Cutting Edge

Tucked away in the corner of the Joplin History & Mineral Museum in Joplin, MO, you'll find the "National Cookie Cutter Historical Museum."  It's in between a large exhibit of creepy porcelain dolls and a room filled with creepy circus memorabilia.  It's not too big and more of an exhibit than it's own museum but it's definitely the type of thing to catch my eye.

Here, early 20th century antique snowman cookie cutters share shelf space with contemporary Spider-Man cookie cutters and they all live in harmony.  Product mascots are no stranger to the cookie cutter genre and several of my favorites were represented here.  So I thought I might list a few today on the blog...yeah, that should kill some time...

Before he was de-aged in Crisis of Infinite Earths (or whatever), Mr. Peanut was the suave gentleman who classed up the snack aisle just by being there.  The museum has him in a few poses, including a tip of the hat to whoever is about to eat him.  I imagine these might work best with peanut butter cookies?

Here we have an older M&M design from the days before each flavor had their own distinct personality.  Things were simpler back then.  All the little guys wanted to do was have a swim in the chocolate pool, stand under the candy coating shower and hop into your mouth.  This cookie cutter, of course, would best be used for those type of chocolate chip cookies that have M&Ms instead of chocolate chips.

Next is a smorgasbord of McDonaldland goodness.  There are a couple of Ronald faces, a few Fry Guys and I think the Hamburglar snuck in there.  Of course, some Halloween cookie cutters are also included in that Happy Meal Jack-O-Lantern bucket.  Any mention of cookies and McDonalds takes me back to the old, discontinued McDonaldland cookies from years back.  So I'd used these to make, maybe sugar cookies?  I think that's what they were.

Mr. & Mrs. Pillsbury Doughboy have also joined the party.  I believe their names are actually Poppin' Fresh and Poppie Fresh and they even have an extended family.  But it looks like only these two lovebirds made the (cookie) cut.  Since these guys are all about baking, I could see using them to make some kind of ambitious jam-stuffed cookie. Or some kind of fancy jam covered cookie that you'd see in a magazine but never in real life.  For some reason I think jam is fancy...

I don't necessarily think of delicious baked goods when I think of the Michelin Man but I guess I should start.  The shape of this cutter doesn't include the tire layers of his body so I have to wonder what a Michelin Man cookie would a actually look like.  If you were served one, would you have any clue who it was supposed to be?  A friendly blob waving hello?  As for what kind of cookies I would make with this, maybe something light an airy, you know, like a tire.  Can you use these on puff pastries?

There were plenty more cookie cutters to be found at the museum, of course.  I saw a rare Blondie and Dagwood set and a U.S. map with cutters representing all the states, even the little weird ones in New England that nobody can remember.  If you're ever in the area and want to pay homage to the beautifully mundane, you could do worse. 

Charm in Excess

Previously: Roll Call

There's an inherent fear that many of us have that one day, after "getting some thinking done," we'll reach for the toilet paper and and there won't be enough!  Not nearly enough!!  When thoughts like that creep into your head, here's a mental picture (and literal picture) to keep in mind:

What we have here is the World's Largest Roll of Toilet Paper.  It's on display at the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum in Branson, MO and seems to be sponsored by Charmin.  Revel in its 4,000 pound plentitude!

Charmin went all out on the display including huge iPod-esque interactive touch screens with tons of toilet paper related related trivia, quizzes and Ripley's comics.  Not all, but many of your toilet paper related information cravings can be satisfied by wiping swiping through the screens.

Here you can vote on whether you're the kind of person that prefers the toilet paper to hang over the roll or if you're a horrible, horrible person.

The display as includes several entries in the Cheap Chic Toilet Paper Wedding Dress contest from who-knows-when.  The dresses look as good as any other wedding attire I've seen on blushing brides from the past few weddings I attended at a fraction of the cost. 

Of course, like any other Ripley's museum, there are tons of other oddities and curiosities from around the world, but none quite so functional in that special time of need as a good old huge roll of TP.

