8:00

I went outside to throw all the

8:02

trash, and that's when I saw a

8:04

box that said Hello Fresh on

8:06

it. Ah ha, I

8:09

knew Paul didn't come up with the recipe on his own.

8:12

Oh nay nay, he has been

8:14

making Hello Fresh. It

8:16

made sense, I mean no wonder that grilled steak

8:18

lettuce wrap was so good. He didn't think of

8:20

it, it was Hello Fresh.

8:23

With Hello Fresh, you get farm

8:25

fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes

8:27

delivered right to your door. You

8:30

can skip trips to the grocery store and count

8:32

on Hello Fresh to make home cooking easy,

8:35

delicious and affordable. And that's why

8:37

it's America's number one meal kit.

8:39

So you can make delicious food

8:41

a priority this summer with quick

8:44

and convenient recipes. So no,

8:46

it won't take you all day. Just choose

8:48

your meals, select a delivery date, and Hello

8:50

Fresh will handle all the meal planning,

8:52

the shopping and most of the prep. So

8:54

all you have to do is open your

8:56

box and get cooking. Yesterday

8:59

made me the melty Monterey

9:01

Jack burgers, oh yes,

9:03

with balsamic onions and

9:06

garlic mayo. Mm-hmm, the

9:09

cheese, mmm, so melty and

9:11

delicious. The burger was juicy

9:14

perfection. Plus, they came with

9:16

seasoned oven fries and

9:18

you know, how could you be mad

9:20

at that? And look, if you're

9:23

leaving town for a little summer getaway, maybe

9:25

one of those people who has like a summer home, I

9:27

don't know, simply update

9:29

your address and Hello Fresh

9:32

will send your meals wherever

9:34

you go. Yeah, their plans

9:37

couldn't be more flexible. Go

9:39

to hellofresh.com/dark history apps for

9:42

free appetizers for life.

9:45

Oh yes, one appetizer item

9:47

per box while subscription is

9:49

active. That's free appetizers

9:52

for life at hellofresh.com/dark

9:54

history apps. It's dark

9:57

history than APPS. Dark

9:59

history. Hello Fresh, America's

10:01

number one meal kit. In

10:04

the 1950s, just like in America, Japanese

10:07

people were addicted to stimulants like amphetamines

10:09

and the blue collar workers relied on

10:12

them to get their work done.

10:15

But the Japanese government must have felt that

10:18

having a doped up population might not

10:20

be great like in the long run.

10:22

So they passed a bunch of laws

10:24

stopping the sale of stimulant drugs. And

10:27

I guess people freaked out, okay? I

10:29

mean, they had no idea how they were going to make it through

10:32

their day. I mean, it's like,

10:34

imagine if our government totally banned coffee. I'm

10:37

like, God, people would die. People

10:39

would die. They would lose their shit. The

10:42

Japanese government essentially forced the entire

10:44

nation to just go cold turkey.

10:46

But thankfully, a company showed up

10:48

and saved the day. In

10:51

1962, the big brains at

10:54

a company called Taisho Pharmaceuticals

10:56

invented something called Lipovitan D.

10:59

And my friends, let me introduce

11:02

to you the

11:04

world's first energy

11:06

drink as we know it. Now,

11:08

this first energy drink was more

11:10

of an energizing herbal tonic.

11:12

Like it was sold in tiny

11:15

bottles. You know, like the bottles

11:17

of booze you'd find in a hotel minibars,

11:20

you know, fun size. And

11:23

I mean, I guess it smelled

11:25

and tasted like cough syrup. And

11:27

even the name itself made it

11:29

sound kind of like a medicine.

11:31

Now, as for this tonic claimed,

11:33

it could help with, quote, physical

11:35

fatigue, lack of appetite, nutritional deficiency,

11:38

fever, and exhaustion. Bold

11:40

claims. And the product was targeted

11:43

at people who worked in factories,

11:45

office jobs, and people like truck

11:47

drivers who had to stay awake

11:49

for long periods of time. Now,

11:52

this tonic in Japan was made

11:54

with B vitamins and caffeine, but

11:56

the main ingredient was something called

11:59

taurine. Taurine. is an amino acid

12:01

that can be found in foods with protein,

12:03

like meat, you know? And that

12:06

is how the pharma company

12:08

got around Japan's stimulant ban,

12:11

because touring is organic. The

12:13

company claimed our bodies used

12:15

touring to create energy. And,

12:18

I mean, mixed reviews on this,

12:20

like there are many experts who

12:22

dispute this claim, but whether or

12:24

not this is true doesn't really

12:26

matter, because people believed it was

12:28

true. Lipo Vaitan-D flew off the

12:30

shelves in Japan, and it paved

12:32

the way for this next product.

12:35

So over in Thailand, a

12:37

man was coming up with his own

12:40

version of an energy drink. And

12:42

little did he know, he was

12:45

going to have a massive global

12:47

impact that would create one of

12:49

the world's most recognizable brands. An

12:51

icon, a legend, wow. Sometime

12:54

between 1923 and 1932, we're not sure. Seems

12:58

like someone got the numbers flipped or something.

13:01

But a man named

13:03

Chaleo Uvudia was born in

13:05

Thailand. Chaleo's parents were Chinese

13:07

immigrants, and the family

13:10

was pretty poor. They sold fruit

13:12

at the market and were also

13:14

duck farmers. Chaleo didn't

13:16

receive much formal education, but he

13:18

was very ambitious. And

13:20

after working for his parents for a while, Chaleo

13:23

moved to the capital of

13:25

Thailand, Bangkok. Anyway, for a

13:27

while, Chaleo was a salesman

13:29

pushing antibiotics. And eventually,

13:32

he leaves that job and creates

13:34

his own company called TC Pharmaceuticals.

13:37

But a few years after starting the

13:39

company, Chaleo came up with the product

13:42

that would change his life. In

13:44

1975, Chaleo claimed that

13:46

he was hit with divine

13:49

inspiration. Yes,

13:52

and this divine inspiration told him that

13:54

he should invent an energy drink. And

13:56

that's exactly what he did. Like

13:59

in Japan, His target market was

14:01

everyday consumers like blue collar workers.

14:04

And this drink was made

14:06

with water, sugar, caffeine, taurine

14:09

and B vitamins like the

14:11

usual suspects. But the branding

14:13

is what sets Chaleo's product

14:15

apart. He invented an

14:17

iconic logo set against a yellow

14:20

sun in the background. The logo

14:22

featured two bowls charging at each

14:24

other. Yeah, the color of these

14:26

bowls, red. Chaleo

14:28

called his creation, Crotting Ding,

14:30

which translates to Red Bull

14:32

or as Red Bull. Yeah,

14:35

Red Bull. What?

14:37

Yeah. I

14:39

know. Chaleo said he chose

14:41

the bowls because they represented strength. And

14:44

he picked the color red

14:46

because it symbolizes tenacity. And

14:48

the yellow sun in the

14:50

background signified vitality. Wow.

