Birthday Cans

My recent birthday brought a few more cans into the house.  As part of my gift from the kids I got these three AriZona natural energy teas.

If they taste half as good as the labels look, these should be mighty fine.  They could come in handy for those long, late-night gaming sessions or binge-watching newest popular streaming series.

Ecto II

2016 Ecto Cooler

A few years ago I did a post about Ecto Cooler.  It was a Hi-C citrus drink tie-in for the first Ghostbusters movie in 1987.  The can featured Slimer, one of the ghosts from the movie.

With the release of the new Ghostbusters movie earlier this year, Hi-C brought back Ecto Cooler with a new can design and I snagged one.  Of course the can features green slime dripping down over a picture of citrus, but it lacks any images of ghosts this time around.

I thought it appropriate this evening to take a few pictures of the can in an actual cemetery.  Below is a picture of the can sitting at the top of the steps that lead to an old church in the cemetery.  The plaque says the Mt. Zion Church was there from 1892-1961.

What was I doing in a cemetery this evening?  It's almost Halloween.  I was just making the most of a spooky fall evening.

Sunny Addition to the Collection

A day trip across the border to Indiana today proved what I've said many times on this blog:  There are a lot more beer cans out in the wild for sale than soda cans.

A cool American Brewers collection

All beer cans

And it's true, I didn't find any soda cans today that I didn't already have.  But I found a different kind of can that I didn't even know existed...  canned sunshine.

Of course it's gimmicky but every once in a while you have to let loose and go crazy.  So this can of "sunshine" also came with instructions and additional information about its contents.

And the can was even designed to be mailed???  I've never seen that before.

Anyone interested in some fresh farm air from Illinois?  I'm ready to can it.  And I'll even discount bulk orders...

Kids' Church

There are a few people at church who know about my soda can collection.  And they know I'll take bags of cans to be recycled (after I've pulled out the cans I need for my collection, of course.)  On Wednesday evenings they have a kids' church where supper is provided.  And what's left over at the end of the evening?  A bag of empty soda cans.  So last Sunday I was asked if I wanted that bag of cans each week.  I said, "Sure."  What's one more bag of cans each week?

This morning I got my first bag.  And after going through it, I hit the jackpot with nine cans I didn't have yet.

As if that wasn't enough, my dad gave me a Walmart brand (Great Value) fruit punch can this afternoon.

Overall, not a bad catch.

Battlefield and Football Field

A co-worker gave this Monster energy drink can to me last Friday.

It's interesting that Battlefield's new game is set in WWI, but I'm waiting for the future-shooter Call of Duty Infinite Warfare to come out in a few months.  And here's the backside of the can:

My dad found this new Dr Pepper can on the side of the road and saved it for me.  More college football stuff.

And at a great Midwest antique mall on Saturday I found this straight steel classic can:

I know there's a political joke there but it wasn't worth the $8 price tag to me.  But then again, you don't see an old joke can like that very often.  Maybe I should have bought.  Non-buyer's remorse.

A Birthday and a Mall

Today was a long day.  But let's skip to the good parts.  At a birthday party this morning, I was able to snag two cans I didn't have.

One was a Pepsi ad can for Raging Rivers, a water park in the area.  The other was a Sprite can with lyrics.  I've been having a hard enough time keeping track of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke lyric cans, now there are Sprite cans too.

After the party I met up with a different group and we checked out a large antique mall just across the River.

That's where I found this 50th anniversary special edition American Can can from 1984 for $2.50.  I have a few other special edition cans like this.  And it had an interesting pull-tab top on it.

A little while later I found a Diet Coke can I don't have.  But I really didn't want it.  I left the hip can with headphones and sunglasses there.  Maybe next time, haha.

Louisville, KY

I just got back from spending a couple of days in the Louisville, KY, area.  There are a lot of flea markets and antique stores and junk shops there so we made time to visit a few.  Of course I was watching for any cans I didn't have.

As usual, there weren't many soda cans to choose from among the many bottles and beer cans.  It wasn't until a HUGE store called the Peddlers Mall that I finally saw some cans.  And these weren't old, rare, collectible cans, these were new ones that came from the store's grocery area.

The Peddlers Mall grocery area

I found a Vimto fizzy drink (which the can says is "suitable for vegetarians"), a Kombucha Wonder drink, and a Polar lemon-flavored seltzer.

These were some interesting finds in the middle of the USA.  The Vimto can is from the UK.  I knew it wasn't from here when I saw it because of the can's size, it's 330 mL.  When I got home I looked  in my collection and the only other Vimto I have has some kind of middle eastern writing on it.  As far as the Nutrition Facts info, which is required on all food items in the USA, it's just a sticker which must be enough to make it ready to sell in America.

Older Vimto can

And the can of Wonder drink is interesting.  Kombucha is some kind of slightly fermented tea that supposedly has some health benefits.  This particular can comes from Portland, Oregon, which explains why the print is in English and French.

The total for all three cans was less than $.60 so I'm not expecting a lot of great taste.  I'll save the Polar seltzer water to drink last.  It sounds like my pallet may need a good cleansing after trying the other two.  :)

Three Cheers for the Collection!

One of the cans that was brought back to me from West Virginia last month was a Cheerwine (pictured on the right).  The front of the can is the same design as the can I already had in my collection (pictured on the left), but the back of the new can advertised a documentary series on the Cheerwine website featuring "local legends," people that have made a difference in communities but aren't well-known outside of those communities.

older design

The only other Cheerwine design I have is a slightly older design that I received from a trade or purchase (pictured on the left).

And to conclude this Cheerwine post, I was recently given something else... a bottle of Cheerwine Kreme.  Yes, it's Cheerwine soda with the flavor of a Krispy Kreme donut.  It's only available in a limited market but it can be ordered online.

The person who gave it to me said it's really good.  It sounds super-sweet to me, but I'll try it soon and see if it deserves the praise it's been getting.

Unfortunately, it's not available in cans.  Yet.

Amish Store

There is an Amish community in our area and they have a store where you can buy homemade furniture, crafts, and food items.  None of my family had ever been to the store, so last weekend my parents decided to make the drive and check it out.  And they invited me to go along.

 

We found the store and sure enough, there was furniture, crafts, and food for sale.  I expected homegrown foods and garden items, but it was more like a regular grocery store but with a lot of variety of things you can't buy at Walmart or Target.

The only brand of soda I saw was Waist Watchers.  I have a couple of older Waist Watcher cans, but didn't know they still made it.  My dad saw this Diet Vanilla Cream flavor and picked up a 6-pack.  I told him to make sure he saves one of the cans for me!!!

The older cans were interesting because each one showed a different exercise to help you lose weight and stay in shape.

These are the two older cans in my collection.  I also have a newer Diet Root Beer can that came in some can lot I bought. 

This brand stands out in my mind.  I'm familiar with the famous Weight Watchers, but this is Waist Watchers.  And yes, I have quit a few Weight Watchers cans too, but that's a story for a different post.

WV Trip 2016

In the past few years I've written a few posts about the annual trip to West Virginia to visit family and the cans I got on those trips.  I didn't go this year, but that doesn't mean I didn't get cans from there.

Other relatives still went and brought back these cans.  Apparently Kroger is popular there, as five of the seven cans are Big K (Kroger) brand.

One can is an Ale 8 can.  I posted about Ale 8 five years ago.  This can has a newer design than the ones that are in my collection.

And the final can is a Cheerwine can.  I recently heard some news regarding Cheerwine and Krispy Kreme donuts, but I'll save that for another post.

Another summer, more cans from WV.

Kroger Pun

Someone came over to my house last week and brought this Kroger can.  My eyes were immediately drawn to the old-time photo around the top of the can.  You don't see photos like that on cans very often.  I was impressed.

And then I noticed the name... The Fizzicist.  Haha, that's a great pun!!

On the side of the can is a thrilling and compelling story about the
high quality and good prices of American food and drinks from the late 1800's.

I give the can design of this "cheap" brand an A+.

The Return of Crystal Pepsi

I don't often have a good reason to take pictures of my one and only Crystal Pepsi can, but with the recent news that Pepsi is re-releasing the brand, this was the perfect opportunity.

After proving successful in test markets in 1992, Crystal Pepsi began to sell in the USA the following year.  After a successful launch, sales dropped quickly and by 1994 the final batches had been delivered to retailers.

In March 2015, an online campaign launched to bring back Crystal Pepsi.  After a few promotional stunts, Pepsi announced last month that the brand would be re-released in Canada this month and the USA in August.

