Shell’s No-Pest Strip.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 03:21 (one year ago) link
didn't know the official brand but yes
― joygoat, Friday, 9 September 2022 18:41 (one year ago) link
I tried to find a picture of those hanging wooden-colored boxes, with holes on each side.. that were supposed to kill bugs.. but no luck
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 18:42 (one year ago) link
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0d/62/b6/0d62b606d8f3db955e8945d75e35919c.jpg
there we go
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 18:51 (one year ago) link
Oh god yes, memories
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 18:53 (one year ago) link
Always thought the design was supposed to evoke one of the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe they couldn't come out and say so lest they offend the good people of Rice-A-Roni.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 19:05 (one year ago) link
I feel like they were browner in real life but it was probably just my grandparent smoking constantly that made them look that way
― joygoat, Friday, 9 September 2022 19:30 (one year ago) link
'Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat!'
Supposed to be Chinatown-meets-North Beach, but the family that started the brand were Armenian, who actually rule California.. it's based on some Armenian pilaf dish
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 19:32 (one year ago) link
xpost yeah, I remember them sort of danish modern brown
Hamburger Helper
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 19:34 (one year ago) link
As if hamburger needs any 'help'
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 19:36 (one year ago) link
My mom used to broil the shit out of hamburgers, so the Helper was a welcome respite.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 19:45 (one year ago) link
Reminds me now of “Shake n’ Bake…and we helped!”
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 19:50 (one year ago) link
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4Cq7lJFeQ0/UsGdUjblvpI/AAAAAAAAJMs/nE89ZRU5NGI/s1600/DSC_6399.JPG
Okay my parents would never allow this kind of kitsch in the house, but the semi-trashy family across the road had one
They also had a weed box with a Pablo Cruise sticker on it, and Fleetwood Mac albums
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:01 (one year ago) link
Oh hell yeah
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/WEBP_402378-T2/images/I/610fZxe-MAL._AC_SX522_.jpg
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:08 (one year ago) link
Wasn't Hamburger Helper making an inflation-era "stretch the family budget" sales pitch? I don't think anyone involved really thought it truly improved upon eating a hamburger.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:10 (one year ago) link
The oldest ad I could find was This one from 1974, which focused on the culinary aspects.
By 1979, the pitch had changed to stretching the family budget.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:14 (one year ago) link
Fascinating!
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:16 (one year ago) link
Why have steak when you can have Hamburger Helper lol
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:18 (one year ago) link
OMG
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:20 (one year ago) link
I always thought the Hidden Valley packets kinda weird.. like, why make your own salad dressing when you can just buy a bottle of it?
But maybe it was a part of that family budget thing
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:21 (one year ago) link
A kids bed frame with assorted Wacky Packages stickers pasted to the headboard.
― henry s, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:30 (one year ago) link
^this! Not me, but lots of my friends
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:31 (one year ago) link
Definitely me
― henry s, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:33 (one year ago) link
I had a bunch of the stickers with the Marvel characters saying funny things.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:35 (one year ago) link
https://townsquare.media/site/622/files/2010/04/500xmarvels2.jpg
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:36 (one year ago) link
I was always fascinated by but uneasy about the 1970's Ghost Rider
Damn those stickers look familiar, maybe my sister's 'antiqued' dresser
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:39 (one year ago) link
same with Cyrillic lettering
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:42 (one year ago) link
1970s Ghost Rider was intense: he was the result of a literal deal with Satan. Plus, there was Mike Ploog's art, which was heavily influenced by the work of Berni Wrightson, who has to be the creepiest mainstream comics artist ever.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:43 (one year ago) link
*Bernie
I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be Peter Fonda
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:58 (one year ago) link
Jeez I would
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 21:11 (one year ago) link
oh yeah but i had mine stuck all over my desk.
― that's not my post, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:21 (one year ago) link
My friends also had on their bedroom doors and maybe some other doors as well.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 22:25 (one year ago) link
let's see if this works
https://wacky-packages.fandom.com/wiki/Hamburger_Blecher?file=03_Hamburger_Blecher.jpg
― that's not my post, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:26 (one year ago) link
well, this will take you to an image of hamburger belcher: https://wacky-packages.fandom.com/wiki/Hamburger_Blecher?file=03_Hamburger_Blecher.jpg
― that's not my post, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:27 (one year ago) link
sloppy joes
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:47 (one year ago) link
Manwich
― henry s, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:50 (one year ago) link
A stash of unsold Grit newspapers that some gullible kid thought would earn him enough money to buy a spy camera.
― henry s, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:58 (one year ago) link
fuck I tried to sell Grit and sold one to my aunt
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 23:07 (one year ago) link
Jesus, it still exists: DIY CHIGGER BITE RELIEF
https://www.grit.com/
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 23:08 (one year ago) link
Wow many things on this thread are extremely familiar. There's just one mention of the big chunky remote controls, but we had one of these. We actually inherited it when my grandparents were killed in a car accident — before that we just had a little black and white TV, but then they died and we got their color TV with an actual remote control. It confirmed my sense that my grandparents (who lived far away and I rarely saw) lived lives of great luxury.
https://compote.slate.com/images/eacaab7b-bdc7-4097-8bab-74107d1c0707.jpg
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 9 September 2022 23:40 (one year ago) link
NB: YMP was the first to mention Hamburger Helper and Rice-A-Rona upthread, but this is the kind of list thread where multiple entries are fine, especially since they are usually recontextualized.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 00:05 (one year ago) link
Lol at typo
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 9 September 2022 23:40 (yesterday) link
OMG, these things - I actually had a thrilling rush of sensory memories at that picture. My grandparents had one too.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Saturday, 10 September 2022 01:36 (one year ago) link
The ka-CHUNK was very satisfying.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Saturday, 10 September 2022 01:51 (one year ago) link
I probably posted something like this upthread, but the original design of the remote (Zenith’s Space Command, specifically) always fascinated me. Tiny hammers hit tiny sound-producing rods!https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenith_Electronics#Remote_controls
Lead engineer Robert Adler then suggested that ultrasonic sound be used as a trigger mechanism. This was produced in the hand held unit by mechanically struck aluminum rods of carefully constructed dimensions—a receiver in the television responded to the different frequencies this action produced. Enough audible noise was produced by pressing the buttons that consumers began calling remote controls "clickers". The miniaturization of electronics meant that, eventually, the sounds were produced in the remote unit electronically; however, the operating principle remained in use until the 1980s, when it was superseded by the infrared light system.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 10 September 2022 10:50 (one year ago) link
Yes, you mentioned on the second day of this thread’s existence, as a follow-up to your massive console TV post.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 14:43 (one year ago) link
Well that technology background was certainly new! And totally unknown to me.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 10 September 2022 14:55 (one year ago) link
Yes. The new information was very welcome.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 14:55 (one year ago) link