New York, October 8, 2007 – Every year, David Letterman celebrates Columbus Day on his talk show by hurling things off the roof of his studio in Midtown Manhattan.  This year’s detritus included lightbulbs, 20 gallons of paint, 180 lbs. of flour and150 lbs. of chili (plus the bowl it was in).   For good measure, Monday evening’s guest George Clooney gamely went to up the roof and threw 400 decks of playing cards to the street below.

Don’t worry, no one was injured – 53rd Street where the Letterman TV studio is located had been closed to pedestrians and traffic all day to accommodate the stunt. 

However, it seems that Dave’s purchasing department over-ordered, and when we saw staffers about to toss unopened cases of canned Campbell’s Chili Con Carne into the dumpster, we stopped them, called the Bowery Mission homeless shelter, and they said to bring it on down. 

So with the help of New York paparazzi, we filled the trunk of the Open All Night staff vehicle with five cases of chili, 16 bags of flour, plus a few unopened cases of playing cards, and drove on down to the Bowery Mission.  Each can of Campbell’s Chili Con Carne contains six portions, per the label, so the five cases should provide about 360 meals.  CBS, what were you thinking?

The Bowery Mission