Who remembers the Ford Country Squire Station Wagon? It was our version of the minivan. We called the seating “the way back seats”. Makes sense since there was no known name for that seating back then. I don’t remember if the nauseous feeling riding in the “way back seats” was from the exhaust fumes getting in, or the cigarette fumes from my parents in the front seat. Maybe it was facing the wrong direction while driving. Either way, I still fought my brothers to sit in the “way back”! I remember the trips to the stores, the first time at the carnival, and even a drive-in movie! Did your family have a station wagon? What memories are associated with it?
Category: 1960’s
Johnny Quest
Back in the mid-60s when Hanna-Barbera put this out, it wasn’t your typical cartoon. This felt different. It wasn’t just silly characters running around… this felt like a full-on adventure series. With the coolest sounding sound effects and an intro that was over a minute and thirty seconds, you knew you were in for something different!
You had Jonny, his dad Dr. Quest, Race Bannon—who every kid thought was the coolest guy alive—and then Hadji. And let’s be honest… Hadji was the one that really stuck with you. The mystery, the magic, that calm voice… he brought something totally different to the show.
What I remember most is how serious it felt. There were real dangers, real villains, and some episodes honestly felt a little intense for a cartoon back then. You didn’t just watch it… you kind of leaned in. It felt like you were going on the adventure with them.
And the music… that opening theme? You hear that today and it still pulls you right back. That’s how you know it stuck.
This wasn’t background TV. This was the kind of show where if it came on, you stopped what you were doing. No rewind, no streaming… you missed it, you missed it.
So I’m curious on this one… were you watching Jonny Quest when it aired, or did you catch it later in reruns? And where do you rank it compared to the other cartoons from that era?
Because for me… this one felt a step above.
An Earworm About Stomachs!
If you remember this commercial… this song is gonna be stuck in your head all day 😄
I was just thinking about the joy my parents got watching that Schaefer Beer commercial—you know, the one with the new delivery driver singing. The whole house would stop for that. And somehow, that got me thinking about this one too.
Even as an eight-year-old, I remember sitting there laughing right along with my family watching those Alka-Seltzer commercials… just a bunch of different bellies bouncing around on the screen. No faces, no big story… just stomachs of every shape you could imagine. And it was funny every single time.
What I didn’t realize back then was how big this actually became. That catchy tune—“No matter what shape your stomach’s in”—was so popular it turned into a real song by a studio group called The T-Bones. Not only did it get radio play, it actually climbed all the way to #3 on the Billboard charts in 1966. Think about that… a commercial jingle becoming a legit hit song.
And that’s what made those ads so great. They were simple, relatable, and didn’t try too hard. Everybody’s had that uncomfortable feeling after eating too much, and Alka-Seltzer found a funny way to connect with all of us. No actors you had to know… just real-life humor and a tune you couldn’t shake.
And just like that Schaefer song… here we are all these years later, and it still pops right back into your head like it never left.
#AlkaSeltzer #VintageCommercials #60sTV #RetroTV #ClassicCommercials #Nostalgia #BabyBoomers #TVMemories #OldSchoolCool #ThrowbackTV #Jingle #Earworm #1960s #DoYouRemember
Did The Twilight Zone Dummy Creep You Out Too?
After posting the Nestlé’s “makes the very best… chaaawwwwclit” commercial, a lot of you asked for this one. Go ahead and share your favorite dummy and I’ll try and do some research on it… Politicians are not allowed, though, lol.
Now let me take you back for a second.
There are certain things from back in the day that just stuck with you—and not always in a good way. For me, one of them was that ventriloquist dummy from The Twilight Zone.
I’m talking about the episode “The Dummy.”
When you watched it as a kid, you didn’t overthink it. You just felt it. And something about that dummy—Willie—just wasn’t right. That grin, those eyes… the way he just sat there like he knew something you didn’t.
The episode stars Cliff Robertson as a ventriloquist whose life is starting to fall apart. His act is slipping, his confidence is gone, and he becomes convinced that his dummy is actually alive.
At first, you’re thinking, “okay… this guy’s losing it.”
But then things start happening.
You hear the dummy talking when he shouldn’t be.
You start picking up on his personality… and it’s not a good one.
There’s this edge to him—controlling, almost mocking.
And now you’re hooked.
Because you don’t know what to believe.
That’s what Rod Serling did better than anybody. He didn’t just scare you—he made you question everything you were watching.
And then comes that ending.
