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07/26/2007: Summer Megaparty: Make My Monsters Grow MORE THAN THIS!

Note: I’ve decided to extend the Megaparty into the month of August, partly because I skipped some days but mostly because I’m just digging doing it and will probably be more likely to keep doing it if I say I will. So, let’s continue the party!

It’s time to see the results from the Grow-A-Toy experiment from a few posts back. Are you amped?


I’m putting cotton in my cheeks so I can sound more like Sean Connery when I say, “I’m waiting to be impressed.” I’m pretty bad at judging mass, but does that seem like a 600% increase in size to you? To provide some sense of scale, I’ve included one of those cute little animal statues Tetley Tea used to give out for no apparent reason.

Bumble fared a lot better than Kong, but as expected, the finely detailed features seen in his small, dry form were almost totally eradicated by the rapid, soaking growth. If Tootsie made vanilla Toosie Pops, his head is what one of them would look like just before the bite that brings us to the chewy center.

Kong is just a mess. If a dog took a shit and it looked like that, I’d be impressed at the Kong similarities. But since it’s supposed to look like King Kong, I’m left wondering why it looks like dog shit. All of his detailing is gone. The only silver lining is that, if you turn him sideways, he kind of looks like a black goldfish speeding away with a stolen money bag.


Even if they aren’t pretty, I’m still hoping that Kong and Bumble just need a little more time to realize the incredible size advertised on their packages. They’re back in the water now, but I need them to hurry the fuck up, as they’re keeping us from any opportunity to make a pitcher of iced tea. Perhaps I should’ve chosen different items to use as Grow-A-Toy tanks?


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 91 comments

I’ve never commented before but am a long-time fan of the site. Just wanted to say my fiance and I are really enjoying the Summer Megaparty! So glad to find you’re going to keep it going! Awesomeness!

:o )

..and holy cr@p! FIRST! WOW! :o )

Ghosted by Kelly @ 07/26/2007 9:12 PM EDT


Thanks, Kelly!

Ghosted by Matt @ 07/26/2007 9:13 PM EDT


Welcome! And I’m enjoying the “mailto: crap” link in my last post! LOL

Ghosted by Kelly @ 07/26/2007 9:15 PM EDT


My party-in-the-sky predictions are coming to fruition. When do we start the looting, Kingklash?

Ghosted by Knegative @ 07/26/2007 9:15 PM EDT


hey Matt,long time reader,first time poster.i’m not much for them water growy things,but at my local wally world they got these little packages with random marvel comics characters that like that,i dunno do something like that but apparantly you have no clue what character your getting till you drop em in water?i duno they sound cool,anyone seen these things?anyways this site is tits

Ghosted by Awesome Bill From Dawsonville @ 07/26/2007 9:15 PM EDT


But Matt, haven’t we been through this before with growing water thingies? They allways need more time than it says on the package to reach their full potential. Although Kong definately does look like crap. Poor Kong.

Ghosted by Hazzard @ 07/26/2007 9:17 PM EDT


Poor, pathetic Kong. It wasn’t the airplanes, ’twas water that killed the beast.

BTW, has anyone had any damn luck tracking down a copy of Monster Squad on DVD? I checked seven, yes SEVEN, different stores today that should have had it, but all were sold out.

Ghosted by Magic Toy @ 07/26/2007 9:18 PM EDT


Now for the second part of the experiment: Seeing how they handle being shrunk back down. And then the third part, growing them again!

Ghosted by DocDragon @ 07/26/2007 9:20 PM EDT


Awww… shrinking them back down is never fun. They just end up looking like wrinkly, dried-out old pieces of crap. At least, I’ve never had a grow-in-water thingy that hasn’t ended up that way.

Ghosted by TE-Ryan @ 07/26/2007 9:22 PM EDT


Poor Kong looks as if he’s covered in tumors.

Ghosted by iAMYou @ 07/26/2007 9:29 PM EDT


Water + Kong = Inside out Kong???

Ghosted by Danny J @ 07/26/2007 9:33 PM EDT


Water + Kong = Chewed up black licorice?

