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Generation In-Between: A Xennial Podcast
Xennial co-hosts Dani and Katie talk about their analog childhoods, digital adulthoods and everything in between. If you love 1980's and 1990's pop culture content, this is the podcast for you!
Generation In-Between: A Xennial Podcast
Weird Toys from the 1980's: A Dani Revisit
Did your childhood toys double as makeup cases or purses?
Did you prefer your fast food to be of the action figure variety?
If you ever fell asleep to the glow of plush and plastic worm, you might be a Xennial. And we are too.
Join us as Dani revisits some of the weirdest toys from our 1980's childhoods. How many did you own?
This episode was made possible by the following sources:
Glow Worms on Wikipedia
Glow Worms on Time.com
Pillow People on Mental Floss
Pillow People on Wikipedia
Sweet Secrets on Wikipedia
Sweet Secrets on Allison Venezio Writes
ET Light Up Finger on MagicTricks.com
Madballs on Wikipedia
Madballs on Mental Floss
Food Fighters on Wikipedia
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Did you ever fall asleep to the glowing plastic face of a worm? Do you remember having something that was beautiful, jewelry to everyone else that turned into a playmate when you were by yourself? If you ever had action figures that look like angry versions of your lunch, you might be a Xenial, and we are too. Hi, I'm Dani and I'm Katie, and you're listening to Generation in Between, a Xennial podcast where we revisit, remember and relearn sometimes relearn all kinds of things from our 80s childhoods and 90s teen young adulthoods. Yes, and today, everybody on our episode we are keeping with the holiday vibes somewhat and we are talking toys again. Katie's so pumped, I'm excited. I do think, like, just based on the intro, just a little disclaimer I don't know what toys to be researched. I can kind of pick up on some of it from there. I think this is going to be really fun. It is, it's going to be so fun, and it's because we're not just talking about any toys. Oh, today we are talking about weird toys from the 80s and let me specify a few things real quick.
Speaker 1:Weird is a what do you call it? Subjective term. True, is it subjective or objective? I always misuse those words. Subjective means, like lots of people have different opinions. That's what we want to say. So just because I say it's weird doesn't mean you would say it's weird, but in my opinion, these are a little weird, okay, okay. So the disclaimer is the toys that Danny thinks are weird, and Katie is probably going to think they're weird too. I probably will too. Yeah, I'll tell you for sure, though, but you may not. You may be like no, that was the most kick-ass toy in the world. And, speaking of ass, oh God, oh God. So my original, why not title for this episode?
Speaker 1:For like weeks when we are, we were figuring out what episodes we wanted to do. In December, I was like, oh my God, I want to do another toy episode, cause those are always really fun and popular. And I was like but I want to do like weird ass toys, like weird ass toys, Right, yeah. And so we just kept talking about it like that, like in our shared Google doc. That's what it said Weird ass toys, weird ass eighties toys. And then I realized, huh, if I keep saying weird ass toys, if I keep saying weird ass toys, that might be confusing to some on the content that's actually in this episode. They might be very disappointed, correct or very surprised. So no, these are not ass toys, Sorry guys, but don't worry. And gals, and yeah, guys in the no gender, oh, wow, wow, oh, sorry humans, sorry humans. But also it wasn't in the title, so I don't think they came for that right. So we, so we did change the title from weird ass toys to just weird toys, because now we have our e e version, uh, which does not mean it's for everyone anyway.
Speaker 1:So, on that note, katie, can you remember any weird toys from the 1980s just off the top of your head? I mean, I kind of thought popples were kind of weird. They're cute, not bad weird. Oh, they are kind of weird. They're kind of weird because they're like sort of animals, but also like the pillows, and they're so fuzzy, I don't know. All right, and I know you mentioned this in the intro the glow worm, yeah, and I could like, as you were talking about it, I could smell it. Yeah, oh yeah, the plastic, like the plastic, like that sweet plastic, smell Like Cabbage Patch Kids. Yes, same thing, same material. Those are the only ones off the top of my head. All right, I know there's many, many more. Well, we are going to be talking about glowworms. Actually, good, I'm excited you said that Good and you used that one.
Speaker 1:The funny thing was there were a lot of weird toys. Yeah, it was hard to narrow it down, but I've got six of them today. Oh Okay, oh, okay, I know that's a lot. I hope we make it through because we are and this is research on six of them. You don't actually have them. No, no, I don't. Now I wanted to make sure I keep messing with my mic. Sorry, I'm on another cup of coffee. Guys, I already had a big thing of coffee this by the end of the episode. I'm going to be wiggling a lot. I, but I did. I wanted to do toys that I either had or I remembered Okay, like my friends had, or I remembered, like whatever Cause some things I came across and I was like what the hell is that I don't remember. That's weird. But also, before we get going on toys, let's just talk for a few minutes and we're going to discuss.
Speaker 1:We're on YouTube Hello, for those of y'all watching and we were trying so hard to make sure we don't look raggedy on our YouTube trying. So I had a little interesting adventure this morning. I was like let me just throw some makeup on. And I was like usually, like I run a straightener through my hair and I was like I'm just going to let my hair be. But guys, we live in Florida and Florida be Florida. So I walk outside and I was like my hair is just going to be natural and do its thing and I was like get in the car and I went well, that's what's happening. So if you're on YouTube, you can see the weirdness Like Katie can let her hair air dry and it looks so lovely and mine looks I don't, I don't, I have no words.
Speaker 1:Well, we recorded our bonus episode before this. Yes, we went in reverse order today for timing reasons and I did not have makeup on in that. But did you notice what I did? Yeah, you put on, I put on makeup. You did yeah, because I knew that the bonus wouldn't be on YouTube, although we may take a few like blooper clips from it, because there was some interesting things I know that were funny, but um, but yeah, I, I get it, we're trying, you guys.
Speaker 1:She also was gonna straighten her hair this morning. I was, and that's why it's kind of like half wavy, half straight, because I did do my bangs. The bangs have to be done, guys, they have to be done. Um, but my husband, we have three bathrooms, which seems like I. I think that's a lot of bathrooms, but there's seven people in our house, so everyone's getting ready at the same time. So normally I don't get ready early, I get everybody out the door and then I go on with my day. But we were recording early, so I'm like I also am getting ready and somehow it just threw like a wrench in the matrix of the universe and no one could get into the bathroom. They needed to be in. All the bathrooms were somehow being used all the time. And then my husband's like I really need to use this one. I'm like I have five minutes to get ready. My straightener is like at a hundred or 350 degrees, like ready to go, and he was like, well, I really have to go to the bathroom. So I left and I didn't go back in. And you have a lot of hair and had to leave and I didn't have time, so it's not straightened. So we're trying is basically what we're saying we do. Oh, and then also this was super funny I'm in the car taking Cooper, my youngest, to school, and I was like half ready and I was like, oh, I bought some tinted chapstick at Bath and Body Works.
Speaker 1:Is that what you're wearing right now? Oh, hold on, okay. Sort of. I reach in my bag in the car and start putting something on. I'm like that doesn't feel right. I look in the mirror. It is bright lipstick. I picked up the wrong one. So I had like this fuchsia lip and Cooper's like where are you going? I was like where are you going at 8am, looking like that, hello, cute lipstick. I'll wear it later because I have somewhere to go tonight. But I was like shit, that's not what I wanted. So I tried to wipe it off, but it was like the matte, long wearing kind. So then I found the Tented and put it on. So this is a mixture. I like it, but it's cute, it's pretty. You should do it on purpose a different day. I will, I will. So that's what's happening.
