Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - Cheese balls!

Episode Date: April 30, 2024

Welcome to the untamed realm of the world's Wild Wild Web!  On this edition we discuss an unknown man eating a tub of cheese balls in Union Square, and why hundreds are turning up to watch... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello there on this episode of the Wild Wild Web. Hundreds of people turned up in New York to see a man do what? Welcome to the untamed realm of the world's wide web. A swirling vortex of weirdness, bullying, and self-obsessed social media posts. In this digital jungle, Jono and Vienna are your fearless guides. Leading you through the wildest parts of the wild, wild web. This is the wild, wild web. The actual story, some things that are happening around the wild, wild world

that we've seen on the wild, wild web. And this one, I really like this story. Okay, so there's a guy in New York. A couple of months ago, he put up some social media posts. He's wearing, you don't know who he is, but he's wearing like a balaclava an orange a bright orange balaclava and he's got one of those you know sometimes lollies and and things come in a large tubs this is a plastic tubs oh yeah he's got cheese balls he's like I'm gonna eat this entire jar of cheese balls Union Square New York Saturday I'm sorry April 27th 3 p.m let's put it out there put some little flyers up around Union Square, New York, April 27th, 3 p.m. Let's put it out there.

Put some little flyers up around Union Square as well. Hundreds and hundreds of people turned up to watch him, to watch him cheer him on, to eat this entire. So he turns up. He's still in his orange, bright orange neon balaclava. Can't see his face. And they cheered him on as he ate the entire jar of cheese balls. Eat those balls. Eat those balls. Eat those balls. see his face and they cheered him on as he ate the entire jar of cheese balls

i've lived here for 12 years i don't think i've seen anything more transformative oh my god it was life-changing really they're calling them cheese ball man they're calling him Cheeseball Man at the end So now he's Cheeseball Man So he ate He did the whole jar? The entire jar He said there was moments that he felt There was a moment afterwards he felt

Midway through he was going to be really sick But everyone just started shouting Keep it down, keep it down And he got through it Isn't that a wonderful part of the world That you could do I mean we could try and do that But I don't think you'd pull a crowd. I tell you, it's unbelievable the amount of people in these videos.

They're all just around watching him, cheering him on, all got their photos. He also said the remarkable thing as well. Look at all those people right in the middle of New York. Oh, my God. Like hundreds. Like hundreds. He's also gluten-free. Sorry, he put his life on the line.

And he forgot to buy the gluten free ones So he was like So he turned up and he was like Damn it I didn't buy the gluten ones The ones without gluten But he's like I'm here now Too late to go Hey wait everyone

I've got to go get some gluten free ones Aren't they made with corn? Wouldn't they be gluten free anyway? Yeah he was like Yeah well I think you can Anyway he seems to be okay And he was blown away by the amount of people. He did not expect that to happen.

So signing autographs, doing stuff afterwards, taking photos. Only in America, too, will you get the chant, USA! I know. Eat those balls. Eat those balls is quite good. And then USA. USA!

Eat those balls! Eat those balls! Someone was still doing USA, USA, and then they changed it to eat those balls, eat those balls. I've lived here for 12 years. Eat those balls. Eat those balls. Eat those balls.

Eat those balls. Eat those balls. Eat those balls. That's a great chant, isn't it? I don't think I've seen anything more transformative. It was a huge crowd. Huge crowd. That's the power of social media, isn't it?

It is. Yeah. It's kind of fun. I mean, you still look at the comments on stuff and people are like, there's always something. Okay, let's rattle through the comments. What do we got? Okay, so there's things where people say,

the most American thing I've ever seen. That's great. Yeah. Give that a thumbs up. Yeah. Heart. And then it was like, oh, sorry. This is so lame.

There are real worries and crises in the world. And we're worried about a cheeseball man in a tub of cheeseballs. Tragically sad. I mean, yes, there is. There is far bigger things in the world. That's why we need these things. You do need those little lighthearted things. Imagine a few bloody Israel-Palestine ones in there.

Yeah. And very poignant. Yeah, a worthy thing to be talking about and to thinking about as well. But you're right, Megan. It's nice to have those little things that keep things interesting. There was a guy in Philadelphia apparently did a similar thing a few months ago. He's like, I'm going to eat an entire rotisserie chicken. Come down and see me do that.

So it's pretty impressive. What do you think you could eat an entire version of? Oh, just saying. If you ate large. I always feel like you can do more in your mind than you actually can. You're all like, that'd be easy. And then you actually go to do it and you're like, oh my God, I'm getting quite full quite fast.

