Three Reasons I Kept This Bottle

#1  Moe

#2  Curly

#3  Larry

As I mentioned in a previous post, I generally don't go out of my way to collect bottles.  There are way too many out there.  But every once in a while one comes along I simply cannot pass up.

And that's the case with this Three Stooges root beer bottle someone brought to me from their vacation in Branson, Missouri.  When I was young, the Three Stooges were just as developmental for me as elementary school.  Come to think of it, I probably spent more time with the Stooges than with school, haha.  

The soda is actually branded Rocket Fizz.  And the person who drank the root beer said it was pretty good.

And to end this post, here's a quick exchange between Curly and Moe from the 1938 short "Tassels in the Air."

          Curly: You mean I'm um-day in pig language?

          Moe: You're um-day in any language.

A Monster Assault on Taste

Click bait title.

Introducing Monster energy drink... Assault.

And here's a pic of some info you can read:

I didn't drink this.  Someone else did and saved the can for me.  

Its camouflage makes it hard to find in the jungle.

Kist by the Sun

My son and I were at the store last week and he saw these two flavors of Sunkist soda.

They both sounded so delicious.  Of the two, we decided to get the "NEW" Berry Lemonade flavor.

Doesn't the can make your mouth water?  I believe the psychological trickery used is including the big drops of water in the paint scheme.  It looks like that can has been in a cooler full of ice and is now sweating in the heat, ready for you to drink its ice-cold soda inside.  A very refreshing thought.

It's an old trick that's been used plenty of times, I'm sure, but with the summer heat here now it makes this can look even more enticing.  Maybe the next trip to the store we'll pick up the Strawberry Lemonade.

Rise and Shiny

Someone recently saved these four shiny Mtn Dew Rise energy drink cans for my collection.

The four flavors are Peach Mango Dawn, Pomegranate Blue Burst, Strawberry Melon Spark, and Tropical Sunrise.  I have not had the opportunity to taste any of these, but Mtn Dew sure did a great job at naming them.  In fact, just hearing the enticing flavor names and seeing the spirited designs of the can gives me a little energy.  

As a bonus, each can shows the same information panel telling you that the can contains caffeine equal to 2 cups of coffee.  Zero sugar means calories are low at only 25 per can.  And the stripe near the top of the can claims "Immune Support" and "Mental Boost."

Mtn Dew usually does a great job with the presentation of their cans and these shiny silver cans with a splash of color are no exception.  What better way to RISE and shine in the morning?

Double AHA

My flavored water adventure continues.  Recently I tried two new flavors of AHA: strawberry + cucumber and orange + grapefruit.

Normally I'm not a fan of cucumber or grapefruit beverages, but combined with strawberry and orange, respectively, it made the two vile flavors tolerable.

I really like the design of the AHA cans.  To me, they give off a summery vibe and with the warmer weather here it's already starting to feel like summer.

And there's nothing more refreshing than ice cold water in hot weather.  But this summer I'll continue my flavored water adventure.

Not the Type of "Brew" I Expected

Where does one draw the line when collecting cans?  Some people pick a brand or two and focus on just that.  But if you choose to collect Coca-Cola cans, soda cans are obvious but what about Coca-Cola energy drinks?  Or Coca-Cola coffee?  For a brand-completionist the lines can quickly become gray.

The brand Pepsi would include Pepsi soda.  But do you also collect Brisk since it's under the Pepsi umbrella?  If yes, now you're collecting soda and tea.  And then juices show up.  And what about those weird relaxation drinks?  How do you decide which cans to keep and which to refuse?

I've stated many times on this blog that an easy line to draw is whether the drink has alcohol or not.  I'm not against alcoholic beverages, but with that as the deciding factor it's a simple YES or NO whether to include a can in my collection.  Now that does open the door to a HUGE can pool (any non-alcoholic drinks), but the more the merrier, right?

So when someone handed me this can for my collection, I almost threw it away.  It's a "cold brew" and I don't collect cans with alcohol, which includes ALL beer cans.  

But wait!  That symbol looks familiar.  Upon a more careful read of the label I realized this was a Starbucks coffee can, not some micro-brewery beer can.  OOPS.

Ok kids, the can-collecting lesson of the day: Be sure to read the label carefully.  Don't glance and assume.  Other than Monster, black cans aren't real common so it's nice to have another cool black can.  And to think, I almost threw it away.

And my other surprise... this can only has 10 calories!  Wow.

