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Baby Alligators: 1.50.

I picked up this decades-old Johnson Smith catalog a while back, and it's absolutely great. I don't know what year it's from, but the prices are so low that even saying "the `60s" seems way off base. Wouldn't be surprised if it's much, much older than that -- after all, Johnson Smith has been around for a long time and still continues throwing fun crappy stuff at the world regardless of whatever company name they're going by nowadays. There's so much in here worth showing you, from the ten-buck semi-automatics to Camel cigarettes at two dollars a carton, but we'll start with this and save the rest for a rainy day:

Oh man...ILLEGAL PETS! Rules on animal ownage have changed quite a bit over the decades, but even if you were able to snag any of the four shown on that page, I really doubt it'd be from the same place you pick up joy buzzers. Faux chameleons and horned toads aren't too out of the ordinary, but the baby turtles! Oh how I've longed! Ever since that kid had one in My Blue Heaven! Seared with salmonella, pet stores are strictly forbidden to hock 'em here. Rumors persist that they're available from any number of street vendors in Chinatown, but hey, who wants to carry around a baby turtle for six hours afterwards? They're not packs of gum, or sugar gliders.

The real killer is the baby-alligators-for-sale thing. God I'd rip the manhood off right now, fry it, eat it and throw it up on any of your grandmothers to land myself a baby freakin' alligator. A buck fifty. For a baby alligator. That I could grow to immense sizes and sic on people who offend me. Holy yes.

Posted by Matt on 02/21/2005. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 57 comments

Don’t forget Lake Placid.

I also liked Clarissa and Pete & Pete. But my favorite comedies on that show was Welcome Freshmen and the early episodes of All That. Nickeldeon played such a big part of my life. I don’t think they ever put on a bad show until it switched to an all-day kiddie channel and started ignoring teens. Good thing I got Nick Gas and the Nicktoon channel (although I rarely watch it).

I don’t mind the outdated Christmas look. In fact, I want to comment on something Matt put up during Halloween. He showed an Alice Cooper music video "Man Behind the Mask" but it was hard to watch because of it’s age. I found the video in great quality at Yahoo Music. Here’s the link:

click here

Chestnuts roasted by JLAJRC @ 02/22/2005 10:47 AM


If I were you, Matt, I’d send away for some of this stuff and see what happens.

Chestnuts roasted by Jeff Mack @ 02/22/2005 11:28 AM


regarding layout: change it back to halloween! christmas is over, and there’s really only those two holidays. will anyone have a problem with 8 months of halloween? :D

Chestnuts roasted by Eddie Lightning Frog @ 02/22/2005 2:16 PM


R.I.P Hunter S. Thompson

Chestnuts roasted by cool_breeze @ 02/22/2005 3:24 PM


I go to school in ‘Nawlins, and my mother and a friend of hers drove me down here from home in New Mexico. When we crossed the border to Louisiana we pulled over at a rest stop that had tourist information. We grabbed a few dozen pamplets and set out again, reading them on the road. The best one is now proudly displayed in New Mexico. It’s for a gator hatchery, and it proudly annouces that you can see the whole life cycle of the alligator, "from hatchling to handbag".

I would not object to 8 months of Halloween.

Chestnuts roasted by Mara @ 02/22/2005 3:34 PM


I like the fake money… haha.. these days showing it off for the "desired effect" would get u mugged.. classic. :)

Wouldn’t mind a pet gator myself. : I suppose ppl here in Australia have them,but prob a bit dangerous, better sticking to roos..

Chestnuts roasted by tmz_99 @ 02/22/2005 6:07 PM


My little brother has a baby turtle my parents got him at a place called Cowtown in New Jersey somewhere (I forget where). His name is Jim (as in Slim Jims, my brother’s favorite treat). He’s a cute little fellow whose tank provides soothing waterfall background for people using my parents’ office.

As for the layout…Matt, you’re a busy man. Take your time. You’ll get up a new one when you’re ready.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 02/22/2005 6:18 PM


I like how it says that the baby alligators are being offered at great expense to us. What did someone have to die for the measley $1.50?

Chestnuts roasted by Pig-Malien @ 02/22/2005 6:37 PM


Baby gators for $1.50. That, my friends.. is the American dream.

Chestnuts roasted by Review the World @ 02/22/2005 6:50 PM


they are selling chameleons, (kameleons?) in the mall again. There is a kiosk just for them marketing them as the worlds greatest pet. I had better get one if this is the case.

Chestnuts roasted by Caseymasterpiece @ 02/22/2005 10:01 PM


I went through half a dozen turtles as a kid, ours were all ‘rescued’, mainly from the road, although my soft shelled snapper was saved from a dog. Turtles have to be the lowest maintainence pets in the world. I had chameleons too, and snakes, lizards, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, gerbils, an iguanna, fish, toads, tortoises… my Dad had NOOO idea how to say ‘no’. Never had an alligator, though. Can’t catch or buy those in IL.

Chestnuts roasted by deus ex maria @ 02/22/2005 10:24 PM


I feel sorry for the pets that found homes through these advertisements…the chameleons, it said, can go for months without being fed? I’m sure they lead unhappy, if short, lives.

