June 23, 2026
TSA Issues Warning To World Cup Fans…. About Ranch Dressing!
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RSS Feed It’s become an unexpected sensation during the World Cup: Ranch dressing! Apparently, foreign travelers can’t get enough of the all-American condiment and are trying to bring some home with them in their carry on luggage. So much so, the Transportation Security Administration has issued a tongue-in-cheek warning to travelers about placing ranch dressing in their checked luggage, as they did not anticipate the “coordinated international enthusiasm” for the condiment. We go over some of the hilarious stories emerging from the ranch dressing craze as well as the 1971 hit song that is quickly becoming the defining song of the World Cup.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey, the folks, it is Tuesday, June twenty third, and the TSA has issued a notice to our foreign fans and friends who are visiting the US for the World Cup stop putting ranch dressing in your carry on And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ and What Robes has really now become a charming story and unexpected one out of the World Cup. I love this.
00:00:30
Speaker 2: Yes, this is one of the fun ones that we actually get to talk about because normally we pop on to do an episode and it's death, destruction, mayhem, division. This is unifying. Who excuse what a thunk it? Ranch dressing is going to bring the world together here in the World Cup. And honestly, I didn't even necessarily know until this story and a recent experience that ranch dressing was quintessentially the American.
00:01:00
Speaker 1: It is all ours. It was invented by guys from Nebraska who moved to Alaska. Can't get more American than that. How out backy does that sound like? But when he invented it, he was in Santa Barbara. But we'll get into that later.
00:01:14
Speaker 2: You always asked me too, it's funny when we go to other countries Obviously we love to travel. I think anyone who listens to this feed knows that. And you've even asked, like what is American? Like, what do we have that people can only find here? And so we were trying to think like hamburgers, not really hot dogs. I don't know, because it's like the Germans started all of that, and then we kind of came up with barbecue and meats, and so that's where we had landed. Never once did it cross my mind that it was going to be ranch dressing that was going to put us on the map. I was gonna say, culinarily speaking.
00:01:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, ran dressing, it's our thing. So funny the French ab of their cuisine.
00:01:56
Speaker 2: Okay, we got our condiment.
00:01:58
Speaker 1: We got our range dress in this This is such a cool story and it did make sense rolls and it did because of recent experience. I thought it was in more than one place, but you and I bounced around Europe four countries in eleven days, and I thought it was more than one occasion, but at least one notable one where you couldn't get any ranch dressed.
00:02:18
Speaker 2: I actually had the gull and now I'm laughing at myself, but we would see where do we go. I didn't ask for it in France. That would have been really I was not dumb enough to ask for it in France. I didn't ask for it in Belgium, and I didn't ask for it in the Netherlands. I actually it didn't even cross my mind that they would possibly have it. But when we got to Ireland, I guess I felt the one speaking English, We're close enough. We know our cultures aren't that different. You know they should. I was just sure they were going to have ranch dressing. She looked at me like I had three eyes when I said, do you all have any ranch dressing or maybe some blue cheese dressing? Me like I was crazy and what.
00:03:01
Speaker 1: Were you trying to do? It was for the dip a wing.
00:03:04
Speaker 2: Or yes, I had some buffalo wings and I wanted actually asked for buffalo sauce too. I asked for any of those three things. All they could give me was mayonnaise.
00:03:16
Speaker 1: At this point, I'm hiding under the table as you keep asking the American.
00:03:19
Speaker 2: Questions different flavored mayonnaise. Ew And obviously in Belgium when they hand you fries, because one has to order fries when one is in Brussels, and they always just throw a big old plate of mayonnaise on the table, and for me, that is about as gross as it gains. So, yes, I just had this experience, foolishly thinking that in Europe I could have access to ranch dressing. Well, now everyone understands, or at least the folks who have come to America understand why I so badly wanted ranch.
00:03:49
Speaker 1: They have been denied this experience but fought too long. Welcome to America. Yes, rope didn't make sense. They're handing you mayo, but if they had ranch dressing available to them, well, they're getting exposed to it. Yes, folks, there are many places around the world, of course that have ranch dressing, but a lot of places it's not it's not that prevalent. People haven't come up with it, don't know about it, don't keep it. It's not in the grocery store, it's not in the restaurant. So robes they say, folks are coming here, and some of the stuff online the social media is hilarious about it. Folks are coming here, trying ranch dressing for the first time, losing their minds. I love it, trying to stock up and take it back home to the point that TSA has playfully but still they say it's serious. They're having to stop so many people trying to take ranch dressing back, and.
