On the day after Thanksgiving, Americans go kind of crazy for the deep discount sales that kick off the holiday shopping season in stores. So crazy, in fact, at least four people have lost their lives and as many as 63 others have been injured during Black Friday sales. But as profitable as Black Friday is, some retailers are thinking about discontinuing the tradition to find ways to make even more money. Learn all about this bizarre, uniquely American holiday custom in this classic episode.
# Summary
Black Friday might seem like an all-American tradition, but this episode reveals it's actually a manufactured holiday that retailers basically invented in the 1950s and then convinced everyone to celebrate. Josh and Chuck dive into how department stores created the day after Thanksgiving as the official kickoff to Christmas shopping, and how it's evolved into a chaotic, sometimes violent shopping extravaganza featuring "doorbuster" deals and hour-long lineups. They explore the surprisingly dark side of Black Friday—including trampling deaths, pepper spray incidents, and shootouts—while also discussing why stores continue the tradition despite evidence suggesting it actually hurts their bottom line, plus some fun consumer activism efforts designed to mock the whole thing.
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