# Bazooka Joe Marketing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 8, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722 "2023-05-08T00:39:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/1 "2023-05-08T00:39:23Z")
Bazooka gum was cheap and long lasting. In the past, I thought it tasted delicious. In addition to the gum, a somewhat bizarre comic was included. I read there were thousands of different ones. Was it ever explained why Bazooka Joe had an eyepatch, like that dude in the soap opera I never watched? But my question is about other items using the same principle as the “free comic”. Sure, cereals, fast food happy meals and caramel popcorn sometimes had prizes, but not thousands of variations of the same thing. Is there anything really comparable? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/2 "2023-05-08T00:53:10Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > like that dude in the soap opera I never watched As an aside, the guy with a patch is Patch. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/3 "2023-05-08T00:55:10Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Is there anything really comparable? Baseball cards started off being the bonus item instead of the main show. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/4 "2023-05-08T00:57:03Z")
It’s been a while. Part of my point is no one I know bought the gum for the comic, though everyone read the comic. Baseball card purchasers buy it more for the card, though that oddly hard and tasteless gum was appreciated. I did not realize the card was once the sideshow. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/5 "2023-05-08T00:57:22Z")
They never did give an explanation as to how Joe lost his eye, but the two prevailing theories are: 1. He was kicked in the head by the Fruit Stripe zebra, and 2. You know the rule about looking down the barrel of a gun when you “know” it is unloaded? It seems the same rule applies to bazookas. BTW, not counting variations, there are over 1500 different Bazooka Joe comics. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/6 "2023-05-08T01:00:48Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Baseball cards started off being the bonus item instead of the main show. In cigarette packs! > **[Tobacco Baseball Cards](https://www.baseball-almanac.com/treasure/autont005.shtml)** > > Baseball Almanac's National Treasures article researches the history of baseball tobacco cards. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Fruit Stripe zebra You just triggered a taste memory in my mouth. I loved that gum! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/7 "2023-05-08T01:12:22Z")
Also, flour sack patterns might fit your criteria. [https://littlethings.com/family-and-parenting/flour-sack-dresses/1065306-7](https://littlethings.com/family-and-parenting/flour-sack-dresses/1065306-7) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/8 "2023-05-08T01:19:01Z")
There must be money to be made making a cocktail that tastes like Fruit Stripe (hard to.find in Canada after 1980 or so). But that delicious flavour lasted all of two minutes? WTF. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/9 "2023-05-08T01:22:34Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > You just triggered a taste memory in my mouth. > I loved that gum! Don’t forget to get some Beeman’s and some Clove. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/10 "2023-05-08T01:22:59Z")
My favorite was Blackjack. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/11 "2023-05-08T01:26:14Z")
The Master speaks: [How did Bazooka Joe lose his right eye? - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/21342368/how-did-bazooka-joe-lose-his-right-eye) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/12 "2023-05-08T01:32:07Z")
Another reference from CBC Radio’s _Under The Influence_… - They recycled the comics every seven years? - The patch satirized the Hathaway shirt dude? - I don’t remember fortune cookie type advice? - People got mad when they stopped the comic? The explanation below gives a different (and more likely) explanation than @Cecil_Adams > **[This brand made a fortune blowing bubbles for 75 years | CBC Radio](https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/this-brand-made-a-fortune-blowing-bubbles-for-75-years-1.6824358)** > > The company started selling single pieces of bubble gum for a penny and created a character for its accompanying comic strips. Little did they now, the product would go on to span seven decades. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/13 "2023-05-08T01:52:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > My favorite was Blackjack. This is the correct answer. to a question not asked, but still correct. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/14 "2023-05-08T03:08:53Z")
My football cards kept the delicious smell of that gum for what must have been decades. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/15 "2023-05-08T03:33:00Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > As an aside, the guy with a patch is Patch. We used to call him “Cry Baby Patch” because every time we channel surfed by that show, he was crying. Haven’t watched it in decades. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/16 "2023-05-08T03:39:53Z")
> [@pirviii](#): > > Haven’t watched it in decades. I haven’t either, but I wish they had given his cohorts similarly direct names–Beard, Bighair, and Other Bighair. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/17 "2023-05-08T05:00:10Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I read there were thousands of different ones. I doubt there were thousands at any given time, though. When I was working at a summer job in the math department, I bought a tub of 200+ Double Bubble gums and there were only ~10 different “Pud and his Pals” comics in the sample (all numbers vaguely remembered). We did a chi-squared test to see if they were uniformly distributed (and they probably were). When I was a kid, I remember being excited by the figurines that came with boxes of Red Rose tea. > **[Red Rose Tea Figurines | Wade Figurines | Red Rose Tea](https://redrosetea.com/pages/red-rose-tea-figurines)** > > When Red Rose Tea began to offer Wade figurines in 1967, it wasn't uncommon to promote food and beverage items with free premiums. Even so, the success of Red Rose Tea figurines was unprecedented, boasting a production run for the first series of... ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/18 "2023-05-08T05:58:16Z")
As a child, I thought it was weird that one of the characters wore a turtleneck sweater with the collar over his mouth. By my teens, I was mostly over it, and then I saw Devo’s Whip It video. Too weird. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/j_QLzthSkfM/maxresdefault.jpg "Devo - Whip It (Official Music Video) | Warner Vault") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_QLzthSkfM) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/19 "2023-05-08T13:00:04Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > BTW, not counting variations, there are over 1500 different Bazooka Joe comics. Most of which had pretty lame punchlines, but I remember one to this day that was kinda funny: * * * (One of the characters in the comic who wasn't Bazooka Joe, a chubby fella, is visiting a doctor) Doc, I get a sharp pain in my eye every time I drink hot chocolate. **Doctor:** take the spoon out first. * * * Hey, maybe \*\*\*that's\*\*\* how Bazooka Joe lost his eye-- random hot chocolate drinking accident. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/20 "2023-05-08T14:52:10Z")
I used to have a Pavlovian response to the smell when unwrapped that I didn’t get from any other kind of candy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722.md?page=2)