00:04:42
Speaker 2: I understand it because it is so versatile. Think about it. What can't you dip ranch dressing into. It's great, obviously it's a salad dressing. But then you've got the crue de te vegetables and you're not even a fan of anything creamy, but you love your ranch dip for the wings, the wings, the vegetable, the potato chips. Oh my gosh, has anyone dipped a lazed potato chip at ranch dip? It's like crack, It's so good. So yes, not that I would know. That's just to say so yes, please please understand that was just colloquially meant. But here's what the TSA put out. I thought, is this duffy again because he has been very clever.
00:05:22
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think it's some probably twenty two year old running their social media games.
00:05:26
Speaker 2: Okay, very cute, it reads it lands, it's very good. Here's the TSA post today. Who knew dip plomacy could be achieved through addressing the obvious ranch is the king of condiments. The world is slowly discovering ranch pairs perfectly with pizza, chicken, wings, fries, onion rings, caesadillas, crackers, chips, vegetables, and the list just keeps growing. Are you kicking around the idea of flying home with your favorite dip? If you're traveling within the US, make sure to keep your carry on sauces to three point four ounces or less and place any larger containers in your checked bags. Some heroes wear capes, others bring ranch.
00:06:08
Speaker 1: Well done.
00:06:10
Speaker 2: That was awesome.
00:06:12
Speaker 1: That's really really were of.
00:06:14
Speaker 2: That in this world from our government agencies.
00:06:18
Speaker 1: They just engaged with the public in a playful way. I don't have that many pleasant TSA experiences ropes.
00:06:27
Speaker 2: I don't think many people do.
00:06:28
Speaker 1: This is a nice one. That's cute, that's fun, that's engaging, and it kind of humanizes them. I really really like that and wish there was more.
00:06:36
Speaker 2: And so this was all put up these next So.
00:06:39
Speaker 1: Yeah, what you read was the captions, but they had these just individual images, just blank black pages with this some.
00:06:46
Speaker 2: Of this writing on social media, so yeah, with the.
00:06:48
Speaker 1: Same post and these were clever little sayings as well. One of them said Okay, please avoid chugging your ranch outside security. The airlines will check it for you. It's kind of making a plan on you see people all check the water.
00:07:01
Speaker 2: But that's hilarious. I like this one days since the last airport ranch incident colon zero. That's good. And then this is the other. If you're visiting for a very large sporting event and you happen to discover ranch while you're here, please pack it in your check bag on the way home. Thank you. So they're literally putting out PSAs the tsay is about what to do with all the ranch stressing you're trying to bring with you.
00:07:26
Speaker 1: It's adorable and I'm not sure how much they're really trying to cut down on the problem. But they noticed a little uptick in something, so I don't know if they're just being playful or or there is really something behind this. I haven't seen numbers about how many of these things they've collected, or or what some people look. We've flown places before and been in another country, found something we wanted, they put it in our carry on. They stopped us at the gate, and we had to make a decision. We're just gonna throw this away or we're gonna go back and repack it and do the whole thing, and maybe some people are just going back and repacking and making sure they get their rank.
00:08:01
Speaker 2: It's that valuable because you cannot get it anywhere else. I liked what the Santa Clara Police Department put out. They jumped on this bandwagon as well and had a blast, and I thought this one was really clever. They said, We've spent years preparing for the World Cup, traffic plans, security plans, emergency plans. What we did not prepare for was a coordinated international enthusiasm for ranch dressing. We are now monitoring an emerging situation involving visitors and ranch dressing, which appears to be spreading across multiple regions. If ranch dressing is accompanying you on your journey back home, please report your country of origin in the comments. We're trying to assess the scope of the situation.
00:08:41
Speaker 1: That's cute, and that's not something we usually assign to police. Cute. That's cute. That's almost even the service to the community there. I just love them getting in and engaging in this way. I've I got no negative when it comes to this. But again, Rope it's just it's kind of fascinating to think. And we've gone places before and you discover something, and hell, we've packed hot sauce into our ya bag. We bring there. Certain liquor you can only get in certain countries in the Caribbeans, certain.
00:09:16
Speaker 2: Chocolates you can only get. I even like I didn't like European gum. I mean, there are certain things you just like in different countries that you bring back with you.