14:55

I want one now. Chaleo started

14:57

selling Crotting Ding and pharmacies

14:59

all around Thailand. And

15:01

it was an immediate hit. But

15:04

the thing is, it's a hit

15:06

in only Thailand and Japan. That

15:08

is until a toothpaste salesman shows

15:11

up and made the

15:13

deal of a lifetime. The year

15:15

is 1984 and a man named

15:17

Dietrich Matteschitz is on a business

15:19

trip to Thailand. And you see,

15:22

Dietrich is working for a

15:24

German cosmetics company and his job was

15:26

to sell toothpaste. So he traveled all

15:28

the way to Bangkok to figure out

15:30

how to market his company's toothpaste in

15:32

Thailand. I mean, it makes sense. People

15:34

brush their teeth in Thailand too, you

15:37

know? So he lands at the Bangkok

15:39

International Airport and finds a ride. And

15:41

he's on his way from the airport to the

15:43

center or the city center when he just hits

15:46

like, or he gets hit with a massive case

15:48

of jet lag. I don't know if they stopped

15:50

at a convenience store or the driver gave it

15:52

to him, but we know that Dietrich had a

15:54

crotting dang. Right boy. And

15:57

Dietrich is on record saying, one

15:59

glass of wine. and the jet lag was

16:02

gone. So Dietrich is like, oh, screw the

16:04

toothpaste. Take me to this guy who like

16:06

makes this magic drink. You know, somehow

16:08

Dietrich gets ahold of Chaleo and the two

16:10

of them sit down and they talk. So

16:12

Dietrich says that he wants to bring Crotine

16:15

dang to the Western world. And

16:18

he's certain that they're gonna make millions. Of

16:21

course, Chaleo thinks like, okay,

16:23

this is a great idea. So they struck

16:25

a deal in 1984 and

16:28

came up with a partnership. They each invested

16:30

$500,000 into

16:32

a new company called Red Bull

16:34

GmbH. They each have a 49%

16:37

stake in the company and

16:40

the remaining 2% goes to Chaleo's son.

16:43

They shake hands and history is

16:45

made. Over the next three years,

16:47

Dietrich goes into his energy drink

16:49

lab working with experts to reformulate

16:52

the product for Western taste. He

16:54

keeps the iconic logo, but rebrands

16:56

the product as a trendy upscale

16:59

drink. In 1987, Dietrich

17:01

began selling Red Bull in Europe and

17:03

he sold it at posh places like

17:05

ski resorts. And like right out the

17:08

gate, Dietrich is sending a message that

17:10

this isn't a beverage company. No, this

17:12

is a lifestyle brand. And to

17:14

go along with that cool lifestyle, the

17:17

drink was pretty pricey. The cans were

17:19

only eight ounces, but they were at

17:21

least double the price of a can

17:23

of Coke. But it didn't matter. The

17:26

drink took Europe by storm. It's kind of

17:28

funny though, because it's like this guy was

17:30

selling toothpaste, and now he's

17:32

selling a product that is rotting people's

17:35

teeth out. Or

17:37

allegedly, I don't know. But it's kind

17:40

of funny. Life, huh? It'll get you. Meanwhile,

17:42

over in America, the energy drink

17:44

market is trying to figure itself out. And

17:46

it's throwing just all sorts of hilarious stuff

17:48

at the wall. I mean, in the mid

17:50

80s, Jolt

17:52

Cola hits the market. Their

17:55

slogan was literally, all the

17:57

sugar and twice the caffeine.

18:00

and I guess they had like a bunch of silly flavors as

18:02

well. One of them was called white

18:04

lightning. Yeah, but it

18:06

was grape flavored. Kind

18:09

of confusing, right? So yeah. And

18:11

then there's another one called citrus climax.

18:14

I drink that, that's hot. Yeah.

18:16

Then in 1989, Pepsi drops a

18:19

product called Pepsi AM. You see,

18:21

no one was buying soda in

18:23

the morning for breakfast and the

18:25

executives at Pepsi thought like, hey,

18:28

that should change. They thought if they

18:30

just made regular Pepsi, but with

18:33

more caffeine, people would drink that instead

18:35

of coffee. Yeah, it didn't

18:37

work. I guess it lasted like a

18:39

whole year and then it just fizzled out. And

18:42

then Coke really phoned it in. They

18:44

launched a campaign called Coca-Cola in the

18:46

morning. There was no new product.

18:48

They just wanted to convince people to drink Coke

18:50

for breakfast, which might sound crazy, but like I

18:52

kind of do this all the time, like don't

18:55

comfort me or anything, cause like I'm awful, but

18:57

I sometimes drink Coca-Cola not sponsored.

19:00

I sometimes drink Coca-Cola for breakfast, not

19:03

for breakfast, but like instead of coffee,

19:05

because it wakes me up. Anyone

19:08

else? I

19:10

know, I don't know. Wow, Tom. I mean, I think

19:13

it's better than a cup of coffee, probably less sugar,

19:15

cause I like heat up 90% creamer

19:17

and a little bit of coffee. So

19:19

to me, like the Coke actually makes more sense. I

19:23

don't know. I mean,

19:25

if they brought back Pepsi AM, I'd definitely be all

19:27

over that. Pepsi, get on it. I do like a

19:29

Pepsi. So yeah, you

19:31

know, Titans like Coke, Pepsi, and

19:34

even Mountain Dew, they tried, but

19:36

they couldn't dethrone coffee as America's

19:38

favorite source of energy. Coffee continued

19:40

its reign as Stimulate King, and

19:43

that is until 1996. You

19:47

know what I've been listening to on Audible? My

19:50

name is Barbara. I

19:52

like listened to a lot of true crime stuff,

19:54

dark history, I do a lot of research and

19:56

stuff, and sometimes I just need a break from

19:59

all that. I'm like, I need something else. So

20:01

I started listening to My Name is

20:04

Barbara and it's Barbara Streisand's memoir. She

20:06

narrates it and it's so good. Oh,

20:10

I love it. She tells her own

20:12

story about her life and like obviously

20:14

her amazing career. She recounts

20:16

some early struggles she went through to

20:18

like becoming an actress, her friendships,

20:20

her relationships with people, like people telling her

20:23

what to do and she's like, no, I'm

20:25

good. And then her marriage and I just

20:27

am really liking it. It feels more like

20:29

you're having a conversation with someone rather

20:31

than like being told a story

20:33

or talked to. I mean,

20:36

it doesn't matter if you're listening to

20:38

fictional stories or autobiographies like My Name

20:40

is Barbara. You can be inspired to

20:42

imagine new worlds, new possibilities and like

20:44

new ways of thinking. Oh,

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here's something I bet you didn't know. Listening

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21:40

Now let's get back to the story. Well,

21:42

96 was like a wild year

21:44

for America. President Bill Clinton and

21:47

Monica Lewinsky were having their affair,

21:50

but the world didn't know it yet. The Unabomber

21:52

was arrested and the Backstreet

21:54

Boys, they dropped their very first

21:56

album. Great year. But

21:58

96 was huge. for another

22:00

reason. That year, Dietrich

22:02

launched Red Bull in America and

22:05

created the energy drink market as

22:07

we know it today. I know,

22:09

96. Yeah.

22:12

So when Red Bull launched in America,

22:14

it was a cult hit and it

22:17

did well for like a lot of

22:19

reasons. First of all, the brand was

22:21

consistent. Initially they offered one

22:23

product in one flavor and like that was

22:26

it. Great, no options, like just one thing

22:28

and they were good at it. Like second

22:30

of all, instead of competing with the big

22:32

soda guys for space in

22:34

the cooler at places

22:37

like gas stations, they created their

22:39

own cooler. Red Bull gave away

22:41

these mini countertop fridges to stores.

