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02/05/2004: Two new articles! Freddy’s Bubble Gum & the TMNT Fan Club Kit!

I tried out something new today, let’s see how it works out. Instead of taking something that can be summed up in three words and stretching it out for sixty pages, I took two things and created two shorter articles. They didn’t end up being that much shorter, actually, but they’re still much less of a drain to put together. If the feedback’s in its favor, maybe I’ll start doing this a little more often.

First up, it’s Freddy’s Bubble Gum! Made by Topps in 1989, Mr. Krueger took his Elm Street franchise to new heights by letting kids chew his unholy Chiclets. I have no idea why I find this stupid gum so interesting, but I can’t help myself. I just stare and stare at it, all the time, wondering where the Hell it came from. Going from one side of the universe to the other, the second article deals with the Ninja Turtles…

It’s the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Club Kit! An exclusive offer advertised on the earliest Ninja Turtles action figures’ packaging, kids received everything from a sticker to a bandana, and even a letter from some guy they’d never heard of. The article provides an in-depth look at the packet’s contents, and I kinda go overboard when talking about the really cool envelope. But you know me. I love my envelopes. By the way, tomorrow’s my birthday. I’m going to be so fucking old.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 135 comments

Hey if everyone who visits this site in a day chips in a buck, Matt can get his dream TV =)

Ghosted by Kou Hotaru @ 02/05/2004 9:33 PM EST

2nd post

Ghosted by spongerob @ 02/05/2004 9:34 PM EST

Well Matt, I’ll emphasize as a reader how awesome it is to come to X-E and find two new articles at once. Do this more often!

Ghosted by Token Comment Guy @ 02/05/2004 9:34 PM EST

Wow, that gum just looks nasty, ick, yuck, blech! Sure hope you didn’t try it..

and – OMG I had a wuzzle when i was younger! Completely forgot hahaha, so cute, wish mine would have talked to me. Didn’t have 3D glasses either.

Ghosted by Xen @ 02/05/2004 9:44 PM EST

agreed, the 2 articles are nice… but I don’t mind the size of them being short or long.

maybe it’s just me, but i’d rather have them spread out. even over a day. for all the times when I check X-E daily, i’d rather get a small update twice a week than 2 small updates once a week. does that make sense? I mean, do what you want, but that’s my 2 cents.

Also, today already is Feb 6th in Japan, So I’ll be the first to say it on your official birthday: Happy Birthday!

Sorry to all the Fan-girls who wanted to be first.

Ghosted by Chopstick Sensei @ 02/05/2004 9:47 PM EST

Oh, I should’ve mentioned that the two-short-in-a-day doesn’t mean two-short-in-a-day and then skip-two-days. Example: instead of three looong articles a week, we could have one looong one and four shorter ones, like these.

Ghosted by Matt @ 02/05/2004 9:48 PM EST

(longtime lurker, firsttime poster!) Yeah, I’m one of those 16 who care about the Fan Club package! I had that, but like too many old toys, it went the way of the garbage man…eh, oh, well…happy birthday, Matt!

Ghosted by Pat @ 02/05/2004 9:53 PM EST

That Freddy’s Gum thing looks almost like this toy candy from the sixties called Hippy Sippy,which came in containers shaped almost like hypodermic needles and had phrases on them like "Hippy Sippy says he’ll try anything!". Parents groups and the goverment got them taken off the market. Just an intersting bit of trivia.

Ghosted by Overlord @ 02/05/2004 9:59 PM EST

hey matt, I’d buy you that TV if I had the money, but right now I can’t even afford the cheapest thing on your wish list. Anyways, why am I never the first person to read these things? Just once, I’d like to be the first one to post in the blog!

Ghosted by Skitzo from stupid5pin.com @ 02/05/2004 10:06 PM EST

Matt, It’s nice to know someone else feels as strongly about getting mail as I do

Ghosted by Rob @ 02/05/2004 10:14 PM EST

Hey wasn’t that gum like 10 years old? Happy Birthday for tommorow Matt. Aren’t you gonna be like 23?Y’know you used to be that guy with the funny blogs and saved me from boredom in class so yeah it cool how you are now Matt when I talk about your articles in everyday life

Ghosted by Rebekah @ 02/05/2004 10:14 PM EST

Well, Matt, Happy Birthday! Can’t say I can get you anything on that list, but I do have a lot of leftover crap you might like.

How about it? The last episode of Cheers circa 1993? The Ronald McDonald storytime where Ronald read books to the Fry Guys? Illegally copied video game help tapes from 1985?

