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01/12/2004: Freezy Freakies?

I’ve gotten a bunch of e-mails about this, and while I don’t have enough material about the things to work an entire article around, they’re certainly worthy of a mention. A lot of you seem to recall owning a pair of really cool gloves that featured words and/or characters that appeared and disappeared as they got colder and warmer. You’re not crazy — they really existed, and they were called “Freezy Freakies.”

At the peak of the gloves’ popularity, it seemed like every kid had a pair. At that young age, it was really difficult to pick “cool clothes.” We usually had our terminally unhip mothers guiding the shopping experience, and that matched with the low-rent stores our outfits were purchased at made for some major fashion faux plural-of-pas. With the advent of Freezy Freakies, at least you had your hands covered. Everybody thought Freezy Freakies were cool.

Shown above is one of the old favorites — the “Robot” Freezy Freakies. When cold, a robot would appear under the title. Other gloves had schemes to delight both male and female audiences, and eventually, there were a number of knockoff gloves that used the same mechanics for more recognizable cartoon characters. They haven’t been made for years, save for the occasional “retro month” at some “boutique” that’s brave enough to use the Freezy Freakies copyright without permission. Even at the deepest corners of the collector’s market, they’re tragically hard to find. If you’re lucky enough to find a pair, buy ‘em immediately. If you were smart enough to hold on to a pair since childhood, do the right thing and give ‘em here.

Even if you couldn’t throw a lick, “Freezy Freakies” made snowball fights so much fun.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 85 comments

That sounds awesome! I always wanted to have robot hands… unfortunately, growing up in Southern California meant the only reason to have something like that would be to pull the pudding pops out of the freezer… And if you needed gloves to pull out a pudding pop, you were a considered a total wuss.

…which i was.

Ghosted by Chopstick Sensei @ 01/12/2004 1:06 AM EST

Dood! I remember these!!! I wanted some desperately but I don’t think the folks caved. They did for my bro, though. He had a pair. Hell, even my neighbors, whose parents were the cheapest SOBs around, both had some. I would gladly relate how cheap the neighbors were if anyone wants to know.

Ghosted by Killer Duck @ 01/12/2004 1:57 AM EST

I agree with chopstick sensei I also grew up in southern California and I used to use my plain mittens to eat otter pops. I stained them blue.

Ghosted by pikachulover @ 01/12/2004 2:04 AM EST

I don’t remember these. But I do remember wanting a knee-length winter coat that my three best friends had. They were neon colours, almost like a neo quilt with really big patches. My parents said no, and I ended up with a lime green snowsuit with hot pink accents. When I look back, my snowsuit kicked the long coat’s ass, because I could roll around in the snow without getting my pants all wet and snowy.

Ghosted by Gabbylicious @ 01/12/2004 2:24 AM EST

Oh man, I totally had those robot freazy freakies as a kid! I thought they were the best. I had some other pairs later but I will always remember the robots because I was robot-obsessed, as with many kids. I think I may have worn Freakies long after they were fashionable and moved into the ‘you get picked on for them’ stage, but then my sister had them too (it was an age thing I guess). In the summer, I always kept mine in the freezer.

Ghosted by Kit @ 01/12/2004 2:39 AM EST

I only vaugely (SP) remember those but I would love to have a pair now. If they didn’t, they should have made ones with super heros and when it’s warm the glove shows just the normal person (i.e. Peter Parker) and then when it gets cold they go away and out comes the super hero (i.e. Spiderman)
That would be boss.

Ghosted by Big Will @ 01/12/2004 8:04 AM EST

Anything that changes color immediately has cool factor points in its corner. As for Robots, more points for that too.

Ghosted by Don't Touch, Willy @ 01/12/2004 9:22 AM EST

damn I’m jealos I don’t think Ive ever seen these, and they are the coolest thing ever. I want em right now.

Ghosted by brandon @ 01/12/2004 9:55 AM EST

I had a pair…they were light purple with a rainbow across them, and a cute little unicorn appeared when they got cold. And surprisingly, I still have them!

Ghosted by Pam @ 01/12/2004 10:35 AM EST

I loved those Freezy Freakies. I like every single other kid in my school had a pair. I don’t remember which ones i had exactly but i remember i had gloves that had pictures appear on them in the cold.

