bottom 10

Strong Bad Email #133

watch ← modeling record book →

"Buttdance again! Like the rhythm's down your pants now!"

Strong Bad tells us his "bottom 10".

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Jibblies Painting, Marshie, Nibbles, The Cheat, Homestar Runner, Lady, Limozeen

Places: Computer Room, Strong Badia, Strong Mad's Room, The Field

Computer: Lappy 486

Date: Monday, July 11, 2005

Running time: 4:59

Page Title: Lappy 486

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc Five, Sbemails' 50 Greatest Hits DVD

Transcript

STRONG BAD: {singing} This email is making fun of you.

subject: Bottom 10

To Weak Bad
What is your bottom 10?

From someone stronger than you

STRONG BAD: Oh man, this person made all kinds of typos. They mistyped this...

{He changes "Weak Bad" to "Strong Bad".}

STRONG BAD: They forgot this...

{He adds "the Good Dancer" after "Strong Bad".}

STRONG BAD: They got this wrong...

{He changes "Someone stronger than you" to "Someone that is a girl" with the phrase "a girl" italicized and in pink.}

STRONG BAD: Ah, there we go! {typing} Oh, Simone! You seem like a {in pink} really nice girl, so I'll answer your question {in pink} relatively free of charge. "Strong Bad's Bottom 10" is as follows:

{Cut to Strong Badia. The "Strong Bad's Bottom 10" Logo flies in from the top of the screen.}

STRONG BAD: Number Ten is easy. Dry T-Shirt Contests.

{A Dry T-Shirt contest flyer for J. Stumblers Bar and Sometimes Grill flies in from the top.}

STRONG BAD: You'll never find a more degrading contest or a larger waste of not water.

{The flyer flies away.}

STRONG BAD: Creeping in at Numba Nine is that horrible painting that's been in Strong Mad's closet since we were little.

{Dramatic music starts playing, and we cut to the door of Strong Mad's closet. Strong Bad is there, sliding the door open slowly.}

THAT HORRIBLE PAINTING: {menacing, under its breath} Come on in heeeeere.

{Strong Bad screams and slams the door. He begins flailing around, uttering "jibblie" over and over, almost incoherently. Cut back to Strong Badia.}

STRONG BAD: Incidentally, the jibblies currently occupy Slot number Eleven {numbers ten and nine shift up to show *11. The Jibblies *Not in bottom 10 in gray} on my Bottom 10. {Number eleven slides out of frame. Ten and nine return to their former positions.} Numboo Eight is the one you should all pay close attention to: Emails with more than one "Fwd:" or "Re:" {pronounces "fwd" and "re" as written} in the Subject line.

{Cut to the computer room. Strong Bad is preparing to answer an email.}

STRONG BAD: Back out of my way, so I can check some email.

{Strong Bad presses enter, and the email appears. However, the subject line fills up the screen, consisting entirely of "Fwd:" and "Re:". The subject line continues scrolling while Strong Bad talks.}

STRONG BAD: Oh, great. Let me guess: {in a mocking voice} "It's true! You saw it on the news!" Or, "Hey, sounds crazy, but thought it was worth a shot!"

{Cut back to Strong Badia.}

STRONG BAD: Yeah, a shot in the face, maybe. Now, Seven is something that's been going on for way too long. Miniaturized versions of already bite-sized food.

{An ad for Fluffy Puff Marshmallows appears.}

MARSHIE: Yowza! Guess who birfday it is! {a question mark appears} Mine!

{The lights suddenly go out, and Marshie winces in pain as the noise of an electric shock plays. A miniature Marshie walks onto the screen, with Homsar's movement noise.}

NIBBLES: {Marshie appears to be getting mad during the time Nibbles is saying this} Sorry, Marshie, but it's my birfday. I'm one years old. My name's Nibbles, for new Fluffy Puff Marshmallows bite-si—

ANNOUNCER: {cutting off Nibbles} All-new Fluffy Puff Bite-Size Nibblers are perfect for newborn-type babies {a baby emerges from a mountain of Nibblers, and then ducks back down}, and scalding hot chocolate. {pull back to reveal the marshmallows atop a cup of hot chocolate, which catches on fire} No more mouth strain with Fluffy Puff Nibblers!

