Content warning – this episode includes discussion of drug use and suicide.

For anyone who creates online content, the big goal is to have your content go viral.

Whether it’s a Tiktok or YouTube video, an Instagram reel, or a Facebook photo – when something goes viral, the person who posted it is kind of quasi-famous for a few days or a week.

This happened to me once, several years ago. I posted a video on Facebook, and it just took off like crazy. It wasn’t even a video that I created personally. But people saw it and shared it, so it was seen by millions of people – right on my Facebook profile page. So I was getting hundreds of friends requests every day from people I didn’t know (and I declined all of them, of course). It was kind of fun, but also a little weird that suddenly my Facebook page was being viewed by so many people, all over the world.

But for some people, having their photo go viral is not a good thing. That’s what happened with my guest today, Sarah. She got in trouble for selling drugs. This was her first time ever being arrested, and she made the mistake of smiling for her booking photo. That’s when things got crazy, and she was nicknamed in the press as the “Adorable Drug Kingpin”.

The other reason this story went viral was because of where Sarah’s dad worked. His employer was the Drug Enforcement Agency. Sarah’s dad was a DEA agent.

If you’d like to contact Sarah, her email is empathy.always1@gmail.com">empathy.always1@gmail.com

Show notes for this episode:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/136

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at https://WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well).

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This is Scott, and this podcast is What Was That Like.

This is the show where I usually have a guest come on and talk about something they experienced, that was extremely unusual. Like crashing a skydive, or getting shot in a mass shooting, or finding a baby in the New York City subway, or winning a showcase on The Price Is Right. The guest comes on the podcast, and tells the details of what happened, first hand.

This episode is different.

In this one, I’m going to talk about a man who lived in Texas, whose name was James Bigby. You’ll learn about his horrific crimes, his bizarre behavior in court, and what eventually happened to him.

This is not a case that you’ve ever heard about on any other podcast.

But after you’ve heard his story, stick around and I’ll tell you exactly why I’m bringing it to you today.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/135

If you’re looking for a simpler and cost-effective supplement routine, Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to athleticgreens.com/WWTL.

Go to HelloFresh.com/wwtl50 and use code wwtl50 for 50% off, plus your first box ships free!

Save $10 on your first purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/what

Voiceover work for this episode by Kiyana Morgan. Graphics by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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On a Friday afternoon in 2022, Lex was at home, just doing some routine work on her laptop. It seemed like just a normal day.

It did not turn out to be normal. In fact, what happened that day started Lex on a journey she never could have predicted.

And by the way – the story you’re about to hear does not include any violence. But there is blood. A lot of blood.

This is a short documentary that was made by Luke and Jasper (two of Lex and Meg’s sons) about their family and their pet rabbit, Shirley:

https://vimeo.com/642010919

If you’d like to Lex’s blog and the amazing photographs she creates, visit

https://LexBeach.com

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/134

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

Go to HelloFresh.com/wwtl50 and use code wwtl50 for 50% off, plus your first box ships free!

If you’re looking for a simpler and cost-effective supplement routine, Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to athleticgreens.com/WWTL.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Probably the most difficult thing for a parent to experience is losing a child.

It’s often been said that the English language fails us in this area. A woman who loses her spouse is called a widow. If a man is the one who survives his spouse, he’s a widower. A child who has lost their parents is called an orphan.

But why isn’t there a word for a parent whose child has died? Well, it turns out there actually is a word for that.

“Vilomah” is a Sanskrit word that’s been used in Hindu philosophy for centuries. It’s a compound word made up of two words – “vi” which means “against”, and “loma” which means “hair”. The word “vilomah" is often translated as “against the hair” or “against the grain” or “against the natural order of things”.

In recent years, the word “vilomah” has gained popularity outside of Hindu philosophy, and it’s now used to describe a parent who has lost a child. The term “vilomah parent” refers to a parent who has experienced the loss of a child, which is considered to be a violation of the natural order of things.

