Remember when...

T

Toby G

Joined
Jun 14, 2010
Messages
23
Does anyone else remember buying little pen knives for bubble bum machines when they were a kid. I'm certain I bought them when I lived in Texas but I live in Chicago now and when I mentioned this to a friend he looked at me like there was horn growing out of my head.

They were cheap little one or two blade jacks with plastic handles about 1 1/4 inches long, probably from Japan or Hong Kong. I think they were 50 cents.
 
Hi,

I can't ever recall seeing pocket knives in a machine, but we could get "near-beer" for 20 cents a bottle out of a soda pop machine.:D:D

I think it must have been a regional thing. Different distributors had different things. I do remember seeing the occasional display cards with tiny, cheap slippies. A few weeks ago, my brother and I were reminiscing about a small country store. He remembers talking Grandpa out of one of those once. I never had one of those though.

dalee
 
I recall the standup cardboard display near the cash register. They all had white cracked ice looking handles, and you could buy them litterally for pocket change.
The up shot of it all was, they had very thin carbon steel blades that actually got really sharp.
 
I think this one originally had a key ring on the end of the chain.
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(As usual, cat fur included in scan to show scale:))
 
Berkley, I remember those. What a great little memento!
 
I think this one is from the same maker as Berkley's:

baby_pea.jpg


A baby peanut, in MOTS, both blades have half stops. The chain and keyring broke off. I remember these in the quarter "Acorn" vending machines, and came in a bigger clear plastic bubble that snapped apart.

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Something like this. I can still see the rack as you went out the door. One more spot after the cereal aisle where a kid could throw one last tantrum.
 
Jog my memory. Yes I remember those. Also candy ciggarettes. Those were better times. Before Political correctness.
 
coop1957 said:
Jog my memory. Yes I remember those. Also candy cigarettes. Those were better times. Before Political correctness.
Click to expand...

Funny you mention that. My wife and I kept each other up half the night a few days back listing all the old candy and candy companies we could remember from our youth. We laughed so hard we were near crying by the time we were done. (Don't forget the small wax coke bottles with the food dye syrup inside. :p)
 
Funny, but I think I remember seeing those tiny pocket knives in the gumball machines(what I used to call them when I was younger) at a local A&P. This was back in the mid to late 80's, so I guess it was before things got too crazy.

Blues, I remember those wax bottles. A local convenience store used to have those, as well as variety packs of candy in a plastic bag sealed with yellow and red paper at the top. The Lemonheads and wax teeth were always my favorites.
 
StuntDouble said:
Blues, I remember those wax bottles. A local convenience store used to have those, as well as variety packs of candy in a plastic bag sealed with yellow and red paper at the top. The Lemonheads and wax teeth were always my favorites.
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Anyone who remembers these old brands and candies should check this site out...Yours are there. :cool:

Click on any of the offerings and you can read a bit of history and some recollections about the product. Pretty cool stuff.

(I have no affiliation whatsoever. Just happened upon it via google after enjoying this thread. :thumbup:)
 
Thanks for the link Blues. Some of those do jog the memory, even for a youngin' like myself.

I was just thinking about a type of knife I don't see around as much anymore. Businesses would use them to advertise. You flip up a plastic plate, slide the blade out, and flip the plastic plate back down. They reminded me of the Christy knife.
 
They used to sell lighters in those gumball machines along with tiny cameras, I still have the lighter, I remember the knives too, I'd spend $5 in quarters and still never got one. :(
 
They also used to sell cheap "gold" watches in them as well. The first watch I ever owned came out of one of those machines. Of course it didn't last very long, but hey, I was only out a quarter..
 
If anyone wants some candy cigarettes, send me a pm. There is a candy and soda pop store chain mushrooming up in Ventura Co called Rocket Fizz. It is my favorite store. I get Sprecher's root beer there, and they sell those candy cigarettes, and it is quite a folksy place. Zots, pop rocks and jujubees can still be found. I bought my mom a chocolate soda there and brought it over to her last weekend. She always talked about getting those as a kid. It did not sound appealing to me. I stick with real old fashioned root beer.
 
Yep- I remember getting them as gifts at birthday parties (early 70's)....you know in the little gift bag all the kids get. Little mini knives and jacks, stuff like that.
 
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