Speaker 1:We're trying, guys, if you're looking at us on YouTube, we're trying If you're just listening. Good, good for you. God bless you. You are here for the content, not the appearance. Correct Praise, be All right.
Speaker 1:So let's jump in. Let's jump right into weird toys. I'm so excited. Oh, my goodness. All right, so let's get going. We're going to talk about the first thing you mentioned. And, katie, can you see my screen? I can, okay, cause I have pictures and you're going to want to see some of these and they're so cute. Listeners, don't worry, they will be in our socials, promise.
Speaker 1:So we're going to talk about glowworms. Okay, I did have multiple glowworms. I had this OG glowworm that you see right here. He had a green body and, like a green nightcap on, oh okay, he was about the size of a teddy bear. So here we go, glowworms.
Speaker 1:They originally began as a stuffed toy for young children and they were designed by Hasbro's play school division. So, like little bitties, they were little bitty kids. They were made in Pawtucket. Little bitties, they were for little bitty kids, they were made in Pawtucket, rhode Island. Okay, where have we heard that? I don't know. And they were introduced in 1982. Okay, so the year of birth, my year of birth, and glowworms are zennials. They are, they are a zennial, they are a zennial creature. So here's the deal For those of you that don't know what they are they had a plush pajama worm body and they were battery powered.
Speaker 1:So when you squeeze the worm body, it would light up the plastic vinyl head from inside. Okay, the body didn't light up, the head did Um, and it created a nice soft glow. They are called them the them, the world's cuddliest nightlight. That's really cute, I know, and that's a really good description.
Speaker 1:But also, why are we wanting to cuddle a worm? Like? Here's where the weird thing comes. Like we're like, oh, so cute, so cute. But I'm like, what a weird ass idea.
Speaker 1:Right, because who's sitting around thinking let's make this like glow toy for little kids? Oh, I know, a worm. Well, like what else could it be? Do you mean like different animals? Or do you mean like a baby doll? Well, right, well, like, think of cuddly animals Like I don't think of. I want to cuddle a worm. Also, it's way bigger than a worm. Well, thank God, it's like 100 times the size of a worm, Thank God, worms aren't that big. Jesus, you don't like worms. No, they're too snake-like, that's true. Well, and if they were that big, oof, no, right, but you couldn't have a glow snake. But it couldn't have a glow snake. But it doesn't really. But I don't want to call it snake, but I'm saying that's why it's so weird, because of all the things you could make to be glowing and cuddly.
Speaker 1:Why a worm? I don't know. I don't know I couldn't find it, why I couldn't find anybody saying well, so just looking at the picture, yeah, at least from an engineering standpoint, I wonder if it had to be like that shape to work the way that they needed to. And then, once they made the shape, they were like yeah, it's a worm, maybe, like, if it was like a teddy bear shape, would it have put it in the belly? Yeah, I mean, maybe that's what I'm wondering. So the so the head would light up. Yeah, I don't know, kind of weird.
Speaker 1:I just think they're kind of strange. Like, uh, worms are what they're like. What type of animal are they they're? Are they an insect? No, they're like a cephalopod or something. Okay, I knew you would know that I that could be totally wrong, but it's like, yeah, where they like crawl with their little they don't have legs, though, yeah, it's like little, it's not feet, but it's like whatever helps them move along. They're called cephalopods. Okay, well, that's what it is. Um, all right. So I just think that that's weird. I mean, I loved it, but then the more I thought about it, I was like okay, she's looking up cephalopod.
Speaker 1:So the original glow worm, um, was such a success that hasbro released um, a musical glow worm that played music as it glowed. And then a glow bug in 1984. We're going to talk about those in a second, because they were smaller. And then a glow butterfly in 1985. I remember that that is adorable. Oh no, a worm is not a cephalopod.
Speaker 1:Oh, good grief, hold on, my battery is about to die. I got to get a plug. They're in. Okay, well, I'll read this while you do that. Do you see the power thing somewhere? Yeah, okay, I was going to figure it out. Here we go. So worms are invertebrates. Well, duh, that belong to several different phyla, including Anlida, platthementhes, which are flatworms, and Nemertii, which are ribbonworms. So they've got like several different phyla that they are part of. I don't know.
Speaker 1:This is really bad that this is happening in the middle of our podcast. It is. We might be able to edit it. Where's the oh? There it is. I don't know. If it's gonna reach oh, hold on, I'll help Wait. If it's going to reach it, oh, hold on, I'll help Wait. Push it, put it under the desk. Oh no, oh, I see what you're saying.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this was my bad for not plugging my laptop. If you guys could see what's not on the screen, you would be amazed. I can edit some of that out. We're good, we're good, all right. My apologies everyone. Uh, I forgot to charge my laptop last night, which is where all my research is, and, um, we have 600 things plugged in. Uh, there we go. You did it, all right, you did it. Good thing, this is not live. We'll probably get some of that out, don't worry. Don't worry. So wait, before that happened. So we happened. So weird.
Speaker 1:I said the thing about no, a worm is not a cephalopod, so let me just do that again. Okay, we'll just pretend none of that happened. So here we go. Oh, no, a worm is not a cephalopod. All right, so that is what? No cephalopod, they're invertebrates that belong to several different phyla and lida, which are the segmented worms, flat helminthes, which are flatworms, and namer tea, which are ribbon worms, and there's more. Okay, gross, gross, gross, gross. Oh, you know what cephalopods are? They're like octopus. So that's what I was trying to say, because I guess I thought worms. I was thinking of caterpillars. Okay, well, we've just bored everyone for the past five minutes. Anyway, why a worm, no one knows. Okay, that was hilarious. And now you've got some science facts, the more you know we go. Um, all right.
Speaker 1:So musical glow worm, glow bug 1984, glow butterfly, 1985. And because it was the eighties and capitalism was at its peak, of course there was a series of storybooks, nightlights, videos and other merch Um, and it was all made until the early nineties. And then play school. I can't wait to show you the picture I have that goes along with this. Play school expanded its brand of the glow toys. So the glow bugs were little little guys, they were like little figures. Okay, um, hold on, they were smaller and they were made of. Their whole thing was made of soft vinyl that glowed. And they came with these little sleeping bags. Oh, that's cute. I don't remember those at all. Well, I have a picture of me with mine. Oh, my God, I'm going to show you just a second. So they came out with them, the glow bugs, they. So they came out with them, the glow bugs, they.
Speaker 1:In 1986, glow friends was their animated series they had as well in 86, and Wendy's, the fast food chain, released a glow friends toy and their happy meals in 1988. Okay, yes, guess who got it? Got it 88. Okay, guess who got it? Got it. This is a picture of me and my little best friend down the street, alicia, with our little glow bugs. You probably can't see it now. Oh, it's adorable though. Okay, you see, yes, um, this is.
Speaker 1:I'm going to put this picture, uh, on socials, don't worry, but we were. For some reason, my sister must not have been there because that was my sister's bedroom, okay, and I know this because I wanted her comforter set so badly. If I describe it, some of you probably had it it was hearts. They were all different color, rainbow hearts of different sizes. Yes, she also had some posters on the on the wall that were motivational animal posters, like there's a kitten and a puppy saying something like friends forever. I don't know, I don't know, but I loved my sister's room. Her room was much bigger than mine and I used to. She must've not been there because we must have, like, had a sleepover. My sister was somewhere else, so we got to sleep in the cool room. I love that, yeah, so my guess, this picture probably we were having a sleepover and we probably went to Wendy's, yep, got the kids meals and had our little glow bugs, and they were having a sleepover too. I bet that was it Exactly. I mean, how cute is that? I can't. Anyway, so that's the glow bugs.
Speaker 1:Now, in late 2005, glow arms were still being made, but the product was criticized for harming children. You want to guess why? Is it? Like the like when the plastic would heat up, like it emitted something. So the plastic head was softened with I don't know how to say that word what do you think? Phytolates? Phytolates, yeah, I think. Um, which can be dangerous if swallowed by children. So it was what the heads were made of, like the squeezy, squeezy glowworms. Um, when it was softened in the production, I guess, um, what they used to soften it, yeah, was then, like in the product, yeah, but it's only harmful if swallowed. I guess that's what it said. So they redid how they made it.
Speaker 1:You can still buy glow worms today, but they're made different. Now. They're all plush, as you can see, oh, but they still glow. But look, oh, they're cute. Yeah, they do still glow. They still play music, um, but it now it just looks like a baby in a worm costume. Do you see that? Yeah, like now it like with all the plush, which is fine, but like it just looks like a baby doll that they like put little antenna hood on. Yeah, so you can still buy glow worms, but it's not the same. Yeah, now you can find OG glow bugs on eBay.
Speaker 1:I saw some, not for a very expensive. I almost bought them, but I was like, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, what am I going to do with these? So true, I know Patrick's probably out there like buy them. Or Patrick's like I have a dozen. I know he buy one from me. Actually, I don't think he does have any glow worms. I think he might have something else that's on this list, but we'll talk about that. Speaking of Patrick, I have to give him a shout out really fast.
Speaker 1:So Patrick came to see us. Him and his wife Dina came to see us on the show, along with lots of our other friends, in a Christmas story. I don't think we've said it on this episode, have we not? We talked about it on bonus. Oh, weird, okay, well, so we just wrapped a Christmas story. We'll talk more about that on our next episode. Yeah, it's coming.
Speaker 1:But he since I said Patrick, I just have to throw this in really fast. He brought me the nicest present, first of all. Him and Dina cried so much, which they are criers like me. Patrick is a crier on the level. I'm a crier, so he gets me. Yeah, he brought. So he gets me. Yeah, um, he brought me this ornament that was. He printed out a pic, the picture of me and my son in the scene that we're in together, where I'm hugging him and singing to him on stage, and he put it in a frame with the year oh, and it was just the sweetest, like most thoughtful. It's just the sweetest, like most thoughtful, like present, and it was just so nice. So, just so y'all know how nice Patrick and his wife are. There you go, anyway. So thanks for that. So that's the glow worm.
Speaker 1:Now, one more fact about glow worms. In 2011, time Magazine named glow worm one of the 100 greatest toys of all time. Wow, yeah, I love. Wow, yeah, I love that. Yeah, there were some other ones. I mean, they are memorable, they are iconic, they are super cute.
Speaker 1:I can't imagine, like, I don't know how harmful to children they really were, but like, if that's like the worst thing about it, it's not Some chemicals that cause cancer is fine. I mean, like we're surrounded by them, I know, every day of our life. So, you know, I mean sleeping in bed holding it all night next to your face. Maybe not the best plan, but I guess, if that's the worst thing we can say about glowworms other than, why worms, why worms?
Speaker 1:Did you have one? I don't think I did. You didn't? No, I feel like maybe my brother, aj, did, because I feel like he was really into glowworms. I'll have to ask him. He'd remember, probably. So, no, glow bugs either. You didn't have glow bugs. Uh-uh, I kind of knew what they were when you showed that picture, but otherwise I don't have any recollection of those. Yeah, okay, I can't wait to talk about this next one. Ooh, do you remember pillow people? Yes, to talk about this next one. Ooh, do you remember pillow people? Yes, oh, yes, okay, I'm excited to talk about this one because it is also weird. Well, these are all weird, but this one, unless you don't think it's weird, this one is like very embedded in the pop culture of the 1980s. So let me explain to you this next one Pillow people are rectangular, stuffed toys, toys which are actually pillows. Okay, um, they have faces and then they have stuffed hands and feet attached to the rectangular body. Yes, yeah. So it's basically like a big face with limbs, with, like, yeah, little limbs just like sewn on, and also hair. Some of them have hair. Oh, yeah, right, um, so here, katie, I'm showing you a picture. I bet it just takes you right back. Oh yeah, did you have a pillow people? I don't think I did, but when you mentioned the pop culture and maybe you have this later on you know what I'm going to say Full house, yeah, it's on there.
Speaker 1:Stephanie had a pillow, yes, yes, and there was a whole episode where she talked about it, right, yeah, yeah. So my sister had this one right here, and the reason I remember it it's because it was a pillow person that had blonde hair and blue eyes, which my sister has, and she had that one on that in that bedroom that I had a picture. I'm surprised it wasn't in that picture because she had it on her bed. Anyway, I can't wait to tell you the origin story of pillow. I have to know pillow people.
Speaker 1:So there's this lady. Her name was Penny Eckstein Lieberman Okay, hyphenated. She was a former therapist and she created the pillow people after she ran in to comfort her young daughter, who woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. Okay, so she was sensing a need for a friend with a soothing face A child could turn to in order to curb their nocturnal fears. That is adorable, like better than a teddy bear, I guess. So Penny developed a line as her answer to a security blanket and she found a distributor in Springs industry.
Speaker 1:First, six pillow people were called Sweet Dreams, pillow Fighter, mr Sandman, rockabye, baby, punky Pillow oh my God. And Big Footsteps, and they were released in 1986. So this original picture here, I think, has all original six. That one, I know, is he has a black eye. That's pillow fighter. Oh my gosh, how funny. I think this was punky pillow, right there with the like a little hair. Yeah, but anyway, 1986, these guys came out.
Speaker 1:And here's a funny fact because Springs Industries was a home furnishing distributor, not a toy maker, you couldn't find pillow people in the toy section of retail stores. What? Yeah, they had them in the bedding section, which confused consumers big time because they would want to go buy it for their kid and weren't there and they had to go to bedding. Yeah, that's odd, right, I mean, yes, you could use these as like throw pillows, I guess. I mean technically, pillow is in their name. Yeah, weird, I mean. Did they change that eventually? No, they never changed that.
Speaker 1:That's where you would buy the pillow people. Weird, I mean, I'm sure they probably also had them. Like if it was like Toys R Us or KB Toys. Remember KB Toys? Yes, I'm sure that they probably were in those specific toy stores Because they were toy specific. But if you went to like, remember when you could go to like Sears or Macy's and there was a toy department which they don't really have anymore, not really, it's mostly mixed in with, like the kids clothes, or like Kmart or Walmart, I was going to say Kmart or Walmart maybe. So you would have to go to bedding Weird. So moms and dads everywhere were so confused they're like where are these toys? I know All right.
Speaker 1:So these pillow people were a huge success and in 1987, they made pillow pets. I didn't remember these. Okay, pillow pets. Wait till you hear the names of these guys Little bow, sleep Dino, snore and drowsy dog. Okay, I need drowsy dog immediately. I don't even know what it looks like, but I need it. And again, because it's the 80s and let's just get as much merch as we can and all the money. They had complete bedding lines that were introduced, as well as sleeping bags, towels and clothes. All right, and I'm not done.
