I would bet that someone knows what this is all about. Other than the fact that it has two faces in one, and appears to be possibly a gambling game of some sort, I must admit to being stumped by it. Pocket sized, and given out as a promo by Boston’s Quality Lunch.
Circa, I have no idea.
I am guessing this is strictly a novelty item, isn’t it?
Apparently a lot of people, which is something of a mystery to me. Without the accordion, how could we have a great polka? And who doesn’t love a great polka!? Okay, apparently a lot of people don’t like the accordion, or polkas, which I am sure would be perplexing to these Wisconsin gents:
I love the graphics of this vintage 1971 Glenwood, Minnesota Waterama annual festival pin! Makes me wish I could have attended the event!
Here’s a look at a bit of Waterama fun, 2010 style:
If it weren’t for the fact that I remember William Shatner’s character from Boston Legal, I don’t think I would have recognized this figure to be the bobble headed likeness of the former Captain Kirk. Push the button on top of the base to hear Shatner identify himself as the enigmatic…Denny Crane!
The general consensus is that the robot never actually uttered those exact words, but they became a classic TV catch phrase anyway. A must-have how-to book for the mechanically inclined Lost In Space fan.
Here’s the robot in action, plus an interview with the late Dick Tufeld, the marvelous voice behind the “bumbling bucket of bolts” as so nicknamed by the incorrigible Dr. Zachary Smith:
The wording on the underside of the base indicates him to have been a 1978 promotional item for Great American Male Cologne. Wonder what fragrance would have been appropriate for a man with his obvious attributes? “Odd Spice” perhaps? Whatever it was, I am guessing it would have been sold by the six-pack.
Not wild asparagus, as featured in this first Euell Gibbons book published in 1962, but the other food that made the naturalist a household name (and the subject of much playful satire) in the 1970s.
Hate to tell you, yes he is, if someone is asking you whether or not he is collectible. I picked him up at a yard sale for 50 cents from a woman who was glad to see the gruesome guy go, and didn’t care that he was handmade in Norway. It didn’t take me long to find an on-line buyer who was more than happy to pay his $25 adoption fee.
Odd Yard Sale Finds 