00:09:23
Speaker 1: And you stock up. So it's kind of cool that we have something now that's coveted.
00:09:28
Speaker 2: That we never realized. I mean, think about how many times you and I have had that conversation. What is it that we have here in America that people don't know about, that people can't get Never would have thought it. But this you did a little well, you did a big deep dive. Not to minimize your dive. You did a dive on ranch dressing history. And the creator, Steve Henson born in Nebraska, moved to Alaska in nineteen forty nine, so he's been at this where he was at this for a while.
00:09:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a cool It really is a cool American story that, of course I didn't know. Look, I guess I assumed that it was made in America, but I thought maybe just some big company, some Craft or yeah, whatever like that. They mixed it up in a somewhere in the lab and here's the flavor that we present ranch. But it wasn't that at all. I am going to explain that history. But to go along with Robes, I wanted to stick with our theme of companies getting in on this police department in on this because Craft did get involved. And I don't know, and if you can tell me was this serious or not? Are they f real?
00:10:38
Speaker 2: I don't know, but I feel like maybe they would issue a small batch or some sort of a one time marketing ploy and if it takes off, maybe they would start making little ranch bottles that are three point four ounces or less, just like look you've got the alcohol bottles that are in those self served sizes. Maybe this is an opportunity for them that they're about to seize. But yeah, they put out a photo It was partially AI generated, which they acknowledged, but it says that they are working on a travel friendly way to bring the taste of America home. So it said introducing tsa compliant ranch.
00:11:19
Speaker 1: That's amazing. Are they for real.
00:11:22
Speaker 2: I mean, look, they say that they're working on the real thing. I would take them at their work.
00:11:27
Speaker 1: What if you could capture what if they're capturing a moment here? Now the world is talking about ranch dressing, but even folks. I mean, if you had the opportunity to carry a few packets of ranch around with you when you flew, would you do that?
00:11:42
Speaker 2: Yes, people walk, people carry hot sauce with them. We you and I carry you and I okay, I won't say what we're carry but we carry seasonings with us, especially when we leave the country. So yeah, if you really I love ranch and you can't get it anywhere else.
00:12:02
Speaker 1: It's so funny. I asked that question that I immediately thought. I was like, wow, we absolutely carry ingredients that we might need. Yes, around thought too absolutely. But yeah, I did not know this very much American story. I also didn't know what's in the stuff. It makes sense, But did you know what was in the I did not, but mayo, buttermilk, and herbs of herbs.
00:12:25
Speaker 2: I knew there were herbs, and I knew there was buttermilk. The mayo, I guess, might have been in the original recipe. But I just know a lot of times we get the packets and mix it up ourselves with like sour cream and the dip. I like that. I just look. I just don't like anything that has that oily mayo like bass or texture. And I never taste that or feel that when I'm putting it on. It always just it's so buttermilky, I love it perfect, It's so good. Those herbs are amazing.
00:12:54
Speaker 1: So how does this guy come up with? This? Name is Steve Henson. He was born in Nebraska, but he moved to Alaska in nineteen forty nine after a stop in California when he was a teenager. Now he worked robes in Alaska in nineteen forty nine but was able to retire at the age of thirty five. He was working as a plumbing contract successful then.
00:13:15
Speaker 2: Quite that was so successful he was able to afford to move to Santa Barbara, Hey in the fifties.
00:13:20
Speaker 1: I assume it was still a three swanky place.
00:13:22
Speaker 2: But he bought a ranch.
00:13:23
Speaker 1: He got there right and got bored and retired at thirty five. Maybe a gentleman, Okay, so he wants to be a rancher. So what does he start doing? Ranching? And he bought what was called Sweetwater Ranch in nineteen fifty six and he turned it into the name of Hidden Valley Ranch. That's awesome the company we know now, But he didn't start it robes to make dressing. He started to be a literal guest ranch where you could come, you could rent homes, you could stay, and you could go fishing, hiking. It's an outdoorsy thing. But he started serving the dressing at dinner time to the guests there. Folks started going crazy. Words start spreading, and then he gave a batch to a local tavern who was a friend of his started selling it. That was the first place that ever had on a menu, and it just went crazy. The ranch became a mail order business. They ended up out growing the ranch and had to move to a big warehouse. He finally sold the company in the early seventies. That is where you get your ranch.
00:14:24
Speaker 2: And that is about the most American story I have ever heard, or American success story I've ever heard. So that's pretty cool.