Speaker 1:There was even a pillow people holiday special. Yes, ma'am, you can find it on YouTube. I looked it up. It's absolutely awful. It aired in 1988 and then continued to air on networks for a decade. What Were they even still making them? No, it told the story of a ragtag band of pillow creatures Hold on, what? Who fight a nightmare witch, plotting to ruin the holiday season in North Pillow Valley. What is happening, girl? Y'all got to look it up on YouTube. It's crazy. It's so 80s.
Speaker 1:So when you said pillow people holiday special, I thought you meant a special pillow for the holidays, and then you were like it aired on TV. I was like no, no, no, oh, like a holiday special In the 80s. Young people Katie knows this, but young people listening you may not know we did not have streaming, no, and they would have holiday specials on the TV that only aired once a year and if you missed it the one time slot it was on, you missed it the whole year. Yep, okay, so they had one of those. I don't remember this at all. I don't remember it either. I was like, surely I'll remember once I see it. No, the only holiday specials I remember were the Claymation Christmas oh yeah, california Raisins, let's go. Garfield's Christmas, and then, like Rudolph and Frosty, and Yogi Bear Christmas, oh, yes, and Emmett Otter Emmett Otter, yes, I love that one, you know, I remember all those, but anyway.
Speaker 1:So, like Katie mentioned, you can actually see pillow people and cameos and all kinds of TV and film from the 80s, like Full House Stephanie had one, or was it DJ? Was it DJ? And Stephanie took it? Yes, that was the storyline, that was it, and she couldn't find her pillow person. Where's my pillow person? Yes, that's what it was. They were in Big the movie with Tom Hanks, yep. And then Adventures in Babysitting oh, wow, yeah. So if you've watched any of those, go back and see if you can find the Pillow People, okay, yeah. So here's the thing Pillow People actually sold really strongly from 1986 to 1991. That's a long time, I know.
Speaker 1:They were eventually phased out to make room for a line dubbed Pillow Stars that featured recognizable characters based on licensed properties. So this was like Trolls, california Raisins, teenage Mutant, ninja Turtles and Disney characters. More money, more money, more money. I have nothing against that. Obviously, you know how people collect different things. So some people collect like um little mermaid stuff or teenage mutant and turtle, so that would be like a fun gift for them. But I like the like. The other ones that are sort of not generic but like not a character you'd see somewhere else. So you have to get the pillow person to have the character. Yeah, I like that better. Yeah, why couldn't they keep both? I don't know, I guess they probably capitalism, what I know, I know I probably capitalism. That's got to be it, probably capitalism, because they could make more money with licensed characters. Yeah, true, I mean honestly so. So the pillow people line was revived briefly in 1996, so the Pillow People line was revived briefly in 1996, but it didn't last long. And then there are currently no Pillow People to be found. But you can get on eBay and search for an original, but they cost a few hundred bucks.
Speaker 1:Dang, I was going to look for that drowsy dog. Yeah, well, I don't know, like the OG ones were the ones I looked up. Oh right, because the pets were different. The pets were different, different. So maybe you can find it. You never know, I'm gonna look, um, but I mean, okay.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about the strangeness of this toy, though, now that y'all know the history. So did you have a pillow person? I don't think you know okay. No, my sister had one. I did not. I, I think I remember even thinking it was a little strange then, like I don't want my pillow to have eyes and arms and legs Right, right, agree, katie's thinking about it, she's thinking about it.
Speaker 1:I mean, I like what the therapist said, but kind of what you sort of said when you were explaining that. Or the therapist slash inventor of these. Yeah, don't you already have security stuff? So maybe it is a teddy bear, maybe it's a blanket, like I have like a really squishy pillow that like I'm an adult now but that I hold on to like to help anxiety. Yeah, oh, that's cute. Yeah, I have a weighted blanket. I got a whole anxiety station in my bed. It's so interesting to me because, like I also have anxiety, but for me I am the opposite. If I have stuff on me, it makes me more panicked. I feel that, yeah, like um, I, my oldest, had a weighted blanket that he used for a while and I put it. The instant I put it on, I panicked.
Speaker 1:I also don't like a lot of like, touch, so like. So for me it's weird, it's a way of like closing myself off to other stimulation, so like, it's kind of like my like. No one touch me, whether it's like a dog trying to like I don't know lick my arm or something, or my husband my poor husband. If I am in that cocoon of things, I am in my cave, nothing is coming in or going out. Sit and nothing's going out.
Speaker 1:Also like, growing up in the Midwest I think I've mentioned this before my parents not on purpose, but they kept our house really cold just because we didn't pay for a lot of heat. So when I would go to bed at night I would have five or six blankets and I was under it. So I think it's just like that. That's's what my foundational memory of sleeping supposed to feel like. So in Florida I really can't have five or six blankets, even with the AC down, but a weighted blanket will make me feel like that. So I'm sure that's part of it. I got it. Yeah, I got it.
Speaker 1:I mean I can't say anything cause I, I y'all should see the production I have to do to go to sleep, cause I'm a really light sleeper and, um, I get anxiety, insomnia too, so that's the whole thing. But, like, I have white noise, I have earplugs and I mask. I am so cute when I go to sleep. Plus, I have sleep lotion and oils that I use. I probably need those, so I use. I'm missing those. I use the sleep ocean, the sleep lotion and oils. Go on first. Then I do all this stuff when I go to sleep. It's a production.
Speaker 1:My poor husband, I'm sure he's like, oh God, like what is sleeping next to me? Well, you can't see me because I'm up to my neck and everything, and then I don't have a sleep mask, but I'll put a pillow, like on YouTube you can see. It's like my eyes up. So it's like my eyes to my chin is all you see of me. Everything else is tucked in. And then, even then, if like a dog tries to like sniff me in there, I'm like you need an eye mask. Yeah, well, I like the weight of the pillow, though. Oh, because not so much now, but for a while I was getting headaches in the middle of the night and I felt like when I had a heavy ish pillow. It's not a weighted pillow, but it's like heavier than like a normal feather pillow and if I have it just pressing on my head, I feel like I don't get a headache. We're a mess girl, you and I. We're a mess, we are becoming a mess. We talked about vitamins on our recent bonus episode, so check that out. Go on.
Speaker 1:Moving on to our next toy? All right. Taking it back? All right. So in the intro you had a line. I made Katie read a line from this commercial and there was a toy called Sweet Secrets. Do you remember these at all before? I have zero memory of this and when I read the line I was like I don't even know what I'm talking about. You might recognize it when you see it, maybe when you explain it. Yeah, all right. So Sweet Secrets again.
Speaker 1:If this was entitled Weird Ass Toys, then this could go totally different. If this was entitled Weird Ass Toys, then this could go totally different. It could go totally different direction. So these were toys made in 1984 by a company called Galoob. Do you remember that toy company and then that name? Now I'm thinking about weird ass toys again. Sorry, no, I do not. What is Galoob? Help? I don't know. I just remember that they made a lot of toys in the 80s.
Speaker 1:So this toy could transform from a girl quote unquote girl-oriented object gender stereotypes here guys like makeup or jewelry into a playset animal or girl with hair Note I say girl. To transform the toy, you would open it and unfold the arms, legs and head. I'm going to scroll down and show you this picture. I do not remember this. Okay, what is happening? We'll talk more. I used to have those two exact ones Hold on.
