Food of the Seventies, Kaboom Cereal

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Description
Kaboom was a cereal made by General Mills, I think it was from the 70's. I loved it. It has been revived, you can get it at the General Mills cereal bar at the Mall of America. I seem to remember it tasting better the first time around.
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User Stories and Comments

The following are comments left about Kaboom Cereal from site visitors such as yourself. They are not spell checked or reviewed for accuracy.

Lea - January 30, 2008 - Report this comment
I remember Kaboom being a overly-sweet, neon-colored, and really vile tasting. I'm sure it was full of artificial dyes that cause cancer, sugar and chemicals. My friend's dad threw out a box because he thought the blue/green tidbits were moldy. Oh, does anyone remember a really revolting product that was out in the early or mid seventies? They were these grilled-cheese type of sandwiches -- varieties included plain, pizza, and ham -- and you put them in the toaster to heat up. You could get them in the dairy section, and Pillsbury may have made them. They were just awful tasting, and I'm not surprised they were pulled from the shelves. Also, does anyone recall frozen cupcakes -- a yellow assortment and a chocolate one -- made by Stouffers?
Keith Holm - April 20, 2008 - Report this comment
Are you kidding me? My brother and I were addicted to Kaboom cereal. That was great stuff. Of course when you are a kid anything sweet mixed with milk was a treat. I haven't had it for years so I don't know if I would still like it. What I remember I loved it.
Beth - July 03, 2008 - Report this comment
I used to love this cereal. My brother and I used to load on the sugar (yuk!).
seattle guy - July 14, 2008 - Report this comment
i saw this around 1973, my mom wouldn't buy it until around 1976 and i ate it in the late 1970s. it dissapreared by the early 1980s and i saw it again in 1987 then it dissappeared again until i saw it around 1999 now it is gone again but i think you can order it from general mills' website. hands down this was my favorite cereal then and now.
Al - October 07, 2008 - Report this comment
Funny thing, I was in Tampa, Fl in 2006 and stopped in a grocery store and saw a box of Kaboom cereal. I thought to myself "A. They still make it down south and B. That box is really old" I opted not to buy it, though for a minute, I wanted it.
Victoria - December 23, 2008 - Report this comment
I saw the commercial in the early 1970s for Kaboom with a really hyper clown and lots of explosions. I never thought clowns were creepy, just stupid, but I just had to have this cereal! I pressed my mom to get it, and my older brother and I ate it. I thought it was just okay; Froot Loops and Lucky Cherms being better. My brother was the most disgusted. He said it tasted like "medicine." And compared to other breakfast cereals it was pretty awful, with leaky food coloring and cardboard cereal pieces. Thirty years later my daughter couldn't understand why I wouldn't stop laughing when I saw it on my grocer's shelves, remembering how it was chemical-laced and medicine-y taste in a box and a new low in dry cereals. How the heck could they bring that crap back, I wondered?
krhnyc - January 13, 2009 - Report this comment
I remember Kaboom. I thought it was out of production, especially in light of the "low sugar, healthy, sawdust/Kashi" trend over the last decade, but general mills is raising their multi-colored middle finger in defiance. I remember it tasting, well, sweet... but what really stands out were the bright yellow bow splashed with other neon hues and the clown, who always looked unbalanced to me. I have kids now, and ther is no way this stuff is coming anywheres near them. This stuff makes Franken-berry seem wholesome.
Paul M - February 13, 2009 - Report this comment
OMG! I loved this stuff in the early 70's. I was about 5 years old. I can't believe I remember this cereal. WOW! Why is it that when there is something good and people really like it they just refuse to market it anymore!? That goes for all lot of things that I can remember.
WinkY - March 04, 2009 - Report this comment
I remember Kaboom cereal. And yes it was the 1970's and when your stoned on reefer anything tastes good.
Tim Hollis - March 16, 2009 - Report this comment
If I'm not mistaken, the late 1960s/early 1970s Kaboom commercials involved the clown feeding it to various inept circus performers (both male and female), and it had an effect not unlike Popeye's spinach... hence the KABOOM sound effect.
Johnny Fenwick - June 28, 2009 - Report this comment
Yes, after eating Kaboom, years later my doctor told me I'm Diabetic. Thanks for the extra Sugar!
Christine - July 30, 2009 - Report this comment
Yes, remember the commercial well (must have been 1969) as I know we were still living in Brooklyn at the time, before moving to LI in 1970. Anyway, it must have been characters shouting "Kaboom" in one anothers' ears or something (after getting their sugar fix), because I distinctly remember my dad coming home from work and me saying, "Did you hear about the new cereal", and he was like, "um, no..." and I got on a chair next to him so that I could scream "Kaboom!!" in his ear. I think he wanted to kill me....anyway, it does strike me now as one of the grosser junk cereals.. the colors are just way out there, and I do remember an almost medicine-y taste....Bleecchhh- no doubt my kids would gobble it up though if I dared to bring it in the house!!
Chloe - August 12, 2009 - Report this comment
Loved Kabooms! Once I found it in an old fine fare supermarket, bought every box on the shelf. Don't knoe if I would llike it in corn though.
Ang - August 17, 2009 - Report this comment
