3D Cans from Japan

Back in July, I bought some cans from Japan.  In the listing it said some of the cans were 3D.  I couldn't wait to see what that meant. 

It's hard to get the total effect in a picture, but you can see that the sides of the can have a diamond-dimpled texture which makes for interesting reflections at the right angles.

The downside to the "3D" effect is that the can feels a bit thinner and is more susceptible to dents.

 


This particular can is the Kirin brand of Chu-Hi, an alcoholic drink often canned and sold in convenience stores and vending machines.

Dragon Ball Z

I got this can in a lot I bought on eBay.  And I don't know what it is.

Dragon Ball Z (front)

Obviously, the character on the can is from the anime show Dragon Ball Z.  At first I thought the 50/50 meant it was a half & half flavor, but upon Googling Gotenks (which I originally thought was the brand of the drink), I found this:

Gotenks is the powerful result of Trunks and Goten using the Fusion Dance, and the first fusion character to be seen in the Dragon Ball manga and the Dragon Ball Z anime. 

Of course!  What was I thinking?  Gotenks is a character.  On the side of the can it says "Helsi, all famous TV characters," so now I'm assuming Helsi is the brand.  But nowhere on the can is there a clue as to what kind of drink or flavor it is.  The back of the can isn't any help either, it's written in Japanese.

Dragon Ball Z (back)

 I'm not sure if this is part of a larger set or just a one-off collector can.  So I'm going to leave this on my Japanese shelf as a novelty item.

Kickapoo Joy Juice

Back in June, I made a post about Fred Flintstone's favorite drink, Cactus Juice, and its real-world counterpart.  I recently found out I have another such drink in my collection, Kickapoo Joy Juice.

Li'l Abner was before my time.  I had heard of the name, but knew nothing about it until now.  This is from the wiki entry:

Li'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp (1909–1979), the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through November 13, 1977. Read daily by scores of millions of people, the strip's characters and humor had a powerful cultural impact.

And what was Li'l Abner's favorite drink?  Kickapoo Joy Juice, which was originally coined as a "volatile brew" in the comic strip.  The real-world counterpart is a non-alcoholic citrus-flavored soft drink brand owned by The Monarch Beverage Company.  The can even states it's "The Original Dogpatch Citrus Soda."

For more info, check out Kickapoo's wiki page.

Cans for Trade

The next best thing to getting a can I don't already have is getting a better condition can of one I have.  So what do I do with the lesser quality cans?  I put them in trash bags, essentially adding to my "B" collection.  If I see a special promo can I already have, it goes to the "B" collection.  And before I knew it, I had four trash bags of "B" collection stock.

3/4 of my "B" collection

What am I going to do with these cans?  Hopefully start trading.  All of my trade cans are from the last few years.  So if anyone is looking for a newer can, I might be able to help.

Click here to see the Trade section on my official collection site.

2011 Holiday Cans

Halloween cans have come and gone.  Make way for the Holiday cans...

These are my first two for this year.  The Diet Coke was a gift from my sister on Thanksgiving and the Sprite from a co-worker earlier in the week.  I'm ready for some more...

2011 World Series Pepsi Can

Two nights ago, I attended our quarterly team meeting at work.  When I entered the conference room, I noticed a few people had cans of soda on the tables in front of them.  I quickly found the barrel of iced soda cans and started digging.  I found two cans I didn't have, a Brisk lemonade can and this Pepsi World Series can.

This was a real surprise because I didn't know Pepsi had their own World Series can.  And this happened just a few of days after I acquired the Coca-Cola World Series can.  So now I wonder, "Are there any other brands that produced a World Series can?"

Same Name, Different Brand

Back in July, I got a Shasta Moon Mist can in a lot I bought on eBay.  Just last week, I stopped in a gas station and saw a Faygo Moon Mist can, so I had to buy it.  Of the 1500 cans in my collection, this is the first time I've seen two different brands with the same crazy flavor name, although I'm sure it happens quite often. 

Moon Mists

Current Excitement: A Can from Australia?