00:14:31
Speaker 1: Oh yeah. He came up with it to feed his construction workers and whatnot, the plumbing business in Alaska. That's when he came up with it. It was just a random.
00:14:39
Speaker 2: That's amazing and I never knew that story. And who would have thunk that it took the World Cup for us to actually learn something about that is a quintessentially American continent that we all know and love that perhaps we just didn't know anything about until now. Very very cool. How about this when we come back. Yes, talked about how ranch is sweeping the world, but so is a song from nineteen seventy one. We'll tell you what it is when we come back and welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ. I wonder if all of you listening, or at least some of you listening, have been swept up with the World Cup fever. And you know what, I don't even really think you have to love soccer that much to just get excited about seeing all of these people from around the world make their way, some of them to America for the first time. And they're not just going to big cities like New York and La No, they're going to Dallas, They're going to Seattle, They're going to all throughout this country and experiencing our country, and maybe we're seeing our country through their eyes. People going crazy over free refills costco the waffle House, twenty four to seven diners, all these things that we kind of take for granted, they're in awe of.
00:16:05
Speaker 1: You know, I'm still kind of fascinated by some of those things.
00:16:08
Speaker 2: We even were just in Ireland and we had some amazing people we met who were telling us every time they land in America, the first place they go is to CBS so that they can buy all the things that are banned in Europe, like teeth whitening toothpaste and whitening eye drops and melatonin. It's just funny. You don't realize when people come here, they're so excited to take in so much of what we take for granted. And so it's been cool, I think, to see that all happen in a lot of news articles. So many people are on TikTok, and it's just so cute to see Germans shocked that we have free refills. I mean, just little funny things like that.
00:16:49
Speaker 1: So those things, you know, what are they calling it none? This is hilarious And if you ever get time to do it just for giggles, use the hashtag FIFA fifteen. Hashtag FIFA fifteen robes. They're saying, people like your freshman year, you gain weight. People are coming to America consuming all of our stuff and they're picking up a FIFA fifteen pounds.
00:17:16
Speaker 2: That is, it's good, actually, hilarious and sad, ye all in one, because yes, we do know how to cook some real we like to call it comfort food, but it's just really massively unhealthy. So yes, they are leaning into the comfort food. They can go back and eat their healthy food and when they get home, I guess. But the other fun little piece of America that is just spreading like wildfire is the song that I love, John Denver's take Me Home, Country Roads. I think it's just called country Roads, but I didn't realize this. The US soccer team chose that song is their postmatch celebratory song, and so they it's kind of become the US men's national theme song. And so now there have been a lot of videos circulating of people in the stand they're screaming country Roads and they want you to sing it. So yes, it makes sense when you hear a bunch of US fans cheering on the United States singing country Roads. So yes, it was just swept over the Seattle Stadium. It swept over several other stadiums where the US was playing. But what was really cool is, all of a sudden, over the weekend in Atlanta, you have Checchia versus South Africa. All of a sudden, the crowd just starts singing country Roads and they keep singing even after the band stops playing it. The same thing happened with Spain's match against Saudi Arabia on Sunday, so to see, you know, people from other countries who might not even speak English singing along. There's a video even in Boston showing a crowd of Scottish fans singing Country Roads by John Denver. It's kind of amazing.
00:19:06
Speaker 1: I love it, folks, I absolutely love that, dude. That's one of those like sweet Caroline type stadium songs that everybody can sing along to, and it's cool and it's right to see them doing it. I guess we, or maybe so I look just as silly singing bella chow, bella chow. But I love that song. I can consume a culture with not being in it, maybe fully understanding it, but you just love it when you hear it. So I dig the and that John Denver song. It's a great stadium song. It is a great world cup song.
00:19:41
Speaker 2: I get chills like I look at me, I have chills thinking about it. We need more stories like this, We need more stories where we can all be from very different places. But there are some things that we can all agree on just are awesome, like ranch dressing and country roads a few you know we've been. We're all look I shouldn't say well, but some of us might might not want to shout from the rooftops. We're Americans, you know, when you when you see the world and maybe perhaps how we're viewed. But it's nice. It's nice to lean into some of our culture enjoy it and enjoy watching other people from other countries actually get to experience it and like it. That's fun. So we hope you enjoyed this episode. And yeah, this has just been a we need more episodes like this bid.