Ashley lives in Florida, and she knows about that experience. And she’s using her story to help other people avoid what she’s been through.

Great resource for learning about infant swimming, and even finding an instructor local to you:

https://www.infantswim.com/

If you’d like to contact Ashley, you can email her at Ashley.elise@hotmail.com">Ashley.elise@hotmail.com.

If you’re looking for a simpler and cost-effective supplement routine, Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to athleticgreens.com/WWTL.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/133

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well).

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This is a bonus episode of What Was That Like.

If you’re new to the show, this is not normally what you’ll hear. What usually happens is I’ll have someone come on the show to tell the story of something that happened to them. Something that was very unusual. At this point we have over 130 episodes, and a huge variety of stories – animal attacks, plane crashes, mass shootings, all kinds of stories.

And at the end of each episode, we have a Listener Story. This is a story that is sent in by a listener. It’s not an interview, just the person talking about something interesting that happened to them.

I started ending each episode with one of these short stories back in 2021. And just about a month or so ago, I put out a bonus episode with all the Listener Stories from 2022. And I got a lot of positive response to that. So I thought it would be good to get all of the other Listener Stories – the ones from the beginning, in 2021 – and put them out as a bonus episode as well. So that’s what we have here today.

And if you have a story like this, I’d love to hear it. It can be funny, or sad, or anything really – as long as it’s interesting and you can tell it in 5-10 minutes. Just record it on your phone and email it to me, at Scott@WhatWasThatLike.com. There’s a good chance I’ll play it in a future episode of the podcast.

I definitely enjoyed hearing these stories from a couple of years ago, and I think you will too.

Full show notes for this episode are here:

WhatWasThatLike.com/132

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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It’s hard for me to imagine not loving dogs. But that’s the way some people are, and it’s usually pretty easy to spot someone like that.

I remember one time we were visiting my parents and of course we brought our two little Yorkies with us because they like to go everywhere we go. They are Lilly and Fenway. And Fenway is a little guy, only about 7 pounds, and he is the social one. He just loves to meet new people, and of course he just charms everyone with his cute little face.

Well, not everyone. This time we were at my parents’ house, and they had some friends of theirs over at the same time. The man was sitting on the couch, you know, everyone was just chatting. And Fenway just goes over and jumps up on the man’s lap, like he does with everyone. Now, if that happened to me, I’d love it, because “oh cool, this dog likes me!”. But this man didn’t have that reaction. He kind of froze, he pulled his hands back, and the expression on his face was “um, okay, what do I do now?”. I just found it kind of amusing that someone could react to a friendly little dog that way. But I went and picked Fenway up, and he was probably a little confused because that’s not the typical reaction. But I understand, not everyone loves dogs like we do.

My guest today is Jacqueline, and she’s like me – a big fan of dogs. In fact, she was working as a dogsitter, and she loved doing that because she got to meet new dogs all the time. So dogs were a big thing in her life.

But there was one day, when the thing she loved so much almost cost her her life.

If you would like to contribute to her recovery expenses, she has a GoFundMe:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/dog-sitter-jacqueline-durand-nearly-killed-in-ca

You can follow Jacqueline on her Instagram or her YouTube Channel.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/131

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know, there’s just something about Friday night.

For a lot of people, it’s the end of the work week, and you can just sort of chill out. You don’t have to worry about getting a good night of sleep, because you don’t have any particular reason to get up early on Saturday. So Friday night is often when many people just kind of exhale, maybe order some food to be delivered, see what’s on Netflix or Hulu, and just kind of zone out. Maybe even fall asleep on the couch – because who cares, you can sleep in tomorrow.

That was the plan that Anika had on a Friday night. Have some dinner and put her daughters to bed, and then her best friend was coming over for a glass or two of wine, and they would just unwind. It was going to be a nice, quiet evening to end the week.

That’s not what happened.