Ghosted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 02/05/2004 10:24 PM EST

yeah Happy b-day. im gunna leave a comment because the list hasnt reached 100. and on the stickeer there all wearing the red bandanas because the orginal turtels were had all the same(seen in the comic cover) and and they werent as goofy in the older stuff too. and id get you those mighty beens(and a pack for my slef) but my moms a bitch about the whole online ording thing.

Ghosted by Jared @ 02/05/2004 10:24 PM EST

and hey mr. mr. mr. i know you review alot of old nick stuff on your web site… well i found a old pinweel tape at this used cd/record store in the city.to bad i was broke

Ghosted by Jared @ 02/05/2004 10:26 PM EST

In grade school we used gum as currency, and as a bartering system, if I wanted to borrow someone’s pencil crayons that’s two pieces easy. Freddy Krueger gum would’ve been the Fort Knox of trading, how could any gum be cooler. I also joined the TMNT fanclub as a kid, all my friends and I were into it so I joined to shame them and show I loved those wacky turtles the most. This also occured when I heard my best friend had a store bought Leo costume for Halloween, so I got my Grandma to hand make me a huge Donatello costume, full body, Why do things if you can’t make your friends feel bad because of it??

Ghosted by Brrent @ 02/05/2004 10:26 PM EST

ok, and now that I’ve actually read the articles, I just want to say that I hate it when my foot falls asleep. Happy Birthday Matt! I’ll say happy birthday to you on my site and send you a couple new visitors whenever my DNS settings kick in and I can publish my site on our new servers. Then I’ll send you that e-mail I briefly mentioned in the spongebob article comment thingy.

Ghosted by Skitzo from stupid5pin.com @ 02/05/2004 10:28 PM EST

Forgot to include by well wishes, happy b-day Matt!

Ghosted by Rob @ 02/05/2004 10:31 PM EST

Matt, happy birthday.

Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger

Mushroom, Mushroom

Ahh, snake, ahh snake, OOh its a snake.

Badger Badger Badger…

(People who surf too much will understand this)

Ghosted by Badger @ 02/05/2004 10:32 PM EST

Sorry I can’t afford to get you any of that stuff on your list Matt, I’m down to my last $100 bucks, last CANADIAN $100 bucks.

Hey, did anybody else here ever have that Ninja Turtles Pizza Throwing Machine? You know the one that was louder than a vacuum and could cut a cat in half.

Ghosted by Tyler @ 02/05/2004 10:39 PM EST

Turning 24 or 25 I think. Lemme be the first to give you your birthday boobie flash! Woo!

Ghosted by allicat @ 02/05/2004 10:43 PM EST

That whole "be prepared to fight evil wherever you find it"-thing sounds like kids would take that as: "beat the living hell out of anyone who upsets you so you can be like a real ninja turtle!"

When I played with my TMNT figures as a kid, they never succeeded in saving April or much anything else ‘cuz I’ve always hated cliches. Also, the spine on the first Shredder figure always grossed me out.

Ghosted by Rewolf J @ 02/05/2004 10:49 PM EST

Hey Tyler, was that the little tank thing that came with the plastic pizzas? My cousin had that thing I think. We broke it, but then again, when me and him were little we broke everything. And now he’s married and I have a kid on the way. We got old But not as old as Matt! Happy Birthday buddy!

Ghosted by Skitzo from stupid5pin.com @ 02/05/2004 10:54 PM EST

I agree about mail. A day without mail, even one of those stupid mail flyers that the grocery store puts out weekly, is a sad day indeed.

The Freddy Gum is…odd. Definately one of the strangest things I have seen.

The TMNT kit…stranger. The comics don’t really look like the official Mirage comics (at least not to me, I’m not that familiar with them), but rather like someone has copied them crudely.

I do remember Pizza Points, but I have no clue WHY I remember them….weird.

Ghosted by Cameron @ 02/05/2004 10:57 PM EST

"Speak N’ Shell?"

You SO rock.

The articles were really good. I too am glad to know that someone else lives for mail.

Happy birthday in about an hour eastern time. I hope it’s excellent.

Yay!!

Ghosted by Rainbowfeet @ 02/05/2004 11:01 PM EST

I remember the pizza points, but my most fond memory of TMNT toys was on the back of the Michaelangelo figure packaging was where it said that it takes 8 pounds of pressure (or whatever it was) to break bone, and the nunchucks (or however you spell it) generate 80!

