Lemonade Stand 🍋: Presenting the Worst Products of All Time

Podcast: Lemonade Stand
Hosts: Aiden, Atrioc, and DougDoug
Date: December 11, 2025
Network: Vox Media Podcast Network

Episode Overview

This episode takes listeners on a hilarious and insightful journey through the history of the world’s most infamous product failures. The trio—Aiden, Atrioc, and DougDoug—play with the idea of what they could do with a surprise windfall of “hair money,” ultimately exploring which famously bad products might actually be worth a second try. Through in-depth presentations, lively debate, and their signature comedic banter, they break down the stories, missteps, and unintended hilarities behind such catastrophes as the Ford Edsel, Google Glass, Quibi, Microsoft Kin, Juicero, the Ouya, and more. The group closes with a discussion on which failed product reigns supreme as the funniest flop.

Key Discussion Points & Product Flops

1. The Ford Edsel: The $3 Billion Disaster

Timestamps: 03:41–16:02

• Background: Set in 1957 as the American auto industry boomed, Ford strived to innovate with a car featuring a vertical front grille and extensive pre-launch marketing.
• Naming Saga: Millions spent on branding research, culminating in naming the vehicle after Edsel Ford (Henry Ford’s son) almost by default.

  "After all that work and all that time... fuck it. We'll name it after the owner's kid." – Perry (06:44)

• Product Flaws: Overly complex, expensive, and “revolutionary” features like a confusing push-button transmission placed dangerously close to the horn, poor build quality, and design elements that were derided even at launch.
• Financial Meltdown: Huge marketing splurge ($3.1B in today’s money)—with launch day dubbed “E-Day”—and national TV specials featuring Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
• Why It Failed:
  • Economic recession meant no one could afford premium-priced cars.
  • Consumers “rated every part of the product bad”; nobody liked the design, name, or the driving experience.
  • Massive cautionary tale of decision-making by committee and ignoring clear signals.

  "It is supposed to be a cautionary tale... What do you call it when you focus group to death?" – Perry (15:10)

2. Google Glass: Cool Idea, Social Nightmare

Timestamps: 16:08–38:37

• Hype Launch: In 2012, Google promised futuristic wearable tech with voice/text interface, navigation, and more—all seamlessly integrated into daily life.
• Why It Flopped:
  • Sky-high price ($1,500), geeky “Cyclops” look, and social stigma (including privacy invasion).
  • Features were sparse and clunky: poor battery life, minimal real-world use.
  • People were openly hostile:

    "Wearing Glass separates you. It says, not only did I have $1,500 to plunk down, Glass is a class divide on your face." – Doug, quoting Wired (23:57)

  • Even as smart glasses begin a comeback (Meta Ray Bans, etc.), the social “vibe check” remains tough to pass.
• Legacy: Inspired a string of better-sold smart glasses, but killer use case and mass appeal remain elusive.

3. Quibi: Two Billionaire Legends, Zero Viewers

Timestamps: 38:41–53:02

• Ambition: Hollywood and tech titans Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman launch a $1B mobile video app in 2020, promising “quick bites” (10-minute episodes) and vertical/horizontal video tech.
• Disaster:
  • Pandemic hits—the best possible era for streaming—but Quibi requires a subscription, lacked must-see content, and initially didn’t allow watching on TV.
  • Despite mega celebrities and prime ads, they peaked at 1.2M users (aimed for 7.2M) and cratered to 500k within months.
  • “Nobody gives a shit about watching a show on Vertical Mode.” – William (42:08)
• Afterlife: Roku bought the content library, but the brand became shorthand for tech hubris.

4. Microsoft Kin: Social Phone Without Social Apps

Timestamps: 53:18–57:29

• Microsoft’s Attempt at a Social Phone (2010):
  • Two phones (“Kin One” and “Kin Two”) targeted at “Generation Upload.”
  • Lacked basic smartphone essentials: no calendar, no contact sync, no app store, no instant messaging, and APIs constantly broke when social networks updated.
  • “Lasted 48 days on the market.” – Perry (57:02)
• Key Quote:

  "It is like one of the worst design products I've ever seen. Microsoft Kin—a true disaster." – Perry (56:20)

5. Juicero: The $700 Wi-Fi Juice Squeezer

Timestamps: 59:20–66:38

• Pitch: Silicon Valley’s “Tesla of juicers” required exclusive $5–$8 fruit pouches, a Wi-Fi connection, and $700 upfront (later, $400).
• Fatal Flaw: Bloomberg journalists showed you could get the exact juice by squeezing the branded bag with your hands.
• Investor Insanity: $120M burned—“Kobe Bryant, Oprah, Ivanka Trump” all backed it.
• CEO’s Response to Criticism:

  "They just got stuck on a narrative." – Juicero CEO, Doug Evans (63:06)
  "You couldn't open the bags unless you had the machine... your juice bag need wi-fi connected unlocking." – William (98:43)

• Consensus: Easiest pick for "dumbest flop.”

