{"id":46596,"date":"2025-12-04T08:09:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T13:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=46596"},"modified":"2025-12-08T07:25:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T12:25:27","slug":"hangin-on-the-telephone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/12\/04\/hangin-on-the-telephone\/","title":{"rendered":"Hangin’ on the Telephone"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I spied this on a trip to the local super market in a bin among a variety of Hot Wheels<\/em> cars, and I couldn’t resist it. I was about six years old when Mattel<\/em> rolled Hot Wheels<\/em> out to the world, and I have never been able to resist a display. I always have to paw through these 1:64 scale diecast beauties.<\/p>\n

For as long as the series has been in production, there has always been novelty cars. This one is no exception. It’s a funny car replica of Fisher-Price’s Chatter Telephone<\/em> which debuted in 1961. I think every kid born in the 1960s had the toy phone. Now 60 odd years later, the same kids can have a miniature diecast replica on wheels.<\/p>\n

I can’t imagine kids reacting to this as their grandparents would. It’s obviously aimed at Baby Boomers.<\/p>\n

They got my $1.08. (It was on sale)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A modern toy aimed squarely at the wallets of Baby Boomers Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[120,4],"tags":[6219,86,6218,5852,1051],"class_list":["post-46596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-curious-clutter","category-news","tag-chatter-telephone","tag-christmas","tag-fisher-price","tag-hot-wheels","tag-mattel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/hot-wheels-close-up.jpg?fit=640%2C318&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-c7y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43481,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/07\/03\/confronting-destiny-in-a-comic-book\/","url_meta":{"origin":46596,"position":0},"title":"Confronting Destiny in a Comic Book","author":"Joe","date":"July 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm not sure whether this is a public service announcement or an advertisement for a graphic arts position at the company that published this comic book. There are no specifics about applying for a job so I am leaning towards PSA. I guess that the company thought that it was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "What I Miss About Comics"","block_context":{"text":"What I Miss About Comics","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/what-i-miss-about-comics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Graphic-Arts-future.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Graphic-Arts-future.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Graphic-Arts-future.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Graphic-Arts-future.jpg?fit=800%2C571&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35165,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2020\/09\/15\/beer-on-wheels\/","url_meta":{"origin":46596,"position":1},"title":"Beer on Wheels","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"September 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Seen on 6th Street between Chestnut & Market.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Beer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Beer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Beer.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40278,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/03\/19\/hells-virtue-signalers-on-wheels\/","url_meta":{"origin":46596,"position":2},"title":"Hell’s Virtue Signalers on Wheels","author":"Joe","date":"March 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This was a cartoon I did a year ago but put away because I didn't think the trend would last. The joke was stale so why bother? I decided to dig out the sketchbook it was in and finish it off when I saw two of these guys whizzing down\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hell's Virtue Signaler on Wheels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/52757353775_737aa7dbd4_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":43989,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/10\/29\/1963-cadillac-hearse\/","url_meta":{"origin":46596,"position":3},"title":"1963 Cadillac Hearse","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"October 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Being that it's almost Halloween, I thought this would be appropriate. I don't know of a lot of children who would want a hearse in their collection of diecast, miniature vehicles, but we couldn't pass up this sweet bone wagon when we saw it dangling from a peg in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Curious Clutter"","block_context":{"text":"Curious Clutter","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/curious-clutter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1963Hearse.jpg?fit=640%2C306&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1963Hearse.jpg?fit=640%2C306&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1963Hearse.jpg?fit=640%2C306&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15749,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2014\/03\/05\/your-very-own-vampire-bat\/","url_meta":{"origin":46596,"position":4},"title":"Your Very Own Vampire Bat","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"March 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"He's BIG! He's FEARSOME! But best of all -- he's fun? Who didn't want a plastic vampire bat as a kid? Nobody, that's who. I never remember ever seeing Gre-Gory, The Big, Bad Vampire Bat \u00a0on the shelves of toy stores, and this was from Mattel! I was a weird\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "What I Miss About Comics"","block_context":{"text":"What I Miss About Comics","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/what-i-miss-about-comics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Th0r-298-1980.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5634,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2011\/12\/16\/crow-pouch\/","url_meta":{"origin":46596,"position":5},"title":"Crow Pouch","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"December 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A friend gave me this terrific crow patterned napkin a few weeks ago. It wasn't until she said, \"I thought you could do something with it\" that got the wheels spinning. I thought it would make a nice zippered pouch. This one measures 8 1\/2\" x 6 1\/2\", is big\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sewing"","block_context":{"text":"Sewing","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/sewing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/crowback.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/crowback.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/crowback.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}