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05/01/2005: You saw the House. Now meet the Store.

Almost didn’t beat the clock to get this one up before the weekend ends, but here it is — an almost-sequel to the House article, it’s….The Store! Yes, on the way home from the House, we met the Store. The Store is also known as “Gizmos & Gadgets,” and it’s got everything. Just a step above a thrift shop, it’s the place that gave me WWF loot bags, Dinosaurs Attack! cards and a black licorice pipe that I completely forgot to mention in the article. Go check out the goods! Envy the crap I have no place for! Make outrageous monetary offers!

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 124 comments

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You’d absoultely LOVE this store in Chicago named Uncle Fun’s. I think it’s in Wrigleyville but I could be very wrong. I’ve been there a number of times and it’s always fabulous. The first time there I bought a school folder with Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter on it…priceless!

Ghosted by sara @ 05/03/2005 4:52 PM EDT

I remember Wacky Packages from the 70’s. My faves from then were FishBone Salad Dressing, "That’s what it tastes like!" Bear Aspirin, "For Grizzly headaches." Peter Pain Peanut Butter, With Peter looking like ten rounds with Ali, Forman, and Fraizer.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 05/03/2005 5:31 PM EDT

That picture I posted of the Haimster was taken during the commentary for the License to Drive DVD. I’m still not sure if that’s Corey, or if it’s the guy who ate Corey.

Ghosted by trajeal @ 05/03/2005 6:32 PM EDT

And with the TMNT season 2 DVD is out, The Incredible Shrinking Turtles and the rest of the alien crystal fragments arc is availible for your viewing pleasure. You shouldn’t even have to think about whether or not to go buy it.

Ghosted by JDavis @ 05/03/2005 8:05 PM EDT

If anybody bothers to read this far, try googling Dinosaurs Attack. The first result has scans of all 55(?) cards.

Ghosted by Ed @ 05/03/2005 10:25 PM EDT

Oh, my friend had those Dinosaurs Attack cards. I remember one with a baby being ripped apart. At the tender age of, um, 10 or whatever, I found it absolutely disgusting.

Awesome!

Ghosted by Piscez @ 05/03/2005 10:36 PM EDT

Dinosaurs Attack cards would be hilarious if they weren’t so damned disturbing at times.

Ghosted by RewolfJ @ 05/04/2005 12:00 PM EDT

Hey, that TMNT postcard book was made by my dad’s studio!

I definitely remember the cover.

So, you may be interested to know that in a cosmic coincidence, the guy partially responsible for that TMNT postcard book LOVED Dinosaurs Attack!

My dad (cartoonist Guy Gilchrist) used to throw kind of tasteless christmas parties called Christmastown every year … he still does when he can … where he’d decorate everything with cheap toys and crap …

One year he went crazy and bought a million packs of Dinosaurs Attack! … He covered walls with them, gave them to people.

I was a kid, and they scared the shit out of me.

Obviously a play on Mars Attacks! … he loved them, but he got in a lot of trouble later for disturbing the children … and the adults …. it didn’t go well with my mother. They’re divorced now (not because of that)!

Aaanyway, yeah, the cover of that TMNT postcard book would have been done by Guy Gilchrist Studios. My father didn’t draw it himself if I remember, but someone from his staff did. My mother (Marie Andersen) probably colored it. They also did Tiny Toons, Looney Tunes, Biker Mice From Mars and Disney books at the time.

Guy Gilchrist is best known as the artist of the comic strips Jim Henson’s The Muppets and Ernie Bushmiller’s Nancy.

That Shredder proposing to Krang picture you posted is clearly not the work of my dad’s studio … but I’m sure most of the others are. I remember they did a book about the turtles teaching kids to recycle too! And retellings of The Incredible Shrinking Turtles and a black and white Eastman/Laird Donatello comic where he meets and artist and goes through a mirror where the artist’s drawings come to life, or something … I wouldn’t doubt that some of the pictures within are from these books …

I was a huge turtles fan as a kid … still have a soft spot for ‘em.

Ghosted by Garrett Gilchrist @ 05/04/2005 4:28 AM EDT

Thank you so much everyone. You don’t know for how long I’ve been trying to remember what the hell those cards/stickers were called. So Matt, jhnnywalkr, JLAJRC. I thank you all for helping me remember…now I can die a happy man. Ecto Cooler for everyone!

Ghosted by Jabo @ 05/04/2005 11:27 AM EDT

I had completely forgotten about the Dinosaurs attack cards till just now, I collected the shit out of them when I was a kid, and i’m fairly sure they are still in the closet somewhere….