What's interesting to me is the 90's version was caffeine free, yet the new reformulated version will have caffeine. With or without caffeine, it's the "clear" that draws people to this traditionally dark cola.  And if you're eager to drink it again, or try it for the first time, be quick.  It will only be available for eight weeks.  And then it goes back to the Pepsi Vault.

Happy Fourth of July

For those of us celebrating in the United States today

Warcraft

A night at the movies

Here is my Warcraft history:  I played the original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans PC game that released in 1994.  In fact, I still have the floppies, manual, and game box for it.  I also played Warcraft 2.  For some reason I skipped Warcraft 3.  And I've played World of Warcraft on and off since early 2005.  I've read some of the Warcraft novels and all of the comics.  So when they announced a Warcraft movie I was excited.  And nervous.  Remember the Dungeons & Dragons movie from 2000?  Ouch.

I finally saw the Warcraft movie last night.  I loved it.  And it was a chance for a couple of my cans to get out of the house.

World of Warcraft was Mtn Dew's Game Fuel in 2009.  I hadn't started collecting cans yet, but fortunately when I did start collecting in 2011, there was a large recycle bin of cans at work that hadn't been turned in for recycling for a couple of years (read about it in this post).  And in that bin I found one of each of the two WoW cans.

There was a blue can for the Alliance (good guys) and a red can for the Horde (bad guys).  They were wild fruit and cherry citrus flavored, respectively.  They are still two of my favorite cans in my collection because of the subject matter and their design.

For the Horde!!!!

The Carnival Returns

 

Four years ago I posted about finding an Olympics Coca-Cola can at the carnival that comes to town every year.  And now, this is the carnival weekend.  Due to my work schedule and other commitments the last couple of days, I didn't get to do my usual perusing of the park to look for discarded soda cans.  But that doesn't mean I didn't get any new cans.

For the last few years, my dad has done overnight guard duty all three nights of the carnival.  He patrols the park from midnight to 8am to make sure no trouble-makers show up while the park is closed.  And this year he noticed a lot of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke lyric cans.  So each night he collected a bag of cans for me.

From night #1

His first night there, he even found an American flag 16 oz can.  I knew they were coming for the 4th of July, and now I already have one.

From night #2

The take from night #2 was a bit smaller and included a few doubles, but there were still plenty of news ones.

Tonight will be the third and final night.  He said he's been seeing a lot of the same cans, so I'm not sure I'll get any new ones tonight.

In the five years I've had my can collection, this is the best haul from the carnival... and I didn't even go there!!!

Cans from a Road Trip

Now that the weather is nice again, it's time to hit the road to see what's at the flea markets and antique malls.  And here's how today went.

No cans at the first store.

The second store wasn't much better... until I found a customer snack area.  A quick look through the soda fridge revealed no cans I needed.  And then I glanced down into the trash and saw Wonder Woman from the Batman V Superman Dr Pepper set.  She's #3 of 5 in the set and now she's mine!






It wasn't until the afternoon that I had my next can sighting.  This one was next to a Mission can (orange soda) that had been turned into a bank and a couple of beer cans.  And a LOT of bottles.

This can was an Upper 10 that looked old enough that Fred Flintstone may have drank it as a teenager.  www.canmuseum.com dates it at 1963.  It wasn't in the best shape but I didn't have it.  I talked her down from $3 to $2.  What a bargain!

The lady that sold the Upper 10 to me mentioned another junk shop up the road, so we made that our next stop.  And as fortune would have it, he had a few Coca-Cola cans for sale.

The first can I bought was an 8 oz Halloween-themed Coca-Cola can from 1999.  Halloween is my favorite holiday and I had no idea Coca-Cola ever had a Halloween can.  So that was an easy buy for $1.

The other can was a 150 mL can from Holland.  The seller was impressed that it still had some soda in it even though it was still sealed.  I showed him why collectors don't like to leave soda in cans:

Notice the brown sludgy substance along the bottom of this can.  That's the little bit of soda that had somehow leaked out over the years.  It made a sticky mess of the can and his display shelf.  I had him pack that can in its own bag and when I got home I drained it and gave it a nice bath:

And to wrap up the day we went to Big Lots, a store that sells discontinued items real cheap.  And that's where I found these cans for less than $5 total.

I would classify this as a successful hunt.  And the best thing is we only had time to go to half the shops we had planned, so that means we'll be taking another trip soon...