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Reggie candy bar remembered

Dave Farquhar Baseball August 28, 2023September 6, 2023

Depending on who you ask, Reggie Jackson was neither the first nor the last baseball player to have a candy bar named after him. But for people of a certain age, the Reggie Candy bar, first available from 1978 to 1981, and then reintroduced in 1993 and 2023, is iconic. And when it’s not in production, the people who miss it miss it badly.

The story of the Reggie bar, of course, is intertwined with the story of its namesake. And it started with a well-publicized comment Jackson made in frustration.

Marx Happi-Time 9618 train set

Dave Farquhar Toy trains August 24, 2023March 31, 2024

Marx train set 9618 was an electric train set Marx that Sears sold in 1953. But you may also hear collectors refer to it as Happi-Time train set 9618, because that’s what Marx printed on the box.

80s Swatch watches

Dave Farquhar 1980s August 23, 2023April 3, 2024

Swatch watches were a popular fad in the 1980s, a reaction against the growing popularity of digital watches. The company is still very much alive today, but Generation X will probably always associate the colorful watches with the 80s. But Swatch is more than just a retro icon. It’s also an excellent lesson in product marketing.

EGA on a CGA monitor

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 22, 2023July 28, 2023

As expensive as CGA monitors are, EGA monitors or even more expensive and difficult to come by. But did you know you could do EGA on a CGA monitor, albeit with some caveats? In this blog post, I’ll explain what degree of interoperability CGA and EGA have.

How to find the overflow in a toilet

Dave Farquhar DIY August 21, 2023August 11, 2023

A good question came up in response to my hard to flush toilet blog post. How do you find the overflow in a toilet?

Marx Allstate train set 9725

Dave Farquhar Toy trains August 17, 2023March 9, 2024

Marx train set 9725, also known as Allstate train set 9725, was an unassuming low end electric train set Marx produced for Sears starting in 1967.

Why Orel Hershiser isn’t in the Hall of Fame

Dave Farquhar Baseball August 16, 2023July 30, 2023

In the late 1980s, Orel Hershiser was one of the best pitchers in Major League baseball. People compared Greg Maddux to him, not the other way around. Nolan Ryan joked he was afraid of him. So why isn’t Orel Hershiser in the Hall of Fame?

80s jam shorts

Dave Farquhar 1980s August 15, 2023September 1, 2023

’80s jam shorts, or jams, were what you got if you crossed a tropical-themed shirt with a baggy pair of shorts. They were hugely popular in the late 1980s. Originally designed to appeal to surfers, skaters, and punk rockers, they found a fourth niche in an unexpected place.

Cleaning vinegar vs distilled vinegar

Dave Farquhar DIY August 14, 2023September 6, 2023

I was shopping for vinegar the other day and noticed a lot of unanswered questions regarding the difference between cleaning vinegar and distilled white vinegar. In this blog post, I will explain the difference between cleaning vinegar vs distilled vinegar and when it’s okay to substitute and when substitution is dangerous. I’ll also share a trick for saving money.

In both cases, the main ingredient in white vinegar is grain alcohol fermented a second time to form acetic acid.

What happened to Tipton Appliances

Dave Farquhar St. Louis August 11, 2023August 11, 2024

Variously known as Tipton Electric Company, Tipton Appliances, Tipton Centers Inc., and Tipton Supercenters, Tipton was a St. Louis-based retail store specializing in home appliances and electronics. It had aspirations of going national the way Best Buy and Circuit City did in the late 1980s. But when its stock price faltered, it ended up merging with Silo, another now-defunct home appliance and electronics chain, on August 11, 1987.