Episode Overview

Episode Title: B&T Extra: Comedian Dave Dugan, & Candy & Gum
Podcast: The BOB & TOM Show Free Podcast
Date: November 24, 2025

This lighthearted Bob & Tom Show "Extra" centers around nostalgia—from the joys and misgivings of childhood candy and bubblegum to the retro tech and traditions that have disappeared from daily life. Comedian Dave Dugan joins the lively panel to riff (and roast) on everything from hair envy to ancient communication tools. The episode is a funny, wide-ranging look at things we used to love (and loathe) before smartphones, streaming, and modern conveniences.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Welcoming Comedian Dave Dugan

• [03:21] Dave Dugan appears earlier than usual and jokes about his rare early rising:
  • “I haven’t been up this early since I was buying live bait, but good to be back.” — Dave Dugan
• Banter ensues about Dave’s “better hair,” leading to playful envy and a joke about genetic luck:
  • “What’s your secret?”
  • “I don’t have a secret. Is there a secret? ... I guess it’s just a glandular problem. I don’t know.” — Dave Dugan ([03:54])

2. Candy and Gum Nostalgia

• [04:07] Bob & Tom reflect on childhood candies and gums, highlighting fleeting flavors:
  • Big League Chew and Fruity Stripe gum both earn criticism for flavor that “lasts three seconds.”

    “Big League Chew... tastes good for about three seconds.” — Dave Dugan ([04:40])
    “That three seconds was great... which is about twice as long as a Fruity Stripe.” — Bob ([04:43])

• Bubble Tape is fondly remembered, with an anecdote about a peer eating it wrong:

  “He would just take a bite of it like an apple. He’s got to be in prison now. That is just... That is crazy.” — Panelist ([05:12])

3. Obsolete Tech and Everyday Items

• Christy Lee introduces a walk down memory lane with relic tech:

  • Rotary Phones:

    “Rotary telephones... gone for what, 40 years?” — Christy Lee ([05:48])

  • Phone Booths:

    “There’s actually one in Illinois because I called my family from it... just to say, hey, I’m on a telephone.” — Bob ([05:57])

  • Pagers, Landlines, Cable:

    “I still have cable... it runs from the green box in the yard to my home. That’s got to be going away.” — Bob ([07:13])
    “Pagers and beepers have gone obsolete. Do doctors still use them? Occasionally.” — Christy Lee ([08:25])

• Jokes on Aging and Tech:

  • “Some are very close to death, and you don’t want to confuse them at the end.” — Bob ([07:54])
  • “Investing in a brand new phone for somebody who’s like, really just holding the reaper’s hand.” — Bob ([08:00])

4. Restaurant Tech—Vibrating Pagers (“Vibrators”)

• The group discusses waiting for restaurant tables with “vibrators,” leading to several innuendos.
  • “My grandma liked to loudly announce that she wanted to hold the vibrator at the restaurant.” — Bob ([08:50])
  • “Grammy had another orgasm at Olive Garden... they’re unlimited, you know.” — Bob & panel ([09:09], [09:16])
• COVID’s effect: more restaurants now text rather than hand out pagers.

5. Honoring Unsung Restaurant Heroes

• Bob proposes awards for underappreciated restaurant staff—especially at diverse-menu chains:
  • “You ever opened [the Cheesecake Factory’s] menu? Some guy in the kitchen’s got to make all this stuff!” — Bob ([10:12])

6. More Obsolete Tech: Faxes, Floppies, and Beyond

• Faxes:
  • Remembered for slow, line-by-line photo sending—especially in movies and wartime journalism.

    “It’s this new thing. It only takes 20 minutes a page.” — Bob, quoting “Almost Famous” ([11:28])

• Floppy Disks, Dial-up Internet, VHS & Betamax:
  • All discussed as extinct except for rare legacy cases:

    “Floppy disks. Yeah, those are gone. Dial-up Internet... AOL announced they were done.” — Christy Lee ([12:41])
    “Betamax was the competing technology to VHS that lost out in about the early 80s. It was the superior technology.” — Christy Lee ([14:41])

• Calculators & Educational Tech:

  “Kids are still using scientific calculators... had to buy one and they’re $147!” — Bob ([15:01])
  “If it doesn’t have scientific notation, it’s a piece of crap.” – Panelist ([15:39])

7. Boom Boxes and “Ghetto Blaster” Reflection

• Nostalgic about boom boxes and changing language/culture around them:

  “There was a time when we would refer to those as ghetto blasters without blinking...” — Bob ([16:22])
  “But on paper, you kind of go, oh, wait a second.” — Bob ([16:43])

8. Paper Maps, Phone Books, and Voice-to-Text Mishaps

• Paper Maps & Phone Books—nearly extinct and replaced by digital forms.
• Voice-to-Text: Dave Dugan tells of an embarrassing autocorrect that leads to an unplunged toilet:

  “I texted our plumber, and it said, ‘Hey, girl, are we still on tomorrow for 2:30?’ So that’s a toilet that never got plunged.” — Dave Dugan ([17:44])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On candy nostalgia:
  “Big League Chew... tastes good for about three seconds.” — Dave Dugan [04:40]
  “Which is about twice as long as a Fruity Stripe.” — Bob [04:43]
• On old phones:
  “Rotary telephones... gone for what, 40 years?” — Christy Lee [05:48]
• On generational tech:
  “Investing in a brand new phone for somebody who’s like, really just holding the reaper’s hand.” — Bob [08:00]
• Vibrator at a restaurant:
  “My grandma liked to loudly announce that she wanted to hold the vibrator at the restaurant.” — Bob [08:50]
  “Grammy had another orgasm at Olive Garden... they’re unlimited.” — Bob & panel [09:16]
• On kitchen staff at Cheesecake Factory:
  “You ever opened their menu?... some guy... got to make all this stuff.” — Bob [10:12]
• On obsolete educational tools:
  “If it doesn’t have scientific notation, it’s a piece of crap.” — Panelist [15:39]
• Accidental plumber text:
  “It said, ‘Hey, girl, are we still on tomorrow for 2:30?’ So that’s a toilet that never got plunged.” — Dave Dugan [17:44]

Segment Timestamps

• [03:21] – Dave Dugan joins the show
• [04:07-05:22] – Candy and gum nostalgia
• [05:43-06:47] – Obsolete tech: phones, phone booths, pagers, landlines
• [07:41-09:30] – Restaurant pagers, vibrators, and related gags
• [10:04-10:29] – Proposal to honor overlooked service workers
• [10:38-12:32] – More obsolete tech: fax machines, stories from old jobs
• [12:41-15:31] – Floppy disks, VHS, Betamax, calculators
• [16:02-17:13] – Boomboxes and shifting pop culture language
• [17:34-17:44] – Paper maps, phone books, and Dave’s voice-to-text mishap

Tone: Upbeat, irreverent, affectionate about old tech, always ready with a punchline.

Summary Takeaway

Even as the world moves on from Big League Chew, pagers, fax machines, and rotary phones, the Bob & Tom crew (and Dave Dugan) prove the humor and fondness for old relics never gets obsolete. Their quick wit and playful banter make for a nostalgic and laugh-heavy listen—whether you ate bubble tape by the chunk or never sent a fax in your life.