EMToast: The Digital Surrealism Era (2016–2018) | Podcast Deep Dive

EMToast: The Digital Surrealism Era (2016–2018) continues the chronological deep dive into EMToast history, exploring the surreal humor, fake news stories, experimental AI imagery, bizarre fictional memoirs, and internet absurdity that defined the site during 2016 through 2018.

In this episode, we revisit another strange chapter of EMToast, from Crystal Windex soda and the mysterious Godzilla Resurgence poster to Oliver: A Humanzee Memoir, Soviet blood parasites disguised as miniature cockroaches, The Veggie Lion, and some of EMToast's earliest experiments with AI-generated imagery.

As internet culture evolved, so did EMToast. These years blended satire, surreal storytelling, early artificial intelligence, and nostalgic web humor into a uniquely strange snapshot of the late-blog era, capturing a time when the internet still felt unpredictable, experimental, and wonderfully weird.

Read the original posts discussed in this episode:

EMToast Timeline:
https://emtoa.st/yearly-timeline/

2016 Archive:
https://emtoa.st/yearly-timeline/#year-2016

2017 Archive:
https://emtoa.st/yearly-timeline/#year-2017

2018 Archive:
https://emtoa.st/yearly-timeline/#year-2018

Visit EMToast:
https://emtoa.st/

Graphics from this episode are below:

EMToast: The Digital Surrealism Era (2016–2018) Transcript:

HOST 1: All right, today we're doing things a little differently.

HOST 2: Different good, I hope?

HOST 1: Definitely good. This isn't so much a deep dive as it is a digital dumpster dive.

HOST 2: The fun kind, I assume.

HOST 1: Exactly. We found this blog, EMToast.com, and its 2016–2018 archive is a trip.

00:15

HOST 2: Those were some interesting years on the internet.

HOST 1: Peak weirdness. Think Crystal Windex soda.

HOST 2: As in the window cleaner?

HOST 1: Yep. Complete with the tagline, "Artificial feels so right."

HOST 2: That's brilliant satire. Brands really were leaning into ironic nostalgia back then.

00:30

HOST 1: Crystal Pepsi, retro branding—it felt like EMToast was predicting the comeback of things like mom jeans and fanny packs.

HOST 2: Which, somehow, actually came back.

HOST 1: But it wasn't all fake soda. They also had a post about a leaked poster for Godzilla Resurgence.

00:45

HOST 2: That movie was huge in 2016. Did they actually show the poster?

HOST 1: No—that's the joke. They only talked about it.

HOST 2: Which is kind of genius. It creates hype without ever showing anything.

HOST 1: Viral marketing before everyone had a name for it.

01:00

HOST 2: But then EMToast somehow gets even stranger.

HOST 1: Right. They published what was supposedly the memoir of a human-chimpanzee hybrid named Oliver.

HOST 2: Wait... a humanzee?

HOST 1: Exactly.

01:15

HOST 2: And it's written like a real autobiography?

HOST 1: Completely. Oliver talks about his life, his caretaker Janet Berger, and wanting to help another chimp named Raisin.

HOST 2: It's almost believable... until you remember it's supposedly written by a talking chimp.

01:30

HOST 1: That's the EMToast formula. Present the absurd with a completely straight face.

HOST 2: And this came out around the same time courts were debating whether animals could own copyrights.

HOST 1: Exactly. Suddenly this ridiculous premise starts reflecting a very real discussion.

01:45

HOST 2: Questions about animal rights, authorship, and who gets a voice.

HOST 1: Which makes it surprisingly relevant today with AI-generated content.

HOST 2: Who owns something created by a non-human intelligence?

02:00

HOST 1: That's what makes these stories fun. They're ridiculous—but they're poking at real ideas underneath.

HOST 2: Then EMToast pivots again...

HOST 1: Into local news.

HOST 2: Somehow I doubt this is normal local news.

02:15

HOST 1: Not exactly. One article claims miniature cockroaches are infecting the local population.

HOST 2: That's already horrifying.

HOST 1: But these aren't ordinary cockroaches.

02:30

HOST 2: Let me guess...

