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A Brief History Of Shaq’s Obsession With Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Basketball messiah and sugar-loving giant Shaquille O’Neal bought himself a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in Atlanta. Not only that, he’s the new global ambassador for the company. He made it official this morning.

Kudos to Sportal for this headline:

Legendary NBA center Shaquille O’Neal will now represent a product that has no center.

The Krispy Kreme that Shaq now owns isn’t your run of the mill doughnut outlet. It’s an iconic shop located on Ponce de Leon Avenue that’s been around for six decades — almost as long as Shaq’s been eating doughnuts. Not really. But Shaq’s affection for Krispy Kremes has been well documented over the years.

In 2009, a video showing Shaq having a private moment with a box of Krispy Kreme, set to Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together,” went viral. The video was released to prove that Shaq had enough willpower to lay off his favorite treat and shed some weight for basketball season.

On the reddit thread Shaq Holding Things, Shaq was snapped holding — a Krispy Kreme.

Shaq holding a Krispy Kreme donut

In 2012, Shaq asked Siri to order two boxes of Krispy Kreme for his doughnut-loving comrade, Charles Barkley.

As ESPN notes, this may be Shaq’s redemption for turning down an offer to become the sole franchisee of Starbucks back in the early 1990s.

O’Neill told a reporter last year:

So I looked at the great Howard Schultz’s face and said, ‘Black people don’t drink coffee, sir, I don’t think it’s gonna work. And you should have seen the look on his face.

Magic Johnson took the offer in Shaq’s stead, later selling his 105 franchises back to the company for more than $70 million. Ouch.

Here’s Shaq getting to know his new family. Nothing brings on the warm and fuzzies quite like a 7-foot tall man on a sugar high.

 

Wait, What? 7-11 Is Good At Predicting Presidents

For the past four presidential elections, the sale of red and blue coffee cups at 7-Eleven have correctly predicted the winners.

That’s right. The real pundits of election season are 7-11 coffee drinkers. And if they’re correct again this year, we’ll soon be electing our first woman president.

Dubbed the 7-Election (#7Election), this unofficial and very unscientific poll has blue (Democrat) cups in the lead with 31-percent of sales, compared to 29-percent of red (Republican) cups.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLUSsJtjtwF/

But it’s the “Speak Up” cups for undecided voters that are blowing up. The non-partisan cups, which let undecided voters write in their candidate or important issue, currently makes up 40 percent of cup sales.

“If purple cups are ignored, the Democratic party wins 15 states in 7-Eleven’s non-scientific poll,” reports Mercury News. “Twelve states go to the Republican party and three states are tied. Assigning electoral votes to those states gives Clinton 248 of the 270 votes needed to win. Trump gets 120. The two candidates battle for the remaining 170 votes.”

If the purple cups are indeed ignored, what happens to the important issues facing today’s youth, such as:

“Better lighting for selfies”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKoJdXahg-g/

“Nutella”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJvBaFiD6eb/

“Dat Booty”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLXJM_XAj-B/

“Drinking at work”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLQ8i4wgiyW/

“Taco Tuesday”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BK34KXOhvUD/

And of course:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLT6mUqjGka/

Hang in there, young voters! There’s no such thing as dreaming too big!

Mercury News also has a break-down of cup sales by state:

  • Vermont is the most non-partisan state, with 66-percent of sales going to purple cups.
  • Missouri and California are the most democratic states, with 35-percent of sales going to blue cups.
  • Idaho is the most republican state (and the only state where coffee cup sales backing one political party surpassed non-partisan cups), with 50-percent of sales going to red cups.

Do you realize 7-Eleven sells more fresh-brewed coffee than any other product? Yep. More than 1 million cups per day. That’s more than 10,000 pots of coffee per hour!

The 7-Election launched September 6. You can find instant, daily results at 7election.com.

Consume is an essential source for food and beverage news, trends, tips, original recipes and everything in between. Want to read more? Try these posts: 11 Annoying Things About Menus, How Cannabis Sommeliers Are Making Dinner Parties Way More Fun, and Trump Or Clinton: Which Candidate Do You Eat Like?.

