A wacky merchandise quiz

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour (NPR)

Episode: A Wacky Merchandise Quiz

Date: July 6, 2026
Panelists: Linda Holmes (host), Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, Glenn Weldon

Overview

This episode takes a playful turn as the hosts compete in a quiz all about strange, surprising, and sometimes questionable merchandise tie-ins with movies and TV shows. Through multiple-choice questions (crafted by Linda Holmes with help from producers Mike Katsif and Liz Metzger), the hosts must identify which wacky promotional products were real and which were fabricated. The whole roundtable takes a light-hearted, competitive approach, riffing on the bizarre intersections of pop culture and consumer products.

---

Key Discussion Points & Quiz Highlights

Game Structure & Set-Up

• Linda Holmes welcomes the panel and lays out the quiz rules: each participant gets three multiple-choice questions about pop-culture-branded merchandise. If there’s a tie, a tiebreaker awaits. (00:19)
• The mood is jovial and self-deprecating, with Glenn Weldon emphasizing, “I just feel free. I’ve done no prep. I’ve done no homework.” (01:27)
• The quiz is peppered with asides about product marketing absurdity and nostalgia, with the hosts ribbing each other throughout.

---

Round 1

1. Hunger Games: Catching Fire Merchandise

Question: Which is a real product tied to the movie’s release?

• Correct Answer: The Capitol Collection Covergirl makeup
• Stephen Thompson’s reasoning: “I am gonna go with the makeup collection, which is definitely self-satirizing in a way, but at the same time, like, look like Jennifer Lawrence?” (02:57)
• Linda confirms: “The correct answer is the Capitol collection. Cover girl makeup based on the cartoonish appearance of the super rich.” (03:37)

2. The Handmaid’s Tale Wine Marketing

Question: Which marketing copy was real for The Handmaid’s Tale wine in 2018?

• Correct Answer: “It’s useless to resist the wine’s smooth and appealingly earthy profile, so you may as well give in.”
• Aisha Harris’ reaction: “All of these could be possible...The brilliance of all of these is that any of them sound like they could be under the caption of an influencer who’s trying to sell.” (04:55)
• Linda explains: The copy was pulled after a backlash; “The wines were pulled after one day.” (06:20)

3. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier x Kraft Foods Merch

Question: What special item could hang from your belt?

• Correct Answer: Marshmallow dispenser
• Glenn Weldon ponders: “So Mac and cheese tube means you’d have to have the pasta. The macaroni, which is a tube inside a tube that’s a science fiction concept...I’m going to go with the marshmallow thing.” (06:58)
• Linda elaborates: Spock used a marshmallow dispenser in the film; Kraft produced a real version as tie-in merchandise. (07:49)

---

[Break for Advertisements]

(08:19–09:51)

---

Round 2

4. Despicable Me 3 Crossover Brand

Question: Which unexpected brand did the movie collaborate with?

• Correct Answer: Zumba, which created exclusive choreography for one of the movie’s songs.
• Panel comments: Stephen deliberates, “Miracle Gro, which certainly could be Linda’s brain. These are all plausible.” (10:51)
• Linda admits: “I do apologize for arguably giving away the game on one and you only tipped your hand on one of the four.” (11:26)

5. Wicked for Good (2025) Brand Collaboration

Question: “Wonderfulest Woods and Beautifical Blossom” was used for what?

• Correct Answer: A fragrance in Gain laundry scent boosters
• Aisha muses: “I mean, there was an era When M&Ms. Were, quote unquote, sexy, and it was very weird...” Ultimately guesses M&Ms due to pink and green connotations. (12:56)
• Linda corrects: “The correct answer is a fragrance used in laundry scent boosters made by Gain.” (13:53)

6. Movie Tie-In Ice Creams

Question: Which wacky Van Leeuwen ice cream flavor was real?

