# Cracker Jack boxes used to have neat prizes in them, didn't they? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064 "2012-08-29T19:42:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/1 "2012-08-29T19:42:06Z")
I bought my kids some Cracker Jack today, 4 boxes total and each boxes had a stupid tattoo or joke on a piece of paper. I think I remember as a kids (many, many moons ago) that the prizes in the box, while not earth shattering, were always neat and as a young boy I looked forward to getting one. I can’t seem to remember specifically what they were, but seem to remember them being made our of plastic and some had to be put together. Am I just losing my memory or did the prizes used to be something wee looked forward to? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/2 "2012-08-29T19:45:39Z")
How far back do you want to go? I was born in 1973 and the prizes were tiny and cheap when I was a little kid. They had little (terrible) plastic toys back then though. I think it is all paper today. There is an article on them in Wikipedia. It sounds like they were never very good except possibly in the first years (about 1912) when you could get a couple of baseball cards out of them or maybe a cheap decoder ring. ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/3 "2012-08-29T19:46:25Z")
[I wouldn’t exactly call them neat](http://www.blippee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cracker-jack-toy-prizes-past-1.jpg), but they used to be actual prizes for the most part. Someone gave me a three pack of boxes a few weeks ago I found them…underwhelming. In one was a joke, in another was a crappy tattoo, in the third was an identity guesser “game”. The product itself wasn’t much better not a lot of caramel flavor, and virtually no peanuts, in fact one box only had three. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/4 "2012-08-29T19:46:17Z")
It is not just you. They have been on a steady decline for years. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/5 "2012-08-29T19:57:34Z")
I think the switchover must have been some time in the 80s, because I can remember a distinct switch from crappy toy to crappy slip of paper during my childhood. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/6 "2012-08-29T19:58:41Z")
I was born in 1966, and I would agree that the prizes were never great I seem to remember them giving a few minutes of entertainment. My kids don’t even look at them to see what they are. Of course I grew up without a Playstation, cartoons on TV 24/7, so maybe I was just bored. ---
**Author:** ![Dickerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Dickerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dickerman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/7 "2012-08-29T20:00:38Z")
It’s probably due to being a potential choking hazard. Do they still have peanuts? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/8 "2012-08-29T20:01:19Z")
nothing beat the magnifying glass (plastic). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/9 "2012-08-29T20:08:40Z")
They had some decent prizes when I was a kid in the 50s and 60s. Of course, you had to eat the Crackerjack to get them. ☹ I remember some puzzle games (mazes, for instance), whistles, and other things. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/10 "2012-08-29T20:12:14Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > There is an article on them in Wikipedia. It sounds like they were never very good except possibly in the first years (about 1912) when you could get a couple of baseball cards out of them or maybe a cheap decoder ring. I’m really surprised that they don’t go back to the baseball card model. Flat, paper, cheap, but they would encourage trading/collecting in a way that the current inclusions don’t. A Skylanders game card or something would be far more interesting than a crappy temporary tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/11 "2012-08-29T20:22:56Z")
Yep, magnifying glasses, those pictures that change when you tilt them, small plastic enclosed mazes with a little silver ball, stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/12 "2012-08-29T20:31:36Z")
There were some decent prizes in the early 60’s, decent for Crackerjack anyway. I remember the cheap ‘hologram’ things where there was different picture from different angles, the little maze thing occasion, though really small, plastic rings, a little plastic racecar sort of like the monopoly piece maybe, I’m not getting a clear memory on that. Haven’t had any Crackerjack in ages. It’s not even in a box anymore is it? ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/13 "2012-08-29T20:31:54Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > nothing beat the magnifying glass (plastic). Hah! Exactly the Cracker Jack prize I remember. Now that they’ve been mentioned, I remember the changing pictures as well. I bought some CJ at a ball game a while back, and it was this lousy “Who Am I?” thing with Alexander Hamilton of all people. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/14 "2012-08-29T20:36:22Z")
I’m not sure how Cracker Jack still survives. With both Fiddle Faddle and Crunch-n-Munch being far superior products I find Cracker Jack barely edible. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/15 "2012-08-29T20:41:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It’s not even in a box anymore is it? I haven’t had it in about 6 or 7 years, but yes, it was still in those little boxes. The peanut count was pretty pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/16 "2012-08-29T20:52:58Z")
When I was four years old (in 1965) the compass was cool. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/17 "2012-08-29T21:22:05Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’m not sure how Cracker Jack still survives. > With both Fiddle Faddle and Crunch-n-Munch being far superior products I find Cracker Jack barely edible. I’m sure it helps to be immortalized in song. If you want “The American Baseball Experience (R)” you’ll have to buy some. And I think an awful lot of people buy what I call “comfort brands” - things they like only because they grew up with it. Cracker Jack, most domestic beer, Spam, potted meat, and Cheese Whiz are all firmly in that category as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/18 "2012-08-29T21:26:39Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’m not sure how Cracker Jack still survives. > With both Fiddle Faddle and Crunch-n-Munch being far superior products I find Cracker Jack barely edible. Two words: baseball games. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/19 "2012-08-29T21:28:22Z")
I remember the magnifying glass, changing picture, crappy ball maze, and also a plastic spinning top. They also had tattoos, but you would get like a book of them. And there were stickers too. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/20 "2012-08-29T21:34:23Z")
I also remember a tiny, plastic tank. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064.md?page=2)