22:44

Yeah, you've seen those because they're still around. Brilliant,

22:47

huh? Lastly, Dietrich knew

22:49

his drink could be easily copied. I

22:51

mean, all the ingredients were listed right

22:53

on the can. So they needed good

22:56

marketing to set themselves apart. One

22:58

of the ways they did that and still do it

23:00

since very day is super

23:02

unique cartoon commercials.

23:05

Maybe you've seen them, maybe you haven't, you

23:07

probably have, but they're really simple cartoons that

23:09

feature a guy or a girl with like

23:12

rosy cheeks, bad squiggle

23:14

lines, you know, squinty

23:16

eyes in different situations. In

23:19

one Red Bull commercial from the year 2000, like

23:22

a bird poops on a cartoon guy's shoulder.

23:24

So he drinks the Red Bull. He

23:27

grows wings and then he flies above

23:29

the bird, unbuckles his pants and is

23:31

about to poop on the bird to

23:34

pay him back. But just before he

23:36

does, the commercial cuts away. And of

23:38

course, like every Red Bull commercial, it

23:40

ends with Red Bull gives you wings.

23:43

And you're like, hell yeah, I've always wanted to poop

23:45

on a bird. Like, yeah, you know? But

23:50

like the Red Bull gives you wings. When I was

23:52

younger, I always thought that had to do something with

23:54

like pads, you know, pads with

23:56

wings. Yeah, I thought it was like something

23:59

like that. I didn't understand. I have a unique

24:01

way of thinking, so I was thinking pads. But

24:06

it wasn't the same, great, glad we had that talk. Not

24:09

long after Red Bull came onto the

24:11

scene, the market was like flooded with

24:13

competitors. Rockstar Energy Drinks came out in

24:15

2001. Monster

24:17

Energy showed up in 2002. And

24:22

by 2003, the beverage industry experts

24:24

at BevNet tracked over 300 Energy

24:27

Drink brands in the United

24:30

States. That's a lot. And

24:32

then in 2003, a

24:34

former monk from Michigan, yeah.

24:37

He was at a trade show in

24:40

California when inspiration just struck him like

24:42

lightning. He was like,

24:44

what if Energy Drinks

24:47

were tiny? Mm-hmm, anyone? He also

24:49

wanted a drink that had no

24:51

sugar and zero unknown

24:54

stimulants. So this guy, our

24:56

monk over here, he goes

24:59

out and invents five hour

25:01

energy. Come on

25:03

out. And this product becomes huge

25:05

with people who want energy, but like,

25:07

I don't know, I guess don't wanna

25:09

peel off. People like long

25:12

haul truckers or people

25:14

who like to party. By 2004, Red

25:17

Bull is killing it globally. Customers

25:19

purchased about 1.9 billion cans of

25:22

the Energy Drink worldwide. And this

25:25

earned the company about $2 billion in

25:27

revenue. But in the US, the company

25:29

wasn't as successful as they wanted it

25:31

to be. So to help America see

25:33

what the rest of the world saw,

25:36

Dietrich spent about $600 million on marketing. I

25:40

mean, they weren't spending all that money on

25:42

those squiggly lines, obviously, right? Looked like a

25:44

kid drew that. Just like, okay.

25:47

First of all, Energy Drinks, they make like bold

25:50

promises. They offer tons of

25:52

benefits. Like better focus, increased

25:55

energy, improved

25:57

performance, whatever that.

26:00

That means kind of sounds sexual,

26:02

but maybe that's just me. And

26:05

then they use official sounding phrases

26:07

like scientifically formulated. You're

26:09

like, oh, and then speeds

26:11

up recovery time. It's

26:14

like, what am I recovering from? I don't know, but I need

26:16

it. And the other thing

26:18

these energy drink companies do is they

26:20

make their brands seem aspirational. Like they

26:22

can give you a life

26:24

that you've always wanted, a high performing, high

26:27

flying rock star kind of life. Like, oh

26:29

my God, don't you want to be cool?

26:31

Do you want to be like us and

26:33

fuck a party? Drink this Kenny, you'll be

26:35

just like us. Over time,

26:38

most of these energy drink companies

26:40

shifted their focus from older professionals

26:42

and begin targeting their ad

26:45

campaigns at teens and college kids. And

26:47

like the demo was getting younger and

26:49

younger. I mean, what do these kids

26:51

reach for when they need to cram

26:53

for a test or like stay

26:55

up late writing a paper? They

26:58

aren't making a pot of coffee. Even

27:00

though the coffee is cheaper and just as effective. And

27:02

do you think Red Bull was mad when college

27:05

kids started making Red Bull Vodka's?

27:08

I mean, hell no. I was already

27:10

a mixer in Europe by this point anyway.

27:13

Now, I guess it's a

27:15

really bad horrible combination for you.

27:18

Red Bull and vodka. You see

27:20

the upper of an energy drink

27:22

and the downer of alcohol, not

27:25

great. Red Bull gets the benefit of the

27:27

sales without ever promoting it or endorsing it.

27:29

I mean, their hands are

27:31

clean legally. The

27:34

reason why Red Bull Vodka's are so

27:36

dangerous is because the energy drink can

27:39

trick you into thinking that you're more

27:41

sober than you actually are.

27:44

You see, when I go

27:46

out, sometimes I personally, I

27:49

like a Red Bull Vodka. The last time I had

27:51

a bunch of Red Bull Vodka's, I had way too

27:53

many, like four. And yeah,

27:56

whoops, I was like blacked out, but

27:58

I was wide awake. It

28:00

was such a, I did not like that

28:02

combination. I didn't do anything productive. I

28:05

just stayed up all night, like, but I don't remember.

28:08

The fuck was that? You know, it was just a waste of a day. But

28:11

I like the taste, so fuck

28:14

me, you know? Anywho, don't do

28:16

it, it's dangerous. Okay, great, glad

28:18

we had this talk. The more you know. So

28:21

all these companies rely on word

28:24

of mouth advertising and also they

28:26

totally benefit from peer pressure. And

28:29

that's why like 20 years ago, if you remember,

28:31

you saw like a lot

28:33

of brand ambassadors. Essentially

28:35

it was just hot chicks driving

28:38

around in a Red Bull car. And

28:40

they'd walk around like with these little backpacks on and they'd

28:42

be like, hey, do you want a Red Bull? You

28:45

should have one, it's like so good. Tits

28:48

out and you're like, okay, sure. Plus Red

28:50

Bull was at all these huge events in

28:52

the early 2000s, like X Games and Lollapalooza,

28:54

the music festival. So it was like a

28:57

lot of young kids there and

28:59

these events didn't have contracts with

29:02

Coca-Cola. No, they had it

29:04

with Red Bull. And it was smart. Cause

29:06

you want to party, you want to have fun and you're like, I

29:08

need energy. They fucked

29:10

with us and we didn't even know it.

29:13

Red Bull also use something called

29:15

Gorilla Marketing. And this is

29:17

when like a company uses unique

29:20

ways to boost brand

29:22

awareness in sales. And

29:24

I guess Red Bull is like the king of this. First

29:26

of all, I learned about this the

29:29

other day. They did something called anti-marketing.

