Way Back WhensDay: Cabbage Patch Kid Koosas

Koosas

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

It's hard to believe that 2013 marks the 30 year anniversary of the Cabbage Patch Kids.  I never owned one of the human versions of the doll, but I did have one of their pets, known as Koosas.  Yes, I'm actually admitting to that.  I'm going to probably embarrass my brother with this story too, but here goes.

Growing up, I loved stuffed animals.  It only seemed natural that I would add one of the popular Koosas to my collection.  Our dad won a cat Koosa in some kind of drawing at the bank we used.  For whatever reason, my brother and I both wanted it, but somehow he ended up getting it.  So I asked for one for Christmas.  That year, I opened up my very own dog version of the Cabbage Patch Kid pet.  Since it was the holiday, I opted to name him Starr (yes with two R's).

Not the real Starr, but it's his twin.

Starr had short brown hair on the top of his head with brown skin.  He had big blue eyes and came with a pair of red overalls.  Like I mentioned, I was already into stuffed animals, so he just joined the dozens of other ones in my collection.  I can remember attaching a dog leash to his collar and dragging him around the house.

These animals looked just like their Cabbage Patch Kid counterparts, but somehow it seemed more masculine to have a dog or cat instead of the baby doll.  I don't know what, but there was something alluring about the Koosas.  I don't remember them ever having their own cartoon or cereal like their counterparts, but they were a fun part of my childhood.

Cats to go

I kept Starr for years, stowed away with my other stuffed animals.  A few years ago, in a purge, I put him in a garage sale.  I had checked out eBay to see if the Koosas were selling, but they really weren't, plus it had years of wear and tear from the many adventures we'd gone on.  (Did I just say that outloud?)  None-the-less, I'm confident Starr found a good home with another kid in my community who may someday grow up to write about his fondness for this blast from the past.

Way Back WhensDay: Garbage Pail Kids

A few from my collection

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

In the early 80's a new toy was introduced to the world.  Baby dolls who were in need of a loving home, born in a cabbage patch.  These awkward looking dolls were appropriately named Cabbage Patch Kids.  They were the must have toy.

Like anything successful, there needs to be a spoof.  A couple years after the introduction of the dolls, the world met the Garbage Pail Kids.  They were not cute and cuddly dolls though.  They stickers that came in a pack just like baseball cards.  Each pack contained five stickers and a piece of gum that was flavorless after a minute in your mouth.

I would ride my bike to the nearby drug store and purchase several packs at a time.  Back then they were a quarter a package, a bargain by today's standards.  Each time I ripped into the wrapper to reveal the batch of stickers, I got excited wondering which misfits would be added to my collection.  Duplicates would quickly get traded with friends.

Gross!

Some of the names were meant as a spoof, like Tiffany Lamp, Ella P. Record, and Farrah Fossil.  Others were just plain gross like Louise Squeeze, Acne Amy, and Drillin' Dylan.  Each sticker had a twin, Holly Wood was paired up with Woody Alan, King-Size Kevin and Hugh Mungous were twins, and Formalde Heidi and her sister Decapitated Hedy.

I still have my collection of stickers, much to the chagrin of my wife.  I don't know how many I have, but there are years worth from the many different collections they introduced.  They've made a comeback of sorts recently too, but I have no idea if there are new stickers or just a re-release of the classics.

In 1987 The Garbage Pail Kids Movie was released.  It's as awesomely bad as you might imagine. That's what you get for basing a film on a series of stickers with gross, ugly, and potentially offensive characters. A cartoon series only lasted briefly, but the stickers left a lasting impression on the children of the 80's and may mount a comeback for generations to come.