Ghosted by Matt @ 07/26/2007 9:34 PM EDT


Yo did you put them in warm->hot water? Otherwise they won’t grow properly. I tried a dinosaur in tap water and nothing happened after a day other than it getting swollen and gross (like Kong above) but in warmer water it grew just fine.

Ghosted by Eddie Lightning Frog @ 07/26/2007 9:34 PM EDT


Poor Kong looks like black mushrooms on a tree or something. At least Bumble is still fairly recognizable.

And yay for the MegaParty! I was hoping you’d keep it going. Other than my vacation, it makes up for these last few months being kinda dull.

Ghosted by starwenn @ 07/26/2007 9:35 PM EDT


Eddie: I must admit that the water is just room temperature. Maybe…maybe I should microwave them?

Ghosted by Matt @ 07/26/2007 9:36 PM EDT


If you microwave them, please video that. I predict explosion, and I think it would be entertaining.
I have had these types and they seem to get far bigger than yours. But we left them for a week. Well, the parts of them that my son took apart.

Looking forward to the extended megaparty. I was thinking the other day that it was nearly over, YAY for it not being. There’s not going to be that much time between this and Halloween.

Ghosted by kb @ 07/26/2007 9:40 PM EDT


Gotta tell you, I’m enjoying the mailto:crap as well Kelly

As for the experiment, I wouldn’t say they’re too bad. Kong looks like he suffered a terrible accident :D But I’m still itching for one of those Bumbles.
And when I first had these things when I was four, I didn’t knew you could shrink them back down again. We threw out my Cocoa Pebbles’ Pebbles grow-thing!

Oh, and Awesome Bill I’m pretty sure I’ve seen those Marvel things.

Ghosted by Tutsuro @ 07/26/2007 9:43 PM EDT


Jesus, Kong looks AWFUL. That sucks, man. What a let down. :(

Ghosted by Muppet Baby @ 07/26/2007 9:48 PM EDT


Magic Toy I found Monster Sqaud on DVD at Coconuts, which is a sister store of FYE/Sun Coast. Has anyone seen those play until you win claw machines at WalMart that usually have crap that you would find in a gumball machine in them? I got a grow a baseball player in one of the machines and have yet to grow him, the article has inspired me to find him and throw him in a cup of water.

Ghosted by son @ 07/26/2007 9:52 PM EDT


Wow, those are still really small. Great description for Kong- he really does look like a goldfish thief. Also, yay for more Megaparty!

Welcome, new posters!

Ghosted by Rainbowfeet @ 07/26/2007 9:55 PM EDT


That Bumble looks frosty, almost like a snow sculpture with dyed parts. I wonder if it was intentional?

Ghosted by Paul W. @ 07/26/2007 10:00 PM EDT


Wow, Kong DOES look like a black fish who just robbed a bank.

Ghosted by Annette @ 07/26/2007 10:12 PM EDT


Kong looks like a piece of Duke.

–Excited about the extension Matt!

Ghosted by Joker @ 07/26/2007 10:16 PM EDT


I always wonder if toy companies ever test these kind of toys to see if they come out looking good enough to justify selling. They probably just make them look good small, and just not give a crap whether or not it looks o.k. hydrated. I dunno, I guess the idea of toy scientists wearing lab coats and goggles in the Mattel Toy Testing Headquarters testing grow-a-toys in big beakers makes me feel good.

Ghosted by trotskyismyniece @ 07/26/2007 10:21 PM EDT


That reminds me of the gremlin grow toy you did. All bubbly and gross. But that was cool because it reminded us of the mutating scene in the movie Gremlins.

Awesome Bill Those are called Zizzlingers our beloved regular Mystie wrote a blog post on her site about the disney princess version she bought, complete with video.

click here for the article

Ghosted by Goob @ 07/26/2007 10:39 PM EDT


Nuts to aesthetics, microwave em and document the freak results :D

Ghosted by Eddie Lightning Frog @ 07/26/2007 10:39 PM EDT


Microwaving sounds like it should be done outside, with adult supervision. But nah, where’s the fun in that?