We interviewed and then you were like, I'll get New Zealand's biggest burger. And you made me eat it, try and eat it. What's the cartoon the animated one the burger burger joint i can't i just had a mind blank it's very popular pop bob's burgers both burgers yeah and we had all the cast of the voicing cast and we got new zealand's biggest burger we've got it made it was massive and i'm gonna make jonah eat this and i started eating and i'm like she's quite filling but he didn't eat much at all like nothing it was like

man nibbles burger is what we called it afterwards. He's a cheese man. The guy had a whole lot of cheese to it. You also don't eat during the day usually. No, I nibbled a couple. It was like a little bird had pecked at it. And I was like, this is, I nibbled it. Huge waste of the burger.

Everyone's time. Yeah, no, I'll let everyone down there. I'll put my hand up there. Just did not have it. Didn't even commit to it. I just kind of nibbled around it and then went oh well i do i do appreciate those that do that can sit down and eat you know huge amounts of food isn't one of the champions in new zealand isn't she like quite like a slender yeah she yeah she's awesome we've done a bit we sent her over to actually a few years ago to the hot dog eating

champs yeah in new york um because we thought oh she's got a good crack at doing it but she said when she got over there she did really well i mean this is amazing what people do they eat so many of those hot dogs she didn't really realize how cold they would be because they've all been sitting there for ages you know when you think about it we had trained her up on you know lukewarm hot dogs didn't we yeah just style cold she did all right she's really good she's amazing what she is she still does stuff do you remember how many she ate i can't actually remember probably google it joey chestnut and people like that are eating like 70 something and like a whole you joe it's it's crazy like it's but they did it's a really uncomfortable watch have you seen it yeah they dip it in water it's like

getting soggy and they just kind of slide down their throats basically even like 70 hot dogs that shouldn't even if you've chew like 70 hot dogs, that shouldn't, even if you've chewed it up, surely that shouldn't fit inside of you. It's going to fight your stomach. 76 is his record. Yeah. Which is crazy.

If you laid out 76 hot dogs, that would be like the length of you anyway, right? Yeah. A man didn't nibble on the hot dog that day. She ate 16. She was here. When you think about 16 and the bread, it's not just the hot dog,

it's the bread as well That's heaps 2015 Should have gone over it For the burger thing You should have I don't know why You relied on me for that

Major League But these people to her She's a competitive eater Like this guy Joey Chestnut And all these people They're like her They're her Avengers

Well they would be Yeah They're her heroes Was she like fangirling Oh hard She got to meet them all She got to hang out with them all Because they have

A female competition And a male competition She got to hang out So it was pretty cool We didn't have the budget To send us over there But we Send our cameraman Andy

Yes I just sent Andy and Nella over there But they got some Great stuff over there Yeah Yeah It was like It was a very unusual trip.

Well, he said she was lovely, but he was like, it was just me. Fully grown man with taking this young girl over to a hot dog. Yeah, she wasn't like a child or anything, but it's still, you know. Times were tough. We had to scrimp on the budget, but he had a blast. When she goes to like dinner, just normal dinner, does she need to eat more than the rest of us? No wonder that, eh?

Yeah. She's done some amazing things. You follow her on Inella Zissa is her name. Yeah, she often does challenges on a Monday where she just eats an enormous amount of just huge plates of stuff. It's crazy what she can put away. It's incredible. We'll just take a quick break there, and we'll be back after this.

Welcome back. I was just like, how is it, you wouldn't eat for like three days afterwards. You wouldn't imagine. Yeah, you wonder that if it's all just kind of there.

Oh, we did, we went around and we ate a sausage at every bunning store in the country over, that was what, over Monday to Friday? Was it over a week?

That was over a week. And there's 50, was it, oh, I can't even remember now. We ate a lot of sausages in the 50s. But that was spaced out. And that was over a week and there's 50s was it oh i can't even remember now we had a lot of sausages in the 50s but it was spaced out and it was kind of spaced out there was one day i think we ate about 13 or something and that was quite a lot it felt like there was a lot in your stomach but then i wanted to eat other stuff because i was like i just want to eat some fruit or some vegetables around that as well what's the craziest thing you've had to eat

for radio megan do you actually want to know? Yeah, I'd love to. I've eaten, like, insects in Cambodia. I've also drunk bull semen. Bull semen? Oh, I just heard of some bull semen. Yeah, it was, yep. I mean, it tasted like vanilla, but I think they'd put a flavor with it.

