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 pretending I didn’t get them.
Tonight, I’m finally gonna make good on the promise. Partially, at least. There are way too many entries for me to tackle all at once, so consider this Part 1 of Dino Drac’s Coffee Cup Exhibition, featuring 25 of YOUR very strange mugs.
Of course, some of you may be wondering why I’m doing this at all…
Our story starts with the nWo Wolfpac mug seen above. I drink from it constantly, but I have no idea where it came from. While neither a treasured possession nor something I’d even notice were it to go missing, that dumb cup has quietly become such a comfortable part of my life.
There are many others like it. We have our “standard” coffee cups, sure, but I always find myself reaching for the ones that are loud and obnoxious. The ones that remind me of gift shops from old vacation spots. The ones that were given to me by business owners who no longer own businesses. The ones with Papa Smurf on them.
I suspected that your relationships with coffee cups were similar, and looking over the submissions only proves it. Holy hell, you guys have some AMAZING mugs! Weird mugs, happy mugs, depressing mugs! Mugs rife with nostalgia, mugs plastered with failed product logos! I love them all, and I think the rest of you will, too.
Below are the first 25 coffee cups, complete with notes from the readers who submitted ’em. Get ready for everything from Star Trek to seahorses! Read More…
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…