I got an invitation to collaborate (that is, host advertising)! With Red Bull!
Hi there!
This springs from the team at Red Bull Partnerships. We detect how your
uploads boosts people — that’s something meaningful! We believe as a
team we can create something influential.What we propose:
• Product trials or name drops within your uploads
• Professionally produced advertising feature at the start of your video
• Exposure of Red Bull gatherings through your channelCollaborating with Red Bull means VIP passes, behind-the-scenes info,
and opportunities that will help your visions come alive.Ready to talk? Ready when you are.
Stay motivated,
Red Bull GmbH, Am Brunnen 1, 5330 Fuschl am See, Salzburg, Austria
Red Bull ©2025
Wow, I must have finally made it! Either that, or Red Bull is desperately scraping the bottom of the barrel.
I’m sorry if you’re all clamoring for more Red Bull content, but I’d have to turn them down.
- I don’t drink Red Bull.
- I think gulping down stimulants is bad for you.
- I hate advertising.
- I despise capitalism generally.
I guess I’m disappointing my readership again.
Some of their ads are amusing.
I’ve never had a Red Bull.
I hate their F1 team, though they did finally get rid of Christian Horner. Good riddance. They may have destroyed Tsunoda’s career sadly. Don’t do promotion of them.
Not disappointing me! Like larpar, I’ve never had one, and never will.
I’ve never had a Red Bull either, I think. Maybe a sip, like, 20 years ago? Not sure. I don’t drink soft drinks anyway. I think maybe Pharyngula’s members are not really Red Bull’s typical clientèle.
A Downside of Taurine: It Drives Leukemia Growth
Maybe they see an untapped market here?
I am probably not in the Red Bull demo since my first thought at seeing this article was the Jewish effort at breeding a perfect red heifer. Now, I know a heifer (think virgin cow) is quite different than a bull but it is still where my brain went.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/10/jewish-activists-crowd-funding-breed-red-heifer-third-temple-cow
There are companies out there which monitor all blogs and social media and scan them for keywords, and they then sell “alerts” to other corporations to let them know when they are being talked about. Often it’s so any kind of early scandal/false news/customer boycott/controversy can be dealt with early on before it snowballs.
I wonder if PZ’s post is going to trigger one of these companies to “alert” Red Bull that they are being talked about here, and then some Red Bull director will have to read this thread? I certainly hope so!
Yeah, no reason to drink that stuff.
Also: Red Bull Media helps spreading right wing propaganda and covid misinformation:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ServusTV
I have, in the past, drunk Red Bull once or twice. It’s remarkably unpleasant.
I was on a bus that drove past the Red Bull headquarters in Austria once. Did not get wings. False advertising.
I have, once or twice, tried red bull. It’s absolutely horrific. It’s so sweet and acidic you can literally feel your teeth decay on the spot.
whywhywhy @7
Apparently there’s a Red Heifer Steakhouse in Israel where all of the red heifers that didn’t make the cut end up.
Never drank Red Bull. Don’t like their ads either: the characters eyes are always shut and the pitch shift in the tag line irritates me. So there.
I’ve encountered plenty of bull, but never drank it.
Perhaps you should move to Substack, PZ. Writers on Substack get paid from subscriptions. (Substack also gets paid…10%.) Then you don’t need Red Bull to retire in comfort.
I read a piece by Dave Barry last night that started with the fact that beige is the “in color” among the very rich right now, then went on to talk about how smoking cigarettes is in vogue among the very rich and celebrities. I gather Beyoncé lit up on stage recently during her “Cowboy Carter” performance. Barry can be witty and it was very funny piece.
I’m new to Substack and thought I could post my own witty comment. That’s when I discovered I would have to subscribe to his stack…or whatever they call it. At $50/year or $5/month (= $60/year), I would have to buy some beige chinos and convince my partner that we have enough money to pay to comment on a funny piece. I’m fairly sure she would disagree with the value of me sharing my wit with the Dave Barry crowd. She would also point out that beige is not my color because I’m old and spill food on myself regularly.
That’s one of many reasons I don’t dare drink Red Bull.
Red Bull gives you
wingssoul-rending contracts with the Devil.Also, why didn’t they say Osterreich in the address? Anomalies like that bug me.
I think Pharyngula adherents may be more in the Bigelow Constant Comment camp.
I guess I should separate my opinions on the racing teams Red Bull sponsors from their energy drink. I have drunk Red Bull on occasion. It gets the job done, but is a bit too tart for me. I wonder if the tartness itself induces a fight or flight reaction apart from stimulant ingredients. I prefer home brewed coffee or even one of those sickly sweet Starbucks canned drinks from a convenience store over Red Bull myself but can’t say I would never drink it again.
