[Artchic528]

I've decided to make a thread about gimmicks that actually worked in commercial markets. I'm of course talking about such "inventions" as the Pet Rock, Sea Monkeys, and X-Ray Specs. The kind of stuff advertised in the back of comic books as something wonderful, amazing and unique, but when you get it, it's actually something completely mundane and underwhelmingly not what you expected.

I've done the Sea Monkey thing before, out of sheer curiosity. They are actually just a gimmicky brand name for selling brine shrimp eggs harvested out of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Brine shrimp eggs have the ability to dry out completely, only to hatch once completely rehydrated, due to the constant cycle of evaporation and expansion of the Great Salt Lake. This process is called "biostasis", which is simply the ability to maintain life in a constantly fluctuating environment by going into a state of stasis, or suspended animation.

The basic concept of Sea Monkeys is that you get a whole colony of instant pets seemingly from a couple sachets of white, salty powder. The truth to it is that there are eggs in both sachets, but you add them to water one day at a time. By the second day, when you add the sachet labeled as the eggs, and look into the water to see them "hatch before your very eyes", you're seeing the brine shrimp who had hatched the day before swimming around. Brilliant on the part of the inventor of the concept, actually.

X-Ray Specs were another gimmick item sold as something more than what they were. They were basically a set of black glasses frames with plastic "lenses" that had a spiral shape painted on them, and some properties in the clear part of the lenses that sort of warped what you saw a bit. These were heavily advertised as being able to see through things like walls, clothing, and even inside of people themselves. Due to the inability to connect with others around the world who had previously purchased these specs, because there was no Internet yet at the time, most kids were entranced enough by the ad and what it promised to do that they went ahead and bought them. However, disappointment abounded when they realized that there was little that the glasses could actually do, other than make you sick to your stomach via the warping effect they had. Such a concept could truly not be done in today's time, as it relied heavily on the consumer being unware and not knowing fully about the item they were buying. To bypass legal issues, they did say that the specs were not able to actually see through things, but it was printed on the ad in such fine print that most didn't see or even notice it.

The Pet Rock is also a brilliant gimmick. Basically the inventor wanted to build upon the Sea Monkey's concept by advertising something that did absolutely nothing and could be found in one's backyard, a rock, as an amazing must have pet. Amazingly, the concept caught on and made the guy a whole lot of money. He was basically making a fortune out of grabbing rocks in his backyard and selling them in small cardboard boxes. Sheer brilliance! The Pet Rock made a resurgence when it was "restructured" to suit the digital consumer by making the "new and improved" USB Pet Rock. Essentially, they just cut out a whole in the rock's side and glued in a USB port that you could plug a USB cable into. The Pet Rock still did absolutely nothing, but you could now connect it to your computer.

I greatly admire these geniuses in advertising the most mundane and overwhelming things as must have pets and/or items Truly they were geniuses of advertisement.

[Artchic528]

Well, at least someone read this thread. Thanks for listening to me ramble on about nonsensical items of nostalgia and whatnot.

[splitimage]

I remember the sea monkeys from when I was a kid. I badly wanted to order them, but my Mom would never let me.

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[Artchic528]

Heh, well, you didn't miss very much. They sometimes don't hatch and only get about 3/4ths of an inch long at their biggest. They are also not tiny aquatic dwelling primates, like the ads would have you believe. Just an FYI.

[htoun]

I wasn't allowed to order the sea monkeys either. Had to get a pet rock out of the wild. I was allowed all the fun dangerous stuff though lawn darts and the like

[Artchic528]

Ah Jarts, the name of a particularly dangerous lawn dart set, otherwise known as those flying rods with fins and a really sharp, pointy end that wound up going through a bunch of people instead of the intended lawns!! Let's give our kids mini javelins to throw at each other. What could possibly go wrong?

Have you also heard of the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab? It was a lab kit sold to kids in 1950-51. The concept was to educate kids about Atomic Energy and whatnot, seeing as it was the era of Atomic weapons testing and the beginning of the Cold War and all. However, since it came with actual samples of highly radioactive Uranium, it was obviously not at all an appropriate toy.

Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab (1950-1951)

Speaking of recalled toys, I have managed to keep my hands on a nearly MIB Cabbage Patch Snack Time Kid. My mother went out and bought it right after she heard of the recall, thinking they would be vary valuable someday. Don't know what to do with it now as I can't legally sell it.