No spoilers if someone hasn’t seen it—but let’s just say… the control isn’t where you think it is. And when it hits you, it sticks.
What really got me though? The look of that dummy.
Nothing fancy. No special effects. Just that fixed smile, those eyes that seem to follow you, and that black-and-white lighting that made everything feel just a little more off than it should.
Back then, ventriloquist dummies were everywhere—variety shows, comedians, you name it. Nobody thought twice about them.
Until this.
After that episode? Yeah… different story.
You started looking at those things a little sideways.
And if you really got into it, you probably remember they did it again with another episode called “Caesar and Me.” Same idea… just as unsettling.
But for me, this was the one.
It took something ordinary… and twisted it just enough to mess with your head.
And I’ll tell you this—after seeing it back then…
I never trusted those dummies again.
Dodo The Kid From Outer Space
This is another viewer request, but I don’t have any memory of this cartoon so I hope our viewers can help in that department!
We’re talking about Dodo, the Kid from Outer Space, and from what I’ve been digging into, this one’s a real deep cut from the early 1960s.
Dodo is a kid—well, kind of a kid—who comes from another planet and ends up on Earth. He’s got these strange abilities and gadgets, and the whole show revolves around him getting into odd situations while trying to blend in with humans… which, as you can imagine, doesn’t go smoothly.
The episodes were short, almost like little quick-hit adventures, and the animation style? Very simple… very “of its time.” This wasn’t Disney-level stuff. More like something you’d catch early in the morning before school while eating cereal.
The show actually started in Belgium, not the U.S., which might explain why a lot of us here don’t remember it.
It first aired around 1965, right in that era when space-themed everything was taking off.
Dodo didn’t really talk much—he communicated more through sounds and reactions, almost like a cartoon version of a silent comedian.
Are you humming the theme now?
“I am stuck on Band-Aid, ‘cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me…”
Yeah… same here 
Growing up, I had Band-Aids on all the time… and not always because I needed one. Sometimes it was just proof I went through something that day. Scraped knee, bike wipeout… you wore it like a badge of courage.
But here’s the part that always stuck with me…
Back then, you didn’t have the internet to tell you who wrote what. You just kind of found out things. And for me, that moment came listening to a Barry Manilow cassette.
He’s talking to the audience about his early days… before the fame… when he was writing commercial jingles. Then he starts singing them… and I’m sitting there like, wait… I KNOW these.
And then… boom… the Band-Aid song.
I remember thinking, no way… that guy??
And the deeper you go, the crazier it gets. Before he ever hit it big, he was cranking out jingles for brands like State Farm, McDonald’s, Pepsi… the kind of stuff you didn’t realize you memorized until someone pointed it out.
“Like a good neighbor…”
“You deserve a break today…”
Those weren’t accidents. That was someone who knew exactly how to hook you in seconds.
So of course that Band-Aid song stuck forever… it was built to.
And here’s something else… go back and watch that commercial closely. There are a couple kids in there… just starting out… who would go on to become very big names later on. I won’t spoil it, but once you see it, you’ll have one of those “hold up…” moments.
Think about that…
A simple commercial…
A future music legend writing the song…
Future stars in front of the camera…
And here we are… decades later… still singing it like it never left.
Go-Go-Gophers… Another Theme To Get Stuck In Your Head!
To this day, over 50 years later, most of us can still remember that chorus… “Go-Go Gophers!” You don’t even have to try. It just shows up. I’ll be rushing around doing something and boom… there it is playing in my head like it never left.
And listening to it now, with adult ears? I’ve gotta be honest… I’m kind of amazed this actually aired even back then. But that was the times. Different world, different standards. Still, no question about it… it sticks with you.
This was one of the most requested clips this week, so I figured I’d hold onto it for Saturday morning… feels like the right place for it.
Keeping With The Earworm Theme…G.I Joe! G.I.Joe!
You remember that, right?
Back when G.I. Joe wasn’t something you could lose under the couch in five seconds… it was a full-blown 12-inch soldier you could actually hold onto. That’s what I grew up with. My dad was a Marine, so yeah, there was no question I was getting one. But let me tell you, on a Marine’s pay, those accessories might as well have been locked up in Fort Knox (with Joe guarding it). You made do with what you had… and honestly, it didn’t matter.
Now here’s something people don’t always think about… G.I. Joe first came out in 1964, and not long after, the mood in the country started shifting. You started hearing more anti-war sentiment as the years went on. They didn’t dwell on it in the toy aisle, but you could feel the change happening in the background.
