Author Topic: Wonder Bread Series  (Read 6423 times)

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Offline JailOJohn

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Wonder Bread Series
« on: October 05, 2021, 08:42:25 PM »
How much bread did people eat trying to get a full set of Wacky Packages stickers? I never knew how many there were….i guess three sets of 24….Did anyone ever complete a set by eating 50 loaves of Wonder Bread???? I know I ate a lot of slices of bread trying to get a set of free stickers. I think my mom would have been better off giving me a few dimes to buy wax packs instead of us all trying to eat bread morning, noon and night...
« Last Edit: October 06, 2021, 07:21:00 AM by JailOJohn »

Offline Jean Nutty

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #1 on: October 06, 2021, 10:28:08 AM »
As a kid I'd steal them. In the grocery store I would pick up a loaf, take it to another shelf that had space, fiddle with the bag closure, and stick my hand in to grab the sticker. I believe there are other self admitted loaf molesters here on the forum.

Offline JailOJohn

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #2 on: October 06, 2021, 10:52:39 AM »
Dang! Didnt they have video surveillance and store security people in those days?

Offline sco(o)t

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #3 on: October 06, 2021, 11:44:29 AM »
As a kid I'd steal them. In the grocery store I would pick up a loaf, take it to another shelf that had space, fiddle with the bag closure, and stick my hand in to grab the sticker. I believe there are other self admitted loaf molesters here on the forum.

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Offline bigtomi

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #4 on: October 06, 2021, 11:50:29 AM »
You "heel"!   >(
At yeast he admits it.

Offline bandaches

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #5 on: October 06, 2021, 12:02:26 PM »
Are we sure series 2 and series 3 ever actually made it into Wonder Bread loaves?   I distinctly remember series one and my experience is series 1 are the ones that most likely stained.
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Offline mikecho

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2021, 01:21:59 PM »
Dang! Didnt they have video surveillance and store security people in those days?
Apparently not. All the stuff we have now didn't come along until much, much later.

Offline Jean Nutty

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #7 on: October 06, 2021, 02:28:21 PM »

You "heel"!   >(

Ha!  BTW, the actual term that's been used is "loaf gropers".

I don't remember how, but I was caught by my Mom and was told to knock it off. 

Offline freetoes

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #8 on: October 06, 2021, 04:27:25 PM »
How much bread did people eat trying to get a full set of Wacky Packages stickers? I never knew how many there were….i guess three sets of 24….Did anyone ever complete a set by eating 50 loaves of Wonder Bread???? I know I ate a lot of slices of bread trying to get a set of free stickers. I think my mom would have been better off giving me a few dimes to buy wax packs instead of us all trying to eat bread morning, noon and night...

Good question. Greg's site has an image of a promo poster saying "Collect all 24," but I don't think a lot of kids knew how many there were, or drew a distinction between Wonder Bread Wackys and the regular series.

I wondered the same thing about Shedd's Peanut Butter. Just how many five-pound tubs of peanut butter was a kid going to eat?


Offline BustedFinger

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #9 on: October 06, 2021, 04:38:27 PM »
As a kid I'd steal them. In the grocery store I would pick up a loaf, take it to another shelf that had space, fiddle with the bag closure, and stick my hand in to grab the sticker. I believe there are other self admitted loaf molesters here on the forum.
I was even worse.  I would tear a hole in the bag to get the sticker out!
Giving "The Hobby" the finger since 1999!

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #10 on: October 06, 2021, 04:59:21 PM »
How much bread did people eat trying to get a full set of Wacky Packages stickers? I never knew how many there were….i guess three sets of 24….Did anyone ever complete a set by eating 50 loaves of Wonder Bread???? I know I ate a lot of slices of bread trying to get a set of free stickers. I think my mom would have been better off giving me a few dimes to buy wax packs instead of us all trying to eat bread morning, noon and night...
The Wonderbread Wackys completely eluded me because my parents would never buy it - the only white bread we ever had on hand was Arnold’s.  Regardless, can’t imagine buying any bread at a high rate when the payoff was only one sticker per full loaf.  Conversely, there are three other similar card giveaways that come to mind for me which presented no such dilemma given the sugary snacks involved that were more addictive than the cards:
-1975-79 Hostess Baseball (box cut-outs)
-1978 Drakes Cakes Incredible Hulk comic cover cards
-1980 Pop-Tarts Lake Placid Olympics Kellogg’s character cards
No need to plunder boxes with these puppies, although I think I may have been guilty of doing it a few times with the Pop-Tarts.  The Hulk and Olympics cards were small sets but very hard to complete without the dupes piling up.

Offline mikecho

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #11 on: October 06, 2021, 06:26:58 PM »
I remember three more parody series that Wonder Bread did in the 1970s: Crazy Cars and two Disney ones - one with collage team pennants and one with license plates from each of the 50 states. The first one was just cards and the other two were stickers.

