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, and absolutely indicative of 1995. Ignoring the smaller trinkets for now, the obvious chasers were those two larger stretchable figures.
If their genesis is on the tip of your tongue, I’ll help you out: “The Stretcher” was an obvious ripoff of Stretch Armstrong. Originally sold in the late ‘70s, the toy line enjoyed a brief revival in the early ‘90s, complete with this over-the-top television commercial: Read More…
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 Wikipedia, which for argument’s sake we’ll consider a reliable source for cereal info, Ice Cream Cones came out in 1987 and died in 1987, returning only briefly in 2003.
If that’s true, it stands to reason that many who remember the cereal so fondly never actually ate it. I fear I’m in that group, because I’d swear on a stack of Sears Wish Books that I had and loved Ice Cream Cones. How could I forgot those bowlfuls of chocolate Bugles and double-sized Cocoa Puffs?
It’s more likely that some of us just remember the commercials, which starred the incomparable Ice Cream Jones — a man who somehow converted half of his bicycle into a giant, self-serving box of cereal. (Now him I know I remember.) Read More…
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) and you can cancel whenever you want. The Funpacks are absolutely what allows me to keep producing Dino Drac content at a high frequency, so on top of getting neat boxes of STUFF, you’re also helping to keep the site afloat!
…and as for the February Funpacks? Since your boxes will be arriving around Valentine’s Day, this month’s theme is LOVE & MONSTERS.
There are over ten items in this month’s box! Loads of nostalgia with a hint of Valentine’s goodness — and plenty of monsters! Read More…
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 worrying about it being killed by Blockbuster, only to see it outlive the chain.
You aren’t sure how it stays in business — rumors persist that it’s a front for something less legal — but you’re so glad it does.
With only the barest modifications to hide its bygone role as a smalltime cab depot, the place is loaded with shelves in every conceivable style.
The owner still deals chiefly in videocassettes, with only one spinning “new releases” rack to hold DVDs. Keep in mind, the newest movie on that rack is There’s Something About Mary.
You can rent video games, too. They’re exclusively for systems that haven’t been produced since the mid ‘90s. The owner will also let you buy them outright, but somehow expects the original retail prices for used SNES games with xeroxed instructions. Read More…