And yeah… they were already calling it an “action figure” when I got mine, I think it was 1966, and I remember that so well because my older brother wasn’t buying it. Not for a second. He kept busting me, telling me I was playing with dolls. And I’d fire right back every time, “It’s not a doll, it’s an action figure!” Didn’t matter how many times I said it… I wasn’t winning that battle.
Because those big Joes just felt right. These weren’t little plastic guys either. They were about a foot tall and had real cloth uniforms you could swap out (my wife is ribbing me just now, saying she was able to do that with her Barbie and Ken dolls). If you were lucky enough to have the gear, you could outfit them for just about anything. And they took off like a rocket. First year, around 16.9 million dollars in sales. Next year, over 36 million. That’s big money for back then. These things were everywhere… every kid knew what G.I. Joe was.
Now I get why they eventually made them smaller. Those big figures weren’t cheap to make, and by the 70s, things were changing. Then Star Wars hit in ’77 and flipped the whole toy world on its head. Smaller figures, vehicles, playsets… suddenly, you could build an entire world instead of just having one guy. From a business standpoint, it made total sense. Cheaper to make, more to sell.
But here’s the thing… it just wasn’t the same.
And I know exactly what you mean when you say it’s hard to explain. Those 12-inch Joes had some weight to them. They felt more real. The cloth uniforms made a difference. It was like you had your one guy, and you were sending him out on missions. The smaller ones were fun, no doubt, but they felt more like pieces of a bigger set instead of your figure.
So let me ask you…
Am I the only one who feels this way, or did those full-size G.I. Joes just hit different?
And be honest… were you one of the lucky ones with all the accessories… or were you like me, arguing with your brother that it wasn’t a doll while still making it work with what you had and having a blast anyway?
Is the jingle stuck in your head now?
🚂 Why the Choo Choo Charlie Jingle Still Lives Rent-Free in Your Head
How many of you can still hear it without even trying?
“Choo Choo Charlie was an engineer…”
And just like that, you’re off. The whole song starts playing in your head like it never left.
The jingle for Good & Plenty is one of those rare pieces of advertising that didn’t just sell a product—it burned itself into generations of memories. And there’s actually a reason it worked so well.
First, it’s built like a nursery rhyme. The rhythm is simple, repetitive, and easy to follow, just like the songs you learn as a kid. That kind of structure makes it incredibly easy for your brain to store and recall, even decades later.
Then there’s the melody. It moves in a steady, almost train-like cadence—chugging along just like Charlie’s engine. That wasn’t an accident. The beat mimics motion, so your brain connects the sound with the visual of a train, reinforcing it every time you hear it.
Repetition played a huge role too. The commercials didn’t just play the jingle once—they leaned into it. Same tune, same structure, over and over again. Instead of getting annoying, it became familiar, and familiarity is exactly what makes something stick.
And maybe the biggest reason? It tells a story. In just a few lines, you get a character, a setting, and a payoff. Choo Choo Charlie isn’t just singing—he’s winning. His candy-powered train beats the competition, and that little narrative gives your brain something to latch onto beyond just the music.
Put it all together—simple rhythm, memorable melody, repetition, and a tiny story—and you’ve got the perfect formula for something that sticks with you for life.
That’s why, even today, people who haven’t seen those commercials in 40 or 50 years can still sing it like they just heard it yesterday.
It’s About Time-Another Theme Song To Get Stuck In Your Head!
Yesterday I posted George of the Jungle and it got me thinking… was that the same person who wrote the theme to It’s About Time? Because the more you listen to it, the more it feels like the exact same kind of song. Turns out it’s not, but you can see why I went there. Those 60s themes were built the same way… simple, catchy, telling you the whole story right in the lyrics, almost like someone’s talking to you instead of singing. Same rhythm, same punchlines, same “stuck in your head forever” formula.
Before the GEICO caveman, It’s About Time show followed two astronauts, played by Frank Aletter and Jack Mullaney, who get sent back to prehistoric times and wind up living with cavemen. The caveman family, including Imogene Coca and Joe E. Ross, really carried the comedy with that loud, over-the-top 60s sitcom style. It only lasted one season, but like a lot of shows back then, the theme song is what people really remember. Written by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle, it follows that same formula… explain the whole show, keep it catchy, and make sure it never leaves your head. Clearly, it worked.