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Back in our day, McDonald’s was the fine dining experience we begged for. Whether you sat in the Mc Train, or the Mc Pirate ship, you were guaranteed a face full of second-hand smoke and a souvenir ashtray you could play with like a Frisbee! Join us as we mostly laugh through Gen X memories of fast food, Mc Toys and the breakfast that left competitors behind in the smoke. Cough, cough.
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Transcript
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome back listeners.
Introduction and Host Banter
00:00:02
Speaker
This is Yamazon Cozoinks and I am Josh and with me today is... Not Josh. The other not Josh. That'd be Tyler.
00:00:14
Speaker
My name is Taylor or Trevor. Sometimes. That's what people call me. I get George and John. You get George. Wow. Wow, George. Really?
00:00:24
Speaker
I said Josh. Does that sound like George? Yes. Thank you, Josh. I mean, oh shoot, I blew that. meant to say thank you, George. Thanks, George. Welcome, everyone. Isn't that great banter?
Power Rangers Toys in McDonald's Happy Meals
00:00:36
Speaker
I'm going to start off by yeah by asking a bit of a um skill testing question. Oh, we all love this part. All right. Yes. Yes. Okay. So it's actually true or false?
00:00:47
Speaker
oh True or false? Oh, 50-50. Here we go. There are 14 times the Power Rangers have had toys in the McDonald's Happy Meals.
00:01:01
Speaker
thought you were have been canceled and picked up by another studio. 14 times? Yeah. I think that's a really cool question.
00:01:12
Speaker
i'm assuming the question exists because it's probably true, going to say false because it's really 16 or it's really a long time. Would I do that to you? but Yes, of course I would.
00:01:24
Speaker
So was it, sorry, was it 14? It is. It's 14 times. I was actually shocked. Yeah. Because um I only know about two. i was Okay. as i had two mike le There's the movie. movie and And then there was the ah the s SPD series that had that cool, they had figures and they all got stuck in those plastic boxes and then plastic boxes stuck together to make a giant Megazord.
00:01:50
Speaker
That's the one with the dog, right? dog yeah did they report to a dog spd oh yes yeah yeah well i'm actually i got that wrong it's not spd oh it's um um um um um the ones that they have the pinwheel on their suit oh yeah yeah yeah i'm gonna get kicked out of the power rangers isn't that funny what were they called i can see them that was light speed thank you i'm going to assume that's correct Yes, I'm going to assume it too.
00:02:18
Speaker
All right. It's right there on my screen. Light speed risk. Yeah, there's 14 times. I'm like, and some of them were just like a single thing. The first the first toy was actually the Power Ranger pogs.
00:02:31
Speaker
Oh, and they couldn't keep them in stone. No, it's not crazy. It was crazy how that phenomenon came back. yeah like why are these kids getting excited about pogs that was weird yeah as well and i mean it was early enough in power rangers that that was probably ah all that they could do at the time but uh then they they kicked it off big with uh power rangers the movie yeah that that promotion i remember yeah that was pretty big all right i'm gonna start some start music
00:03:06
Speaker
Hey, don't turn that channel.
Childhood Memories at McDonald's
00:03:11
Speaker
You've reached Yabba Sunker Zoinks, the Saturday morning podcast where your host Josh Downing, that's me, will take you on a trip through a Gen X Saturday morning of cereal, toys, cartoons, and so much more.
00:03:23
Speaker
So grab your honeycombs and your favorite Micronaut and sit back and enjoy.
00:03:29
Speaker
Well, if you haven't guessed by now, we're going to be talking about birds. No, I'm just kidding. Not birds. We're going to be talking about fast food memories.
00:03:40
Speaker
So I thought it would kick it off by talking about Power Rangers Happy Meals toys. Because we grew up with McDonald's and various other fast food restaurants.
00:03:51
Speaker
Yes, but not the not the Happy Meal, though. We were too old for that. No. Yeah, the Happy Meal was... Well, no, we're not' never too old. I was in my 40s when I was buying my Happy Meal toys. That's very funny. I just remember the Star Trek, the motion picture Happy Meal.
00:04:10
Speaker
oh what did that come with? oh that So by that time, I'm 10. And I was like, no, I don't want this. I want my filet of fish. I don't want this happy meal. It's not making me happy.
00:04:22
Speaker
Yeah. I guess they didn't make a little tiny, like fish shaped burgers. No, fish pan these are for children. i need the adult meal. I'm 10. Well, the size of a Filet-O-Fish is appropriate for a child's meal.
00:04:35
Speaker
But it's $14, so I guess that doesn't work. Yeah, so mc McDonald's was a huge part of my growing up.
00:04:47
Speaker
because it was one of those, you know, after, you know, after we visited people on Sunday, we would say like, let's go to McDonald's. Excellent idea. Right.
