The Dollop – Episode 139: "The Past Times with Mike O'Connell"

Date: August 22, 2025
Guests: Dave Anthony (C), Gareth Reynolds (A), Mike O’Connell (B)
Theme: Hilariously dissecting an 1858 Detroit Free Press newspaper alongside the absurdities and brutalities of 19th-century American life, with musical comedian Mike O’Connell as guest.

Episode Overview

In this raucous episode of "The Dollop’s" Past Times spin-off, Dave, Gareth, and guest Mike O’Connell leaf through an 1858 Detroit Free Press, uproariously riffing on the period's legal procedures, wild social commentary, and uniquely strange reporting styles. The trio teases out the unintentionally comedic elements and harsh realities of justice, gender, and parenting during this chapter of American history, all while bringing in their signature offbeat banter and improvisational fun.

Key Discussion Points & Episode Highlights

1. Meet Mike O’Connell & Album Talk

• [00:15–04:30] The show opens with Gareth introducing Mike and engaging in friendly banter about Mike’s new music album ("A Gaggle of Red Flags").
• The hosts swap stories about seeing Mike perform, audience reactions, and the comedic-to-tragic arc of his stage persona:
  • “Once I made everyone laugh, I decided to make them cry.” – Mike [02:05]
  • "You're amazing. Then one out of every six people is like, you're up. Like, no. I don't know." – Mike [02:46]
• Mike shares that the new album will be out in early September and lightly jokes about his own lacking confidence.

2. Guess That Newspaper Year & Format

• [04:40–06:30] Gareth and Mike guess the year of the newspaper—Mike is “closest” with his guess of 1876; the correct year is 1858.
  • “I have to do all that stuff before, and now it seems strange that I did it, but I have to...” – Gareth [05:37]
  • The group jokes about “saying I lost” as a pre-show ritual.

3. The Crime Blotter: Animal Larceny, Chicken Lineups & Odd Justice

• [06:34–10:45] Dave reads out old crime reports:
  • 90 days for a stolen sheepskin from Michigan Central Railroad.
  • Uncertainty in identifying stolen chickens leads to acquittal.
  • Celebrants “get drunk, draw pistols,” and only get 40 days in jail.
  • Dock loafers sentenced—leading to banter on the outdated term.
• The gang marvels at period-specific priorities:
  • “You can run around with guns and 40 days is all you get…sheepskin, they'll hang you.” – Gareth [09:32]

4. Victorian Misogyny & Women’s Rights Satire

• [10:46–20:14] A wild report on a “dilapidated female”—the paper’s term for a woman who storms their office and throws a book on women’s rights:
  • “She looked very seedy and we need not ask…” – Dave reads [11:51]
  • “She wore no hoops!” – Dave [11:56]
• The woman’s written demands: honest work and pay. The paper mocks her:
  • “We want a track of land and some good gentlemen who will be honest enough to pay us when we work.” – Dave quoting paper [16:45]
  • “Over the edge!” – Gareth [16:54]
• The hosts note this could pass for modern online misogyny, comparing it to social media trolls.
  • “It’s so similar to Twitter. I can barely breathe.” – Mike [19:10]

5. The Absurd Drunken Doctor Stabbing

• [23:40–34:00] Hilarious breakdown of a “serious” stabbing at a hotel:
  • Sheldon finds his clothes cut, confronts Dr. Lewis, and a melee ensues with knives and chairs.
  • Dr. Lewis, a traveling eye doctor, “uses a pocket knife he was cleaning his nails with.”
    • “No one should start cleaning their nails with a knife…” – Gareth [27:12]
  • Lewis tries to buy a pistol after stabbing, is arrested.
  • The group jokes about old-timey doctors' readiness with knives and lack of surgical standards.

6. Rescued Kids & The Y’all Boat Routine

• [35:08–44:06] A small boat of six children capsizes—rescued by a “y’all boat.”
  • The trio invents an extended Southern improv on the y’all boat captain (“You really think we’ll be able to find a new passage to India?!” – Gareth as kid [35:49]).
  • The episode lampoons how the newspaper cheerfully warns parents their dead children may come home “stiff and cold” if carelessness with boats continues.

7. Stray Kids, Dangerous Docks & Parenting in 1858

• [44:06–45:53] Further discussion on newspapers warning about children “straying like dogs” near the wharves:
  • “That's why you have 11 kids: you're gonna lose like four to drowning, three to TB...” – Gareth [44:57]

8. Strange Crime & Borderlines of Canada

• [45:58–47:41] A woman in Windsor is arrested with “red flannel and several dark colored straw hats”—though no owner comes to claim them. The trio riffs on border towns, flannel, and underage drinking in Windsor.