Ghosted by Bright Noah @ 01/12/2004 10:43 AM EST

Ahem…. I take offense at the suggestion that robots would not appeal to females. When I was a kid I always played with the "boy" toys, and any Barbies I may have owned usually ended up being tortured and killed by a team of Lego men and Batman action figures.

…Although I have to admit, I did have a particular fondness for My Little Ponies.

At any rate, I never heard of those gloves but I can’t believe they’re not still on the market. They’re one of those fun AND practical toys. Trippy robots, magic pictures, what’s not to like? How did they work?

Ghosted by Kristen @ 01/12/2004 11:34 AM EST

I used to have a Super Powers Mr. Freeze that would change color in the freezer. And, yeah, it was cool.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 01/12/2004 12:12 PM EST

Hey, Matt, I’ve been catching up on your site again because I need something to do now that I’ve been working full time again. You’re doing a nice variety now, and your writing has improved. Hey, you even inspired me to start writing long, drawn out articles again. Keep it up!

Ghosted by Aaron @ 01/12/2004 12:22 PM EST

I was going to ask if Zartan changed colors in the freezer but I think it was with a light bulb or sun or whatever. Ditto his siblings.
How cheap my neighbors were- They have two kids, son and daughter. They’re adults now but we all hung out as little ‘uns. One year for Xmas they gave their son something like a Voltron lions set (kickass) and OPtimus Prime. They gave their daughter a television for her bedroom. Thing is, the tv had been the one in the family room. They got new TV for the family room and gave her the old tv. I remember being stunned that parents would do that. In fact, I am still stunned looking back. The daughter is now a research scientist.

Ghosted by Killer Duck @ 01/12/2004 1:39 PM EST

I too had the unicorn ones that Pam brought up. I think the figers of the gloves were decorated in this rainbow pattern. My mom ordered my niece (yes, I have a niece my age) and I the gloves from the Sears Catalouge, and we got them in the mail in August, and I remember doing things such as putting ice cubes and water on the gloves to make the unicorn appear.

I must think about those things once a week.

Ghosted by Anita @ 01/12/2004 1:51 PM EST

Zartan had kneepads and a chestplate that were temperature sensitive. Little Brother got two Zartans one Christmas. One became the subject of experimentation involving a B.A.T. and a Buck Rodgers figure, with the help of a small screwdriver and the whispered commands of my TransFormers.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 01/12/2004 2:07 PM EST

I wish I had robot mittens. Mittens are much like a de-evolution, one that gives you two fingers. They make snowball fights a bitch. But if they turned into -robot- gloves, then it’d be worth it!

Ghosted by KTK @ 01/12/2004 2:53 PM EST

Hmmmm…
must be an American thang. I’m in no way cool enough to use "thang" by the way.
Hey Killer Duck, Flying Tukeys can beat killer ducks any day of the f’n week.
It’s the dark vs. the lite (or white, everybody loves the white meat) poultry style.

Ghosted by turkeys can't fly? @ 01/12/2004 3:56 PM EST

You two mutated fowl can have your showdown in my state, we’re still arguing over the whole cockfighting issue here. It’s "Diblets on the Giblets" only on Pay-per-view! Who wants concession rights?

Ghosted by kingklash @ 01/12/2004 4:28 PM EST

Is it fowl?
I in no way meant that last comment to sound like a hate comment. Although reading it now, I can see how some may interprit it as such.
Ah what the hell, everybody knows that turkeys are the supreme fowls/poultrys. Chickens/ducks and I think partridges beware…
Turkey Power!!!!

Ghosted by turkeys can't fly? @ 01/12/2004 4:44 PM EST

Um…I have had to explain to king before that I am not really a duck, I just play one on TV. King, I am still trying to figure out what state you live in (I was guessing Oklahoma). I don’t fight anymore. I have been trying to give up the violent part of my life except for watching horror movies. And collecting knives. But I don’t use the knives. Well, except to cut food but that’s a different knife. And well, knives for hobbies and shit…and throwing knives but I only throw at targets. That are not alive. Well hay bales and cork and wood used to be alive but I don’t even throw at trees (can damage them, according to the guy who taught me to throw). Aw hell I don;t know why I feel compelled to explain.

