Tag: nostalgia

One Direction breaks up, “Potato Parcels” go viral, and the Pumpkin Spice Latte finally lives up to its name. Here’s what was in the news 10 years ago this week.

The PSL finally got real pumpkin

12 years after the Pumpkin Spice Latte debuted at Starbucks in 2003, they finally decided to toss some actual pumpkin in there. The new recipe included a “pumpkin spice flavored sauce” made with pumpkin purée.

One Direction broke up

The “extended hiatus” proved to be so extended, it functioned as the band’s unofficial break-up. Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan went their separate ways to work on solo projects. There was talk of a reunion tour in 2024 before Liam died tragically that October after falling from a third-floor window at a hotel in Argentina.

A Texas man was making $10,000 a month mailing potatoes

The website PotatoParcel.com exploded onto the scene after a 24-year-old in Texas launched an app offering to mail Russet potatoes with personalized messages on them. The unlikely success story led to a string of competing websites, and Americans found out the USPS allows you to mail a potato without a box. The potato itself counts as a container.

Jon Stewart had his first gig after leaving the “The Daily Show”

His last show (of his first stint as host) was August 6, 2015, but he was back in the spotlight two weeks later. His first gig following the departure was hosting WWE’s “SummerSlam,” where he fully screwed John Cena out of his World Heavyweight Championship title.

Jennifer Lawrence was the world’s highest paid actress

She topped the annual “Forbes“ list at $52 million, followed by Scarlett Johansson, Melissa McCarthy, Bingbing Fan, and Jennifer Aniston. Robert Downey Jr. had recently topped the highest paid actors list at $80 million.

Three Americans stopped a terrorist attack on a train headed for Paris

On August 21, 2015, a man with an assault rifle opened fire on a train heading from Amsterdam to Paris. Luckily, his gun misfired, and three Americans in their early 20s – two of them off-duty members of the U.S. military – were able to subdue the gunman and end the threat. Four people were injured, including another American who initially wrestled the gun away, but there were no fatalities. The gunman was later sentenced to life in prison.

Ashley Madison hackers leaked everyone’s info

The dating site for cheaters had been hacked that July, and the hackers threatened to release all of the data if the site didn’t shut down immediately. They followed through with the threat, releasing more than 60 GB of data on August 18 and 20. An analysis later showed that Alabama led the nation in extramarital affairs.

Tracy Morgan got married and announced his return to “SNL”

It was a big week for the “Saturday Night Live” alum. The show announced he’d be returning to host after he nearly died in a car crash a year earlier. He also married his 28-year-old baby mama Megan Wollover that same week, but sadly it didn’t last. They filed for divorce five years later in 2020.

A man in Scotland received the “world’s first bionic penis”

The 43-year-old had lost his junk years earlier when it was ripped off in a crazy car accident that saw him dragged nearly 600 feet. Headlines claimed it was the “world’s first” bionic penis, which wasn’t actually true. But people were happy to hear the man’s new bionic junk was an impressive eight inches long.

The owner of the “Goonies” house shut fans down

The owner of the home – located in Astoria, Oregon – was sick of people doing the Truffle Shuffle on her lawn, so she covered the front of her house in blue tarps. She said she’d been dealing with more than 1,000 visitors a day and installed a sign that said, “Imagine that you buy a house, fix it up, spend money, time and love. Then the city of Astoria encourages 100,000’s of people to come and stand in front and view it.” (A sign that said “Hey, you guys! Please stop it!” might have been more effective.)

Dad Bods, “farting carrots,” and love songs for face-numbing narcotics. Here’s what was in the news 10 years ago this week.

“Dad Bods” were coming into style

A student at Clemson named Mackenzie Pearson had just coined the term months earlier in an article called “Why Girls Love the Dad Bod.” A poll that August found overweight or plus-sized men were the best in bed.

Selena Gomez sang about “farting carrots”

A radio host in the U.K. asked Selena to clarify what the lyrics were to her new song “Good For You.” People thought (or hoped) the opening line was, “I’m farting carrots. I’m farting carrots.” It’s actually, “I’m a 14 carat. I’m 14 carat”… like a diamond. (Sure, Selena… if that’s the story you’re sticking with.)