00:04:59
Speaker
And I loved it. It was such a treat. And I would get my, my, I guess ah we didn't have happy meals back then. Cause this is like, you know, pre pre happy meals. It was miserable meals for sure.
00:05:13
Speaker
But it would probably just been like a hamburger or a cheeseburger. And an ashtray. you Remember the ashtray? The ashtrays were on every table. They sure were. Especially in the train.
00:05:24
Speaker
um McDonald's had the the McDonald's train in it. ah So, it yeah, it had the train at the front and then a little, like a little cart with two little seats in it. And then there'd be like...
00:05:36
Speaker
um some empty just tables, I guess, for the adults to sit. And then there'd be more cars and they'd have seats in them. And some of them were like completely filled in like a, you know, like a circus cart.
00:05:47
Speaker
Okay. I'm so excited. We're talking about this because the one, the one that's on Lawrence Avenue, just east of Midland had a pirate ship.
00:05:59
Speaker
So the whole restaurant from front to back was the pirate ship and you could sit in the ship or on the outsides of it in like regular tables. And of course that was captain crooks ship and just, you know, it was mind blowing, right? Because all those families who couldn't go to Disneyland, you could go to McDonald's, you know, and all that, you know, Sid and Marty Croft stuff was there for you to play on, sit on, admire, you know, drool over.
00:06:28
Speaker
And I've tried so many searches to find pictures of that restaurant there's nothing because it's probably too long ago. Did you ever try to find pictures of your train? that would be so cool to see.
00:06:39
Speaker
No, i should I should actually try to do that because that would be cool. And I don't think we ever took any pictures in there for any reason. Yeah, we never did. Whenever you see things, it's usually the the equipment outside that you could play on. Yeah.
00:06:55
Speaker
And the paintings on the inside. And I'm like, yeah, but what about the restaurants that were themed? Like your train and my train. That was so awesome. like i just I couldn't believe it. And to pull all that stuff out and replace it with pastel.
00:07:09
Speaker
You know, it was just a crime, right? Anyway, yeah sorry, you go on. No, no, totally. that's that This is a conversation about McDonald's and McDonald lands. And ah so for those that are out there that are from West Coast and BC, so I grew up in Surrey. So the the McDonald's that I went to was the one on King George Highway across from Surrey Place.
00:07:33
Speaker
think it's King Josh Highway, sorry. King Josh, yes. Yeah. Often mispronounced as George. um But yeah, so that's the that's the McDonald's that we went to the most often because we just lived in the other side of Wally.
00:07:47
Speaker
And yes, we had the McDonald's train inside. And then later, they they actually... they had those really cool tables with those metal umbrellas that kind of were straightened and swooped down. Like they look like, uh, I don't know, like a good circus head circus tent kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah.
00:08:07
Speaker
And then they added some of the, uh, the McDonald land things. I think they added the, uh, I can't remember his name. They had the cage.
00:08:18
Speaker
Oh, yeah, for the mayor. Yeah, the mayor's prison. Oh, no, not the mayor. Sorry, the officer. yeah Yeah, yeah. And you could go in it, climb in it if you were a little kid. Right. um I think by that point, I was already too big. Right. um it was usually full of of ah all the old the older rocker kids um smoking and doing weed in there because that's what you did on your break. What you see, say?
Josh's McDonald's Work Experience
00:08:43
Speaker
Did you ever work at McDonald's? No. Don't be ridiculous. It's a fair question. My first job was a record store, but most people, their first job was McDonald's. It was my second job. but yeah Your first job was at Burger King?
00:09:00
Speaker
Yes. No money. Intel? My first job was paperboy, but after that I went, I think I was 15. fifteen And at the time you could get a job at McDonald's if you were 15.
00:09:14
Speaker
And so I got my job and I went through and I sat in the training room and did my day of watching VHS tapes of, you know, how to prepare food safely.
00:09:25
Speaker
and everything was yellow and orange. um It was very old, even at that time. thought you talking about the film stock of the video. It was. Yes, that was the film stock. It was just really kind of weird.
00:09:37
Speaker
But Josh, we all want to know what color your uniform was. Was it navy No, it was before the blue. It was brown. was brown, okay. But here's the story. i never got a uniform.
00:09:48
Speaker
Oh. Because um my first day they were like, we don't have any uniforms in stock right now. um Watch all your videos. You get to have one cheeseburger for lunch and ah and a soda.
00:10:03
Speaker
And then they made me go out and bring in the garbage. Of course they did. All the garbage bags, right? And then at the end of that shift, the the night manager came up to me, looked at me and said, ah i don't like punk rockers, and so I'm not going to put you on the schedule.
00:10:21
Speaker
Wow. I'm like, what does that mean? Mick judgey. And he just walked away and he was probably like 18. Yeah, that's true. Right. He was a year younger than Exactly.
