(special) The Atari cartridges that were found in the landfill this week

I still can’t believe that one of the biggest legends of the 1980s is actually true. They found the E.T. Atari games in the desert. 

(I can’t believe the man who designed that horrible game had the audacity to show up, ha) 

Hundreds of thousands of copies of the Atari products, included one of the worst games of all time, E.T. were rumored to be be dumped in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico in 1983. The New York Times ran a short blurb about the event in 1983, but reporters and gawkers were kept away from the landfill that day. 

My dad bought me an Atari at the thrift store in the Spring of 1994 when I was 10. I didn’t have E.T. However, I did have the same glasses the boy from The Goldbergs wears. 

(special) The Atari cartridges that were found in the landfill this week

I still can’t believe that one of the biggest legends of the 1980s is actually true. They found the E.T. Atari games in the desert. 

(I can’t believe the man who designed that horrible game had the audacity to show up, ha) 

Hundreds of thousands of copies of the Atari products, included one of the worst games of all time, E.T. were rumored to be be dumped in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico in 1983. The New York Times ran a short blurb about the event in 1983, but reporters and gawkers were kept away from the landfill that day. 

My dad bought me an Atari at the thrift store in the Spring of 1994 when I was 10. I didn’t have E.T. However, I did have the same glasses the boy from The Goldbergs wears. 

122. Larry Bird’s mustache

(source)

Often parodied, never duplicated. Often scared me when seeing old basketball clips on TV. 

122. Larry Bird’s mustache

(source)

Often parodied, never duplicated. Often scared me when seeing old basketball clips on TV. 

**edit**121. Gobble D. Glu & Elmer’s Glu Colors (1994)

It’s so funny, I actually remember reading this article in my local paper Daily Press, when I was 11:

Kids Eat `Glu’

Answer Lady

Candy’s Name A Sticky Point

September 21, 1994|By JILL KEECH Daily Press

Q: I’ve noticed that some convenience stores sell candy in containers that resemble glue bottles, with names that associate candy and glue – specifically Gobble D Glu from a 7-Eleven. Don’t the stores and the manufacturers understand the problem society has with children inhaling harmful chemicals? Their product would seem to encourage such behavior. Why do they sell this stuff? – J.T., Newport News

A: In the words of a spokesman – who did not want to give me his name – for Zeebs Enterprises Inc.: “We’ve sold millions” of bottles of Gobble D Glu. There’s your answer. Zeebs has had “a couple” of comments such as yours, including an objection from Borden Inc., which owns Elmer’s Glue. “We understand that the packaging is close to Elmer’s. I got in touch with Elmer’s Glue to make sure there wasn’t something we had to worry about,” says the spokesman. “They told me Elmer’s Glue is non-toxic.”

But it’s the principle of the thing. “We think it’s a very poor thing to do, and we wish they hadn’t done it, especially if they’re out there insinuating that we’ve given our blessing,” says John Jones, product manager for the Borden division that includes Elmer’s. The product’s name was changed to “Goo,” although the product with “glu” on the label is still in local stores. “I regret we’ve had a problem, but I don’t think it’s such a great problem that we should pull it,” says the Zeebs spokesman.

What’s a parent to do? Boycott the product and consider firing off a letter to Zeebs ( 7354 Tower St., Fort Worth, TX 76118 ) and contacting the retailer selling the stuff. For 7-Eleven, that would be through customer relations at (800) 255-0711. ¹

So, there was a liquid candy that looked like colorful glue, in a little glue bottle so you can squirt it in your mouth, and it looked suspiciously like Elmer’s Glue. 

(source)

Oh, and at that time Borden was marketing an Elmer’s Glue named “Glu Colors”, which was colorful glue, in little bottles. It was sometimes sold in a 3 pack of small bottles, the same exact size as the bottle of candy. 

To a little kid’s eye, the two looked almost the same. I wish I had that Daily Press microfilm, but its 3:09 in the morning, and the library is all the way in Newport News. I had to improvise: 

Next time I am in Newport News, near the library, I need to see if I got it right. I bet there was a little parody of Elmer on the bottle and the Elmer house logo, I wish I remembered, all I remember was the word “GLU” in big letters on the bottle.

The only significant hit I found for the candy other than the article was this from a text magazine, Superstupid, circa 1994:

TITLE: Gobble D Glu (CANDY)
ARTIST: Zeebs Enterprises, Inc.
What a concept.  Who is the genius who decided to market candy to
kids in little glue containers.  Yes, you heard me folks, little
glue containers.  What the heck was the product development meeting
like?  Was it like this:

BOSS:     "Kids demand new and unique ways to enjoy flavorful sugar
          filled treats."
FLUNKY:   "Yes sir."
BOSS:     "And we have all of these empty glue containers."
FLUNKY:   "Yes sir."
BOSS:     "And vats of this putrid tasting, neon colored, sugar
          filled goo."
FLUNKY:   "Yes sir."
BOSS:     "So here's an idea."
FLUNKY:   "Sir."
BOSS:     "What if we take the putrid tasting, neon colored, sugar
          filled goo and stick it in the empty glue containers. 
          Isn't that a unique method of enjoying flavorful sugar
          filled treats?"
FLUNKY:   "Yes indeed it is sir."
BOSS:     "I am brilliant, aren't I."
FLUNKY:   "Yes indeed you are sir."
BOSS:     "Stop drooling Himmler."

