Why Do Fridges Hate Us?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Why Do Fridges Hate Us?"

You Betcha Radio
Date: November 24, 2025
Hosts: Myles (You Betcha Guy), Ryan, Tyler, Jerrod

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Overview

In this comedy-filled, deeply Midwestern episode, the You Betcha gang dives into a spirited debate about household refrigerators—the frustrations, oddities, and nostalgia surrounding these modern appliances. Using real-life experiences and plenty of humor, the hosts dissect both design choices and user annoyances, all while highlighting the uniquely regional perspective of the Midwest lifestyle.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Why Are Fridges Never Quite Right?

• Too Many Options, Not Enough Solutions
  • The group laments the lack of a "perfect fridge," citing frustrations like missing features and manufacturers failing to standardize what should be baseline elements.
  • Notable moment: "Why can't appliance manufacturers just nail it? Always have something that isn't in there." (B, 00:13)
• Essential Features Missing
  • The crew expresses disbelief that ice makers aren’t standard in all fridges nowadays, poking fun at 2025 technology lag.
  • "[...] you find out that it doesn't have an ice maker. You're like, it's 2025. Let's stop making fridges without ice makers." (B, 00:36)

2. Water, Ice & The Great Dispensary Debate

• Types of Dispensers
  • Comparison between auto-fill pitchers inside the fridge and traditional in-door dispensers.
  • Personal preferences take center scope—some hate holding the cup while the water dispenses, others prefer instant pitchers.
  • "Would you rather have a [built-in] indoor pitcher, or would you rather have an indoor little spigot that puts ice and water out on it?" (B, 01:18)
• Dispensing Disasters
  • Every ice-dispensing experience ends with at least one cube on the floor—"it just shoots out" (A, 01:38).

3. The Door Dilemma: Fridge Design Over the Years

• Fridge Layout Types
  • Old-school all-the-way-down “halfsies” vs. modern half-door on top with a freezer drawer on the bottom.
  • "I feel like that's better for the freezer because... It's like a lasagna in there." (B, 03:40)
• Pros and Cons
  • Top fridge/bottom freezer: Easy access, but freezer becomes chaotic and hard to organize.
  • Narrow side-by-side layouts: "Mentally confining." (B, 05:38)
  • Conclusion: No single layout is perfect—every style brings its own set of annoyances.

4. The Overstuffed Freezer Struggle

• Never Enough Space
  • Myles shares that both his home and garage freezers are full, prompting dreams of a deep freezer in the basement (04:16).
• Freezer Inventory Nightmares
  • Freezers often become a time capsule of forgotten foods for potential “apocalypse” scenarios: "Burritos that taste like cardboard that my wife bought a year and a half ago..." (B, 03:46)
• Vertical vs. Chest Freezers
  • The gang reminisces about growing up with standup (vertical) freezers and how they work better for tracking what’s inside.

5. Weird Modern Fridge Trends

• Bundling vs. Separate Units
  • The group suggests separating fridge and freezer units like washers and dryers (05:58).
• Ad-supported Fridges
  • Ryan observes new fridges being cheaper because they show ads if connected to Wi-Fi, paralleling smart TVs:
    • "They'll have a...screen on them...because they play ads on the fridge." (A, 06:08)
    • Notion of “test-driving” a fridge is impossible—particularly the unpredictability of ice dispensers (06:49).