 

The Top 10 Costumes For Your Favorite Pooch This Halloween

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People love their pets, and they love putting pets in embarrassing costumes. Halloween 2016 is going to be like the pet-costume Olympics: We’re not sure why we do it, but wow is it ever a joy to witness.

According to a September study by the National Retail Federation, 16 percent of people plan to force their pets into a Halloween costume that they’ll immediately shake off. Of those pet owners, nearly 87 percent already know exactly what their pet will be this year.

These are the most popular costumes for their furry friends:

1. Pumpkin

Photos by: Flickr user jill, jellidonut... whatever; Flickr user Ralph Daily
Photos by: Flickr user jill, jellidonut… whateverFlickr user Ralph Daily

A classic for human babies and furbabies, pumpkins are the top pick for pet costumes. Bonus points if you find a way to dress your dog up as a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

2. Hot Dog

Photos by: Flickr user Hrag Vartanian, Petful, Flickr user Hello Chaos
Photos by: Flickr user Hrag Vartanian, Petful, Flickr user Hello Chaos
Marco J. Wallace / Photo courtesy of Pat Wallace
Marco J. Wallace / Photo courtesy of Pat Wallace

Get it? Dogs? Hot dogs? Okay, if you’ve got a hot dog costume waiting for your pet, please consider being more original this year. Try a chili cheese dog, or a vegan hot dog, or a corn dog. Save your dog the embarrassment of being a foodstuff AND an uninspired one at that.

3. Bumble Bee

Photos by: Flickr user reader of the pack, Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user EricaJoy
Photos by: Flickr user reader of the pack, Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user EricaJoy

Did you know bees are dying globally at an alarming rate?

img_8458
Ellie Goldfarb / Photo courtesy of Fredda Goldfarb

4. Tie: Lion and Star Wars Character

Photo by Flickr user Mike McCune
Photo by Flickr user Mike McCune

Lions are popular for cats, surely, but also pretty darn funny on a dog. Dogs aren’t lions! That’s crazy. As for your Jedi doggos: This year, we’d better see some Rey and Finn pets out there. Yoda is so 1980.

5. Devil

Photos by: Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user CharlotWest, Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user Crystal Agozzino
Photos by: Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user CharlotWest, Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user Crystal Agozzino

This one’s for the pet that’s not a good boy. Just kidding, they’re all good boys.

6. Batman Character

Photos by: Flickr user Mike McCune, Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user Mike Licht
Photos by: Flickr user Mike McCune, Flickr user istolethetv, Flickr user Mike Licht

The number one pick for millennials this year is also the number six choice of pets. Dress ‘em up in Harley Quinn and Joker outfits and laugh about how abusive relationships are glorified in media, it’s cute!   

7. Witch

Photos by: (L-R) Petful, Petful, Petful, Flickr user Bennilover, Flickr user Lottie
Photos by: (L-R) Petful, Petful, Petful, Flickr user Bennilover, Flickr user Lottie

Cats and witches are bffs, but are dogs and witches as tight? Probably not. Dogs wag their tails too much, causing cauldron hazards. More research is needed.

8. Superman

Photos by: Flickr user editrixie, Flickr user istolethetv
Photos by: Flickr user editrixie, Flickr user istolethetv

Who needs Lassie when your dog or cat is from Krypton?

9. Action/Superhero

Photo by Flickr user Mike McCune
Photo by Flickr user Mike McCune

A catch-all for your less popular but more creative pet costumes. If you’re wanting to show off your nerd cred, dress ‘em as X-23 from Wolverine.

10. Cat

Photo by Petful
Photo by Petful

Cats as cats? So meta. Dogs as cats? Irony. Cats as street style? Just accurate.

Bonus: Jaded celebrity

fullsizerender-jpg
Angel Lou

Who’s that girl? She could only dodge the paparazzi for so long before this snapshot was taken, exclusive to The Fresh Toast.

Fresh Playlist: D.R.A.M. Starts To Croon, A$AP Ferg Continues To Bang

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With new music flying like warp-speed through the various channels of the Internet, it can be hard to keep up. But worry not! Each week The Fresh Toast will deliver the most-discussed and exciting songs that have recently dropped. Landed. Crashed. And also: soared. Enjoy.

