You Are What You Were. Celebrate Retro Pop Culture At Retroland.
While most soda companies tend to downplay their caffeine content, a new product popped up in the 80s that not only didn't shy away from mentioning the chemical, but proudly touted its enormous quantities on the side of every can. Jolt was a cola with a purpose, offering twice the stimulation for anyone who looked to soda for a quick pick-me-up.
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Has anyone ever actually stopped to contemplate what he or she would be willing to do for a Klondike Bar? Perhaps only in the commercials, for most of us are fortunate to have a plentiful supply in the local frozen foods aisle. Why jump through hoops when you can simply toss a six-pack of the delightful, stick-less ice cream bars into your cart. And that’s exactly what millions of people have been doing for decades. It’s but a small price to pay to sink your teeth into one of those foil-wrapped delicacies, adorned with a familiar picture of the smiling polar bear wearing a red scarf.
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Few soft drinks share the pop culture significance of an ice-cold pitcher of Kool-Aid. A staple of summertime for literally generations of tykes, it is also a favorite among parents for it costs mere pennies per serving and is so easy to make - any youngster can whip up a batch on their own in just a few minutes - providing a perfect refreshment after a hard day's play.
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You might as well just admit it. You aren’t alone and it doesn’t make you a bad person. You open the pantry door and notice that crackers are in short supply. Undaunted, you grab the can of spray cheese, pause to look over your shoulder and make sure that nobody is watching you. Throwing caution (and calorie counting) to the wind, you tilt your head back, open wide, and let loose with an injection of cheesy goodness. You’re not the first to display this lack of self-control and you won’t be the last; the can just has a sort of hypnotic hold on you.
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There once was a faraway place called McDonaldland, inhabited by a clown named Ronald and all of his pals. And one of their collective talents just happened to be making some darned tasty cookies, McDonaldland Cookies. Sure, they may have tasted much like an ordinary animal cracker, but the residents of McDonaldland provided their likenesses. And for a kid making a coveted trip to McDonalds in the 70s and 80s, these were a must have finale to every meal.
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Perhaps no other product in fast food history has been as simultaneously ridiculed and revered as the infamous McDonald's McRib sandwich. But while this decidedly unique barbeque-sauce-laden treat has certainly been the brunt of many a comedian's routine, the limited availability of the product brings out hordes of fans each and every time it is reintroduced. Let's look back and see what all the fuss is about.
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Most Americans got their first look at Laurence Tureaud (aka: Mr T.) in 1982, when the brawny, mohawk-laden former bouncer appeared in Rocky IV, as Rocky Balboa's formidable boxing opponent, Clubber Lang. Kids took notice of the T-man the following year, when he appeared as B.A. "Bad Attitude" Baracus on the hugely-succesful television series, The A-Team. It didn't take long for network execs to realize his pre-teen popularity and give him his own Saturday morning cartoon series the same year, Mr. T. And right on cue, Quaker Oats introduced a crunchy, sweetened corn cereal, shaped in little "T" shapes, which they simply dubbed Mr. T. cereal.
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There are a number of candies that just seem like they have always been here. And that's because their invention far exceeds any of our lifespans. And if you ever wanted to know what the oldest continually-produced candy in America is, look no further than those powdery quarter-shaped wafers, known the world over as Necco.
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Perhaps one of the darkest days in soft drink history occurred on April 23, 1985, when a true American icon was altered beyond all recognition. Yes, this is the day that Coca-cola announced to the world that it was changing its formula. And for traditionalists, It's a day that will live in infamy.
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At the end of the 1960s, technology was advancing at a breathtaking pace; changing the way we lived, giving us hope for the future. No, we’re not referring to the Apollo space program. We’re talking about the far more significant invention of the stick-less popsicle. You probably know these colorful treats by one of two names, Fla-Vor-Ice, or the more common Otter Pops.
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