00:20:32
Speaker 1: It's kind of a relief, but we have like a don't we have a trial to cover?
00:20:37
Speaker 2: That's all right? All right? Well, anyway, we hope you all enjoyed this respite from darkness that we usually end up having to talk about. So we appreciate you as always. I'm Ami Roboch alongside TJ. Holmes, we'll talk to y'all soon.
Speaker 1: Hey, the folks, it is Tuesday, June twenty third, and the TSA has issued a notice to our foreign fans and friends who are visiting the US for the World Cup stop putting ranch dressing in your carry on And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ and What Robes has really now become a charming story and unexpected one out of the World Cup. I love this.
00:00:30
Speaker 2: Yes, this is one of the fun ones that we actually get to talk about because normally we pop on to do an episode and it's death, destruction, mayhem, division. This is unifying. Who excuse what a thunk it? Ranch dressing is going to bring the world together here in the World Cup. And honestly, I didn't even necessarily know until this story and a recent experience that ranch dressing was quintessentially the American.
00:01:00
Speaker 1: It is all ours. It was invented by guys from Nebraska who moved to Alaska. Can't get more American than that. How out backy does that sound like? But when he invented it, he was in Santa Barbara. But we'll get into that later.
00:01:14
Speaker 2: You always asked me too, it's funny when we go to other countries Obviously we love to travel. I think anyone who listens to this feed knows that. And you've even asked, like what is American? Like, what do we have that people can only find here? And so we were trying to think like hamburgers, not really hot dogs. I don't know, because it's like the Germans started all of that, and then we kind of came up with barbecue and meats, and so that's where we had landed. Never once did it cross my mind that it was going to be ranch dressing that was going to put us on the map. I was gonna say, culinarily speaking.
00:01:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, ran dressing, it's our thing. So funny the French ab of their cuisine.
00:01:56
Speaker 2: Okay, we got our condiment.
00:01:58
Speaker 1: We got our range dress in this This is such a cool story and it did make sense rolls and it did because of recent experience. I thought it was in more than one place, but you and I bounced around Europe four countries in eleven days, and I thought it was more than one occasion, but at least one notable one where you couldn't get any ranch dressed.
00:02:18
Speaker 2: I actually had the gull and now I'm laughing at myself, but we would see where do we go. I didn't ask for it in France. That would have been really I was not dumb enough to ask for it in France. I didn't ask for it in Belgium, and I didn't ask for it in the Netherlands. I actually it didn't even cross my mind that they would possibly have it. But when we got to Ireland, I guess I felt the one speaking English, We're close enough. We know our cultures aren't that different. You know they should. I was just sure they were going to have ranch dressing. She looked at me like I had three eyes when I said, do you all have any ranch dressing or maybe some blue cheese dressing? Me like I was crazy and what.
00:03:01
Speaker 1: Were you trying to do? It was for the dip a wing.
00:03:04
Speaker 2: Or yes, I had some buffalo wings and I wanted actually asked for buffalo sauce too. I asked for any of those three things. All they could give me was mayonnaise.
00:03:16
Speaker 1: At this point, I'm hiding under the table as you keep asking the American.
00:03:19
Speaker 2: Questions different flavored mayonnaise. Ew And obviously in Belgium when they hand you fries, because one has to order fries when one is in Brussels, and they always just throw a big old plate of mayonnaise on the table, and for me, that is about as gross as it gains. So, yes, I just had this experience, foolishly thinking that in Europe I could have access to ranch dressing. Well, now everyone understands, or at least the folks who have come to America understand why I so badly wanted ranch.
00:03:49
Speaker 1: They have been denied this experience but fought too long. Welcome to America. Yes, rope didn't make sense. They're handing you mayo, but if they had ranch dressing available to them, well, they're getting exposed to it. Yes, folks, there are many places around the world, of course that have ranch dressing, but a lot of places it's not it's not that prevalent. People haven't come up with it, don't know about it, don't keep it. It's not in the grocery store, it's not in the restaurant. So robes they say, folks are coming here, and some of the stuff online the social media is hilarious about it. Folks are coming here, trying ranch dressing for the first time, losing their minds. I love it, trying to stock up and take it back home to the point that TSA has playfully but still they say it's serious. They're having to stop so many people trying to take ranch dressing back, and.
