TOPPS GUM GUM FOR DUMB DUMB

Topps is famous for their yummy bubble gum. The most popular being of course Bazooka gum which has been around since shortly after WWII (I wonder if it was named after the weapon?).



Practically every kid on the planet has at one time or another peeled open the red/white/blue wrapper, read the Bazooka Joe comic, and chomped down on a piece of pink Bazooka gum.

Funtime blog readers are already aware that I (Mr. Potter) am a big trading card nut, and that's the gum that I'd like to blog about today.
Trading cards are often referred to as "gum cards" because a good number of them throughout time included a stick of gum in each pack. As kids it was a nice treat even though it usually lost it's flavor after 5-10 minutes. As grown-up kids and collectors it's quite annoying usually leaving a residue or stain on one or more cards in a pack.



Most trading cards don't have gum in them anymore. The last time I chewed fresh gum out of a pack of cards was when the first series of new Garbage Pail Kids came out in 2003, each pack had four pieces of "gross green" gum. I chewed the hell out of that stuff.





This is where I have to admit to a big nerd confession.
I not only collect trading cards, the wrappers, boxes, and ads....but I collect the gum too.
When it comes to 30+ year-old gum it's pretty much petrified. I found out a while back when ordering old boxes of trading cards and shelling packs that even though the gum is usually a pink rectangular slab that it actually comes in a variety of sizes and shades.
For example, a pack of series 9 Garbage Pail Kids from Canada has a shorter and pinker piece of gum than a pack from the U.S.
A lot of collectors search for the different wrapper variations while overlooking the gum variations inside.



Now, you have to ask the obvious question. Has Mr. Potter ever eaten the 30-year-old petrified gum? The answer is yes, but only once.



I'm one of many who opened an old pack of cards and put that crusty old stick in my mouth just out of curiosity. Everyone reacts the same way and says the same things:

#1 "It's not even gum anymore!"
#2 "It just crumbled to dust/powder!"
#3 "It's impossible to chew!"
#4 "It's pretty flavorless (until the aftertaste hits)"
#5 10-15 seconds frantically looking for somewhere to spit it out.

I've compiled a sample of Youtube videos for your funtime viewing pleasure, all of these include an individual trying to chew a piece of 30+ year-old Topps trading card gum. Enjoy....gag.













If anyone out there wants a try I got plenty for everyone!

MR. POTTER'S "WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE" KARAOKE REMAKE

A few years ago I decided to update the lyrics for Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" and perform it for karaoke. It got a great response from the crowd and ever since it's always requested when I go out to sing. Recently I found a recording of my first nights performance. I decided to make it into a YouTube video and share.

SILLY ADS 7-10

I'm always digging through old mags keeping an eye out for ridiculous silly ads. Here's a fine assortment of finds from the last few years.



I think my kids would love this. I love how in the corner it reads, "A dramatization posed by professional models".



This is an ad for "Kelp-A-Malt" no joke. Sounds delicious. Put some meat on those bones. I can't imagine a modern female concerned because they are too skinny.



Laugh now, but just remember... our grandkids are going to be laughing at us someday.











































These kids just look so deadpan.





This looks like John Wayne Gacy is ready to stop killing and start robbing banks.







Is he planning on taking this doll as a date to a party?













He's loading that toothbrush up.

FUNTIME FUNNY #1

This was in an old "Highlights" magazine from the 80s.



Just a new way to post random silly things I come across.

52 EXTRAORDINARY BEAUTY MAKEOVERS (WOMAN'S DAY APRIL 1975

Flipping through one of the crusty old magazines in my studio I couldn't help but laugh at these wonderful "beauty makeovers" from the April 1975 issue of Woman's Day. Some of these women looked better before the makeover, some looked 10-15 years older AFTER the makeover, and with some I think it was a hopeless cause.