Kaboom was the name of a
vitamin
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an Nutrient#Essential nutrients, essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its ...
-fortified,
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
-themed
breakfast cereal
Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...
produced by
General Mills
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
, which contained oat cereal bits shaped like smiling
clown
A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms.
History
The most ancient clowns have been found in ...
faces and
marshmallow
Marshmallow (, ) is a type of confectionery that is typically made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or normally molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. The sugar c ...
bears, lions, elephants, and stars. Its
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
was a smiling
circus clown
Clowns have always been an integral part of the circus, offering a source of amusement for patrons and providing relief from the array of animal acts and performances by acrobats and novelty artistes.
Traditional types
Traditionally, there are t ...
.
It originated in 1969.
Known primarily as a breakfast cereal of the 1970s and 1980s, Kaboom remained available for sale until 2010 when it was discontinued by General Mills.
Appearances
* Kaboom cereal was referenced in the first chapter of
Don DeLillo
Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, per ...
's 1985 novel
White Noise
In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines, ...
.
*
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
's 2003 movie ''
Kill Bill: Volume 1'' included a scene in which character
Vernita Green
''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) a ...
uses a gun hidden in a box of Kaboom cereal in an attempt to kill
The Bride.
* A box of Kaboom also appears as a focal point in the
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...
' video for their song "Cherub".
* Kaboom cereal was referenced in the "
Game of Tones" episode of ''
Futurama
''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
''.
* Kaboom was the subject of a humorous essay at
Ace of Spades HQ
Ace of Spades HQ, Ace of Spades, or AoS is a conservative and humor-driven U.S.-based political blog covering current events, legal issues, military hardware, and salacious topics in popular culture. The blog was first launched in . It has been q ...
on September 4, 2013.
* In the Mary Tyler Moore episode "Just Friends", anchorman Ted Baxter lists Kaboom and Cocoa Puffs as his favorite cereals.
* Kaboom cereal was referenced in the
MST3k episode "Indestructable Man" during the opening dialogue.
See also
*
List of defunct consumer brands
This is a list of defunct consumer brands which are no longer made and usually no longer mass-marketed to consumers. Brands in this list may still be made, but are only made in modest quantities and/or limited runs as a nostalgic or retro style it ...
*
List of breakfast cereals
This is a list of breakfast cereals. Many cereals are trademarked brands of large companies, such as Kellogg's, General Mills, Malt-O-Meal Company, Malt-O-Meal, Nestlé, Quaker Oats Company, Quaker Oats and Post Foods, but similar equivalent pro ...
References
Products introduced in 1969
General Mills cereals
discontinued products
Products and services discontinued in 2010
Historical foods in American cuisine
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