Images: Super Elastic Bubble Plastic, tumbnation; Hippy Sippy, oldpoliticals
The psychedelic era expanded well beyond the realm of rock & roll. Kaleidoscopic colors and impressionist art bled their way into fashion, graphic design, product design and children's television. In the late '60s and early '70s, psychedelic artists like John Alcorn were drawing 7-UP ads while Sid and Marty Krofft sent kids to Living Island every Saturday on H.R. Pufnstuf.
The trippy, hippie vibes carried over into candy and toys, too. Here are some products aimed at youth in the psychedelic era that demonstrate times were not always so innocent decades ago.
Hippy Sippy
Perhaps no candy is more notorious than Albert's Hippy Sippy, a 1968 confection modeled after a hypodermic needle. A button was attached to the thin tip, branded with sayings like "I’ll Try Anything" and "We Sell Happiness." It's no wonder public officials immediately called for a ban on the Japanese import. Today, these rare packages sell for over $100 on eBay.
Image: eBay
Syko-Delic Candy
Leaf manufactured these jawbreakers with "Syko-Centers." How long did it take to get to the center of the Syko-Delic ball? Probably the length of Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Image: timepassagesnostalgia
Space Dust Sizzling Candy
General Foods launched its wildly successful Pop Rocks in 1976. Not long after, perhaps inspired by the spate of science-fiction films, the candy manufacturer smashed the treat up into a powder and branded it Space Dust. Perhaps due to its similarity to angel dust, the name was later changed to Cosmic Candy.
Image: mistertoast
Luv Marks
With a name that brought to mind hickeys, these coloring sticks from Dri Mark proclaimed, "Twelve new romantic, subtle shades to help you express your innermost feelings."
Image: Pinterest / Michael Pinto
Magic Puffs
Back in the day, politicians got up in a huff about "Puff, The Magic Dragon," calling for the innocent song to be banned, so it's a wonder this General Mills cereal didn't cause an uproar upon its release in 1974. The purple talking hat, covered in cosmic symbols, looks like something straight out of Sid and Marty Krofft's Lidsville, their strangest program in a catalog of wonderfully strange programs.
Image: mrbreakfast
Hypo-Squirt
How exactly did Hasbro get away will selling a giant hypodermic needle to children in 1966? Well, they didn't for long. This medical-inspired squirt gun was eventually recalled, after the media branded it a "junior junkie" kit.
Image: timmcarney
Purple Passion
Canada Dry went after the Deadhead crowd with this tie-dyed can of grape-ish cola.
Image: Jason Liebig / Collecting Candy / Flickr
Super Elastic Bubble Plastic
Blowing swirls of colors through a small pipe is bizarre enough, but it would be the toxic fumes that took Wham-O's Super Elastic Bubble Plastic off the market. Bubble pipes lasted for years in toy stores, as well.
Image: twentiethcenturykid / Tumblr