Reading – Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?

Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?* is the sort of pop culture book you grab only if you’re a fan of old stuff and reading about old stuff. Subtitled “The Lost Toys, Tastes, and Trends of the 70s and 80s,” the 230-page black and white paperback is an encyclopedia — complete with Encyclopedia Brown! — of the stupid stuff of the seventies and eighties that we really don’t need in our lives.

This book is fun.

From After School Specials to Zoom

Authors Gael Fashingbauer Cooper and Brian Bellmont are clearly children of the seventies and eighties, with the book veering down so many bizarre and unexpected subjects that I could barely keep up as I read it. And rather than tackle the easy stuff — for example, there’s no simple entry for “Star Wars” — the duo decided to go after the tougher and more tightly focused subjects — but there is an an entry for “The Star Wars Holiday Special.”

And I love this about the book.

Anything is Fair Game

Books, movies, real people, toys, and more jam this book with obscure and unnecessary information . . . which is my favorite kind of information! And the book’s writing is quick and entertaining, going for a conversational tone that’s more about the authors sharing their love of the bizarre world of the seventies and eighties than it is teaching us any sort of useful history. How else would you explain a book that says about The Bad News Bears:

The swearing, the slurs, and, best of all, a drunk Buttermaker driving the kids around, seat belt-free, ensured that this 1976 movie would never fully meet parents’ approval, making kids love it all the more.

Closing Thoughts

Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?* isn’t necessary reading or one of those books I’m gonna scream you need, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun to read and touches on some really stupid bits of the seventies and eighties. And that, for me, makes it a fantastic book that’s recommended if you’re looking for something light and entertaining that brings back memories.

For more on the book you can check the official website, where you can find links to news posts, videos, and even a link to the authors’ Gen Xtinct blog for more silly nonsense.