29:32

It's like, okay. Instead of using positive

29:34

selling tactics, like talking

29:36

about the benefits of a product, instead

29:38

they got a little creative. So

29:41

like with Red Bull, they would

29:43

send people into crowded locations to

29:45

place empty cans all over.

29:49

Yeah, like at clubs and

29:51

college campuses, which is like such

29:53

a mind fuck. It's like, I don't want to believe that happened,

29:57

but maybe it did. You know, on one hand, I mean, it

29:59

could just be like. looked at as trash, but

30:02

on the other hand, it's kind of like where

30:04

Red Bull is like kind of genius because it's like,

30:06

oh man, you know, people must

30:08

love Red Bull because there's like 10 cans over there

30:10

and they're all empty. So I should

30:12

get one too. I mean, Red Bull, Red Bull, and all of a

30:14

sudden you want a Red Bull. You probably want one

30:16

now because I've said it so many times. Oh

30:19

my God, I know I want one. No,

30:21

I don't. Ah, ah! Plus if there's like a

30:23

hundred of these cans laying around, you

30:25

know, it sends a message that like, oh, people would really

30:27

love this shit. You guys will like buy one and try

30:29

it. It was pretty much a fake it

30:32

till you make it strategy to

30:34

make the brand like seem more popular than it

30:36

actually was. Damn,

30:39

smut. Red

30:41

Bull also gets creative with their

30:43

marketing money. Instead of spending millions

30:45

on one giant celeb to push

30:47

their product, you know, like with

30:49

Pepsi teaming up with Britney, I

30:52

know I love that commercial. Ah, the Britney

30:54

Pepsi. It's like, you

30:57

know, if you know, you know, but they didn't want to

30:59

do that. Okay. Red Bull instead

31:01

spreads their money out and like

31:03

sponsors hundreds of alternative and extreme

31:05

athletes. Red Bull was like ahead

31:08

of their time on this one because like now

31:10

we would call these people influencers. But

31:12

back then, you know, it

31:14

wasn't. Like these were athletes who did

31:17

crazy things to get in

31:19

the headlines and whatnot. So

31:21

they were like, let's partner with those

31:23

guys. Like in 2012, there was this

31:25

guy who took a helium balloon up

31:27

to the earth stratosphere and then

31:29

jumped out of it. He reached like

31:31

a top speed of 843 miles per hour, which

31:35

is faster than the speed of sound.

31:38

So, okay. But Red

31:41

Bull like partners with this

31:43

guy and they get

31:45

major press because like Red Bull is everywhere.

31:47

And like, I still don't quite understand what was the

31:49

point of that? What was

31:52

the point? I'm not sure. I

31:54

don't know. You can watch the video. I don't.

31:57

I mean, you can, but like, I don't know what the point was. I

32:00

guess there is no point, maybe that's the point. Maybe

32:02

that's the point. Ah, I don't know. Honestly

32:05

though, Red Bull was like the

32:07

OG content creator doing all sorts

32:09

of things to like get people

32:11

talking. On top of all this,

32:13

they had their own or they

32:15

have their own record label. I

32:18

know Red Bull, I was like, what? A

32:20

magazine, an F1 racing

32:22

team, and they even have their own

32:24

made up sport called, yeah,

32:27

I don't know, Flugtog? Let

32:30

me know what that is, cause I don't know. Now

32:33

here's why marketing is so important. In

32:36

2012, the US energy drink industry

32:39

had about $12.5 billion in sales. When

32:45

they market the drink as a performance

32:47

enhancer and make the experience all about

32:49

living like a cool lifestyle, people look

32:51

at it differently. It's

32:54

almost as if people will pay a premium price for

32:57

a shot at a premium life. And

33:00

that was like the core of Red Bull's

33:02

philosophy when it came to marketing. Like don't

33:04

bring the product to the consumer, bring the

33:06

consumer to the product. Hmm?

33:10

And they attract them by doing cool shit.

33:13

They're like, look at what we can do. Mad

33:15

TV, look at what I can do. And

33:18

it was like, Red Bull. It's always sports stuff

33:20

though, huh? Yeah, hmm, I didn't

33:22

think about that. Hmm,

33:25

I didn't think about that. They don't do like Red

33:27

Bull ice skating, figure skating with

33:30

Red Bull, ballet with Red Bull. So

33:33

when it comes to energy drinks, it

33:35

all comes down really to marketing. It

33:37

can make or break a company. Shaik

33:40

for example, this next story, meet Russ

33:42

Weiner. Weiner. Okay,

33:46

but Russ, he had an idea for an energy drink

33:48

back around the year 2000. So he

33:51

took the idea and he like pitched it to

33:53

the company he was working for. He said, hey

33:55

guys, I got an idea. Look, can I pitch

33:57

it to you? And this company was Sky Vodka.

34:00

And so he pushes it to them and

34:02

they're like, no, Russ, stop

34:04

being a whiner and just get back to work.

34:09

Eh? Ah, okay. But

34:11

like no one believed in him, okay? His

34:13

dreams were crushed. But you know what? Russ

34:16

believed in Russ. He's like, I

34:18

know this is some good shit. So he took out a

34:20

$50,000 mortgage on his home and

34:23

he used that money to develop a drink. And

34:25

then whatever money he had left over, he spent on

34:28

a limo, okay? He got this limo

34:30

and he painted on the side of the

34:32

limo like this new logo and started passing

34:34

out free drinks around

34:36

San Francisco. He also hired some

34:39

hot sexy bitches to wear like

34:41

black and gold bikinis, you know?

34:43

Cause tits. And then

34:45

he's like, yeah, drink this. Ah, what?

34:47

Oh my God, you want this? And

34:51

then can you guess what this drink was

34:53

that he invented? Well,

34:57

if you guessed rock star, you are

34:59

correct. Rock

35:02

star, huh? Yeah. So

35:05

lame. Oh my God. I know this is

35:07

going to be a really douchey thing for me to say, but

35:09

I'm going to say it anyways. All the

35:12

guys I know who drink rock

35:14

stars are so douchey. Think

35:17

about it. Marinate on that for a

35:19

minute. The ones that are loyal

35:21

to rock star are low key douchey. There

35:24

goes my sponsorship with rock star, but I

35:26

mean facts. Come on. Anywho,

35:28

but good for him. Good for Russ.

35:30

He did something and it was very

35:33

successful. People love rock star. No,

35:37

I'm kidding. But like, yeah, successful. And

35:40

he ended up like making rock star and it

35:42

was like doing so well that he sold it

35:44

to Pepsi. So fuck

35:46

me, you know, because he made about like $3.2 billion off

35:49

this douchey drink. Yeah. And

35:52

all because his product showed consumers that

35:55

rock stars just live amazingly

35:57

cool lives. And like you.

36:00

I can too. Which is

36:02

so embarrassing. Like, oh my

36:04

God, we're so lame. Anyhow,

36:06

so in a crowded field of energy drinks,

36:09

you know, you really gotta be creative to

36:11

stand out. You have to think outside the

36:13

box. And it was only a matter of

36:15

time before like someone came along and

36:17

gave us the mashup that

36:20

we've been DIY-ing all along. Oh,

36:23

oh, oh, what a

36:25

time to be alive this was, huh? Energy

36:27

drinks plus booze equals

36:29

fun and felonies. Am

36:32

I right? Up top. Okay.