My daughter's piano teacher recently headed to Australia to visit her daughter until the end of the year.  So I had a short conversation with her revealing I have a can collection and since she was going to be in Australia...

She asked how many cans I want.  Haha.  I don't want to be an inconvenience, so I said I'd be happy with one... or two, three, four, whatever she could fit in her suitcase.  I told her to make sure she empties any cans she brings back!  I was going to suggest a separate shipment of cans back to me, but again, I don't want her to have to "work" on her vacation.

As I said, she's going to be there for the next several weeks, so only time will tell if I'm able to add a can from Australia to my collection.  I'll be sure to post an update as soon as she gets back.

*** Click here to read the update on this post ***

Game Fuel: Modern Warfare 3

As a gamer, I love the Game Fuel cans from Mountain Dew.  The first Game Fuel was for Halo 3 in 2007, the second for World of Warcraft in 2009 (two cans), and now in 2011, they have released one for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

The Game Fuel line is a limited flavor release of usually 12 weeks.  The Modern Warfare 3 flavor is a tropical flavor.




  
And how did I get this can?  My dad was out for a walk, saw the can on the side of the road and picked it up for me.  He had no idea it would be one of my favorite cans in my collection.

I also have the two 2009 World of Warcraft cans, but I do not have the 2007 Halo 3 can.  Yet.

Retro Big Red

Jones Soda made the switch to real sugar from high fructose corn syrup a few years ago.  Then we got Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback in 2009, also made with real sugar.  Dr Pepper was soon to follow with Dr Pepper Heritage.  And earlier this year 7 Up released their Retro version.

So who else could jump on the "real sugar" bandwagon?  How about Big Red?  Ok.

* This picture is from the internet, not my personal collection.  It's another can I need to watch for....

Cans from Vacation

Why has there been a lack of posts this week?  Because my wife and I just got back from a Bahamas cruise for our 11th anniversary. 

I saw dozens of cans on the cruise and during our stay in Florida, but given the way we packed I couldn't bring many cans home.  If there had been more time, I would have gathered some cans and shipped them home UPS but we had a tight schedule. 

But that doesn't mean I came home empty handed!  Here are my new cans:

Pepsi:  The first night we were in Ft Lauderdale, I saw this Pepsi can in a parking lot advertising FAU Owl Athletics.  I like cans with local advertisements.
Coca-Cola:  The "Arctic Home" cans are common now, but I got this on the cruise ship itself.  I will still be looking to get a bottom-opened one, but this is a good memento of our trip.
Ironbeer:  I had never heard of this brand.  I found it in a trash can on Miami Beach. 
Chek:  I have a couple of older Chek cans, but this one we found on the ground in a Taco Bell drive-thru in Ft Lauderdale.  We had gone into a Winn Dixie earlier that day and I saw all the different flavors of Chek available, but I didn't buy any. 
Minute Maid:  I got this one on the plane back to St Louis.  As they served everyone their mid-flight drinks, I mentioned to my wife that I didn't have this Minute Maid can, so she asked for it and the lady gave it to us. 

Something to keep in mind... if we drive somewhere on vacation, I can collect a LOT more cans!!!

Summit Cans Have New Design

Earlier this year Shasta did a makeover of their can design.  After acquiring quite a few different flavors, I started seeing the new can designs for the flavors I already had.  So many of my Shasta flavors have two cans.

I found out this weekend that Summit, the ALDI brand of soda, has done the same thing.  The old Summit can design started with silver at the bottom and blended upwards into the color associated with the flavor (purple for grape, orange for orange, etc).

The new design has removed the silver and is now a solid color.  In the picture above, the old can design is on the top row and the new can design is on the bottom.  These are the only three cans so far that I have both designs.

November 26, 2011 update - I just got the new Citrus Twist can last night.  Here are those two designs:

Old and new

Fact or Fiction?

I found this online.  Some people claim it's real, others say it's fake.  Either way, I don't want to try it.

Can Watch: 2011 World Series Coca-Cola Can

I'm worried about this one.  Let me explain...

