# The monster cereals are here. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451 "2014-09-04T06:26:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/1 "2014-09-04T06:26:20Z")
Today while I was shopping, I saw a big display of Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Booberry, a full eight weeks before Hallowe’en. No Fruit Brute or Yummy Mummy, unfortunately. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/2 "2014-09-04T13:50:31Z")
What, no [Freakies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5fNTzoKRvs)? (And… [the song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP8mbxZBl3k).) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/3 "2014-09-04T14:07:20Z")
Were not those cereals available year-round? That’s what I remembered, but I haven’t eaten cold cereal in years and never ate those ones. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/4 "2014-09-04T14:25:11Z")
Oh yeah- it’s Halloween season at all the big stores. Time to stock up on Count Chocula!!! ---
**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:** [September 4, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/5 "2014-09-04T14:49:35Z")
Maybe it’s because General Mills is located here but I see those available year round at the grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/6 "2014-09-04T15:00:42Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Were not those cereals available year-round? That’s what I remembered, but I haven’t eaten cold cereal in years and never ate those ones. > [@Hampshire](#): > > Maybe it’s because General Mills is located here but I see those available year round at the grocery store. I worked at Safeway (DC area) for a long time and these were available year-round. IME almost all stores carry Count Chocula, and most carry either Frankenberry **or** Booberry, but I rarely see them both. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/7 "2014-09-04T15:10:00Z")
I’m getting some Count Chocula today! And yeah I remember is being year round, but, yeah Halloween sound like a great time for some heavy promotion. We have young minds to conquer! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/8 "2014-09-04T17:18:44Z")
If you can find them year-round, you’re lucky. Either that or you’re eating some really stale cereal. According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=General_Mills_monster-themed_breakfast_cereals): > [@](#): > > Since 2010, Franken-Berry, Boo-Berry, and Count Chocula cereals are manufactured and sold only for a few months during the autumn/Halloween season in September and October. These cereals are neither made nor sold the rest of the year. As of late 2010, information such as nutrition data and historical factoids can still be found on the official General Mills website at all times of the year. And that’s been my experience the last several years. I only see them in stores around the beginning of the fall season. I’d eat Count Chocula year-round if I could find it. As it is, when they have it, it’s not shelved with the other cereals. It’s in a big end cap display. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/9 "2014-09-04T17:31:35Z")
Interesting. I got out of the grocery game years ago, but I know at least up until 2008 they were available year round. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/10 "2014-09-04T17:53:16Z")
When I get those cereals now, the packaging does mention how they only come out for a short time, then they’ll be gone again until next Hallowe’en. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/11 "2014-09-04T17:59:05Z")
The only one I ever saw year-round was Count Chocula. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/12 "2014-09-05T00:30:34Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’d eat Count Chocula year-round if I could find it. Why not just buy a year’s supply each fall when it is available? Maybe one of those vacuum sealers to make sure it lasts the year to go with it. (I know probably “because money”, but I had to at least suggest it.) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/13 "2014-09-05T02:16:49Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Why not just buy a year’s supply each fall when it is available? Maybe one of those vacuum sealers to make sure it lasts the year to go with it. > > (I know probably “because money”, but I had to at least suggest it.) Yeah, because money. But it’s cheap enough that I buy a few extra boxes to last me a few weeks after it disappears from the stores. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/14 "2014-09-05T16:48:34Z")
Not to be kill-joy but as a Gen-Xer who grew up with them we rarely had our parents buy them because, ah, well, they were freakin’ horrible! They were sickeningly sweet, chemically artificial tasting, and most of all packed with pieces of Styrofoam pretending to be marshmallows! They were the same as Lucky Charms or Trix, two other disgusting cereals we all hated. Give me Frosted Flake or Cap’n Crunch any day… Less was more… ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/15 "2014-09-05T17:06:20Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Give me Frosted Flake or Cap’n Crunch any day… Less was more… I liked Cocoa Krispies, or Cocoa Pebbles to a lesser extent. The problem with them was they got soggy almost instantly, so you had to either eat it really fast, or start with just a little bit and keep adding cereal to the milk. But either way, once you were full, you had chocolate milk! ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/16 "2014-09-05T17:41:51Z")
When I was a kid, we ate Boo Berry. I remember a Boo Berry ghost in the box that was covered with fuzz that changed color depending on the temperature. I used to hold it up to the space heater. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/17 "2014-09-05T18:31:36Z")
I’m old enough to remember when the monster cereals consisted of just Frankenberry and Count Chocula. Boo Berry, Yummy Mummy, and Fruit Brute are the cereal equivalents of Scrappy Doo, and best to be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/18 "2014-09-05T18:42:28Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > They were sickeningly sweet, chemically artificial tasting, and most of all packed with pieces of Styrofoam pretending to be marshmallows! The father of one of my HS friends worked for a cereal manufacturer. He brought home a bag of the teeny marshmallows that was the size of a 10 yo. A whole group of us ate so many of them that I think we were all sick of the damned things by the end. But I did love me some crunchy marshmallows. Maybe I still would! ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/19 "2014-09-05T19:05:03Z")
From wiki: > [@](#): > > In February 1972, Franken-Berry cereal included dye that turned some children’s feces pink due to an inability to break down the heavily-dyed breakfast food, a symptom sometimes referred to as “Franken-Berry Stool.” Now, that’s a marketing coup - have a turd-related symptom named after your product. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451/20 "2014-09-05T19:08:37Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > The father of one of my HS friends worked for a cereal manufacturer. He brought home a bag of the teeny marshmallows that was the size of a 10 yo. I recently found myself in possession of a bag of “[astronaut ice cream](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeze-dried_ice_cream#mediaviewer/File:Freeze-Dried-Ice-Cream.jpg).” Having not had it since I was a little kid, I opened it up and broke off a piece. It was breakfast cereal “marshmallow,” _exactly_. ETA: I’m sure it’s not _exactly_ the same of course, but it was damn close. Given a piece without already knowing what it was, I’d have guessed it was breakfast cereal marshmallow for sure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-monster-cereals-are-here/697451.md?page=2)