Quiz #1
Which title from the 60s and 70s has the most wrapper variations? (Different gum flavors don't count!) Hint: Three titles have seven each but one has nine! The three titles with seven wrapper variations are 1962 Blackstone's Magic Tricks, 1967 Daktari and 1972 Drag Nationals. The one with a whopping nine variations is 1975 Hollywood Slap Stickers!
The Wrapper magazine is well known to the hobby and has been published continuously every 6 weeks since October 1978. The first issues did not have indivually numbered pages. Which issue was the first to have numbered pages? Issue #54 from October 1985 was the first with individually numbered pages.
What was Walter Diemer famous for? He was an accountant for Fleer chewing gum corporation who improved on an earlier formula for bubble gum called "Blibber Blubber" by adding latex. This first commercially successful bubble gum was named "Dubble Bubble" and was the dominant bubble gum through World War 2 until Bazooka bubble gum entered the market. Interestingly, the original recipe produced gray colored gum so he dyed it with red dye to produce a pink color, He chose the red dye because it was the only color he had available a the time. When he died in 1998 at age 94, Saturday Night Live joked that his body was found stuck under a movie theater seat.
In 1968, Topps issued actual playable 45 rpm records. What was the title, what genre of music were they, how many were in the complete set and how much did they cost? In the late 60s, Motown was all the rage and Topps issued "Fabulous Rock Records - Motown". It was a set of 16 different records featuring Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Marvelettes and The Temptations. They were not widely distributed, probably due to the relatively high price of 15c each. Some believe that this was a test issue only.
What unusual feature did 1966 Donruss Green Hornet packs have? Green colored gum!
What do the initials T.C.G stand for? Starting in 1950, Topps began issuing cards in 10 cent gumless red cellophane packs with the logo "TCG" standing officially for "Trading Card Guild" (and not coincidentally "Topps Chewing Gum" also)!
Why was the release of Topps 1964 Baseball cards delayed? Topps was so busy printing over 200 Million Beatles cards and trying to meet the huge demand that this actually led to a delay of the 1964 Baseball card release!
What was the original title for Topps 1976 Mad Ad Foldees before they changed it? Funny Ad Foldees
When did they stop putting gum in card packs and why did they do this? The last year that Topps sold baseball cards with gum was 1991. People complained that the gum stained the cards
When were the last wax packs regularly produced? 1991. The year started with wax and finished with plastic and foil.
