Eilish to greenwash?
- 01:19 - H&M Now Sells Billie Eilish Merch — & It's Sustainable - Refinery29
- 03:05 - Sustainable Fashion on Wikipedia
- 04:29 - A copy H&M's press release
- 05:15 - Greenwashing on Wikipedia
- 05:49 - H&M's Billie Eilish collection
- 05:53 - H&M's Conscious Collection
- 06:20 - Here are some of the publications that called this line sustainable: Teen Vogue, MTV.com, Mic, WWD, NME
- 10:56 - "Is Billie Eilish's line at H&M sustainable?" - Google
- 12:56 - Greenwashing Alert: H&M and Billie Eilish Collaboration - Eco-Stylist
- 13:47 - Eco-Stylist's criteria for brands they work with and their transparency report outlining their ethics and business model
- 15:38 - H&M called out on "illegal" sustainability marketing - Ecotextile
- 24:40 - H&M: fair living wages were promised, poverty wages are the reality - International Labor Rights Forum
- 25:31 - Perspex's sustainability information page
- 26:24 - H&M Menlo Park
- 27:40 - H&M Woodbridge
- 31:00 - Sunrise Movement on Wikipedia
- 31:30 - Alex O'Keefe
- 36:53 - Sunrise Movement is asking people to hold 2020 launch parties on January 29. You only need gather a few friends, and it's a great way to get started in collective action.
Add “Smurf butt” to the list of things to expect when you’re expecting.
- 00:43 - Maile's original email included this article.
- 01:45 - When jeans bleed onto your skin, you can tell.
- 03:40 - According to a study done at Johns Hopkins there is a correlation between heartburn and hairiness. The heartburn is due to estrogen causing the esophageal sphincter to relax, which allows stomach acid to splash up into the esophagus. That estrogen is also responsible for hair growth in the developing baby.
- 04:45 - If you're interested in purchasing some art of a Smurf's butt crack, we got you.
- 06:01 - Chromhidrosis on Wikipedia
- 06:28 - This man turned blue and Oprah interviewed him about it in 2008.
- 11:00 - Here are some of the forums I browsed: What to Expect, CafeMom, Pregnant Chicken, Everyday Chemistry, Reddit, Pregnancy Podcast.
- 11:14 - Andrei Rebarber
We’ve done 12 stories so far, and since we first published them there have been some updates, and new details have emerged. Today we’re rounding those up.
Where’s My Chile?
- 3:50 - Elitech RC-4 Temperature Data Logger Recorder with External Temperature Sensor
- 7:50 - Ben Chapman and Don Schaffner of the Food Safety Talk podcast
Underunderwear
- 10:26 - Chris' custom undies
- 10:34 - Here's a stock graphic that breaks it all down for you.
Recorded for Awesomeness
- 14:22 - A screenshot of Yelp's app update
Gas and Gains
What Happened to the McFlurry?
- 21:40 - The Flurry Index
- 22:15 - Gavin Rehkemper's dataset of McDonald's locations in the USA
- 00:22 - Cap'n Crunch was created by Pamela Low in 1963.
- 01:50 - Urban Dictionary defines Cap'n Crunch Mouth as "When the roof of your mouth gets all torn up after eating Cap'n Crunch or some other rough food."
- 02:23 - Underunderstood: The 9/11 Hoax That Wasn't
- 03:15 - The Try Guys: Eugene Ranks The Most Popular Cereals
- 07:11 - A collection of tweets claiming Cap'n Crunch has shrunk
- 08:21 - My Brother, My Brother and Me
- 16:20 - Partially hydrogenated oils (or PHOs) were deemed to be no longer classifiable as GRAS (which means "Generally Recognized as Safe") by the FDA in 2015.
- 16:29 - Here are photos of a box of Cap'n Crunch from 1995 with "partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil" listed as an ingredient. It seems to have been replaced with "palm and/or coconut oil" in Cap'n Crunch currently sold in the United States.
- 18:38 - Jason Liebig on Twitter
- 18:44 - CollectingCandy.com
- 21:53 - Jason's Instagram is fun but his Flickr is INCREDIBLE
- 23:06 - Rockin' the 80’s – Tale of the 30-Year-Old Snickers
- 23:50 - New York Times article from 1994 about the Doritos redesign
- 25:05 - An archived version of Wikipedia featuring "Hot and Cold Nerds."
- 25:16 - Nerds Hot and Cool - Discovered!! A CollectingCandy.com World Premiere!!