Good finds on the mario cards and napkins as well…

Ghosted by Nathan @ 05/04/2005 5:58 PM EDT

I really enjoyed your two stories about upstate NY…
I’m originally from rural Pennsyltucky… (near where they have "Groundhogs Day"… yeah) and We had our own shop like the one in your story…
It was called "Moodies" and They sold Rat-traps right next to these rubber snakes and lizards…(that always stood out in my head)
and it was also the first place that I ever got a nudie-mag…
(shhhh… I stole it)
Congrats on the job and keep up the great writing…

Ghosted by isNegative @ 05/04/2005 9:57 PM EDT

I have got to see all of those turtle cards! I think Krang became the space pope.

Dinosaurs Attack? Awesome!

Ghosted by dgggggf @ 05/05/2005 9:16 AM EDT

Holy crap. I never realized it before, but I grew up in the town that is on the Brad’s Fun Shop mailing address. I too spent many an hour looking over the ads. I didn’t ever buy anthing from them because I was 8 and had no money, but Brad’s Fun Shop was right there. I could have walked to it.

Now I want to go back and see what the address looks like. I always pictured some huge factory full of midgets working conveyor belts.

Ghosted by Fezziwig @ 05/05/2005 1:56 PM EDT

A noogie a day keeps the geeks away…

Ghosted by BettieBoo @ 05/05/2005 2:41 PM EDT

…Which is completely sad. Why on earth would we want to keep geeks away?

Ghosted by Freezair @ 05/07/2005 1:00 AM EDT

That store could make a lot more money if it jst auctioned the stuff on ebay or something. People would pay a lot more for that just for the collectible value! (heck anything can go on that site. the River City Rascals baseball team is auctioning off a one-day contract there!)

Ghosted by mjf7583 @ 05/07/2005 12:20 PM EDT

Agh! Awesome! Many laughs, and that’s one thing I can’t get enough of. I’m sure buried in that store there is something of actual value (a rare collector’s card, etc.) that some random stranger will recognize and buy. But that, is just an assumption. Hey, you never know, if you go back, it could be you.

Ghosted by PersonWhoIsSomeone--Liz @ 05/08/2005 7:05 PM EDT

Hi. My name is Ulysses… Ulysses T. Russ for full name. I teach eighth grade science in Dearborn, IL. where my students refer to me as Mr. Russ. However, there are some classroom rapscallions that refer to me as a less than appropriate name based on my initials… Uterus.. get it.. U.T. Russ… utuerus…

Well, nonetheless, they have been tying up these commment boards with useless nonsense and signing it "Love, Uterus" Well, Ulysses wanted to clear the air and I hope you catch those bastards…

Love, Uterus

Ghosted by U. T. Russ @ 05/09/2005 5:14 PM EDT

penis

Ghosted by me @ 05/12/2005 3:11 AM EDT

I really covet those WWF party favor bags… it’s nearly my birthday, hope I can find something that crazy…does that store sell by mail order..? heheh I wish! I have to look up those Wacky Packages too, I almost forgot those, when I was really little I had them stuck all over the door to my room…the one I remember the most was a candy bar Bustedfinger

Ghosted by JG @ 05/12/2005 8:55 PM EDT

Thanks for the tip, Ed. The art on the Dinosaurs Attack! cards look like the art from some of the 1940s and ’50s pulp sci-fi magazines I collect.

Great article, Matt. I’ve learned about such cool stuff from this site, like Wacky Packages (which is the only reason I recognize the Morton/Moron Salt brand when I see it on tv) and Dinosaurs Attack!

Ghosted by Molten @ 05/13/2005 9:19 PM EDT

I had an opposite experience with a cool store I found. It is called toys of yesteryear, which ROCKED, but to bad all his stuff was overpriced! For example, he had a Voltron for 95 bucks! LOL whatever dude. Another one is an old Kool-aid dispenser for 45 bucks! YOu can get those on ebay for like 9 bucks lol. He also had a battlecat from he-man for 20 dollars. The guy is tripped out of his mind but still, he has a great store with loads of toys.

My greatest challenge to date, which he claimed he had 3 days prior to me asking, is an old ZapIt! gun, these are guns that shot out ink onto people’s clothes, then the ink disappeared a lil while later, it was great fun, and i would like another, but cannot find one. He said he sold it for 80 dollars..I believe it with his whacked out prices.

Ghosted by the80sruled @ 05/16/2005 6:30 AM EDT

oh yea that zapit! toy was banned in 1988 cause the ink that it discharged had an unsafe ph balance heh.

Ghosted by the80sruled @ 05/16/2005 6:33 AM EDT

“The Store” is located in Downsville, NY Main Street which is Route 30 and Route 206

Ghosted by JoeGizmo @ 09/24/2008 4:23 PM EDT

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