Memory Triggers

I'll be the first to admit that my memory is not the best. I'm lucky if I can remember what I did yesterday. But my keychain collection has sometimes been helpful to me in recalling memories. Now, I won't pretend that I can remember when and where I got every single keychain I own. Given the size of my collection that would be impossible, unless I was one of those more organized collectors who wrote that stuff down. However, it does sometimes surprise me what I can remember about the various keychains in my collection.

For example, I remember that I bought the rocking horse keychain pictured above from the 'trading post' at a girl scout camp. I also remember that I wanted it because I liked the amber color. I had a fascination with amber back then. I think it was because in the American Girl book series that I read growing up, the pioneer girl character wore an amber heart necklace.

There are other keychains in my collection that I bought specifically to help me recall certain memories, memories that may have nothing to do with where or how I got the keychain. One example of this is pictured below, a little red bell keychain advertising Babybel cheese.

I got this keychain from a flea market, but that's beside the point. The reason I have it is because when I was a kid, Babybel cheese was always a very special treat. It wasn't so much the taste of the cheese that I liked. The really fun thing about Babybel was taking the red wax wrapper off the mini cheese wheel. My parents didn't buy Babybel very often, but that just made it all the more special when we did get it. I acquired this Babybel keychain specifically to act as a reminder of that childhood memory.

Another keychain that's linked to a childhood memory is this silver gorilla 'key' from the Philadelphia Zoo.

The Philadelphia Zoo used to have boxes at various animal exhibits where guests could insert a plastic 'key'. When the 'key' was turned, a pre-recorded message gave information about the different animals. The earliest keys were made in an elephant shape. My mom still has a vintage, green elephant key, and I remember her letting us use it in the early 1980s. The boxes were taken down for a time, but they were brought back in the 1990s. When this happened, the zoo began selling keys in other animal shapes. The shapes chosen were usually tied to a special exhibit that was being featured at the zoo, and they were only available while supplies lasted. There was a lion key, a bear key, a lorikeets key, and a white alligator key, among others.

My family was very excited about the new 'zoo keys', and my parents ended up buying a number of them. I think my mom was even more excited about the boxes return than us kids were, and that's saying something. Sadly, the boxes rarely seemed to be in working order, and in the early 2000s they were taken down again. But I still remember some of the excitement we felt whenever a new key shape was announced. So when I found a silver gorilla 'zoo key' second-hand, I picked it up for my keychain collection.

Almost anything can be a memory trigger, whether it's a certain smell in the air, the opening notes of a song, or a physical object. I just happen to use keychains to help me recall and preserve my memories.

Signed, Treesa

(Update: While this post was in draft form, The Philadelphia Zoo decided to reinstate the 'zoo key' activated 'storybook boxes'. Judging from archived news articles that I read online, there was a lot of anticipation built up for the relaunch. But I don't know how well the new 'zoo keys' sold.)

World's Smallest Hot Wheels 'Blind Box' Keychain (A Review)

Let me start by saying that this review might be a little dated. While I'd seen other World's Smallest Hot Wheels products in stores before, I'd never seen the Hot Wheels blind box keychains until recently, when I spotted a case of them on a shelf at a Target store in Delaware. However, I'm not actually sure when these keychains hit the market. The copyright date on the blind box is 2018, so there's a possibility that these keychains were actually released last year and that I just never saw them in my area before. Whatever the case, I'm going to post this review in the hopes that it's still relevant to somebody.

I love the World's Smallest line of products, and I wish more of them were available in keychain form. They remind me of the old Basic Fun keychains, with their miniature representations of classic toys. So when I saw a case of World's Smallest Hot Wheels blind box keychains at Target, I was thrilled. I know I stated in a past post that I usually have bad luck with blind box items. However in this case, the blind box factor wasn't something I was concerned about, since it didn't really matter to me which of the mini diecast Hot Wheels cars I ended up with. What really piqued my interest was the 'retro' replica packaging that made up the bulk of the keychain.

Here's a photo of the blind box itself. A sample keychain is pictured on the box, as well as a photo of one of the mini diecast cars sitting on a stack of coins to show the scale.

And here's a picture of the actual keychain I received. In my opinion, the 'retro' packaging is what really makes this keychain. It just looks cool. However, I get the impression that this keychain was designed more as a collector's item than as a functional keychain, since the details on the front and back are printed on stickers. Stickers don't tend to hold up well over time, especially if they're subjected to heavy wear and tear.

The main problem I have with this keychain, however, is the small access panel in the back that is supposed to open so you can remove the car. I had a lot of trouble getting that panel open. I ended up having to use way more force than I was comfortable with, and during the process I was worried the plastic hinge was going to snap. Once I had it open, I decided to just leave the car in there, rather than trying to pry out the small plastic shell that was holding it in place. But when I tried to close the panel again, I had some trouble getting it to go back in and stay closed. As you can see in the photo below, the black plastic at the corners is sort of ragged looking.

The whole access panel feature seems poorly designed to me.

As a side note, the keyring part of this keychain isn't like any keychain 'finding' I've ever seen. It's round, like a split ring, but it actually functions like a carabiner. I've never seen a circular carabiner before. Also, there was something else in the box that sent my nostalgia factor through the roof.

A mini product catalog, just like the ones Basic Fun used to put out back in the day! Unfortunately for me, most of the products shown in this catalog aren't keychains. But on the plus side, this catalog was a lot less tricky to refold than the old Basic Fun product catalogs.

Below is a list of what I see as the good points and bad points about the World's Smallest Hot Wheels blind box keychain, along with my final verdict.

Good Points:
If you miss the old Basic Fun keychains as much as I do, then these World's Smallest Hot Wheels keychains should be right up your alley. For once, the blind box aspect wasn't an issue for me, although it might be a problem for people who are planning to buy more than one keychain.

Bad Points:
While using stickers for the details was probably the easiest and most cost effective option, it might take away from the long term durability of the keychain. Also, the access panel in the back was poorly designed and is difficult to use.

Final Verdict:
Although there were a few issues with this keychain that disappointed me, these issues didn't completely detract from my overall enjoyment of the product. However, the fact that I bought the keychain as a collectible and not to use as a keychain makes it easier to overlook certain things. It probably also helped that the price was what I consider reasonable.

Signed, Treesa