# Cereal Box Prizes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766 "2001-11-16T17:39:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sbart6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@sbart6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbart6)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/1 "2001-11-16T17:39:05Z")
Why is it that no boxes of cereal come with prizes inside with the cereal anymore. It’s either a prize between the inner bag and the box, or it’s some cheesy giveaway where you need like a thousand upc codes. I think some mothers got together and decided it was unclean to have kids’ grubby hands digging through a brand new box of cereal and they complained to the manufacturers. That’s just my opinion. Any insight would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![whatever1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@whatever1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatever1)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/2 "2001-11-16T17:49:52Z")
that or the cereal companies got cheap ---
**Author:** ![Mogwei22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@Mogwei22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogwei22)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/3 "2001-11-16T18:06:49Z")
I got a Clifford the Big Red Dog finger puppet out of my box if Kix just last week. I don’t think they’ve been done away with…I just think they’re few and far between. I miss the creepy crawlers that used to come in my Rice Crispies when I was kid though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/4 "2001-11-16T18:11:28Z")
> [@](#): > > I miss the creepy crawlers that used to come in my Rice Crispies when I was kid though. I think your mother should have checked to make sure the boxes were sealed. ---
**Author:** ![Mogwei22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@Mogwei22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogwei22)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/5 "2001-11-16T18:31:59Z")
D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/6 "2001-11-16T19:25:23Z")
I got a digital watch in my Lucky Charms last month. Time and date. No alarm, though, cheap SOB’s!! ---
**Author:** ![sbart6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@sbart6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbart6)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/7 "2001-11-16T19:33:15Z")
This is wierd, because these replies mention Kix and Lucky Charms, both of which I buy (LC’s for me Kix for my little one). And I don’t get these prizes. It’s always some mail-in offer or something. Maybe it’s geographical, or maybe even supermarket specific? I’m in upstate NY. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/8 "2001-11-16T22:24:50Z")
I’m not sure about regional availability, but the watches seemed to only be around for two weeks. I wanted to get a third, but the shelves last week only had regular boxes. Good thing the oldest nephew is beyond the watch stage. ---
**Author:** ![IMWOMANHERE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/57b2e6/32.png) [@IMWOMANHERE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IMWOMANHERE)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/9 "2001-11-18T05:06:04Z")
I got a PEZ despenser (TOUCAN) and PEZ candy in my COCOA PUFFS. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/10 "2001-11-18T06:23:33Z")
It might be the size of the box. I’ve noticed in my grocery store that the smaller boxes usually have the prizes, wheras the larger, economically-priced boxes (which I, being a broke college student, buy) usually don’t. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/11 "2001-11-18T14:47:46Z")
IMHO it’s more efficient to place the prize between the bag and the outer box. To put the prize in the bag with the cereal you need to fill the bag halfway, stop, drop in the prize, and then finish filling the bag. OTOH, you can put a prize between the bag and the box before filling the bag, thus saving a step in the assembly line. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/12 "2001-11-18T18:08:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DocCathode \* > \*\*To put the prize in the bag with the cereal you need to fill the bag halfway, stop, drop in the prize, and then finish filling the bag. \*\* When I was a kid the prize was always at the bottom of the cereal. I always thought they put the prize in first. E3 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/13 "2001-11-18T18:16:50Z")
Quite possibly a safety consideration. If you put a small prize in with the cereal, somebody could fail to notice it when they poured the bowl of cereal, and wind up choking on it. Even if it was in an envelope of some sort, the envelope could get ripped, and a kid could inhale the “secret decoder ring”. In today’s society, that’s a risk for a lawsuit that I’m sure the cereal companies don’t want. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/14 "2001-11-19T00:55:40Z")
Lately all I see are CD-ROMs in cereal packages! I think the answer to the OP for those prises is that there’s too much risk of scratching the CD by putting it in with the cereal directly, even if it’s wrapped in plastic. But, being a poor student as well, I buy economy size too, so no CD-ROMs for me :(. Maybe I should splurge one day 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lucki\_Chaarms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lucki\_Chaarms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucki_Chaarms)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/15 "2001-11-19T02:11:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by postcards \* > \*\*I got a digital watch in my Lucky Charms last month. > > Time and date. No alarm, though, cheap SOB’s!! \*\* So that’s where it went. Give it back you bastard! LC ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cereal-box-prizes/93766/16 "2001-11-19T02:50:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sbart6 \* > \*\*This is wierd, because these replies mention Kix and Lucky Charms, both of which I buy (LC’s for me Kix for my little one). And I don’t get these prizes. It’s always some mail-in offer or something. Maybe it’s geographical, or maybe even supermarket specific? I’m in upstate NY. \*\* My friend pulled a watch out of Lucky Charms from a box purchased at Wegman’s in Ithaca just this morning.