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Episode 108: Fabio

Fabio is a manly man! His luscious long hair and Italian accent made him a sex symbol of the 90s. But what did Fabio even do? Handsome as he was, there was something very silly and funny about Fabio’s appearance. He was the winking joke for the “bored housewife” who dreamed on a shirtless man on the beach to take her away from suburban life. His benign ubiquity and iconic look made him something of a walking meme.

If he looked like the model on the cover of trashy grocery store romance novels, that’s because he was that guy! Fabio even started writing his own sultry pulp fiction. Eventually Fabio transitioned into acting, music and advertising, most famously for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. His tale is truly an American success story, and if we could learn anything from Fabio, it is how to laugh at ourselves, especially if you are super hot.

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Episode 107: Fidget Spinners

What was initially promoted as a therapeutic device for kids and adults alike quickly became one of the world’s biggest distractions. Fidget spinners burst onto the scene in 2017 but the history of the stupid little toy stretches back over 20 years before that. This is a classic story of a small idea being misappropriated in a big way. 

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Special Episode: Interview with the Human Tackboard

On this very special edition of Culture Dumps Ryan sits down with Leroy Patterson aka The Human Tackboard to discuss backyard wrestling, death match wrestling, extreme videos of the late 90’s and early 00’s, and most importantly, his appearance on the 2000 episode of MTV True Life I am a Backyard Wrestler.

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Episode 105: Ben Stein

For the final dump of 2023 we are uncovering the story of one of the biggest and worst nerds in history, Ben Stein. Ben cut his teeth as an economist and professor, not to mention presidential speech writer, but what he is best known for is his strange and surprisingly consistent acting career. Through bit parts, spokesperson gigs, and finally,  his time as an emmy award winning game show host, Ben  Stein became one of the most recognizable character actors of the 80’s and 90’s. However, as of late he is best known for racist rants and more than questionable political opinions as well as some really sketchy personal behavior. 

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Episode 102: Anna Nicole Smith Part 3

In the third installment of our Anna Nicole series we discuss her debut as the wild child spokesperson for Trimspa as well as one of the most notorious Anna moments of all time. Unfortunately, this is the part of the story where things get dark, from the ever tightening grip of Howard K Stern to her unexpected move to the Bahamas, and finally, the death of her first born child. It truly is all down hill from here folks.

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