9. The Mormon War & Utah Weirdness

• [47:57–51:59] News from Utah: Mormons in Provo get roasted for keeping women away from “soldier boys.”
  • They explore the (real!) Mormon War and riff on “fake Bibles” and special Mormon rules.
  • “Just be weird there with your little extra Bible. Awesome.” – Gareth [50:08]

10. Victorians Dream of a Sky House

• [53:55–56:18] An inventor proposes a “10-square-foot house slung from a balloon"—the “cloud house.”
  • “You can take off with the cloud house. But no one ever figured out how to land.” – Gareth [56:07]
  • Group jokes about dangerous, drunken innovation.

11. Life, Rattlesnakes, & Terminology Lessons

• [56:25–61:46] Retelling of children rescued from bed with a rattlesnake under the covers.
  • Jokes about parental choices and snake laziness.
  • Side discussion on old meal terms (dinner as lunch, supper as dinner).
  • “We could name these things anything we want. That’s the lesson here.” – Gareth [57:50]

12. Climbing Mount Blanc: Male Entitlement Personified

• [62:07–64:05] British climber claims record by getting on his guide’s shoulders at the summit.
  • “It does show some sort of entitlement there.” – Mike [63:59]

13. Episode Close & Callbacks

• Discussion of Mike’s reading on Victorian supper arrangements and favorite ghost stories.
• Shout-out to Mike’s albums, lampooning the streaming music model:
  • “No, stream it so the artist doesn’t make any money and it all goes to a corporation. Do that.” – Dave [65:21]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On historical misogyny:

  • “Hoops are in dresses...She’s going hoopless.” – Mike, [12:05]
  • “No hoops, running around hoopless.” – Gareth, [15:34]

• On 19th-century Twitter:

  • “It’s so similar to Twitter. I can barely breathe...you’d see under like a thing where a guy’s like, for real. All right, listen to me. Your job is pretty straightforward. Clean out porkers and shut the fuck up.” – Mike & Gareth [19:10–19:17]

• On improvised river rescue:

  • “The y’all boat is here. So what’s y’alls plan now?” – Dave as “y’all boat” captain, [38:16]

• On old school child endangerment:

  • “That’s why you have 11 kids: you’re gonna lose like four to drowning, three to TB…” – Gareth [44:57]

• On Victorian innovators:

  • “This is just an outhouse with a balloon.” – Gareth [56:07]

• On fake Mormon Bibles:

  • “No, you guys haven’t read the found Bible. Once you read it, you’ll—it’ll totally be copacetic.” – Dave as a Mormon [49:30]

• On historic meal times:

  • “What book were you reading?”
  • “Ghost stories, sure. And there’s just a lot of ghost stories from the mid-1800s. They’re always talking about ‘I dressed for dinner and I supped with Caroline St. Clair.’” – Mike [64:17]

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:15–04:30: Mike’s introduction & album discussion
• 06:34–10:45: Crime Blotter & 19th-century justice
• 10:46–20:14: Women’s rights ‘dilapidated female’ piece
• 23:40–34:00: Hotel stabbing & medical mayhem
• 35:08–44:06: Capsized kids & the improvisational “y’all boat” routine
• 44:06–45:53: Parenting, lost children, and dangerous docks
• 47:57–51:59: Mormon news, Mormon War, and weird religious satire
• 53:55–56:18: Cloud house invention
• 56:25–61:46: Rattlesnake rescue & mealtime terminology
• 62:07–64:05: Mount Blanc ascent & male entitlement

Tone & Style

The episode is packed with the Dollop’s irreverent, improv-laced comedic dissection of historical oddities. The hosts and guest riff off each other’s asides, turning 19-century headlines into extended sketches—think improv theater meets dark history. Their camaraderie keeps the energy high and the pace brisk.

Takeaway for New Listeners

Even without having heard the episode, you’ll come away understanding that 1858 Detroit, as reported by its local newspaper, was a world of weird priorities, harsh punishments for petty crimes, outrageous columns about “dilapidated females” seeking rights, and a constant threat of hilariously inept stabbings. The trio’s blend of researched riffing and sudden character improv brings each story to life, with memorable satirical commentary on how little—or how much—has actually changed.

For Fans & Newcomers

If you want vintage history dissected by three sharp comics constantly on the verge of tangential absurdity, this episode is a strong showcase, especially for Mike O’Connell’s unique comedic chemistry with Dave and Gareth.