Ghosted by Skitzo from stupid5pin.com @ 02/05/2004 11:02 PM EST

I was never that much into Nightmare on Elm Street, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was in 6th or 7th grade when Ninja Turtles started hitting it big, so my interests were on other things. I thought the concept was cool, however either because of my age, or whatever it was at the time it never sparked my interest enough for me to check out any of the figures. I do remember my little cousin being quite fanatical about the Turtles however, about like I was with Star Wars (still am BTW), He-Man, and Transformers. I’ve seen most of the Elm Street movies but for some reason or another I found them largely forgettable, maybe it’s just me, but I liked Friday the 13th a bit better… but like all horror films I lose interest after they run the things into the ground with sequel after sequel. I do remember vaguely the merchandise line of Freddie.

Ghosted by Justus Cade @ 02/05/2004 11:07 PM EST

Happy Birthday Matt!

I remember wearing the orange bandana that came in the TMNT kit with a massive amount of pride.

I had more hubris when I rode around the neighborhood five years earlier on a MOTU bigwheel proclaiming that He-Man could totally whoop Megatron’s ass though.
I was 5, how was I supposed to know that Skeletor was so woefully inept?

Ghosted by Jett @ 02/05/2004 11:26 PM EST

happy birthday for tommorow matt!

can you go on another trip and talk about it? i love those articles <3

Ghosted by Rachel Cakes @ 02/05/2004 11:34 PM EST

Yeah, I’m down with splitting up the articles like that.

I used to save Pizza Points, Proof of Purchases, etc, etc. I never actually turned them in though… or wait, did I? Now memories are resurfacing of me not wanting to cut squares in the backs of the boxes. I definitely kept the cardboard backing of whatever toy I bought. Maybe I always thought I was gonna save up points for the biggest thing on the prize list, but the only one I ever did was the "design your own Joe" thing. Which was pretty fucking cool, but I basically just ripped of Sewer Rat with my character, because Sewer Rat was that cool.

Ghosted by Chopstick Sensei @ 02/05/2004 11:40 PM EST

I was a member of the Turtles club, but I remember the bandana being red.

I had the pizza shooter. I didn’t use it much though.

Ghosted by JG! @ 02/05/2004 11:55 PM EST

I wanted to save pizza points as a kid, but my mom argues that saving Kool-Aid points was enough. Oh well, we bought Kool-Aid more often anyway. Plus, I think my brother still has the 750 unexchanged Kool-Aid points stashed away. Hmmm…should we get the pitcher, or the water bottle?

Ghosted by Nate @ 02/06/2004 12:02 PM EST

I saved pizza points for the longest time….from the early 90s until they neared the end of the Turtles line and released figures like the dude with a basketball hoop on his neck. Never once did I see an opportunity to use them though. Seemed pointless to me, never anything to use them for.
Though I wasn’t in the Turtles fanclub, I was in the WWF and Power Rangers fan clubs respectively. The Power Rangers one came in a box, and included some awesome stuff like static clings of all the rangers, tattoos, and some other stuff i dont remember. The WWF one had a cassette with wrestlers music on it. That was in the golden days, 1992….it even had an 8×10 of Hulk Hogan in his Suburban Commando outfit. Crazy stuff.

Ghosted by Martel @ 02/06/2004 12:18 PM EST

haha the old rubber headed turtles…after about 5 hours of play smooshing their heads in…their eyes would end up with slits in them from the broken rubber…oh the greatness…

Ghosted by lordsorrowx @ 02/06/2004 12:20 PM EST

Happy Birthday Matt!
Oh man, today in 711 i found BBQ chip flavoured liquid candy! I was scared or else i would have bought it…I just bought some Juicy fruit instead but seriously BBQ chip flavourd LIQUID candy????
someone hold me Im still scared…

Ghosted by Allie @ 02/06/2004 12:23 PM EST

Oh yeah, Happy 25th you old bastard

Ghosted by Brrent @ 02/06/2004 12:26 PM EST

Happy Birthday, Matt. One day when I am the world’s most beloved eccentric billionairess I will buy you presents, but now I am a poor college student living with my parents, so you will have to wait a year or two.

I was never a member of the Ninja Turtles Fan Club, but my friends and I had our own unnoficial NKOTB fan club in like grade one, only at the time I didn’t know who the New Kids were, so everyone else told me that my favorite had to be Danny because no one else liked him. Some girl liked Jon, but he was old and creepy so I dunno why.

Ghosted by Gabbylicious @ 02/06/2004 12:36 PM EST

The pizza thrower is _the_ coolest ninja turtles toy ever, and in fact, I still have one… but no pizzas for it.

I don’t really remember ever seeing the freddy gum either, but I do remember the simpsons gum that came in toothpaste tubes… I remember it mainly because my aunt told me that if you swallowed it, you could fart bubbles.

Ghosted by gesis @ 02/06/2004 12:38 PM EST

Also… [since I forgot] Happy Birthday… as far as gifts… I have some centuries old chocolate flavored gum you can have. Buying a delorean has sapped every dollar I will have for the next eternity.