Speaker 1:So the figures were kind of like lockets, okay, and some you could wear on, like you had special bracelets they'd like click into, or necklaces they'd click into, but some were attached to like a brush or a comb and it just looked like this big jewel, as you can see, hold on. So so go ahead and describe what you see here, okay, so the first one looks like a, like a cat, yeah, and it's what is that? An octagon? I guess it is. Yeah, it's an octagon plastic mid, like torso, I guess. And then out of it are like the arms and the legs and the head, which are much smaller than the torso, and the torso just got this giant blue octagon gem, yeah. And then there's like a little girl next to it, similar, but she's got like blonde hair, looks like blue eyes, yeah, and then like a diamond, a red diamond jewel on her torso, yeah.
Speaker 1:So basically, sweet secrets were like jewelry that you could also play with. Okay, all right, they were kind of like transformers for girls. Oh, I know, right. Yeah, so the 80s was also rife with gender stereotypes and I have to say I came to this big time. I had these and I loved them. I mean, they're shiny, I love them, they had bright colors, they were cute and, I have to say, all like the typical girl stuff I loved. Okay.
Speaker 1:So the commercial jingle actually says beautiful jewelry to everyone else, that turns to a playmate when you're by yourself. Again, if we call this episode Weird Ass Toys, I feel like, yes, but so were you not supposed to make it the playmate around other people? I don't know right, it's weird. I guess it's just dual purpose and it is called Sweet Secrets, but then, on the other, so maybe that was just part of the gimmick. I mean, I guess Like, ooh, everyone thinks it's jewelry, but actually it's a cat, but actually the jewelry, the jewel, is huge, right, so it's a little obvious. Yeah, it wasn't small, like I.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to like, think of a, like an object that it would be like equal to size. Wise, I want to say it'd be like it's a little bigger than like a half dollar size. Oh God, how old am I? You might need a different example. I know I can't think of anything that a half dollar would be. What is something modern that's the size of a half dollar? Do they even make those anymore? I think so. Okay, I don't know, look it up, all right, look it up Half dollar size. So they were probably about that size, maybe a teeny bit smaller, okay.
Speaker 1:But they also had like little play sets, and I'm going to show you a picture. Hold on, hold on, Wait, where's my scrolly scroll? There we go. Okay, so you have the toys, but then you could put them in these play sets. Okay, oh, cute.
Speaker 1:So they had play sets. Some of the play sets included a jewelry box that could transform into a dollhouse I love that, okay. A comb that could transform into a bed I had that one Cute. A play phone that could transform into a nursery I did not have that one, but I wanted it. And then a photo frame that could transform into a pool Cute.
Speaker 1:I only found a couple of pictures. So the picture I'm showing Katie right now is this pink and white plastic phone and on each side of the keypad there is where you would put the sweet secrets, okay, so it looks like two little gemstones. Then you open up the phone and it's a nursery and the little gemstones unfolded to be little babies. That's adorable, I know. I love everything about it. It was the cutest, cutest.
Speaker 1:I fell for these. I love these. I had these two right here. As soon as I saw them, I remembered them. Of course, I had the cat Duh, of course, and it was a purple cat with a little purple bow on its head, and then, of course, everything was blonde hair. So of course, I had the blonde. That was your only option, that was my only option. But I had these, and I'm pretty sure I had more of them. But I did have the comb with the bed. I wanted this, but I did not have the display set. So these things were made until the mid-90s. So they were around for a few years. Galoob was eventually bought by Hasbro in 1998, and they sold all its properties and brands over to Hasbro.
Speaker 1:Okay, so in 2007, play Along Toys re-released Sweet Secrets toys, but they were different. They were tiny dolls that fit into like lipstick tubes and change purses, rather than cute plastic charms, and in my opinion they look kind of like polly pocket mixed with bratz dolls. Oh, you can see. Oh, yeah, I can see, and they're not. The allure is not the same. Yeah, I think. I mean they're almost like too humanized, like the original one was kind of like clunky, like like almost if a little kid drew a drawing of a cat or or a little girl, like that's what it would look. They were kind of cartoony. But these other ones are more like kind of looking like real people and they just kind of fit into like a lipstick tube. That's kind of dumb, yeah, that's that's not like the whole shoved into it.
Speaker 1:I am guessing that that phone example you showed that was the plastic phone that turned into the nursery was multi-step. Yeah, so like for that, like that's kind of cool. Yeah, that's why kids love things like Legos because of the different steps that you have to make it, to make it the thing you want it to be, and it wasn't just like you hit a button and it all did it for you. You had to like do it yourself, and I can see why that would be really cool. Now, these are weird because I mean, hello, they're weird. The jingle in and of itself, the jingle is probably the weirdest part. Not going to lie, I mean it's not catchy.
Speaker 1:I have to say I don't like gender stereotypes in general. I don't like gender stereotypes in general, but I kind of am a sucker for them, right, well, you know why they work. I know On some people Now, like you, that doesn't mean that humans of all identities can't play with these, of course, but they were marketed to little girls, mm-hmm, okay, and I love them. Hook line and sinker, I did, I fell for them and I loved them so much, but they were kind of weird. Now that I'm looking, I'm like okay, so you think of transformers that they made, which I was not. I was not a fan of those because it was too many steps. Yeah, it took forever to unfold a transformer.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's true, these. You undid the locket, you flip the head out, flip the arms and legs out, voila, you're done. Yeah, yay, because I also am impatient and I don't like Legos. I like to just rebuild Legos. Yeah, but if you gave me like one of those books with like 15 pages and hundreds of steps. I'm done. I'm not doing it. I'm the same way.
Speaker 1:My husband has to do all the Legos with the kids, not because I'm a girl, but just because I don't like it. Like my daughters love them, yeah, but they open a Lego thing. Like, especially my youngest mom, you want to build this with me? I will be like I will usually say no, yeah, which is terrible, but I'm like have dad do it with you and I'll do something else with you. Like it's not that I don't want to spend time with you, it's that it's my. It's too much. I don't want to spend time doing that. Correct, I want to spend time with you doing what I want to do. I mean, every parent's drama in their life, uh huh, I feel that deep. All right, so that's, that's the way those are really cute. I think that's my favorite one so far.
Speaker 1:Ok, so that was three weird toys. Three, three weird toys. I can't wait to show you. I'm just gonna show you the picture of the next one and then we're gonna talk about it, because I wonder if I'm gonna know it, because the weird ass toy label that we keep saying just takes on a whole new meaning with this next toy. Oh, are you ready? Yes, okay, I'm just gonna show you the picture and let you show me the picture. Oh, oh, no, okay, guys.
Speaker 1:So what I just showed, katie, was a toy. That was an ET light up finger. All right, et, like the movie. And this rare toy. It's rare, yeah, and I'll tell you why. It's all the reasons you think, katie, first of all describe what this is, what this looks like to you. Just go'll tell you why. It's all the reasons you think, katie, first of all describe what this is, what this looks like to you. Just go ahead and describe it. Well, so it's a very long plastic finger by itself and which you know is very phallic looking in nature. Can you see the details of it up close? Let me look. Let me look. Oh, it's veiny and wrinkly, ooh, and it comes to like a tip, yes, like it's not all the same size, correct? So I need you all to pause whatever you're doing right now and Google ET light up finger so you know what we're talking about. Yes, go ahead and pause and you have yourself, because you have to have the visual, yes, while we're chatting.