{A mouth is shown straining at a full-size marshmallow. The caption reads "You Got Mouth Strain?" with a red circle and line "no" symbol drawn through it. The symbol rolls away as the marshmallow changes to a Nibbler. The mouth smiles and the caption reads "Heck No!!"}

NIBBLES: I make good earplugs, too.

MARSHIE: {Flies onto the screen and knocks Nibbles away.} Get out of here, you little runt! {Marshie winces again, causing the electrical shock noise to return. The commercial suddenly pauses, and PAUSE appears on the bottom-left corner of the screen.}

{Cut back to Strong Badia.}

STRONG BAD: And-a Numba Six-a: the Foul Stench of Wet The Cheat.

{Cut to The Field. The Cheat is standing there, soaked and shivering. Next to him, is a ladder, a cup, and a sign that says "HIGH DIVES – 5 bucks." Cut back to Strong Badia.}

STRONG BAD: And number Five, um... not... {music stops} pigeons. {a pigeon starts cooing} They eat breadcrumbs. Take craps on people. Funny stuff. NUMBER FOUR! {music plays again} There was this one time where I had to hug a tree.

{Cut to the field. Strong Bad and Homestar are there, and Strong Bad is hugging a tree.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Keeeep ooon huggin' it.

STRONG BAD: How did you get me to do this in the first place?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hug it! Hug it!

STRONG BAD: And why do I continue to do it?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Keep on huggin' it. Hug it down.

STRONG BAD: I don't even like this tree that much.

{Cut back to Strong Badia.}

STRONG BAD: Ooh, now we're getting to the good ones. Number Three is the ridiculous trend of giving chocolate desserts dangerous names. You know, like, Chocolardiac Arrest. {a picture of Chocolardiac Arrest appears}

LADY: {Voice} Oh, that looks sinful.

STRONG BAD: Or... THIS BROWNIE MIGHT KILL YOU. {a picture of said brownie appears}

LADY: {Voice} Oh, this is so rich.

STRONG BAD: Or, quite possibly the least appetizing name of all time... Chocozuma's Revenge! {a picture of Chocozuma's Revenge appears}

LADY: {Voice} This is all fat-free, right?

STRONG BAD: Shut up, lady! {the pictures slide off the top of the screen} Slumming in at Number Two are songs that try to pass off la la's, na na's, and doot do's as legit lyrics. As evidenced in Limozeen's bizarrely titled "Feed The Childrens." {the album art of "Feed The Childrens" appears}

LIMOZEEN SOLO:
Na, na, la la laaaaa,
Hey, hey! Doo-doot doo! ^[1]
Na, na, la la laaaaa,
Hey, hey! Doo-doot doo!

LIMOZEEN:
Na, na, la la laaaaa,
Hey, hey! Doo-doot doo!

{A record scratches, the song stops, and the album art slides off the screen}

STRONG BAD: Ugh, what were they thinking? More like, "We need to feed our children, so we made this terrible song." And, the Number One item on Strong Bad's Bottom 10 is Th—

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hey Strong Bad. {camera zooms out to a two-shot of Homestar and Strong Bad} What about my bottom—

STRONG BAD: {interrupting} Nobody wants to hear your bottom 10, Homestar.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: No, no. Not my Bottom 10. My bottom! You know, {turns around and starts doing a buttdance, singing} buttdance again, like the rhythm's down your pants now!

{Homestar stops and turns around again, looking on in confusion as Strong Bad begins to make vomiting noises. Cut to the Lappy, which has the Bottom 10 displayed, where Strong Bad then vomits onto his keyboard, off camera.}

STRONG BAD: Oooh. Ugh. {weakly} And the Number One item on Strong Bad's Bottom 10 is... Th— {typing} —cleaning up your own puke off the keyboard. {clears the screen} Simone, that'll be $7.50. And bring some paper towels. Eww. And some tweezers. I think I see a Fluffy Puff Nibblin in there.

{The Paper comes down. After about fourteen seconds, the cursor reappears and Strong Bad continues:}

STRONG BAD: {weakly} No, there's no Easter eggs. I... I'm not up to it. Go away.