D.R.A.M. ft. Erykah Badu—“WiFi”

Soulful, sexy, sensitive. Those are some of the words that come to mind when hearing Erykah Badu’s voice. She adds so much soul and grace to whatever track she touches. Hers is a flavor so distinct, it’s never lost in the meal.

But what’s also special about Badu is how she’s evolved in the digital age. Whereas some of her peers persist outside the internet, Badu has embraced the younger generation, like she does with D.R.A.M. here. On a song about “WiFi” as a sexual innuendo no less. The record’s also a pleasant turn sensitive for the bubbly, cheesing-through-his-lyrics rapper. In hit song “Broccoli” with Lil’ Yachty, D.R.A.M. celebrates trying lox on his bagel. And you believe him! Lox on a bagel is pretty damn good!

D.R.A.M.’s new record Big Baby D.R.A.M. is out today. It’s a mix between shoutout to the smallest joys of life and that high-low rap-singing T-Pain’s best songs always seem to fluctuate. But “WiFI” stands out, thanks to Badu as much as D.R.A.M. himself.

A$AP Ferg ft. Future, A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert—“New Level (Remix)”

Now this is a rap remix through posse cut done right. Ferg released this remix to celebrate his birthday, a gift to us as much as himself. The production doesn’t change much from the original hit, but don’t nitpick a banger like this. Rocky and Uzi Vert flow so well on the track, providing some nice spin on it. Consider this one a win.

Lady Gaga ft. Florence Welch—“Hey Girl”

The verdict isn’t really out on Lady Gaga’s new record Joanne. The critics online are pretty split. On just one-listen through—admittedly not enough to fully judge a record’s merits—it didn’t fit all that coherently together. I need to spend more time with it, honestly. But this track earned a couple replay taps. Florence Welch, who overpowers Gaga just slightly, croons in this ode to female empowerment. It’s worth a stream.

Eminem—“Campaign Speech”

My goodness. We wrote about this track earlier in the week, so no belaboring the point here. But, man, there’s just so much to unpack on this song. (Tip: Listen with the Genius Lyrics up.) The Rap God’s still got it.

Jon Waltz—“Riot”

The Memphis-based singer carries a small sense of hype and a small, erratic output. But records like “Riot” prove why he deserves every bit of praise that comes his way. Waltz delivers some cheeky turns of phrase like “Mother Nature never meant to birth another child like me” and “We’ve been watching too many Westerns, now we pistol pop.” He slips between multiple genres—soul, jazz, electronic—and even switches his graceful singing into a staccato rap flow.

2 Chainz ft. Quavo and Gucci Mane—“Good Drank”

Tity Boi. Guwop. Q. I loved this track before I even pressed play. Then I did and heard it was a smooth bop instead of the banger I expected. Gucci rapped “Kevin Dur-ONT” with “Kevin Dur-ANT.” Then I wanted to propose to this record.

Cops: Drunk Woman Drew Peanut Butter Penises On 30 Cars Outside Of What She Thought Was A Trump Rally

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A very confused and drunk woman was arrested Monday night for allegedly drawing penises with peanut butter on 30 cars outside of a wilderness conservation club meeting that she’d somehow mistaken for a Trump rally.

BuzzFeed News reports Christina Ferguson, 32, was charged with disorderly conduct after the incident, which reportedly began when she stormed into a wilderness conservation club meeting brandishing a family-size jar of low-sodium, creamy, natural Jif. According to sheriff’s officials, she yelled at the crowd about Trump before being asked to leave, at which point she smeared penis-shaped peanut butter drawings over the cars in the parking lot and then retreated to a nearby-apartment complex.

Police told BuzzFeed that Ferguson, who they say had a blood-alcohol level of .218, repeatedly licked her fingers after her arrest, which they interpreted as “an action that would infer she had peanut butter, or some other edible food, on her fingers.” She later admitted to the incident, according to police, and was released after posting bail.

But why peanut butter penises on dozens of cars? “Peanut-buttering is better than firebombing, and Trump plans on firebombing everybody in other countries,” she said, according to the police report. Makes sense to me.

peanut-butter-penis
Photo via Portage County Police

Couple Shooting Engagement Photos In Woods Encounters Lurking Black Metal Band

A happy couple shooting their engagement photos in the woods last Sunday evening near Holy Jim Canyon, California, ran into an unexpected surprise: a black metal band carrying medieval weapons and wearing white makeup.