Offline JailOJohn

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #12 on: October 06, 2021, 08:06:52 PM »
That had to have been pretty embarrassing…getting caught by your own mother, groping the loaf in public….

Offline JailOJohn

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #13 on: October 06, 2021, 08:12:05 PM »
Since there were no numbers, how do you distinguish Wonder wackys from regular OS??

Offline RawGoo

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #14 on: October 07, 2021, 12:02:27 AM »
Ha!  BTW, the actual term that's been used is "loaf gropers".

I don't remember how, but I was caught by my Mom and was told to knock it off.

Seems Moms always knew - eyes in the backs of their heads!  Rather than risk getting caught stealing stickers, which would certainly have resulted in "no more Wackys for you!"   >( >(   I just asked permission to look through the wrappers and pick which loaf we would buy that week.

Offline RawGoo

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #15 on: October 07, 2021, 12:09:56 AM »
Since there were no numbers, how do you distinguish Wonder wackys from regular OS??

Some titles can be easily identified by the copyrights, and some have differences in die cuts (especially Lavirus).  There's info about this in The Gallery, and Greg's site has a ton of information, with scans for comparison: http://www.wackypacks.com/stickers/wonderbread/index.html

Offline JailOJohn

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #16 on: October 07, 2021, 07:50:19 AM »
Thanks for the info. I HAD (have) a Gallery book somewhere in my basement, cannot find it. I tend to avoid Greg's web site, since I have heard some bad things (and some good things) about him...

Offline BustedFinger

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #17 on: October 07, 2021, 09:32:16 AM »
Some titles can be easily identified by the copyrights, and some have differences in die cuts (especially Lavirus).  There's info about this in The Gallery, and Greg's site has a ton of information, with scans for comparison: http://www.wackypacks.com/stickers/wonderbread/index.html
I think another distinguishing characteristic of Wonder Bread titles is that the copyright always has only one asterisk.  So on the hard to distinguish titles, if the sticker has two asterisks, it is not a Wonder Bread sticker.  If it has only one asterisk, then it could be either.
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Offline mikecho

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #18 on: October 07, 2021, 09:38:09 AM »
And if the sticker feels greasy even after all these years, then it's definitely a Wonder Bread.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2021, 08:04:54 AM by mikecho »

Offline RawGoo

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #19 on: October 07, 2021, 09:40:15 AM »
I think another distinguishing characteristic of Wonder Bread titles is that the copyright always has only one asterisk.  So on the hard to distinguish titles, if the sticker has two asterisks, it is not a Wonder Bread sticker.  If it has only one asterisk, then it could be either.

I would have sworn I typed something about that, but it be gonzo  :-\  Must have accidentally typed over it, so thanks for adding that!!  Think you said it better than I was fumbling over before  :-[

Offline 70s_Kid

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #20 on: November 07, 2021, 11:23:08 AM »
And if the sticker feels greasy, then it's definitely a Wonder Bread.

LOL!  Other than the 2 Wonderbreads I personally pulled back in the day, I have steered clear of these sets....  too confusing

Offline RawGoo

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #21 on: November 07, 2021, 11:49:31 AM »
LOL!  Other than the 2 Wonderbreads I personally pulled back in the day, I have steered clear of these sets....  too confusing

Greg's site has everything you could want to know about Wonderbreads.  It is worth checking out, especially if you suspect some of your tan back stickers might be Wonderbreads.

Offline Gurgle

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #22 on: November 10, 2021, 09:53:27 AM »
I was never that interested because the bread included stickers I already had. When the mini stickers appeared in cereal, then I was intrigued because they were designs I'd never seen before!

Offline Gurgle

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #23 on: November 10, 2021, 09:56:47 AM »
Another thing is if the sticker in question is in a batch that includes other cards that are, or could be, Wonder Bread stickers. While it increases the odds that it's authentic, it's not foolproof. I wonder if there will ever be a way to know for sure.

I think another distinguishing characteristic of Wonder Bread titles is that the copyright always has only one asterisk.  So on the hard to distinguish titles, if the sticker has two asterisks, it is not a Wonder Bread sticker.  If it has only one asterisk, then it could be either.

Offline ToadallyDude

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #24 on: December 10, 2021, 11:42:58 PM »
I remember three more parody series that Wonder Bread did in the 1970s: Crazy Cars and two Disney ones - one with collage team pennants and one with license plates from each of the 50 states. The first one was just cards and the other two were stickers.

So cool, I had those too.  I think I sold my Crazy Cars, though.  Haven't seen 'em in a while.  But of course, the trick was not to reach into the bag, or barbarically tear a hole... but to carefully use your fingernails to slowly slide the sticker up to the top of the bag while appearing to examine the bread, then it would be right there at the top when the little plastic thing accidentally fell off.  Not that this actually happens.  I mean, it's plausible of course.  Just that it... uh... follows spatial logic.  Right?

