Fun Facts about the Classic

Whether you’re a grown-up who’s nostalgic for your childhood or a kid who’s trying to understand what your parents watched when they were younger, the original Double Dare made some pretty memorable moments. While you’re here, take a trip down memory lane and rediscover some information about the show you loved so much back in the ‘90s.

1. Dana Carvey almost hosted the show.

While it’s hard to imagine anybody but Summers shouting the iconic “On your mark, get set, go” before challenges, hundreds of people auditioned with hopes of becoming host. One man was actually offered the position to host Double Dare before Summers, only to turn it down because of an invitation to a New York City–based sketch comedy show called Saturday Night Live. That man was Dana Carvey, who, according to Summers in an interview with Thrillist, received the Double Dare job the same day he was asked to join Saturday Night Live.

2. Producers often used expired food for challenges.

Image via Nickelodeon

Double Dare is remembered for the mess. The producers often went through dozens of eggs, cans and cans of whipped cream, buckets of popcorn, slime, and more food. In an interview with Thrillist, the show’s creators said they decided to use food items that were already going to waste in order to lessen the guilt that came with wasting enormous amounts of food— like expired whipped cream and stale popcorn. Sounds appetizing!

3. Summers didn’t wear his own ties.

Marc Summers had some pretty good looks throughout his run on the show. But being surrounded by slime, food, and — in general — messiness isn’t always the greatest thing for somebody dressed in a jacket and tie. In an interview with Nickelodeon, Summers said that he didn’t buy the clothes he wore on the show because he knew he was “gonna get trashed anyway” while filming.

4. The floor was incredibly slippery.

As mentioned before, Double Dare was an incredibly messy show. In order to make the mess easier to clean for the crew, Geoffrey Darby (cocreator and executive producer of Double Dare) decided to design the set as a natatorium (an indoor pool, in case you haven’t taken the SATs recently), per Thrillist. Built with the intentions of being able to squeegee the mess after each episode, the tiles used became slippery when wet — which, in the case of Double Dare, was most of the time.