Full show notes for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/130

This episode is sponsored by Better Help online therapy – get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS

This episode is also sponsored by the Profoundly Pointless podcast – amazing conversations with interesting people! ProfoundlyPointless.com

Graphics created by Bob Bretz.

Transcription done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Content warning: this episode includes discussion of suicide.

I had a scary experience with fire when I was a kid.

I grew up in Ohio, in a little town called Westerville. At the time I was probably around 12 or 13. This was on a Saturday, and I was hanging out with some of my friends from around the neighborhood. We were just doing stuff that kids do, mostly setting up ramps and jumping our bikes over them.

At some point we were walking around, in kind of a wooded area. Not the deep forest, but we were kind of off by ourselves, out of the sight of any adults. One of the guys had brought a lighter, and he was just flicking it, finding little sticks to light on fire. I guess as a pre-teen boy this is pretty fascinating. And it also had that little element of excitement, because we all knew this was something we really weren’t supposed to be doing.

Eventually he had a few sticks on fire, which he was holding, and when the flames got big he kind of panicked and dropped them. Of course, that meant the dry grass on the ground caught fire and all of a sudden things were starting to get out of control. 

But fortunately, the rest of us didn’t panic like he did. We all got together and stomped out the flames before they got very big. We were just stupid kids and we were lucky the situation didn’t turn into a huge problem.

My guest today is Sally. She experienced a house fire when she was young, and it was a scary experience that changed her life. Because on the day of the fire, Sally lost more than just her house.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/129

This episode is sponsored by the Women’s Meditation Network – guided meditations specifically for women. More details at womensmeditationnetwork.com.

This episode is also sponsored by the Jordan Harbinger show – really interesting discussions with amazing people. Find it on any podcast app, including Spotify.

This episode is also sponsored by the Deep Cover podcast – a show about people who lead double lives. Season 3 is now live! More info at https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/deep-cover

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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Jayna was excited – she was about to get married.

She works in the wedding industry, so she knows how to handle every detail. She also hired a wedding planner. Shayna knows from experience that on the day of the wedding, there are lots of different things happening, and you have to anticipate problems and avoid surprises.

She never could have predicted that the events of that day would include a fire alarm, a gunman, and having her wedding story featured on the national news.

If you’d like to contact Jayna, all of her social media, podcast info, and other contact information is on her website at https://www.hellojayna.com.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp – professional online therapy. Get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS.

This episode is also sponsored by the I Need Blue podcast – a place for trauma survivors to tell their story. Find it on any podcast app, or at https://ineedblue.net/

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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This is not a regular new episode Friday. And that’s because this is not a regular new episode. This is a BONUS episode.

If you’re a regular listener to the show, you probably know that we end every episode with a Listener Story. I started doing this about a year and half, maybe two years ago, and it’s become a really popular segment.

The Listener Stories are just short stories, like 3-5 minutes or maybe a little longer, that have been sent in by a listener. Everyone has a story they could send in, and that includes you – yeah, I’m talking to you right now. You have a story that would qualify as a Listener Story. Because the Listener Stories aren’t the big crazy ones that we do a whole episode about, like getting attacked by a monkey or winning prizes on Wheel of Fortune. 

No, the Listener Stories are more like a little interesting slice of life. It could be really happy, or really sad, or really funny. Just something interesting that you can record on your phone, and just email it to me at Scott@WhatWasThatLike.com.

So what we’re doing today is, we’re going to hear all of the Listener Stories that came at the end of each episode in 2022. That means that just in this episode, you’re gonna have like 2 hours of stories. 

So let me know what you think of this. If it’s a popular thing, I’ll probably do the same thing at the end of 2023. Maybe it will become a tradition. 

I hope you enjoy this episode with all the Listener Stories from 2022.

This episode is sponsored by the Profoundly Pointless podcast – you’ll hear a huge variety of interesting guests, and a great host! Find it on all podcast platforms, or at ProfoundlyPointless.com

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices