Stuff From the Box
Stuff from the box! IT'S ON!
Let's start with this enabled medallion from 1921 from the National Dairy Show And Horse Show in Minnesota. Whoever wore this was OFFICIAL, so they had the authority to judge which Guernsey cow was the most magnificent, which cheddar cheese was the most delicious, and which horse would be "most likely to talk when nobody else is around".
This "Bat Pin" badge must be a generic goodie from around the time when the 1966 "Batman" TV series was such a phenomenon. My brother and I were big fans! For some reason, cheap doo-dads like this just make me smile.
Another fun badge features the Jolly Green Giant. Ho Ho Ho! I am guessing that this is from the 1960s, but have no real idea.
Here's a small brass pin advertising KOIN, "Portland News". To be honest I'm not sure what the "TTT" stands for. Is the pin supposed to resemble an old microphone? KOIN's history traces back to a radio station at 970 AM that launched on November 9, 1925, as KQP; the station changed its call sign to KOIN on April 12, 1926. It became an affiliate of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), now known as the CBS Radio Network, on September 1, 1929. During the golden years of radio, KOIN was one of Portland's major radio stations, with an extensive array of local programming, including live music from its own studio orchestra.
As a CBS radio affiliate, KOIN was the local home for CBS radio programs such as the CBS World News Roundup, Lux Radio Theater and Suspense. You can read more about KOIN on Wikipedia if you so desire!
I found this photo totally by accident, it shows a woman sitting at a microphone very much like the one represented by the pin, apparently this woman announced the time... not sure if it was in a store, or on the radio. Or what.
Next up is this neat Tom Mis Super Magnetic Compass Gun and Whistle premium from 1948, from Ralston. It consists of link chain which holds small six-gun w/plastic frame and magnetic metal barrel and arrowhead-shaped charm w/built-in whistle at end/small pocket clip on other side. The gun can be used as a compass by suspending the barrel which always points to the North (something I only just learned as I researched the item for this post!).
Of course you want to see what it looks like when it glows, don't you?
And finally, another tin-litho badge. Vote Shepley? Who he? Ethan A. Shepley was the Republican nominee in the 1964 Missouri gubernatorial election. He lost. Badly. Sorry, Ethan!
I hope you have enjoyed today's Stuff From the Box!
19 comments:
I'm gonna take a guess and say that you meant "enameled", not "enabled"? Then again, since this medallion made the wearer "official", I guess that also makes them enabled.
I like how the numerals are still perfectly legible even though parts of them are covered up. Funny how our brains fill in the blanks.
I think you're right about the Bat Pin being generic, and not officially connected to the TV show. The text seems superfluous, given the iconic Bat image. Maybe the text was meant to be inanely humorous, like: Bat Shoelace, or Bat pencil sharpener. In the TV series there was a "Bat" everything and anything.
If the Jolly Green Giant's costume was any shorter he would be arrested for indecent exposure. As it is, I'm guessing he wasn't anatomically correct. I like his elf-like boots.
To me, the KOIN pin looks like an old telephone dial... which doesn't really make any sense. Maybe the three "T"s are telephone poles... which doesn't make any sense either. It IS an attractive pin though.
Oh. Okay. So the KOIN pin WAS an old microphone, which DOES make sense. Man, how would you like to have HER job?! The excitement is positively overwhelming! "At the tone, the time will be..."
Sooo, you dangle the gun from its chain and it points north?... Cool! The glowing pic looks like an X-ray image. This is my favorite today. Because of the dangling compass aspect and because of the radioactivity.
I almost picked the "Shepley" badge as my favorite, just because of the total obscurity. I'm sure it meant something to many Missourians at the time, but now... it's just funny.
You wouldn't happen to have any "tender sweet black licorice" in your box, would you, Major? (I'm sure Melissa will get that reference.) Thanks for the Stuff, Major.
"If the Jolly Green Giant's costume was any shorter he would be arrested for indecent exposure. As it is, I'm guessing he wasn't anatomically correct."
Must... refrain... from naughty vegetable jokes...
As much as I love farm shows and bat stuff, I think the compass and whistle set carries the day.