00:04:42
Speaker 2: I understand it because it is so versatile. Think about it. What can't you dip ranch dressing into. It's great, obviously it's a salad dressing. But then you've got the crue de te vegetables and you're not even a fan of anything creamy, but you love your ranch dip for the wings, the wings, the vegetable, the potato chips. Oh my gosh, has anyone dipped a lazed potato chip at ranch dip? It's like crack, It's so good. So yes, not that I would know. That's just to say so yes, please please understand that was just colloquially meant. But here's what the TSA put out. I thought, is this duffy again because he has been very clever.
00:05:22
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think it's some probably twenty two year old running their social media games.
00:05:26
Speaker 2: Okay, very cute, it reads it lands, it's very good. Here's the TSA post today. Who knew dip plomacy could be achieved through addressing the obvious ranch is the king of condiments. The world is slowly discovering ranch pairs perfectly with pizza, chicken, wings, fries, onion rings, caesadillas, crackers, chips, vegetables, and the list just keeps growing. Are you kicking around the idea of flying home with your favorite dip? If you're traveling within the US, make sure to keep your carry on sauces to three point four ounces or less and place any larger containers in your checked bags. Some heroes wear capes, others bring ranch.
00:06:08
Speaker 1: Well done.
00:06:10
Speaker 2: That was awesome.
00:06:12
Speaker 1: That's really really were of.
00:06:14
Speaker 2: That in this world from our government agencies.
00:06:18
Speaker 1: They just engaged with the public in a playful way. I don't have that many pleasant TSA experiences ropes.
00:06:27
Speaker 2: I don't think many people do.
00:06:28
Speaker 1: This is a nice one. That's cute, that's fun, that's engaging, and it kind of humanizes them. I really really like that and wish there was more.
00:06:36
Speaker 2: And so this was all put up these next So.
00:06:39
Speaker 1: Yeah, what you read was the captions, but they had these just individual images, just blank black pages with this some.
00:06:46
Speaker 2: Of this writing on social media, so yeah, with the.
00:06:48
Speaker 1: Same post and these were clever little sayings as well. One of them said Okay, please avoid chugging your ranch outside security. The airlines will check it for you. It's kind of making a plan on you see people all check the water.
00:07:01
Speaker 2: But that's hilarious. I like this one days since the last airport ranch incident colon zero. That's good. And then this is the other. If you're visiting for a very large sporting event and you happen to discover ranch while you're here, please pack it in your check bag on the way home. Thank you. So they're literally putting out PSAs the tsay is about what to do with all the ranch stressing you're trying to bring with you.
00:07:26
Speaker 1: It's adorable and I'm not sure how much they're really trying to cut down on the problem. But they noticed a little uptick in something, so I don't know if they're just being playful or or there is really something behind this. I haven't seen numbers about how many of these things they've collected, or or what some people look. We've flown places before and been in another country, found something we wanted, they put it in our carry on. They stopped us at the gate, and we had to make a decision. We're just gonna throw this away or we're gonna go back and repack it and do the whole thing, and maybe some people are just going back and repacking and making sure they get their rank.
00:08:01
Speaker 2: It's that valuable because you cannot get it anywhere else. I liked what the Santa Clara Police Department put out. They jumped on this bandwagon as well and had a blast, and I thought this one was really clever. They said, We've spent years preparing for the World Cup, traffic plans, security plans, emergency plans. What we did not prepare for was a coordinated international enthusiasm for ranch dressing. We are now monitoring an emerging situation involving visitors and ranch dressing, which appears to be spreading across multiple regions. If ranch dressing is accompanying you on your journey back home, please report your country of origin in the comments. We're trying to assess the scope of the situation.
00:08:41
Speaker 1: That's cute, and that's not something we usually assign to police. Cute. That's cute. That's almost even the service to the community there. I just love them getting in and engaging in this way. I've I got no negative when it comes to this. But again, Rope it's just it's kind of fascinating to think. And we've gone places before and you discover something, and hell, we've packed hot sauce into our ya bag. We bring there. Certain liquor you can only get in certain countries in the Caribbeans, certain.
00:09:16
Speaker 2: Chocolates you can only get. I even like I didn't like European gum. I mean, there are certain things you just like in different countries that you bring back with you.
00:09:23
Speaker 1: And you stock up. So it's kind of cool that we have something now that's coveted.
00:09:28
Speaker 2: That we never realized. I mean, think about how many times you and I have had that conversation. What is it that we have here in America that people don't know about, that people can't get Never would have thought it. But this you did a little well, you did a big deep dive. Not to minimize your dive. You did a dive on ranch dressing history. And the creator, Steve Henson born in Nebraska, moved to Alaska in nineteen forty nine, so he's been at this where he was at this for a while.