Speaker 1:So, like I was saying, this rare toy was only on the market for a few months in 1982. It came out after the movie was released in theaters. Um, it was produced by um, a toy company called Knickerbocker, which also makes it funny. Yes, um, and basically it's just what Katie said. It was a by a toy company called Knickerbocker, which also makes it funny. Yes, and basically it's just what Katie said. It was a long rubbery plastic finger. It was very long, but it also lit up at the end. Oh, my Lord, because, for those of you who know, in ET, his finger lit up at the end right and he had very long fingers. He did. He was an extraterrestrial, as they have, as they have, as ETs have Katie's just very practical. Yes, he was an extraterrestrial.
Speaker 1:Well, I have a lot of questions, but I'm going to listen to what you have to say first. So let me, let me. I don't have a lot of info about this and I'll see why. So I literally could not find much about this toy. When I tell you, I spent like an hour and a half trying to find stuff. What I could find was on collector sites and then people just talking about how hilarious and inappropriate this toy was on Reddit and blogs and podcasts and stuff. We did have this in my house. Oh, you had this. Oh, yes, we did Wow. Oh, you had this. Oh, yes, we did Wow.
Speaker 1:It eventually was redesigned to be an entire hand and not just a finger, which also seems a little. I was trying to figure out if that would be better. At least it's in context, but it's still weird. Still weird, right, and it's probably for all the reasons we suspect. There's no official statement saying this looks like, what it looks like. You can find one on eBay for $150 in a damaged box, no, thanks.
Speaker 1:So I have one piece of random trivia that we'll talk about after, but let's just dig into why this is so funny. I mean, guys, it looks like a sex toy, it does like. I'm fairly certain you could walk into the adult store and buy something that looks like this exactly and probably one that lights up. Probably, probably, uh, yes, and it's just like the like phallic stuff aside, it's just there's no context. It's like a floating finger. Well, I guess it's like it's for pretend play, obviously.
Speaker 1:So is it supposed to be like a magic wand? No, do you remember the movie? Yes, but what does this do? Yes, he points his finger and it lights up. That's basically it. It's supposed to be like pretend play. Like you're pretending to be ET, so you put your finger in there. You're pretending to be ET, so you put your finger in there. That sounded really bad, but, yes, so looking at the picture, I thought you just held it. You just hold it. I mean I'm sure people did. But you're saying you slip it onto your finger and you pretend you're ET. Yes, well, that at least makes sense. But can you imagine the hilarity of what else could be done with this finger? Oh no, I just can't. It's so funny. It's the worst idea. Who's the worst? How many people did this have to be approved by before it hit shelves? I don't know Dozens, and it was literally. It was only on the market for a few months. A few months, yeah, yeah, before I got pulled. Oh man, that's so funny. That is the funniest one. It is hilarious.
Speaker 1:Knickerbocker and the ET light up finger toy I love it. Or a toy when, depending on how, maybe they were like we know what it looks like, let's do it. I mean, maybe somebody was just like fuck everybody, I'm selling this. I mean yes, and like the licensing was really getting at its all time peak in the 80s. So maybe it's like literally just slap a license on everything and try to sell it. We'll see what happens. I mean the thoughts. I mean you should go on Reddit and read some of the stuff people wrote. I'm going to fall in a rabbit hole later. It's hilarious. Like I was dying laughing because it was like people.
Speaker 1:Somebody started a thread and was like who remembers this toy? And all these responses were like I can't. I remember my teenage siblings cracking up laughing. When I opened this on Christmas morning I had no idea why. Like later, you're like oh, and then somebody was like yeah, I wondered why my teenage sister stole this toy. Oh, my God, I can't Dead dead on the ground guys. Okay, anyway, that's the most inappropriate one that I found, but also weird. So here's a random piece of trivia, though I found when I went down this weird hole oh, that does All right, we're just going to let that sit there.
Speaker 1:So ET, did you know the full? First of all, the full title of the movie is ET the Extraterrestrial. I think I did know that. Oh, you did, I didn't know that. Okay, well, good for you.
Speaker 1:So ET the extraterrestrial movie poster. You know, if you can, as soon as I say, you'll know what I'm talking about, where it's Elliot's finger and his finger touching. That poster idea was inspired by Michelangelo's painting the Creation of Adam. Oh, yeah, okay, we have a print of that at my house, right? I never put that together. And the guy who came up with the poster, he used his daughter's hand as the uh, as like prototype model or whatever. Oh, so that's a good poster. It is, yeah, not a great toy, but that is a good poster and a great movie, by the way. But I never put two and two together with that whole image. But then once I read it, I was like, oh yeah, duh, you like see it. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Also, like I don't know, I don't know, people touching fingers isn't like the only thing in Michelangelo's painting. I mean, is that a common thing? Want to try? Nope, not. After that, I just mean like I don't think it's weird that you didn't put it on. You want to try touching fingers. I can't with this, we're done. Maybe we should try it another time. Okay, moving on. Oh my God, I don't know why we're done. Maybe we should try it another time. Okay, moving on. Oh my God, I don't know why. I asked you that. Where else have you seen touching fingers? Maybe I'm just thinking of ET, I have no idea. I feel like I'm going to find some. You're just going to get rapid fire texts later of moments With people touching fingers. I'm dead on the ground, okay, anyway. Okay, so, moving on from that inappropriate moment, hopefully we're y'all are still with us, I don't know.
Speaker 1:So there's this other toy. Katie, you had brothers, so I don't know, you may have had these in your house. There was a thing called mad balls. Oh my God. Also inappropriate, possibly, possibly just the title. But tell me, describe what you're seeing right here. Yes, so they. I mean, I don't know how big they are, but they look like. They're maybe like palm-sized balls, literal sporting balls. They look rubber and they have different designs One's like an eyeball with red veins and one looks like maybe a mummy, and they have kind of scary or I'd say, like macabre themes. Good, very good description. So I'll read you an official description of what Madballs are. Okay, they were a series of toy, rubber or foam, collectible bouncing balls and they were about the size you said.
Speaker 1:They were originally created by Amtoy, which, ironically, was a subsidiary. No, how do I say that word? Subsidiary? What did I say? Not that I don't know. All right, that company of American greetings, oh, which we talked about before the gummy bears, that was like care bears, strawberry shortcake, yeah, in the mid eighties, and then later being revived by a company called art asylum in 2007 and just play in 2017. So they've kind of come and gone a few times.
Speaker 1:Okay, american Greetings noticed that the success during this time of the Garbage Pail Kids trading cards remember those Uh-huh, and those were designed by Topps, which I didn't know. Did you know that? I did not know that, yeah, and Topps is like the big one that does, like the baseball cards and all that. Okay, yeah, yeah. So American greetings wanted, um, a toy to appeal to boys again, gender stereotypes, stereotypes here Yep, um, to match their success with their toys for quote, unquote girls, which is, care bearers are very shortcake at the time. Okay, so they.
Speaker 1:So they saw the Garbage Pail Kids cards which, for those of you that don't know, they were these trading cards that were like this spin on Cabbage Patch Kids and they were gross. Like I almost talked about those, but I just didn't feel like it. So you're like I almost did, but then I didn't want to. I just didn't want to and I'm like they're not that weird, like they're not that weird. So I mean they were, but like whatever, um, so they designed these balls, uh, and trading cards aren't really toys, true, so I wanted to keep it to toys, um, but the mad balls had these grotesque faces and then each was given like a character synopsis and a weird name. Okay, but their slogan was are you ready for this? Oh, my god, I don know. Freaky fun for everyone. Oh, no, come on 80s, come on 80s. Oh, you can bounce these grotesque balls. Wow, freaky fun for everyone with Madballs. All right, madballs, all right.