• Correct Answer: Glass Onion ice cream, which tasted like onions.
• Glenn’s process: “I’m eliminating glass onion...You don’t want the word glass anywhere near ice cream. So I’m eliminating that.” Ultimately guesses Licorice Pizza. (14:54)
• Linda’s detail: “The flavor palette was Bourbon onion jam...but according to Matt [Singer], it just tasted like onions.” (15:55)

---

Round 3

7. Godzilla vs. Kong Marketing Muscle

Question: Which of these was part of the movie’s marketing?

• Correct Answer: Whey protein powder from Megaplex with Titans theme
• Stephen’s rationale: “That feels the rightest to me.” (17:34)

8. Heinz Easy Squirt Ketchup Colors

Question: Which character promoted a special colored ketchup?

• Correct Answer: Shrek on bottles of green ketchup
• Aisha’s nostalgia: “I feel like this was something that occurred during my childhood...Barney seems not right. Shrek sounds far more plausible.” (18:49)

9. Disney Store Kitchen Merch—Most Expensive

Question: Which of these kitchen items is the priciest?

• Correct Answer: Grogu serving board ($43.34 on sale)
• Glenn’s logic: “Well, then I’m gonna go with slow cooker because it’s a thing you plug in.” But Linda confirms the real answer is the Grogu board. (20:09–20:12)

---

Tiebreaker (for fun)

Question: What is the retail price of the “Devil Wears Prada 2 Handbag Popcorn Bucket”?

• Aisha’s guess (closest): $33
• Correct Price: $39.95
• Linda: “You can buy it...and, yeah, it’s basically 40 bucks.” (22:05)
• Aisha quips: “Still cheaper than a coach handbag.” (22:12)

---

Notable Quotes & Fun Moments

• Stephen (joking confidence): “Just a heads up. I intend to win this.” (01:24)
• Linda (meta-analysis): “The entire theme of this quiz is dumber things have happened.” (18:49)
• Aisha (on marketing buzzwords): “I mean, none of these quite reach the heights of ‘she came for the pasta and got lost in the sauce’ from You, Me and Tuscany, but it’s up there.” (05:11)
• Glenn (on Disney store pricing): “Serving boards are pricey.” (20:16)
• Panel (joking about the fictional minion column idea):
  • Linda: “Minion’s Opinions, Opinions, Opinions.” (22:51)
• Stephen (post-win humility): “Well, I’m just glad to have gotten something wrong just so the audience knows that I’m huge.” (22:17)

---

Segment Timestamps

• [00:19] — Quiz intro/setup and rules
• [01:52] — Hunger Games question (makeup tie-in)
• [04:14] — Handmaid’s Tale wine marketing
• [06:36] — Star Trek marshmallow dispenser
• [09:51] — Quiz resumes after ad break
• [10:51] — Despicable Me 3/Zumba
• [11:56] — Wicked for Good collaboration
• [14:10] — Van Leeuwen onion ice cream
• [16:27] — Godzilla vs. Kong protein powder
• [17:59] — Heinz colored ketchup/Shrek
• [19:19] — Disney kitchen merch pricing
• [20:46] — Winner/tiebreaker reveal and panel wrap-up

---

Final Scores & Wrap-Up

• Winner: Stephen Thompson (3/3 correct in main quiz)
• Tiebreaker Queen: Aisha Harris (closest guess on Prada popcorn bucket)
• Fun continues: The panel laughs over more outlandish merchandise ideas, with Linda promising, “I’m sure we’ll gather here and do this again sometimes.” (22:33)

---

Tone & Takeaways

The episode captures Pop Culture Happy Hour’s signature blend of camaraderie, quick wit, and slightly incredulous joy at the absurd side of entertainment fandom. Even if you missed the show, you get a front-row seat to the hosts’ friendship, sarcasm, and genuine surprise at how far brands will go to make a pop-culture buck. Their collective message: in the world of merchandise tie-ins, there really is no such thing as “too weird” anymore.