Footnote

1. This line, and the ones like it, may be "Hey, hey! Doot doo!"

Fun Facts

Strong Bad's Bottom 10

• The bottom 10 as typed on the Lappy:

1. Thcleaning up your own puke off the keyboard
2. Songs that try to pass off la la's, na na's, and doot do's
    as legit lyrics
3. Giving chocloate desserts dangerous names
4. There was this one time I had to hug a tree
5. Um...not pigeons
6. Foul stench of wet The Cheat
7. Miniaturized versions of already bite-sized food
8. Emails with more than 1 fwd: or re: in the subject line
9. That horrible painting in Strong Mad's closet
10. Dry t-shirt contests

Explanations

• A common element of chain emails (or similarly viral social media posts) is the false claim that the information was shown "on the news"; "worth a shot" refers to a myriad of something-for-nothing hoaxes that promise recipients will be compensated if they forward an email to their contacts.
• "Miniaturized versions of already bite-sized food" include such items as Ritz Bits or M&M Minis.
• Real life "songs that try to pass off la la's, na na's, and doot do's as legit lyrics" include "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam, "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" by The Police, and "Hey Jude" by The Beatles.
• Limozeen's song is likely a reference on the then-recent Live 8 (or older Live Aid) charity concerts and accompanying albums. The title "Feed the Childrens" is also similar to the "Feed the world" refrain from charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" as well as non-profit organization Feed the Children.
• Chocolate desserts with dangerous names include desserts like Death by Chocolate or the term chocoholic.

Trivia

• When viewing the Flash file, the sign on Strong Mad's closet reads "STRONG MAD RD.".
• This is the first email without any clickable Easter eggs since Email #39, property of ones.
• The label on the disk in the floppy disk container reads "wraith".
• The YouTube description for this email is "Strong Bad lists his bottom 10."

Remarks

• This email contains the first appearance of the Jibblies Painting and Nibbles.
• One of the two brownies pictured in Chocozuma's Revenge is still inside its wrapper. The pudding on top is also still in its container.
• Strong Bad possibly makes a grammatical error when he writes "la la's, na na's, and doot do's": the use of apostrophes makes these words possessive, not plural, unless their coherence is threatened by the apostrophes' absence.
• Strong Bad tried to pass off nonsense words as legit lyrics in secret recipes, local news, action figure, stupid stuff, monument, and colonization.
• Strong Bad can type with puke on his keyboard.
• Strong Bad refers to email with more than one "Fwd:" or "Re:" in the subject line. While this was once a common annoyance, many modern email clients and web email services are sophisticated enough to not prepend these to the subject line if already there.
• Strong Bad breaks the fourth wall by telling the audience that there are no Easter eggs.
• Strong Bad's opening song, "This email is making fun of you...", is rather ironic considering the subsequent email is making fun of Strong Bad.
• After puking, Strong Bad says that he sees a "Fluffy Puff Nibblin in there." However, in the earlier commercial, the small Fluffy Puffs were named Fluffy Puff Nibblers.

Goofs

• When the Lappy's screen is clicked on, no ripples come up.
• Strong Bad's list is seen on his normal computer screen in the background, "chocolate" is incorrectly spelled as "chocloate".

Glitches

• At the end of the email, the cursor disappears after Strong Bad has typed "I think I see a Fluffy Puff Nibblin in there." It reappears a few seconds before Strong Bad claims there are no Easter eggs.

Inside References

• The Marshie commercial pausing at the end is similar to the character videos.
• The mouth in the marshmallow eating diagram is adapted from english paper with the battery changed to a marshmallow.
• Homestar's buttdance is from his character video.
• Strong Bad also got the jibblies in your friends and date, although not as severely.
• Strong Bad also asked for $7.50 in radio.
• Strong Bad pukes on his keyboard, and requests paper towels to clean it up.
• The three chocolate desserts are examples of concoctions.
• All three desserts are examples of live action foods.
• Strong Bad has not pigeons on his bottom 10, and calls dry T-shirt contests a "waste of not water".