36:35

Spring has sprung and summer's just

36:37

around the corner. Ah, people

36:40

love that, don't they? So you can

36:42

pack your bag with like sunscreen, your

36:44

emotional support water bottle and that

36:46

steamy beach read. But wait,

36:49

wait, this year, there's

36:52

a new kind of essential that's

36:54

right at your fingertips. Maybe

36:58

skip the steamy beach read and

37:00

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37:03

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37:05

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37:08

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37:11

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37:13

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37:16

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37:18

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37:20

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37:23

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37:25

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37:29

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37:31

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37:33

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37:35

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37:37

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37:39

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37:41

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37:43

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37:45

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37:48

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37:52

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history. One

38:32

more time, dipsistories.com/dark

38:34

history. In

38:38

1999, there were three frat

38:40

brothers at Ohio State who were,

38:43

they were doing like most college kids

38:45

do at the time. They were mixing

38:47

energy drinks with booze at their parties.

38:49

So they see this catch on at

38:52

sororities and then at bars. And

38:54

they think to themselves like, what

38:56

if we took this concoction, put

38:59

it in a can and

39:01

sold it to people? Like,

39:03

okay. Now, they weren't the first to

39:05

think of this. There was already a

39:07

product like this on the market. It

39:10

was called Sparks. You probably don't

39:12

remember. No one does. But it was made

39:14

with caffeine, taurine, ginseng

39:16

and malt liquor. Yeah.

39:21

No, but the

39:23

frat brothers, they thought they

39:25

could do better. So in

39:27

2005, they created a company

39:29

called Fusion Projects. And

39:31

the mission of this company was to

39:34

create caffeinated alcohol, period. No

39:36

other products. So they

39:38

spent a few years doing research

39:40

and development. And then in 2008,

39:42

they struck gold. They gambled on

39:44

an idea and like went all

39:46

in. Their invention came in a

39:48

23.5 ounce can

39:51

and had caffeine, taurine,

39:54

guarana and wormwood. Say

39:56

wormwood like 200 times. Wormwood. That

40:00

was hard for me. But yeah, they did

40:02

that. If you don't know, like wormwood

40:06

is an active ingredient in

40:08

absinthe. Absinthe can make you

40:10

see stuff. So great idea

40:14

guys. This drink

40:16

was promising to deliver, you know, wild

40:19

nights and forgettable moments. So

40:22

the booze content, it was 12%, okay? And

40:26

this thing was pure Anka

40:29

rocket fuel and they called it Four

40:33

Loco. Oh fuck,

40:35

I know. Four for the

40:37

four energy ingredients and Loco

40:40

because it's genuinely crazy

40:43

to drink. Experts say drinking

40:45

just one of these four Locos

40:47

was like drinking six beers, one

40:50

espresso shot and one Red

40:52

Bull all in one can. And

40:55

the best part, the price was just $2.50. Oh

41:01

no, this is bad. This is so

41:03

bad. I mean, oh wow, you can

41:05

get wasted for that cheap.

41:07

Oh yes, you could. And people lost

41:09

their minds when they found out about

41:11

this stuff. College kids around the country

41:14

gave it a nickname. They called it,

41:17

quote, a blackout in a

41:19

can. Oh no,

41:21

yes, no, yep.

41:24

And unfortunately, where there is memory

41:26

loss, there just happens to be

41:28

some crime. So like this comes

41:31

out, people are drinking in, like

41:33

headlines pop up where people blame

41:35

their insane actions on, you know,

41:37

the Four Loco. There was robbery,

41:39

assault, destruction of property, rape,

41:42

murder, yeah,

41:44

Four Loco. And people were like, Four Loco

41:46

made me do it. And like, I mean,

41:48

that's real bad, okay? The first

41:50

time I had a, I have a Four Loco

41:53

experience, okay, I drank a Four Loco one time.

41:55

And I'm not kidding you, this one time I drank a Four

41:58

Loco, I blacked out. But I waited. streaking

42:01

on a busy street. It wasn't

42:03

like a quiet like neighborhood, it

42:06

was a busy ass street and

42:08

my ass went streaking. I

42:11

was like 21, 22, I don't know how old it

42:13

was. I was young okay and I fully blamed the

42:15

four loco. I saw pictures, I didn't

42:18

need to see that. It was wild. After

42:20

that I was like I'm never drinking that again

42:22

like that was it was too much for me.

42:25

Anywho so, lol.

42:28

So just as quickly as four loco launched,

42:31

problems started rolling in. So in the fall

42:33

of 2008, 15 students from

42:36

two different universities went to the

42:38

hospital after chugging four locos. Not

42:41

great. Now this caught the attention of

42:43

the food and drug administration. Yeah not

42:45

the rape or murder or anything like

42:47

that. The guy chugging the four locos.

42:49

But in 2010 they

42:52

went on to say that there

42:54

is no evidence that mixing caffeine

42:56

and booze is safe. So colleges

42:58

they started banning four loco states,

43:00

they outlaw it and

43:02

people start hoarding it because it's such

43:05

a cheap buzz and they're worried that

43:07

it's gonna go away. I mean

43:09

and they were right. In November of 2010 the

43:12

guys at Fusion announced that

43:15

they're removing the caffeine, guarana

43:17

and taurine. And the

43:19

company was left with about 30 million

43:21

dollars of inventory that they couldn't sell.

43:23

So the ride or dies of four

43:25

loco literally like held, I'm not kidding,

43:28

they held a candlelight vigil in Union

43:30

Square in New York in honor of

43:32

the original recipe. Overnight

43:36

an underground market like springs up

43:38

where people are selling OG four

43:40

locos for like 50 bucks a

43:42

pop. So it was just a

43:44

matter of time before some company

43:46

pushed the boundary so much that

43:48

it raised the questions people should

43:51

have been asking all along. Can

43:53

energy drinks be trusted? Are

43:56

they horrible for us? I mean first

43:58

of all energy drinks promise enhanced mental

44:00

and physical performance, right? But it's a

44:02

very subjective thing to say, like how

44:05

do you actually measure that? In

44:07

reality, the evidence shows that if

44:09

anything quote unquote works, it's

44:12

the caffeine, not necessarily the other stuff in

44:14

the energy drink. And then the safety of

44:16

these energy drinks are questioned because negative health

44:18

impacts are linked to them. I mean, for

44:20

example, 2011, the Substance Abuse and

44:24

Mental Health Services Administration reported that

44:26

20,783 people went to the ER

44:32

after drinking energy drinks. I

44:35

mean, that's 2011. And

44:37

of that number, 1,499 of them were kids aged 12

44:39

to 17. The

44:44

American Academy of Pediatrics states that

44:47

caffeine and other stimulants in energy

44:49

drinks should never be consumed by

44:51

kids or teenagers, yet 30 to

44:54

50% of them report

44:56

drinking energy drinks. Oh,

44:59

that's not good. I mean, here's

45:01

what we do know. Energy

45:03

drinks significantly increase the risk

45:06

of caffeine intoxication. If you're

45:08

like me, you're like caffeine

45:10

intoxication. That's

45:12

a thing. Is that a thing? Really?

45:15

Is that a thing? It's a thing.

45:17

It's a very real thing. Experts say

45:19

like symptoms include restlessness, twitching,

45:23

gastrointestinal problems, and

45:25

chronic daily headaches.