6. Everyday Annoyances & Home Fixes

• The Sliding Cheese Drawer
  • Over time, adjustable fridge feet have become uneven; now, the cheese drawer slides out automatically every time the fridge is opened (07:08).
• Classic Midwest Approaches to Fixes
  • Move it to the to-do list (“for 2026!”), use a little tape, or just ignore it until it somehow becomes urgent.
    • "That's on my to do list for 2026. Get those feet...level." (B, 08:11)
• What Lurks Beneath
  • Humor around the horrors of getting under the fridge: “You’ll notice a water leak, something old...” (B, 08:16)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Let’s stop making fridges without ice makers. You know, it just can’t cost that much more to do that little drip line.” (B, 00:37)
• “Every time I get ice from my fridge, there’s at least one cube that’s going on the floor because it just shoots out.” (A, 01:38)
• “It’s like a lasagna in there. And yes, I have lasagna in the freezer, but I would never know because it’s buried under vegetable medley, Eggo waffles and burritos that taste like cardboard...” (B, 03:38)
• “If you clean out your freezers, you probably have more freezer space.” (A, 04:25)
• “They’ll have a...screen on them, but the reason they’re cheaper is because they play ads on the fridge.” (A, 06:08)
• “That’s on my to do list for 2026. Get those feet more level on the fridge.” (B, 08:11)
• “Maggots on a pizza. Piece of pizza.” (B, 08:32 - ending with an ever-so-Midwestern, gross-out chuckle)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00-01:04 – Why no fridge is perfect; missing features
• 01:04-01:52 – Water/ice preference debates
• 02:07-03:29 – Fridge/freezer door designs over the years
• 03:38-05:10 – Freezer chaos; deep freezers vs. regular
• 06:08-06:49 – Modern fridges with ads and smart features
• 07:08-08:16 – Everyday fridge annoyances and home repairs

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Takeaway

This episode is an ode to Midwestern practicality and ingenuity, poking fun at modern "innovations" that often miss the mark for ordinary folks. From the eternal hunt for the perfect fridge to freezer Tetris and the reality of homegrown fixes, the You Betcha team keeps it relatable, tongue-in-cheek, and grounded squarely in Midwestern sensibility.

Perfect for listeners who have ever cursed an unexpected ice cube across the floor—or wondered if anyone else has burritos older than their children buried in the freezer.

Transcript

[A]

I'm in the market for a new fridge, but there are so many options. What is the best fridge to get?

[B]

Yeah. Because now there's not one fridge that's got it all. You know, it's. Why can't appliance manufacturers just nail it? Always have something that isn't in there. You know, everything's great about a fridge, but they don't have the little water spicking on the outside of it.

[A]

You.

[B]

You know, like, what? All of it's great. And then you're like, you find out that it doesn't have an ice maker. You're like, it's 20, 25. Let's stop making fridges without ice makers. You know, it just can't cost that.

[A]

Much more to do that little drip line. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Come on.

[A]

Or, like, they'll have, like, a water filter that goes bad every three months, and then you got to pay 60 bucks for a little thing.

[B]

Yes. 100%. Yeah, dude. Yeah.

[A]

It's.

[B]

It's. It's also personal preference. You know, like the one at our lake cabin, we have it where it's an auto fill pitcher inside of the fridge.

[A]

Oh, nice.

[B]

So then you can just. You instantly can just pour up a glass of water real quick. The one I have in my house, you have to, like, choose the amount of ounces or just stand there and hold it like a dunce, you know, and so, like, would you rather have a indoor pitcher, or would you rather have an indoor little spigot that puts ice and water out on it, you know?

[A]

Yeah, because every time I get ice from my fridge, there's at least one cube that's going on the floor because it, like, just shoots out.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Crazy.

[B]

So that's. I think that's the. How you achieve cold water and ice. Step one.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

Are you okay with the ice maker in the freezer that you just have to, like, reach your hands in and grab the ice, or do you want it on the outside where you just push the little lever and it comes out? Yeah, that's probably number one with a fridge.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Right.

[A]

And, well, being cold is probably number one.

[B]

Yeah. But I don't think they make fridges that aren't cold, Jared.

[A]

It's true.

[B]

Car that doesn't drive number two is how do you. Do you want. It's like, also, how have we not decided what's the best way to do the doors on a. On a fridge? You got the full door, you got the. The half door, then you have a half. Half refriger, half door, half Refrigerator, half freezer with the drawer. That's one we have. That's the one we have at the house. And. And at our lake, we. We. We elected for fridge on top, freezer on bottom, half door with a full drawer on the bottom. But back in the day, and maybe that is the improvement, because back in the day, you remember it, every fridge was just halvesies all the way down or full door top. Full door bottom.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And now we've. We seem to go more towards half door at the top and the drawer on the bottom. But, yeah, the one I remember as a. Kevin, as a kid, it was just full door all the way up and down, freezer and fridge. And honestly, I feel like that's better for the freezer because what kind of fridge do you have?

[A]

It's a half all the way down.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

I don't like it for the freezer, though. It's awesome because there's, like, layers to it.

[A]

Yeah, it's a bend over where mine.