Transcript

[NPR Announcer]

This message comes from Capella University. That spark you feel, that's your drive for more. Capella University's flexpath learning format lets you earn your degree at your pace without putting life on pause. Learn more at Capella. Edu.

[Linda Holmes]

Everywhere you look, movies and TV shows are teaming up with all kinds of companies to make product tie ins. We're not talking about just action figures or board games. They're doing a little bit of everything. And we do mean everything. I'm Linda Holmes, and today we're playing a game about some very strange brand collaborations on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. Joining me today are my fellow Pop Culture Happy Hour hosts, Glenn Weldon. Hello, Glenn.

[Glenn Weldon]

Hey, Linda.

[Linda Holmes]

Steven Thompson. Hello, Stephen.

[Stephen Thompson]

Hey, buddy.

[Linda Holmes]

And final contestant, Aisha Harris. Hello, Aisha.

[Aisha Harris]

Hello, Linda.

[Linda Holmes]

All right, so it's been a while since I subjected you all to a little quiz. This one is about some of the brands that have worked with movies and TV shows to create all kinds of things that you can buy that may or may not capitalize on the warm feelings you have about whatever you just watched. They are all multiple choice questions. You will each get three questions and then we will see at the end if someone has won or if there's a tie. And if there's a tie, we're gonna break it.

[Stephen Thompson]

All right?

[Aisha Harris]

Okay.

[Stephen Thompson]

Just a heads up. I intend to win this.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

Cool.

[Glenn Weldon]

This is amazing. We haven't done this in such a long time. And I just feel free. I've done no prep. I've done no homework. It's all you. And the producers who did all that.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. Got a shout out. Producers Mike Katsif and Liz Metzger, especially very helpful in creating this quiz. We're gonna get right down to it. All right, Steven, are you ready for the first question?

[Stephen Thompson]

Holmesi I have never been more and less prepared in my life.

[Linda Holmes]

All right. Awesome. Perfect. Steven, which of these is a real product tied to the release of the Hunger Games catching fire in 2013? Is it a district 12 peasant bread? An apple walnut loaf from Pepperidge Farm sold only at Costco? Katniss cream doughnuts, which were just cinnamon apple? The Capitol Collection covergirl makeup based on the cartoonish appearance of the super rich.

[Glenn Weldon]

Oh, man.

[Linda Holmes]

Or is it a Hunger Games shampoo called Don't Tangle with Me?

[Stephen Thompson]

Wow. I mean, I do remember some kind of strange tie ins with these movies. And Catching Fire is the second book and the follow up to a big hit movie. So it feels like the kind of thing where they go pretty far afield with these things. I mean, I remember, like, Star wars branded oranges.

[Linda Holmes]

Sure.

[Glenn Weldon]

Stephen, I'm not trying to help you, but just available only at Costco. That's a Linda Holmes brain detail. It's so good.

[Linda Holmes]

No, that's not fair.

[Glenn Weldon]

It's tempting, but you choose you.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, Holmes is good at dropping details that make it sound so specific. It must be real. My point, I'm far too advanced a thinker to fall for such a ruse. I am gonna go with the makeup collection, which is definitely self satirizing in a way, but at the same time, like, look like Jennifer Lawrence?

[Aisha Harris]

Well, no. Wasn't it look like the rich people in the movies?

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right.

[Aisha Harris]

Good point. Sorry, not to help you, but good point.

[Stephen Thompson]

You are helping me. You are helping me. The Capitol collection. Gosh, that does sound like a Linda thing too, though, doesn't it? I'm gonna go with my first hunch and go with the makeup, but yeah, I'm probably wrong.

[Linda Holmes]

All right, the correct answer is the Capitol collection.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, that was gonna be my guess too.

[Linda Holmes]

Cover girl makeup based on the cartoonish appearance of the super rich. Very good, Steven. Well done.

[Stephen Thompson]

Available only at Costco.