“During the last part of the session, we noticed a few guys with some corpse paint makeup on sitting at a nearby bench blaring out some black metal music,” John Awesome told ABC News. “We just randomly thought it would be a funny idea if we could get them to be a part of our engagement shoot. So we approached them and asked and they were more than happy to accept! Super nice people. I seriously can’t make this stuff up.”

ABC News reports the band, Coldvoid, was in the woods for their own photo session. Making the contrast in styles between the two groups even more striking, the band members were carrying swords, nails, and a candelabrum.

Image via WheelandPhotography.com
Image via WheelandPhotography.com

“It was a completely random encounter,” ‘Dysmal’ from Coldvoid told BuzzFeed News. “We were there taking photos for our band and our drummer Zack’s girlfriend took our photos. The couple approached us with their photographer and we chatted for a bit, and then they asked to take a photo and we were happy to do it.”

Photographer Janet Wheeland said the black metal band gave them a copy of their new demo. “[I]t was the perfect eerie soundtrack for the drive out of the woods,” said Wheeland. “It was a perfect, spontaneous finale to our photo shoot. We couldn’t have planned it better.”

Awesome and his fiancee, Nydia Hernandez, plan to wed next fall and have already begun planning the music. When asked what could top their engagement photos, Awesome told ABC, “If this band ends up crashing our wedding reception.”

[Top photo via Wheeland Photography]

Tom Hanks Moderates As Alec Baldwin’s Trump And Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clash In Final ‘SNL’ Debate

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For the fourth week in a row, Saturday Night Live opened its show with Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon lampooning Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. But this week’s sketch featured a third star performer: Tom Hanks, who played moderator Chris Wallace.

“I’m going to start this debate in the quietest voice possible,” Baldwin’s Trump said. “In the past I have been big and loud, but tonight I am a sweet little baby Trump.”

His calm and quiet tone lasted about 30 seconds into the mock debate, when Hank’s Wallace asked about women’s reproductive rights.  “They are ripping babies out of vaginas!” Baldwin’s Trump yelled immediately.

“Listen, Chris, I’m glad you raised this topic because what two better people are there to talk about women’s issues?” McKinnon’s Clinton responded. “Me, a woman who has had a child and has taken birth control, and him, a man who is a child and whose face is birth control.”

Hank’s Wallace also questioned Baldwin’s Trump about the many, many sexual assault allegations against the real-estate tycoon. “Chris, of course I do. I’m completely innocent. I’ve said this before and I will say this again. No one has more respect for women than I do.”

The camera then panned to women laughing hysterically in the audience, then the entire audience laughing, then a larger audience laughing, and then the entire planet laughing.

When asked if he would accept the election results, Baldwin’s Trump said:  “I will look at it at the time. Because quite frankly, this whole thing is rigged. Even the media. Every day I turn on the news and all of the newscasters are making me look so bad…by taking all of the things I say and all of the things I do and putting them on TV.”

There were also references to Trump’s relationship with Mexico (Baldwin’s Trump referred to the Mexican president as “Señor Guacomole”) and ISIS. But the real highlight might have been Baldwin’s Trump responding to comments from Baldwin’s Trump-supporting younger brother Stephen, who earlier this week criticized Alec’s impersonation as “a little too nasty” and “not very funny.”

“I’m the one with all the heavy hitters supporting me,” he said. “I have the cream of the crop. I have Sarah Palin, I’ve got Chachi, and get this, I even got the best Baldwin brother, Stephen Baldwin.”

Watch the full sketch below.

The most essential daily news, entertainment, pop culture, and culture coverage. Want more? Check out “Ol’ Knife Knuckles Returns In Depressing Trailer for Logan,” “Gallup: Record High 60 Percent of Americans Want Legalized Marijuana,” “Visualize the News: Melania Trump Interview, James Franco Likes to Headbutt People

The Official Fresh Toast Playlist For Your Perfect Halloween Party

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Throwing an amazing Halloween party can be hard work. You have to buy fake spider webs, pumpkins, candy, make weird and exciting cocktails, and pick out a sufficiently-spooky costume. The last thing you should have to worry about is music. Let the The Fresh Toast help you out with a Spotify Halloween playlist curated by our top editors and Halloween experts. We’ve got Kanye West, AC/DC, Nina Simone, the Rolling Stones, the Cranberries, and more, so no matter what your taste in music is, we’ve got you covered.