00:09:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a cool It really is a cool American story that, of course I didn't know. Look, I guess I assumed that it was made in America, but I thought maybe just some big company, some Craft or yeah, whatever like that. They mixed it up in a somewhere in the lab and here's the flavor that we present ranch. But it wasn't that at all. I am going to explain that history. But to go along with Robes, I wanted to stick with our theme of companies getting in on this police department in on this because Craft did get involved. And I don't know, and if you can tell me was this serious or not? Are they f real?
00:10:38
Speaker 2: I don't know, but I feel like maybe they would issue a small batch or some sort of a one time marketing ploy and if it takes off, maybe they would start making little ranch bottles that are three point four ounces or less, just like look you've got the alcohol bottles that are in those self served sizes. Maybe this is an opportunity for them that they're about to seize. But yeah, they put out a photo It was partially AI generated, which they acknowledged, but it says that they are working on a travel friendly way to bring the taste of America home. So it said introducing tsa compliant ranch.
00:11:19
Speaker 1: That's amazing. Are they for real.
00:11:22
Speaker 2: I mean, look, they say that they're working on the real thing. I would take them at their work.
00:11:27
Speaker 1: What if you could capture what if they're capturing a moment here? Now the world is talking about ranch dressing, but even folks. I mean, if you had the opportunity to carry a few packets of ranch around with you when you flew, would you do that?
00:11:42
Speaker 2: Yes, people walk, people carry hot sauce with them. We you and I carry you and I okay, I won't say what we're carry but we carry seasonings with us, especially when we leave the country. So yeah, if you really I love ranch and you can't get it anywhere else.
00:12:02
Speaker 1: It's so funny. I asked that question that I immediately thought. I was like, wow, we absolutely carry ingredients that we might need. Yes, around thought too absolutely. But yeah, I did not know this very much American story. I also didn't know what's in the stuff. It makes sense, But did you know what was in the I did not, but mayo, buttermilk, and herbs of herbs.
00:12:25
Speaker 2: I knew there were herbs, and I knew there was buttermilk. The mayo, I guess, might have been in the original recipe. But I just know a lot of times we get the packets and mix it up ourselves with like sour cream and the dip. I like that. I just look. I just don't like anything that has that oily mayo like bass or texture. And I never taste that or feel that when I'm putting it on. It always just it's so buttermilky, I love it perfect, It's so good. Those herbs are amazing.
00:12:54
Speaker 1: So how does this guy come up with? This? Name is Steve Henson. He was born in Nebraska, but he moved to Alaska in nineteen forty nine after a stop in California when he was a teenager. Now he worked robes in Alaska in nineteen forty nine but was able to retire at the age of thirty five. He was working as a plumbing contract successful then.
00:13:15
Speaker 2: Quite that was so successful he was able to afford to move to Santa Barbara, Hey in the fifties.
00:13:20
Speaker 1: I assume it was still a three swanky place.
00:13:22
Speaker 2: But he bought a ranch.
00:13:23
Speaker 1: He got there right and got bored and retired at thirty five. Maybe a gentleman, Okay, so he wants to be a rancher. So what does he start doing? Ranching? And he bought what was called Sweetwater Ranch in nineteen fifty six and he turned it into the name of Hidden Valley Ranch. That's awesome the company we know now, But he didn't start it robes to make dressing. He started to be a literal guest ranch where you could come, you could rent homes, you could stay, and you could go fishing, hiking. It's an outdoorsy thing. But he started serving the dressing at dinner time to the guests there. Folks started going crazy. Words start spreading, and then he gave a batch to a local tavern who was a friend of his started selling it. That was the first place that ever had on a menu, and it just went crazy. The ranch became a mail order business. They ended up out growing the ranch and had to move to a big warehouse. He finally sold the company in the early seventies. That is where you get your ranch.
00:14:24
Speaker 2: And that is about the most American story I have ever heard, or American success story I've ever heard. So that's pretty cool.
00:14:31
Speaker 1: Oh yeah. He came up with it to feed his construction workers and whatnot, the plumbing business in Alaska. That's when he came up with it. It was just a random.