[Aisha Harris]

I mean, I could be wrong, but I don't know if Costco does that kind of thing. Do they?

[Stephen Thompson]

Right. Costco doesn't necessarily do a ton of, like, Costco specific brands.

[Glenn Weldon]

Sounded good.

[Linda Holmes]

All right, all right, so I screwed it up. I should've.

[Stephen Thompson]

Kirkland branding.

[Linda Holmes]

I should have said available only at, I don't know, Giant or something.

[Aisha Harris]

Walgreens? Target.

[Linda Holmes]

Fine, fine. Aisha, you are up on the second question. Which of these lines of marketing copy was briefly used to promote the Handmaid's tale wine in 2018? What was it? A, it's useless to resist the wine's smooth and appealingly earthy profile, so you may as well give in. Okay, was it B, they're out here crushing spirits. We're out here crushing the best grapes just for your palate. Was it C? She's had a lot of hard days and a lot of long nights. Think of Offred as the original wine, Mom.

[Stephen Thompson]

Wow.

[Aisha Harris]

All of these could be possible.

[Linda Holmes]

Or was it D? Pleasure is forbidden in Gilead, but you'll have plenty when you invite this lively Cabernet Sauvignon in into your home. Believe it or not, one of those four is a real.

[Aisha Harris]

No, I believe all of them are possible. I mean, none of these quite reach the heights of she came for the pasta and got lost in the sauce from Yumi and Tuscany but it's up there. The brilliance of all of these is that any of them sound like they could be under the caption of an influencer who's trying to sell. Or, like, put on a T shirt to wear while you're out having wine with other wine moms.

[Glenn Weldon]

And they all include wine buzzwords. I mean, she's done her homework.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, she really has.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah. I think the crushing spirits one is drawing me in. Honestly, I have no idea. These are really good. Whichever ones you wrote are, good job, Linda. I'm going to go with B, crushing spirits, because that just feels like marketing.

[Linda Holmes]

Gotcha. The correct answer is it's useless to resist the wine's smooth and appealingly earthy profile, so you may as well give in. They did not use that marketing copy for very long because you don't want

[Glenn Weldon]

to sell wine with despair.

[Stephen Thompson]

I would guess there was blowback.

[Linda Holmes]

As you may imagine, there was Internet backlash. The wines were pulled after one day.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. Yes. Okay, fine. Foiled by the resistance.

[Linda Holmes]

Well, listen, I mean, it shouldn't be real marketing copy. It's just that it was.

[Glenn Weldon]

It really should be.

[Linda Holmes]

All right, Glenn.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yep.

[Linda Holmes]

Your first question tied to Star Trek, the Final Frontier. Kraft Foods sold a special item that could hang from your belt. What was it? A, a peanut shooter. B, a marshmallow dispenser. C, a Mac and cheese tube. D, a ketchup syringe.

[Stephen Thompson]

Wow.

[Glenn Weldon]

Okay, so Star Trek V is the one where they go to the center of the galaxy looking for God, I want to say, hanging an onion from their belt. Because it was the style at the time. It was the style at the time. I don't think it's it. So what's the most futuristic tube is a very futuristic Star Trek Y word. Jeffrey's tubes, for example. So Mac and cheese tube means you'd have to have the pasta. The macaroni, which is a tube inside a tube that's a science fiction concept, ends up being in Star Trek. So while there's trappings of phaser battles and things like that, it's not militaristic. In fact, it's a we all should love each other kind of vibe. So I'm going to eliminate a. I'm going to eliminate the ketchup dispenser. I'm going to go with the marshmallow thing.

[Linda Holmes]

The marshmallow dispenser.

[Glenn Weldon]

The marshmallow dispenser.

[Linda Holmes]

Correct answer is marshmallow dispenser.

[Stephen Thompson]

What?

[Linda Holmes]

Because in my memory of reading about this in the movie, Spock has a marshmallow dispenser that he uses to dispense marshmallows. Take a marshmallow to roast their roasting marshmallows.