00:10:35
Speaker
And so I kind of went home thinking, what does that mean? i don't know if he's not going to put me on the schedule. Does it mean I don't work there? So I just never went back. That was it. That was my career at McDonald's. One shift, one crappy shift. Wow.
00:10:50
Speaker
So thanks, Jim, James, Carl, whatever your name was. He's still only the assistant manager there. Exactly. I'm sure you're still there feeding your family in Surrey um was the burger of assistant manager.
00:11:08
Speaker
And good for you. Good for you for saving me from a life of... Slapping burgers. Although I did go into the food industry shortly after that, but that's a whole other story. we know he's still alive because he was three years younger than he was.
00:11:22
Speaker
Totally. No, but he was probably a heavy smoker. was probably always in that McDonald's cage outside. That's hilarious.
00:11:32
Speaker
Which really was just a big ashtray. Totally was. And we're not kidding when we tell you about the ashtrays. Oh, no. They look everywhere. They're little tin plates, and they're a lot like a Frisbee, very small Frisbee. And they flew really well yeah if there was no ashes in them.
00:11:48
Speaker
um And at the start of every day, somebody would just go and put a fresh one on every single table in the restaurant. yeah And that would stay there until somebody had folded it up or stole it for their home.
00:12:01
Speaker
But yeah, that was back when people would, mom and dad would just sit there and smoke while you ate your cheeseburger. Yep. Coughing away. Yeah. So yeah, so that was that was McDonald's.
00:12:15
Speaker
I don't remember the first time going. like I don't know when it was like this important part of my life. It just was. You know what I mean? Yeah. I think for us, it would have probably have been early seventy s because I think that's when McDonald's came to Canada. So it was fairly recent.
00:12:34
Speaker
But here's my my other... My other crazy McDonald's memory, other than the fact that I worked there for a day. um I wonder if i they still have my paycheck. I should go. Yeah. With interest, it's probably up to like $18. There's a bill for your uniform.
00:12:50
Speaker
but That's right. forgot. They deducted the uniform, which is also probably still sitting there. Yeah. Whose brown shirt is this? And this paper hat. And this paper hat. Yes. We used to wear those paper, i don't know what they call them, but they were from like, uh, from soda shops from the fifties.
00:13:07
Speaker
And apparently they have a name doing them I didn't get to be around for the famous, uh, big Mac ball cap. Oh, it looked like a big Mac on your head yeah yeah or that your head was actually a big Mac.
00:13:19
Speaker
So when you had a big Mac attack, you would know, which is what happens if you smoke too much weed and then go to your shift. Oh, my God, your head's a Big Mac.
00:13:32
Speaker
ah So famously, I was a paper boy. So I would get on my bike.
First McDonald's Breakfast
00:13:38
Speaker
And on Saturday, I read in the paper that McDonald's was starting McDonald's breakfast.
00:13:45
Speaker
And yeah famously, I love breakfast food. Always have, always always did. So, of course, I had to get on my bike. and ride my bike all the way to McDonald's on Saturday morning so I could get a breakfast.
00:14:03
Speaker
And this was a big deal. And in my head, I'm thinking riding my bike was probably like a good hour from where I lived. Oh my gosh. So I Googled it the other day. And you know you can set the setting to bike.
00:14:16
Speaker
Yeah. Nine minutes.
00:14:20
Speaker
I lived nine minutes by bike. But you were so hungry. It seemed like an hour. Who set that time? Tour de France? Like seriously. It was easily an hour. but anyways, I remember getting up and going and riding my bike.
00:14:38
Speaker
There'd be very little traffic in Surrey at the time. And I would get my breakfast. And it was usually the big breakfast. And that was the one had the pancakes, the scrambled eggs, the hash browns. So really, it was just an egg McMuffin spread out on a big giant styrofoam plate. Very cold. Yeah. And all it tasted like styrofoam.
00:14:57
Speaker
Yes, but i didn' I didn't care. I loved it. I loved it that I could just go and buy my own breakfast. Sure, I get it. And I think it was probably like three bucks or something. So like that was like a month's worth of papers.
00:15:10
Speaker
So it was totally worth it. I loved doing it. And that was that was my biggest, other than being employed there, that was my biggest McDonald's memory. You know, it's funny when you're when you're talking about the introduction of the breakfast, i think to myself, so what time did McDonald's open before they had breakfast?
00:15:28
Speaker
Like 11 a.m.? Yeah, probably. Yeah, because why would they need to open any earlier? Right. You know, I'm used to them being 24 hours or whatever, but it's like, oh, that's so funny. Yeah. Yeah, you're right.
00:15:40
Speaker
Yeah. That was probably the big deal was that they were going to open, you know, two hours earlier so that you get, I think they opened at like seven or eight. So you can smoke earlier. Yeah. Well, you've already had packed by then.
00:15:52
Speaker
even i po do you remember those two McDonald's paintings I bought? you remember that? And they were on that strange, they were painted on not concrete, but they were painted on like some kind of like wood pulp or something. I don't know what that was.
00:16:09
Speaker
was probably MDF. ah I don't know. Cause it would, it would, well, I'll get to the part where they crumbled. but That's MDF. Just just really quickly, josh and I and a couple of other people were at a toy show and somebody had these original McDonaldland paintings for sale. i'm like, I want those. They're incredible.
00:16:30
Speaker
and Yes, they were. So we had to leave the show, get to a bank machine. And I came back and I bought them. And I did love them. And, of course, like anything, I sold them not too long afterwards because I didn't love them as much as I thought.
00:16:44
Speaker
And they got damaged in shipping to the States. And like, oh, no, don't tell me that We had to go to UPS. No, no, it was UPS. We went somewhere to buy special boxes.
00:16:56
Speaker
Because, of course, these are like giant paintings. Right. And the guy at the other end, when he received them, you know, they were broken. and I was I was heartbroken because one Oh, no like something really cool is now gone forever because these were originals that hung in.
00:17:13
Speaker
Oh, I used to know which location anyway. In Burlington. Was it? Yeah, because I remember going out there. okay. And so anyway, the guy sent me pictures. I'm like, oh, this is nothing. Like he was talking about like a couple of pieces had broken off the bottom, which actually didn't really affect the look. And we're talking like, like maybe an inch long.
00:17:36
Speaker
was how better about that? But he was furious. And I'm like, okay, well, you know, they got like we wrapped the heck out of those things to make sure they were safe. So it's sort of upsetting.
00:17:48
Speaker
But I found the artist. um I went looking for him that day online and found him. And coincidentally, he was doing an art show that night. No way. Yeah. So I went down Queen East, not far.
00:18:02
Speaker
You know what, Josh? it was this It was probably the same place that you had plays at.
00:18:07
Speaker
on queen east yeah by that goodwill is it a goodwill for a salvation army yeah no there's a yeah and doorway place in there yeah it was like one of those doorways okay and uh met him and his wife and they were super people and so welcoming and loved the story and of course he was pretty young when he did those paintings right But anyway, long story there, but it was just, you know, it's a shame that they had a little bit of damage in the end, but it was so minor.
00:18:38
Speaker
It was so minor. But what a wonderful keepsake when they're literally one of a kind, you know, and he was good at illustrating that, those characters. So he really only did it for that one restaurant?
00:18:51
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
McDonaldland Paintings and Collectibles
00:18:53
Speaker
and he was And I was shocked at how young he was, you know, so he probably did it when he was quite young. Huh, that's really cool. Yeah, I remember those. Yeah, yeah. And I might have pictures of them somewhere. I don't know. Yeah, you probably do.
00:19:07
Speaker
On a disc that used to fit in some kind of camera. Listeners, if you're a Xenial, a disc is a round, flat thing that we used to store our pictures and music on.
00:19:23
Speaker
Only up to 10 pictures, though. and no not a record yeah yeah and no you didn't invent records No, you did not. We didn't invent them either, but they were certainly invented well before our our days.
00:19:39
Speaker
the The story that my parents love to embarrass me with is when I was a kid in my booster seat, in the back seat, they would go to McDonald's and my mom would let me have a bite of her flay of fish.
00:19:56
Speaker
Sorry. So she's talking unlesssie began she's talking and smoking and yeah front the front seat talking to my dad. And all of sudden she's like, oh, right, where's my hamburger, right? And I'd eaten the whole thing. Of course you did. So they thought that was hilarious.
00:20:14
Speaker
Well, that was good. they laughed. but incredibly embarrassing. And did we talk about my bicycle story? No. yeah Already? Okay. Talk about the bicycle story. So when it was time for me to learn ah to how to ride a two-wheeler, my parents took me behind this, like, not a abandoned warehouse, but it was like some big building that was abandoned on weekends, threw me on the two-wheeler and said, learn how to ride this, and then we'll take you to McDonald's. that's right you did mention that yeah and i learned pretty fast you did right you started pedaling and didn't stop until you got to the golden arches exactly that's awesome
00:20:58
Speaker
that's awesome so famously mcdonald's has always um used the happy meal as sort of a ah promotional tool for movies tv shows toy lines so we started this episode talking about power rangers um when i was collecting my power rangers i immediately went out and tried to buy as many of the Power Ranger toys for the movie and for the ah the Lightspeed Rescue because they were cool. They were just they were awesome things to have. They were great little collectibles.
00:21:32
Speaker
I think I even at one point had one of those the display boards from the movie toys. But let me ask you a question.
00:21:44
Speaker
what do you think is the what what it's not a filet fish they didn't make a filet fish toy did they its they should i'm picturing the fish in peewee's playhouse ah ah bouncing up and down um so what toy do you think was the most popular oh that's easy those beanie babies You know what's funny? I would have thought that too, but they didn't come up in searches the way I thought they would. They're they're in a lot of people's lists.