Wal-Man

If you're reading this then, odds are, you've probably shopped at Walmart at least once.  Opinions vary on the mega-chain from brand loyalty for its one-stop shopping to hatred for its competition-crushing ubiquitous nature.  Your mileage may vary depending on how often you need to buy motor oil, pet food and milk at the same time, but there's no denying the company's impact on the country.

The man behind the machine was Sam Walton.  He founded his first store in 1962 and with his great success came the tributes.  If you know where to look you can find Wal-Monuments on your next road trip.

In his hometown of Kingfisher, OK, they wave the Walton flag hard.  This sign announces the town's status as his birthplace as soon as you arrive.  Not too far from there is the town's Walmart (every town's gotta have one, right?).  And there you'll find the real tribute:

Sam's eight foot tall disembodied torso and his faithful dog (and dog food namesake) "Ol' Roy" were erected for the grand opening of the town's store in 2007 and were sculpted by a local artist.  Sam's story may have started here but to see the monuments to his professional accomplishments you need to head one state over.

The founding of Walmart got its own Topp's collectible trading card (above) and the refurbished Walton's Five and Dime (his first store) can be visited on the town square in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas as a part of the Walmart Museum.

The museum is a shrine to the origins of the retail giant and houses store memorabilia like bags, buttons, aprons, early branded merchandise and other pieces of ephemera.  But most of the exhibits are dedicated to the life of Walton and they collect his personal belongings. 

It's an odd memorial for someone who lived so recently.  You might expect too see a life size diorama of an Egyptian tomb or a neanderthal's cave at a natural history museum but this place goes so far as to recreate Walton's office and display it behind glass:

On one hand, I'm glad they resisted the urge to put a mannequin "Sam" in the chair.  But on the other hand, I'm disappointing they didn't go to the expense of building an animatronic "Sam" to push papers around on his desk and occasionally look up to tell his tale to visitors. 

I sometimes wonder what it would look like if my work area was one day put on display for posterity.  Would historians know which order to pile the scraps of paper I no longer need on my desk?  Would they line up my Oscar Mayer Wiener Whistles just right?  I guess history will decide.

The other big piece on display of Sam's is his old 1979 Ford F150:

Apparently he liked to take long drives with the dogs on hunting trips (his Texas hunting license is also on display at the museum) in the truck.  They say that if you look closely at the steering wheel you can see Ol' Roy's teeth marks. 

It's an exhaustive remembrance of a man who made it slightly cheaper and easier for many people to buy tube socks and, like it or not, a big piece of Americana.

The Sinclair Dinosaurs of Oklahoma

Years ago, in Route 66's prime, the roads were packed with vacationers, salesmen and entrepreneurs who drove up and down the back roads and highways chasing the American experience.  Gas stations and motels were in fierce competition to get the attention and patronage of these weary travelers so many of them got creative.

Sinclair Oil had a dinosaur theme in their advertising and so it was only natural to have some dinosaurs at their stations welcoming the empty tanks of road weary wanderers.  The bright green statues are few and far between these days but lucky travelers can still find a few at select Sinclair stations.  And, of all places. the great state of Oklahoma has several you can spot on your next road trip like this one in Tahlequah:

This is a pretty standard example but seek and ye shall find some more colorful examples.  One of the best places to stop on an Oklahoma road trip is Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies in Davis along I-35.  You can pick up lunch, dessert and a selfie with a red version of the dinosaur that stands watch on their roof:

Further north up the interstate you can find an even more colorful guy in a very colorful place.  The Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley has pretty much every super hero, cartoon character and scifi monster you can think of.  And among the heroes and villains you can find this guy:

Even farther north is an example of another dino with a dramatic story.  You wouldn't know it to look at him now but a few years back, this dinosaur in Norman lost his head:

As you can see, he's made a full recovery but for a while he was completely headless.  How did this happen?  How did it get resolved?  News 9 reports:

Now, of course, you can find these guys outside of the Sooner State.  You just have to keep your eyes open on the road (which you should be doing anyway).  But if you're lucky, you can see the balloon version from the comfort of your own home.  After a long absence, the Sinclair Dinosaur Balloon returned to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade last year:

So if you want to find a couple of these guys then consider your next road trip to be a dinosaur hunting expedition.  You never know what you'll see on the back roads.