45:28

And on top of that, there are

45:30

even four psychiatric disorders that can be

45:32

linked to energy drinks. Two

45:34

of them are quote caffeine induced

45:37

anxiety disorder and caffeine

45:39

induced sleep disorder. Oh

45:41

my God. So it's like

45:44

not just about getting the jitters, there are

45:47

some real long-term consequences. Which

45:49

reminds me, did you guys watch that true

45:51

life episode I'm addicted to energy drinks? Tell

45:53

me you watched that. It was on MTV

45:55

years ago and these people were addicted to

45:57

energy drinks. There was this girl, never forget

45:59

it. She was like tweaking out because

46:02

she couldn't stop drinking energy drinks and she looked

46:05

like she was 40 and a

46:08

smoker and I don't mean that like I mean like a hard

46:10

40, but she was like 20 Oh,

46:13

it had aged her horribly and

46:16

she just oh, I'll never forget it. It scared

46:18

me. Look up that episode It's on Hulu. I

46:20

think Let me know in

46:22

the comment section. It's wild. It's rough and it's

46:24

scary Anyways, one

46:27

study of 15 and 16 year

46:29

olds showed a connection between

46:31

high caffeine intake and violent

46:33

behavior There's several reports that

46:35

suggest energy drinks contribute to

46:37

stroke and seizures Good

46:41

on top of that if a person

46:43

has enough caffeine they can hallucinate what?

46:46

yeah, not to mention all the

46:48

sugar increases the risk for obesity

46:50

and diabetes and Somehow

46:52

when you hear that stuff, you're

46:54

like, mmm bored don't care You

46:58

know, we still don't really care and I

47:00

don't know why how do we get us

47:02

to care? I don't know.

47:04

I think because we're so like everything causes

47:07

obesity and diabetes and in America

47:09

feels like so it's like just

47:11

added to the list right

47:16

Anyhow in 2021 Frontiers

47:19

and cardiovascular medicine reported that there

47:21

have been at least 34 deaths

47:24

linked to energy drinks over the years

47:27

I say at least because it's believed that

47:29

the number is like much higher and the

47:31

reason is because it's on the consumers

47:34

to report bad experiences with energy

47:36

drinks to the food and drug

47:38

administration Meaning like

47:40

it's voluntary like no

47:43

one is enforcing it So

47:45

you have to report it You

47:47

know, so only a small number gets

47:49

reported like the story of a nice

47:51

fornier Paul why are

47:54

you still in your winter clothes? I

47:56

mean, you know, this is Southern California and you're

47:58

about to get heatstroke real quick What's

48:01

that? Yeah I know I

48:03

hate shopping too. It's

48:05

the worst isn't it? You gotta like put

48:07

stuff on, you take it off, it's annoying.

48:10

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49:36

A niece was 14 years old when she

49:38

was just being a teenager and like hanging

49:40

out with her friend. Apparently she drank two

49:42

24 ounce Monster Energy

49:44

drinks in a 24 hour period.

49:48

Now before you're like oh well where was

49:51

her mom? She should have been watching what

49:53

she was drinking. Whatever. Shut

49:55

your mouth because so many teenagers

49:57

after school you're hanging out with.

50:00

friends, you go to the local convenience store,

50:02

you pick up a drink, like no one's

50:04

carding you to get energy drinks, you know

50:06

what I'm saying? Like it's so easy to

50:08

get them. And if you're a

50:10

parent who works, you can't patrol your teenager all the

50:13

time. You know, so like, just want

50:15

to stop it before I see those comments

50:17

because I know some of you will. Anywho,

50:19

she drinks two 24 ounce monster drinks in

50:22

less than 24 hours. So not

50:25

great. Well, her mom comes, comes home

50:27

or answers the room

50:29

and like finds her slumped on her side

50:31

on the couch. And I guess she like

50:33

tapped her daughter's cheek and she's calling her

50:35

name, you know? And I guess Anise gasped

50:37

for a moment and then her eyes rolled

50:40

into the back of her head and

50:42

she stopped breathing. Anise was put

50:45

into a medically induced coma so

50:47

doctors could regain control of her

50:49

vital signs. But unfortunately they couldn't.

50:52

On December 23rd, 2011, Anise Fournier passed away. Oh, and

50:54

while other

50:59

families were like opening Christmas presents and

51:01

like celebrating the holiday, so

51:04

sad. Her family was suffering

51:06

this major loss and Anise

51:08

was undergoing an autopsy. The

51:11

autopsy report stated she quote,

51:13

died of cardiac arrhythmia due

51:15

to caffeine toxicity that impeded

51:17

her heart's ability to pump

51:19

blood end quote. The

51:21

Fournier family filed a lawsuit against

51:23

monster for wrongful death. Monster Energy

51:25

and the family ended up settling

51:27

a lawsuit in the summer 2015.

51:30

We don't know how much they settled for but either way it's

51:32

not gonna bring, it's not gonna bring their daughter

51:35

back, you know? It was just sad.

51:37

And then there's the other side of the

51:39

energy drink people, you know? A lot

51:41

of the supporters claim that there

51:44

are actually tons of benefits to

51:46

the beverage. And to be fair,

51:48

you know, there's always two sides

51:50

to every story. And so like,

51:52

are there benefits to drinking energy

51:54

drinks? Well, several studies and reports

51:56

say yes. I'd bet

51:59

that they were being paid. by these

52:01

energy drink companies. Should've

52:04

looked into this, yeah. But

52:06

look, it's been shown that

52:08

improved memory, there's better

52:11

reaction time, better concentration, increased

52:14

alertness and elevated mood

52:17

have been linked to sipping on energy drinks.

52:21

Yeah, probably because you're all caffeinated out, you're

52:24

like, yeah! Like, you just, ah! God,

52:28

right? And there's

52:30

another major study that says

52:32

energy drinks can enhance aerobic

52:34

endurance and performance. I

52:36

know most people doing these are not doing aerobics. Is

52:39

that what they're getting at? What's aerobic endurance? It

52:42

doesn't matter. That's because there are some proven

52:44

ingredients that affect us functionally,

52:46

like B vitamins. But

52:49

even when studies are showing that energy

52:51

drinks can have some positive effects, there's

52:53

still a disclaimer. According to

52:55

a report published in the International

52:58

Journal of Health Sciences, it

53:00

says, quote, over ambitious marketing and non-scientific

53:02

claims should be regulated by

53:05

governments until independent studies confirm

53:07

that these products are safe.

53:10

Yeah, you would think, huh? But

53:12

not here in America. Unfortunately,

53:15

in the digital age, regulating

53:17

the marketing of energy drinks

53:19

is pretty much impossible.

53:23

In 2013, two senators launched

53:25

an investigation on energy drinks

53:27

and released a report called

53:29

Buzzkill. It was kind of a great name.

53:32

I'll give them that. It showed

53:34

that energy drink companies frequently targeted

53:37

high school kids and young kids

53:39

with social media ad campaigns. So

53:41

that Buzzkill report found that energy

53:43

drink flavors, packaging, and marketing are

53:46

designed to appeal to

53:48

young people. And they're like, we did

53:50

it, you guys. Case closed. That's

53:53

all they did with that information. So

53:55

it sounds like they're a whole lot of red flags

53:57

waving in the world of energy drinks, right? Pretty.

54:00

marketing campaigns seem to be happening.

