70s Breakfast Cereals and Their Characters Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is the name of the frog which appeared on Kellogg's Sugar Smacks boxes in the '70's?

Answer: Dig 'Em

Dig 'Em the frog was introduced as Sugar Smacks spokescreature in 1972. The cereal's name was changed to Honey Smacks in 1983 and Dig 'Em stuck around until 1986 when he was replaced by Wally the Bear. Before Dig 'Em, a number of characters were on the box. Most notably: The Smackin' Brothers, Quick Draw McGraw and the Smackin' Bandit. (Topher's Breakfast Cereal Guide)

2. Which of these cereals is not a General Mills product?

Answer: Apple Jacks

Lucky Charms, Trix and Franken Berry are all produced by General Mills. Apple Jacks are a Kellogg's product.

3. In 1972 and 1973, which Ralston cereal box featured a group of 7 cute tree-dwelling mutants?

Answer: Freakies

The original Freakies were Boss Moss, Grumble, Cowmumble, Hamhose, Snorkeldorf, Gargle, and Goody-Goody. Remember the song? "We are the Freakies / We are the Freakies / And this is our Freakies tree / We never miss a meal /'Cause we love our ce-re-al". (Source: Website: Topher's Breakfast Cereal Character Guide)

4. Lucky the Leprechaun has been on the front of Lucky Charms boxes since 1964. What is Lucky's full name?

Answer: Lucky Charms Leprechaun

They're "magically delicious". Although the idea that initials can be a part of a "full name" may conflict with our good senses, a General Mills spokesperson and several internet sources maintain that Lucky's "full name" is "L.C. Leprechaun"... and the L.C. stands for Lucky Charms". Go figure. Lucky was replaced in 1975 by Waldo the Wizard, but Lucky returned within a year. (Topher's Breakfast Cereal Guide and other internet sources)

5. "They're Grrrrrrrrrreat!" Who provided the familiar deep voice of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes pitchman Tony the Tiger for the majority of Tony's existence?

Answer: Thurl Ravenscroft

Nebraska native Thurl Ravenscroft was born in 1914. Ravenscroft enjoyed a successful singing career. He has performed with Jim Nabors, Elvis Presley and many others. He also sang "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". He is still perhaps best known as the voice of "Tony The Tiger". Mel Blanc was the voice of Bugs Bunny and many other Warner Bros. cartoon characters. Boris Karloff was a star of classic horror movies as well as the narrator of the aforementioned "Grinch"... And Heinrich Hackenbracht is fictitious.

Although virtually all of us associate Ravenscroft's powerful baritone with Tony the Tiger, Tony's original voice was provided for a very brief time by Dallas McKennon, who was the voice of numerous characters, most notably Gumby, Pokey and other "Gumby" associates, as well as Archie and several other characters from "The Archie Show" and its various incarnations. (Kellogg's Consumer Relations)

6. Which of these was not one of the General Mills "Monster Cereals"?

Answer: Grape Ghoulies

Franken Berry (a Frankenstein monster) and Count Chocula (a vampire) were introduced in 1971. Boo-Berry (a ghost) followed in 1973. Fruit Brute (a werewolf) arrived in 1974. Although not officially classified as a "Monster Cereal", General Mills also produced a cereal called "Yummy Mummy". (Topher's Breakfast Cereal Guide)

7. What is Cap'n Crunch's first name?

Answer: Horatio

The happy-go-lucky Cap'n Horatio Crunch has been sailing the S.S. Guppy since 1963 along with his first mate Seadog while thwarting the efforts of his pirate nemesis Jean La Foote from swiping his precious cereal cargo. (Quaker Oats Customer Service)

8. One of the few, perhaps the only "kids' cereals" of the '70's pitched by actual children was Quaker Oats' "Life" Cereal. What was the 4-year-old actor's name who portrayed the finicky Mikey "He hates everything!"?

Answer: John Gilchrist

"He likes it!...Hey, Mikey!" No, Mikey wasn't killed by gulping Pepsi after a few packs of Pop Rocks, it's just an urban legend. Mikey's real name is John and according to snopes.com (2002) John Gilcrist is an advertising account manager at a New York radio station. Mike Williams and Jeremy Simmons are made-up names. One out every thirty American males is named Mike or Michael.

9. Which character could be found on boxes of Quaker Oats Peanut Butter Crunch Cereal?

Answer: Smedley the Elephant

Peanut Butter Crunch was one of MANY (and most popular) variations of Quaker's extremely popular Cap'n Crunch Cereal. Some of the other "Crunch" cereals were Vanilly Crunch, Punch Crunch, Cap'n Crunch Berries, Choco Crunch, CoZmic Crunch, Deep Sea Crunch and Cinnamon Crunch. Smedley the Elephant was a big clumsy peanut-loving pachyderm who wore a hat just like that of Cap'n Crunch. (Topher's Breakfast Cereal Guide)

10. And finally, one from the extremely obscure files, Which character appeared on boxes of Kellogg's Cocoa Hoots from 1972-1975?

Answer: Newton the Owl

Newton the Owl was the chubby white owl on the boxes of the short-lived Kellogg's Cocoa Hoots. Hill Billy Goat was on the Kellogg's Stars box in the mid-sixties. Woodsy Owl the spokesman for the "Give a hoot... don't pollute" public service announcements. Charlie the Owl was the intellectually self-absorbed owl from the children's TV series New Zoo Revue. (Topher's Breakfast Cereal Guide)

Source: Author wildebeest

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor natsim before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Between Saturday morning cartoons, American children of the 1970s were delighted by a myriad of colorful characters hawking their sugary cereals. Some are gone... some continue today. How many do you remember?

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