1. “Monster”—Kanye West, Jay Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver

2. “Paint It, Black”—The Rolling Stones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6d8eKvegLI

3. “Time of the Season”—The Zombies

4. “Enter Sandman”—Metallica

5. “Zombie”—The Cranberries

6. “Ghostbusters”—Ray Parker Jr.

7. “Thriller”—Michael Jackson

8. “Psycho Killer”—The Talking Heads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phvKAm_v5og

9. “Werewolves of London”—Warren Zevon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDpYBT0XyvA

10. “Runnin’ With the Devil”—Van Halen

11. “Little Ghost”—The White Stripes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-o3ueR1tSY

12. “Superstition”—Stevie Wonder

13. “I Put a Spell on You” Nina Simone

14. “Highway to Hell”—AC/DC

15. “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”—Blue Öyster Cult

16. “Monster Mash”—Bobby “Borris” Pickett

 

https://play.spotify.com/user/fresh_toast/playlist/6pv5dE5YRb0lGUQMF9JT90

Liquid Kitchen® Presents The Green Ghoul

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Halloween is a great time to catch up on your craft skills. Not only are there costumes to be made, decorations to be hung, and ghoulish makeup to be perfected, you can also have some fun with your edible cocktail garnishes, too. Try stuffing lychees with green maraschino cherries for an eerie eyeball effect. If you don’t have a lot of time to make garnishes on the spot, these are great to make ahead of time and will quickly turn any cocktail into a frightening one.

RELATED: 5 Great Bourbons For Fall

The Green Ghoul

(makes 1 cocktail)

  • 2 ounces silver tequila
  • 1½  ounces Green Ghoul Mixer (recipe follows)
  • 1 oz La Croix Passion Fruit sparkling water
  • garnish: green maraschino cherry stuffed into a lychee on a black dot pick (making an “eyeball”)

Measure tequila and mixer into a mixing glass. Fill with ice, cap, and shake vigorously. Pour into a tall glass. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with an edible eyeball.

Green Ghoul Mixer

  • 2 cups fresh lime juice
  • 2 cups simple syrup *
  • 2-3 drops green food coloring

Combine ingredients into a pitcher and stir. Store refrigerated for up to 7 days.

###

Kathy Casey is a chef, mixologist, and is known as the Original Bar Chef. Her newest book is D’Llish Deviled Eggs, which is a great accompaniment to any cocktail. Follow Kathy on Twitter and Instagram. For more great cocktail recipes, visit www.LiquidKitchen.com.

 

Bill Murray Crashes White House Press Briefing To Support His Chicago Cubs

Bill Murray is legendary for his surprise appearances and his longtime support of the Chicago Cubs. So it makes sense that he combined the two at an impromptu press conference at the White House yesterday.

NBC News reports that Murray is in Washington D.C. to collect the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday, but first he stopped by the White House to meet with President Obama. Because he’s Bill Murray, he decided to use the opportunity to surprise unsuspecting reporters with a press conference to make some predictions about his Cubs, who are playing game six of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday night.

“Mr. President, do you think the Cubs will win?” one reporter asked him.

“I feel very confident that Clayton Kershaw will be a great, great pitcher,” Murray responded. “But [the Cubs] have too many sticks…You also get a little bit of arbor there. You don’t get that in Los Angeles. The trees just die in Los Angeles. In Illinois, they flourish.”

Murray will face an tough decision if the Cubs don’t win Saturday. If the Cubs lose, they’ll have to play a pivotal Game 7 Sunday night, when the Caddyshack star is supposed to be receiving his Twain award. For now, it appears as though he’s sticking with the award, though we wouldn’t be surprised if he sneaks a portable TV or radio into the ceremony.

“As of today,” the Kennedy Center told the Chicago Tribune, “(there has been) no discussion about special provisions for Cubs playoffs game watching or monitoring during Mark Twain.”

Watch the press conference below, and then check out a video of Murray singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at Wrigley Field in 2004.

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