00:14:39
Speaker 2: That's amazing and I never knew that story. And who would have thunk that it took the World Cup for us to actually learn something about that is a quintessentially American continent that we all know and love that perhaps we just didn't know anything about until now. Very very cool. How about this when we come back. Yes, talked about how ranch is sweeping the world, but so is a song from nineteen seventy one. We'll tell you what it is when we come back and welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ. I wonder if all of you listening, or at least some of you listening, have been swept up with the World Cup fever. And you know what, I don't even really think you have to love soccer that much to just get excited about seeing all of these people from around the world make their way, some of them to America for the first time. And they're not just going to big cities like New York and La No, they're going to Dallas, They're going to Seattle, They're going to all throughout this country and experiencing our country, and maybe we're seeing our country through their eyes. People going crazy over free refills costco the waffle House, twenty four to seven diners, all these things that we kind of take for granted, they're in awe of.
00:16:05
Speaker 1: You know, I'm still kind of fascinated by some of those things.
00:16:08
Speaker 2: We even were just in Ireland and we had some amazing people we met who were telling us every time they land in America, the first place they go is to CBS so that they can buy all the things that are banned in Europe, like teeth whitening toothpaste and whitening eye drops and melatonin. It's just funny. You don't realize when people come here, they're so excited to take in so much of what we take for granted. And so it's been cool, I think, to see that all happen in a lot of news articles. So many people are on TikTok, and it's just so cute to see Germans shocked that we have free refills. I mean, just little funny things like that.
00:16:49
Speaker 1: So those things, you know, what are they calling it none? This is hilarious And if you ever get time to do it just for giggles, use the hashtag FIFA fifteen. Hashtag FIFA fifteen robes. They're saying, people like your freshman year, you gain weight. People are coming to America consuming all of our stuff and they're picking up a FIFA fifteen pounds.
00:17:16
Speaker 2: That is, it's good, actually, hilarious and sad, ye all in one, because yes, we do know how to cook some real we like to call it comfort food, but it's just really massively unhealthy. So yes, they are leaning into the comfort food. They can go back and eat their healthy food and when they get home, I guess. But the other fun little piece of America that is just spreading like wildfire is the song that I love, John Denver's take Me Home, Country Roads. I think it's just called country Roads, but I didn't realize this. The US soccer team chose that song is their postmatch celebratory song, and so they it's kind of become the US men's national theme song. And so now there have been a lot of videos circulating of people in the stand they're screaming country Roads and they want you to sing it. So yes, it makes sense when you hear a bunch of US fans cheering on the United States singing country Roads. So yes, it was just swept over the Seattle Stadium. It swept over several other stadiums where the US was playing. But what was really cool is, all of a sudden, over the weekend in Atlanta, you have Checchia versus South Africa. All of a sudden, the crowd just starts singing country Roads and they keep singing even after the band stops playing it. The same thing happened with Spain's match against Saudi Arabia on Sunday, so to see, you know, people from other countries who might not even speak English singing along. There's a video even in Boston showing a crowd of Scottish fans singing Country Roads by John Denver. It's kind of amazing.
00:19:06
Speaker 1: I love it, folks, I absolutely love that, dude. That's one of those like sweet Caroline type stadium songs that everybody can sing along to, and it's cool and it's right to see them doing it. I guess we, or maybe so I look just as silly singing bella chow, bella chow. But I love that song. I can consume a culture with not being in it, maybe fully understanding it, but you just love it when you hear it. So I dig the and that John Denver song. It's a great stadium song. It is a great world cup song.
00:19:41
Speaker 2: I get chills like I look at me, I have chills thinking about it. We need more stories like this, We need more stories where we can all be from very different places. But there are some things that we can all agree on just are awesome, like ranch dressing and country roads a few you know we've been. We're all look I shouldn't say well, but some of us might might not want to shout from the rooftops. We're Americans, you know, when you when you see the world and maybe perhaps how we're viewed. But it's nice. It's nice to lean into some of our culture enjoy it and enjoy watching other people from other countries actually get to experience it and like it. That's fun. So we hope you enjoyed this episode. And yeah, this has just been a we need more episodes like this bid.
00:20:32
Speaker 1: It's kind of a relief, but we have like a don't we have a trial to cover?
00:20:37
Speaker 2: That's all right? All right? Well, anyway, we hope you all enjoyed this respite from darkness that we usually end up having to talk about. So we appreciate you as always. I'm Ami Roboch alongside TJ. Holmes, we'll talk to y'all soon.