Oh, yeah. But it was the texture that got me more than anything. Yeah, I imagine it'd be quite gooey. Syru oh is it syrupy syrupy yeah it's probably one of those things if you didn't know it was probably like mentally yeah it would probably be like vanilla like cough medicine right yeah radio different time back then yeah and it was more than you would want like it was quite a large It was like a shooter You know Not a shot glass One of those

Like big tall shooters Oh jeez Oh wow Yeah And what was the It's amazing what you do When there's like People filming you

And people chanting Yeah And you know It's for the radio You're like Oh we did many things Like that over the years Of TV and stuff

You're like Whatever So you're saying If we started chanting now Megan You'd eat that stapler that'd be right i always say that time it's like people like do you want to do it you're like no you know but there's camera around and things like yeah okay i'll do it i'll probably do it

we're professionals you know yeah yeah that's right show people showbiz baby because you went in for an interview on the same show that you're on, Megan. Remember you just went in for an interview. You just thought he was plugging our television show. Oh, that was, yeah, on The Edge. Yeah, that was on, yeah. It was, I think, I don't think you were there that day, but Dom and JJ were there. It was The Edge Breakfast years ago.

Yeah, he just went in as a guest. So I went in with Jeremy Corbett. Our TV show, Jono and Ben were on, was on that same night, it was seven days. So Jeremy Corbett, you know, esteemed Jeremy Corbett and myself walked in there for an interview to plug both our shows. And then they went, oh, we're doing these little things. Classic.

Yeah, we're doing classic things. To plug the show, you have to go through this. And Jeremy went, well, I'm not doing that. Which, fair enough. And so it all fell on me. What did they make you do? I walked out of there. I got my nipple pierced.

I think I ended up having to sing as well like karaoke terrible i got my undies uh like a wedgie from the world like new zealand's strongest man my undies ripped off and went quite far up my bum bleeding and a bleeding bottom yeah and i think i got some waxing as well i can't i came out of here i'm waxed and my underpants are bleeding a little like shit i was like what just went on i just went in for a radio interview. I wasn't there. I did say yes, I wasn't there

and that's what, you know, I could have said no like Jeremy. But it's like consent under duress, you know. We plug this crap out of the show. What'd you do with the nipples? Is it still pierced?

No, I took it out. Actually, it hurt more. I've had it done a couple of times, my nipples, just for radio and TV stuff. But I found No, I took it out. Actually, that hurt more. I've had it done a couple of times with my nipples just for radio and TV stuff, but I found it hurts more

taking it out than it did going in. It's such a sensitive area. Because it's probably not really sitting in there. I'd take it out quite soon. I didn't leave it in for a day or anything.

Yeah, right. Oh, yeah, right. It's still quite tender. Ouch. Yeah, no one wants tender. I think they thought both you and I were coming in and it was going to be like

one of us has to do this or one of us has to do this. Jeremy's just like, you're up, mate. Can you imagine Jeremy Corbett having his... Pierce's nipple. Comes out of there with a Pierce nipple. Hey, here's an idea for our show. Get him back. Get him back.

Redemption. What are you doing? Here's everything I went through. I don't think Corbett... I mean, love Corbett. He's great. He's given us a lot of time over the years. You really took a hit for him that day, though.

I don't feel like I need to wedgie him until his butt bleeds. You know? I have more respect for him than that. Yeah. I saw that same guy at a strongman competition. I remember he turned up. He's like, hey, we've got history. You want another wedgie?

I'm like, yeah, while we're here. And he did it again. I don't think that made the cut of the TV show either. Oh, that's right. Yeah. You didn't bleed that time, though, the TV show either. Oh, that's right. Yeah. You didn't bleed that time, though, did you? No, it was fine. It was one of my favourite pairs of underpants too,

which was a shame. Because you don't go on and go, well, this is going to be... I'm going to get these ripped off me. Yeah. I was just like, you know, radio interview, wear some good undies. That's all.

Like your mum always says. Just in case. A nice pair of undies to a radio interview, and that was why. That's why. I wasn't getting it ripped off. Yeah, exactly. All part to a radio interview, and that was why. That's why. I wasn't getting ripped off. Yeah, exactly. All part of the fun of radio back in the day.

