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American Bandito Pop-Culture Roadshow for Oct 2, 2019


This another episode in a series of videos that I do where I go and check out things that I've collected over the years. I say a little bit about them and try to learn more about the people who created them. But mostly I love talking about stuff like this!

photo of lunchbox

Beetlejuice metal lunchbox by NECA from 2001.

Man, I bought a lot of stuff in 2001.

One thing I've learned about metal lunchboxes, the first one was made in 1935 and it had a Mickey Mouse logo on it. I think it was actually meant for people to go to work.

But officially when Aladdin made their first lunchbox in 1950 they were considered the first company that made children's lunch boxes and the first TV character they had on it was Hopalong Cassidy.

Beetlejuice!

Here's an interesting fact, originally Michael Keaton was not supposed to be Beetlejuice. He was not the first pick. Also the same with Catherine O'Hara who played the mom. But Tim Burton, of course, ended up working with both of them again. Keaton in Batman and O'Hara was the voice of Sally in Nightmare Before Christmas.

Also, the original script for wasn't called Beetlejuice and apparently it was supposed to be super scary and kind of like more murdery. When Tim Burton got a hold of it he changed all that.

Picture of action figure

Mr. T A-Team 12in Action Figure by Galoob from 1983

Da dana duh duh duh duh! Duh na duh duh! Duh da duh na duh!
I could just do the A-Team theme all-day long.

I got a Mr. T. from the A-Team B.A. Baracus action figure. It actually has a cloth outfit and the bandana in the back.

Looking around I find this isn't that uncommon, but he's missing all the jewelry, earrings and necklaces that he's known for. But he does have his "TCB Mr. T" tattoo on his arm so there is that.

But he can bend and he can kick!

picture of dog pillow

Scooby-Doo Cartoon Network 13" 3D Dog Ear Pillow from 2001

This is what's considered a 3D Scooby-Doo pillow from Cartoon Network from 2001 again.

The ears and the nose stick out and that's why it calls itself a 3D pillow. And I don't know how they did it but it's so fluffy and it's really soft... it's so SOFT!

picture of vintage electronic game device

Speak and Spell Learning Toy by Texas Instruments from 1978

I always want to call a See & Say but this is a Speak & Spell. I don't know how it works? I can make it say the letters but I can't make it play the games. I know it has games on it.

Technically this is the first handheld children's game before game boys and all that. You could actually get cartridges that you put in a slot the back but all it would do is it would give it more words, it didn't give it any new games. The cartridges were just like, "and here's like 50 more words" or "here's words in Spanish" that's all it could do.

Last week I showed the E.T. doll and I wish I could have done the Speak & Spell and that together because that's how E.T. communicated back home with the big thing they made with it.

But I found another tie-in that works.

So one of the games that's on the Speak and Spell is a little game called Hangman where it shows dashes and you have to figure it out. Then I've got...

picture of a vintage board game box

Vintage 1986 Hangman game by Milton Bradley

The game hangman I have is from 1986. You would play sitting across each other kind of like the Battleship game. You put letter tiles up on top of the case and if the other person guessed it then you'd switch them around. Otherwise, you would, you turn the dial to reveal each Hangman drawing and go "nope, missed a letter, missed a letter, missed a letter".

I don't know who first came up with it? I don't know the origin of like who decided like, let's play a game where you draw that? But here's a little fun fact that I found out. Because of how morbid it is, I guess in schools when they do this game they've replaced the gallows thing with an apple tree. So you draw a tree and then the apples.

Those are the things I'm talking about this week or talked about. Past-tense.

See you later.

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Location: Madison, WI, USA

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