# Mike Rowe on QVC **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250 "2009-04-24T18:59:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/1 "2009-04-24T18:59:54Z")
I didn’t know that there was anything worth watching on QVC, but Mike Rowe’s stint has proved me wrong. I think the video descriptor says it best: > [@](#): > > Circa 1992, Mike Rowe (host of Dirty Jobs) worked in (very) late-night TV selling crap to idiots on QVC. He used the opportunity to its full comedic potential. This is some really funny stuff. [Seagull Bracelet](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-yp_U4xYF0&feature=related) (my favorite so far) [Tubular Earrings](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrlfeNsGio0&feature=related) [Cherubs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1nJcQnyI3I&feature=related) There are a bunch more, but those three will give you the flavor and probably leave you wanting more. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/2 "2009-04-24T19:14:51Z")
It gets better though! Apparently he was an opera singer, and after a gig he went to a bar with a friend. Dressed in a Viking costume. QVC was on the TV and they announced they were having auditions. He crashed the auditions and got the job. Apparently he was fired three times, and after watching the videos you can’t help but wonder why. [Cite!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Rowe) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/3 "2009-04-24T19:20:51Z")
Have you seen the one with the cat sack? It’s my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/4 "2009-04-24T19:21:34Z")
How did he get rehired twice? Anyway, [here is a clip of Mike singing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUJWpIj_4ps&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/5 "2009-04-24T19:25:56Z")
“I explore the country looking for hard-working men and women who do the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us.” [Animated Love.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDBM8lwVmQo&feature=related) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/6 "2009-04-24T20:08:28Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Have you seen the one with the cat sack? It’s my favorite. [It’s awesome!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rChjMRfi40c&feature=related) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/7 "2009-04-24T20:52:06Z")
What I’d like to know is who taped the QVC channel and horded the tapes for 15 years, and why. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/8 "2009-04-24T22:28:39Z")
> [@riker1384](#): > > What I’d like to know is who taped the QVC channel and horded the tapes for 15 years, and why. I’m thinking it was a time traveler from the future who knew how important those tapes would be. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/9 "2009-04-25T00:57:26Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > How did he get rehired twice? Anyway, [here is a clip of Mike singing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUJWpIj_4ps&feature=related). Are you kidding? If I’d have been old enough to have a credit card back when he was on the air, I’d probably have bought things regularly just to keep him on the air! Thankfully I don’t have to buy anything to keep watching Dirty Jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/10 "2009-04-25T01:04:53Z")
The hilarious thing is that the last time I looked at these there were a LOT fewer. So somebody ELSE had a bunch of them taped, and… Yeah. Did you guys know that he’s trying to do some serious work to bring people back to the trades? He’s working on a website to connect people to training and jobs in the skilled trades. Cool guy, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/11 "2009-04-25T02:07:55Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Cool guy, IMHO. Yeah, A fish guts processing plant where I worked for a long time was on the first season of Dirty Jobs. We thought they might be bad for business but it turned out pretty cool. Mike’s a nice guy. He has a knack for narration. One of the camera men was about to puke and put some black tape over his nose when there. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/12 "2009-04-25T03:37:14Z")
I think the fact that he sucks at it but Tries Really Hard resonates with people. He’s hardly the Everyman (smart, funny, opera singer, etc.) but he comes off as one, plus he has a real interest in other people. I think he’s probably read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” - in fact, you could probably skip reading the book and just watch the show. The man is really a master at making people genuinely like him, because he honestly doesn’t seem to have a false bone in his body. I don’t know if he _does_ or not, but that’s certainly what you want people to think of you. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/13 "2009-04-25T03:37:39Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > [It’s awesome!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rChjMRfi40c&feature=related) 😃 LOL, Thank you for that. That made my night. Anyone else think he kinda looks like Ed Norton w/ that video quality? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/14 "2009-04-25T05:12:00Z")
God those are hilarious! How he can keep a straight face is beyond me… “Tubular. Like gnarly…” 😃 He also was a host on A&E (Bill Kurtis-type stuff)- those are fun to catch in reruns. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/15 "2009-04-25T05:34:39Z")
I have man-love for Mike. If I ever had a chance to hoist a beer with him, I’d gladly accept. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/16 "2009-04-25T06:54:24Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I think the fact that he sucks at it but Tries Really Hard resonates with people. Yeah, he’s very clearly an entertainer, not a blue-collar worker, but he at least appears genuinely interested in the work and isn’t there to mock anyone. I love the guy. The more I learn about him, the more I like him. Those QVC clips made my day. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-rowe-on-qvc/494250/17 "2009-04-25T07:18:14Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > he at least appears genuinely interested in the work and isn’t there to mock anyone. Except himself. And Barsky. And that one contractor with the painted toenails. But nobody else.