# Fictional things/products that became real **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 22, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108 "2026-06-22T18:10:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/1 "2026-06-22T18:10:19Z")
The new Toy Story movie got me wondering about this. After the first movie, Woody and Buzz dolls were sold that were basically identical in form to the toys in the movie. They probably couldn’t talk, but I can’t be sure because they wouldn’t do it in front of us. 😁 Wonka candy is another example. I don’t know if they’re still sold anywhere, but I can remember Wonka candy bars. What I’m _not_ talking about are products that exploited a fictional work’s popularity but that weren’t actual things in that universe. So, for example, Star Wars action figures wouldn’t be good examples. I’m talking about items someone in universe could purchase or acquire that became real things after the fictional work became popular. Anything else come to mind, or did I just exhaust the examples? ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/2 "2026-06-22T18:13:00Z")
A bunch of Harry Potter products became real, including Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs (though the real chocolate frogs weren’t animated, like the fictional ones were). EDIT: Oh, and even if Star Wars action figures don’t count, I think there is one toy that does. In an early scene, Luke is seen with a model of a spaceship. I don’t think the “real” version of that spaceship is ever seen; it’s just a toy, on the set. But it of course became a toy in our world, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/3 "2026-06-22T18:14:08Z")
ThinkGeek (sadly no more) put a Tauntaun sleeping bag on their page as an April Fool’s prank one year. It got so much buzz that they actually created one for sale. [ThinkGeek - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinkGeek) ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/4 "2026-06-22T18:19:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > EDIT: Oh, and even if Star Wars action figures don’t count, I think there is one toy that does. In an early scene, Luke is seen with a model of a spaceship. I don’t think the “real” version of that spaceship is ever seen; it’s just a toy, on the set. But it of course became a toy in our world, too. I agree, that counts. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/5 "2026-06-22T18:20:13Z")
WKRP is now a real radio station in Cincinnati. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/6 "2026-06-22T18:26:22Z")
You can also listen to a 3-hour [Venus Flytrap set here.](https://www.awphooey.com/venus) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/7 "2026-06-22T18:27:40Z")
As a promotion for _The Simpsons Movie_, the 7-11 Corporation temporarily rebranded various locations as Kwik-E-Marts, with Duff Beer, Squishees, and Krusty-O’s available for sale. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/8 "2026-06-22T18:27:50Z")
Several products have attempted to bring the Back to the Future hover board to life. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/9 "2026-06-22T18:29:31Z")
A year after the film **The Mighty Ducks** , Disney started an NHL team called The Mighty Ducks ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/10 "2026-06-22T18:30:48Z")
**The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company** restaurants opened two years after the movie **Forrest Gump** came out. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/11 "2026-06-22T18:34:12Z")
Defictionalization. Check the TVTropes page, tons of examples. Brawndo, the red swing line stapler, self-lacing Nikes, there’s even a company that specializes in making them- Omni consumer products, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/12 "2026-06-22T18:35:15Z")
Don’t check! That’s cheating and it makes the angels cry! ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/13 "2026-06-22T18:49:49Z")
I think that Spinal Tap (from This Is Spinal Tap) and Otis Day and the Knights (from Animal House) both did some shows and albums, after being invented for those movies. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/14 "2026-06-22T19:01:01Z")
There was a 1911 Tom Swift book about an electric rifle. When it was invented in real life it was called a Taser - Tom (a) Swift’s Electric Rifle. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/15 "2026-06-22T19:03:42Z")
I think Spinal Tap existed as a… comedy band… before the movie came out. I’m deliberately not researching it. Otis Day and the Knights came to my college one year, and they cancelled the show due to not enough ticket sales. I was bummed even though I never bought a ticket. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/16 "2026-06-22T19:07:30Z")
> [@JohnnyEcks](#): > > the red swing line stapler I had no idea that those weren’t an actual thing before Milton Waddams. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/17 "2026-06-22T19:17:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > (though the real chocolate frogs weren’t animated, like the fictional ones were). Probably [weren’t even crunchy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy6uLfermPU)… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/18 "2026-06-22T19:35:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A bunch of Harry Potter products became real, including Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs You can also get Butter Beer, which is non-alcoholic. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > **The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company** restaurants opened two years after the movie **Forrest Gump** came out. We ate there a couple times. Not bad. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/19 "2026-06-22T20:00:23Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I had no idea that those weren’t an actual thing before Milton Waddams. Swingline didn’t make a red stapler prior to _Office Space_. The prop department painted one red so it would show up better on camera. Later Swingline started offering a red version due to popular demand from fans of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/20 "2026-06-22T20:22:54Z")
Has “Springtime for Hitler” ever been actually performed…? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108.md?page=2)