April 03, 2009

APRIL OF FOOLS: SQEEKER


The Sqeeker makes shoes squeak. But just for fun; not for other purposes.

6 comments:

  1. I ordered one of these from Johnson-Smith as a kid. When I received it, I was puzzled. First of all, it didn't sound like a squeaky shoe, but made a sound like a squeezable cat toy. Secondly I remember debating on whether it was meant for MY shoe, or to be put on someone else's. I was confused because surely someone would notice a metal contraption with a red rubber BULB on the end of it on the bottom of their shoe. And how would I sneak it on the bottom of said shoe? I threw it in a drawer and played with my hypo-phony instead.

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  2. Sheesh Jody, you were living the dream when it comes to childhood novelties. None of my filled-out order forms ever made it to JS headquarters.
    So odd that you chose the sqeeker of all the JS products. (and the hypo phony of course). I commend you.
    Come to think of it I've not even tested my sqeeker. I really sould.

    Great observations! Your comment has outdone my post by far.

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  3. You're too kind sir! But yes, I actually sent in my JS order. Must've had some birthday money. It must've been on the "5 items for $1.99" page or something. But I remember getting the squeeker, whoopee cushion, joy buzzer, fake hamburger, and fake vomit (which was a nice yellow variation from the one I already owned...obtained in a joke shop in Hot Springs...it looked like...never mind.) Of course you know that it seemed like 6 months before my order arrived. Really enjoying the posts about this stuff!! Your blog brings back so many great memories!!

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  4. Oh yeah...and I got the hypo phony in Hot Springs too. I actually took it to school with me to show off one time. Can you imagine a kid bringing a syringe with a spring-loaded "needle" to school nowdays? Nope.

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  5. Aha, that's great that it was a bargain item. Makes sense.
    I don't suppose that Hot Springs shop is still around, eh?

    Yeah, the hypo-phony is such a crazy, dated item. And I have to believe that some poor kid's hypo malfunctioned and didn't retract.
    Marvin Glass may be a toy-making genius, but he sure wasn't a safety first sort of guy.

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  6. Man, I wish the Hot Springs shop was still there. The memory I have of it was an old "everything's behind the counter" type store. There was an old man whom you had to ask if you wanted to look at/buy something on the shelves behind the counter. As a little kid, I was, of course, intimidated.

    If I only had a time machine.

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