[B]

It's like a lasagna in there. And yes, I have lasagna in the freezer, but I would never know because it's buried under vegetable medley, Eggo waffles and burritos that taste like cardboard that my wife bought a year and a half ago that we were never gonna eat, but we can't throw away because what if there's an apocalypse and it's just extra food that we have laying around? So I'm like, it's nice for the fridge to have the full fridge up top, but the freezer's a nightmare. And actually, I'm due for. Because my garage freezer is now full.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

So my. My. My kitchen freezer's full. My. My house. My garage freezer's full, so I'm due for a deep freeze in the basement.

[A]

You can't clean it out. If you clean out your freezers, you probably have more freezer space.

[B]

Yeah, but I mean, I got. I got meat in there. It's still good.

[A]

That's true. And you can't throw the Eggo waffles away.

[B]

Well, those coming. My kid eats those.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Okay, gotcha. Jared, come on, man. But so we have. You know, it's like, well, then do you get the one that just sits in the ground that you open from the top or. My. My parents had one growing up. Deep freeze. It was a door. It was just a freezer with the shelves. And I think I want that. It's easier to. To keep track of your freezer inventory that way.

[A]

So it's like a vertical deep freezer. Okay, gotcha.

[B]

Yeah, I. I think I want to get that. But yes, the regular fridge, that's half all the way down. Kind of isn't that awesome for the fridge, but it's. It's great for the freezer. So count your blessings, Jared.

[A]

Right? I'm so lucky to have that.

[B]

You are. You are.

[A]

I just feel like on the halfies, all the way down, it's like, it's way too narrow. The whole fridge, it's.

[B]

It's mentally confining.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's what I mean. That's why I like the. The fridge up top. It's nice. You open that sucker up, it's a full spread in there. But the freezer is just a absolute nightmare. Just a nightmare tell. Yeah.

[A]

Hell's freezing over.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And I don't know why we aren't doing freezer fridge, separate bundling. Like a washer dryer. Gotta start doing that.

[A]

I hate that. Yeah. And I've seen, like, new fridges. They'll. They'll be cheaper and they'll have a, like a screen on them. But the reason they're cheaper is because they play ads on the fridge. It's kind of like why TVs are so cheap. Because they push ads to you. That would be annoying.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If it connects your WI fi to your fridge.

[B]

I haven't seen that. That sucks. But, hey, you need a fridge. You don't got a lot of money.

[A]

Be good.

[B]

The one guy is looking to save money. Sell your fridge. You got. Get the ads fridge.

[A]

Get the ads fridge. And then, like, when you buy a fridge, you don't really get to test drive it. You don't know how the ice is going to come out.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah. Like, I think my fridge that I have in my house, there's like a drawer where all the cheeses go and it's like a great big drawer. It's great.

[A]

But.

[B]

And I think it might be because over time, the feet, like, you know, you have screw feet on the bottom of your fridge, you know, like where you can adjust the height of each leg. I think over time, those have slowly gone down so that when I open my fridge, that cheese drawer just slides out on its own. It's so annoying because I think the fridge is slightly slanted forward and I just need to get under there and screw those feet up. Infuriating. But it's not annoying enough for me to get under the fridge yet.

[A]

You have to, like, jack it up a little bit.

[B]

Yeah. I gotta. I gotta do something and put a shim in there.

[A]

I think the real solution just put a little piece of tape where that. Where it slides out. Yeah.

[B]

Every time you try to get in the cheese. That would be how we fix it. That's how my wife would fix it. And then I'd be like, what are we doing? She's like, well, you won't get under there and fix it. Yeah, that's. That's on my to do list for 20, 26. Get those feet. Feet more level on the fridge.

[A]

That's an annoying project.

[B]

It is. And it won't take very long, but then something will go wrong. You know, you'll get. You'll get underneath the. Underneath the undercarriage of your fridge. You'll notice a water leak, something old.

[A]

Piece of pizza.

[B]

Maggots on a pizza. Piece of pizza. Guys, if you want more, you bet your radio. You gotta check out our Patreon. You gotta go to patreon.com you bets radio, or look us up on the app. And we have hundreds of hours of other episodes on there that you can't get unless you're signed up. So you got to check us out on Patreon. You bet your radio, baby.