- 25:49 - Statement from Quaker Foods
- 27:17 - Cereal Time TV - Gabe Fonseca's YouTube channel
- 27:46 - Gabe Fonseca on IMDB
- 27:48 - Gabe eating Cap'n Crunch from the 90s on YouTube
- 28:19 - Screenshot of Gabe holding old Cap'n Crunch up to the camera
- 29:46 - Gabe's measurement on the vintage Cap'n Crunch box
- 30:16 - Billy's photoshop to determine the size of 90s Cap'n Crunch
- 34:45 - Official written statement from Cap'n Crunch
- Episode artwork by Phil Robibero
A small town fights for internet justice by boycotting biscuits.
- 2:23 - LulaRoe Defective Fail on Facebook
- 3:29 - Biscuitville page on Wikipedia
- 4:51 - Petition: BRING ABED HASSAN BACK on Change.org
- 13:53 - The First Pizzaville vs. The First Biscuitville
- 17:47 - Biscuitville announces a new president
- 18:56 - Jim Metevier (LinkedIn)
- 19:59 - Zaxby's (BONUS: Zaxby’s made it on My Brother My Brother and Me’s Munch Squad segment.)
- 21:48 - Mountain Mike's announces a new president
How a misfit polka band scored a premium spot on the World Wide Web in 1995.
- 0:35 - "The Verge is an ambitious multimedia effort founded in 2011 to examine how technology will change life in the future for a massive mainstream audience." (The Verge)
- 4:05 - More Brave Combo accolades are on their Wikipedia page
- 4:11 - Bob Dylan's version of Brave Combo's polka arrangement of "Must Be Santa" (YouTube)
- 6:53 - Domain Name Journal
- 8:11 - What Brave.com/bo looked like in 1998 (Wayback Machine)
- 11:23 - Appropos of nothing, here's a figurine of Carl Finch for sale on Etsy. He also has his own Wikipedia page
- 13:01 - Beer Barrel Polka by Diet Polka (Soundcloud)
- 13:50 - Purple Haze - The Jimi Hendrix Polka, from Brave Combo album Polkasonic
- 14:18 - Brave Combo performs the Chicken Dance at a live show (YouTube)
Brave Combo songs in this episode (Spotify playlist):
- "Do Something Different"
- "The Simpsons Theme"
- "In Heaven, There Is No Beer"
- "Ice Machine in the Desert"
- "Crazy Serbian Butcher's Dance"
- "Purple Haze (Polka Version)"
- "The Chicken Dance"
McFlurries aren't what they used to be. Why did McDonald's stop stirring them?
Show notes:
- 2:29 - McFlurry demo (YouTube)
- 6:40 - Adrianne's McFlurry
- 8:40 - Why Is the McFlurry Machine Down Again? (WSJ)
- 9:07 - Ice Check
- 10:10 - Are McFlurry's supposed to be mixed? (Reddit)
- 12:08 - On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane
- 15:06 - Whatever Happened to Pizza at McDonald's?
- 19:55 - VitaMix VM0804A - McFlurry Ice Cream Mixer (Used)
- 23:51 - I Tried To Get A Flurried McFlurry And This Is What Happened (Buzzfeed)
- 27:51 - Log your McFlurry at The Flurry Index
While we’re working on new episodes of Underunderstood, we we'd share an episode of another podcast we love: Endless Thread. It’s a show that brings Reddit to life by tracking down its strangest, most compelling stories, and talking to the folks involved in those stories.
This episode is about an old dice game called The Deadly Double. In order to find the origins of the game, Amory Sivertson and Ben Brock Johnson fall into a series of rabbit holes, including an enormous dice collection, a former FBI agent, and a Pearl Harbor conspiracy theory.
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Endless Thread is a podcast from WBUR and Reddit. You can listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts.
Ben Brock Johnson – co-host/senior producer
Amory Sivertson – co-host/producer
Josh Swartz – producer
Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus
Adrianne buys some money online in order to track down a rumor about Chinese bank tellers.
- 2:06 - Photos of the $100 bills: Front / Back
- 3:35 - Hell money
- 13:18 - Reporter Jon Christian
- 16:35 - Wayne Homren's blog post from 2011
- 19:00 - Money Makers (99% Invisible)
- 21:30 - Fascinating ways to count money! Bank teller shows quick counting skills (YouTube)
- 21:40 - Chinese cashier's amazing cash counting skills (YouTube)
- 21:50 - Chinese bank teller counts money by ear (YouTube)
- 25:59 - The Knowledge
Custom art for Underunderstood is made by Phil Robibero.