Real-World References

• Chocolardiac Arrest is a reference to cardiac arrest, the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract effectively.
• Chocozuma's Revenge is a reference to Montezuma's Revenge, used today to describe travelers' illness, usually gastrointestinal. It was first coined during the Spanish slaughter of the Aztecs in 1519–1520 by Hernán Cortés. The debilitating diarrhea that the conquistadors' troops suffered in the jungles of today's Mexico was attributed to the spirit of the deposed Aztec ruler, Moctezuma II.
  • Chocolardiac and Chocozuma are both portmanteaus.
• The Bottom Ten list is presented in the same manner as the Top Ten list on The Late Show with David Letterman.
  • The Podstar Runner summary for the email is a reference to the way Letterman introduces his Top Ten list. Scottsdale, Arizona (misspelled with just one "t" in the summary) has, at one point, been an actual "home office" of the list.
• The scene showing The Cheat wet and shivering insinuates that he dove into the glass of water from the ladder. This is most likely a reference to several older cartoons (such as Looney Tunes) where a character did the same thing.
• On Limozeen's album cover, the F on "Feed the Childrens" is the same F used by Fender, a company that manufactures guitars.

Fast Forward

• That horrible painting, later referred to as the Jibblies Painting, would reappear in More Fan Costumes (in pumpkin form), and as the major antagonist in Jibblies 2. He made several appearances after that.
• The Cheat is wet again in DNA Evidence.
• Strong Bad himself would later sing a song with "na na's" as "legit lyrics" in a song about the S is for Sucks Dragon in Trogday 08.
• The lady who says that a "Chocolardiac Arrest" is "sinful" would reappear in several other emails, and receive the same response of "Shut Up, Lady" each time.
• Homestar first addresses the camera and later refers to Strong Bad as "Simone" in April Fool 2014.

DVD Version

• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch the DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Matt Chapman and Karen Wagner)

MIKE: We are joined by our sister, Karen Wagner, {pronounced in the German manner, with a V} famed, uh, composer. Karen Wagner.

KAREN: Also known as The Sister Chap who takes care everything at the Homestar Store.

MIKE: That's true.

MATT: Thanks, Karen.

MIKE: Yeah, thanks, Karen.

KAREN: {overlapping} You're welcome. And I've been bugging you guys forever to let me do the commentary for Bottom 10.

MIKE: {laughs} So, now's your chance. Make it count. Karen, go!

KAREN: Okay, I gotta tell you that I like this email. It's my favorite email—

MIKE: {interrupting} That's awesome, Karen! All right, Matt, so—

KAREN: {overlapping} Because—

MIKE: —what do you think about this email?

KAREN: Because it's so rich and that, that becomes a joke later on.

MATT: {as Strong Bad} Shut up, lady.

{laughter}

MATT: You made, uh, there was an old-timey mustache guy that was the, uh, mascot for J. Stumblers originally, Mike.

MIKE: Oh, really?

MATT: I think so. He was kinda like stumbling.

MIKE: Yeah. Okay, right.

MATT: {overlapping} The old-timey guy was like whooooa...

MIKE: Where is he?

MATT: I dunno. You just drew a picture. You probably got it somewhere.

KAREN: {overlapping} I love that monster. Especially—

MIKE: {overlapping} That was based on a, um, painting that, uh, my friend Jason Fields had in college that his mom did that he had on the wall of this weird creepy goblin.

MATT: Well and the thing that it says is the, uh, another, yet another thing we owe my friend Neil thousands of dollars for because it's idea number twenty-two that came from Neil. Uh, was— It's the voice of a rocoulm, which is a crook or a criminal and he's a creepy guy that hides in an alley and when you walk by, he says "Come on in here..."

KAREN: {laughs}

MATT: And then you go in there and he mugs you or something.

KAREN: {laughs} Yeah, that is one of the things to contribute to— attribute to Neil.

{Marshie comes on}

KAREN: Yep, here's another reason why it's so rich is because it has a little commercial here with um, Marshie and, uh—

MATT and MIKE: Nibbles.

KAREN: Nibbles.

MIKE: Nibbles I made years ago and it was sitting around not being used for anything for a couple years.