Pretty as a Peach

Isn't it great when a week is themed?  Let's take last week for example.  All three cans that found their way to me were peach flavored.  Neat.

I've still been trying different brands of flavored water and the last 12-pack I bought was AHA peach + honey.  My daughter saved a can of Just Peachy Peace Tea for me.  And my son came home with a can of peach Crush.

Summer is quickly approaching.  And with juicy flavors such as peach, I just can't wait for the scorching temperatures, high humidity, mosquitoes, thick air, sunburns, etc.  On second thought, I can't wait for fall to get here.

Those Aren't Cans

Every once in a while an exception is made for my can collection.  And this time it was for a couple of bottles someone gave me.

What makes these two bottles so special?

They both come from Mexico.  And living in the Midwest, I don't often see cans/bottles out in the wild from exotic foreign lands.

I've heard the tales of yesteryear of people tracking down Mexican Coca-Cola and soda-smuggling rings at the US-Mexico border because Mexico's soda is still made with real sugar, not like America's high fructose corn syrup variety.  And that means the Mexican version tastes better.  But now in the future, it's not so hard to jump online and have a crate of whatever delivered from wherever to wherever.  So this find may not be as rare as it once was, but it's still neat to have these bottles.

And both bottles came with their bottle caps which takes me way back to when I was young and started a bottle cap collection.  I sure do wish I still had all those brown paper grocery bags full of caps I collected from the early 80's.  But they were tossed out with other "trash" during one of my house moves through the years.

Mi coleccion sigue creciendo.

Curb Find

Yesterday we had awesome weather here and it was my return to a couple flea markets after more than a year of shutdowns.

While strolling along a sidewalk I noticed a Dr Pepper Zero Sugar can I didn't have yet lying against the curb.  When I first began my collection a decade ago, this was how I found a lot of my cans.

Fortunately I had a plastic bag with me, so I was careful to pick up the can without touching it.  I got home and cleaned it very thoroughly.  

And that's how I got a new can yesterday.  Things are starting to return to normal...

More Caffeine, Please

 I was recently given my first Coca-Cola Coffee can.

There are three flavors in the line: Caramel, Dark Blend, and Vanilla (which is the flavor I have.)

And just to give an idea of the caffeine content of this can, Mtn Dew has 54mg of caffeine, Surge has 68mg for a 16oz can, and this 12oz can has 69mg.  

So if you need that extra pick-me-up:

Coca-Cola + Coffee = Energized

When Life Gives You A Lemin

Yep, the brand is Lemin.  The drink is strawberry lemonade.  Sounds delicious, but the can was given to me empty so I didn't get to try it.

I've been on furlough for over a year now.  But I try to stay positive and remember the old saying: When life gives you a Lemin, write a blog post about its can.  Or something like that...

10th Anniversary Post

On this day, April 11, ten years ago the first entry for this blog was posted.  It was titled "My First Can (This Time Around)".  That was 568 posts ago.

In that first post I set an immediate goal of collecting 100 different soda cans.  I had NO idea what I was getting myself into.  Ten years later, I now have more than 5000 cans stored in my basement and garage.  I have cans from at least 30 different countries.  My oldest can is from the 1960's (not as old as some soda cans out there.)  And I've traded with some great collectors throughout the years, a couple of which I still maintain contact.  

My personal life has changed immensely since this blog began.  I read back through the years and remember those different stages of my life.  In that way, this blog has also been a personal journal recording many trips, purchases, gifts, and surprise finds in physical stores and online.

When does it end?  I still can't go to a flea market or antique shop without scouring it for cans.  People still bring cans to me to see if they have a new addition for my collection.  I still occasionally jump on eBay "just to look around" at the cans.  As of now I have no plans to stop.  

And what currently has me excited is the pile of new cans in my pantry that I haven't blogged about yet.  So you can expect many more weeks, or months, or years(?) of exciting stories chronicling "The Thrill of the Hunt."

Thanks for reading!

Easter Treat

While I don't have any new cans that feature bunnies or Easter eggs, I went with the closest thing I could find in my pile of new cans.

Cotton candy bang energy drink.  I think it speaks for itself.

Happy Easter!!

Monster of Spring 2

 Another week of spring, and another spring Monster showed up.

This one is called Khaotic and has a tropical-like flavor, with pineapple and citrus standing out the most.

Bring on the spring, and bring on more Monsters...