As for F1 (again!) the high tier Red Bull team I despise since Sergio Perez is gone and they keep messing up drivers replacing him. I strongly dislike Verstappen. Drivers not named Max seem to fare better on the lower tier team. I don’t hate that team (Racing Bulls). See the Tsunoda/Lawson swap. Kinda wish I could lock horns with StevoR over our preferred McLaren drivers especially given a recent controversy involving applied brake pressure and the effect on a Red Bull driver I just named which resulted in a penalty favoring my driver. Evil grin!
robro @15
I thought there was some negative buzz about Substack itself. Can’t recall exactly what it was about. I read Hemant Mehta on occasion there.
Hm. I asked the Bubblebot, Hemidactylus.
Me: someone wrote “there was some negative buzz about Substack itself” — is there a recent referent for that?
Quoth the mindless bot [citations elided]:
Yes. In late 2023 and early 2024, Substack faced backlash over its content moderation policies, particularly its handling of alt-right and neo-Nazi blogs that were monetized on the platform. Key developments:
November 2023: The Atlantic reported that Substack hosted and profited from antisemitic content, prompting hundreds of writers to demand accountability.
December 2023: Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie defended a non-censorship stance, stating that removing extreme views could worsen the problem.
January 2024: Prominent publishers like Platformer and Ryan Broderick publicly exited Substack, citing its failure to enforce clear moderation standards.
December 2024: Substack partnered with Bari Weiss’s The Free Press, reigniting criticism over platforming controversial voices and perceived ideological bias.
The controversy centers on Substack’s evolving identity—from neutral host to active network builder—and its reluctance to moderate harmful content.
John Morales @19
Thanks. I couldn’t quite recall the details.
I did look at the Infinite Thread and caught a bit of your negative view of Meidas Touch (I think I got you fight). I don’t follow those threads often because they are too active for me. I have long disliked Meidas Touch aside from Tennessee Brando once in a while. He’s ok. Too many clickbait nothing burgers on the channel itself.I think you were calling that out if I remember correctly.
Sorry got you right (not fight).
No worries; I get it. I took more of a look, and basically depends who you follow there.
Just a platform, but then so is Twitter.
—
My own take is that PZ is already on Patreon, already has a blog with recognition and history, so doesn’t really need it.
(Still, multiple strings to the bow and all that)
Um, obs the red bull in the room is that PZ was offered
$$$¢¢¢ for doing advertising.Clearly a mass mailing, possibly but not probably AI-generated these days.
This one is purely generic, but still.
I presume it relates to the YouTube platform, not this one; either way, there’s no doubt a certain weight for how long content has been provided.
(Like the devil tempting Jesus, a bit)
I’ve never had a Red Bull, but I’ve consumed other energy drinks (aka liquid caffeine) when needing to go on long drives across a mountain range in the late evening. A can of C4, Celsius, or Zoa can make the difference between hitting a deer and stopping short of doing so. Ditto for a little bottle of 5 Hour Energy.
Red Bull’s problem is that competitors have flooded the market. Apparently a whole lot of people are consuming these things for many more situations than the occasional late-evening drive on curvy, forested highways; still, many folks have discovered that life tends to be better overall if caffeine consumption is limited and managed well. If I’ve had enough sleep the night before, a couple of mugs of Constant Comment or other tasty black tea is plenty of caffeine; if I haven’t had quite enough, two mugs of instant coffee gets my brain going. (I’m the only coffee drinker in my household, so, instant.)
I am very Not With It in terms of trends, but it appears to me that beverage-wise over my 65 years, the US has gone from collective heavy alcohol drinking to collective heavy caffeine consumption to hey, water is good, but somehow better with expensive stuff added. I have only one suggestion: household or undersink reverse osmosis water filtration. Undersink systems are relatively cheap; break-resistant drinking bottles without known nasty chemicals are cheap; plain old glass drinking vessels exist in most houses, and are wonderful unless household kitties like to drink from them. (In my house we use water bottles.) Far less plastic waste, far cheaper over time than buying water, filters need changing quarterly, no big deal.
rockwhisperer @24
I have done the 5 Hour Energy shots before and wow! The caffeine long drive thing though has the having to soon pee drawback. Where’s the next rest stop!
There was years ago a time (2004) when I panic escaped Florida with a hurricane approaching. 13 hour marathon drive to my aunt’s in Virginia. Caffeine helped. But that last crucial several hours not wanting to nap out into the shoulder was aided by one secret weapon that got me through the ordeal. Pantera CDs including the ironically named Far Beyond Driven. Yeah. Kitaro, as much as I like him to relax instead, would have killed me. I think “The Field”, one of his best songs, would be an ironic title as my car plowed through one off the side of the interstate. On the other hand if I had insomnia Pantera would not help with that. Kitaro mostly likely would. Or that green, brown, or whatever other ambient nature sound stuff. Music does stuff with psychological efficacy IMO. So do sleeping pills I guess.
Super intense metal possibly saved my life during a marathon drive. It at least augmented caffeine.
Hemidactylus @ #18 — I haven’t heard that, but you could be right. I have definitely seen some things that gave me pause. I take it that it sees itself as providing a platform for writers, visual artist, and other creatives where they can get paid for their work. But if you have to pay $5/month for every creative you might want to follow it’s going to add up pretty quickly.
whywhywhy @ # 7: … the Jewish effort at breeding a perfect red heifer.