[Glenn Weldon]

They do.

[Linda Holmes]

I was really afraid you were gonna remember.

[Glenn Weldon]

I should have. I really should have.

[Linda Holmes]

Got it right anyways.

[Glenn Weldon]

Got it right anyway.

[Linda Holmes]

So that is one round down. We've got two rounds to go. All right, we're going to take a second and we'll be right back for six more questions.

[NPR Announcer]

This message comes from Dell Technologies. Get long lasting battery life on the Dell XPS laptop powered by Series 3 Intel Core now from $699 with exclusive student pricing from $599.

[Advertisement Voice]

Visit Dell.com deals this message comes from wise. The smart way to manage your money around the world. With WISE, you can send, spend and receive money in over 40 currencies at the mid market rate. Learn more at wise.com Ts and Cs apply.

[NPR Announcer]

This message comes from Rosetta Stone. New Rosetta Stone Sapphire combines their trusted immersion method with the latest innovations in technology to help you learn faster and personalize your lessons. They have helped millions learn languages for over 30 years. Take your language skills to the next level with Rosetta Stone Sapphire. Get unlimited access to all 25 Rosetta Stone languages plus all the new Sapphire learning tools. Visit rosettastone.com NPR and receive 20% off today.

[Advertisement Voice]

This message comes from BetterHelp. People talk about mental health more openly now, but asking for help can still feel hard. BetterHelp's 2026 State of Stigma report surveyed 2,000Americans and found that 85% believe getting support is wise, yet 74% say society discourages people from doing so. Don't let stigma stand in the way of support. Start therapy with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com NPR all right, we are back.

[Linda Holmes]

Stephen, it is back to you. The movie Despicable Me 3 led to a partnership with what unexpected brand? A Miracle Gro which created a special fertilizer called Miracle Gru. B the Huffington Post, which ran a series of short articles called Minions.

[Glenn Weldon]

Okay, not this one. Not this one. Everybody has not this one.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh no, Glenn. This has to be the real one. Linda would never laugh at her own.

[Aisha Harris]

I feel like this is cheating, but it's fine. It's fine.

[Glenn Weldon]

Once we hear it, we're gonna laugh too. But we need to hear it.

[Aisha Harris]

Why don't you swap them and do that choice last?

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, I'll do that one last. The History Channel, which ran a series of specials called Despicable about famous dictators Zumba, which created exclusive choreography for one of the songs in the film. Or the Huffington Post, which ran a series of short articles called Minions Opinions. Okay.

[Glenn Weldon]

All banana based. Really?

[Stephen Thompson]

Minions Opinions in the Huffington Post. Miracle grew, which certainly could be Linda's brain. These are all plausible.

[Glenn Weldon]

Would the History Channel play so fast and loose and glib about brutal dictatorships that they would invoke a children's movie?

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, I'm gonna go with the Zumba dance.

[Linda Holmes]

Gonna go with the Zumba dance. I have to tell you, I don't think you would have gone with Minion's opinions even if I had not laughed at my own joke. Okay, the answer is Zumba. All right.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yes.

[Linda Holmes]

Which created exclusive choreography for one of the songs in the film. I do apologize for arguably giving away the game on one an you only

[Stephen Thompson]

tipped your hand on one of the four.

[Linda Holmes]

I had written such an absolutely ridiculous and terrible thing that it made me laugh, I will admit. All right, we're pulling it together, Aisha. Next question for you.

[Aisha Harris]

Feel free to laugh at whichever one you'd like, Linda. Whichever. I will. Just so I have a leg up here.

[Linda Holmes]

Absolutely. The 2025 sequel, Wicked for Good, had a very robust collection of collaborations with brands, including something with the marketing phrase Wonderfulest woods and Beautifical Blossom. What was Wonderfulest woods and Beautifcal Blossom? A, a fragrance used in laundry scent boosters made by Gain. B, a print used on sheets sold at Target. C, a green shade and a pink shade used together in special bags of M and Ms. Or D, a pair of squirrels featured on Wicked silver socks. For the purposes of fairness, you can assume I laughed at the Wicked socks.

