There's a new book out that tells the story of Wacky Packages, the popular Topps product-parody stickers from the '70s. Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman (Maus) created some of the Wacky Packs. Who knew? I can recall entire desktops at Jane Ryan Elementary decorated with those (mildy) grotesque images, most of them affixed by me. The satire prefigured (and clearly inspired) everything from Saturday Night Live's parody commercials to AdFreak. In that Wacky world, Minute Rice became "Minute Lice," squirming in the bowl. Cap'n Crunch morphed into "Cap'n Crud," which made broccoli (every 6-year-old's nemesis) seem appealing. Monopoly was "Monotony," which was truth in advertising, as far as I'm concerned. And Comet was re-imagined as "Commie Cleanser" ("Gets rid of reds, hippies, yippies, pinkos and flippies"). Crest, of course, was "Crust," a personal favorite. While the real products could always be made "new and improved," their Wacky renditions achieved timeless perfection. Crust! It still works after all these years.

—Posted by David Gianatasio