Thanks to Roy Troutman for these cicada-themed items: clothespins, a ring and a tin clicker toy.
Category: Pop Culture
I had some free time today so a made a video of the cicada-related objects I’ve collected over the past 15 or so years. The video includes cicada noise makers, whistles, action figures, a music comp, a kite, cicada soda, rubber toys, fishing lures and other fun stuff.
Cicada Toys, Art, Action Figures, Lures, Keyrings, Soda and other Objects from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.
Thee Legendary Lucky Cicada Keychain from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.
Update (5/2011): I finally found one of these keychains, but I’m going to keep looking for more. Plus we have, Cicada Keychain Parts, Packaging scans from Ben, Packages and images found by Roy, and a scan from an Archie McPhee catalog from Suzanne M.
Once or twice a year someone e-mails Cicada Mania asking if we know where to
find the cicada keychain — you know, “the one that buzzes”. Although there
are many keychains which feature
cicadas (e.g. trapped in amber),
I’ve never found the cicada keychain online.
I haven’t found these in stores since Clinton was in office. Back in the day,
you could find them in mall stores like “The Nature Company”, “The Science Nook”
and “The Planet Store”. Once, in the late 90’s I asked the manager of one of these
stores about the these
keychains and she said: “we don’t carry them any more, the last batch was defective”.
She seemed angry that I even asked her about them. I wish I knew more. Maybe these
stores lost so much money because of these defective key chains that they all went
out of business? Or maybe they didn’t sell enough whale song CDs, glow-in-the-dark
moon stickers, or mystical crystals to pay the rent?
I’ve spent way too much time looking for these keychain online, and I’ve
pretty much given up hope.
- I’ve searched numerous online stores that specialize in novelties and keychains.
- I’ve e-mailed these stores requesting that they stock these keychains — but I get no response.
- I’ve searched ebay.
- I’ve spend hours doing Google searches.
There are two problems with searching for stuff like this online:
- Search engines have a hard time indexing online stores (for technical reasons
I won’t waste your time with), and… - Who knows how people would describe these things?
Are they keychains, key chains, keyrings, or key rings? Are they cicadas, locusts,
insects or bugs? Do they buzz, chirp, scream, or beep?
While searching for cicada keychain:
- Apparently
one is hidden as a prize in a “Geocaching” scavenger hunt. - The wrong cicada
keychain. - Here’s a story that mentions
the cicada keychain.
Online stores I’ve searched include:
- Archee McPhee
- Oriental Trading Company
- and many more…
Update: I recently tried to get the CEO of Archie McPhee to reintroduce this product:
@cicadamania As we are synced with Nature as well, we can only offer the singing cicada keyring every 17 years.
— Mark Pahlow (@mcpheeceo) May 13, 2014
Here’s something fun for fans of entomology, Greek mythology and creativity: Greek Entomythology by Artemis Ippotis. Artemis (Diana Knight) has created a fun and whimsical book that tells Greek myths using photos of insects. The book is truly one of a kind! Artemis is also planing on offering the book as an iPad/iPhone app.
If you’re interesting in obtaining the book, write Diana at:
Diana Knight
The Manor,
Barton Mills,
Suffolk IP 28 6BL
UK
The book features some of my Tibicen photos. I laughed out loud when I saw the Tibicen playing a lyre.
New, here’s a video promo for the book:
Merry Christmas
Christmas gives me a chance to use this image of a (cartoon) cicada nymph drinking the fluids of a Christmas tree.
Cicada Stamps
Here’s some cicada stamps from around the world (with some other animals mixed in):
Thanks for Suzanne M for the scan of the Archie McPhee catalog featuring the amazing cicada keychain.
I actually finally found one of these thanks to a family member.
Ben from Quebec emailed us photos of the packaging for the Lucky Cicada Keychain (Toy, Keyring).
Hello,
Here a picture of my toy cicada package. I bought it at Discovery Island (now closed), a former small theme park of Walt Disney World back in 1993.
Ben (QC)
This whimsical display of dismembered and “reassembled” cicadas enjoying a Mongolian Hot Pot dinner can be yours! It’s for sale on ebay!
Awesome!
Cool Cicada Tattoo
Cicadas are cool, and tattoos can be pretty cool too. Take a took at Sandy Herder’s new cicada tattoo. Awesome.