Ghosted by heeree @ 07/26/2007 10:48 PM EDT


I forgot to say thanks, Matt, for continuing the Megaparty. At least I’ll have that to look forward to…

Ghosted by Annette @ 07/26/2007 10:49 PM EDT


Let us hope the megaparty grows a lot better than Kong and Mr. Bumble! :)

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 07/26/2007 11:08 PM EDT


Maybe if you just tossed them into some boiling water. Hm. Every “Grow-A” thing I’ve gotten looks like it’s got crazy boils all over it.

Blllaaahhhhh I still haven’t finished the 1992 article. Got it part way read during class! I’m so drained right now…. *curls into little ball*

Ghosted by Mystie @ 07/26/2007 11:14 PM EDT


magictoy i had a hard time finding monster squad also but i found it after my third attempt alot of bestbuys arent carrying it and wally world alot are only getting two copies wtf anyway if you find at wally world its 14.44 plus tax and the disc are bad ass the transfer is awesome the featurettes are atleast an hour and half out together the deleted scenes arent alot but cool but i hope you find and anyone else thats looking for good luck :)

Matt also i love the megaparty i commented once before in the blog but i dont know if you read it is there anyway that you could do an entry about burples i cant find shit on them on the net if you could it would great and who evere did the post about warm water they are absolutely correct i just bought a cheapo grow in water fish from walmart for 88 cents and its fucking huge now anyway take care and keep up the great work

Ghosted by joker9866 @ 07/26/2007 11:29 PM EDT


Try to follow me on this.

Back in the age of the dinosaurs, there were a bunch of tar pits. At least according to cartoons. The island where Kong used to reside had dinosaurs on it (awesome!! But beside the point). So maybe the toy makers thought that His Majesty Monkey fell in a tar pit… and turned into tar. It looks like a big glob of tar to me.

Or take the movie Akira. You know when Tetsuo turns into the big flesh-machine glob that the director/writer likes so much. Imagine that except pure black, not so massive, and without the girlfriend-turned-pimple part. (That was just gross)

Ghosted by Ben @ 07/26/2007 11:35 PM EDT


These things always turn into disappointment. You’d think by now they could have improved the “Grow-a-Thing” technology; forget world peace, let’s solve the big problems first! ;)

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 07/26/2007 11:36 PM EDT


joker9866: Thanks for the tip. I did check two different Wal-Marts today, both had been bled dry. It is very frustrating to turn down the new release aisle and see the one blank row where discs should be. Without fail it was always the movie I was looking for. I guess it just goes to show that many of the folks doing the ordering on behalf of these stores have no idea what the demand is for certain cult movies.

I finally gave up after wasting probably $10 in gas and ordered from one of the marketplace sellers on Amazon.com. Even Amazon says they are out until Aug. 2nd. This is what I get for not going out first thing on Tuesday to grab a copy.

I haven’t had a “grow-a-thing” toy since the mid ’80s. All I can remember is that it was a robot (heavily Transformer-esque, but not licensed) and that it was blue. I also remember taking it into a nursing home, or some place similar that, in my memories, gives off that “nursing home” vibe. Weird.

Ghosted by Magic Toy @ 07/27/2007 12:04 AM EDT


I thought Kong looked more like a tarantula that met his fate in a microwave ala Gremlins.

More MegaParty in August? YAHOO!

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 07/27/2007 12:07 AM EDT


They just casted the new Mr. Spock in the Star Trek prequel. It’s Sylar from HEROES.

http://tinyurl.com/2g94hm

You know, Star Trek (any version) is one of the few subjects I don’t think has ever been on this website. Of course, I’m sure I’ll be proven wrong.

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 07/27/2007 12:12 AM EDT


The article from which so many holy things flow, the great X-E Quiz had a question about Star Trek

http://www.x-entertainment.com/messages/520.html

Ghosted by Knegative @ 07/27/2007 12:35 AM EDT


Funny that Star Trek is mentioned today, of all days. Yesterday I received a copy of Star Trek: The Motion Picture from Netflix. I got through maybe the first hour or so before exhaustion overcame me and I had to turn it off and get some sleep.

I was never a Trek-fan growing up – at all. My best friend, however, was a card carrying trekkie. He showed me all of the ST movies that were available at that time (1987) and we also watched when ST:TNG premiered.

I decided to give it another go positing that maybe my new found maturity (ha ha) will make it much more enjoyable.

