# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/21 "2012-08-29T23:48:47Z")
Does anyone remember the teeny tiny books? I’m thinking mid 1960s thru early 1970s. I had a few of them. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/22 "2012-08-30T00:31:03Z")
> [@campp](#): > > Does anyone remember the teeny tiny books? I’m thinking mid 1960s thru early 1970s. I had a few of them. Yes! ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/23 "2012-08-30T00:38:47Z")
Rice candy did the same thing, went from actually tiny prizes to stickers. But at least the stickers are colorful and usually strange enough to be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/24 "2012-08-30T00:47:08Z")
There ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box. ---
**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 30, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/25 "2012-08-30T00:52:08Z")
> [@campp](#): > > Does anyone remember the teeny tiny books? I’m thinking mid 1960s thru early 1970s. I had a few of them. I remember seeing them. Never got one myself. I mentioned the plastic race car above, and someone mentioned a tank. I’m pretty sure there were little toys like that, but we used to get them from the gumball machines too. They were just thrown in with the gumballs back then, not in those plastic egg things yet. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/26 "2012-08-30T02:13:08Z")
My cousin was the envy of everyone at the lake one summer when he got a little plastic man with a working parachute. That was in the early 60’s. Otherwise, I remember a lot of those metal “clickers” that weren’t good for anything except making noise. It’s just as well that they don’t give those any more. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/27 "2012-08-30T02:24:54Z")
I was born in 1958 and the prizes have always been crappy. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/28 "2012-08-30T02:38:13Z")
My father used to joke that Mother’s wedding ring came in a box of Cracker Jacks, but he had to buy two hundred and fifty of them to find the right ring. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/29 "2012-08-30T02:49:00Z")
I remember really getting a kick out of the temporary tattoos I used to find in Cracker Jack boxes. Born 1981, so this would have been 1986 or so. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/30 "2012-08-30T02:55:54Z")
I think the “prizes” used to be a bit better. However, I think as a kid “way back when” you tended to be a bit naive and held out an unrealistic amount of hope that you’d certainly get one of the better prizes or even a really good prize that you’d never seen anyone ever get. So, I think its a combination of slightly increasing crappiness coupled with illogical childhood nastalgia that makes today’s prizes seem extra crappy. Though, I must admit, the quality of the actual snack also seems to have taken a serious turn for the worse over time. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/31 "2012-08-30T03:03:24Z")
They were always pretty crappy (remember the perennial jibe about getting your engagement ring (or a driver’s license) out of a Cracker Jack box), but [used to be a whole lot LESS crappy](https://www.google.com/search?q=cracker+jack+prize+books&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=M9c-UNjGJ6ji0QGy6IDgCw&biw=1600&bih=730&sei=Odc-UPH0Ksrw0gHE9IHoCw#um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=cracker+jack+prizes&oq=cracker+jack+prizes&gs_l=img.12..0j0i24l6j0i5i24l3.97036.97036.0.98518.1.1.0.0.0.0.131.131.0j1.1.0...0.0...1c.RuUMwCPr5hA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=cf6f3928722623de&biw=1600&bih=730), once upon a time. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/32 "2012-08-30T03:21:54Z")
was “Candy coated popcorn, peanuts and a prize” is now “Caramel coated popcorn & peanuts” ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/33 "2012-08-30T04:18:40Z")
Back in the late 70’s or early 80’s I was at a grocer’s convention at McCormick Place in Chicago. Borden’s, who owned Cracker Jack at the time had a booth. There was a machine that was making Cracker Jack fresh on the spot. That was some of the most delicious stuff I have ever tasted. It was nothing like what comes out of the box. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/34 "2012-08-30T04:26:52Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > 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. I’m surprised wizards of the coast has not run out to buy cracker jack. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/35 "2012-08-30T04:33:26Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > I’m sure it helps to be immortalized in song. If you want “The American Baseball Experience (R)” you’ll have to buy some. ??? QUOTE=dracoi;15437523]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. [/QUOTE] I was an adult when Fiddle Faddle and Crunch & Munch came out, but I defiinitely prefer them to Cracker Jack, which I had as a kid. Spam is okay when fried and topped with a slice of cheddar, but beer (domestic or otherwise) and Cheez Whiz aren’t even in the “food” category as far as I’m concerned… ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/36 "2012-08-30T07:09:54Z")
I was born in 57, and my parents disapproved of vending machine toys and candy. I enjoyed the little toys that came with the Cracker Jacks, and I think that they were decent enough. Sure, they weren’t GREAT, but you got a decent value for the money. The joke about engagement rings is based on the fact that you can’t buy a jewelry quality ring for the price of a box of Cracker Jacks. And, incidentally, if you want some awesome popcorn snacks, try making popcorn balls at home. You can put in any sort of nuts that please you, in the amounts that please you. It is a sticky operation, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/37 "2012-08-30T07:38:38Z")
We don’t have Cracker Jack here in the UK, but a similar phenomenon has been happening with [Kinder chocolate eggs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Surprise)- a hollow chocolate egg with a plastic pod inside, containing a toy. The toys used to be little kits that needed 15 minutes of assembly, yielding an intricate working model of something, often quite a large something (perhaps a ferris wheel or a siege catapult - the assembly being necessary not only because of the moving parts, but because the end result was very much larger than the pod in which the parts were stowed) Sometimes, they contained metal figurines - there was a mediaeval collection of six or eight different metal figures, each of which also came with plastic panels that built into a little portion of a castle, which could be further assembled into bigger castles. Now, they’re little crappy solid plastic figurines and often, if they require assembly, it’s just a matter of clipping two parts together, and it’s also pointless, as the toy also fits back in the pod in the assembled state. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/38 "2012-08-30T07:40:15Z")
I remember the race car only. No one has mentioned if their kids are happy with the goodies. I’ve seen kids overjoyed to have tattoo stickers. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/39 "2012-08-30T07:40:48Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I was born in 1958 and the prizes have always been crappy. THIS! I was born in '60 and not only were the prizes shit, the peanuts/popcorn mix was shit too. It stuck together in a tiny little box at the Rexall for just 10 cents. The guy that rang it up felt so bad about how crappy it was he’d give you a cigar bubble gum stick too. Which wasn’t so bad for just a dime when you think about it, punks!!! ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064/40 "2012-08-30T07:48:18Z")
[Cracker Jack Collector’s Association](http://www.crackerjackcollectors.com/) is devoted to the prizes and has many links. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-jack-boxes-used-to-have-neat-prizes-in-them-didnt-they/633064.md?page=3)