An NFL player sucker-punched his own QB and broke his jaw

New York Jets defensive end IK Enemkpali was beefing with star QB Geno Smith, who supposedly owed him $600. On August 11, 2015, he sucker-punched Smith in the locker room and broke his jaw. Smith ended up having to cede the starting QB job to Ryan Fitzpatrick and only appeared in one game that season. Enemkpali was immediately released and signed with the Buffalo Bills, but never played in the NFL after that season.

Jimmy Carter announced he had cancer

He was 90 years old when he announced he’d been diagnosed with stage IV melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain. But the former president and peanut farmer would go on to beat cancer and live another decade. He passed away on December 29, 2024 at age 100.

Seth Meyers took a seat

He’d been hosting “Late Night” for just over a year when he opted to start doing his monologue from behind his desk instead of standing. Fans thought the standing monologues were awkward, and sitting behind his desk more closely mimicked his “Weekend Update” segments from “SNL.”

“Watch me nae nae” was ranked one of the worst lyrics of the year

The BuzzFeed community ranked Silentó’s “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” at #3. The top spot went to Chris Brown and Tyga’s “Ayo” for the line, “I’ma take her ass down if she bring her friend around / F*ck ’em both like ayo.” (Classy stuff from two classy guys.)

“Rolling Stone” ranked the 100 best songwriters of all time

They really went out on a limb and put Bob Dylan at #1. The rest of the Top 5 were Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Chuck Berry, and Smokey Robinson.

“Can’t Feel My Face” was the #1 song in America

The Weeknd topped the Billboard Hot 100 with his ode to cocaine. The #1 album in America was Luke Bryan’s “Kill the Lights,” and the N.W.A. movie “Straight Outta Compton” debuted at #1 in theaters that week.

Mexico said they wouldn’t pay for the wall

Then-candidate Donald Trump had been promising to build a wall across the southern border and make Mexico pay for it. A spokesman for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto responded by calling the comment irresponsible and saying, “Of course it’s false.”

LeBron James offered college scholarships to 2,300 kids

He partnered with the University of Akron, offering $9,500 scholarships to up to 2,300 underprivileged kids if they decided to pursue higher education. Not all of the money came directly out of LeBron’s pocket, but the pledge was valued at nearly $90 million.

“Justiniston,” gun-cooked bacon, Kermit gets dumped, and “Fantastic Four” sucks! Here’s what was in the news 10 years ago this week.

Jennifer Aniston married Justin Theroux

They went to great lengths to keep their backyard Bel-Air wedding a secret, reportedly storing all of the decorations at another mansion nearby until the very last minute. The guest list was a Bezos-level of star studded, if not more so.

Guests included Chelsea Handler, Howard Stern, Jason Bateman, Ellen DeGeneres, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Will Arnett, Tobey Maguire, Jimmy Kimmel, Sia, Kathryn Hahn, Sandra Bullock, Orlando Bloom, Rachel McAdams, Whitney Cummings, and Lisa Kudrow. Jen’s other “Friends” co-star Courtney Cox was her maid of honor. 

Jen was 10 years removed from her divorce with Brad Pitt and had been engaged to Justin since 2012. Sadly, this marriage fizzled as well. She and Justin announced their split less than three years later in 2018. They never even got an official couple’s name… even though the undeniably catchy “Justiniston” was right there for the taking!

“Fantastic Four” was a box office bomb

The 2015 version – with Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, and Kate Mara – was not the box office juggernaut the 2025 incarnation would turn out to be. There was also another “Fantastic Four” flick with Jessica Alba and Chris Evans in 2005. So yeah, they keep cranking these suckers out, literally every decade.

Ted Cruz cooked “machine-gun bacon”

Using the muzzle of an AR-15 was a decidedly impractical – but absurdly “American” – way to cook breakfast. Ted was in the early stages of losing the Republican primary to Donald Trump and was trying (a little too hard) to court the 2nd Amendment vote.