Said effort, though based on a spiel in the OT “Book of Numbers”, is mostly driven by USAnian hyperchristians, and particularly a rich Texan who claims to now have a small herd which perfectly matches the specs.
They did a practice ritual burning “on a remote hilltop” on July 1 this year (it won’t actually bring Jesus or the Temple back unless performed on the Mount of Olives). At least they seem to have killed the poor bovine before torching it, no doubt with the comforting benefit of full kosher ritual.
We live in such exciting times.
@2. Hemidactylus : I hate their F1 team, though they did finally get rid of Christian Horner. Good riddance. They may have destroyed Tsunoda’s career sadly. Don’t do promotion of them.
L:ikewise -and it isn’;t just Yuki whose career they destroyed or at leats set back massively. Liam Lawson, Albon, Gasly, Perez and more.
They built their car and team around just one driver and massively favour him at the expens eof everyone and everything else and I’ll never forget Danny Ric’s cursed car that forced him out after he won moanco and got pole inmexico back in .. yikes 2018 or so!
Al;so Red bull may give you wings but those are useless without proper wing muscles to power them.. .
Pierce R. Butler @27: I’ll admit, homeopathic cow ashes was not on my bingo card today.
[OT + personal]
Hemidactylus, I think I get you are not a happy puppy, and I’m not helping.
Not trying to be a [suitable expletive]. But being me.
Give me some guidance; no promises, but I mean well, I shall try.
@18. Hemidactylus :
Yup. Likewise here. Verstappen’s behaviour in brutally driving into others, eg Russell in Spain and Lewis Hamilton in Arabia years ago and his apparent lack of empathy for others is just off-putting; He seems like he gets everything his way and is spoilt & arrogant AF. For years he’s benefitted from a vastly superior car and teammates that aren’t at his level or allowed to properly compete in a car designed solely for his driving style.
Agreed. Tsunoda was very impressive at the junior team – as was Albon and Gasly and others before him – even Lawson did so much better there last year and is now doing so much better here than in his two race (!) stint for the major RBR team. RBR keep promoting drivers only to set them up to fail and not treat their second driver with anything like respect or any semblance of a fair go.
Sure! Oscar Piastri was performing far better than Lando Norris and would’ve and should’ve won the British GP but for that cynical, bogus, dodgy AF penalty that was designed to give the win to Norris at home instead. Yeah, I’m NOT happy about that one at all. Piastri deserved that race win on merit and plenty of other drivers have done worse than he did behind the safety car and gone unpunished – and thinking of going unpunished why did Max not get a penalty if we’re going to be pedantic there for passing Oscar in that incident before Max made his unrelated mistake and spun off?
Partisan Aussie? Me? Why absolutely! But still..
As for red bull the drink – tried it once years ago and thought it was pretty revolting. Haven’t had any since nor planning to.
When I hear the “Red Bull gives you wiiings!” bit my mental response is often along the lines of “I think there’s probably a cure for that.”
I for one am looking forward to seeing PZ fly his wing suit into a giant spider web.
creaky voice
Longe, longg ago, in ye olden dayes, ther was a grete kerfyful und foofawraw abot yon scyence blogs doin partner shipps and sponsored advertisin with ye grete beast PEPSI, ye maykr of ye soft drynks.
But I alone remayn of ye cohort what remember ye dayes of exeunting from ye science blogs for yis . . .
(and so on and so forth; should probably continue with tying an onion to my belt, blah blah blah)
@5 Reginald Selkirk
Yeah, and large amount of Vitamin C will promote grown and metastasization of cancer. This is kind of the problem with adding most things into the blood stream in amounts that are not “normal”. I really wish they removed the crap. I am pretty sure that it is the thing that causes me to develop leg cramps, and “restless leg sydrome” like symptoms after drinking them. I like some of the flavors they have come up with, but all the crap they put in… Arrgh! The problem is, unless you go and buy some of the stuff that goes in the entirely opposite direction – i.e., no caffeine at all, barely a flavor, maybe they added in some bubbly, but its basically just water, and still, too often, has no version that doesn’t stick sugar in it (to offset the bitter from the carbonation), you literally can’t find anything that doesn’t either cram an entire bottle of vitamin pills into it, or is an “energy drink”, into which they have added a half dozen other things, outside of the caffeine.
Want flavors? Sure, here you go, dozens, and dozens of them, with enough stuff that, as long as you are between the ages of like 14 and 25 and healthy, probably, maybe, won’t hurt you much, but will probably start causing you problems, and/or kill you faster, if you a) are outside the safe age range, where you body can deal with the extra crap in them, or b) you have cancer, and you are drinking shit that will accelerate it. Want “healthy”? Well, we have a whole line of products that you claim are, into which we have added… Oh, you meant “actually healthy”? Huh.. Right.. Ok, then I guess we have this section of barely flavored waters, which kind of taste like something, and you get a whole 5 flavors to pick from, instead of 30.
Irritates the hell out of me.