It's still, you know, crazy stuff being done from time to time on radio. Yeah, I don't think you'd get away with any of that anymore. What was the bull's seminal fluid? Was that up there with the craziest stuff you had to do? I know you've talked about going in the plane. Oh, yeah. I had to walk down Ponson've talked about going in the plane. Oh, yeah. I had to walk down Ponsonby Road in Auckland

in a bikini. I've had to, I thought I was, I've had stunts done where I thought it was real and it wasn't. Oh, yeah. Those are quite good though.

Yeah. Wasn't there a knife throwing one you were Yeah, there was a knife throwing one. I wore Mike McRoberts bulletproof vest that he wore

in like war-torn countries. He loaned it to me. And I thought I was blindfolded getting knives thrown at me. But they were just jamming them in the board. Ah, jeez. Literally was. If you thought that was happening. Yeah.

I had a helmet on, but it could have hit my face. Yeah. You get a sleepless night before something like that happens. Yeah. Yeah. So you knew it was coming. Yeah. Yeah. It was knew it was coming. Yeah. Yeah.

Good times. It's been a few. Get the babes back out in bikinis on the streets, mate. I feel like you've done more. Yeah, well, yes. I pashed JJ Feeney. Yeah. I thought you were going to say I pashed me.

I was like, I don't remember that stunt. That was the wildest thing we've done. Ripped your underpants off. Yeah, but a lot of time back then it wasn't filmed either, really. You know? No. You're like, what a waste. Bloody hell.

Nowadays it's filmed. Everything's filmed for radio content. Yeah, you're right. Social media. No one can see this. I don't think anyone saw my nipple. I don't think that footage went anywhere. I feel like you've done crazier stuff not for radio.

Yeah. You probably go through a period there where you do a lot of those things. A lot of tattoo-based stuff over the years, things like that. You know, a lot of stuff you... I mean, I don't mind looking back. They've all kind of got stories on a lot of that stuff. You're kind of like, oh, yeah, did that, did that thing. Ben's bottom has just been a canvas for...

Have you got much spare space left on it? Not a lot, not a lot. But it's all right, you know, if you want to advertise your business. Who are you advertising to? Well, not me. Sometimes his wife Amanda. Oh, I must go get some curtains from... Limited audience.

What's a curtain, basically? Auckland drapes, is it? Okay, what's their number? What was the pop star's name you got? Oh, Astrid S. So, yeah. Do you know Astrid S? No.

So Jono did it first. You did it. You tattooed Jono and Ben on there, didn't you? Yeah. And then you did the N backwards or something like that. The showman did something wild and crazy. So it doesn't really quite look like Jono and Ben. And then Sharon added her one when we were doing the radio show with sharon and then astrid s was there was on an edge promo

and she was over there and they were like does someone want to get a tattoo i'm like oh i'm here now might as well do it she's swedish pop star yeah oh yeah just googled yeah yeah do you know it she had a really cool song at the time yeah in new zealand she was over here for uh for edge fest right and then dwayne johnson got a love heart to Dwayne Johnson saying hi, Dwayne Johnson. And he signed my bum and I got that tattooed.

So, you know, there's a lot going on there. My daughter said when she was younger, she's like, why does your bum have a message? So she said.

So that's a very, very good point. Why does your bum have a message? And then The Rock does interviews. They're like, what's the craziest thing

a fan's ever done? He's like, well, actually. Well, he actually did. It was The Rock does interviews. They're like, what's the craziest thing a fan's ever done? He's like, well, actually. Well, he actually did. It was the thing that really blew us away. So we interviewed him, right, over Zoom, him and Emily Blunt, and we talked about my love heart tattoo. Yeah.

And he'd seen it, and that was crazy. He was like, I've seen that. Wait a second. And he got out his phone, and he had it on his phone. And he's like, I sent this to Emily the other day. He's like, look at this, and telling her that she should do this just as a gag and I'm like

for him I'm a joke but a funny joke you know like they're sending me around and he's like look at this idiot but that's cool I love that

and then we were lucky enough to interview him a year later and he was like wait a second how do I what's I know you guys

from somewhere and then he went that's right the tattoo the butt tat the butt tat can I make a public apology to Astrid S? Yeah.

She's from Norway. Oh, Norway. Not Sweden. Yeah. But she performed on the final of the Norwegian X Factor recently. That's really good. So she's still kicking on. Yeah.

Still kicking on, 27 years old. Yeah. Ben's always hoping for another worldwide number one. Yeah, another worldwide smash. We've got me and Astrid S hoping for that at some stage. Well, thank you for listening to this episode of the Wild Wild. We've got to have a wild, wild day, as they say.