Robert Downey Jr. was the world’s highest paid actor for a third straight year

He was in the midst of an epically profitable run as Tony Stark in the “Iron Man” and “Avengers” movies. “Forbes” estimated his annual earnings at $80 million. The rest of the top five were Jackie Chan ($50 mil), Vin Diesel, ($47 mil), Bradley Cooper ($41.5 mil), and Adam Sandler ($41 mil). 

A girl released balloons at her dad’s grave, and they landed in her backyard 25 miles away.

It happened in Oklahoma earlier that year – on Father’s Day, no less – but the heartwarming story made national headlines in August and had people thinking larger forces may have been at work.

Kermit and Miss Piggy broke up

Their historically rocky relationship went from on-again to off-again when they released a statement that said, “After careful thought, thoughtful consideration and considerable squabbling, we have made the difficult decision to terminate our romantic relationship.” If they’ve rekindled things in the past decade, they’ve kept it quiet. As of 2025, they’re still officially just friends and colleagues.

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale announced their divorce

They’d been married nearly 13 years, and Gwen’s future husband Blake Shelton had recently announced his own split from Miranda Lambert. 👀 There were also rumors Will and Jada were about to break up. But honestly, who could find time to care with the pain of the Kermit/Piggy news so fresh and so raw? 

Did Leonardo DiCaprio have fleas?

“The National Enquirer” circulated a rumor – which Leo’s camp denied – that his big beard was harboring a large number of vermin. An anonymous source told the now defunct celeb news site “Gossip Cop” that the story was “absurd.” He was sporting the beard for his film “The Revenant”, which would hit theaters in January 2016. Leo finally ditched the beard for a more flealess look a few weeks later.

Jared Leto’s lawyer threatened to sue over rumors his client had huge junk

A law firm representing the actor/singer sent a letter to the gossip site “Lipstick Alley,” complaining that people were posting potentially defamatory comments – including the claim that Jared was well-endowed. People wondered how that was “defamatory.”

A trailer for a new Brad Pitt / Angelina Jolie movie landed

No, not “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, that was 2005. Their 2015 film “By the Sea” – ironically, about a couple trying to save their marriage – was written and directed by Angelina. No one saw it, and it made a dismal $538,000 in the U.S. (Oddly enough, Brad and Ang did not receive an invite to the Aniston-Theroux nuptials. 🤔)

Deflategate, lion hunters, and robot murder. Here’s what was in the news 10 years ago this week.

A lion-hunting dentist from Minnesota became the most-hated man in America

Americans heard that earlier in July, a Minneapolis dentist named Walter Palmer had paid a guide in Zimbabwe $50,000 to help him hunt and kill a lion. The University of Oxford had been tracking Cecil the lion – one of the most famous lions in Africa – since 2008 as part of a research program. Palmer and his guides lured Cecil out of a protected area onto private property in order to make the hunt legal. He never faced charges in Zimbabwe or the U.S.

Tom Brady’s Deflategate suspension was upheld

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld a decision to suspend the Patriots QB for four games, and revealed Brady had destroyed a cell phone that may have held evidence about the incident. Brady was accused of having footballs under-inflated for the AFC Championship Game earlier that year. The Patriots also lost two draft picks and had to pay a $1 million fine.

Philadelphia murdered a hitchhiking robot

Researchers at Ryerson University in Toronto wanted to see if a robot could hitchhike from Boston to San Francisco. (It had already made similar trips across Canada and Germany.) The robot – named hitchBOT – was able to answer simple questions, and they scrawled “San Francisco or Bust” on him. The hope was that random people would shuttle him across the country. But two weeks in, he was found stripped of his parts and decapitated in Philadelphia.

R.I.P., hitchBOT.

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper Died at 61

The brash, kilt-wearing wrestler – real name, Roderick Toombs – played the ultimate foil to WWF hero Hulk Hogan in the ‘80s and ‘90s. TMZ reported Toombs died in his sleep of cardiac arrest on July 31, 2015. Hogan would pass away (also from cardiac arrest) almost exactly 10 years later on July 24, 2025.

