The Dollop – Episode 157: The Past Times with Ryan Sickler

Podcast: The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds
Guest: Ryan Sickler
Release Date: January 16, 2026
Theme:
Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds, joined by fellow comedian Ryan Sickler, riff through headlines and oddities from a randomly picked old newspaper (The Baltimore Sun, March 8, 1899), sharing wild stories, family anecdotes, and hilarious tangents about history, food, and the human condition.

Episode Overview

This episode is a classic installment of "The Past Times," a Dollop spin-off where Dave selects a newspaper from history and guides Gareth and a guest (this week, Ryan Sickler) through its quirky articles. The comedians react in real time—no one but Dave has seen the stories—leading to endless riffs, personal confessions, and absurdist improv woven around the strange realities of the past.

Notable Segments & Insights

1. Catching Up and Special Comedy Bants (01:14 – 08:58)

• YouTube Specials & Guest Dynamics:
  • Gareth and Ryan tease each other about the view counts on their specials, with Gareth bemoaning his slipping numbers and Ryan reveling in reaching over a million, leading to running gags throughout.
  • “I'm watching the count right now. It's like the Ferris Bueller's odometer. I don't know how it's going backwards.” – Gareth Reynolds (04:16)
• Podcast Crossovers & Dad Stories:
  • Discussion on podcast appearances and how their fathers react to public family stories.
  • Dave recounts his dad wanting a rebuttal episode on Marc Maron’s WTF and then on Ryan’s "Honeydew" podcast.
    • “He wanted to do a rebuttal episode… He listens to everything I do but doesn’t talk to me.” – Dave Anthony (05:05)

2. Historical Headlines – The Baltimore Sun (1899)

A. "Wanted to show the weapons" (09:31 – 14:38)

• Story: Frederick Hillmire, a Maryland Regiment member, walks into a police station adorned in medals and weapons, asking for permission to show off a revolver and a huge knife—a Spanish-American War relic.
• Riffs:
  • The trio jokes about how, in 1899, walking into a police station heavily armed is no big deal, while today it would get you arrested or perhaps a government job.
  • Ryan and Gareth trade stories about always carrying knives and using Crocodile Dundee references (12:52).
  • "If you walked in like this today, they would shoot you or hire you for government." – Dave Anthony (11:54)

B. Sidebar – Favorite Wars and Civil War Geography (14:06 – 16:41)

• The hosts riff about favorite wars and Ryan reveals Maryland’s divided Civil War legacy.
• "I feel like I had a toe on both sides, just in case." – Ryan Sickler (14:37)

C. "A pin in her throat for 25 years" (17:04 – 20:03)

• Story: Ms. Katherine Hackman died after living 25 years with a pin lodged in her throat.
• Commentary:
  • The comics are horrified and fascinated, with Dave sharing an unrelated dark anecdote about his father’s lawyering.
  • “So awkward if you're an attorney and the guy gets life, and you're like, that sucks.” – Gareth Reynolds (17:36)
• Riff:
  • The group ponders how rough medicine was in the 19th century.

D. Morning vs Evening Editions & Journalism Trivia (20:03 – 21:01)

• Quick digression debating the finer points of local paper editions and city-specific news practices.

E. Maryland Crab Snobbery (21:01 – 29:10)

• Ryan expounds on the superiority of Chesapeake Bay crabs and his seafood snobbery.
• "Imitation crab is the hot dog of the sea." – Ryan Sickler (26:32)
• Gareth and Dave riff about “Mussels Marinara” as the name of an Italian bodybuilder.
• (Memorable tangent – “Mussels Marinara” as a running character)

F. "Wife or Oysters" (29:16 – 36:59)

• Story: Representative King of the Delaware House must choose within 30 days to marry or treat his colleagues to an oyster supper; he delays his answer and receives letters from women hoping for oysters.
• Comic Reactions:
  • Gareth pitches “Wife or Oysters” as a game show.
    • “Welcome back to Wife or Oysters. All right, John, what are you gonna go with?” – Gareth Reynolds (33:05)
  • Dave tries to figure out the logic: “If you don’t ask her to marry you by this date, you gotta give me oysters.” (32:11)
• Ryan distills it: "We've got a bunch of young sluts telling him not to get married, and they're all getting horny off the oysters." (34:46)

3. Travel Restrictions and American Scenery (37:41 – 41:06)

• Headline: Editorial suggesting Americans shouldn't be allowed abroad for pleasure until they've seen their own country.
• They note how dated the admiration for Niagara Falls is (“mid waterfalls, like a five-minute event” – Dave Anthony, 41:34) and mock the sameness of chain-filled America.

