This ad ran in comic books and newspapers in 1959, and kids went nuts! All you had to do issued in an empty bag of Kraft marshmallows, along with a suggested name for the trainer jet, and you could win it!
At the beginning of the space race, before President Kennedy had even promised to put an American on the moon, America was space happy. So what kid could resist having their own life-sized rocket ship trainer, complete with spacesuits and helmets?
A little girl in Missouri was the lucky winner of the contest However, her parents apparently did not want this 29 feet-long ballistic missile-looking simulator taking up their driveway or backyard. The simulator was quickly donated to the girl's elementary school, but eventually made its way to the front lawn of the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
There it sat, unused and unenjoyed (Is that even a word? Who cares, I just used it in a sentence!), for several years. Finally, amid the anti-war sentiment of the late 1960s and early '70s it was removed and destroyed.
Unfortunately, I did not win any of the prizes from this contest. But I tell you this: if I had won the simulator, that thing would still be in my backyard today!