Speaker 1:So there were two series of the original Madball toys. There were eight in each series and we're going to talk about some of the names because it's super fun. Later on, there were also Super Madballs, which were bigger versions, and they were shaped like sports balls, like footballs. So the football one was called Touchdown Terror, the soccer ball was Goal Eater, and then basketball was foul shot. Okay, but here we go, the original series Madballs.
Speaker 1:I'm going to tell you the names and their description. Okay, ready? Yes, everybody, get your imagination hat on. Screamin' Mimi was a screaming baseball with a large tongue. Okay, slobulous, oh my God. Slobulous was a drooling green creature with one eye hanging out of its socket, which you saw. I saw. That one, yeah, arg, was a one-eyed blue skin. Frankenstein monster-esque creature was stitching all over its face. They got so creative with his name. Um, horn head was a horn cyclops with a nose ring. Dust brain was a mummy with rotting teeth and wrinkly teal skin. Love it. Oculus Orbis was a bloodshot eyeball which you also saw. Skullface was guess what? A skull with large eye sockets sporting tiny red eyes, a big set of teeth and partially exposed brain. Bashbrain was a gory zombie head with a partially exposed brain.
Speaker 1:This one originally was named crackhead, oh, but later renamed bash brain due to the unpleasant connotations of crackhead as a slang term for a crack cocaine addict. Well, why did they name it crackhead in the first place? Because there was a crack in its head, oh, like, literally. That's why they did that. But this was the 80s. Yeah, and just say no was a huge thing. Yeah, nancy Reagan, let's not make like.
Speaker 1:A toy targeted for kids called this. So they renamed it to bash brain, which, in my opinion, is more creative. Anyway, yeah, I like that way better, because I mean calling something crack, yeah, just cause there's a crack in the head. Come on, not very so. Anyway, I just had to tell you all the names. Some of those names are cute, and I don't even mind ARG, because it's like I don't even mind it. It's fine, because ARG made me think of pirate, but then when you described it, it was Frankenstein and I was like, okay, yeah, it kind of took me a different direction. That was a fun little adventure. I like that. I like ARG. That's good one. I like that one. All right, I don't have a lot about this.
Speaker 1:The toy line expanded, of course, into a comic book series Two straight to home video animated cartoons. Yep, what did the balls become? The beings they were, or was it literal Like it was? It was like Killer Tomatoes yeah, they, oh, I guess I don't know they it was. It was like killer tomatoes yeah, they, oh, I guess I don't know they were. It was cartoons. Yeah, um, they had their. They had trapper keepers designed with madballs and they had a computer game not not ever like a console video game, but like a pc game. Okay, um, in 2017, just play joined together with oddbot studios to produce madball animated shorts for youtube and you can find them on there, okay, okay, I'm going to check that out. They are not great, but still look it up.
Speaker 1:When I'm reading my ET light up finger Reddit threads, I'll just play those in the background. If you're looking for a fun activity to do while you're chilling over Christmas break, pour you a glass of wine and look up some of this stuff and have a little giggle, because it is very fun. But anyway, so did your brothers have any of these? They do not look familiar. You don't remember these. I don't remember these at all.
Speaker 1:So you remember my picture of my little friend Alicia down the street that we saw with the glowworms? She had an older brother named Chris, who wasn't, I want to say he was maybe a year and a half older than us. There wasn't too much of an age gap, maybe two years, if that and he had a bunch of these, oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure he used to throw them at us. Uh, probably. So see, remember how I said my parents didn't like, like undead stuff. So I bet my brothers weren't allowed to have these, probably not even like the eyeball or because you know, lame. I know I could be wrong. I'm guessing you didn't have an ET light up. Oh no, I mean I didn't. But yeah, who knows what mom had, who knows, or dad. I'm just saying, all right, moving on, inappropriate. Okay, this is my last one. Oh, really, yeah, they're kind of cute. Okay, it's also getting close to lunchtime, so maybe I'm just like, maybe I'm just having a connection with that slice of pizza.
Speaker 1:Okay, so what Katie is talking about are some action figures called food fighters. Now, I have to say this is probably the most innovative one that I found, and these are kind of like a cult classic. They weren't very successful when they came out in the appropriate time period, but they're kind of hard to find, oh, okay. So anyway, I do remember these because I remember their commercial, which happens a lot with the 80s. Let me explain to you what these are. So, katie, you see the picture, actually, you explain what you see, and then I'll give you the official explanation. Right, so they look like little. You know what they remind me of are the california raisins.
Speaker 1:Plastic figurines, yes, that you could like move around on different, like stages and stuff. That's what they kind of look like, but there's different ones. So there's like a like a humanized hamburger, hot dog, I think. I think I see fries, maybe a cookie? Uh-huh, what's the purple thing? Um, that's a taco. It is, oh, no, that's oh this. No, yeah, that's a donut. What about that ice cream? Oh, that's ice cream. Okay, yeah, I think the colors are just off. The colors are off, yeah, but, um, but basically they're standing on two feet. They're like standing upright like a human being would, but like their torso is then the food, and then they have like eyes and arms, and can you also see they have jacked up arms. Yeah, yeah, okay, oh, they're strong, yeah, oh, I see it now. So Food Fighters Keep that in mind Makes sense.
Speaker 1:So Food Fighters was an action figure line released by Mattel in 1988. Okay, it was based on the concept of a food fight Ah, get it. Concept of a food fight, get it, yes. And the figures were all different types of anthropomorphic. Look at me saying big words everybody food dressed in military gear. So they're in military gear. Yeah, if you look, they got combat boots on, they have some kind of hat, they have like helmets. See how they have green and they have different color, and I'll tell you why that is in a minute. Each figure was made of soft rotocasted vinyl which I don't know what rotocasted mean Similar to a squeaky toy with hard plastic limbs. So their body was kind of like malleable, I guess, but their limbs were like hard plastic, like regular action figures. Okay, each figure had a small hand weapon and removable backpack resembling accessories from GI Joe. Okay, okay, got it.
Speaker 1:So food fighters had 10 figures, three vehicles and an unproduced playset. Never got produced because they did not do well. The characters were divided into two armies. Okay, the protagonist kitchen commandos and the antagonist, refrigerator rejects. Oh my god. Oh, there's a whole backstory here.
Speaker 1:Um, so the tagline on the figures packaging read combat at its kookiest. I mean, yes, I don't know that. If I was making this toy, that's what I would use as a tagline. What would you use? Oh gosh, I mean, they're trying to sell these as like tough action figures, right, or are they not? Are they trying to make them like less tough? I mean, they're in freaking combat boots. I'm pretty sure they were confused. Okay, fair enough, because they're funny but supposed to be tough at the same time, which you can be Like. I wouldn't use the word kooky if I was trying to sell the toy as a tough toy. That's what I mean. But you can be kooky and tough, well, yeah, but do you think you would? You have five, you got to pick. They have four words in their slogan. You would use kookiest as one of them. If you're true, that's all I'm saying. True, seems it does, but again, that's what we're talking about. It fits with the vibe today, it fits. So I'm going to tell you all the names of the figures in each brigade or whatever, yes, and explain to you what they are. It's going to be a good, fun trip. Here we go.
