1969.12.02 Escondido CA North County Times Page 11 "Astronaut toys are costly" (AP) Article

1969.12.02 Escondido CA North County Times Page 11

I guess adjusted for inflation Major Matt Mason toys were fairly expensive. This article sheds a bit of light towards just how expensive. It's written in a light manner, published in the North County Times on December 2, 1969. Transcript below.

1969.12.02 Escondido CA North County Times Page 11 "Astronaut toys are costly" (AP) Article

Astronaut toys are costly

PORTLAND, Ore. AP - Are you one of those cynics who sit in front of the television set with a pencil and paper during the moon shots and figure what it's costing you in taxes?

The Apollo program running around $25 billion and the population is about 200 million so each of us is kicking in an average of $125, right? And youd (sic) like yours back in cash.

I used to feel that way, but the coming of Christmas has brought me to my senses. It hasn't made me more patriotic, just more mercenary. I see now that it would cost me less in the long run to let the government run the space program than to conduct it in my living room, which is the alternative.

This is the season when strange people come into your home through the television set and explain to your children how they can spend twice your salary. And my 3-year-old is beginning to understand what they're talking about.

He sits in front of the set and watches Major Matt Mason driving his space buggy around Venus and he looks at me wide-eyed and asks, "Hat dat?"

But then the network news cuts in with pictures of the real astronauts walking on the moon and I can say to the kid, "We can't buy Major Matt. See? He's working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

This is easier for him to understand than if I tell him, "Listen, kid. Your old man isn't making enough to support four people, a dog and a space program."

Has all this been getting by you? Have you been raiding the refrigerator during every commercial?

Major Matt, a 6-inch plastic doll, sells for $2.99 and his buddy, astronaut Jeff, is $2.44. Their talking space station, which furnishes authentic astronaut jargon at the pull of a string, goes for $7.99.

A powerful lunar tractor and protectively tinted space bubble to carry Matt and Jeff around your living room cost $8.99.

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