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December 5, 2024 6 mins

Exciting news from SNAFU headquarters: our first book is coming out April 29, 2025. It's called SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History's Greatest Screwups. Spanning from the 1950’s to the 2000’s, Ed Helms steps in as unofficial history teacher with a loving tribute to humanity’s finest faceplants, diving into each decade’s craziest SNAFUs. From planting nukes on the moon to training felines as CIA spies to weaponizing the weather, this book will unpack the incredibly ironic decision-making and hilariously terrifying aftermath of America’s biggest mishaps. Make sure to preorder your copy now at SNAFU-Book.com

 

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, there, Snafoo listeners, I wanted to jump into our
feed here with some big news, well huge news, actually,
I am beyond thrilled to finally share with you that
this coming April, my very first book is coming out.
That's right, and it is based on this very podcast.
The book is called Snaffo, The Definitive Guide to History's

(00:26):
Greatest screw Ups, and I am insanely proud of it.
This glorious compendium is packed with the same delightful chaos
and jaw dropping mishaps you've come to love from the podcast.
But here's the kicker. Every single chapter is a brand
news story we've never told you before. Yep, We're diving

(00:46):
headfirst into history's greatest snaffoos, covering everything from post World
War two era right up to today. You'll meet the
larger than life characters behind these wild tales, unpack the
social and political mayhem that set the stage, and of
course laugh at all the lessons learned and or blissfully ignored.

(01:08):
And because I'm just way too excited to keep all
this stuff to myself, I wanted to treat you, dear listener,
to a little sneak, beak and a mouse boosh if
you will, of some of my favorite chapters. First off,
back in nineteen fifty two, a future president got up
close and personal with wait for it, nuclear radiation. Who

(01:31):
you ask none other than Number thirty nine himself, Jimmy Carter.
Before his days in the Oval Office, Carter was a
lieutenant in the US Navy, specializing as a nuclear engineering officer.
When a Canadian nuclear plant suffered a meltdown, Carter and
his team were called in to save the day by
literally lowering themselves into the reactor to clean up the mess. Now,

(01:55):
the radiation was so intense they could only spend ninety
seconds down there today, time which, let's be honest, I mean,
that isn't much time for a deep clean. But it
must have worked out okay, because he still managed to
become President of the United States. Right, Okay, So here's
another one. A gym from the eighties. Pepsi. Yes, the

(02:18):
soda company. Pepsi briefly owned the sixth largest navy fleet
in the world. You heard that right, It is completely true.
It all started when Pepsi pulled off a brilliant publicity stunt,
becoming the first American product sold and distributed in the USSR.
Now Soviet teens went wild for the phizy syrapy goodness,

(02:40):
and demand skyrocketed. There was just one problem. Soviet rubles
weren't considered a legitimate global currency, so the Soviet Union
paid for its pepsi orders with actual battleships and submarines. Yes,
I swear it's true. Now, Coca Cola, you better watch
your back. All right. Finally, here's one from the two thousands.

(03:06):
International tensions cranked up when an American spy plane carrying
top secret data made an unscheduled pit stop in Chinese territory.
Spoiler alert, the welcome committee wasn't exactly rolling out the
red carpet, so they had to make an emergency landing.
And in this emergency descent, the flight crew had less

(03:26):
than twenty minutes to shred, smash, and otherwise obliterate as
much classified info as humanly possible. What followed well a
full blown diplomatic soap opera, with the flight crew stuck
in the world's most awkward layover and the US and
China exchanging icy glares and pointing fingers. That is just

(03:50):
a little teaser for you, but trust me, the details
of those stories are even more insane, and I can't
wait to share them with you, along with so many
more great stories. When the Snafu book comes out on
April twenty ninth of next year. Here's the most exciting
news of all. You can pre order a copy right now,

(04:10):
that's right, just go to snaffoo dashbook dot com. That's
snaffoo dashbook dot com. There's also a link in our
show notes too, And just a quick word about pre ordering.
It's really important. I know it might seem like, why
should I buy this book now if it's not going
to show up for four months? And I get it,
believe me, I do. But here's the thing. Pre Ordering

(04:31):
is basically the equivalent of leaving a rating slash review
in podcast land. Preorders show bookstores and booksellers that our
podcast fans you are already super excited for the book
to come out, and it helps them give it more
attention and support. And if the book does well well,

(04:51):
that also helps the podcast. And really, all I want
to do is keep making seasons of this show that
bring to light these crazy, messed up stories from history,
and of course to keep giving you guys all something
fun to listen to while you're doing chores, or commuting
to work, or whatever it is you like to do
while listening to Snafu. So once again, this is my

(05:11):
shameless but very heartfelt plug. Please stop by snafu dashbook
dot com and pre order yourself a book or two
or one hundred, you know, maybe even a thousand. Just
keep them in the closet whenever you need to give
out a cheeky, sophisticated gift. Trust me, these snaffoos are
an absolute thrill ride, packed with jaw dropping moments and

(05:34):
tons of laughs. Oh and before I sign off, one
last quick teaser. I'm going to be back right here
with season three of Snaffoo very soon. And when I
say soon, I mean very soon, like keep your podcast
feed refreshed. So that's it. Thanks so much for tuning in,

(05:54):
Wishing you a new Year's filled with joy, laughter, and well,
worse nafoos than American history. Take care, MH.
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Host

Ed Helms

Ed Helms

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