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Comic Strip of the Day

CSotD: The Downward Slide of Civilization

Published: July 1, 2010 1 minute 3 comments

Deflocked

I didn't know how old Jeff Corriveau, creator of "Deflocked," was, but as I looked for the live link to his strip, I found a Wikipedia article that says he's 38.

That's about my kids' age, which is relevant because I remember buying them Cracker Jack and being appalled at how lousy the "toy surprises" had become since I was a kid. I assume that the current arc in Deflocked means he is now appalled at how they have fallen off since then.

Worst thing you could get in a box of Cracker Jack when I was a kid was a plastic letter, because they had "charms," letters with plastic holes, which you were supposed to collect and then string into a bracelet that spelled out (presumably) your name.

It was a disappointment to find a letter in the box, but at least, when that happened, you knew that part of why it was a lousy toy surprise was because you hadn't saved the other ones. Most times, you got stuff you could have fun with for a while. I particularly liked getting tattoo transfers and magnifying glasses, but the other stuff was okay, too. The Cracker Jack itself was kind of not-so-good, except the peanuts, which didn't get as rubbery in storage.

Cracker Jack has been putting prizes in the boxes for nearly 100 years, which makes me wonder, if the quality of the prize has fallen off so sharply in the past half century, what were they giving away in 1912? Cars? Puppies?

(Damn. I got a haircut yesterday and had her trim my eyebrows so I wouldn't look like Andy Rooney. Apparently, it takes more than that to avoid sounding like him.)

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Comments 3

  1. A few months ago, while waiting at the laundromat, I got a package of Cracker Jacks from the vending machine — my first Cracker Jacks in probably thirty years or more — and I too remember being disgusted at the lousy quality of the prize inside. It wasn’t as bad as the “Fun Pouch O’ Lint” and only marginally better than the “Magic Writing Square”. But for the life of me I can’t remember what it actually was.

  2. Similar story here! Bought a box of Cracker Jack to share with the kids — first I had bought in decades. And was severely disappointed with the prize: pretty much a magic writing square.
    I don’t remember the plastic letters but I do remember the magnifying glasses and tattoos. Still cheap crap but it was at least entertaining for young kids for a few minutes and justified buying the less delicious snack. Now why buy CJ?

  3. There’s a collection of old Cracker Jacks prizes on the wall in Bucks Restaurant, Woodside, CA. Many were small toys similar to the markers in Monopoly. I’ll take a photo for you the next time I’m in.

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