Dan's Bake Sale
The initial idea for Dan's Bake Sale was conceived on the The Rush Limbaugh Show in 1993. One caller, "Dan" from Fort Collins, Colorado, told Rush Limbaugh that he was photocopying a coworker's subscription to the Limbaugh Letter, Rush's monthly magazine that covers current events. The reason was that Dan's wife was not a fan of the show, and would not allocate the funds needed from the family budget to subscribe to the Letter. Limbaugh light-heartedly informed Dan that he disapproves his photocopying printed material, and offhandedly suggested that Dan organize a bake sale to raise funds for a subscription, spoofing then-recent bake sales to raise funds to reduce the national debt.
After Dan's call ended, the next caller to the show noted that he felt Rush was a bit harsh, and that he intended to attend Dan's Bake Sale. Rush again dismissed the topic. The next caller noted that he would like to attend Dan's Bake Sale. Rush repeatedly announced they would take no more "bake sale" calls but the gig was on and everyone calling in for the next week or so put in a plug for Dan's Bake Sale.
Limbaugh never seriously proposed a Bake Sale and neither did "Dan." But the landslide of support for Dan and his bake sale was on. Eventually, some 65,000 people from all over the United States and as far away as Australia showed up in Fort Collins for Dan's Bake Sale. Jay Leno even made jokes about it on The Tonight Show.
Limbaugh did attend, and had a brief presentation, giving Dan his first issue of his subscription.
Dan considered making it an annual event, but agreed with Limbaugh's assessment that the original just could never again be replicated.
Read more about this topic: The Rush Limbaugh Show
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