Wednesday, December 16, 2015

You're Probably Around My Age If...

...you remember when this doll first hit the market:


When Coleco introduced Cabbage Patch Kids in 1983, they were a huge media-fueled hit. By Christmas of that year, they had become the "must have" toy of the season and some adults that had once behaved like civilized members of society lost their minds in their quest to get this toy. People drove all over the country to find this doll, fistfights broke out in toy stores, delivery trucks were chased, and clerks and managers were threatened when stock ran out.


You're also probably around my age if you remember the next similar sweep of madness that hit the market with this toy:


'Tickle Me  Elmo' brought about another Christmas shopping frenzy savagery named "Elmo-mania" in 1996 when my older daughter was 4 years old. People once again behaved like lunatics; fighting, cussing, threatening. One clerk in Fredericton, New Brunswick suffered a pulled hamstring, injuries to his back, jaw and knee, a broken rib and a concussion after being trampled by a crowd of 300 who stampeded down the aisle after spotting him being handed a box of the toys by another employee.


So much for peace and goodwill to all. This is not what Christmas is about and the behaviour of these raging adults is absolutely shameful.

Here's a video of the Cabbage Patch Kids craze:



Do you remember these crazed fads?

Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

36 comments:

  1. Stephanie FarisDecember 16, 2015 at 11:15 AM

    I do! My mom was one of those moms who made a cabbage patch doll knockoff because the real thing was too hard to find (not to mention overpriced!). Do they have toy crazes like that now? Or is it all just whatever video game is hot this year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 5:58 AM

      My kids are all grown up, so I have lost touch with what's going on in the toy world. I imagine there are still the must have toys around but hopefully not this kind of madness.

      Delete
  2. BirdieDecember 16, 2015 at 2:28 PM

    It is really sad that this even exists. It is just more stuff that will eventually one day end up at the bottom of a closet or in the garbage because even the thrift stores can't sell them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 6:00 AM

      It is very sad. And stupid. Adults behave like imbeciles sometimes.

      Delete
  3. AdamDecember 16, 2015 at 3:05 PM

    I had one of those elmos when I was little

    ReplyDelete
  4. Linda W.December 16, 2015 at 3:13 PM

    Oh I most definitely do remember the Cabbage patch craze. I worked for Target at the time and customers were nuts.

    ReplyDelete
  5. bettyDecember 16, 2015 at 3:54 PM

    I do remember them :) Isn't it funny how one toy "takes" off in the season and has to be the "must have" one?

    betty

    ReplyDelete
  6. Debra She Who SeeksDecember 16, 2015 at 4:42 PM

    I remember them too, Martha and still find it appalling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 6:03 AM

      Mob madness for a toy. Imagine. It doesn't get stupider than that.

      Delete
  7. ToniDecember 16, 2015 at 5:37 PM

    I still have Nick, a cabbage patch astronaut, at my house and Elmo. It was funny that two weeks after Christmas (about the time most of the violent shoppers' bruising and sprains healed)there was an abundance of both on the market!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 7:13 AM

      That's usually the case. Sales go up right after Christmas. And right when people start feeling stupid about their crazy behaviour :)

      Delete
  8. ToniDecember 16, 2015 at 5:39 PM

    Remember, many of us were raised with the television demand to "be the first on your block". Hard to swim upstream of propoganda!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 7:16 AM

      Hard but not impossible! Imagine what we teach our kids when we behave like savages 😕

      Delete
  9. ChristineDecember 16, 2015 at 5:39 PM

    I do remember! Now it's Star Wars.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 7:18 AM

      I had no idea it's Stars Wars. I've been out of the toy shopping group for a long time!

      Delete
  10. Country Gal December 16, 2015 at 6:53 PM

    I remember them but to this day cant stand dolls , they creep me out lol !

    ReplyDelete
  11. AntiquityTravelersDecember 16, 2015 at 7:39 PM

    I never understood why anyone wanted a cabbage patch doll? and to have a frenzy over it? baffling

    ReplyDelete
  12. BBDecember 16, 2015 at 7:39 PM

    I do remember these crazes! It was ridiculous. Now people act like that every Black Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  13. GailDecember 16, 2015 at 9:54 PM

    Sadly, I was with them as Santa still brought what was asked for Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 7:22 AM

      I hope you didn't behave badly, Gail! You strike me as a pretty sensible person ☺

      Delete
  14. RedDecember 16, 2015 at 10:26 PM

    My daughter was too old for these dolls and wasn't a doll little girl. She preferred lego.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 7:25 AM

      I was also too old for all this and a lot like your daughter. Plus, we didn't care for many toys. We were always outside!

      Delete
  15. The Happy WhiskDecember 16, 2015 at 10:41 PM

    I never understood the Cabbage Patch thing. People are nuts.

    ReplyDelete
  16. JimDecember 17, 2015 at 10:08 AM

    Yes, I remember all that fuss too! that Elmo thingy drove me crazy!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 3:52 PM

      There is only so much anyone can take of Elmo! :)

      Delete
    2. Lowcarb team memberDecember 17, 2015 at 5:18 PM

      I think each year brings different crazes.

      All the best Jan

      Delete
    3. MarthaDecember 17, 2015 at 8:33 PM

      It does. But hopefully not every year leads to this type of madness...and violence!

      Delete
  17. UnknownDecember 18, 2015 at 7:48 AM

    True story. Once I had to push down a little boy to get the Transformers robot he was holding in his hand. As he bawled, I ran away to the cashier to pay for the toy. I felt evil, and I liked it :)

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)