Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Musical cereal --


Ever have one of those moments where something hits you totally out of the blue and you don't have a clue why? That happened to me yesterday. I was on my bed, sniffing and trying to breathe from this dumb cold, when all of a sudden I thought about records on cereal boxes. Yeah, records on cereal boxes. Some of you might be too young to remember these. When I was growing up in the 70s, cereal for kids was a big deal. We didn't pick the cereal for the cereal. We picked our cereals for the free toy that was being offered in the box. I guess kids still do that today, but it seemed like it was a bigger deal back then. Maybe it was just to me.

I remember cereal companies printed records on the back of the boxes. For those of you who are totally lost, records played music. Before there were CDs, there were cassettes. Before there were cassettes, there were 8-track tapes. Before there were 8-track tapes, there were records. Records came in two sizes -- 33s and 45s. The 45s were the small ones, like you'd see in old jukeboxes, but the records on cereal boxes were usually 33s. Anyway, just out of the blue yesterday, these old records popped into my mind. I asked Rick if he remembered records on cereal boxes and he said he did. That made me feel better because, for awhile, I thought I was having some kind of senior moment. Cereal companies really did print records on their boxes. The funny thing is -- they worked! I can't remember any specific ones I had, but I looked online and found some samples here. I'm pretty sure I had The Sugar Bears one that's shown there.

Wow -- talk about a blast from the past!

15 comments:

  1. I think times were different. Kids didn't have Ipods, computers, video games, cellphones that could do everything but make your lunch, etc.

    We had cereal box toys and got excited about getting. . . anything.

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  2. Definitely not a senior moment, but man, did you just send me back to my childhood!

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  3. By the way, sorry if anyone tried to see this earlier and couldn't. I thought I might have had a virus or that the Internet was possessed, so I had to take the picture down for a minute. Everytime I went to edit it, a million O's appeared. Turns out it wasn't demons -- just my O was stuck. WHEW!

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  4. LOL @ your O! I remember those and getting really excited about toys in cereal boxes. My favorite cereal was Quisp! I think they're making in again, but it's hard to find. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Kinda dates us a bit doesn't it? heehee

    Nancy

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  5. I don't think I've seen those. I do wish I still had my 45's, though!

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  6. I think I remember this, but it is a very vague memory. I do remember records. Our family truckster had the 8 track player in it. Boy did I think I was so cool when my mom would let me put the 8 track in. Yes back in the day when a child rode in the front seat with no seat belt. That was a blast from the past Rena! I was walking through the grocery section of Target the other day when the Honey Nut Cheerios caught my eye. The design on the box was from the 70's.
    Erin

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  7. Wow- for once I can honestly say that this is before my time! I really don't remember records in cereal boxes (though I certainly remember 33's... and I even have some 78's as well!)

    But now you have made me think of all the sugary sweet cereals that I had as a kid- my poor deprived kids get cheerios. But I had ... Count Chockula - remember that stuff? The milk was brown by the time you were finished. Wow - now I look back and can't believe I actually ate it. (hmmm and wonder if I can still buy it!) hee hee

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  8. I never got a cereal box with a record on it. I must be deprived.

    Tracy beat me too it though, there were 3 sizes of record: 78, 33, 45.
    My father had quite a collection of 78s where I first heard some of the greats, like Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa.

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  9. Oh wow, 78s! Forgot about those. And the records were part of the box, not inside the box. You literally had to cut them out.

    Tracy -- You can still buy Count Chockula here, along with Boo Berry and Frankenberry. They sell them at Walmart, often year round.

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  10. Sadly, I remember those.

    But I remember loving them!

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  11. I'd buy them if they had records. I miss records. I don't know why. We - a class - had a huge debate back in the late 80s when CDs came out with a professor of mine about what was better. He played us a digital and then an analog recording trying to show through hearing how analog rounds out sounds whereas digital flattens them. There aren't peaks but plateaus in the way the sound comes across. I don't know if the record industries ever changed that, and I don't know if I'd hear the difference today, but I often wonder about it.

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  12. OMG, I used to love those. I was always amazed that they actually worked. Thanks for the memories!

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  13. I remember these records on cereal boxes...had a few of them myself...I hadn't thought about them in years...grin..

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  14. Oh crap, I'm old enough to remember but young enough to still have my memory.

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