54:03

There's too much caffeine floating out around

54:05

there. There are young, healthy kids having

54:07

heart attacks and young people are dying.

54:10

So it's like, how the hell does

54:12

the energy drink industry get away with all

54:14

this? Well, it's a tale

54:16

as old as time. Tale

54:19

as old as time. Don't

54:23

you love that song? I know, too

54:25

bad. It's kind of like we're

54:27

ruining it. But energy drink companies, they

54:29

exploit a nice big legal

54:32

loophole. And it all comes down

54:34

to a simple question. Are

54:37

energy drinks considered food

54:39

or a dietary supplement?

54:42

Hmm. You see, if

54:44

it's a food, certain laws apply

54:46

to the ingredients and labeling of the

54:48

product. But even then, our expert calls

54:50

this a quote, ask

54:53

for forgiveness market.

54:55

Meaning there is no prior

54:57

approval for food and non-alcoholic

55:00

beverages, which is like, ah,

55:02

that's so scary. Like

55:04

if some ingredients are reported as problematic,

55:06

then the FDA sends a warning letter.

55:09

They're like, hey, don't

55:11

do that. And then the company says like,

55:13

oh, sorry, won't happen again.

55:16

But look, if it's considered a

55:18

dietary supplement, it's kind

55:20

of like the Wild West and like

55:22

pretty much anything goes. Yeah,

55:24

I mean, which is kind of weird,

55:26

huh? Cause you think dietary supplement, I

55:29

would assume supplement would have more like

55:31

rules and regulations for some reason, but

55:33

yeah, there's none. I

55:35

could put, I could shit right now in a can

55:39

and water it down and I'll be like, hey, this

55:41

will give you energy and I could sell it. And

55:43

be like, yeah, this is great. Like energy. And then

55:45

you guys would all be drinking my shit. And guess

55:47

what? I could do that. So

55:51

isn't that a little concerning? Aren't we concerned?

55:53

With that being said, I have something to show you. I've been working on.

55:57

Just kidding. Paul's holding it over here. It's

55:59

called. Jones? What's

56:01

it called? It's

56:04

called Joan Bull. No,

56:07

she didn't shit in a can and we wanted,

56:09

no, we didn't do that. It

56:12

gives you wings, you see? Wings.

56:16

Yeah, we didn't test it or anything, but

56:18

don't you want it? Cause it has Joan's name on

56:20

it. Huh? And

56:22

look, tits. Now

56:24

you really want it. Don't you want to be like

56:26

us, huh, Joan? Show of tits, show of tits. Let's

56:30

begin. Okay, great. You can

56:32

find it at your local Dollar Tree, 99 cents,

56:35

because I want everyone

56:38

to have it. Joan does. Not

56:41

me. Lots of flavors.

56:43

There's delicious chocolate,

56:47

California raisin, cilantro.

56:53

What'd you, bird food. Like there's

56:55

lots of flavors, depending on what was

56:57

eaten the day before, but

57:00

yeah, you can find it at

57:02

your local Dollar Tree. You're welcome, worlds. So

57:06

with that being said, aren't you a little worried?

57:09

If you could do that so easily,

57:11

isn't that a little concerning? Like nobody

57:13

is checking. And I hope

57:15

I'm not giving anyone ideas out there, but

57:17

like no one is checking. Is that not

57:19

scary? Oh my God. Yeah.

57:23

And we're drinking it. I

57:25

drink it. I'm a hypocrite. And then

57:27

here's the best part. The company

57:29

itself, Joan over here, if she shits in

57:31

a can, she can decide if

57:34

the product is food or

57:36

a supplement. She's like, hey, it's

57:38

a supplement. Then I could skip

57:40

all the regulations. And guess what? Some

57:44

energy drink companies categorize their

57:46

beverages as a supplement. That's

57:49

because the ingredients in dietary

57:52

supplements are not required

57:54

to have FDA approval before

57:56

they're sold to humans. You're

58:00

drinking shit. I'm

58:03

just kidding. I'm gonna get sued, aren't

58:05

I? Damn it. Anyhow, but like the

58:08

FDA doesn't, they do not regulate the

58:10

amount of caffeine and

58:12

other stimulants or anything that is

58:15

found in energy drinks. That

58:17

should be the takeaway, really, right? That's

58:19

a bigger problem. So here's a

58:21

good example of a difference between food and

58:23

supplement. Now, according to

58:26

the FDA, soda is food.

58:29

Don't ask questions. Soda is food. So

58:31

it can't have more than 71 milligrams

58:33

of caffeine in a 12 ounce

58:36

can and claim to

58:38

be soda. You can't do that. No, no.

58:40

But for the energy drinks that are labeled

58:42

as supplements, there

58:44

is no rule for

58:47

the caffeine content. There's

58:49

no rule. A bunch of other

58:51

countries consider energy drinks to be so

58:53

dangerous that they will not sell to

58:55

kids. On January 1st, 2024, last year,

58:57

Poland, oh,

59:00

it is this year. It's 2024, my bad. Poland,

59:03

they made it illegal for anyone

59:05

under the age of 18 to

59:07

buy energy drinks. Holy shit, I

59:10

know they did that. Norway, they

59:12

banned the advertising of unhealthy food

59:14

to children under 18. Now,

59:18

I don't know, it seems like they care,

59:20

don't they? Yeah. I

59:22

mean, this new law ban selling energy drinks to kids younger

59:24

than 16. In general, things

59:26

are stricter in Canada and Europe. When

59:29

it comes to caffeine content and warning

59:31

labels, the European Union

59:33

says that they must be slapped on

59:35

the front of the can. But

59:38

in the US, caffeine content is usually

59:40

teeny tiny in

59:43

this tiny little font, you need a little

59:45

magnifying glass on the back of the can.

59:47

And it's lost in the mix of everything

59:49

else. You'll never see it. You'll

59:52

never see it. And at the end of the

59:54

day, there is no legal limit to the amount

59:56

of caffeine that companies can put in energy

59:58

drinks. Again, it's very

1:00:01

concerning, okay? Most

1:00:03

health experts and the FDA agree

1:00:05

that up to 400 milligrams of

1:00:07

caffeine a day is safe for

1:00:09

an adult, okay? 400

1:00:11

milligrams. But just

1:00:14

one 16 ounce can

1:00:16

of Bang Energy has

1:00:20

300 milligrams of caffeine in it. Oh

1:00:24

dear, yeah. But

1:00:26

I know the Bang Energy, like, they're so

1:00:28

cute looking, you kinda want one. It's sick,

1:00:30

it's sick. I'm making excuses because the can

1:00:32

is cute. Now you can

1:00:34

argue that kids can just as easily

1:00:36

buy soda and coffee, like, whenever they

1:00:39

want, which also have caffeine. But in

1:00:41

my opinion, energy drinks are just marketed

1:00:43

different. It's like they're targeting

1:00:46

kids and no one seems to be

1:00:48

enforcing anything, right? And it feels like

1:00:50

that's how energy drink companies like

1:00:52

it. Because

1:00:55

it helped them bring in like about $20

1:00:57

billion in revenue in America

1:00:59

just last year. You think they're gonna

1:01:01

stop? I don't think so. Someone

1:01:04

once told me advertising puts a

1:01:06

product in a person's mind, but

1:01:09

marketing puts a product

1:01:12

in someone's heart. So

1:01:14

that's why I think energy drinks are

1:01:16

personal to people. They're tied to

1:01:19

a lifestyle and identity. And when

1:01:22

they don't deliver, people get salty.

1:01:24

Like in 2013, a man

1:01:26

named Benjamin, he sued

1:01:29

Red Bull for false advertising. He said

1:01:31

that they drink promised to give him

1:01:33

wings. Oh yes,

1:01:35

oh yes. He drank it for 10 years

1:01:38

and he's like, I didn't fucking grow wings,

1:01:41

okay? He said, not only

1:01:43

did he, he didn't get wings, but also

1:01:45

he didn't even get an energy boost. He's

1:01:49

like, I'm fucking suing, because it's

1:01:51

America. And the court agreed

1:01:53

and award the plaintiffs $13 million. How

1:01:58

about we just start suing all these companies? Who's

1:02:01

in? So I don't know maybe it's on

1:02:03

us. I hate blaming

1:02:05

us. Well I mean

1:02:07

whatever like maybe it's on us for

1:02:09

buying the energy drinks and like believe

1:02:12

in the BS and like these special

1:02:14

abilities we get from them but and

1:02:17

like yeah maybe it works and stuff but like when

1:02:20

do these companies get have to

1:02:22

take any responsibility? What

1:02:24

I do know is that you can

1:02:27

pop into any convenience store and gas

1:02:29

station whatever. Energy drinks are cheap. They

1:02:31

come in delicious candy like flavors and

1:02:35

they are cute packaging some of them

1:02:37

are so colorful and you're like ooh

1:02:39

they just like they're aggressively marketing towards

1:02:41

kids like they'll have cute names like

1:02:43

unicorn rainbow flakes and you're like I

1:02:46

know a 45 year old isn't drinking

1:02:48

that well they might be but you know like that's for kids

1:02:51

and what I'm getting at is like none of that

1:02:53

is on us. Stop blaming us.

1:02:56

But maybe things are moving in the

1:02:58

right direction because Connecticut is considering a

1:03:00

law that would ban the sale of

1:03:03

energy drinks to kids under 16. So

1:03:06

there's that. Guess

1:03:08

we can't sell our energy your energy drink

1:03:10

there Joan. But

1:03:14

I'll leave you with something fun. I found

1:03:16

a slogan generator online so I put my

1:03:18

name as the prompt. When

1:03:21

you know when I launched my own competing

1:03:24

energy drink to Jones and

1:03:26

my slogan will be come to

1:03:28

life come to Bailey

1:03:31

yeah drink bays. You

1:03:34

get it B-A-Y-S right next

1:03:37

to yours. So

1:03:39

yeah teenagers love energy drink I

1:03:41

think everyone kind of lowkey loves

1:03:43

an energy drink but you know

1:03:45

what else people love? No

1:03:48

not that. Gossip. Yeah

1:03:51

I mean how we all love some

1:03:53

gossip the minute someone looks over

1:03:55

their shoulder to see if anyone is

1:03:58

around and then starts talking in

1:04:00

a hushed tone, I am

1:04:02

listening. And there's a lot of like hand movements

1:04:04

and they're like, girl, uh-uh, uh-uh, and they're doing

1:04:07

all this. I'm

1:04:09

in. You know, tell me everything,

1:04:12

Barbara. Tell me. And

1:04:14

that made me wonder. Gossip is a

1:04:16

very powerful thing. It has been around

1:04:18

forever and it's like

1:04:20

we can be addicted to it. But

1:04:23

who invented American gossip as we know

1:04:25

it today? And like, when did Hollywood

1:04:27

gossip begin? I think it actually started

1:04:29

in the Bible, huh? Well, turns

1:04:31

out this story starts with a gossipy

1:04:33

little officer in the American

1:04:35

Civil War and ends with

1:04:37

an actress in the golden

1:04:40

age of Hollywood. Come back

1:04:42

next week for the dark history of gossip.

1:04:47

Eee! Well, friends, thank you for hanging

1:04:49

out with me today. What did we learn? Uh-huh,

1:04:52

mm-hmm, great. I love that, good for you.

1:04:54

Hey, did you know you can join me

1:04:56

over on my YouTube where you can actually

1:04:58

watch these episodes on Thursday after

1:05:01

the podcast airs. And while you're there,

1:05:03

you can also catch my murder, mystery,

1:05:05

and makeup. It's on Mondays. Don't forget

1:05:07

to like and subscribe because I come

1:05:10

with content every week. Yeah, I do. Check

1:05:13

it out. So subscribe. Okay, great. I love to

1:05:15

hear your guys' reactions to today's story, so make

1:05:17

sure to leave a comment down below in the

1:05:19

comments section or use the hashtag dark history

1:05:21

over on social media so I can see what you're

1:05:24

saying. But leave a comment

1:05:26

because like we read comments here. We,

1:05:28

meaning me. But Joan reads

1:05:30

too. Ah, ah! Okay, but let's read some

1:05:32

comments that you guys left me. Username

1:05:35

Lame7814, love that username, left

1:05:40

us a comment on our Kennedy episode

1:05:42

saying, "'Fun fact, the White House pool

1:05:44

"'is now the press room you see

1:05:46

on TV. "'It was simply drained and

1:05:48

filled with chairs. "'You can absolutely tell

1:05:50

it was a pool. "'Very little effort

1:05:52

was made to disguise this, "'except for

1:05:54

the podium and draping you see on

1:05:57

TV. "'It is quite small by both

1:05:59

pool and press. Press Room standards.

1:06:02

I can't believe they would cover up the pool. I

1:06:04

mean, how cool it would be to be like, I went

1:06:06

swimming at the White House because people would be like, what?

1:06:08

You went swimming at the White House? They have a pool?

1:06:10

And you'd be like, yeah, they have a pool. But now

1:06:12

you can't even see that because they don't even have a

1:06:14

pool anymore. Just like Press Room? Well,

1:06:18

thanks for sharing the fun fact. I definitely love

1:06:20

that. Use your name, Lane. Great

1:06:22

fun fact. XXMonicaLuwinski had

1:06:26

a question for me. Hey, Mother.

1:06:28

I need to know which character

1:06:30

was your favorite in recess? Spinelli.

1:06:34

Need I say more? Spinelli all day? That's

1:06:37

right. Alika Dahlia had an episode

1:06:39

suggestion for us. Can you do

1:06:42

the dark history of April Fools?

1:06:45

That's a great episode suggestion

1:06:47

because, yeah, why? Why, when,

1:06:50

where, how, what, how? Who's

1:06:52

responsible for literally like, making

1:06:55

the first day of April a joke? That's

1:06:57

a good one. I like that. Thanks for that

1:06:59

recommendation. I will look into this and report

1:07:01

back. Thank you so much. I

1:07:03

love you guys for watching and also for

1:07:05

engaging and commenting. Don't

1:07:08

forget to leave a comment down below because maybe

1:07:10

you'll be featured in our next episode. Hey?

1:07:13

And hey, if you don't know,

1:07:16

dark history is an audio boom original.

1:07:19

A special thank you to our expert,

1:07:21

John Craven, founder and CEO of BevNet.

1:07:24

Wow. And

1:07:27

I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. I hope you

1:07:29

have a good rest of your day. You

1:07:31

make good choices and I will be

1:07:33

talking to you guys next week. Goodbye.

1:07:37

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