I got the newspaper article and I have to say I did a pretty darn good job of recreating the Gobble D. Glu bottle (click on the grey square if reading in Tumblr dash).

1. Keech, Jill. “Kid’s Eat ‘Glu’." Daily Press, September 21, 1994. http://articles.dailypress.com/1994-09-21/features/9409210040_1_civil-war-colonial-national-historical-park-revolutionary-war (accessed April 6, 2014).

**edit**121. Gobble D. Glu & Elmer’s Glu Colors (1994)

It’s so funny, I actually remember reading this article in my local paper Daily Press, when I was 11:

Kids Eat `Glu’

Answer Lady

Candy’s Name A Sticky Point

September 21, 1994|By JILL KEECH Daily Press

Q: I’ve noticed that some convenience stores sell candy in containers that resemble glue bottles, with names that associate candy and glue – specifically Gobble D Glu from a 7-Eleven. Don’t the stores and the manufacturers understand the problem society has with children inhaling harmful chemicals? Their product would seem to encourage such behavior. Why do they sell this stuff? – J.T., Newport News

A: In the words of a spokesman – who did not want to give me his name – for Zeebs Enterprises Inc.: “We’ve sold millions” of bottles of Gobble D Glu. There’s your answer. Zeebs has had “a couple” of comments such as yours, including an objection from Borden Inc., which owns Elmer’s Glue. “We understand that the packaging is close to Elmer’s. I got in touch with Elmer’s Glue to make sure there wasn’t something we had to worry about,” says the spokesman. “They told me Elmer’s Glue is non-toxic.”

But it’s the principle of the thing. “We think it’s a very poor thing to do, and we wish they hadn’t done it, especially if they’re out there insinuating that we’ve given our blessing,” says John Jones, product manager for the Borden division that includes Elmer’s. The product’s name was changed to “Goo,” although the product with “glu” on the label is still in local stores. “I regret we’ve had a problem, but I don’t think it’s such a great problem that we should pull it,” says the Zeebs spokesman.

What’s a parent to do? Boycott the product and consider firing off a letter to Zeebs ( 7354 Tower St., Fort Worth, TX 76118 ) and contacting the retailer selling the stuff. For 7-Eleven, that would be through customer relations at (800) 255-0711. ¹

So, there was a liquid candy that looked like colorful glue, in a little glue bottle so you can squirt it in your mouth, and it looked suspiciously like Elmer’s Glue. 

(source)

Oh, and at that time Borden was marketing an Elmer’s Glue named “Glu Colors”, which was colorful glue, in little bottles. It was sometimes sold in a 3 pack of small bottles, the same exact size as the bottle of candy. 

To a little kid’s eye, the two looked almost the same. I wish I had that Daily Press microfilm, but its 3:09 in the morning, and the library is all the way in Newport News. I had to improvise: 

Next time I am in Newport News, near the library, I need to see if I got it right. I bet there was a little parody of Elmer on the bottle and the Elmer house logo, I wish I remembered, all I remember was the word “GLU” in big letters on the bottle.

The only significant hit I found for the candy other than the article was this from a text magazine, Superstupid, circa 1994:

TITLE: Gobble D Glu (CANDY)
ARTIST: Zeebs Enterprises, Inc.
What a concept.  Who is the genius who decided to market candy to
kids in little glue containers.  Yes, you heard me folks, little
glue containers.  What the heck was the product development meeting
like?  Was it like this:

BOSS:     "Kids demand new and unique ways to enjoy flavorful sugar
          filled treats."
FLUNKY:   "Yes sir."
BOSS:     "And we have all of these empty glue containers."
FLUNKY:   "Yes sir."
BOSS:     "And vats of this putrid tasting, neon colored, sugar
          filled goo."
FLUNKY:   "Yes sir."
BOSS:     "So here's an idea."
FLUNKY:   "Sir."
BOSS:     "What if we take the putrid tasting, neon colored, sugar
          filled goo and stick it in the empty glue containers. 
          Isn't that a unique method of enjoying flavorful sugar
          filled treats?"
FLUNKY:   "Yes indeed it is sir."
BOSS:     "I am brilliant, aren't I."
FLUNKY:   "Yes indeed you are sir."
BOSS:     "Stop drooling Himmler."

I got the newspaper article and I have to say I did a pretty darn good job of recreating the Gobble D. Glu bottle (click on the grey square if reading in Tumblr dash).

1. Keech, Jill. “Kid’s Eat ‘Glu’." Daily Press, September 21, 1994. http://articles.dailypress.com/1994-09-21/features/9409210040_1_civil-war-colonial-national-historical-park-revolutionary-war (accessed April 6, 2014).