Offline JailOJohn

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #25 on: November 30, 2022, 07:01:22 AM »
Did anyone bother to complete a set of Wonder Bread Wackys, given that they were all the same titles from actual packs? I am usually a “completist” but dont see the point in these when the only discernible difference is an asterisk or two..

Offline bigtomi

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #26 on: November 30, 2022, 08:17:34 AM »
Did anyone bother to complete a set of Wonder Bread Wackys, given that they were all the same titles from actual packs? I am usually a “completist” but dont see the point in these when the only discernible difference is an asterisk or two..
I suspect quite a chunk of us have completed this set. It's not just "an asterisk or two". Early series titles (1-4, I believe) have different copyright lines. Maybe some die-cuts are different, too? Not sure, I don't scrutinize them THAT closely...but I really should review my set to ensure it at least seems to be a complete, real set...

Offline faustxxx

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #27 on: November 30, 2022, 08:26:40 AM »
      I for one have had the complete run several times, some were nice enough to get PSA 9's % 10's and I sold them. Bigtomi was just talking about the cuts being different, in my opinion the biggest one to watch for is the Lavirus; It is the tan back from series one that can fetch a decent amount. I had two from Wonder bread and they both came back as PSA 9's, funny thing was PSA did not label them correctly, so I sent them back. The only difference on that sticker is the cut especially at the very top. It was because of that I sold most all my collect years ago, I still have NM-MT left and I just have not had the time to list them on FeeBay.

     Matt.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2022, 12:28:45 PM by faustxxx »

Offline Gurgle

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #28 on: November 30, 2022, 12:23:11 PM »
Back in the day when I saw Wackys in Wonder bread I didn't bother with them because they were titles I already had from earlier series.

When I started recollecting as an adult I didn't plan on bothering with the Wonder breads either, but ended up hunting them down because I was running out of affordable things to chase. I also had no plans on collecting both tan backs and white backs of certain series because I thought that was pointless, and well, I eventually did that, too.


Did anyone bother to complete a set of Wonder Bread Wackys, given that they were all the same titles from actual packs? I am usually a “completist” but dont see the point in these when the only discernible difference is an asterisk or two..

Offline RawGoo

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #29 on: November 30, 2022, 01:40:46 PM »
Back in the day when I saw Wackys in Wonder bread I didn't bother with them because they were titles I already had from earlier series.

When I started recollecting as an adult I didn't plan on bothering with the Wonder breads either, but ended up hunting them down because I was running out of affordable things to chase. I also had no plans on collecting both tan backs and white backs of certain series because I thought that was pointless, and well, I eventually did that, too.

I bought complete sets of Wonder Breads when ebay started.  The stickers tended to be in nice shape, and they were titles I liked.  And, as you say, they were affordable.  Back then, I was really on a budget!

Online drono

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #30 on: December 01, 2022, 07:25:26 AM »
I also bought complete sets off eBay many years ago.  As RawGoo wrote, they were affordable.  I think each one was less than $20.  Back then, I was a completist and wanted to get them.  I'm no longer that obsessed.

Offline bandaches

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #31 on: December 01, 2022, 08:50:00 AM »
I also bought complete sets off eBay many years ago.  As RawGoo wrote, they were affordable.  I think each one was less than $20.  Back then, I was a completist and wanted to get them.  I'm no longer that obsessed.
I agree, I have all the wonderbreads in super high quality as dealers came across big piles of high grade WBs.  It was purely to be a completist but they are not interesting to me especially series 2 and 3.  I did have some as a kid and they were always bread moisture soaked so I never saved any of them.
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Offline chipereno

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #32 on: December 01, 2022, 06:51:41 PM »
This is what I remember. I’d use the term plunderbread.


Offline MoldRush

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #33 on: December 01, 2022, 06:57:13 PM »
I agree, I have all the wonderbreads in super high quality as dealers came across big piles of high grade WBs.  It was purely to be a completist but they are not interesting to me especially series 2 and 3.  I did have some as a kid and they were always bread moisture soaked so I never saved any of them.
I’m a fan of the 1975-1979 Hostess Baseball cards that had to be scissor-cut out of the box bottom.  When I bought some lots on eBay I was confused as to why some looked grease-stained, more like coffee-stained, the staining was so dark and ugly.  Later I found out why - some cards were part of the tray cardboard used in single-serving packs.  So the oily Twinkies were sitting right on the card.  What a travesty.

Offline mikecho

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #34 on: December 01, 2022, 07:56:28 PM »
This is what I remember. I’d use the term plunderbread.

26 cents for a loaf of bread! Ah, those were the days indeed!