Tag: businesses behaving badly
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Mr. McMahon (Netflix)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Mr. McMahon: The villain character is probably better than the actual person. Quick synopsis: The story of the rise and fall of WWE chairman, Vince McMahon. Fact for Non-History People: WWE is valued at $6.8 billion. Fact for History Nerds: Host cities of Wrestlemania estimate more than $1.25 billion in economic…
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McMillions by James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for McMillions: Happy Meal with a side of fraud. Quick synopsis: The story of how no one really won the Monopoly game at McDonald’s. Fact for Non-History People: McDonald’s executives are required to work at a restaurant for a week. Fact for History Nerds: The chances of winning one of the big…
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Ren Faire (HBO)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ren Faire: It’s like Succession but nerdy. Quick synopsis: The story of a succession battle for the control of the Texas Renaissance Festival. Fact for Non-History People: The Texas Renaissance Festival draws about 500,000 people per year. Fact for History Nerds: The festival itself takes up over 55 acres. My Take…
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When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Turns out women know how to sell to other women. Who knew?! Quick synopsis: The story of the women who ran department stores in the mid-1900s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Department stores used to have nurseries so the kids wouldn’t ruin a great shopping…
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Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal (Netflix)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ashley Madison: Turns out you can’t trust cheaters. Who knew? Quick synopsis: The story of the cheating dating platform, Ashley Madison, and its downfall. Fact for Non-History People: Ashley Madison got their name by combining the two most popular girls’ names at the time. Fact for History Nerds: In 2015, Ashley…
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Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul (Netflix)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Big Vape: If you beat them, you can still join them. Quick synopsis: The story of the e-cigarette, Juul. Fact for Non-History People: Juul was valued at $38 billion at its height. Fact for History Nerds: By July 2022, Juul was valued at $450 million. My Take on Big Vape: I…
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Disneyland on the Mountain by Greg Glasgow and Kathryn Mayer
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Disneyland on the Mountain: Is there any place the mouse won’t set up shop? Quick synopsis: The story of Walt Disney’s attempt to build a ski resort. Fact for Non-History People: Bambi lost money at the box office. Fact for History Nerds: Walt Disney was so strapped for cash in 1938…
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Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hey, Hun: Get in line to lose your money! Quick synopsis: The story of Emily Lynn Paulson’s journey through the world of MLMs. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Between 96 and 99.7% of people who buy into MLMs lose money. Fact for History Nerds: Studies have found about 90% of new…
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Retail Gangster by Gary Weiss
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Retail Gangster: Yeah, the title is already awesome. I got nothing. Quick synopsis: The story of “Crazy Eddie” Antar, an electronic store czar who was just a huge crook. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Craze Eddie actually created a med school. Yes, really. It was the University of St. Lucia…