Dinosaur Dracula!

The Mostly-Complete Dino Drac Archives.

You have some reading to do!

Below are most of the Dino Drac blog archives. Certain categories may be excluded to keep things tidier. If you notice any typos, pretend you didn’t.

  • Ranking the Elm Street VHS Box Art!

    A long while back, I ranked all of the Friday the 13th films based strictly on the merits of their VHS boxes. It was only natural that I’d do the same for Freddy Krueger! That’s my weird goal for today, and it isn’t as pointless as it seems! As I’ve mentioned before, videocassett

  • Fast Food Kiddie Bags from the ’90s.

    Tonight’s article is about fast food kiddie bags from the 1990s, which is as close as I may ever come to literally writing about garbage. Really, focusing on the bags is just my way to highlight five memorable fast food promotions, starring everyone from Spider-Man to Amy Monkey. Mighty

  • Cereal shopping in 1986’s Manhunter.

    My friend Lauren told me to check out Manhunter, the 1986 thriller and first-ever film to feature the Hannibal Lecter character. (Okay, Lecktor, but it was the same guy.) Many critics didn’t go gaga over Manhunter back then, but I loved it for exactly the same reasons that they ha

  • Five Random Action Figures, Part 14!

    I’ve been salivating over the many reveals from this year’s Toy Fair, which collectively guarantee that I’ll have five cents to my name by the end of 2015. To cool down, I thought I’d take a minute to appreciate what I already have… and stop worrying about how I’m going to

  • Pee-wee Herman’s Gremlins Collection.

    Back when Pee-wee was just starting to catch on, he was a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman, taking part in bizarre bits that only further cemented his rise to superstardom. Since my own obsession began with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, I missed the earliest of those appeara

  • More Extremely Old Bubble Gum!

    I had so much fun showing you old bubble gum a few weeks ago, I thought I’d do it one more time. (A few weeks from today, I’ll say the same thing. And onward goes this thing of ours.) This time, I’m breaking out some of my heaviest hitters. If it could be argued that bubble

  • Dino Drac’s Crummy Motel!

    You are on your way to a wedding. Some distant cousin you haven’t seen in fifteen years. On the list of things you’d rather do, “drown” only narrowly outranks “get eaten by bears.” The reception is three states away. That would normally merit flying, but you’re not gonna blow

  • The Coffee Cup Exhibition: Part 1!

    Back in July, I asked everyone to send in photos of their weirdest coffee mugs for an upcoming Dino Drac feature. A whole lotta you did. In fact, I was so daunted by the number of submissions that I shelved the idea for months. During that time, I expertly handled any emailed inquires by p

  • Vintage Vending #22: Stretch Armstrong?!

    It’s been forever since the last edition of Vintage Vending, the series in which I blather on endlessly about old vending machine toys. If you’re newish to Dino Drac, you can read the past twenty-one entries over here! Today we’re focusing on “The Stretcher” set, made in 1995, an

  • Cereal Coupons from the ’80s and ’90s.

    Today I’m gonna investigate seven ancient cereals… using old supermarket coupons as my guide. If you say you saw this coming, you are such a liar. Considering how many people still talk about Ice Cream Cones Cereal, it’s hard to believe that it was so short-lived. According to W

  • Dino Drac’s February Funpack is available now!

    Dino Drac’s February Funpack has landed! Most of you know the drill by now, but here’s the quick-and-dirty version: Every month, I mail out boxes filled with old & new treasures to all subscribers. It’s $25 a month (that price includes shipping to anywhere in the United States) a

  • Dino Drac’s Video Store.

    You are being proactive. It’s a gloomy afternoon. One that will reportedly lead into a stormy night. Better prepare some evening entertainment while you still have the chance! You drive over to DD’s Video Store. Founded in 1985, it’s now the last rental store in town. You remember wo

  • Nintendo games spotted in Beethoven!

    After the Nintendo Power Glove came up in the previous article, someone pointed out that it made a cameo appearance in Beethoven. Yes, the 1992 movie about a sloppy St. Bernard and the man who grows to love him. Somehow, the Power Glove was in that. Actually, yesterday’s anonymous co

  • Five old videocassettes. No reason.

    The apocalyptic snowstorm never arrived, but we still got enough to slow life to a crawl. And to make the process of shoveling feel like it should’ve ended with an awards ceremony. It seemed like a good day to get organized, so I attacked my eighteen bins full of old videocassettes, sepa

  • Five Random Action Figures, Part 13!

    We’re in the middle of a blizzard, and it’ll be a miracle if I’m able to finish this article before the power goes out. If I sound like I’m rushing… I am! So, onward with the thirteenth edition of Five Random Action Figures. I took these photos over the weekend, hoping to capital

  • Dino Drac’s Corner Store!

    You are bored. There’s no one around and nothing to do. Desperate for any sort of action — even one as silly as buying a Snapple — you hop on your bike and ride to Dino Drac’s Corner Store. Well, its proper name is Dino Drac’s Convenience Store, but everyone just calls i

  • The True Legends “Tree Warrior.”

    Okay guys, we need to talk about Tree Warrior. Tree Warrior is part of the True Legends line, a collection of low cost, lower quality fantasy toys. If you’re a TRU hound, you’ve probably seen their aisle full of True Legends offerings, ranging from battle-ready elves to giant neon drag

  • French Toast Crunch is back!

    I know I’m late on the draw and that 99% of you have already heard the news, but for the remaining 1%: French Toast Crunch is back! It’s true! The cereal debuted in 1995 but was discontinued in 2006. From then until now, you could only find French Toast Crunch on “DO YOU REMEMBER EAT

  • Extremely Old Bubble Gum.

    Tonight’s random topic: BUBBLE GUM. Very old bubble gum that I spent too much money on. Turning frivolous purchases into Dino Drac content is my eternal salvation, so here we are. Below: Five bubble gum brands from the ‘80s and ‘90s. May they help you remember a time when perusing th

  • Saturday Television of a Misspent Youth.

    Back in junior high, I spent a lot of my free time alone. I don’t mean that to sound maudlin; I had friends, and we’d hang out often enough. Thing was, we had few common interests, and whenever they ran off to do whatever normal boys did, I hid at home. This was during the early ‘9