# Was buying baby alligators from ads in comic books really a thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024 "2015-05-01T18:25:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/21 "2015-05-02T07:19:30Z")
A classmate of mine had a squirrel monkey and a descented skunk. She brought the skunk in as a prop in some school play. I was doing something with her brother once and went to their house and saw the monkey. He was just sitting on top of a shelf on the wall. As I recall, their parents were somewhat odd, sort of beatnikish. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/22 "2015-05-02T15:08:09Z")
In the late nineties a monkey lived down the street from us in Brooklyn. I saw it sitting in the window fairly often. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/23 "2015-05-05T04:37:58Z")
> [@Turpentine](#): > > I saw the episode of Leave it to Beaver that you’re referring to, and it was astounding. Remember when the baby alligator wasnt thriving, so Wally and the Beav took it to a zoo? The zoo’s owner, instead of saying something like “Well boys, you have a nice alligator here, but I think Captain Jack would be happier with some friends at my zoo- maybe a frog would be a better pet”- or something like that, he says “Give your alligator a little whiskey and he’ll feel better.” > > My jaw dropped. Seriously 1950s, what was WRONG with you? Was just reading this on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leave_It_to_Beaver) > [@](#): > > The intended premiere, “Captain Jack”, displayed a toilet tank (which didn’t pass the censor’s office in time for the show’s scheduled debut) and aired the week following the premiere. “Captain Jack” has claimed its place in television history as the first American TV show to display a toilet tank So in the 50’s, comic books could have ads for things like dangerous exotic animals, guns, etc, but heaven forbid a toilet tank is on TV! ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/24 "2015-05-05T05:09:56Z")
Most of the ones sold back when in the backs of catalogs/comic books where dwarf [caimans](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caiman). They normally wouldn’t grow beyond 3 feet in length. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/25 "2015-05-05T05:11:28Z")
I remember those ads. I was very put out that my father wouldn’t let me order one. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/26 "2015-05-05T11:10:54Z")
An early _Mad_ magazine spoof of those ads went, “Live alligators - surprise your friends! And enemies!” ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/27 "2015-05-05T14:06:01Z")
When I was young my friend down the street wanted a wanted to order a monkey from the comic book. His dad would only allow it if he built a sufficient cage. We spent a lot of time scrounging upmaterals and time building that cage. He got to order his monkey. It came and his dad helped put it in the cage. When the first feeding time came, a crowd of all of the neighborhood kids gathered. He opened the door a crack and the monkey shot out past him. The monkey climbed the nearest tall tree and stayed there (presumably until he died). My friend wept. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/28 "2015-05-05T14:06:37Z")
> [@Turpentine](#): > > My jaw dropped. Seriously 1950s, what was WRONG with you? Lead poisoning from leaded gasoline and lead paint is my theory. That and maybe radiation from nuclear testing and shoe store X-rays. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > I think today’s ubiquitous and oppressive safety measures are a mixed bag. They probably prevent a few deaths and injuries but they also kill the human soul. But I think in some cases a little more caution is justified. Letting kids have a potentially dangerous animal like an alligator doesn’t seem like a good idea. It’s also inhumane to let someone get an exotic pet (any pet, really) without some evidence that they know how to care for it. Exotic pets can also be a problem because people sometimes let them go in an environment where they can live, and create an invasive species problem. Invasive species can cause very real problems- ask an Australian, or ask a Southerner who has had to deal with kudzu. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/29 "2015-05-05T15:53:31Z")
Anybody want a Wallaby? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/30 "2015-05-05T23:04:59Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > So in the 50’s, comic books could have ads for things like dangerous exotic animals, guns, etc, but heaven forbid a toilet tank is on TV! Or a married couple sleeping in a double bed! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/31 "2015-05-06T18:39:14Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > In the late nineties a monkey lived down the street from us in Brooklyn. I saw it sitting in the window fairly often. I was going to ask if you lived down the street from [these guys](http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080803123627/friends/images/f/f7/Marcelandross.jpg) in the '90s, but then I remembered that they actually lived in Manhattan. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/32 "2015-05-06T20:08:15Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > So in the 50’s … but heaven forbid a toilet tank is on TV! It was evidently a big deal in Psycho as recent as 1960. Pushing the envelope of decency, it was even _[flushing](http://listverse.com/2011/09/22/top-10-interesting-facts-about-psycho/)_! Strange days indeed. As messed up as it is, I think I like the world as it is today better than when I was a kid. The illusions we have to deal with now are somehow more elegant and plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/33 "2015-05-07T00:54:20Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I remember those ads. I was very put out that my father wouldn’t let me order one. In fact, I remember now that I had an Evil Plan. I did send off for one of those hypnotizing discs. I planned to hypnotize my father into letting me order all sorts of exotic animals that were advertised. Imagine my disappointment when the crappy little disc didn’t work. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/34 "2015-05-07T01:10:34Z")
I got the sea monkeys and since I liked bugs of all kinds anyway, I wasn’t too disappointed. When I worked at the zoo we had a number of former pet caimans and a good part of my presentations involved trying to convince the kids that they were not good pets! I actually wore welding gloves to handle them. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/35 "2015-05-07T01:38:58Z")
> [@zoogirl](#): > > I got the sea monkeys and since I liked bugs of all kinds anyway, I wasn’t too disappointed. When I worked at the zoo we had a number of former pet caimans and a good part of my presentations involved trying to convince the kids that they were not good pets! I actually wore welding gloves to handle them. The alligators at the Little Rock zoo are fed publicly on Saturdays. Last time I saw, they had a routine where a lady was on the walkway, the alligators swimming around, ready for lunch. She explained that the frozen rats were white, and called to the guy getting the rats that the gators were very interested in her white tennis shoes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/36 "2015-05-07T01:49:17Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I was going to ask if you lived down the street from [these guys](http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080803123627/friends/images/f/f7/Marcelandross.jpg) in the '90s, but then I remembered that they actually lived in Manhattan. 😉 My kids were watching Friends one night recently, and I said “Why didn’t Mom and I live in an apartment like that when we lived in New York…oh, it was because you had to make a lot of money to afford one.” Our house payment is less than rent on the one bedroom apartment we had in Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/37 "2015-05-07T02:13:57Z")
I can remember when the Sears Roebuck Catalog sold Shetland Ponies,Sicilian Donkeys and purebred dogs… Never got to order any,tho ☹ ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/38 "2015-05-07T02:37:33Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > but you could buy babies in pet stores and no doubt mail order them from Florida, so it was entirely plausible. Buying _babies_?! Mail ordering them from Florida? It really _was_ a different time! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024/39 "2015-05-07T03:34:13Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Buying _babies_?! Mail ordering them from Florida? It really _was_ a different time! 🙂 They were a bitch to flush down the toilet when they got too large, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-buying-baby-alligators-from-ads-in-comic-books-really-a-thing/719024.md?page=1)