00:22:13
Speaker
They certainly were one of the biggest upsets in the whole sort of collecting world. But it turns out that people really fondly remember the changeables.
00:22:25
Speaker
Oh, okay. I thought you were going to say like the glasses, know, like the drinking glasses. No. buy Like a set of... wasn't that really burger king's thing well i don't know anyway i'm sorry you talk no that's okay you have the yellow cups and you the yellow mcdonald's when you're little oh my god yes yeah yes they were the big tall plastic tumblers all the characters would wash off yes you put it in your dishwasher and there'd be no characters that's right it's magic because dishwashers back then used steel wool instead of soap that's okay because the printing was probably mctoxic anyway It totally was.
00:23:02
Speaker
It was, they were using authentic lead. Come on. So what did you call it? Change what? Changeables. What is that? Yeah. they were sort of transformers. And so it'd be like ah a box of fries and then you'd flip the head up and it had a mean robot face okay and you flip the sides of the container up and it had robot arms and that would be it. That's the full change. it was like two clicks.
00:23:25
Speaker
I'm cholesterol bot. I'm coming for you when you are older. I'm ashtray bot. Yeah. yeah Famous ashtray bot. He was the best. Everyone loved him.
00:23:38
Speaker
Oh my gosh. That's so funny. And he really flew because you could go pew and just shoot him across. their is Your mother loves me. ah Totally. And so does your dad. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. And your babysitter. Oh my gosh. That's so funny. Remember the Happy Meal lighter?
00:23:57
Speaker
you could
Iconic Happy Meal Toys
00:23:58
Speaker
get Grimmis. Yeah.
00:24:03
Speaker
Oh, my gosh. So so to me, I would have thought it was the Beanie Babies. And then I would have thought it was those Christmas Muppet. The Muppets showed up.
00:24:13
Speaker
Yes. Freaked out over. Yes. Yeah. They showed up on a couple of people's lists as well. Okay. Yeah. Barbie showed up because Barbie's been that there's been a lot of Barbie promotions over the years.
00:24:24
Speaker
um The Beanie Babies did, and there was there was one Beanie Baby in particular that just was absolutely nuts. The ashtray. The ashtray. The Beanie Baby ashtray.
00:24:40
Speaker
ah Oh, sorry. Tin Tin Disc.
00:24:47
Speaker
Oh, my goodness. That's the best. No, it's one of those ashtrays that has the beans in the bottom. So that's why it's the Beanie Baby. oh my God.
00:24:58
Speaker
it's
00:25:03
Speaker
Okay. That's just crazy. Sorry. That's okay. money but see The other one that showed up and on a lot of people's lists were the Boo Buckets.
00:25:17
Speaker
Oh, so they did horse people who freak doing manish yeah, like, out of that. Yeah. They don't like that they changed the faces. Yeah. Did they? I can't tell. But yeah, that's a big one.
00:25:29
Speaker
And I think it's because for any family who was on a budget... you were probably very grateful for whatever McDonald's came out with. Right. But another topic for another time might be like toys that McDonald's made that nobody else made toys of. Yeah, that's true. All those sort of weirdo things. Like this isn't a good example, but let's say like Disney's Atlantis.
00:25:51
Speaker
Yeah. You know, let's say it didn't get an action figure run, but McDonald's made figures. he got to go yeah Okay. I didn't know there was figures. Yeah. ah Little Mermaid was also on people's list.
00:26:04
Speaker
Of worst movies ever made. Exactly. Worst soundtrack ever. Here's an awful movie. And the toys that you didn't want. ah Hot Wheels showed up. like Baby babies. Muppet babies.
00:26:21
Speaker
yeah Anytime the Muppets showed up, it was always a good thing. Yeah, that's funny, right? So what is it that that customer is like already pre programmed, you know, to want that stuff?
00:26:33
Speaker
and Well, I mean, and that a lot of that stuff to ends up being nostalgia, right? So you loved the Muppets when you were a kid, and now your kids, you want to introduce it to them. And it's like, Oh, my goodness, look, I can get my kid, you know, a little Muppet figure, right?
00:26:49
Speaker
And it it would have been cool. And same thing. Like, that's why they had still been doing Power Rangers. Like there was 14 different releases. Now, like I said, one of them was like, think like a ah or yo-yo or something, because they they included it in a here's an anniversary of, you know, some of our top ah toys. And they just put out a whole bunch of different toys and you could just collect the ones you wanted.
00:27:15
Speaker
But that's that was still really cool. I'm trying so hard not to laugh. What about Ashtray Bot? More so the Beanie Baby, but anyway. Oh, and the Beanie Baby Ashtray. It's so funny to me because it was just such a huge part of everything back then. you know what I mean? Like and yeah every family had smokers, so. Yeah.
00:27:37
Speaker
anyway every And every McDonald's had ashtrays on every table. Oh, so funny. I'm sorry. Okay. No, I don't apologize for laughter. That's the best thing. i remember walking to McDonald's once and the toy was like little books. I'm like, little books?
00:27:51
Speaker
Oh, yeah yeah. They did a lot of Disney, like little books, Disney books. Oh, well, if they were Disney, that's all right. Yeah, they were. the The Power Rangers ones, I don't even remember, but I'm like, okay, that totally makes sense. Like they did it Power Rangers Samurai.
00:28:05
Speaker
and that was only a few years ago i don't really get that unless they were on like much tighter schedules back then like they were for three weeks not for two months yeah could have been yeah yeah I think their last official toy group was megaforce but I don't know what would lure a kid to a McDonald's today like when we were little it was McDonald land, you know, yeah commercials were on TV, you know, the restaurants looked like the commercials, you know, was it was made for kids,
McDonald's Appeal Over Time
00:28:39
Speaker
right. More than families, you know, if anything, but um I don't like, by the time the eighties came around, everything was pastel and classical music.
00:28:47
Speaker
yeah like Well, why would a kid want to come here? And now that they're like little coffee houses, still think, why would a little kid want to come here? you know? Yeah, but so we say this all the time every time we go out.
00:29:00
Speaker
um So we go to this um sushi restaurant called Robo Sushi. And it's it's not as fun as it sounds, but they they have these robots that will take you to your table and also deliver your food.
00:29:12
Speaker
Every time we've gone there, the place is full of families with little kids. I'm like, this is a sushi restaurant. Like, are little kids going, Mom, can I have some raw tuna? Well, maybe.
00:29:24
Speaker
Right? And are they thinking that it's more fun because of the robot? Because the robot doesn't really do much. It just delivers your food. was going to say, the phone the little kid had is probably more exciting than that robot.
00:29:35
Speaker
Yeah, and you know I think kids kids, they don't know what they don't know, right? They've never experienced you know McDonald's Playland, so they wouldn't know. right There's no such thing. It's all just beige and brown now, so it just looks like Starbucks.
00:29:50
Speaker
You've seen that picture going around where it says this is the McDonald's Playland now, and it's just two little chairs and ah and an LCD screen. Yeah, totally.
00:30:02
Speaker
It has a little rest for your phone. yeah Yeah, that looks exciting. Yeah. Yeah, even when they started to remove the things like the trains and the the pirate ships, they replaced those with those jungle gyms.
00:30:16
Speaker
Oh, I don't remember. remember Oh, even at the indoor. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I do remember that. With like a slide and lots of climbing ropes and things like that. Right. I'm sure that did well for them.
00:30:27
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sure it did. Like, I can't imagine there was a time when sales were pretty bad. Did you ever see the founder, the the movie? the fan No, I've not seen that yet. Oh, you really should watch it. It's on my list. Yeah, it's excellent. Yeah, it's really good.
00:30:40
Speaker
Really, really good. all right well that was a lot of fun so we're going to wrap it up with something less fun which we're going to play my new ultimate eighty s ah question um yeah i just i picked this up at the thrift shop the other day and i was like oh this looks like fun uh max headroom is that the answer Ashtray.
00:31:02
Speaker
Yeah, that's always the answer.
1980s Trivia Fun
00:31:06
Speaker
All right. So I'm going ask you a question. This one is from movies and TV. The Simpsons, you might have heard of that show first aired on December 17 1989. What was the title the first episode? no.
00:31:22
Speaker
but was the title of the first episode oh no oh no i'll give you three guesses oh wait wait we no no i do know it okay like jolly little simpson but it's like what is it called what is that episode okay sorry yeah game give me your hands or we'll be okay so i'll give you three options simpsons roasting on an open fire i think that's it yeah the call of the simpsons no or homer's odyssey no it's the first one
00:31:55
Speaker
Good job, Simpsons roasting on an open fire. See how much faster this goes when he just hands me the answer? It's great. Totally. like When I can just guess from an option of answers.
00:32:06
Speaker
Wait, don't tell me. No, go ahead. Tell me. Yeah, exactly. Okay, here's ah this one's gonna be a little tougher. The action-adventure TV series, The A-Team, B.A. Baracus, played by Mr. T, actively avoids which mode of transport?
00:32:24
Speaker
Well, I guess it's either boat or plane or car. Let's go with plane. Yeah. Yeah. You got it. That's right.
00:32:36
Speaker
Flying. He actively avoids flying. I pity the fool that gets on that airplane. Gets in this brown van. I mean, this ashtray. What was the highest grossing film of the 80s earning and ah earning almost $800 million dollars worldwide.
00:32:59
Speaker
does it Can I get year? You can get three. i i I'll just give you the three options. Wait, no, no, wait, wait, wait. okay It doesn't have a year, so. Like, it could be something weird like Beaches, but it could be E.T.
00:33:13
Speaker
It could be Back to the Future. It's not going to be Ghostbusters. I'm trying to think of, like, Oh, oh, oh. Return of the Jedi?
00:33:27
Speaker
Is that your final answer? Sure. Sure.
00:33:31
Speaker
okay no you were so so much closer when you said et it was actually et the extra oh okay they're gonna say was actually mac and me oh okay yeah mac and me so close it was actually the simpsons so close well at i got it you did cloudla like not at the right time yeah all right what song does tom cruise dance to in risky business you gotta know this yeah i just gotta to get to the chorus old time rock and roll oh man you are good you're on roll you're on a rock and roll yeah right there okay give you one more 80s was all about know yeah well that would be donald don't even remember oh i have no idea yeah probably was probably the beatles um which of the following was not a single by duran duran
00:34:26
Speaker
Do want me tell you? Yes. Okay, so I'll give you three songs. that One of them is not a song by Duran Duran. Okay, but it'll... Oh, not a song by them. Not a song. Oh, I heard singles. No, sorry. Not a single.
00:34:38
Speaker
Oh. It's not a single. See, that's crazy because it's like well, hold on Japan had that as a single. But anyway, go ahead. Right. Okay. True, Rio, or Girls on Film.
00:34:49
Speaker
ah True. That is true. You know you're Duran Duran. Do you know who actually sang true? Yes, Spandau Ballet. Yes, of course it was Spandau Ballet. Weird card.
00:35:04
Speaker
know You know what I'm noticing with these cards? Some of the words are printed wrong. Oh. They rushed be more interesting was like, you know, what's the difference between Duran Duran's carnival white sleeve and burgundy sleeve?
00:35:19
Speaker
That's a good question. They're all like, what what does that even mean? What is sleeve? Yeah, sorry. They wore puffy sleeves. What's your problem?
00:35:30
Speaker
Well, that is awesome. Thank you so much, Tyler. I appreciate it It's always a riot. We had a good laugh at McDonald's expense. McDonald's, you owe me for a shift.
Current Views on McDonald's
00:35:40
Speaker
yeah Or maybe you don't. I don't know. Maybe I should just let it to eat there these days. No, I know it's crazy. it's It's way too expensive and there's just really nothing for me to eat. Yeah, of course. I get that. Yeah.
00:35:53
Speaker
Yeah. So it's not my it's not my favorite place anymore, but and i did get some good Power Ranger toys. And I don't get the world's fascination with their French fries, but. It's the sugar.
00:36:04
Speaker
Well. They're soaked in sugar. Yeah, but like, like I don't, I don't know. I don't get the fries. Now, if you want good fries, Go where where where? Who makes the best fries?
00:36:16
Speaker
Okay, that's a whole other topic. Yeah, no, that's why I asked the question. it makes the best fries? ah Well, restaurants. um Yeah, restaurants do a good job but But if you're talking about a fast food fry, like you just want a burger and a fry.
00:36:31
Speaker
yeah but I don't really go to fast food restaurants, right? Okay, use your imagination. Pretend. Five guys? Oh, yeah, but that's just because they give you like a sack full of fries and then they throw more on top.
00:36:45
Speaker
Yeah, they do. yeah Turn your hat upside down and then they dump more fries in your hat. Yeah, like I don't really go to fast food restaurants, not because I don't want to, um but I'm trying to really quickly think like like fast food places that have good fries, right? There's only one answer and it's A&W.
00:37:03
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah, no, that's a good answer. Right? Good answer. Yeah, as long as they're hot. yeah right on. Yeah. if they're If they're hot and they're actually cooked and not just dropped in the fryer for four seconds just because you have lineup. I'm like, no, actually cook them, please.
00:37:19
Speaker
And if they taste good, yeah, A&W good. Yeah, they make good fries. um So does White Harvey's.
00:37:27
Speaker
ah like harvey's Oh yeah, because they they make a good routine. They're the Swiss Chalet fries. Yeah, but they're not soaked in... They're the Swiss Chalet fries.
00:37:40
Speaker
They're really not. they're actually hunting You should tell the folks how much you love Swiss Chalet. i Don't love Swiss. ah and You know, if you if you're a Swiss LA fan, you'll know that they've, they've removed all of their sort of vegetarian and non meat options from their menu. So i no longer go.
00:38:01
Speaker
Yeah. They've everything's gone. That would only be because they weren't selling, right? That's weird. Well, I used to eat there at least once a year. I didn't know that. Yeah, seriously.
00:38:13
Speaker
And all those things are gone now. They used to have some really good things. They had like ah a bowl, like a rice bowl gone. um Yeah. They just had some good things in there. out They're all gone now. So haven't been back in a very long time.
