There seemed to be no shortage of these cheap novelty items advertised in American comic books between the 1960s and 1980s. As a child I would stare at these ads with a begrudging fascination, knowing that even if they were available to order in the UK my mum would have surely said something like: “You’re not spending your pocket money on that cheap rubbish!”

Sometimes in UK toyshops you would see a stand displaying similar items like the chattering teeth above, or soap that turned your hands black, itching powder, stink bombs, or those chewing gum packs that snapped at your finger when you took out a fake gum. Yet it was always in the back pages of the US comics where the weirdest and coolest items were to be found. There are a gazillion or more ads like these out there. I just scanned a few from 1969 and the early 70s to give you a taste … (watch out for the onion gum though!)

Thanks for looking!