MATT: Yeah.

MIKE: I think it got— They reached new lows when M&Ms, when there's a mini-M&M. M&Ms are very small.

MATT: Yeah.

KAREN: To begin with.

MATT: Or like Oreo minis. Or like, Ritz Bits, I feel like were one of the first things. It was just like, but it's a cracker! It's like one and a half inches around, like it's this tiny thing that— If you can't eat that in a bite, then something is wrong with you.

KAREN: {overlapping} Too much mouth strain.

MATT: Yeah. If you are supposed to eat, uh, you know, pieces of sushi that are five times the size of a Ritz Bit in one bite...

KAREN: Then you can certainly eat a whole Ritz in one bite.

MATT: Exactly.

KAREN: Okay. All right.

MATT: {simultaneously} Was that you doing that pigeon voice?

KAREN: You guys gotta shut up because I've got to tell you a story about this. You know Little Girl and I have incorporated this little bit into our daily lives. You do, you add any verb at all. "Keep on doing it. Do it! Do it down!" {laughs} And Chris hates it.

{all laugh}

KAREN: Okay, here's another thing I gotta tell you guys about. Because this is {pause} what everybody has to say when there is a rich dessert in front you. You have to say, "Oh, this is rich."

MATT: Usually, a cheesecake.

MIKE: Yeah.

KAREN: Right.

MIKE: This was really fun to make, though. We went over to our— to Ryan's house, actually one night. We just went to the store and bought like 20 dollars' worth of chocolate stuff—

MATT: Uh huh.

MIKE: —and started piling it on. And then, it was actually really good. We ate it afterwards.

MATT: Afterwards, we all ate it.

MIKE: It was really good. And—

KAREN: And here's another rich part of this. It's got an appearance by Limozeen.

MATT: It's true. It's kind of a best, a best of.

KAREN: And, you know, you got the, um, necessary little a cappella part there.

MIKE: The breakdown. It just gets the whole crowd, you know.

KAREN: Clapping at the same time.

MIKE: {overlapping} The lights are like flashing along.

MATT: {simultaneously} The lights flash.

KAREN: Okay, here's another reason—

MIKE: {overlapping} I forgot what it is. Oh, yeah.

KAREN: And the fact that there is another appearance of the Buttdance, you know, she just loves it.

MIKE: It's like "Let's twist again, like we did last summer."

MATT: Yeah!

MIKE: It's a sequel to a song.

KAREN: Like the rhythm's down your pants.

MATT: There's a lot of, uh, gross, um, vomit-related jokes on our website.

MIKE: Really?

MATT: I feel like there are. We should probably curb that.

MIKE: There's— I don't think they're gross. You don't even see it.

MATT: That's true. We always—

KAREN: What other one are you talking about?

MATT: There's, uh, the Stoops and Gusso logo, one of them is just throwing up.

MATT: One them—

MATT: One them has an arrow through their head and one of them is puking. That's what the morning crew is all about.

KAREN: Oh, and now the one with, uh, Strong Bad says he's—

MIKE: It's over.

KAREN: Okay. {laughs}

MIKE: That's when— When, the paper comes down, you always gotta end it.

MATT: No wait. Wait!

MIKE: Oh, is this— Is it still going?

KAREN: Oh, right, no Easter eggs. He's too, he's not up to it. He's not up to it.

MATT: Hurry up, say what you're gonna say!

KAREN: Okay! Oh, I forget.

MIKE: Good job.

Fun Facts

• "Come on twist again, like we did last summer" is a quote from "Let's Twist Again" by Chubby Checker.
• Stoops and Gusso were referenced in radio.
• The way that the Brothers Chaps pronounced Karen Wagner's last name with a V and compared her to a composer is a reference to famed composer Richard Wagner.
• Little Girl and Ryan Sterritt are mentioned.
• Sequels to songs would be referenced again in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 17.2.

YouTube version

• Strong Bad's remark about there being no Easter eggs is missing - the email ends as soon as the Paper comes down.

External Links

• watch "bottom 10"
• watch "bottom 10" on YouTube
• watch "bottom 10" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "bottom 10"
• forum thread re: "bottom 10"