Chestnuts roasted by Rei @ 02/23/2005 12:04 PM


Pete and Pete on DVD. There IS a God.

I think I’d like to see the return of Roundhouse. I say "I think" because I really don’t remember the show all that well. Just that "the Dad" rode around the stage on a remote control recliner.

I want a remote control recliner.

Chestnuts roasted by Jill-o @ 02/23/2005 2:47 PM


You’ll notice the lack of exclamation points and use of bright, colorful text in this ad. Notice also how they explain the product, how it can be used, and that it wil live for "years and years". Oh how ads have changed.

…Who am I kidding. I grew up in the age of bright colors and exclamation points.

I wish I had a baby alligator.

Chestnuts roasted by Sucrose @ 02/23/2005 6:27 PM


My ex-boyfriend’s older sister had a turtle about 2 years ago. She kept it in a terrarium. I went out to Lancaster, PA for her college graduation 2 years ago, and I was sitting up watching TV in the living room. I saw the turtle eat one of her goldfish. I laughed evilly when I saw that. Man that was glorious. I think turtles are illegal to buy in New Jersey (where I live), but apparently they’re ok to buy in Pennsylvania. Anyone wanna confirm this for me???? I’d feel like a fool mixing up my homestate’s laws.

Baby alligators?! Jeez, I cannot believe it was actually legal to sell those!!!! This is a damn cool catalog!!!!!!!!!!

Once again, Matt, genius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 02/24/2005 9:13 AM


I’ve heard of Cowtown. I think its in the western-most part of South Jersey–somewhere around Cumberland, Glouschter, Camden, and Salem counties (bet its in Salem–its pretty hicksville there). Oh, who am I kidding. I live in southern Ocean County, near the Burlington County border, and apparently there is KKK activity in the next town over. I saw crosses on someone’s property. My mom claimed they were probably for religious reasons. Go on believing that one, mom.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 02/24/2005 9:26 AM


IN most states the baby turtles under 4" are illegal unless being sold for "educational" purposes. I bought two baby turtles a couple of months(for 25 dollars) ago and have since learned that they are probably one of the haredst pets to take care of

Chestnuts roasted by gems @ 02/24/2005 1:18 PM


It’s 1am here in Germany, and I may have to get up in 3 hours to shovel snow for the following 12, but the fact that there is Pete & Pete on DVD makes it all worth it!

Take that all you Schwinn riders!

Chestnuts roasted by Mad Cow @ 02/24/2005 7:20 PM


I know baby turtles are "technically" illegal here as well (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), but the laws are very loosely upheld. Almost every pet store you go into has a tank of 50 to 100 of the damn cute things. (about 5cm / 1.5" wide) There’re really cute, but word-to-the-not-so-wise… they grow up. I had em as a kid and they grow and grow… dont believe the "growth stunted by the size of the tank" bullcrap… once they were over 6 inched long, we "freed" them into a local creek..

And before you say… "growing’s not so bad".. heed these words.. turtles smell bad.. horrible… awful.. like swamp rot… just really nasty.. and the bigger they get, the smellier they get..

As for salmonella… bah… grow an immune system, you bunch of hospital-living, lysol-spraying, antibacterial-soap-using, hypocondriac… uhh… people..

Chestnuts roasted by robbro @ 02/25/2005 4:23 PM


My friend had a pet allegator when he was a kid. I don’t think it was illegal or anything (but I live in Canada, so it might be different up here, eh).

Chestnuts roasted by Connor @ 02/27/2005 1:04 AM


*bangs her head against keyboard* ghyjhmuyjhutyuyj!
Don’t you people watch Animal Planet?? Do you know how much trouble pet alligators cause??
*still thinks they’re neat though*

Chestnuts roasted by Bitchick @ 02/27/2005 3:04 AM


they sell those baby turtles down here in Florida…

Chestnuts roasted by dX927 @ 02/27/2005 11:54 PM


just commenting on when your magazine was from. RandomFactsGirl said it was circa the 30s which is too off, seeing as during that time people were probably more worried about the great depression than horned toads. I have alot of my father’s old comics from the late fifties and I would have to say that the price and style of ads look about the same, yours might be even a few years earlier, who knows.

Chestnuts roasted by chazbot @ 02/28/2005 3:36 PM


sending "pets" through the mail… that’s wrong and cruel. i remember i once got an ant farm and it came with a mail in certificate for free ants by mail. they arrived to me in a little plastic tube.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt9 @ 02/28/2005 6:53 PM


forget about the amnimals, what about that phony money?
the text is hillarious!

"effect created will be found to be all that can be desired."

let’s just pretend that we understand this fortune cookie grammar for sec.
and ponder what people these days might think if you were flashing a wad of money instead of paying plastic. i suppose it still comes in as a good gag though…

"hey Harry i hears ya got mugged?"

"yeah Frankie but the jokes on them! oh-ho!"

PS
speaking of oh-ho, well more just the ho and more specifially the ho x3… x-mas is over!

Chestnuts roasted by mc pee pants @ 03/02/2005 12:27 PM


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