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What Happened To The Prize In Cracker Jack?

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2bigsteve

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I saw Breakfast At Tiffany's last night and Paul Varjac got a ring in his Cracker Jack box. I remember getting a cool prize like that but lately they have all been paper cut-outs of some sort. Getting a cool prize is the best part of eating the stuff. They don't put as many peanuts in either. We should write to these bozos. mad.gif

 

-2bigsteve

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View Post"Candy coated popcorn, peanuts and a prize. That's what you get in Cracker Jacks." smile.gif

 

YEAHP. That's the jingle. Plastic is made from petroleum so maybe it got too costly to package prizes w/ the eats. If the jingle has not changed to reflect the absence of prizes, let us launch a class action suit alleging false advertising. frown.giffrown.giffrown.gif

"Who is John Galt?"
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In the movie '1941', captured Hollis Wood (Slim Pickens) finds a penny compass in his CJ box then swallows it to confound the Japanese sub captain who needs it to substitute for his ship's broken compass. cwm27.gif

 

Any more Cracker Jack stories? biggrin.gif

525

LIBBA 521 - MSA 521 - ASC Go Atlantic!
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More than you really need to know - biggrin.gif

 

German immigrant named Frederick William Rueckheim invented Cracker Jack. Rueckheim came to Chicago in 1872 to help clean up after the famous Chicago fire. He also worked selling popcorn from a cart. Together with brother Louis, Rueckheim experimented and came up with a delightful popcorn candy, which the brothers decided to mass market. Cracker Jack was first mass-produced and sold at the first Chicago World's Fair in 1893. (The Ferris Wheel, Aunt Jemima pancakes, and the ice cream cone were also introduced at the event.)

 

 

The treat was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts and the initial name was "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts." Legend has it that the name "Cracker Jack" came from a customer who upon trying the treat exclaimed "That really a cracker - Jack!" and the name stuck. However, "crackerjack" was also a slang expression at that time that meant "something very pleasing or excellent" and that is more likely to have been the origin of the name. By 1896, the company devised a way to keep the popcorn kernels separate, the mixture had been difficult to handle because it tended to stick together in chunks. The wax-sealed, moisture-proof box was introduced in 1899. Immortalized in 1908 in the lyrics of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," Cracker Jack added surprises in each package in 1912.

Cracker Jack Trivia

 

  • In 1912, toy surprises were first put into every Cracker Jack box, since then over 17 billion toys have been put into boxes (1986 estimate).

  • "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," written in 1908 by Norworth and Von Tilzer contains a reference to "Cracker Jack" in the lyrics.

  • The boy on the Cracker Jack box image (left) is Sailor Jack and his dog is called Bingo.

  • The Sailor Jack character, and his dog Bingo, were introduced as registered trademark logos in 1919 and in use as early as 1918. They were modeled on F. W. Rueckheim's grandson, Robert, and his dog.

  • The Cracker Jack Company was sold to Borden in 1964.
In 1997, the current manufacturers Frito-Lay purchased Cracker Jack from Borden.

 

 

 

And NO, no Rolex watches have ever been found in a Cracker Jack box. cwm27.gifwink.gif

LIBBA 521 - MSA 521 - ASC Go Atlantic!
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View PostIn the movie '1941', captured Hollis Wood (Slim Pickens) finds a penny compass in his CJ box then swallows it to confound the Japanese sub captain who needs it to substitute for his ship's broken compass. cwm27.gif

 

Any more Cracker Jack stories? biggrin.gif

 

What an interesting vignette having to do with submarines.

"Who is John Galt?"
Who?
You?

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