Two nights ago the St Louis Cardinals won the 2011 World Series.  I live near St Louis, but am not interested in baseball.  When I look at this picture, I see a Coca-Cola can I don't have with a baseball team on it.  But there are going to be a lot of Cardinals fans wanting this can because it has the Cardinals on it.

I don't think I'll be finding this can in a ditch.  I don't think my usual contacts are going to give up the can because most of them are Cardinals fans.  And I assume there will be somewhat of a market for these on eBay for sports collectors.  So I'll see how this one goes.  Maybe I'll get lucky and Santa will put one in my stocking in a couple of months.  But I doubt it.

November 20 update - I got it!

November 24 update - I stumbled upon the can below two nights ago!!  I didn't know Pepsi also had a World Series can.  Read this post for more information.

Can Watch: The Munsters

This Halloween season brought about many new can designs, of which I have found none yet.  A set I just read about on the interwebs is a set of three cans released in 2000 featuring characters from The Munsters TV show. 

The coincidental thing about this find is that I never really watched The Munsters while growing up, so we've been having a Munsters-Marathon at work during our lunch break for the last couple of weeks.

So that makes these cans even that more appealing to me.  For now, I'll add these cans to my wish list and just keep watching the classic television show at work.

* These pics are from the internet

Can Watch: Dad's Gone Retro

Dad's Root Beer will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2012.  To commemorate the milestone, they will be releasing four "retro cans" chosen from their catalog of previous can designs.  Production of the new cans is set to begin on November 1, 2011.

* This picture was found on the internet

Can Watch: Coca-Cola Turns White

"Arctic Home" can

For the first time ever, Coca-Cola is losing the red in support of a cause.  On November 1, Coke cans will show polar bears in front of a white background.  Coca-Cola will be written in red.

Coca-Cola is teaming with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to raise money to help protect the polar bear's home in the Arctic.  The new packaging will be on store shelves through February 2012.

The polar bear has been a Coca-Cola icon since 1922.

* I found this pic on the internet.  It is not from my collection.

November 15 update - I knew it wouldn't be long before I had my own "Arctic Home" can.  In fact, now I have two.

The can on the left was the first white Coke can I saw.  I brought it home as a souvenir from the cruise ship when we went to the Bahamas.  The can on the right is from a co-worker who supplies me with Coke cans.  It was through him that I was able to get this bottom-opened can for my collection.


  
January 5, 2012 update - And now for the conclusion of this story.  After Coca-Cola discontinued the white Arctic Home cans, they released the red Arctic Home cans.  This morning I saw a red can on the side of the road about a block from  where I work.  I circled around and picked it up... and it was the red Arctic Home can.  Whew!  Glad this story is over. 

Or is it?

dnL and 7up

Introduced in September 2002, dnL was part of the 7 Up family of soft drinks.  Its name and logo came from the 180-degree rotation of the name 7 Up.  While 7 Up had a lemon-lime flavor, dnL had a lime-lemon flavor.  7 Up was a clear drink but dnL had the color of Mountain Dew, one of its biggest competitors. 

dnL was released the same year alternate versions of other brands were released, including Pepsi Blue, Dr Pepper Red Fusion and Vanilla Coke. 

dnL was discontinued in 2006 in favor of 7 Up Plus.

dnL - Rightside up

dnL - Upside down

Give Me Liberty

So I got this can in a lot I bought from California.  Liberty Sport Drink.  "That's neat," I thought as I looked it over.  It appears to be the Golden Gate Bridge under the name.  "That's neat."  After all, I did buy it from California.  And then I turned it around to see what kind of distribution or packaging info I could find and I was surprised.  The back of the can is printed in Japanese!  Well now what? 

I posted pics on a couple of soda can forums but got no response.  I emailed the guy I bought the cans from but he said he collects beer cans and the soda cans he sold to me came with a group of beer cans he bought.  So he didn't know anything about this can.

I have done research on the internets and can't find any information at all about it.  So if anyone out there has ANY information about this can or company, please leave a comment.

2008 Beijing Olympics Coca-Cola Cans

In 2008, Coca-Cola released a series of cans for the Olympics held in Beijing. 