[Aisha Harris]

I just don't understand the squirrels part, because I don't recall squirrels being a prominent part of Wicked.

[Linda Holmes]

They may not have been. Perhaps you should assume that they weren't.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, no, I'm going to assume that they weren't. Hmm. Wonderfulest and beautifulest.

[Linda Holmes]

Wonderfulest woods and Beautifcal Blossom.

[Aisha Harris]

I mean, there was an era When M&Ms. Were, quote unquote, sexy, and it was very weird. I forget the green. M and M was sexualized in a very strange way.

[Stephen Thompson]

This was actually briefly a culture war issue. As a matter of fact, someone was mad that M&Ms. Weren't sexy anymore.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, I remember that.

[Glenn Weldon]

I'm not trying to help you, Aisha, but the whole thing about Wicked was pink and green and Wonderfulist woods is green, and Beautifulest Blossoms is pink.

[Aisha Harris]

I know. I know. Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

Glenn, what are you doing, man? This is a competition I'm just, I

[Aisha Harris]

just, I was already leaning that way anyway because like I said, M and Ms. Were sexy. And I guess maybe this was the way they pulled back and got less woke and they were like, we're just going to say beautifulest and wonderfulist as opposed to like hubba hubba. Yeah, I'm gonna go with the M&Ms. Like that just makes whatever. I'm already down one. If I'm down two, it is what it is. Let's go with the M&Ms.

[Linda Holmes]

The correct answer is a fragrance used in laundry scent boosters made by Gain. Well, what can I tell you? Your laundry can smell like wonderfulist woods and beautifical blossom.

[Stephen Thompson]

I have a migraine just thinking.

[Glenn Weldon]

I know, right?

[Linda Holmes]

There were actually, I think a number of fragranced products that used these two phrases. So if that appeals to you, perhaps you can still find them on ebay or something like that. All right, Glenn, we're going over to you. Van Leeuwen ice cream made what? Actual movie tie in ice cream flavor. Was it a glass onion ice cream which tasted like onions. Nosferatu ice cream, which tasted like garlic. Licorice pizza ice cream, which tasted like licorice and pizza. Or chicken run ice cream which tasted like chicken. For the purposes of round balance, you can assume I laughed at the licorice pizza.

[Stephen Thompson]

Licorice pizza ice cream.

[Glenn Weldon]

I'm eliminating glass onion not because of the fact that there couldn't be onion flavored ice cream. I know for a fact there is, but the word glass. You don't want the word glass anywhere near ice cream. So I'm eliminating that.

[Aisha Harris]

Smart.

[Glenn Weldon]

I know that if you go to the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California, you will get some garlic ice cream.

[Stephen Thompson]

But I don't know if Nosferatu is

[Glenn Weldon]

the kind of film that would do light hearted tie ins. Eggers seems a little too self serious for that. The director. I'm gonna go. And again, I don't think, I don't think Licorice Pizza is the kind of film, it has kind of indie cred and I don't think it would want to be tied into anything as cheesy as ice cream flavor. But you know, studios are studios and studios are going to studio. So I'm going to go with licorice pizza.

[Linda Holmes]

The correct answer is glass onion ice cream which tasted like onions. Great. Matt Singer, who does a lot of tasting of high end foods, especially at places like Denny's and ihop, tasted this and said he could only taste the

[Glenn Weldon]

onions, only taste the Broken glass.

[Linda Holmes]

The flavor palette was Bourbon onion jam.

[Aisha Harris]

Oh, my God, that sounds disgusting.

[Linda Holmes]

Along with some glazed pineapple infused honeycomb. Yeah, but according to Matt, it just tasted like onions.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, because onions overpowers every other flavor that you mentioned there.

