On August 8, 2004 a boat of tourists on the Chicago River was covered in literal crap as they passed beneath the Kinsie Street Bridge.
Today, the incident is infamous in Chicago. But because it happened before the era of smartphones, it's still a surprising story to many -- especially when they learn the culrpit was none other than the Dave Matthews Band.
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the Dave Matthews Band poop incident, we took a look back at what exactly happened that day.
During the summer, architectural tours run along the Chicago River in open-air boats. On August 8, 2004, there were an estimated 120 people sightseeing on such a tour when the Dave Matthews Band tour bus decided to empty its septic tank on the Kinsie Street Bridge, covering two-thirds of the passengers in feces and excrement.
One person on the boat when it happened described it to Block Club Chicago as a, "Monty Python skit-like" scene in which tourists covered in poop began to vomit in disgust. At the time, The Chicago Tribune reported that nobody knew who was responsible for the dumping of the feces.
It would later be uncovered that the Dave Matthews Band driver, Stefan Wohl, was responsible for deciding to empty the 800-pound septic tank. He ultimately pleaded guilty to reckless conduct and discharging contaminants to cause water pollution and was sentenced to 150 hours of community service, fined $10,000, to be paid to Friends of the Chicago River, an environmental organization, and received 18 months probation.
The band also agreed to start keeping a log when its buses empty their septic tanks and later paid $200,000 to the State of Illinois in a settlement.