HOST 1: Secret Soviet laboratory experiments.

HOST 2: Of course.

HOST 1: Tiny, nearly invisible roaches that crawl into your food, steal nutrients, and infest your bloodstream.

02:45

HOST 2: Did they provide any evidence?

HOST 1: None whatsoever.

HOST 2: Just symptoms?

HOST 1: Fatigue... cravings for sugary snacks... things almost everyone experiences.

03:00

HOST 2: So it's the perfect fake conspiracy.

HOST 1: Exactly. It sounds just plausible enough to keep you reading.

HOST 2: And naturally they offer a cure.

HOST 1: Garlic lemon shrimp.

03:15

HOST 2: Of course it is.

HOST 1: And right when you think EMToast has settled into conspiracy satire...

HOST 2: ...they completely change direction again.

HOST 1: This time with a short story called The Veggie Lion.

03:30

HOST 2: Which is exactly what it sounds like?

HOST 1: A vegetarian lion who simply wants to be friends with sheep.

HOST 2: Honestly... that's kind of wholesome.

HOST 1: It feels like a welcome break after Soviet blood parasites.

03:45

HOST 2: Maybe that's part of the appeal.

HOST 1: The site never stays in one lane for very long.

HOST 2: One minute it's fake medical horror, the next it's a surprisingly sweet story about friendship.

04:00

HOST 1: And maybe that's the bigger story behind EMToast.

HOST 2: Even during the wild west of the internet, people wanted places where they could experiment creatively.

HOST 1: No rules. Just strange ideas and seeing where they went.

04:15

HOST 2: And EMToast had one more claim to fame during these years.

HOST 1: Let me guess... even stranger recipes?

HOST 2: Stranger than that. They started experimenting with some of the earliest AI-generated images.

04:30

HOST 1: That's a real time capsule.

HOST 2: Remember when AI image generators were just starting to appear?

HOST 1: Back when every image looked slightly uncanny, like the computer almost understood what it was trying to make.

04:45

HOST 2: Exactly. EMToast embraced that weirdness.

HOST 1: They created these "what if" scenarios that only early AI could produce.

HOST 2: Things like Trump as a turtle...

05:00

HOST 1: Gandhi as Rambo...

HOST 2: Even Baby Jesus reimagined through AI.

HOST 1: They were bizarre, funny, and strangely fascinating all at once.

05:15

HOST 2: Looking back now, it's amazing how primitive those images seem.

HOST 1: Yet at the time they felt like a glimpse into the future.

HOST 2: It also raises an interesting question.

05:30

HOST 1: If EMToast were making those images today, who would be in them?

HOST 2: And what would they say about today's internet culture?

HOST 1: That's the fun part. Every generation of internet humor reflects its own moment in time.

05:45

HOST 2: We're still asking the same questions about AI.

HOST 1: Is it creating art? Is it simply remixing information?

HOST 2: Do these systems actually "think," or are they just producing convincing patterns?

06:00

HOST 1: That's what I enjoy about revisiting sites like EMToast.

HOST 2: It isn't just nostalgia.

HOST 1: It's a snapshot of what fascinated people during a particular era of the internet.

06:15

HOST 2: Our fears...

HOST 1: Our obsessions...

HOST 2: And our sometimes questionable sense of humor.

HOST 1: EMToast held up a mirror and basically said, "This is who we are."

06:30

HOST 2: And honestly... not much has changed.

HOST 1: The technology is better.

HOST 2: But we're still drawn to bizarre stories, strange images, and internet rabbit holes.

06:45

HOST 1: Imagine trying to explain EMToast to someone who grew up with TikTok.

HOST 2: They'd probably think Crystal Windex was a real product.

HOST 1: Or ask what a blog even was.

07:00

HOST 2: That's what makes these old internet archives so much fun.

HOST 1: They remind us that the web has always been unpredictable, experimental, and wonderfully weird.

HOST 2: Sometimes all you need is a fake conspiracy, a vegetarian lion, and a recipe for garlic lemon shrimp.

07:15

HOST 1: Thanks for joining us on another deep dive into the strange world of EMToast.

HOST 2: Until next time... happy diving.