Bride or Die: The Billion-Dollar Glitter Bomb You Didn’t See Coming.

One minute it’s a night out with the girls. The next, it’s a $1,300-per-person, four-day rhinestone retreat with cowboy hats, inflatable penises, and a laminated itinerary that would make NASA jealous.

In this episode of Dumbify, David Carson crashes headfirst into the bachelorette party industrial complex — a glitter-powered ecosystem of chaos, capitalism, and choreographed group joy. What began as one last hoorah before marriage has become a booming billion dollar economy with bedazzled merch, concierge services, Airbnb balloon installations, and Etsy empires run by people who once just wanted to Venmo their brunch money and go home.

You’ll hear the story of how a novelty straw side hustle became a full-fledged empire, why group outfits trigger oxytocin, and how some genius figured out how to rent the same Airbnb twice — once for lodging, and once for Instagram decor.

So pour a mimosa. Put on your “Bride Tribe” slides. And join us in celebrating the most extra, most unnecessary, most profitable party model in modern America.

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Dumbify celebrates ideas so weird, wrong, or wildly impractical… they just might be brilliant. Hosted by David Carson, a serial entrepreneur behind multiple hundred-million-dollar companies and the go-to secret weapon for companies looking to unlock new markets through unconventional thinking. Dumbify dives into the messy, counter-intuitive side of creativity — the “dumb” ideas that built empires, broke rules, and ended up changing everything.

What happens when water stops trying to be good for you — and starts trying to kill you?

In this episode of Dumbify, we cannonball into the story of Liquid Death, the canned water brand that looks like it’s fronting a Norwegian death metal band and somehow became a $1.4 billion hydration empire. Host David Carson cracks open this skull-covered sensation to reveal how an idea so dumb — so gloriously, unnecessarily dumb — it had no business working… actually worked.

We trace the origins of Liquid Death from a fake ad shot on a shoestring budget to a Whole Foods aisle near you, where soccer moms and punk kids alike are chugging mountain water with a side of Satan. Along the way, David explores the science of cognitive whiplash — why your brain secretly loves contradictions, and how absurdity can hijack your memory, boost your dopamine, and sneak serious messages past your skepticism.

From Martha Stewart’s severed zombie head candle collab, to pressing internet hate into a heavy metal album, to staging eco-activism like a twisted renaissance fair, this isn’t just a beverage brand — it’s a case study in how dumb can be a superpower.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cringe, you might even reconsider how you market your own boring product. Could your dental floss become a medieval weapon? Could your oatmeal be outlawed in five states?

This isn’t just about Liquid Death. It’s about why the world is starving for weird, and how embracing the ridiculous might just be your smartest move yet.

So crack a can, cue the fog machine, and get ready to dumbify your brain.

Sign up for the Dumbify newsletter: https://www.david-carson.com/

Dumbify celebrates ideas so weird, wrong, or wildly impractical… they just might be brilliant. Hosted by David Carson, a serial entrepreneur behind multiple hundred-million-dollar companies and the go-to secret weapon for companies looking to unlock new markets through unconventional thinking. Dumbify dives into the messy, counter-intuitive side of creativity — the “dumb” ideas that built empires, broke rules, and ended up changing everything.

This Dumb Card Game Outsold Monopoly (And Made Shy People Yell “BUTTS!”)

What do you get when you mix a lasagna wizard, a screaming cat, and a burrito you’re legally required to throw at your cousin? You get Exploding Kittens — a card game so dumb it became one of the most successful indie games in history.

In this episode of Dumbify, David Carson dives into the dumb-fueled brain of Elan Lee, the game designer who turned nonsense into a multimillion-dollar game empire. With help from comic legend Matthew Inman (a.k.a. The Oatmeal), Elan didn’t just make a funny game — he rewired game night itself.

You’ll hear how they turned a sandwich bag full of scribbled index cards into $8.7 million on Kickstarter, why Elan believes the people should be the entertainment (not the board), and how this philosophy birthed everything from Throw Throw Burrito to Hurry Up Chicken Butt.

More importantly, you’ll learn the secret behind all great dumb ideas: stop trying to be impressive, and start creating spaces where other people can shine.

Sign up for the Dumbify newsletter: https://www.david-carson.com/

Dumbify celebrates ideas so weird, wrong, or wildly impractical… they just might be brilliant. Hosted by David Carson, a serial entrepreneur behind multiple hundred-million-dollar companies and the go-to secret weapon for companies looking to unlock new markets through unconventional thinking. Dumbify dives into the messy, counter-intuitive side of creativity — the “dumb” ideas that built empires, broke rules, and ended up changing everything.

Get smarter by thinking dumber with the only podcast that celebrates ideas so weird, wrong, or wildly impractical… they just might be brilliant. Hosted by David Carson, a serial entrepreneur behind multiple hundred-million-dollar companies and the go-to secret weapon for companies looking to unlock new markets through unconventional thinking. Dumbify dives into the messy, counter-intuitive side of creativity — the “dumb” ideas that built empires, broke rules, and ended up changing everything.

Sign up for the Dumbify newsletter: https://www.david-carson.com/