The main set consisted of five cans each representing a different country with the Coca-Cola logo written in each country's primary language.  Underneath each logo was a vertical silver bar that read "Olympic Games Collector Series."  And below each silver bar was the can's number in the 5-can set. 

The cans from left to right (numbered 1 to 5, respectively) are Russia, Thailand, USA, Ethiopia and Mandarin. 

There were additional decorative cans from other countries, but this was the base numbered set.

Dr Pepper in the Park

A walk through the park today yielded this Dr Pepper can:

HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY

America's Turning 7 Up

Guess what?  In addition to the 1976 "United We Stand" 7 Up set, there is a set called "America's Turning 7 Up," which was 7 Up's advertising campaign in 1978-79.

My "America's Turning 7 Up" cans

Each can is individually numbered (1-50) and has a short paragraph about that can's state.  I have only acquired four of the fifty cans in the set so far, and those came from some can lots I bought on eBay before I was even aware the set existed.

Complete set

I got this picture from the internet.  Notice when you stack the cans in order, the white on the cans makes the outline of the 48 contiguous states. 

Add another set to complete to the checklist...

Good Grief, More Cans?

I was rather proud of my 1992 Snoopy A&W cans.  I had collected four of them from various can lots I bought on eBay.

My Snoopy cans

 ...until I did some research online and found out there are four more of them.

Complete collection

The above picture came from an eBay listing for all eight cans... for a mere $359.08.  So the hunt continues.  Some day I hope to display the entire collection on my shelf.

Stocking the Second Set of Shelves

It took quite a while, but the new shelves now have cans on them.  I basically had to take down all the cans from the first shelves, combine them with all the new cans, and start organizing them alphabetically from scratch.  There are now three sections to the collection:

These are my cans
A thru S. 

The top three rows are my foreign cans (from Japan and the Middle East).

The next four rows are cans T thru Z.

The next four rows are my Mountain Dew and Shasta cans.

The top six rows are my Coca-Cola cans.

The bottom six rows are my Pepsi cans.














And this doesn't include my 7 Up state can set, my 1977 RC baseball cans, 1978 RC baseball cans, etc.  

So am I done building shelves?  No.  Now I need some shelves to hold taller 16 oz cans (energy drinks and tea cans) and shelves to hold my short 8 oz stubbies.  But those will be built sometime in the future.  For now, the tools have been put away and my collector's hat is back on.

Building the Second Set of Shelves

Back in June, I built some shelves to display my can collection.  But over the last few months, the collection has outgrown the shelves.  So in August I began surveying the basement for a good place to build a second set of shelves. 

Framing the second shelves

I decided to keep the cans in just one corner of the basement which led to the "can room" design. 

If needed, future shelves will be built along the side of the stairs and underneath the stairs.  And finally, a third "wall" can be built from the end of the new shelf to the steps to create the Can Room.

Stay tuned to see the finished product...

Arabic Cans

Last month I reported I was in contact with someone in the Middle East about sending some Arabic cans to me.  Well, the cans have been delivered.  One side of the cans is in English and the other in Arabic.  These are the 54 cans that now comprise the Middle East wing of my collection.

A big THANKS goes out to BeerCanRich99!!!

Can Watch: This Fall's New Diet Coke Can

Picture from the internet

This fall, Diet Coke's "Stay Extraordinary" campaign takes on a different look.  The new limited-time-only design keeps the silver background and blows up the font so big that the words "Diet Coke" don't even fit on the can!

The new design shipped to markets on September 1.  That will give the can a couple of months to get comfortable on the shelves before holiday themed cans start shipping in November.

Picture from my collection

September 6 update - Who says there isn't a soda can fairy?  That was my first thought when I got home from work today and found a can with this new design lying in my sink!  Or maybe my wife picked it up on her walk to the store.  It looks like it was in a soda machine or rack of some sort because there are rub marks around the top and bottom, but this will keep a spot warm on the shelf until I can get a can in better condition.  Viva la Diet Coke.

October 29 update -  Everyone can rest easier now because I found a can in much better condition this morning.  A big thanks goes out to the litter bug on Main Street.