[Linda Holmes]

You would think. You would think. Alrighty, so we're going back to full pallets of answers because I'm not going to laugh, so.

[Glenn Weldon]

And, Stephen, you're getting no help. No help from me. No help from anyone. You're on your own.

[Aisha Harris]

Our lips are sealed.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

All right, Stephen. Godzilla vs. Kong had its share of marketing muscle. Which of the following was part of it? A, stomping sneakers, a New Balance offering that could spice up your run with the spirit of Godzilla. B, Godzilla and Kong electric salt and pepper grinders from Williams. C, A whey protein powder from Megaplex that promised to harness the two Titans, strength, energy and raw power. Or D, Zilla vanilla, a frozen yogurt with banana chips.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, my gosh. Okay, so all of these feel fairly plausible.

[Glenn Weldon]

You're able to plaus them all.

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, stupid, but plausible. I feel like the kind of nutritional powder that feels like the most plausible to me because, like, harness the power of God's. I mean, there definitely are, like, you know, the, like, Hulk smashing fists that make sounds, but would you do that with sneakers? I am going to go with whatever the, like, nutritional powder. Harness the power of two Titans. That one feels the rightest to me.

[Linda Holmes]

The correct answer is away protein powder from Megaplex that promised to harness the two Titans. Strength, energy and raw power.

[Glenn Weldon]

Three for three.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, my gosh. Glenn and Aisha are going to lose. Have to answer their quiz questions. Just, like, under a cloud of defeat.

[Glenn Weldon]

No. No.

[Aisha Harris]

Wow.

[Glenn Weldon]

What else is new?

[Linda Holmes]

Well, how gracious of you.

[Aisha Harris]

Thanks for rubbing it in.

[Linda Holmes]

All right, Aisha, when Heinz decided to make easy squirt ketchup in unexpected colors.

[Aisha Harris]

Gross.

[Linda Holmes]

What character did they call upon to help promote one of the shades? A, Barney the Dinosaur on bottles of purple ketchup. B. Smurfette on bottles of blue ketchup. C, Pikachu on bottles of yellow ketchup. D, Shrek on bottles of green ketchup.

[Aisha Harris]

Okay, I feel like this was something that occurred during my childhood. And I vaguely remember these ads. I would never eat ketchup because that's gross. But, like, Barney seems not right. Shrek sounds far more plausible. Pikachu, you said? I don't think it's Pikachu. Cause then it looks like. Then it would look like mustard and it'd be confusing. Dumber. Things have happened, so I don't know.

[Linda Holmes]

I think the entire theme of this quiz is dumber things have happened.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, I feel like it's down to Barney or Shrek. Okay, why am I. It doesn't even matter at this point. It really doesn't.

[Glenn Weldon]

Embrace the futility.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, I'm gonna go with Shrek, knowing it'll probably be Pikachu and whatever the correct answer is.

[Linda Holmes]

Shrek. Oh, yay.

[Aisha Harris]

Got one right.

[Stephen Thompson]

Super appetizing.

[Advertisement Voice]

Yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

All right, Glenn, which is the most expensive of the following kitchen items available in the Disney Store? Is it, A, the Grogu serving board? Is it B, the monorail corn cob holders? Is it C, the Yoda grill scraper with bottle opener? Or is it D, the Mickey Mouse slow cooker?

[Aisha Harris]

Okay, shocked you didn't give this question to me.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, this is a Disney kid question. I mean, a slow cooker is an appliance. Corn cup holders are utensils. So if the Mickey Mouse slow cooker exists, it is the most expensive thing. Does it exist?

[Linda Holmes]

They all exist.

[Glenn Weldon]

They all exist.

[Stephen Thompson]

They all exist. Oh, they all exist.

[Glenn Weldon]

Well, then I'm gonna go with slow cooker because it's a thing you plug in.

[Linda Holmes]

That's true. But the answer is the Grogu serving board. Yes.