  "Juicero is so funny because if you get rid of the juicer it's kind of a business." – Doug (98:26)

6. Ouya: Kickstarter’s Microconsole Meltdown

Timestamps: 66:43–72:41

• Android-Based Console (2012): Raised $8.5M on Kickstarter, lauded for accessibility and price.
• Result: Crummy games, slow system, and a sticky controller designed by Yves Béhar—who also later designed Juicero!
• Noteworthy Moment:

  “There’s nothing special in here about the OUYA... but our controller is really great. Dog controller.” – William (71:59)

7. Nintendo Virtual Boy: The World’s Worst VR

Timestamps: 72:43–76:48

• VR in 1995: Red monochrome “helmet” on a tripod, no head strap.
• User Experience: Games like Mario Tennis were “playing tennis in hell”; induced extreme nausea (80%+ in reviews).
• Aftermath: Its legendary designer was pushed out of Nintendo forever.

  “Every gaming failure has a YouTube video... Virtual Boy is like the only one that doesn’t. Because it truly was that bad.” – Perry (75:07)

8. Google Stadia: Cloud Gaming’s Miss

Timestamps: 77:02–88:20

• The Pitch: Play games from any screen, no console.
• Problems: Required proprietary hardware at launch, awful latency even on fast internet, misleading 4K claims, small game library, and a pay-per-game model.
• Aftermath:

  “So it like, works with other stuff. And then the project was dead.” – Doug (84:45)
  “Nobody could play a game comfortably.” – Perry (85:34)

9. Other Notable Flops & Discussion

• Coors Water: Failed because nobody understood a beer company’s alcohol-free sparkling water—hosts wonder if it’d work now in a Liquid Death style. (88:42–90:47)
• NFTs: Bored Apes, CryptoPunks. Catastrophic value collapse—funny war stories on digital “apartments.” (91:20–94:04)
• Pets.com (Dotcom Bubble Legend): Lost money on every sale, burned cash on puppet commercials, became the ultimate “negative margin” case study. (95:08–97:16)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you ask a big group of people to pick their favorite, collective, favorite ice cream flavor, they’re going to land on vanilla. That’s the danger of focus groups.” – William (15:44)
• “Wearing Glass... inspires the most aggressive of passive aggression. They just call you an asshole.” – Doug (23:57)
• “If you could record everything, you could just have it all the time!” – Perry (38:34)
• “Juicero is really funny and dumb. Of all the others, it’s a product that makes a modicum of sense—Juicero just doesn’t make any sense.” – William (98:16)
• “Having the idea of your juice bag need wi-fi connected unlocking to access the juice is so, so insane.” – William (98:52)
• “What was extra great about [the Kin]? Zero calendar, no contact list, no spell check... no apps.” – Perry (54:50)
• “I admit, I thought Tubi was Quibi at first.” – Doug (48:20)
• “My best friend got the Stadia founder’s edition just to get the right gamer tag.” – Doug (78:14)

Timestamps for Notable Segments

• Ford Edsel Story: 03:41–16:02
• Google Glass Deep Dive: 16:08–38:37
• Quibi’s Rise and Fall: 38:41–53:02
• Microsoft Kin Fiasco: 53:18–57:29
• Juicero Exposé and CEO Meltdown: 59:20–66:38
• Ouya Disaster: 66:43–72:41
• Virtual Boy Nightmare: 72:43–76:48
• Google Stadia Flop: 77:02–88:20
• NFT Burnout: 91:20–94:04
• Pets.com and the Dotcom Bubble: 95:08–97:16
• Wrap Up: Which is the Worst? 97:24–99:12

Final Reflections & Takeaways

Worst Product: Juicero

Unanimous decision among the hosts: the $700 wi-fi juicer is the silliest, most wasteful, and fundamentally useless product, perfectly emblematic of Silicon Valley excess.

Viable Resurrection?

Hosts joke that only products like water could work today—market conditions and cultural shifts mean some ideas (like Coors Water or smart glasses) might get a second act. But most remain spectacular cautionary tales.

Closing Thought

This episode isn’t just a comedy roast—it’s a sharp lesson in how hype, focus-group overkill, ignored feedback, and bad timing can doom even the most star-studded ventures.

“Let us know if you think there’s a worse flop we missed—or if you’d actually buy a Juicero!” – William (99:23)

For more deep dives and comedic breakdowns, catch Lemonade Stand weekly and support on Patreon if you want to join in on the product roasting!