Underunderstood is taking a break. We'll be back in November. Don't forget about us, and send story ideas to hello@underunderstood.com. We'll be dropping some bonus material, so stay subscribed for updates.
John finds out if it is safe to eat a suitcase full of chili peppers that have been missing for three days.
- 5:45 - Where’s My Suitcase
- 8:16 - #wheresmysuitcase on Twitter is a harrowing scene
- 10:50 - Bags, Inc.
- 11:11 - Bags VIP
- 11:50 - Bags, Inc.’s corporate video on Vimeo
- 14:04 - We cannot link to F-14 Baggage because they have absolutely no web presence
- 18:40 - The Middle Seat at the Wall Street Journal
- 21:00 - The weather in Albuquerque in January 2019
- 22:56 - The weather in New York City in January 2019
- 23:45 - “SP Plus Corporation Agrees to Acquire Bags”
- 23:52 - SP Plus’s official website
- 27:57 - A lot of chatter on Twitter about wheresmysuitcase.com
- 30:32 - Z Orange Systems
- 36:10 - Food Safety Talk, a podcast hosted by Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman
Custom art for this episode was created by Phil Robibero. You can see it here.
A special request: Have you ever been mad at your spouse, or anyone, for something that happened in a dream? Has anyone ever been mad at you because of something you did in their dream? Tell us about it. You can leave us a voice message on Anchor, or record a voice memo on your phone and email it to hello@underunderstood.com.
The surprising history behind a charming marquee in downtown Newark, New Jersey.
Show notes:
- 00:06 - Billy shot and edited Underunderstood's trailer video in one day.
- 00:24 - KCRW's 7th Annual 24-Hour Radio Race
- 00:58 - KCRW announced the theme on Twitter
- 01:09 - Wiktionary defines "where the sun don't shine" as "up or in the anus."
- 03:27 - Little Theatre on Cinema Treasures
- 03:36 - This little porn movie house learned to survive for decades -- until last week - NJ.com
- 04:51 - Whitney Strub blogs at strublog
- 05:55 - NJTV News was there as the Whole Foods opened.
- 06:23 - Audible's Innovation Cathedral
- 06:29 - The Cameo on Cinema Treasures
- 06:48 - Club Zanzibar - Wikipedia
- 07:05 - The Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium was actually built before Zanzibar's building was demolished, but it was removed to make room for new development and now the stadium, which was sold to a private developer for a loss, will likely be demolished as well.
- 07:44 - Can New Jersey's Last Porn Theater Survive Gentrification? - Vice
- 08:31 - The thread on AdultDVDTalk.com
- 10:43 - The four minute version of this story for KCRW's Radio Race
Adrianne tries to order from a local sushi restaurant, but an unfamiliar voice answers, promising "awesomeness." Awesomeness for whom?
Show notes:
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2:16 - “GrubHub is buying up thousands of restaurant web addresses. That means Mom and Pop can’t own their slice of the internet,” published June 28, 2019 by H. Claire Brown at The New Food Economy.
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13:07 - Dark patterns* 13:54 - A report about Munish Narula’s class action lawsuit from Nation’s Restaurant News
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14:19 - “Restaurateurs across the country say they are waking up to a years-long, high-tech bamboozling by Grubhub involving hidden fees for orders that never happened,” reads the lede for The New York Post’s first story in a series on phony fees, May 19, 2019.
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23:03 - “Grubhub repays one eatery $10K over fee protest,” published June 24, 2019 by The New York Post.
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23:30 - Watch the full hearing, “The Changing Market for Food Delivery,” here.
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32:17 - Grubhub and Yelp announced a “long-term partnership” in 2017
Billy’s sister thinks a photo that repeatedly goes viral on Reddit is suspicious.
Show notes:
- 0:40 – All of the photos discussed in this episode are available on our website
- 2:02 – Snopes: “Is This a Photograph of a World Trade Center Tourist on 9/11?”
- 3:23 – Pinball Gallery
- 5:59 – The Balloon Saloon has nothing to do with this episode, but it is a place in Tribeca.
- 6:39 – In 2014, Austin Sansone popped up on Reddit to claim the photo.
- 8:05 – Former child actor Mark Lester
- 26:35 – r/AlternateAngles
- 26:45 – The photo got another boost of attention in 2018, when it showed up on Reddit again.
- 26:51 – Aol published an article that was also posted on Yahoo.
A Wikipedia stub about the worst Florida theme park idea ever sends John on a search for the reason it never opened.