[Stephen Thompson]

Serving boards are pricey.

[Linda Holmes]

As of the time that I wrote these questions was 43.34 on sale. Believe it or not, the slow cooker is only $24.99. They've got some of those cheapy kitchen appliances down to a pretty low price now.

[Aisha Harris]

I don't even remember them selling kitchen appliances at the Disney Store. It's been.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, you can get. A lot of them are Star Wars. There's a lot of, like, waffle irons and stuff like that. So I believe the answer is, Steven has won the quiz handily.

[Stephen Thompson]

I have won the quiz. What was the tiebreaker, though?

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, the tiebreaker was, what is the price of the devil wears Prada 2 handbag popcorn bucket? Oh, without going over Price is right rules?

[Glenn Weldon]

I don't buy these things. Have you guys ever bought one of these popcorn holder things? I don't know. I don't know what a going rate is.

[Aisha Harris]

No, I would say. Okay, my guess for that would be. So this isn't just the holder itself, or, like, assuming you're buying the popcorn too.

[Linda Holmes]

I assume it comes with popcorn in it.

[Aisha Harris]

Okay. So the last time I bought popcorn, which is, like, at the time of this taping a couple of weeks ago, it was, like, even for a small it was like 10.99, which is ridiculous. So I'm gonna guess that this is a medium to large size. It's probably gonna be around 15.99. Just for the popcorn, add another, like, 15.99. So I'd say like 30. Let's say 33, including, you know, including taxes and stuff.

[Linda Holmes]

33. All right, Glenn, what's your guess?

[Glenn Weldon]

One dollar.

[Stephen Thompson]

I haven't gone yet, bud.

[Glenn Weldon]

I know, I know.

[Stephen Thompson]

But I'm just gonna say, Steven, I'm gonna say $1.50.

[Linda Holmes]

Well, you all messed yourself up because Aisha wins because of $39.95.

[Aisha Harris]

Wow.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

$40.

[Linda Holmes]

This is on the website. You can buy it.

[Stephen Thompson]

Wow.

[Linda Holmes]

And, yeah, it's basically 40 bucks. So you both played yourselves.

[Aisha Harris]

Still cheaper than a coach handbag, so

[Glenn Weldon]

only just extruded plastic.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, I'm just glad to have gotten something wrong just so the audience knows that I'm huge.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, my gosh.

[Aisha Harris]

Let me throw the wine that I had to resist exactly at you.

[Glenn Weldon]

Crush his spirit.

[Aisha Harris]

Crush his spirit like the grapes.

[Linda Holmes]

So, yes, Steven got three. Aisha and Glenn got one each. He got it this time. I'm sure we'll gather here and do this again sometimes.

[Glenn Weldon]

Let's do it again. Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

That brings us to the end of our show. Aisha Harris, Glenn Weldon, Stephen Thompson, thank you so much for being here.

[Stephen Thompson]

Thank you, buddy.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

Thank you. Thank you. Minions. Opinions, opinions.

[Linda Holmes]

I'm so sorry. This episode is produced heroically by Liz Metzger and Mike Katsiff, and it was edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. I'm Linda Holmes, and we'll see you all next time.

[NPR Announcer]

250 years ago, the nation's founders considered a free press a critical protection for we the people. Today, the NPR network proudly upholds your First Amendment rights with reporting accountable only to you. It's something we protect together. Join the people who power the NPR network by showing your [e-mail]

[Aisha Harris]

every week on our series if youf Can Keep it, we tackle the biggest political stories and why they matter for our democracy. Join me, Jen White, Mondays on the One, a podcast from WaMu and NPR. Hi, it's Terry Gross, the host of Fresh Air. Catch my interview about the birth of the culture wars.

[Stephen Thompson]

Even breakfast cereals have become part of the culture wars.

[Aisha Harris]

Author Isaac Butler takes us back to when the Christian right mobilized against provocative art. Listen to Fresh Air on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.