Monster of Spring

Yesterday was the Spring Equinox when we had roughly an equal amount of daylight and darkness.  And now the daylight will increase over the next six months until the Autumnal Equinox.

Also yesterday somebody gave me this Monster energy juice can.

What better can to be given on the first day of spring than a can featuring butterflies.  This is Papillon Monster which has a light subtle flavor with hints of peach and nectarine.

What other new cans will this spring bring?  Tune in to find out.

"Bottled Up" documentary

Are you a fan of Dr Pepper?  Do you like what the company stands for or are you in it just for the taste?  I discovered something this week that I want to share.

It's a documentary released in 2013, shortly after Dr Pepper/Snapple Corporate forced Dublin Dr Pepper to shut down.  I wish I'd found this years ago.  It's been eight years and I'm curious what has happened since then to the people and the town of Dublin, Texas.

What is Dublin Dr Pepper?  It goes back to 1891 when Dr Pepper, made with real cane sugar, was first bottled and sold in Dublin, Texas.  Eventually High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) became a cheaper alternative to cane sugar and the Dr Pepper brand switched to HFCS.  Except for Dr Pepper bottled in Dublin, which kept the cane sugar and with it the soda's original taste.  And that's what made Dublin Dr Pepper and Dublin, Texas, legend.

Life and business was good in Dublin until 2011 when Dr Pepper/Snapple Corporate stepped in and pulled the plug on the now-legendary Dublin Dr Pepper for their various legal reasons.  How does a small town that revolves around one product survive when that product is taken away?  Or can it survive?

After losing the short David vs Goliath legal battle (if you can even consider it a battle), the Dublin Bottling Works came up with a plan B to keep the business alive.  It's great to see how "the little guy" picked up the pieces to move on.

And then in 2013 things heated up at Dublin's annual fair called the Birthday Celebration when Dr Pepper Corporate showed up to promote their own version of soda made with the real sugar called Dr Pepper with Imperial Sugar.

This really is a bunch of mini-documentaries in one.  It features:

• A history of Dr Pepper
• Dublin Dr Pepper bootlegging
• The hidden Dr Pepper museum at the time, now there's a public museum
• Corporate Dr Pepper vs Dublin Dr Pepper

As of the posting of this blog, you can stream "Bottled Up" on Prime Video free w/a subscription or free on Tubi.

Does the documentary make you root for "the little guy" of Dublin, Texas?  Yes.  Is Dr Pepper/Snapple given a chance to tell their side of the story?  Yes.  Is Corporate's story told from a different perspective?  Yes.  Which side is correct?  That's what you have to decide when you watch this very informative and entertaining documentary.

Summer Can in Winter 2

That cold, snowy weather mentioned in last week's post was here for another week.  So why not feature another summer flavor to remind us it'll soon be too hot and muggy to go outdoors.

Yummy kiwi strawberry from the Arizona desert.  Cheers!

Summer Can in Winter

We're in the middle of the coldest weather we've had in a while here in the Midwest.  And what better flavor to remind us summer is just several long months away?

Yummy watermelon from the Arizona desert.  Cheers!

The Jumex Secret?

It's been a while since I got a new Jumex can, but here is my new Mango Nectar.

I don't have many Jumex cans in my collection (less than a dozen), but this is my third different Mango design.  

Jumex is a product of Mexico and can be found at Walmart.  I've tried a couple different flavors of Jumex juices and don't care for them.  This can came from a friend and was bottom-opened.

Have I discovered the secret?

Ju(ice)Mex(ico)?

Yoo-Hoo Comparison

Yoo-Hoo doesn't change their can design very often.  But this week I noticed some differences in the current design, and by "current" I just mean the newest design (which could still be a few years old), and an older can in my collection.  How many difference can you spot between the newer can (top pic) and the older can (bottom pic)?

My answers:

1. The newer Yoo-Hoo logo is smaller
2. The newer "Good source of vitamins" written in red above Yoo-Hoo has fewer words
3. The newer "Shake It!" is smaller
4. The newer can has the calorie marker
5. The newer "Drink" underneath the word Chocolate is aligned to the left now instead of the right.
6. The bubbling chocolate ooze at the bottom of the cans is slightly different
7. The newer "11 FL OZ" is in a slightly different font

What's my point?  To someone who doesn't care, the newer can may look like the same design as the older can at a casual glance.  But when a collector is interested in any slight design variations between cans they will certainly notice.

And this is why my basement and garage are full of cans.