Speaker 1:So the kitchen commandos wore black boots, green clothing and carried red weapons All right, okay, green clothing and carried red weapons All right, okay. And the kitchen commandos you had burger, dear general, who was a cheeseburger. You had major munch, which was a donut, available with chocolate glaze or cherry Okay, all right. You had Lieutenant leg, which was a chicken drumstick oh, I love that much. Sergeant scoop was an ice cream cone, available as chocolate, or Sherbert Okay, just saying, I know, private pizza was a slice of pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Interesting choice, uh, the combat carton, which was an egg carton with a ketchup bottle. Cannon, that had tomato slice and pepperoni projectiles, what? Because they each had three.
Speaker 1:They had three vehicles, right. So this is one of the vehicles. Oh, sorry, I should have. Combat carton is a vehicle. Yeah, got it. The fry chopper was a frying pan helicopter with spatula blades. That's cute.
Speaker 1:And then Fort fridge, um, which was the kitchen commandos refrigerator base, which was the one thing that was unreleased. Dang yeah, it was huge, so it never was released. You can't find pictures of it. I didn't put one here just because I just didn't. You can or can't, you can, you can, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:So then the refrigerator rejects. They had brown boots, black clothing and carried blue weapons. Okay, you ready for these? Yes, you had Maine Wiener, which was a hot dog, of course. Chip the Ripper, a chocolate chip cookie, also available as a macadamia nut cookie, I don't know. Okay, of all the cookies, short Stack was a stack of pancakes, available with maple syrup or blueberry. You had Taco Terror, obviously a taco, that's pretty much it. Fat Frenchie, french fries. And then the barbecue bomber was a barbecue grill armed with a spatula catapult. That was the vehicle for those. Oh, I love it, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I think it's odd that some have options and some don't. I know what made them be like? Ok, so for the pancakes we have to have two syrup options and for the ice cream? I mean, ice cream I kind of get, but but it's like not all of them have options, right? So how did you pick, like the pizza one, I could have had like 10 options if you wanted. And mushrooms, like for kids, come on. Well, maybe they were trying to tell them to eat vegetables. Maybe these had a moral compass. I don't think that was one of their ideas, probably not.
Speaker 1:I just noticed the mug I grabbed from Katie's cupboard says swim on it. So I don't know why I picked that one. Sorry, it was just. If you're watching on YouTube, you're like, why does Zannie have that mug? I don't know, why do you have this mug? Wow, that's going to put me on the spot. So the short story is um, someone gave it to me, um, but also like I don't think of it as like physically swimming. It's like a when you like feel like you're drowning, or like Dory, just keep swimming. So I use that mug when I'm like having a rough go of it.
Speaker 1:I was just wondering if you had a secret history of competitive swimming. I'm not a competitive swimmer, but I'm a pretty good swimmer. I like swimming. Well, you can save me because I'm a horrible swimmer. Anyway, that was random.
Speaker 1:So back to food fighters. In 1989, mattel and Collegeville costumes released three rare food fighters Halloween costumes. Cute, which three? I had it marked down and then I it went away, I don't know. One of them, I think, was the donut, okay, okay. But here's the sad part Due to the lines, overall poor sales, food fighters were commonly sold at small discount store chains like Hills or Ben Franklin, which I've never heard of Me either, I don't know and they were only made for about a year, so they didn't quite make it.
Speaker 1:I am surprised that these didn't do well, yeah, but you know, I think it was probably just in the 80s, there was a lot of stuff like this. So you know, it just couldn't hold up to like the gi joes and, yeah, transformers kind of thrown into the abyss of the everything, yeah, and also, like there's so many options, I feel like maybe it would have done better if it was like a smaller amount of things. Yeah, like, and then if you do well, you add on. I mean, 80s was the age of excess, right, it was, I don't know. So you don't remember these at all. No, I think they're cool.
Speaker 1:This might be well, this one and the what was secret friends secrets? Oh, sweet, secret friends, secret, sweet secrets. And, um, what is this one called food, food Fighters? Food Fighters, sweet Secrets and Food Fighters have been my favorite too, so far that I think like even now I would like play with and I would have as a kid. Oh, I know what that's high praise, that is. That's amazing, I mean. I remember again the friend I had just spoke about. I think her brother had these I had just spoke about. I think her brother had these. I could be wrong, it may have been. I had a lot of friends with, with brothers. Um, definitely saw these being played with somewhere, but I did not have them myself. Now these are like, because they are they.
Speaker 1:They were not produced for a very long time, they are very rare, so they're hard to find. Oh, g ones collector versions, because there just aren't that many, yeah, so if you find them cool, I did find one collector in my, in my rabbit hole research time that had a 3d printer and he, like made his own versions of them, which was really cool. That's fun, yeah, and they were expensive, but I mean, his artistry was amazing. So can't remember now who it was because I didn't copy the link, but it was really neat. So anyway, that brings us to the end. Those were really good, those were fun.
Speaker 1:Some of them were like instant iconic memories, some, I swear, I've never heard of or seen in my whole life, and some you don't care to ever see. But, like food fighters, I'm so glad I know about these. Now I know right, even if they're, I'll never own one. Maybe Never, say never.
Speaker 1:I'm interested to see if any of our listeners had some of these more rare toys. Yeah, if you had any of these, let us know, because, uh, or tell us some. We for, like, we didn't mention, cause there's plenty that I didn't go into. Like you said, the age of excess, there was more toys than we could ever cover, right, so I'm sure there's some. If, if there's any you had or still have that now you're like huh, what's, what's the deal with this toy, tell us about it. Even younger people like I mean 90s, early 2000s, there's some weird oh god too. And well, we're gonna do more toy episodes. Yeah, because they're really fun. They are fun and they are fun to look back on and I seriously could not stop laughing.
Speaker 1:The et finger reddit threads are priceless. Oh, my computer just said, no, we're done. She back um, but anyway, that brings us to the end, guys, all right, yeah, that was awesome. Good research, that was really fun. Yeah, yeah, I I'm I feel like I'm are you enlightened? Minorly traumatized from the et light up finger, but I think I'll be able to process. I mean, I think, past it.
Speaker 1:Probably a lot of people, I think all our listeners are like wow, I did not sign up for that today. However, however, hopefully they have a good laugh. I know that's all we can ask. Above all else, we hope we at least make you giggle, exactly. So, anyway, share us with your friends and family of all generations. Oh, katie, I was going to have you say that and I'm just saying it. Oh, okay, here we go. Please share us with your friends and family of all generations. What better thing to binge on during your holiday travel? This year, we have over 80 episodes now, guys. Wow, that's a lot. That's a lot. Tons of random topics. So give us a like. Follow our socials. Please give us that five-star rating wherever you're listening.
Speaker 1:You can also hop on over to Patreon. Another podcast I listened to said like, like some of their new patron listeners are, it was like a christmas gift someone gave them. Oh, so, like, ask for a year of patron patronage. Patreon membership, I don't know, or apple membership from your family. If you can't think of something else you want for christ, that's a good one. Or give it to someone else, or go buy some of our merch. Or go buy some of our merch yes, it's good stuff. At generationinbetweencom, you can check all that out. It's underscore, not merch. Here's what you do, guys. You type W-W-W. Oh, stop. No, it's okay, it's okay. I'm'm gonna let you guys figure the rest of that out on your own. Um, and yes, just in, honestly, just telling one person about us would be the best christmas gift ever so. Good, we would love it, and we'll be back with a little bit more christmas and end of the year content for you before we launch into 2025 wild um. So thanks as always for listening, guys, and we'll see you soon. See you soon, bye.