4. Canned Beef Scandal & The Spanish-American War (43:31 – 55:46)

• Story: Spoiled canned beef is condemned as unfit for soldiers, tying into a genuine historical scandal.
• Humor:
  • They describe various forms of disgusting “beef taste tests,” draw strip club metaphors about “spoiled cans,” and ridicule 1899 culinary standards.
    • “Sounds like they're writing about a strip club without wanting to say it. Five cans of roast beef in Tampa. I think we know what they're talking about here.” – Ryan Sickler (44:15)
  • Extended improv about “Private Arby’s” and “campaign beef.”
• Mock Taste Test:
  • “The guy’s like, man, we kept eating this beef and it was just making us sick. And they’re like, let’s see. If you say the beef is making you sick, in one of these eight stews, surely will be the poisonous beef.” – Gareth Reynolds (52:35)

5. Fast Food Confessions (57:14 – 59:33)

• Dave admits never eating at Arby’s or Wendy’s, with the group comparing and reminiscing about regional fast food chains.
• Discussion of a Jack in the Box E. coli breakout—“we drove by, two months later, it was packed. Nobody gave a shit.” – Dave Anthony (58:48)

6. Blinded by Lightning (59:35 – 63:42)

• Story: Reverend C.F. Cheeseborough (Connecticut) is struck by lightning during a storm, already suffering from appendicitis, and is temporarily blinded.
• Comedic Take:
  • They riff how terrible it would be to have appendicitis in 1899 and then get struck by lightning (“My glasses melted!”).
  • Ryan speculates: “Somebody in that house said: 'If that ain’t real, strike me dead now.'” (60:06)

Running Jokes & Memorable Quotes

• Gareth’s Special’s Failing View Count
  (“Live and Alive just hit 10 million views!” “It’s down to negative 34.” – Dave & Gareth, 11:11–11:19)
• “Mussels Marinara” and “Beef Neck”
  (Recurring personas—Italian strongman and buddy cop names—throughout food segments)
• Seafood Snobbery
  (“If you say you have a crab cake on your menu, I don’t even bother…imitation crab is trash.” – Ryan, 26:13)
• Campaign Beef Absurdity:
  “Campaign beef? That’s what Trump and Biden had.” – Gareth Reynolds (55:46)
• Wife or Oysters as Game Show
  “Welcome back to Wife or Oysters. All right, John, what are you gonna go with?” – Gareth Reynolds (33:05)
• Fast Food Innocence
  • “I’ve never had Wendy’s.” – Dave Anthony (58:13)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:14] – Show premise, introductions, special and YouTube view count jokes
• [03:20] – Dave’s dad wanting podcast ‘rebuttal,’ parental reactions to podcasts
• [09:31] – First Baltimore Sun headline: “Wanted to show the weapons”
• [11:44] – Maryland weapons and Crocodile Dundee knife routines
• [17:04] – “Pin in her throat for 25 years” article
• [21:01] – Maryland crab talk, seafood snobbery, “Mussels Marinara”
• [29:16] – “Wife or oysters” – historic ultimatums, game show bits
• [37:41] – Proposed travel ban until Americans see their own country
• [43:31] – Canned beef condemned, disgusting military food
• [57:14] – Fast food chains Dave’s never tried
• [59:35] – “Blinded by lightning”: the tragicomic fate of Rev. Cheeseborough
• [64:25] – Plugs for Sickler’s and Gareth’s shows

Tone, Style, & Listener Experience

• Unscripted, Heavy on Improv: The podcast thrives on the hosts' and guests' ability to turn even the smallest historical oddities into wild stories, extended riffs, or hypothetical “what if” sketches.
• Irreverent, Self-Deprecating, and Intentionally Silly: Jokes often spiral from the material into larger themes (e.g., food snobbery, American culture, the stupidity of arbitrary laws), with heavy doses of 90s pop culture and personal humility.
• Nostalgic but Critical of Past and Present: The group balances lampooning the quaintness (or horror) of the past with snarky observations about contemporary America.

Listener Takeaway

Even if you know nothing about 1899 or The Baltimore Sun, this episode delivers an hour of laughter, absurdity, and occasionally insightful cultural observations. It’s a compulsive listen for fans of improv comedy, oddball history, and group storytelling.

Closing Plug (64:25–65:02):
Ryan Sickler promotes his tour dates and podcasts (“Honeydew” and “The Way Back”); Gareth lists his own stand-up dates.

“If you say you have a crab cake on your menu, I don’t even bother. Imitation crab is the hot dog of the sea.”
– Ryan Sickler ([26:32])