I did think the first hour or so was pretty good, better than I remembered it. Then again I didn’t have access to vodka in 1987.

Ghosted by Magic Toy @ 07/27/2007 12:43 AM EDT


Star Trek always seemed so boring to me. I don’t like straight up sci-fi/space travel. I need some twist to it. I love Star Wars of course. Live and Breathe the Matrix. Cyberpunk is very good times. Did you see what they did to Shadowrun? Inexcusable.

Ghosted by Knegative @ 07/27/2007 12:49 AM EDT


i love star trek, i’m a huge fan. i have the complete series on vhs and the first (6) original series movies. oh, and the motion picture was as boring as watching grass grow- personally, i feel its all special effects and .. well, nothing else.

discuss.

Ghosted by Andrew @ 07/27/2007 12:52 AM EDT


Nimoy was pretty good as Galvatron. Does that count?

Ghosted by Knegative @ 07/27/2007 12:56 AM EDT


I used to watch The Search For Spock all the friggin’ time when I was a little kid. It was the only Star Trek movie we had. I’m not real familiar with the other ones.

Ghosted by Annette @ 07/27/2007 1:08 AM EDT


To be perfectly honest, I only rented the first movie so I would be in the proper frame of mind to watch The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock again.

BTW, I was also blown away to recognize the guy who played the father in 7th Heaven in the first ST movie. I am going to show my lady that later on Friday because she will never believe it. Well, she would believe it, but it is more fun to show her anyway.

Punishment for all those times she wanted to watch that godawful show.

Ghosted by Magic Toy @ 07/27/2007 1:17 AM EDT


Ick…that’s the second creepiest reveal in blog history. Doesn’t quite beat Doc Apple Brown Betty though.
Welcome in, Kelly and D-town Bill!
Yay for extended Megaparty! Does this mean Shark Week coverage? :D

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 07/27/2007 1:17 AM EDT


Star Trek eh? Huh.
I’d say the original series and TNG are excellent, in writing at the very least. My fathers a huge fan of it, so I’ve kinda been immersed in it my whole life. I’m not rabid about it, but I can certainly appreciate it.

Knegative, I know what you mean about straight science fiction. I’m something of a Heinlein fan, but more of his dramas with science fiction elements. I’m reading his novel The Rolling Stones right now, which I’m having troubles getting into, though it is picking up.

Ghosted by Tutsuro @ 07/27/2007 1:28 AM EDT


ahahahahahaha… i totally forgot the father from 7th heaven was in the motion picture.. hahahahahahahha….

i’m putting in the search for spock … now.

woot !

Ghosted by Andrew @ 07/27/2007 1:33 AM EDT


Yay, more mega party! Keep up the good work Matt!

Ghosted by Donata05 @ 07/27/2007 1:53 AM EDT


I was a huge fan of TNG. I even had alot of the toys Kenner did, including the Enterprise. I’ve also seen all of the TNG movies except the last one.

Never watched DS9. Enterprise sucked. Only watched Voyager when 7of9 joined the cast and liked the show itself. Surprisingly, I’ve only seen a couple episodes of the original series and the original (boring) motion picture.

I’ve also seen the indy film Free Enterprise, and the two Trekkies docs, which are cool.

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 07/27/2007 2:00 AM EDT


My cousin wants me to just be myself, because he wants to see what the difference is between him in 1992, and me when i was his age in 1992.

In reference to 1992: Bill was my age in 1992, and this is what is important to me. When i grow up, i want to be a college basketball player. After college i want to be a personal trainer for the UGA girls basketball team. I don’t watch cartoons, i watch law and order. :] My favorite movies are Dirty Love, and 10 things i hate about you.

As a teenager, i love to hang out with my friends. When i come home from school, i do my homework, and go shoot hoops. I don’t know what “Ducktales” is. I think skater boys are hott.

Thank youu!

Ghosted by hannah(bill's cousin) @ 07/27/2007 2:36 AM EDT


Breaking news: Stephen Colbert just ate a Dorito dipped in Marshmallow Fluff. And Karen Allen is going to be in Indy 4!
I don’t want to think about chicken when I’m watching satirical news shows.

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 07/27/2007 2:55 AM EDT


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