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Cheers for the Years As we wrap up our diamond jubilee coverage, we'd like to raise a toast to some of pop culture's more notable brands also reaching significant milestones this year, such as Costco hot dogs, which celebrate 40 delicious years of overcoming human gastrointestinal judgment. Introduced in 1984, the dogs were originally sold curbside from a vendor cart, becoming so popular that Costco eventually built their own hot dog factories to meet demand. Forty years ago was also when we first met e Gremlins, Freddy Krueger, and e Terminator, three terrifying Hollywood icons still going strong today. ankfully, as we grew into adults, we learned it's okay to eat after midnight, that nightmares aren't real, and that AI's only real intent is to torture us with repeated targeted ads of toe shoes because you accidentally clicked on a picture of them once. To make fun of them, AI! Sixty years ago, Hasbro coined a new toy industry term, the "action figure," when G.I. Joe hit shelves in 1964. According to market analysis group Grand View Research, the action figure industry is currently valued at over $8 billion. Nowadays, just as many adults buy collectible action figures as do children, including aging columnists who have Elvis figures on their desk. For, you know, research purposes. Tech bigwigs Facebook and Amazon celebrate their 20th and 30th anniversaries this year, respectively. e former outshined predecessor MySpace to become the world's most popular social media platform, where you can share cat photos, promote wares, and argue with strangers over pizza toppings. e latter beat out the entirety of planet Earth to become the most profitable store of all time, selling everything from coloring books and tractor tires to prefab houses. ey also have toe shoes. Trust me. Kleenex turns 100 this year. Originally a crepe paper used as filters in gasmasks, the company switched to soft tissue paper in 1924, marketing their new product as a makeup remover for women. It wouldn't take long for the world to realize they could also be used to catch nose goblins and then be dropped in the center console of your car, left to adhere to the plastic until you finally realize it's easier to just burn the car than clean them all out. ere are plenty more we wish we could mention, but we'll end on a few notables, including Playstation, which turns 30; Hello Kitty, who turns 50; Pop-Tarts, which turn 60; Batman, who turns 85; the Eiffel Tower, which turns 135; Southern Comfort, which turns 150; and toe shoes, which were conjured up by evil mages thousands of years ago in the fires of Mount Why. RYAN THOMAS 72 NOVEMBER 2024 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE