Firecrotch – the line got crossed and no one blinked

Rewind to 14 – 20 May 2006: it’s science breakthroughs, shiny new tech and tabloid culture at its absolute messiest.

🧬 The human blueprint… unlocked (kind of)
Scientists publish the final human chromosome and suddenly the ‘instruction manual for life’ is… complete-ish. After billions of dollars and years of global brainpower, we’ve mapped our DNA only to realise we still don’t fully understand what it does. Classic. 

💻 Apple says goodbye to iBook, hello main character laptop
The MacBook drops and quietly resets what a laptop even is. Built-in camera, MagSafe, Intel chips — suddenly uni libraries are full of glowing Apple logos and mild superiority complexes. Also… the white one stains if you look at it wrong. 

🚗 The Hyde moment that aged… terribly
Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan cross paths at an LA club and what follows becomes one of the most infamous paparazzi clips of the 2000s. A slur is thrown, cameras roll and the moment spreads everywhere. At the time it’s treated like entertainment. From a 2026 lens? It’s a pretty grim snapshot of the era: misogyny, public pile-ons and a media machine that thrived on tearing young women down. 

📺 The surreal life… finally taps out
The Surreal Life wraps up and honestly… what a fever dream. D-list celebs, zero structure and chaos dialled to 100. Hookups, breakdowns, existential spirals — all packaged as entertainment.
Back then: messy = ratings. Now: you’d be asking some serious questions about duty of care.

Hang with us on socials to chat more noughties nostalgia - Facebook (@tminus20) or Instagram (tminus20podcast). You can also contact us there if you want to be a part of the show.

Transcript

Transcript is generated automatically.

The year is 2006. We head to the hills and learn reality is scripted. Your Sony Cyber Shot uploads 462 blurry regrets. A Facebook poke makes everything complicated. And Twitter's like, cool story, you've got 140 characters. Go. T-minus 20. Rewind 20 years with Joe and Mel. 

Week of 14, May 2006. T-minus 20. 

Bringing sexy back. I want to forgive you. T-minus 20. I hate this long distance relationship. And I want to forget you. Good job. You have no style or succession. This is a beauty. 

This is very nice. Yeah, boy. 

First time here. This is T-minus 20, the podcast that rewinds to the exact same week 20 years ago and asks the only question that matters. How was this normal? News, pop culture, tech, celebrity, chaos. We dig it all up, dust it off and look at it with 2026 eyes, which if I'm being honest, probably a little bit more skewed than what the eyes in 2006 were. Everything feels a little bit more crazy these days with your hosts Joe and Mel. Hello, Mel. 

Hello, and the 2026 eyes have a lot of floaters too, so I don't know if I'm getting an accurate to be honest. We're rewinding to the 14th to the 20th of May 2006 this week. 

And she's got a fire crush that all you guys with of course suck is your f***ing best friend. Step inside please. 

That's a bit rude. 

Wow. 

I do remember this. I remember this story. It was revolting. 

A moment that becomes one of the most infamous tabloid news stories of the 2000s. We will revisit that one. 

Seven ex-superstars are forced to share one house. For roommates, I am a cult phenomenon. Their glory days are gone, and now life's a little different. I think we're going grocery shopping. 

Yes, growing grocery shopping with former, well, are they former celebrities? They kind of... They had a renaissance when the surreal life went to air. 

Yeah, celebrity very loosely. And that show wrapped up after six seasons. And we will reflect on what it gifted us over those. 

You don't know what you've got until it's gone. 

We are introducing a new notebook computer that we are calling the MacBook Pro. It's a new name. 

Yeah, it's a new name. MacBook goes pro. Well, it doesn't go pro. It's gone pro. But now it's going more prosumer. Less. I don't know. Consumer. Pro something. No pro. Yeah, that wasn't in the keynote, but that's all I could find. So there you go. 

Love talking about old tech. It's always nice to compare to specs. from 20 years ago with now. 

Yeah, the benchmark. 

We'll do that. 

We don't know what we're talking about when it comes to technology, but we'll regurgitate something that we've drug up. What? 

No, rude. I do know what I'm talking about. We had a clean up at the office the other day. 

Right. 

And they were random cupboards. I've never seen these cupboards before. 

Speaking of old tech, yeah. 

Old tech, yes. And yeah, I've never seen these cupboards before and I had no idea what was in there. They weren't my cupboards, it wasn't my stuff. I was just like, yeah, sure, I'll help. I'll have a good clean up. I'm very ruthless with things. I'm just not chuck it. If in doubt, chuck it out. 

Yes, but you also like to have a sticky beak as you go. 

Yes, well, this is where it got exciting. This is where it got exciting because we're a multi-generational office. right? And I'm probably at the older end of the spectrum, to be fair. I'm probably, the equivalent of everyone's mum, maybe grandma even. Who knows? 

I'll take it easy. I was going to say drunk auntie, but that's okay. 

Yeah, possibly that as well. So we're going through the cupboards. And it was amazing. I found a spool of blank CDs. 

A spool of blank CDs. 

A whole spool of blank CDs and everyone looks and goes. We can't use those. We can't put them in anything. What are we going to do with them? We don't even know if they're blank. We can't even check. 

We use them as drink coasters. 

Drink coasters. I came across a Bluetooth headset. You know those ones that people used to stick in their ear and walk around talking really loudly? 

A douche tooth headset. A douche tooth. Yeah. 

It took me a second to realise what it was though. I was like, I don't know anyone. What is this strangely shaped thing? And then, yeah, I was like, oh, I know what that is. 

I don't know anyone who used that. who wasn't a ******? 

That was a very late 90s. The Bluetooth headset, wasn't it? That was not so much early 2000s. That was late 90s and that was power broke out. 

I should qualify that was either a ****** or a taxi driver because taxi drivers had a model of time. 

That made sense though because they had to have their hands on the wheels safety first. It was more the people that were walking around talking about their stocks and their shares. 

Yeah, so if they wore one in the office, people that wear Bluetooth headsets in the office and they just roam around on conference calls all day, moving and shaking. going to move and shake you if you don't get out of the way with that thing. 

Wild times. That was great. 

Yes. 

And then we got to the stationery cupboard bit. Digging through there and you know. 

Oh, so you've moved from tech to stationery? 

To stationery. And we're rifling through, you know, dried up whiteboard markers, pencils, state stamps, date stamps. You don't see a lot of those anymore. 

Oh, a date stamp. 

That was exciting. That brought back library monitor device. 

I was going to say, we've talked about that previously. 

Yes, I was the date stamper. I was like, oh. This is my wheelhouse, yeah. It is. 

It felt right at home. 

And then found this little plastic box and inside it, lots of little coloured pieces and everyone's like, what? And this is the floaters in the eyes. I had to bring it right up to my face. 

Up to your face to see what it was. 

I was like, oh yeah. 

Bring that closer so drunk Auntie Mel can identify what it is. 

I know what that is. 

Yes. 

It was a box of thimbles. 

Oh, really? 

When was the last time you saw a thimble? 

It's been a while. 

And these were brightly coloured thimbles, not just, how they were sort of flesh coloured or they were like an orangey red. These were like bright, beautiful coloured thimbles. And I just thought, gosh, it's been a while between thimbles in my life. 

Were they metal aluminium thimbles? No, the rubber ones. The rubber ones. So, because I do have a set, I have a metal thimble that I use for sewing the metal patches on my denim jacket. 

Oh, is that what you bought it for? 

Yes, because sometimes when you get to the thicker parts of the denim, you just need a little bit of something to push the needles through to attach the patch. 

I didn't know that they came in metal like that. 

So I'm not I'm not unfamiliar with thimble. 

So you've used a thimble? 

Yes. 

Probably more recently than I've seen one. 

It's sewing, but I don't think you use the rubber ones when you're sewing. Aren't they for just turning pages or something? 

For thumbing. 

Yeah, for thumbing pages. Thumbing your way through things. 

So you don't have to lick your fingers to move the pages. 

It sounds more suggestive than what it actually is, folks. Just get your mind out of the gutter, OK? 

These days you're not really printing things anymore, but back in the day you had to thumb through a whole bunch of stuff. 

Thumbing away like crazy. 

Yeah, you don't want the pages sticking together. You don't want to put your saliva everywhere if someone else has to read the page. 

I feel like that's an evolutionary thing because we talked about... SMSing with a numeric keypad as well. Remember I said it after I did that for a while, I'd be able to do push-ups on my thumbs. Yes, That combined with the thimbles. I feel like, you know, one of the things that they're going to notice when they start to look at maybe the evolution or devolution of us, like we've got our opposable thumbs, right? We've got our opposable thumbs and we've been using them so much that they've become quite strong. In fact, so strong that we've needed to reinforce them with thimbles in order to perform more of the task. because our brains are moving faster than what our thumbs will evolve. And then suddenly, it's all touchscreen and it's all haptic and it's all sort of... 

Yeah, look, try using the touchscreen with a thimble. But the thing was, I was standing there admiring, because they have beautiful colours and I just thought, this is lovely. 

Yeah. 

And then all the young crowd around... 

What's drunk Auntie Mel got over there? 

What's in the box? The exactly bright things she's holding up. 

Yes. 

And I'm like, have you guys seen these? I'm like, no. And I had to explain the concept of a thimble. 

Yeah. 

One of them said, oh, my auntie had one once, but other than that, they were in awe. It was great. 

Wait, did they, did you let them guess? No, I was too excited. Oh, so you just spilled the beans straight away. This is a thimble. This is what you used to be. 

But I had to explain the concept of thumbing too. 

Well, yes. Geez, that could have been a conversation that involved human resources. I'm calling HR if she starts talking about thumbing again. Let's thumb our way over to the hatches matches and dispatches. 

Do you need a thimble for that? 

Yeah, no, it's, well, it depends on how sharp, I guess. 

I'm just going to raw dog it. 

Yes, for this one. Oh, that sounds, wow. Yeah, I like to raw dog when I thumb my way through things. I don't need a thimble. This person is a celebrity who is having a birthday. this week that says this. 

It is our mission to try to help connect everyone around the world and to bring the world closer together. In order to do that, we believe that we need to offer a service that everyone can afford and we're committed to doing that. 

Yeah, that was a human. 

Sounds like someone who'd wear a Bluetooth walk around the office just quietly. 

Possibly. Somebody who'd get somebody else to do the thumbing for them. We'll find out who it is a bit later. 

We'll start with the 17th of May 2006, shall we? 

Okay. 

Big moment for genes. 

Yes, not the ones that you put on your legs. 

No, not your Levi's. 

Like genetics? 

Yes. 

Genes as in genetics? 

The Human Genome Project. We've spoken about this a couple of years ago because there was a big breakthrough in 2003. 

Yes. 

But this time 20 years ago, they published the final chromosome sequence in Nature. Nature being that magazine that we've spoken about. 

Oh, right. 

Yes. 

Oh, that confused me. 

So. 

Because I was like, oh, the final genome secrets in Nature. Well, I guess. 

They just set it free out in Nature. No, it's a journal, I think. It's a scientific highbrow publication. 

Well, that explains why I don't know anything about it. 

So this is essentially the final piece of the human genetic puzzle, closing out what was one of the biggest science projects ever at the time. It kicked off in 1990. 

Actually amazing. It's actually amazing. Yes, Bill Clinton was there for the launch of it in 1990, I believe. And he loved it. He's been a bit of a champion for it over time. Yeah. 

It was his favorite project. 

Yeah, so they started in 1990 where they did the sort of the, I think they had the first draft by, it went from 1990 to 2003. 

Yes, and they had. 

I said they kind of finished it by then. 

Well, it was like the first, the first draft was announced in 2000, so still a lot of track changes and comments. 

But Bill, Bill was happy to say that it was done. 

Without a doubt, this is the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by humankind. Today we are learning the language in which God created life. 

That's a bit scary. But at the same time, utterly fascinating. And look, it is very complicated and I don't claim to know a lot about genomes and DNA and all of that stuff. So let's let National Geographic give us a little bit of an explanation. 

Each human has between 20,000 and 25,000 genes. This collection, called a genome, determines a person's traits by influencing factors on a cellular level. Genetic information is stored in every cell's nucleus. Structures called chromosomes carry this information in the form of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA is a double helix of nucleotides, chemical compounds composed of sugar and phosphate molecules, along with the bases, thymine, adenine, guanine, and cytosine. These segments of DNA are what we call genes, and it is within those genes that chemical compounds provide the coding for all information about a person's inherited traits. 

Yeah, that's kind of it. Like, have you seen the movie Gattaca? 

No, and I stopped listening at the word that sounded like quinine, and I started thinking about tonic water. So sorry, I got a bit confused, but it was probably one of the biggest. It was probably one of the biggest international hashtag collabs. You had the US, UK, Japan, France, and Germany. It's China as well. And it was publicly funded science, but there was also some privatization involved as well. 

Yeah. And it was a bit like the space race, but within the human body, like it was quite competitive, which actually forced them to move a lot quicker and complete the project in like record time. They did not anticipate they were going to finish it as quickly as what they did. 

And it was quite, like you say, complicated. It took human DNA and basically chopped it into millions of little fragments. Sequenced those fragments individually. 

Well, that's how they saved time. That's how they ended up being a bit quicker with it. 

Yeah, well, then they used computers to reassemble it. So kind of like the world's most painful jigsaw puzzle. 

Yeah. 

Cost, 3 billion US dollars. One of the most expensive biology projects ever. And like you said, often compared to the world, the space race and the Apollo 11 moon landing or the internet in terms of the long-term impact that it had on society. 

Yep. That's like $3 billion, you know, sitting in the front seat of the car on the lap on the way to the science fair, just making sure that they're very careful going into the corners and breaking appropriately. 

What did you make for your science project? Remember when you had to do that? 

Fire. 

What? 

I didn't, I don't think I did anything. Oh, we, I dissected A pig's intestinal. 

For your project, like you do a project, you'd make something at home and you bring it in. No, And you're judged. Did you not have that? 

No. Should I? 

Think everyone did. You've just described it beautifully. 

That was a science fair. No. 

My dad helped me. 

Oh, no. 

With mine. 

Sorry, that's, I think I did like a electronic continuity indicator or something. 

I did. I did electromagnetism. I didn't even know what that was. My dad helped me. He's very science. 

Yeah. 

He took the doorbell off the door. 

Yeah. 

I don't know what he did. He pulled some wires out of it. And then he had some metal filings and put the metal filings over the doorbell wires. And somehow when you touch the wires, the metal filings moved around and set off the doorbell. So all day in this science fair was the ding dong of my house doorbell was very alarming. 

Drove people mad. 

Well, it drove me mad because, you know, my ears were tuned. 

Ding dong, very alarming. Good one. 

Well, my ears were tuned to the doorbell. I kept thinking I was having visitors. Jehovah's Witnesses are here or something like that. But it was a good project and I got a good mark. Even though my dad did it. 

Not good enough for you to be going in sequencing DNA. 

No, doorbells can't do that. 

No, they really can't. All they can do is ding dong and move metal filings around. These guys, putting that jigsaw puzzle together was an immense task. 

And it was the last one. So that's what they're celebrating. They match the chromosome one. And that was actually the largest and most complicated. So they literally saved the hardest bit for last. That is packed with genes that are linked to the major diseases. So things like cancer and neurological disorders, highly complex structure, really hard to sequence with the tech we had in the early 2000s and doorbells. So it was probably the most technically difficult one. But even though they've finished, it was kind of finished, not finished. 

That's right. 

It wasn't perfectly complete at this stage. There were still some gaps that over the years. 

You've got Bill Clinton going in 2003, it's done. It was great. Celebrate. Excellent. We just got one bit to go, but it's pretty much done. It's done. So everyone's like, yeah, cool. And then in 2006, they're like, no, it's now actually done. We've done the last part, which is what we're talking about now. 

And then someone whacked on their thimble, did some thumbing, and went, you've got a few gaps. 

Yeah, so thumbed a few gaps with the thimbles, and then they found us, then we get to like 2020s, and then it's like, okay, now it's actually done. 

Really, really done. 

It's actually done. But like, I think back then, you know, this This took like over a decade, $3 billion or something, I think for 1000 bucks and about an hour you can have your DNA sequence. 

Yeah, and a swab of your inner cheek or something. 

Yeah, something, I don't know, but it doesn't take very long. It doesn't take very long these days, which is interesting. I mean, but this is, you know, like I was saying, the blueprint of human life. They, this, I mean, I think it's a bit much to say that, you know, we're walking in the footsteps of gods or I don't know, I don't know. I think those are the words, but it's not only. It's from the South, they're very religious. 

Not only mapped the sequencing, it also was a big step towards being able to identify genes that were linked to different diseases. 

Yes. 

It's starting to introduce the concept of personalised medicine. And then obviously led to a lot of advances in biotech, pharma, research. 

I think the thing that I love about it is humans, the project, the Human Genome Project worked out that the genome is 99.9% identical between all humans. So it's the 0.1 of a percent that makes us all different. So they spent $3 billion to figure out that we're all Same. Yeah. 

I think they had really high hopes as well. The feeling was we'll be able to cure cancer before. 

We can do the sequencing. And this is what I thought. I'm like, oh wow, like, you know, these guys have unlocked this. They can reprogram things so that cancer doesn't happen now maybe or something like that. I mean, it goes to show what I know. But a lot of other people thought that too. They got very excited. 

They did. And it was also starting to sow the seeds of DNA patenting. 

Yes. 

And then we start to see the ethical side. 

Well, these are private companies. These are private companies doing this research as well. It's not all like government funded and stuff like that. There's private companies involved. 

And I think someone patented the genetic sequence or parts thereof the DNA and pharmaceutical companies straight away are developing all kinds of things that help, support, are linked to these different. 

It's like, how do you own that? 

I don't know. I don't understand. It's like 3D printing. I just don't get it. But I mean, the data privacy concerns were quite real. So who owns your DNA? It did lead as well. And we're still seeing it now around some of this genetic editing, which I think there was that big debate. Is it CRISPR or CRISPR? I don't know how to say that. 

Yeah. 

So. 

It's like when you go in and you get a car and you're like going, look, this is my budget. 

I'd really like car play. 

I'd like car play, but I don't think I can afford the car play. 

Heads up display. 

And the power windows and the heated seats. So I'm going to have to cut one of those things. So it's like, and it's kind of the same thing you do in your little wish list when you build a baby, like a Build-A-Bear workshop, but with an actual person. 

Well, they have done, and a guy did it, was he from, I think he was from China, and he ended up going to jail. He did some gene editing, and it was for the purpose of making, I think, babies HIV resistant. It was to fight against some, some disease or illness. And he did that and then was, put in jail over it. Because the thing is, obviously, the baby can't consent to someone doing that. And you also don't know what the long-term effects are of this gene editing. 

Yeah. 

And that's then hereditary and then passed on for generations as well. 

Massive ethical questions there. Not to mention the fact that if you start to intervene in something that nature has been taken care of, because we. 

Haven't. 

We haven't known how it's done and how it's been done. And that is like a crucial part of our evolution. If you start to split the path and build something else, like what does that do to us? What does that do to the balance of all things? 

There's also the insurance debates as well. If you can sequence and figure out what people might be susceptible to genetically. 

Oh, you get cheaper insurance? 

Or more expensive insurance if you have a predisposition for certain diseases because of your genetic makeup. 

Oh, so if you did like a DNA test or if you screened somebody, you're like, look, sorry, mate, you're uninsurable because you're, yeah. 

But on the flip side, there is more personalized medicine. And you're seeing that coming up a lot now in the fitness, biohacking, longevity kind of race as well, where you can pay to have all of these different blood work, scans and things like that done so that you're getting more customized advice based on you as opposed to, you know, the general bell curve, median sort of risk factor that your GP would say, oh, well, you know, you're not on the really bad side just yet, so everything's okay. Whereas these private companies are actually like, well, for you personally, you are in a bit of a danger zone, so we're going to intervene here and we're going to put you on this medication and we're going to do this lifestyle intervention. Like he's starting, you're starting to see it a little bit. 

So it'd be like, you know, dental is expensive and I don't want dental on my insurance, but if we can splice some shark DNA in there, you know, my teeth just keep growing back. I mean, that'd be great. Let's go over to technology where Jobsy is. We should just call this Jobsy's at it again. That's kind of what this segment has become. 

We are introducing a new notebook computer that we are calling the MacBook Pro. It's a new name. It's a new name because We're kind of done with power, and because we want Mac in the name of our products. So MacBook Pro. 

Yay, everyone claps and goes crazy. Tell us, Steve, what does it do? 

The new MacBook Pro is the fastest Mac notebook ever, obviously. It's also the thinnest. It's an inch thin, and it's even a hair thinner than the 17-inch PowerBook. It's the thinnest one we've ever shipped. It's got some amazing new features, too. First of all, it's got a 15.4-inch widescreen LCD display that is as bright as our cinema displays. Really bright. It's a gorgeous display. And it's got an iSight camera built in. 

Yeah. Not so excited about the cinema display, but the camera was a big hit by the sounds of that. Yeah. He kind of cues him, doesn't he? Because he's like, and... Did you hear someone yell it out in the audience? 

It's like the audience are trying to guess. It'd be the one that won you. 

That person's been escorted. They've probably been shot as they've exited the venue. 

This is the MacBook release. I think it was the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. 

Yes, that was from the keynote, I think, in January, where they did the launch of it. So they spoke a lot about the Pro, but they didn't actually speak so much about the MacBook itself, which is the more affordable version of the Mac laptop. 

But whatever, it was big news. It replaced the iBook line. I actually don't really get his reasoning where he wanted the word Mac in it, because iPod didn't have the word Mac in it. iPhone doesn't have the word Mac in it. And I think I've said this before, it should have stayed iBook. 

I think I have a real problem with this. I know, I think because iMac, all the computers, all the personal iBook, all the computers. branded as Mac, as Macintosh. So all the computers are. Yeah, that's where it gets. That's now I'm confused. Yeah. I don't like it. 

I have a problem. 

You can't reverse engineer that focus group, can you, Steve? No. 

I clearly wasn't invited to participate. 

No. Well, that's probably why. They're probably like, oh, he comes to the party group. 

You should have seen the feedback I gave the iconic. I ran out of space in the comments field last night. 

Did you? 

Yeah, I got a $10 voucher for it, bud. 

Name dropping brands there. Oh, you're doing their survey? 

Yeah, I'm on their survey list. 

I love a survey. 

I love to provide feedback. You know this, Snap, Send, Solve, and participate in all kinds of things. 

How likely are you to recommend taking surveys? 

Very likely. 

Not interested. 

And then send me to the comments box for more. Oh, really? 

You do the open text as well. 

I did last night. Yeah, I ran out of space. I gave them some very, very good feedback. 

And they gave you a $10 voucher for your efforts. 

I thought it was good feedback. And then they invited me to be in a focus group, but I thought, I don't have time for that. Of course, when you go in a focus group, there's always someone that's really outspoken. And I'm just, and that's not me. I'm a bit shy in focus groups and I just feel a bit. There's a one on one interview, an IDI, I think they're called, an in-depth interview. I'll do that. Just not a focus group. 

Would you be in a focus group for MacBooks? 

Look, if I had known that they were going to do this name change, I would have put up with being in a focus group and I would have been loud and vocal about this because I don't like it. 

No, obviously you don't like the I crossover. And I tried to rationalize it and I take your point. 

Thank you. 

Because iMac is, yeah, that's just, it just ruins the whole. thing. I mean, otherwise it'd be like, I computer. I think that tests really well. 

I computer. 

I should get into marketing. You should. I computer. Cool. I'm Joe. Pleased to meet you, computer. 

So part of a broader reset, new naming, new architecture, new direction under Jobsy. It had the, this is where they moved to the Intel Core Duo. 

Processor, which they've now moved away from. And every bloody 5 minutes after I get a software update, there's some programs on here that you've got that aren't going to be supported very soon and you're going to have to spend more money. And it's like, f**k you. 

And it had a camera. And the camera was called the EyeSight Camera. 

Yes. 

So that's still had an eye. 

It's a clever play on words, isn't it? 

EyeSight. 

I letter I, Sight with a capital S. 

And the magnetic power connector. 

Oh, the MagSafe. 

First time I used one of those, I didn't realise. 

Pretty great. 

Blew my mind. 

Yeah, it is pretty great. 

Oh, so good. So good. 

I didn't go that far, but it. 

No, it did, it did. 

It's got a magnet in it. Oh my God. 

Well, it stays on it. doesn't fall off. 

See, I think that actually, you know what? That would have generated a lot more applause than the cinematic display and the eyesight camera if he said, but check out this magnetic charger thing. Look at this. Look at it. 

Yeah, I know. 

Click. Don't even need to force it. It just, it comes within proximity of it and gets sucked right in there. 

It wasn't all right. 

No thumbing around looking for your charge port. 

It wasn't all great though. 

Why? 

This was the iMac. No, not the iMac. What's it called? 

The MacBook. The MacBook. 

The MacBook. 

You're getting your eyes crossed. 

Remember, this was the one. Can you see it in your mind's eye? It came in like computer material, computer fabric, whatever. But it also had the white plastic one. 

Yes, the white plastic. 

My dad has one. Was in a house fire and he still uses it. 

Yes. 

Anyway. 

Well, that's pretty impressive. 

I don't think he should still be using it, but anyway. 

Okay, you don't think it's safe, right? No, hasn't been tagged and tested. 

Yeah, I'm a bit worried, bit worried. But anyway, you know what, he knows his way around a doorbell, so I'm sure he wouldn't do anything sketchy. 

Yeah, should see what he does with iron filings with that thing. 

The white plastic one. 

Yeah. 

Think about it. was really problematic at the time. Because it stained. 

Oh, yes. 

His wife. That makes sense. 

We spilled coffee on it. 

Yeah, sit it on the newspaper. Oh, of course. 

Fingerprints all over it, yeah. 

But it also cracked and it became known as the crack book. It was a thing. There's Reddit forums, there's Mac forums. He's a quote from one person on Mac forums from 2006. Tonight I noticed something poking my wrist. the seam where the palm rest plastic meets the outside shell had cracked. Not chipped like it hit on something, but it splintered. The palm rest poked out a good 1.5 inches of long silver, wide enough to stick a paper clip in, and now I can see down inside my MacBook. So here I am with a very dirty once white MacBook where I can see the innards working. 

Well that's fascinating. Yes, it's like, it's like, I mean, it's like any good book. it's seen a bit of action. The pages are a little bit weathered. The dust covers may be slightly tall. 

How would you be though? 

Corners are a bit dim. 

Your MacBook just cracks like that. 

Yeah, because what are we looking at there? I don't know how much they went for. How much did they go for then? 

I can't remember. 

Quite expensive, I think. Well, I mean, like, let's have a crack. How much? Let's go. Let's just use our good old mate, ChatGPT. I don't speak to it, so I'll talk to it. I'll ask it a question. How much did a MacBook cost in 2006? When Apple Matchbook launched in May 2006, it came in a few configurations. Okay, so base pricing at launch, $1,099 US dollars for the 13 inch model? 

That's A lot. 

The mid-tier white model. The white, that's for the plastic. The 13 inch one, the entry level 13 inch was white. 

Yeah. 

And then the mid-tier white model was $12.99 and then the higher end black model, remember they had a black one. Yeah, that was about $1,500. 

But everybody liked the white because white is kind of synonymous with Apple. So most people went for the white one, not thinking, oh, that's going to show up all my stains. 

No, but if you look at it in today's money, so adjusting for inflation, it'd be around $1,800 to 2 1/2 grand. Which is pretty much how much they kind of are these days anyway, right? They're close to that anyway. Yeah, they ain't cheap. 

Spec wise, 512 to 2 gig of RAM. 

Yeah, that's pretty impressive for a laptop. 

It had a 60 to 120. 

That's a spinning hard drive. Spinning the hard drive. Now they use solid state drives, which are much faster because it, yeah. 

You could hear them spinning. 

Yes, you could hear them spinning. 

They're quite loud. 13 inch LCD, which is what Jobsy was crapping on about earlier. I mean, now you've got the retina and the colour accuracy in there. 

Got the eyesight camera. 

Sharp. And 4 to 5 hours battery life on a good day. 

That's not, that's not great. 

Not if you are using it as your work computer. No, you could knock off early, I guess. 

Well, no, you just have to keep... I don't think is very good as well. 

But it was the time when you started seeing them popping up on campus and people walking around with them under their arms while they're on their Bluetooth headset. And you're like, oh, they're cool. They're cool. 

Yeah, and you'd see people in cafes working away. You'd be like, they're cool too. On their new, you know, beautiful white. Crack book. Whereas now if you look at somebody working away on a laptop in a cafe, they kind of come across as a bit of a dinosaur because you can do all the same things on your phone, really. 

Yes. 

It's almost like, no, this is serious business. This is house computer stuff. And I haven't got a house nearby, so I'm just going to have to do this now. 

I mean, music. Okay, let's do that. 

It's your thing. It's your jam. 

I feel like I'm getting the blame now. 

For the music. 

Yeah. 

No, it's not your fault. It's just the way it is. 

Well, charts are actually quite boring. Are they? Very similar to last week. We'll start with UK. 

Who's that? 

Crazy, Niles Barkley. 

I think you're crazy. I think you're crazy. I think you're crazy. Just like me. 

That just, it was everywhere, it was everywhere, and we're getting tired of it by now. 

Well, that's why they pulled it off charts. You can't have this anymore. Still #1 in Australia is Rihanna. 

That'll do, because there's more of her later on anyway in the American charts, which we'll just go to now. What do you reckon? 

They see me rolling, they hating Patrolling and trying to catch me riding dirty Trying to catch me riding dirty Trying to catch me riding dirty. 

I got the right temperature fishes that you from the storm Hold on, girl, I got the right tactics to turn you on And girl, I wanna be the papa, you can be the mom. 

Oh-oh 'Cause you had a bad day You take a run down You sing a sad song just to turn it around You said you don't know You tell me don't lie S.O.S.P. Someone help me It's not healthy For me to feel this white Oh, you are making this hard You got me tossing and turning Can't sleep at night It's time please Someone come and rescue me. 

See, there she is. She just crashed right into the US charts and she's at #1 there as well, Rihanna with SOS. So, you know, she gets more than a run. 

And this is her first week at #1 in the US, isn't it? 

Well, first week at #1. I feel like she, I don't know, actually, so I'll stop. I was like, is it, I mean, is this, is her first little nudge into the top five as well. So she's gone straight to #1. 

I think she was in the top five last week, wasn't she? But it's not #1. 

Oh, that debunks that theory, doesn't it? 

I don't know. That's the robot guy. 

No, it's all right. It's fine. 

But let's get to the big story. The big music story, this time 20 years ago, occurred from, well, over the 16th and the 17th of May. 

You think that Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan is a music story? 

Yeah, why did I make that music? 

I don't know. I mean, Lindsay had a song. So did Paris. 

Yeah, exactly. 

Kind of. I don't know if I'd call either of it music, but that's because I'm old. I'm shaking my fist at the cloud, going that's not music. 

Maybe because there was nothing else in music? 

It's fine. 

That's a very good point. I don't know why I did that, but they did both have albums around this time. 

That'll do. 

The Stars are Blind. And what did Lindsay have about people watching her? 

Yeah, it's our show. Do whatever we like. 

Yeah, all right. 

Yeah, sorry. 

Shut up. 

I shouldn't have questioned. No one would have even noticed. I wonder if they would have. I mean, I did, so maybe, because I'm not with it at the best of times. Carry on. 

A messy run-in at LA hotspot Hyde Lounge between Paris and Lindsay spills into one of the most infamous tabloid feuds of the 2000s. It runs for years. And we love it. And it brought a comment that, We've stuck for many years. 

I don't know if we love it. Do we love it? 

We love the feuding. 

We love the feuding. 

But again, looking at it through my 2026 eyes with lots of floaters, I kind of think, oh, I was part of the problem, because I did enjoy this. But this is this whole idea of the paparazzi turning young females against each other, exploiting them. It was just, Ick, but at the time it was just massive. We can't ignore it. was pop culture at probably its worst? 

Well, I think it's the comments from the boyfriend. 

I don't even think he was a boy. No, Brandon Davis. He was a bit of a hanger-onerer for with Paris. 

Yes, and he was amusing her and he was making a laugh. So he was also quite drunk. 

We've got to start at the beginning. That's the 17th of May. We're still at the 16th of May. 

Oh, OK. So there's a whole, there's a whole series of events. 

It's a leader of how you build the tension instead of just jumping to. 

It and just ruin the whole thing. I don't know. how these things work? 

16th of May. 

Yes. 

At the Hyde Club or Hyde Lounge, I think it's called. Paris and Lindsay cross paths after there's been this ongoing, on again, off again friendship. So they used to hang out. Then they weren't hanging out as much and people were going, oh, they're busy. 

You know, she's a busy actress and she's Paris is an heiress. They've got albums. They've been working. They've been working. 

You've got a promo circuit. Yes. They'd been circling the same clubs for weeks, but people had noticed the tension. 

Right. 

And they're both, at this point in time, heavily photographed. So they're appearing in all the magazines at the same places, but not together and not interacting with each other. They're also competing for the same roles and brand deals. This is a time when Jussie Couture and Von Dutch were hiring all of these celebrities. 

To wear their sh*t. 

Yeah, to be brand ambassadors. So they were going for the same sort of gigs and the makeup companies as well. And they branded. 

Maybe she's born with it. Maybe she's on the payroll. 

And then Brandon Davis is hanging off Paris. 

This guy. Yeah, this guy. 

He's loud, he's obnoxious, he's chaos. So Lindsay arrives at Hyde Lounge. Paris is already in there with her group. Apparently, according to reports and paparazzi and people that were there, was side-eye exchanges, visible tension, Paris and her group weren't exactly welcoming, awkward proximity, cold shoulder. Lindsay then leaves earlier than expected because, you know, vibes not great, vibes off. It's not a fight, it's just off vibes, off vibes. We all felt it. Well, there's something wrong, something off with this vibe. 

They're quite overwhelming these environments. 

The next day. Harris is, she's still at Hyde. I don't know if she's stayed there overnight or if she's gone back the next night. I don't know, but she's leaving Hyde. 

I have to say it's possible. 

That she was there. 

But they never left. Based on what I saw on the footage. 

Potentially. She's walking out with her sister Nikki and Brandon Davis. 

Yes. 

And the cameras are following them the whole walk to the car and when they're in the car for a good Five or so minutes. It's on YouTube. 

It is. Look, he's the just a small, because it's a bit much, but it's just a small version of it. 

And she's got a fire brush that all you guys would of course suck because you're desperate. Step aside, please. Lindsay Lohout has got the stinkiest sweaty orange vagina anyone has ever seen. I haven't seen it. Do you agree with him? But it's out freckles, it's orange, and it smells like diarrhea. Do you agree with him? 

Yeah, it's they're very drunk. 

He uses fire crotch a lot. I think he said it probably about 387 times throughout that. 

I don't know. I mean, he doesn't strike me as a person who's a particular fan of vaginas at the best of times anyway. If we're being honest. 

He was very sweaty too. 

It was just revolting. 

Drunk or he was. 

It's just not a way to speak about it. I don't know. I mean, but he was he was egged on. There's cameras around. This is early TMZ times, right? That only just... When did TMZ drop? 

The year before. 

2005. 

2005. Yeah. And you've got Perez Hilton starting his blog around this time as well. 

And I feel like there's a bit of a symbiosis between these media outlets and the celebrities to a degree. 

And they pay, what are the paparazzi called? What are they called back then when they used to be, you know, they'd be on the radar and they'd know where all the celebrities were. There was a name for them. 

No. 

Besides that, there was actually a name. I can't remember what it was called. We watched a documentary on it. But they had, like how you can listen into the police radar. 

Yeah, like the stringers and stuff. That's yeah. They did the news camera stuff. 

Yeah, it was something like that. The paparazzi did the same sort of thing and they would figure out where all the celebs were and then they'd let each other know and then they'd turn up. That interaction actually started with the paparazzi asking them question about Lindsay. That was the start of the clip. And then he makes that first comment and they keep at them asking questions. And because he's, I don't know what he's on, but because he's probably not of sound mind at that point, he's like, sure, I'm just going to go for it. And he just keeps on, but they keep egging. Then they're saying to Paris throughout, do you agree? What's your take on this? 

She's laughing. She just laughs the whole time. She doesn't actually speak. 

Well, she doesn't say anything. She is kind of contributing guilty guilty by association, but also laughing. She is laughing through it. 

Yes. So. I mean, this is a case of thank God there was no social media around in the early 2000s when we were going out. But you know, I just think it's, I mean, you got to you got to hold yourself to a higher standard if you're walking around and there's people following you with cameras like that. I mean, it's there's no there's no there's no pretence behind it. There's nothing to hide behind. It is what it is. 

And there's no publicist protecting them. There's no. There's no PR, there's no, I'll issue a statement later, it's just blah. And this becomes one of the most widely circulated paparazzi videos of the era, distributed through TMZ, all the gossip blogs. It was on the entertainment TV shows, late night talk shows, obviously having lots of fire crotch moments after the fact. Basically viral before viral was a thing. And I kind of feel bad defending Paris a few episodes ago when we were talking about Pink's stupid girls. And I was saying, oh, that's a bit nasty actually what Pink's doing. But to then watch that clip. 

Of this, it was a bit stupid, wasn't it? 

Where she's sitting in there just laughing and carrying on. I'm like, that is very mean girls as well. And after everything that you'd been through with the sex tape a couple of years earlier, I'm like, oh. this just doesn't sit right. 

I know. But I mean, they're very young. 

They're young and they're drunk. 

Very young and they're very silly. 

I know. 

And they're very easily led by, you know, all of their peers that are around them. And let's face it, like they're not in the nicest place in the world. Like Hollywood's a bit of a cesspit. 

It did become one of the words of the year as well. 

Yeah, which is, really. 

And this was in one of the, I can't remember what publication, it wasn't even like a tab, it was like a newspaper. It wasn't even a gossip blog. It was a newspaper at the end of 2006, said word of the year was fire crotch, coining this one word catchphrase in a drunken monologue against Lindsay Lohan as perhaps the only positive contribution to society that sleazy rich kid Brandon Davis has ever made. 

Positive. 

And it was so needed. Who knew that we'd be forced to view the various crutches of a variety of Arando Starlettes in just one year. Fire Crotch, take your place next to ************ is one of the most necessary words of our time. 

What newspaper was that? 

I can't remember what it was, but it was a newspaper. It wasn't even like a gossipy newspaper. 

I mean, that's just terrible. Isn't that terrible? I just, I wonder if the shoe was on the other foot with a guy and there was some celebrity and somehow, I don't know, somebody managed to shove a camera up one leg of his boxer shorts and found out that he wasn't packing much and started calling him cashew. And then it's like, and then cashew becomes the word of the year. Like, do you know what I mean? 

And we're young. This is a young woman. And we all know that it's associated with her. And that's then the word of the year. And it's so needed. And oh, how terrible that we're exposed to all these young women's crotches. It's like, yeah, but the paparazzi were shoving cameras up their skirts. It wasn't like they're going, yeah, have a look, everybody. 

And as a, I just, can you imagine if somebody made a nickname about your genitals? And then that became the word of the year. 

I know. 

It's horrible. 

It's horrible. It's misogynistic. It's body shaming. It's humiliating. But it was treated. And I feel bad because I was along for the ride at the time. But it was entertainment. 

But then everyone. 

And that's how it was presented. And we thought it was okay because that's how it was presented. 

And then everyone's up Lindsay for the rent because she turns to drugs. I'm just like, mate, if you, if suddenly I became known as Cashew, I'd be taking all the drugs, including some of the ones that would maybe help me solve the problem. It's terrible. That's such a gross story. 

It is, but it is a moment. It was a big moment and we do need to release. 

I was going to say maybe we should have moved it from music into entertainment, but it wasn't really entertainment as well. Although we were entertained. TMZ was a form of entertainment, which was therein lies the problem, doesn't it? Because it's all of a sudden it's not news, it's entertainment. 

Well, onto something that was also maybe... Borderline exploitation for entertainment. 

Oh, nah. This is a great show. 

Reality TV fever dreamers surreal life wraps its final season this week, 20 years ago, closing the door in one of the most unhinged experiments of the early 2000s. 

Seven ex-superstars are forced to share one house. 

I'm a cult phenomenon. 

Their glory days are gone, and now life's a little different. A big one grocery shop. 

They're all buying food. This is not enough for seven people. I don't eat normal food. Just shut up. For taxes. On food? Yes. Is that new? 

The Surreal Life premieres Thursday, January 9th on the WB. 

Oh, it was fun. It was a fun show. 

We did enjoy it. 

Big Brother with a bunch of, well, I guess B-list celebrities that have probably moved down to the D and the C ranks, you know? 

I mean, some of them would be. big in their day. 

Huge, huge celebrities in their day. I mean, some of them had fallen from grace. you had Vince Neil from Motley Crue. Yes. Vern Troyer, Mini Me from Vanilla Ice. Vanilla Ice was in there. 

Wasn't Ron Jeremy in one of them as well? 

Ron Jeremy was best mates with Vanilla Ice on the show. 

That's right. 

Eric Estrada from Chips China, the wrestler, Bridget Nielsen. 

That's country singer. 

Which one? 

Tammy someone. 

Tammy Wynette. 

No, someone else. 

I think you're thinking of Tammy Faye Baker. She wasn't a country singer. It was the televangelists. 

Oh, got my Tammies crossed. 

You crossed your Tammies. Oh, dear. What was the other thing you crossed before? You crossed something else. Oh, yeah. Along with your eyes, you crossed your Tammies. Whoops. It doesn't end well. Lots of big. Gary Busey was on there. 

Oh, was he ever. 

It wasn't that extraordinary. It was an extraordinary show with lots That's a very, Corey Feldman, we kind of worked out that he was a bit of a whack job back then, and we still... 

And maybe needed a little bit of help. 

Nah. I think you had too much help. I think that was half the problem. It's called enabling. 

I mean, they put them all in a house together. You've got these big personalities. A lot of them are washed up and are wanting a second chance at fame. So they're seeing it as their opportunity to get more camera time. So the things that they do to get the camera time, and then they'd ply them with alcohol, a la Big Brother, and chuck them all into the pool and watch what happens. 

Yeah, it was almost like TMZ just set up a share house. 

It really was. 

It really was. So they just, and they did their thing. It was a perfect storm and it was a great idea. Whoever thought of it was a great idea. But I would. 

It was a bit exploitative. 

It was to a degree. And it caused a lot of problems to say. It also caused romance. Remember there was the guy from the Brady Bunch and he, and it was. 

And they had a spin off show. 

Adrian. 

I was a model, wasn't it? 

Was she a Sports Illustrator model, Adrian Curry? 

That's right. 

Yeah. Is that her last name? whatever, Bobby Brady, the guy that played Bobby Brady. 

That's right. Oh, I forgot that one. 

But that's the level of celebrity. It's like you kind of look at them and you know who they are, but you can't, what's his name again? 

I've got my thimble on it. 

Yeah, that's right. 

But look, I think there were lots of messy moments and lots of meltdowns. There was the very infamous Vanilla Ice meltdown. He went through a bit of an identity crisis on the show and I did feel bad for him. Gary Busey, just being Gary Busey, really very unpredictable. Rambling, chaos. 

Busey's rocking a pretty bad brain injury at that stage as well. So it was like. 

Again, I don't think they should have let him in. 

Well, I don't think it was made obvious to the entire world until he was on that show because, you know, he didn't really see what Busey was like behind the scenes. So that was a bit messy. 

Oh, Verne Troyer, and he hooked up with China. That was a hookup as well, wasn't it? 

Was it? Verne Troyer in China. Yeah. Mini me in China. 

Yeah, they got really drunk at one stage. 

That's might have been stuck. 

But there were also some beautiful moments where unexpected celebrities were supporting each other. 

Oh yeah. 

We saw this camaraderie come through and they were almost... becoming each other's counsellors. 

I saw a clip where Vanilla Ice had hoisted Gary Coleman from Different Strokes over his shoulder and they were doing a challenge in a kitchen and he was joking about dropping him into the deep fryer. And Gary Coleman was not happy about being manhandled by Vanilla Ice. There's lots of things. You remember the comedian Bill Hader who was on such films as Superbad, Saturday Night Live and stuff? Well, he was working in the business at that stage. He was in his early 20s and he was a showrunner. The Surreal Life. And he had this to say about it. 

And I was on, I worked on a show called The Surreal Life. My wife. Yeah, so what, you back her up all the time? Yes, I back her up all the time. Because I like reality shows. And then it was like, when I realized reality shows were fake, I was that dumb. I was like 20. I was like, wait, what? Like, they don't like each other? Because they had this moment where Corey Feldman, I was, and the editor was like, Watch this. And there was this thing of Corey Feldman, and he was getting a, he was crying. And he was going like, I'm just so worried about everything that's going on with me right now, and I don't know what's gonna happen, and I'm really worried. And I hear the producer off camera go, That was great, Corey, can you just say this weekend? Because that's when he goes, What? Yeah, no problem. 

That's very funny. 

Oh, so it was staged. Yeah, so I don't. 

Have to rain on your parade? 

He does a very good Corey Feldman. 

There's another story he tells. There's another story he tells because Corey Feldman got married, remember, in that season he had his wedding? 

Oh, he did. That's right. And they all went to it, didn't they? 

Yeah, they all went to it. And they're at the wrap party and Bill Hayd is at the wrap party as well. And Corey Feldman pulls him aside. And you got to remember, this is like, they're not really at the peak of their career, right? So, So Corey pulls Bill Hader aside and he's like, I want to see the footage. Can you give me all the footage of all the episodes in advance? I'll give you $2,000 so that my lawyers and I can watch it before it's really, I'll give you 2 grand. And Bill Hader, who's a 22 year old showrunner, like a producer's assistant, looks at him and goes, Corey, you don't have $2,000. 

Which is why he was on the show. There was some beautiful redemption arcs as well. 

And sort of. 

Vanilla ice. He had the meltdown and we all had a bit of a chuckle and we're like, oh, so washed up. He started, he showed a lot of self-awareness towards the end. 

Do you reckon? 

He did. He did. He was very introspective and he was reflecting on his time. And I feel like he matured over the course of the surreal life. And then moved into reality TV and then started that house flipping show. He's not a bad presenter. 

Project Vanilla Ice or whatever. 

I don't mind that show. And obviously the breakout star. Flavor Flavor. 

Oh, well, I mean, the romance with Bridget Nielsen, the unlikely Perry. 

Yeah. 

I mean, that birthed a spin-off series. 

Yes, between the two of them, Strange Loves. 

Yes, and then of course, because that didn't work out, then you got Flavour of Love as well. What did he call her? 

What was his pet name for her? I'm trying to remember. 

Floofy, Foofy. 

Oh, yeah, it was something like that. 

I think it was what Bridget Nielsen called him. Was it Foofy or something? 

Oh, yes. It was something like that. It was very odd. 

Like Foofy Foo instead of Flavour Flavours. 

Yeah, because she didn't know who he was, I don't think. 

They were really yucky. 

They fought a lot too, didn't they? 

It was just when they were getting tumultuous and a bit amorous. It wasn't nice. 

It was a bit much. But then we obviously had all the flavour of loves and I'm not mad about that. 

VH1 with the celeb reality at that stage were just killing it with those shows. 

I think that's what brought them into trash reality. Yeah, That particular show. And then it was just downhill from there. 

Good trash. It was good trash reality because it was people that you grew up with. 

Yeah. 

Being trashy. And that was something else. And that's it. That's almost the end of the show. With the exception of course, the Hatches, Matches and Dispatches clue. I tell you what, I'd love to... I'd love, I'd love to see this particular celebrity in a surreal life dropped in household with all the others, but they wouldn't last with some of the other ones from the early 2000s, they wouldn't last celebrities. 

Yeah, no, they're 2006 house. No, destroy them. 

Would have been awesome. They're having a birthday. They said this. 

It is our mission to try to help connect everyone around the world and to bring the world closer together. In order to do that, we believe that we need to offer a service that everyone can afford and we're committed to doing that. 

To bring the world closer together. If you said Mark Zuckerberg. You would be correct. It's his birthday. What day is the 14th of May? Happy birthday. 

He was born in 1984. 

Oh God, that makes me feel old. 

Coding prodigy. He built messaging tools for his family when he was a child. I cracked Mahjong. Does that make me a computer prodigy? 

No. 

One knows how to play Mahjong. I finished Mahjong. I still don't know how to play it, but I finished it. 

I think you're just in the wrong department, though. You could have helped them out with their iMacBook site thing. 

Yeah, feedback. 

Professional feedback, correct. With Zuckerberg. But maybe in the marketing department, maybe you could have thought of a better name than Facebook. 

He was peaked doing side projects before it was cool energy. And we know the story. Harvard students studying psychology and computer science launches the Facebook. 

I think that's where the marketing genius comes from. It's like somebody, somebody in his inner circle is like, listen, Mark, just drop the, it's too much the Facebook. And the rest is history. 

And obviously cookies quickly spreads across firstly colleges, then the global takeover. And we'll talk about that later this year, actually, because that does go broad across the world in the 2006. We had the Winklevoss drama as well. 

Oh yeah. 

Very messy. 

I mean, just f**k it. Watch the movie. Who cares? Happy birthday, sh*t. That's the end of the show, honestly. He's just like, he's just one of those other people that's got the kind of wealth that you can't even imagine that could possibly solve maybe world hunger. And a whole bunch of other problems, but I don't know, it's just frustrating. 

There's one thing I like about him though. 

What's that? 

How he wore the same grey t-shirt because he didn't like decision fatigue. That's smart. 

Really. 

Yeah, I like that. 

It is. 

I like that idea. 

I wouldn't say smart, I'd say practical. 

Practical, yeah. 

It's practical. Practical Mark, they call him. Yeah. Practical Zuck. Sorry, I was a bit rude. Pract Zuck. Happy birthday, mate, if you're listening. Have a good one. I hope you have a really good one. I hope you get lots of presents. God knows you need them. 

I'm going to kick you off the Facebook man. 

I've already been kicked off there for taking the **** out of him, actually. If yeah, it's not a rite of passage. Are you in trouble for talking about him? No, I posted a doctored photo of him. Then you got in trouble. Well, the doctored photo was. him wearing a Hugo Boss uniform from the 1940s. And yeah, it was so funny, like, because it happened, I put it up and I was like, probably shouldn't have done that. So I tried to take it down and I was banned within seconds. Wow. Which I find extraordinary because when they talk about bringing people closer together on that platform. 

Wow. You got banned for that. Yeah, Straight away. You know, you're probably on a list. He's probably got a list of people. He's probably got a list and you're on it. 

What a colossal waste of time that would be if he came after me. But What I find interesting about how quickly that turnaround was is I've seen stuff up on that platform that just should not be there. Yes. That stays there. Yes. That, you know, I've complained about stuff on that platform there. Well, that doesn't go against our community guidelines, but you put somebody in a smart looking suit with some nice lapel pins and Then you're in a bit of trouble, aren't you? Yikes. Yeah. Look, I'll blame the bots. I mean, it's not entirely his fault. Surely it was just the bots doing it. No, I reckon it was him personally. He knows. Maybe the bots could listen to this podcast and kick us along. Well, we don't need no bots. We've got you and you're the most important person to us. And that's why we are so grateful that you are sticking with us and listening to us right until the end. Maybe you could write to Amnesty International next time I get put in Facebook jail. No, I won't. I've repented. I'll never do that again. Come and find us on the socials. We are there. We are not banned. Everything is working fine for now. 

I had something taken down the other day on Facebook. I can't remember what it was. That's all right. We're still there. 

Yeah, that's exactly right. Come and find us. Send us a message. Slide into our DMs. Maybe you could do a boom for the boom box. If you don't know what that is, maybe listen to some other episodes. You can figure it out. We love you. We appreciate you. We'll see you next week. Oh, hang on. Before we wrap it all up, what's happening next week? 

Oh, we've got an earthquake. 

Oh, great. 

We've got an album release from the Dixie Chicks. 

Really. 

I think it's the first release post to all the drama, the George Bush drama. So that was a big moment for them. 

That is. 

Pan's Labyrinth debut. 

Great film. Can't wait to talk about that one. 

And it's the season finale of probably one of the one of the biggest late 90s, early 2000s shows charmed. 

The season finale or the series finale? 

Oh, series finale, sorry. Yes. Wow. The final episode. And we're going to to check in with our friends at Television Without Pity for an appropriate recap of the final episode. 

That's so much. I'm really overwhelmed. I might see if I can get someone else to come in next week. We'll see you then. See you. Bye. 

Thanks for taking the time to rewind. Join us next time for another week that was 20 years ago. In the meantime, come and reminisce on the socials. Search for T-minus 20 podcast on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.