JB, the Jolly Green Giant's costume is so short, we can almost see his Niblets. There, Melissa.....I went there!
My favorite item is the glow-in-the dark gun and arrowhead compass whistle. But if I had the Bat Pin, I could wear it when I go out and dance the Batusi.
Good grief! I never thought about it before, but I think there’s a reason the Jolly Green Giant isn’t shown bending over in any ads. Of course, he’s a giant, so anyone standing underneath him…um…would…er…be…uh..[thinks quickly]in his shadow.
[desperately trying to change the subject]Say, um, the Jolly Green Giant always makes me think of Paul Frees. Disneyland connection!
I think the Tom Mix premium is the coolest of the bunch. The whole Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters radio program was such an odd duck - a primarily silent film star with his own radio program that he never appeared on and that was still on the air with new episodes for ten years after Mix’s death in 1940. Talk about star power!
I always think of the episode of The Monkees where the Jolly Green Giants were one of the Monkees' rival bands.
Major-
The 'Compass Gun & Whistle' has to be my favorite, today. Does it really glow "blus-ish" as seen here, rather than green-ish-? Pretty special.
Yes, that's a microphone - probably a Model 600A double button carbon microphone, made by Western Electric, dating from the early 1920's.
@ Melissa-
Love the scene from The Monkees with Bobo Lewis and Carl Ballantine.
Thanks, Major.
I’m all in for the Bat Signal. Like you and your brother, I was a huge fan of the Batman TV show, Adam West is the definitive Batman!
That KOIN Pin is pretty cool. Now that we’ve solved the microphone riddle, what are those 3 “T”s? I’m showing this to my BIL, he was an on-air voice for KCBS in San Francisco for many years, he may recognize those symbols.
Oh man, I’m not touching the Green Giant commentary with a 10 foot er… nope, just not going any further. I’m sure he has Jolly Green briefs under that kilt.
Great stuff today, Major, thank you!
JG
JB, when Major Pepperidge says “enabled”, he MEANS “enabled”! Never mind that it makes no sense! I think it’s odd that the bat pin is sideways - normally they are oriented so that the tab is at the top. I wonder why this one is different? The Jolly Green Giant reminds me of Zap Branigan from “Futurama”! I originally thought that the KOIN thingy was a telephone dial as well, it was just dumb luck that I found the black and white photo. Poor Shepley, if only he hadn’t done all of his debates right after eating ribs. “Tender sweet black licorice”? First of, yuck. Second of all, huh?
Melissa, GDB needs more naughty vegetable jokes. I’m glad you liked the compass/whistle item!
TokyoMagic!, you can’t go wrong with the word “niblets” in ANY situation. The Tom Mix premium might be my favorite of today’s items too.
Chuck, maybe the JGG is wearing speedos. Did you ever think about that? Huh? DID YOU? Sorry, I get carried away. Did Paul Frees do the voice for the Giant for a while? I always think of him having a super-deep voice, like Thurl Ravenscroft (though not Thurl). I didn’t really know anything about the “Straight Shooters” show, and certainly did not know that Tom Mix never appeared on it! How odd.
Melissa, did you notice the first comment from this YouTube clip? “What TV show was this?”. How soon they forget.
Nanook, yes, it does glow blue rather than green - as a fan of glowing things, I noticed when I was a kid that most things were green, but some were blue. I had some sort of glow putty that seemed magical when it glowed blue. Later on I bought some “Nutty Putty” for my niece and nephew, and it glowed orange, which was also pretty neat. Thank you for doing your “Nanook thing” with the microphone!
JG, there are plenty of photos of my brother and me pretending to punch each other (“POW!”) - always with big grins on our faces - as we played “Batman”. Sometimes we were both Batman, but at some point my mom made me a Robin costume. Supposedly I wore it on an airplane trip to California once. I can’t find any photos of me wearing that one, sadly.
Major, I must confess I did not think of speedos. I prefer to think about them as little as possible.
Paul Frees did the voice of the Farmer in the JGG commercials. And I guess the JGG did bend over in the ads, but (thankfully) never turned around..