Ghosted by gesis @ 02/06/2004 12:42 PM EST

I never joined the Ninja Turtles club, but I did join the Fox Kids club back in the early 90’s. What the hell was I thinking?

Happy Birthday by the way!

Ghosted by Jeremiah @ 02/06/2004 12:42 PM EST

Hey Matt, and happy birthday! I was a member of the TMNT fan club, and in fact… I still am! Not only do I still have the bandanna, but I am, currently, carrying the membership card in my wallet with my name scrawled in a ten-year-old’s messy hand. My member number? 200751. Turtle Power!

Ghosted by Lady Millicent @ 02/06/2004 1:02 AM EST

Oh yeah… and my bandanna is Michaelangelo orange. I’m assuming, then, that they came in all four color varieties. What I wouldn’t give for Donatello’s purple… *sigh*

Ghosted by LadyMillicent @ 02/06/2004 1:23 AM EST

I was a member of the TMNT fanclub in my native country. Didn’t get a bandana but got a patch which I still have somewhere. I got a badge and letter and maybe some stickers. I vaguely remember a newsletter that came for a few months then stopped. Don’t know who signed our stuff, it was probably one of the turtles.

Also Happy Birthday Matt. You are about 2 months older than me. No wonder most of the stuff here strikes a cord with me.

Ghosted by Sepp Heckmann @ 02/06/2004 2:07 AM EST

I’ve been lurking for quite a while now, so I figured it was about time I posted something…
Happy Birthday, Matt! 25 isn’t that old, but what do I know? I’m only 20 and I freaked out about that. The only thing that got me through my little crisis was the realization that 21 was just around the corner. (Like that stops me now!)

Is there some sort of milestone at 25? If there is, I don’t know about it. I think it’s time to make one up, that way you can look forward to being 25.

There is one advantage to turning a year older: You get cake. That’s at least a +1. I really like cake, especially birthday cake.:)

Ghosted by Andrea @ 02/06/2004 2:11 AM EST

Happy lappy birthday, Matt! You’re only as old as you feel. I loved the Toitles since episode 1 up to that weirdness in the last few seasons. I never liked gum, but Freddy’s the bomb. So are you, Matt. Biggity bomb.

Ghosted by Armagideon Time @ 02/06/2004 2:11 AM EST

I used to like getting mail, now I hate it. I wish they had a Canadian version of that book ‘How to Disappear in America’ so I could go so deep in the figurative underground that no one is even aware I exist.

In Canada, we got patches with our Ninja Turtle Club. They were way cooler than the bandana.

Ghosted by Cannibalizer @ 02/06/2004 2:32 AM EST

I was totally in the fan club. I defenitely remember seeing the envelope. The rest of the stuff I’m fuzzy on, cept the bandana. I had two of those, a red one, and a purple one. Oh yeah, I had that pizza launcher, but the one toy that sticks in my mind is the turtles balloon. That was a cool toy for about a month. Then it went flat.

I dig the two articles at once. And having them be a little shorter is no big deal.

Ghosted by Dustin @ 02/06/2004 2:34 AM EST

I was totally in the fan club. I defenitely remember seeing the envelope. The rest of the stuff I’m fuzzy on, cept the bandana. I had two of those, a red one, and a purple one. Oh yeah, I had that pizza launcher, but the one toy that sticks in my mind is the turtles balloon. That was a cool toy for about a month. Then it went flat.

I dig the two articles at once. And having them be a little shorter is no big deal.

Ghosted by Dustin @ 02/06/2004 2:34 AM EST

Matt, gotta say, I like this, two shorter articles versus one long one is MUCH better. No offence, but sometimes I just dont feel like devoting a half hour to fully understand how much a movie sucks. Besides, sometime youll print an article about something I have no interest whatsoever in *cough*transformers*cough* so its nice to have a choice and not have to wait a few days to see another article.

Ghosted by The Dude @ 02/06/2004 2:58 AM EST

man, it’s really taking a long time for these DNS settings to go into effect… anyways, I never joined the Turtle’s fan club. I did, however, join the Burger King Kids Club (which I think I saw on an article or post here on X-E). Anyways, so instead of getting all that cool turtle stuff, I got a giant poster of Scottie Pippen. I felt ripped off, because I was a Bulls fan but they sent me Pippen and not Jordan

Ghosted by Skitzo from stupid5pin.com @ 02/06/2004 4:06 AM EST

Turtles were heros in the uk, not ninjas and mikey never had nunchuks until this year

cowabunga!

Ghosted by Gaz @ 02/06/2004 4:30 AM EST

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