Show notes:
- 0:45 - New Vietnam on Wikipedia
- 1:12 - Dolly Parton's Stampede (formerly Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede)
- 2:16 - Carl McIntire on Wikipedia
- 3:52 - Wild West City
- 5:50 - New Vietnam in Uncle John's Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader
- 7:25 - Portable Press
- 8:11 - 20th Century Reformation Hour
- 8:44 - Some clips of the 20th Century Reformation Hour
- 9:37 - Christianity Today, May 2002 (paywall)
- 10:41 - Dr. Randall Balmer's website
- 12:42 - Fred Phelps on YouTube
- 14:54 - The Carl McIntire Collection at Princeton Theological Seminary Library
- 15:55 - Faraday Cage
- 19:03 - "Body Counts" by Dr. Yen Espiritu
- 24:27 - FCC Fairness Doctrine
- 24:46 - Infowars on Wikipedia
- 24:50 - This American Life episode about Alex Jones
- 29:17 - History of the Present (registration required), an article about film theory published in The North American Review in 1976, led us to the Newsweek story about New Vietnam.
- 30:40 - Actually, Newsweek's online archives only go back to 2013
- 30:48 - The September 8, 1975 issue of Newsweek that John bought on eBay
- 37:19 - Florida Today, November 8, 1975
- 39:33 - Ricky Ly's food blog Tasty Chomps
A tweetstorm about men’s role in pregnancy leads Regina to find a man who spent over a decade suppressing his sperm count with a piece of yarn.
Show notes:
- 00:33 - Wikipedia page for heat-based contraception
- 00:57 - The movie 'Heat' is the first time Robert De Niro and Al Pacino starred in a movie together
- 01:31 - Regina would like to state for the record that said baby is now 1 year old, absolutely adorable, and spends significantly less time crying than she did at the time of the initial pitch.
- 01:40 - The tweet storm that started it all
- 03:23 - Chris Jenks' website
- 04:00 - The underwear
- 04:43 - Billy spent approximately 10 minutes explaining what a cordstop is here. It has been cut down for your entertainment and also because who cares about cordstops this much.
- 05:41 - Kaleb Dornheim wrote this article about how to tuck safely
- 08:38 - Chris' LinkedIn page
- 12:31 - Marthe Voegeli
- 16:54 - According to Weather Underground, the average temperature of the day was 54 degrees Fahrenheit
- 20:06 - John K Amory
- 22:12 - "Breakthrough for male contraceptives?" in Daily Mail UK
- 27:42 - Elon Musk's net worth is reportedly in the range of 20 billion US dollars
- 27:50 - Paul Allen - Wikipedia
After watching an episode of “Catfish: The TV Show,” Billy goes on a deep dive to find the meaning of a curious ankle tattoo, the eccentricities of the Philadelphia accent, and one man’s fixation with the word “gas.”
Show notes:
- 00:40 - Catfish: The TV Show - Wikipedia
- 00:57 - Catfish - Season 7, Episode 18 - Nick and Jasmine (video)
- 01:35 - To Catch a Predator - Wikipedia
- 01:46 - Definition of Catfish by Merriam-Webster
- The scene (video) from Catfish (the 2010 documentary) where the term was coined
- 03:36 - "Gayus" video clip from Catfish (video)
- 05:27 - Wawa
- 06:46 - MFSB - South Philly
- 08:04 - Nick: @NickFresh215 / @NickFresh215
- 08:14 - Jimmy: @jimmyharrity / @jimmy_harrity
- 09:22 - Jordan Oplinger on Twitter
- 13:03 - Mean Girls - Stop trying to make fetch happen (video)
- 16:39 - Betsy Sneller's personal website
- 17:11 - William Labov - Wikipedia
- 17:23 - Sociolinguistics - Wikipedia
- 19:06 - Mechanisms of Phonological Change by Betsy Sneller
- 20:08 - /æ/ raising - Wikipedia
- 26:31 - Excerpt from The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
- 28:01 - History of the Irish Americans in Philadelphia - Wikipedia
- 28:23 - Irish slang videos on YouTube
- Irish Time with Jack! (video)
- Irish Slang / Teaching Irish Slang (video)
- Irish Slang & Swear Words! (video)
- 32:50 - The Vocal Fries Episode 35: How Millennials are Destroying the Philly Accent (audio)
- Philadelphia magazine - Here’s How Millennials Are Changing the Philly Accent
- CBS Philly - Experts Seeing Shift In Philadelphia Accent Thanks To Millennials (video)
- 33:06 - Preston & Steve (12.11.18) (audio)
- 36:17 - L-vocalization - Wikipedia
- 38:48 - Send us your question!
There are questions the internet just hasn't answered yet. We investigate those questions and get the answers.