“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey was dominating women’s UFC

She won her fight against Bethe Correia on August 3, 2015 in 34 seconds after winning her previous two fights in under 20 seconds. But it would prove to be her last UFC win. She lost her next fight later that year (the first loss of her career), then lost again in 2016 before retiring due to concussion concerns.

“Left Shark” made a cameo at a Taylor Swift concert

A dancer in a shark costume popped up behind Taylor at a show in Massachusetts six months after the infamous Katy Perry Super Bowl performance. Katy and Taylor were feuding, so fans saw it as some sort of dig. But others said it was an innocent prank by one of Taylor’s dancers and had nothing to do with Katy or Left Shark.

Billy Corgan was sad at Disneyland

A photo of the Smashing Pumpkins frontman went viral, showing him on Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain looking less than thrilled.

“Key & Peele” pulled the plug

Season 5 had just started when Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key announced there wouldn’t be a Season 6. Comedy Central aired 53 episodes between 2012 and 2015. Peele went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his horror movie “Get Out” in 2019.

Jose Canseco came up with a weird way to support Caitlyn Jenner

He vowed to spend a full week living as a woman – including wearing dresses and makeup – as a way of “supporting” Caityln Jenner’s transition. To many people, it seemed more like an ill-conceived publicity stunt. Canseco was in the midst of launching an internet reality show called “Spend a Day with Jose” that never materialized.

The teaser for “Zoolander 2” hit YouTube

The original had become a cult classic, and writer/director/star Ben Stiller had high hopes for the sequel. But critics panned it, and audiences were underwhelmed. It earned $57 million worldwide, but cost $50 million to make.

All-day McMuffins, celebrity splits, and Justin Bieber vs. Stephen Baldwin. Here are 10 things that were in the news 10 years ago this week.

McDonald’s started testing all-day breakfast

“The Wall Street Journal” got ahold of an internal memo that said all-day breakfast could launch nationwide within three months. It did, and customers were stoked they could get a McMuffin any time they wanted, but it was a huge strain on business. McDonald’s used the pandemic as an excuse to nix all-day breakfast less than five years later in 2020.

Justin Bieber was dating “Stephen Baldwin’s daughter”

Hailey Bieber’s career was still taking off, and most people knew her as Stephen Baldwin’s daughter at that point. “The National Enquirer” reported that Stephen was none too pleased when he saw a hickey on Hailey’s neck, and that he planned to “straighten [Justin] out” the next time he saw him. Justin and Hailey wed three years later in 2018.

Bobbi Kristina Brown died at age 22

She’d been in a coma for six months after she was found unconscious in a bathtub. The circumstances were eerily similar to how her mom Whitney Houston died three years earlier in 2012.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert got divorced

TMZ broke the news on July 20, 2015 and said it was already a done deal. They’d filed two weeks earlier and had a prenup, so it was a quickie divorce. They released a joint statement saying, “This is not the future we envisioned, and it is with heavy hearts that we move forward separately.” Miranda remarried in 2019. Blake married Gwen Stefani in 2021.

Hulk Hogan got fired by the WWE for using the N-word

He was in the middle of suing Gawker for posting his sex tape in 2012 when the transcript from a separate video leaked. It showed him using the N-word multiple times while talking about his daughter’s former boyfriend. The WWE canned him and removed him from their Hall of Fame, but reinstated him in 2018. Gawker ended up paying him $31 million for the leaked sex tape.

Corey Feldman’s band bombed at a Minor League Baseball game

The State College Spikes were a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals at the time. The performance by Corey & the Angels was so bad, the team’s G.M. issued a public apology, calling it “far below expectations” and “not the type of entertainment we stand for, or stand by.” It wasn’t even an on-field performance – they set up in the middle of a walkway next to a salsa stand.

A guy went viral for eating Chipotle 100 days in a row

Mark Rantal of Colorado Springs didn’t even branch out and explore the menu. He ordered the same thing every time: a burrito bowl with white rice, pinto beans, fajitas, sofritas, corn, cheese, lettuce, and two types of salsa. The stunt made headlines, but it turned out a different guy in L.A. was already on Day 153 of a separate Chipotle binge.