00:38:26
Speaker
They used to make this green curry chicken that was like the best, the absolute best. And that broke my heart when they took it away because they had it.
00:38:37
Speaker
longer than just a promotional period, like part of the menu. It was outstanding, you know, of all places to have it. It was incredible. But anyway. Yeah. You know what, you know what fries that, um, may they rest in peace are long gone.
00:38:51
Speaker
They were really amazing. It was Toby's rise. No, well, they're my number one favorite. Yep. Yep. Toby says, you really, if you think back, if you, if you're as old as us and you lived in Toronto,
00:39:04
Speaker
You probably ate edit a Toby's and they had the, the, what was it called? Oh, well, if you had the cheese sauce, it was Toby's. Yeah. Right. But would always have to them to be well done.
00:39:16
Speaker
The fries had to be well done. and They were wedge fries, but they were so freaking good. So good. Wedge fries are awesome. ye ah What do they call them? Waffle fries are pretty good. Oh, yeah. I like waffle fries. any Any kind of wedge fry that's more of a potato those shoestring things. I just don't get that.
00:39:35
Speaker
Like when you go to a French fry truck. They're not going to give you a McDonald's. Oh, yeah. French fry trucks. Yeah. yeah But that's kind of what A&W fries are like. exactly. And we've gone over time, Josh. No, we have not. We're right on time. we're right on schedule. We're going to wrap it up because now I'm hungry and I want to go eat some fries.
00:39:51
Speaker
um So awesome. Thank you so much for joining. Is there anything coming up that you want to talk about?
00:39:59
Speaker
i'm looking around my room. I'm looking at CDs. I'm looking at a stapler.
Recent Concert Experiences
00:40:04
Speaker
Haven't you been to a lot of shows recently? ah I haven't really known.
00:40:10
Speaker
Did you go to OMB? Oh yes. Uh, no, I did not go to MD cause I saw them the last two times you were here. They're here like every second month. Um, is true did we did go see simple minds.
00:40:22
Speaker
Yeah. Fantastic. It's soft sell. Yeah. Reason why we went not that I'm not like I'm a huge simple minds fan, but getting to see Mark almond on stage was amazing. Yeah, no, that's just, just when, when memorabilia started, ah like,
00:40:37
Speaker
I just wasn't ready for how emotional it was going to be, you know? And then I'm like, well, i'll never play bedsitter. And Josh was like, we gotta play bedsitter. I'm like, that's not gonna happen. And they did. I'm like, it it was just euphoric.
00:40:53
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Worth it. And then I saw Devo. I saw Devo the other night and they were in fine form, like seriously. I've seen some bad Devo shows. I've seen some amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The one where um I can't remember one of the Bobs, their synthesizer stopped working and then they got mad and started punching it.
00:41:15
Speaker
And then they all just threw their instruments on the floor and walked out. I'm like, ah hello. we are this show. Yeah, this show, their their their anniversary, the 50th anniversary show. they were amazing for costume changes.
00:41:32
Speaker
um amazing video graphics on the wall they were just they sounded incredible cool they played some of the the best stuff and it was all their classic stuff too which was really awesome not that their their current stuff isn't amazing but uh yeah they were great wow that's really cool it was a great show very cool yeah and my next shows aren't coming up until this fall i'm going to go see andy bell from uh erasure and we're going to go see garbage yes there was a there was an email was it an email or social from garbage asking what do you want us to play from the first album what do you want us to play from the last album and you had a drop down and you could only choose one song from each album like that sounds kind of cool that's cool yeah and you did you selected your songs i did select the correct songs from both albums
00:42:25
Speaker
Okay, perfect. Good to know.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:42:27
Speaker
Good to see you.
00:42:31
Speaker
Well, folks, that's it. We're going to wrap it up for this morning. So thank you so much. Please subscribe. Please join us on social media. You know where it is. I'm not going to keep telling you because you're going to hear it in the little trailer song anyway. So um check for some stuff that I'm going to do, some little clips that are kind of fun and new.
00:42:49
Speaker
And go back and listen to some old episodes if you missed one and and check it out. And take someone you love to McDonald's today. After you go to the beach, but don't go in the water. Never, ever go in the water.
00:43:03
Speaker
That is your lesson. But yeah, go have some French fries or go to A&W. And this is not sponsored by A&W.
00:43:13
Speaker
Awesome. Have a great one. You've been listening to Yabba Zonker Zoinks, a Gen X for Life podcast. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any exciting episodes. You can reach out on Instagram at Gen X for Life podcast. That's Gen X number four life underscore podcast or send an email at Gen X for Life podcast on one word at gmail.com.
00:43:37
Speaker
I'd love to hear about your favorite Gen X Saturday morning memory, maybe a favorite toy or the cereal you just couldn't wait to tear into. Until then, have a Yabba Zonker Zoinks day, and I'll be back bright and early next Saturday morning.