Frankenstein or Bust!

When I found this mini-Frankenstein bust (I know, Frankenstein was the Doctor, he's Frankenstein's Monster, blah, blah blah. Hey, it's on the bust!) in a bag of miscellaneous toys last summer, I had no clue where it came from.

Saturday Morning Cereal Memories

I was pondering my previous post regarding collectible McDonald's plates from the 1970's and how we didn't have them when I was a kid.  I realized a major reason was we only went to McDonald's a couple times in a year.  Another reason was my parents would never spend extra money on such frivolity as a collectible plate.  What we did have were these:

If you grew up in the 70's, you probably did as well.  These were margarine bowls.  The brand is somewhat disputed.  My first thought was Imperial.  Others on the internet recall Blue Bonnet or Parkay.  I'm almost positive it wasn't Parkay, as that was too expensive for my family.  When the margarine was gone, voila, cereal bowl.  These were a favorite for Saturday morning cereal in front of the television.  I seem to recall fighting over which color my sister and I would eat from.  I'm sure I always ended up with the pea green one...

Anyway, when I saw these sitting on a shelf in the basement of a recent estate sale, that all came back to me.  I grabbed 6 of them (there were a couple others that were too far gone) and brought them up to check out.  The person hosting the sale looked at me and said, "I'll bet you ate cereal out of those bowls when you were little."  She went on to say she had shown them to some younger people (20's) and they had no clue.

Whatever happened to jelly jar glasses, margarine cereal bowls, and butter tub Tupperware?  It seems nobody repurposes used containers like they once did.  Seems like a pretty smart thing to do.

I’m Your Fuller Brush Man and I Have a Gift for You

Back in the days people actually let salesman come into their homes (coincidentally also when you could trust salesmen to come into your home), the Fuller Brush man peddled brushes throughout the United States.  Unlike Avon and Amway and closer to the ice cream man today, the Fuller Brush man (and woman) bought their own supplies and relied on their own skills to move the merchandise, keeping 50% of the sale price.  The company's slogan was, "45 Brushes—69 Uses—Head to Foot—Cellar to Attic".  In 1956, the Fuller line was expanded to include aerosols, detergents, vitamins, cosmetics, and chemicals.

Many years ago, I came across this letter opener in a quarter box at a garage sale.

Apparently, these were gifts handed out by the Fuller Brush man as either a thank you for your order, or an ice breaker to get you to buy their product.  I love the fedora and suit.  If he showed up at my door, I think I'd probably let him in -- but I still don't think I'd buy anything.

Fuller Brush is still in business, but don't expect them to come to your door.  You order online now, the man that made them famous walks no more.