Round Robin Challenge: At the Corner Store

This week I have the privilege of selecting the Round Robin Social Media Challenge topic! There have been some great topics covered over the last few weeks and I wanted to choose something different, then I began to search for some of my favorite childhood memories. A lot of these memories came back to riding our bikes to the local corner store to grab snacks, drinks and other fun items so me and my friends could get energized before we hit the blacktop. So this weeks topic is...

When you were a kid, what would you use your hard earned allowance money to buy at the corner store? To get this thing started I'll let you know what my top picks were and why!

Trading Cards!

This was back in the day when every movie or character that was even remotely appealing to kids had it's own trading card set. I do remember grabbing packs of the above properties, but I also remember picking up Adams Family, Dinosaurs Attack and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cards.

Gatorade

In the early 90s we were all under the grip of the cultural icon known as Michael Jordan. He was the spokesperson for everything from Wheaties to Nike to his own SNES game! We all wanted to be "Like Mike". So for us streetball hoopers drinking Gatorade was a must! My favorite flavor was Citrus Cooler. Not only because it was labeled as "Mike's Favorite Flavor", but because it was delicious! The flavor has been in and out of the rotation over the years, so whenever I see it on shelves it's time to stock up! Why don't they produce Gatorade in glass bottles anymore?

Gatorgum

Sticking with the Gatorade family, we move on to Gatorgum. This product only came in 2 flavors that I remember being Lemon/Lime and Orange. I favored the orange as my gum of choice. According to my research Gatorgum was discontinued in the early 2000s. I'm surprised to hear that it was around that long! The closest thing available to Gator Gum today is Quench Gum.

Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream chips

I remember when these came out and thinking they would be nasty. After first bite, they became a staple in my corner store trips. These are so amazing! It's like a creamy cheddar taste wrapping all the goodness of a salty Ruffles chip. They are still available today in any grocery store. If you haven't tried these, I suggest picking some up today!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Comics

Every time I went into the corner store, I had to peruse the comic/magazine rack. They were always littered with any new X-Men comics that were out and the Archie produced Ninja Turtles Adventures comics. These were my introduction to the world of Turtles comics. Kind of a gateway to the more adult Mirage produced comics. I still love reading these today. For the most part the art was great and the stories were well written. IDW has been collecting these stories in TPB form over the last few years for those who missed them in the 90s.

Well, that's it for my early 90s trip to the corner store. What were your favorite items to pick up? Write your own blog entry on this topic and don't forget to leave a link to your page in my comments section! I hope we get a lot of entries. Have fun, I can't wait to see what other goodies are out there!

 

The Toy Box takes us on a trip to the corner stores of Allentown & Oregon!

The Toy Break drinkin quarter water. Gotta be the best!

Round Robin Challenge: Eccentric Action Figures

This week 2 Minute Toy Break has challenged us to take a look at our nearest and weirdest and post a pic or multiple pics of the most eccentric action figure in our collection. This would be a museum worthy action figure. One that would draw a lot of ooohs and aaaahs from an art show crowd. Here's what I decided to feature....

A 2009 vacuum metalized limited edition Fugitoid action figure by Playmates Toys. This is not just any Fugitoid action figure though. This figure hung on the Christmas tree of TMNT co-creator Peter Laird! Here's the story.

In 2009 Mr. Laird's daughter Emily decided it would be fun to decorate the family tree with a bunch of these shiny, metallic Fugitoid figures. Peter Laird had a case of 100 of these figures and he himself opened 50 of the figures and attached an ornament hook to each figure.

On December 21st the tree was decorated by the Laird family and the 2009 mighty "Fugitree" was born.

After the 2009 holiday season, the Fugitoids were boxed back up and sold through the Mirage Studios website for $25. There were only 50 of these items available, and I got one!

This guy holds a prominent spot on my shelf of fame in the basement. Each Fugitoid came in a custom box made by Peter Laird with the story of the Fugitree printed  on a sticker on the front of the box.

The coolest thing was that the boxes were personally signed by Peter Laird. I am so glad to own this piece of TMNT history. It is a rare item that was used in the home of one of my comic book heroes. I feel this piece would fit into any museum of pop culture and would make any Ninja Turtles fan oooh and ahhh at it's appearance. And yes, my Fugitoid still has the ornament hanger on him that Peter Laird twisted around his neck for future tree hanging experiences.

If you would like to read more about the Fugitree, the history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or the thoughts of Peter Laird, please visit his TMNT blog by clicking HERE! The Laird family photos in the above post were from his website.

 

Check out Toy Break's post. He has a pretty interesting mash-up to show off!

Round Robin Challenge: Licensed Snack Products

A while back I was a part of a loose knit group who called ourselves, The Pop Culture League. Each week we were given a different topic to write about on our blogs. It was a lot of fun! Then the League disbanded and another rose up in it's place with the Round Robin Social Media Challenge. I was a bit hesitant about jumping back in the challenge blog game, but I missed those challenges and the people I met from that time. I kept reading their entries and I finally want in again!

This time around the Round Robin Challenge is to purchase any cartoon/movie themed food item and review it! Well, I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head. My cabinets are full of fruit snacks with characters from Super Mario to Zootopia, but that would be too easy. Cue the music...again the Dollar Tree comes to my salvation and reunited me with Andy Capp's Hot Fries!

I had not seen these delicious snack treats since I was in high school in the 90s and to find them for $1, what a totally amazing excellent discovery!

I ripped the bag open and they tasted exactly as I remembered. Not hard like a chip or potato stick, but kind of airy and crunchy. Spicy, salty and totally addictive. I ate the whole bag in less than 15 minutes. Like I said they are very inexpensive at $1, it totally met my childhood expectations and I would highly recommend these snack treats to anyone who enjoys a bit of spice in their diet.

As with many snack foods it is not the best item for you to eat. There are 130 calories per serving (3 servings per bag), 4 grams of fat, 300 milligrams of sodium, but 0 milligrams of cholesterol! I call that a win!

I did some research on Andy Capp's Hot Fries and it turns out that they have been around since 1971 and they came in a variety of flavors including the now discontinued Zesty Ranch, Pub Fries, Salsa, Hot Chili Cheese Steak, and White Cheddar Steak Fries. The back of the package I bought promotes only the Cheddar Fries and BBQ Fries. I have never seen these varieties on store shelves. Not even back in the day when these were a new product. For more product info you can visit AndyCapps.com.

I always wondered why ConAgra Foods chose Andy Capp as their spokes-comic? He was never anyone's favorite cartoon strip and he was a crazy drunk who wandered the streets complaining about his wife. Not really a role model for kids, but I could definitely see these snacks in a bowl at the counter of a seedy, smoke filled bar. Drinking beer, playing a round or two of darts and eating Hot Fries, not a bad night if you ask me.

Check out these other participants in the Round Robin Challenge. They have some good stuff about retro items you may just be interested in:

2 Minute Toy Break

Alexis' Universe

Green Plastic Squirt Gun

The Toy Box