Let's Make Zingers a Halloween Treat
But beware of the Zinger Zapper
The weather is changing and fall is upon us, and for me that means it’s Zinger weather! Why do I associate Zingers with autumn? It is most definitely because of the commercials and sponsorship deals that they would run with, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
Zingers are snack cakes, introduced by Dolly Madison, but now made by Hostess. They come in three tasty flavors. The chocolate and vanilla Zingers feature a generous layer of icing atop a creamy non-dairy filling, while the raspberry variant skips the icing and instead offers a tantalizing blend of shaved coconut and raspberry-flavored syrup.
I bring up Zingers because Halloween is just around the corner and I think that snack cakes have been overlooked as possible Halloween treats. They have a few good things going for them:
They are sugary sweet. Something every kid (and adults) wants this time of year.
They are individually wrapped. So they live in a kid trick-or-treat bag or bucket.
They have an incredible mascot just sitting on the shelf waiting to be dusted off, The Zinger Zapper.
I guess the one big drawback might be that they are easily damaged, but I think Hostess could develop a packaging that could help counteract that. I plan on picking up a package and putting them in with my treat bowl this year. If trick or treaters opt for something else? More for me!
(If you have retro finds you would like for me to share, I want to hear them. What old useful website are still lurking on the web? Some old TV show streaming online? Old tech being brought back? Let me know.)
ONE COOL VIDEO
Many people grew up with It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown but didn’t get exposed to its original sponsors. At the time they were originally broadcast, I didn’t pay too much attention to the commercials. Now that I am older, though, they often trigger more nostalgia than the actual programming they were a part of. Here is a nice commercial break from a seventies broadcast of the beloved peanut special.
TEN THINGS RETRO
🎥 Home Movies - When you watch a movie or TV show set in the 1980s, it doesn’t always capture the real look of the decade. That is why I will always watch any home videos that was recorded in that era. I especially like ones that are almost taking a tour of a home.
⚙️ Gadgets - A lot of devices are being made for writers looking for a distraction-free experience. The Freewrite Alpha looks promising, but I think things will get better if the trend continues.
🎶 Music - Victor Tao built a music visualizer that looks just like the classic video game, PONG. The results are impressive.
🏠 Real Estate - Paul Reubens, who played, Pee-wee Herman, bought it Los Feliz, Ca home in 1985 for $415,000. After his passing it went back on the market for $3,805,000. Even if you aren’t interested in buying it, you can take a tour.
🗡️ Toys - Many of us have dreamed about having a toy lightsaber that expanded and retracted like in the Star Wars films. An inventor came up with a way to make this fantasy a reality, and for some reason the toy giant Hasbro passed on it.
💻 Computers - In an alternate universe, Canon Computers keyboard-forward Canon Cat were super popular (but not in this one).
⚙️ Gadgets - Clap on! Clap Off! Clap on, clap off! The Clapper! 👏👏
📻 Anime - The portrayal of technology in anime offers a stylistic look back at the devices that dominated the landscape in the 80s and 90s. I am not sure why, but everything in these videos just looks so much more high-tech than the technology we have nowadays.
🚂 Toys - If you grew up playing with Fisher-Price toys, and I think many of us did, you might want to take a look at this too quick video tour of the Fisher-Price archives.
🐁 Pizza Mouse - While things are pretty grim for the animatronic bands at Chuck E. Cheese, the outcry for fans scored a reprieve and will continue to entertain kids and their parents for at least a little while longer.
SUBSTACK RECOMMENDATION
Lots of songs manage to find a second life when they are used on TV or in films years later. Some even go on to be bigger hits. Stat Significant takes a look at the music and, as usual, puts together a compelling statistical analysis.
FROM THE RETROIST ARCHIVE
Let's take a moment to look back at four posts from the Retroist's past. I have been at this a long time.
One Year Ago…
☎️ The Bellboy and the History of Telephone Pagers
Five Years Ago…
Ten Years Ago…
Fifteen Years Ago…
🛢️ Retroist Donkey Kong Podcast
I agree about the Raspberry Zingers! Deliciousness! I remember that McDonald's one for sure.
Fun article. Zingers are superior to the twinkie. I would always peel off the frosting and eat it first, couldn't help myself. Raspberry Zingers, the most underrated snack cake of all time. True classic.
Hey Retroist, did you try out those Coke flavored Oreo's? Or the Oreo flavored coke? What did you think?