Ghosted by Killer Duck @ 01/12/2004 5:13 PM EST

It’s Oklahoma, Duck. And it could be just a heated game of Scrabble. Loser recieves a wedgie. Whatever blows your hair back. In my culture, women always carried knives. Knives are cool.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 01/12/2004 5:41 PM EST

The neon tetra’s or whatever are really common around southern Idaho, everybody’s got them, and they look kick ass as far as I’m concerened. Of course I always wanted one of those see-through catfish.

well here’s something randomly unrelated, I was reminicing over old articles here on x-e, and double agent 73 came up. I used the search on the main page, and found mr t’s recepie for sexy things to do w/ land o’ lakes butter. but no acctual review. Are there still some things missing matt?

Ghosted by brandon @ 01/12/2004 6:11 PM EST

Killer Duck and turkeys, you two must realize that once Super Chicken shows up there will be no stopping UltraMegaTurDucken!
Links with fun Turducken pictures:
http://origins.colorado.edu/~kachun/turducken.shtml
http://webhome.idirect.com/~boof/tdk10.htm
http://www.lasternet.com/turducken/
http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/112797/fea_turd.html

Random clip from "Monster" for fans of random acts:
http://multimedia.badmovies.org/moviesi/monster1.mpg

Ghosted by EM, ME's recently discovered dyslexic doppelganger @ 01/12/2004 6:28 PM EST

My little brother made turducken for Christmas last year. It took hours.

Ghosted by Kristen @ 01/12/2004 6:49 PM EST

I saw a turducken on Food Network a few weeks ago on Top 5 (top 5 holiday bullshit or something). It was sick looking.
king, my sister and brother in law live in Edmond, OK. I’ve never been out there to visit them…never been invited I have been through Oklahoma City before, though. Strange experience, that.

Ghosted by Killer Duck @ 01/12/2004 7:13 PM EST

Okay, sorry, Matt, please forgive me for thinking this, but, for whatever reason, the way the gloves look in that photograph, without the thumbs visible, reminds me exactly of the sort of, ahem, "novelty items" that they sell at Montreal’s world famous La Capoterie store, of the sort made out of Latex and moulded and painted to resemble everything from elephant trunks to Pikachu.

(Well, I’m more familiar with one of La Capoterie’s competitors, which is about a block away from Cordia University, but that picture of those gloves would not look out of place in one of La Capoterie’s ads.)

Ghosted by Steve Brandon @ 01/12/2004 9:09 PM EST

"Cordia University"… I meant Concordia University. Damn, I’ve had to correct myself twice in one day.

Ghosted by Steve Brandon @ 01/12/2004 9:11 PM EST

I do remember "Freaky Freezies," but I don’t think I ever had a pair – they were expensive and I’ve always hated mittens. It’s too hard to grip handlebars or snowballs with them.

Ghosted by starwenn @ 01/12/2004 9:45 PM EST

I went to the grocery store a few hours ago. They didn’t have Chocodiles nor was there a shelf tag for them (hey, I can wish, can’t I?). But I did buy a couple of double decker Moonpies. I never knew they sold them there. Ate one and it was friggin good.

Ghosted by Killer Duck @ 01/12/2004 10:49 PM EST

Whoa…an item that everyone’s heard of but me? I must’ve missed out somethin’ awful as a kid.

Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that no self-respecting kid would handicap himself so badly in a snowball fight by wearing mittens…that would’ve been suicide in my little corner of the Boston suburbs…

Ghosted by Monster Dog @ 01/12/2004 11:52 PM EST

Don’t feel bad Monster Dog, I am 100% clueless on these items too. They look hella cool though and I would wear them now if I could find them.

Ghosted by mindsuckr @ 01/13/2004 1:13 AM EST

Plenty of people from the bay state around here…

Ghosted by Killer Duck @ 01/13/2004 1:43 AM EST

Does anyone remember the silver and blue ones that would turn green with a kind of "fence" like pattern? I lost these and my mother wouldn’t let me have any pie. Not coincidentally, this was the same day my two brothers lost their mittens too. Oh well, we all know fruit is better for you. POMEGRANATE!