“Space Jam 2” rumors were circulating

Die-hard fans of the original were excited (and nervous) when LeBron James was linked to the project. The cinematic masterpiece finally came out in 2021 and wasn’t a complete flop, but didn’t do great either. The budget was $150 million, and it grossed $164 million worldwide.

Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj had beef, then didn’t

Nicki complained online after her video for “Anaconda” didn’t get a VMA nod for Video of the Year. She seemed to suggest you had to be a skinny white chick to get nominated, so Taylor – who was nominated and won for “Bad Blood” – took offense. But then they swapped compliments, and everything was fine. They ended up performing together at the show.

Fart-blocking blue jeans made their debut

A British company called Shreddies was already selling flatulence-neutralizing underwear and announced they were branching out to sell fart-blocking jeans and pajama bottoms too. A decade later, they’re still around. They’ve since added fart-proof sheets, chair cushions, and fanny packs to their product line.

The first Amazon Prime Day, butt covers for cats, and Tom Cruise is crazy. Here are 10 things that happened 10 years ago this week.

The first Amazon Prime Day was a huge flop – except it wasn’t

People complained the deals sucked, and #PrimeDayFail started trending. But behind the scenes, Amazon sold more products than they did on Black Friday. In the decade since, it’s become a massive sales event and helped Jeff Bezos accumulate enough cash to rent out a whole city for his (relatively cheap) $50 million Venetian wedding in June 2025.

Tom Cruise clung to the side of an airplane

The producers of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” released behind-the-scenes footage of how they did the shot where he clings to the side of an Airbus A400M. Turned out they just strapped him to it and hoped he didn’t die. We knew he did his own stunts, but damn.

Marshawn Lynch’s socks doubled as food storage

The five-time NFL Pro Bowler was helping out at a free football clinic in his hometown of Oakland, CA when he tucked a few chicken wings in his sock to save for later. He ended up suffering a string of injuries that fall (as far as we know, unrelated to the wings) and missed half of the Seahawks’ 2015 season.

Boner-hiding boxers and butt covers for cats

A start-up called Bloxers claimed their special underwear with an inner layer of compression fabric could hide your accidentally engorged junk. Teenage boys rejoiced, but the company only raised $2,400 on Indiegogo.

Meanwhile, a company called Twinkle Tush went viral for selling jewels you could hang off your cat’s tail to hide its butthole. Cat owners loved the gag gift. Cats themselves were predictably nonplussed.

“Ant Man” was Marvel’s 12th movie to open at #1

But with an opening of just $57 million, critics wondered if it would make back its sizable $114 million budget. (It did and then some, grossing $519 million worldwide.) Amy Schumer and Judd Apatow’s “Trainwreck” had also just opened to rave reviews, and the first trailer for DC Comics’ “Suicide Squad” landed the same week after debuting at Comic-Con.

Donald Trump said John McCain wasn’t a war hero

At the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, he said, “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” Many experts predicted it would be the nail in the coffin of Trump’s campaign.

Barack Obama said Bill Cosby would keep his Presidential Medal of Freedom

Dozens of women had accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them. Obama said there was no mechanism for revoking a Presidential Medal of Freedom (which the comic was awarded in 2002), but called the accusations against him “rape” if proven true. Cosby was found guilty in 2018, but his conviction was overturned in 2021.

50 Cent filed for bankruptcy five years after being worth $500 million

Fans wondered how anyone could blow through that much cash, and it turned out he didn’t. He was dealing with a lawsuit, and it was a strategic business move. He wasn’t really broke.

DMX got six months in jail for ducking child support

He’d been arrested a month earlier for owing $400,000 in unpaid child support. He spent another year behind bars in 2018-19 for tax fraud. Sadly, the rapper died in 2021 of a heart attack, reportedly caused by a drug overdose.

“Game of Thrones” was nominated for 24 Emmys

It went on to snag 12 of them – including Outstanding Drama Series – the most ever for one show in a single year, at the time. If you count miniseries, “John Adams” won 13 Emmys in 2008, but it matters not. “Shōgun” blew them both away with 18 wins in 2024.