The KOIN radio pin with the letters "TTT" was in fact an official membership pin for Topsy Turvy Time, a "Radio Club for Real Boys and Girls." (What We Stand For: Courtesy, Obedience, Cleanliness, Truthfulness, Cheerfulness, Consideration for Others.)
This was some kind of children's contest program broadcast on a number of stations during the 1920s and '30s.
@ MysteryChef-
Well... leave it to the experts-! The amount of knowledge floating-around in this comment section is truly staggering-! (Is it true Major, that E = mc² first appeared on these pages-??)
Check out THIS IMAGE, then select the 'Toggle Full Page' symbol [the square with the arrow pointing to the right corner] and you can spy the "TTT" 'shield' covering-up the pianist's derrière...
Thank you, MysteryChef.
Late to the show, but my favorites are the Bat Pin and the Tom Mix items. Anything that glows in the dark gets extra points in my book! And I do have a book...I assure you. Yes. I. Do.
Oh boy, stuff. I thought the metal tabbed pins were meant to be worn vertically too, Major. Did the sharp hole in the tab have a purpose or is it a byproduct of the manufacturing process? Maybe the JGG is wearing a wrestling singlet with leg holes, like his friend Andre the Giant. The KOIN pin also looks like a crystal ball. I have a tiny plastic skeleton charm that glows almost purple that seems more spooky than just green. Thanks for the Stuff, Major.
@ Kathy!-
I always assumed that 'punched, sharp hole' was so the tab could achieve a better grip on whatever fabric it was biting into. Major-??
Chuck, please write an opera about Speedos so that I have proof that you have thought about them thoroughly. I didn’t even remember that there was a farmer in JGG commercials, but that sure is Paul Frees. It’s like hearing an old friend!
MysteryChef, THANK YOU! Great info. “Topsy Turvey Time” sounds so old-fashioned, I love it. I also love “What We Stand For”, I wish people stood for those things today.
Nanook, I don’t want to brag, but I did have a few thoughts about energy and mass that I discussed with Albert, but I’m perfectly happy for him to get all the credit. Thanks for the link to that great image!
Stu29573, I hope your book has lots of pictures, because reading is hard.
Kathy!, I see that Nanook (next comment) has already answered your question, but I agree, I think that little sharp bit was supposed to grab onto the cloth to help the badge from falling off. Good point about the wrestling singlet, I don’t want GDB to gain a reputation for sauciness. Oooh, a plastic skeleton that glows purple? Now THAT is a treasure!
Nanook, I concur!
Aww, c'mon, Melissa. Give it yer best shot! (Major says GDB, but the WORLD needs more naughty vegetable jokes.)
Tokyo!, I bet that line was from Match Game.
Chuck, you didn't change the subject soon enough!
Nanook, I was wondering about the blue-ish glow as well. Maybe Major bombarded it with a UV light?
JG, hahaha. Your Jolly Green Giant paragraph kept me smiling all the way through.
Major, "tender sweet black licorice" is a line from the operetta "Amahl and the Night Visitors". One of the Three Wise Men sings about what is inside the box that he carries around with him.
It IS odd that the gun & whistle glow bright blue instead of green. It must be atomic... very atomic!
MysteryChef, thank you for that explanation. You told us what the "TTT" stands for, and yet.... I'm still scratching my head in confusion.
Nanook, thanks for the link and further explanation.
Mystery Chef, Thank You for the clarification!
Major and all, I sent the pics to my BIL, he had no idea about TTT, but did report that during the William Paley era, CBS was known in some circles as the "Tiffany Network", both for the quality of their programming and also an allusion to their demonstration of color TV at the New York City Tiffany's store.
I will go report the TTT info to him as thanks.
JB, happy to help!
JG
Tokyo!, I bet that line was from Match Game.
JB, there were several questions involving the Jolly Green Giant, on Match Game! And yes, Niblets was often given as the answer, regardless of the question. Oh, where would I be today, without I Love Lucy, The Golden Girls, or Match Game!
I'm late to the party, but I enjoyed more-of-your-stuff, Major.
I think Kathy should share a picture of her purple-glowing skeleton charm. I would love to see it.
Thanks, Major.
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