Ghosted by Whiskers the Kitten That Can Name Fruit @ 01/13/2004 2:48 AM EST

How wuz hot putato played? Did bill kulen toss a hot putato at the contestints that wuld be funi

Ghosted by Freezy Freakies are NU! NU! NU! @ 01/13/2004 2:50 AM EST

Despite your mangling of words, I understood it…I don’t know what to think maybe being tired makes my brain function differently. Hot Potato was a game with two teams of contestants, either 3,4 or 5 people on a side (I can’t remember), all who had something in common. You might see doctors against nurses or cops against firefighters or pilots against flight attendants. Anyway, Bill Cullen would read a question that had multiple answers, such as "Name 8 of the 15 most populated cities in the world?" Then one team would have a go. They’d keep guessing until they either guessed wrong or passed the "hot potato" to the other team. This meant that team A one person would pick a person from team B to answer. If the team B person answered right, the person on team A who challenged would have to sit out, if the person answered wrong he would have to sit out. The bonus round was similar except only one team played and no one sat out.

Ghosted by Killer Duck @ 01/13/2004 3:00 AM EST

off topic, but matt, how’s it feel to have New Jersey be the first state to legalize cloning and what will this do for your futures?

Ghosted by spooky @ 01/13/2004 4:07 AM EST

off topic, but matt, how’s it feel to have New Jersey be the first state to legalize cloning and what will this do for your futures?

Ghosted by spooky @ 01/13/2004 4:26 AM EST

off topic, but matt, how’s it feel to have New Jersey be the first state to legalize cloning and what will this do for your futures?

Ghosted by spooky @ 01/13/2004 4:27 AM EST

spooky either has a broken computer or is a comedic genius.

Ghosted by Chopstick Sensei @ 01/13/2004 5:16 AM EST

The writing looks really retro-y.

Ghosted by Rebekah @ 01/13/2004 5:23 AM EST

I was thinking the same thing. Wasn’t sure whether to delete the extra comments or salute them.

Ghosted by Matt @ 01/13/2004 5:23 AM EST

YOu know…I actually still do have a pair of those in the big basket of doom on my front porch. Actually, sayign that I have a pair may be a misnomer…I more than likely have 1…maybe 1.5. It all depends on if my dog got to them.

If I find them/it, I’ll ship it down to NJ. Having meathooks for hands makes it hard to wear kids gloves around campus.

Ghosted by Toxic Oreo @ 01/13/2004 10:25 AM EST

Dreaming of TurDucKen Voltron…..eew
I never heard of Freezer Freakies either, but they sound cool. My family unit lived the entire 70’s in the San Francisco Bay Area, so when we came back to southwest OK, I spent most of my winters indoors. But, there is that undefinable joy in a snowball fight. Splak! Hey, that one had a rock in it!

Ghosted by kingklash @ 01/13/2004 11:53 AM EST

I don’t know if I had the Freezies or just a cheap knock-off. Knowing my mom, it was whatever was on sale….But I do know I had a stellar pair of Moon Boots. Moon Boots should come back…well, not here in Florida…that would be silly.

Ghosted by Stilewalker @ 01/13/2004 1:47 PM EST

Moon Boots in the Sunshine State, sounds fine to me. Dadaism amongst the Deco.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 01/13/2004 2:02 PM EST

Yep, i had a pair of these. I believe that mine were golves though, not mittens with lightning bolts that appeared on the back of the hand. Bought at Venture, a Chicagoland K’mart type store, but it was better, it was VENTURE.

Ghosted by Jimcognito @ 01/13/2004 2:04 PM EST

I kneel before TurDucKen the higher power.
Steve Brandon, one question about mtl..
What’s Foufounes like lately?

Ghosted by turkeys can't fly? @ 01/13/2004 3:40 PM EST

I don’t have my Freezy Freakies anymore; I put all of mine on Schotz beer bottles.

Ghosted by Laverne @ 01/13/2004 4:04 PM EST

I like ‘em.

Ghosted by Mookie @ 01/13/2004 6:31 PM EST

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