Oh my gosh....how I LOVED Kaboom!!! I was born in 1966 so I grew up with this cereal.....the good old days.
Shelley - August 17, 2009 - Report this comment
This cereal tasted like food coloring. If you've ever had icing with too much coloring, you can imagine what this cereal was like. Nostalgia is cool, but save it for something good!
Yvette - October 01, 2009 - Report this comment
Does anyone remember the plastic clown puppet you got as a prize, in the box? I sure do. I swear I can still smell this stuff if I think about it. I loved it!
Sheana - November 07, 2009 - Report this comment
So why is it off the shelves? It's my favorite cereal and i want some, bad...lol. I was getting it at Wal-Mart like 2 or 3 years ago...and then it disappeared again. What's up with that?
Christina - November 10, 2009 - Report this comment
This was the best cereal ever! I begged my mom to get it for me and wouldn't share with my brother and sister! I saw it in the store about 1999 and got two boxs however it isn't the same it's corn based instead of oat based but I still love it. From what I understand it remains available as of April of 2009! WOOOHOOO!
Kurt - December 15, 2009 - Report this comment
I remember a box of this stuff coming into our Brooklyn household in the early 70s, being heavily marketed as being vitamin fortified, during one of the "sugar scandals" centering over kid's cereals. And my GOD, the stuff was VILE, tasted like really nasty cough syrup.
BeauxArtabazon - January 19, 2010 - Report this comment
Kaboom was my favorite cereal when I was a kid in Cleveland (born 1967). Even back then, I remember they stopped selling it in the grocery store where we shopped. Then one day we were in some discount store and I saw it on the shelf. I was so excited and begged, so Ma bought some for me. That was the last time I ever had or even saw Kaboom. It couldn't have been later than 1976. I am surprised to hear that it has been making appearances ever since then. I guess I haven't been in the right region at the right time. I have rarely met anyone else who remembers it. I didn't recall that it had marshmallows! Marshmallows usually have gelatin which is made from animals bones and/or hooves. So even if I found some, I wouldn't eat it because of that. Or maybe I'd pick out the marshmallows like my sister used to do to Lucky Charms. Except she picked out the marshmallows, ate them all, and left us with that crappy oat stuff. My ex- sent me a link to this site, because he's heard me raving about Kaboom for years. Thank-you! I am happy just having seen the picture of the box and having read others' positive memories.
Don - March 29, 2010 - Report this comment
Kabooms were part of my morning for years! They were readily available in Pennsylvania,during the 80's. Not to be gross,but besides the great taste of the cereal,I remember it giving me greenish-blue stools.
KC - July 09, 2010 - Report this comment
I have to say, I hated Kabooms. I thought they were the worst of the fruit flavored cereals and that clown was creepy.
Mikee - July 16, 2010 - Report this comment
I'm Mikee (born in 66) and I liked it. Haven't had it in years. If I ever find it again I'd like to have a bowl with my kids. Does anyone remember the commercial where the clown kicks the cereal bowl & it explodes into a big Kaboom! It was nice reading others comments. Whatever happened to the good old days Ang?
Clowns Frighten Me - August 17, 2010 - Report this comment
They actually took Kaboom off the market for awhile because it had way too much sugar in it. Kids were bouncing off the walls like they were on crack. Anyone remember "Space Food Sticks"?
Doug - September 23, 2010 - Report this comment
I think the people who remember liking this cereal must have had their taste buds/brains damaged by the copious use of toxic dyes in the cereal. If there was any sweetness at all, it was overshadowed by food coloring and feed grade corn meal. The only thing we would do with this ceareal as kids when we were fed it by our babysitters was to fling it to the ceiling and see who could make the most vile clown faces stick to the popcorn texture that probably tasted better than the kaboom itself. They discontinued it because thats what all sane people think. How something with that much sugar could taste so bad is a miracle of 60's food science, hopefully never to be repeated.
Mona - October 19, 2010 - Report this comment
Loved this cereal.. Was talking to a friend about it today..He never heard of it.. Doesn't know what he is missing..
Denis - February 18, 2011 - Report this comment
When we were vacationing down in Florida in the early 80's, we discovered Kaboom cereal. Man, they were great, full of sugar, and bright colors. I think GM really had the formula down pat. We got hooked on them, we ate at least 2 boxes a day between my brother and I. Problem is, you can't buy them in Canada!!!
Johnathan - September 14, 2011 - Report this comment
I remember seeing Kaboom on shelves growing up and never actually ate the stuff. I watched "Kill Bill Vol 1" and recognized the Kaboom box early in the movie and went to go buy a box and found out it was discontinued! Now I am trying to find a cereal that is similar to Kaboom. Will Frankenberry do?
Joe - January 06, 2012 - Report this comment
Totally addicted to Kaboom growing up in the 70's.
Mari - January 06, 2012 - Report this comment
The marshmallows were little stars. I remember not wanting to drink the milk since it became a horrible blue-green-gray color. Still, Kaboom was awesome!
Vickey - February 01, 2012 - Report this comment
I used to buy Kaboom cearl all the time when my kids were little. I went to buy it this year 2012 for my daughter as a gag gift, but can't find it. Why did they take it off the shelf?
Rob Lambert - July 12, 2012 - Report this comment
First, a note regarding the above description: The General Mills cereal bar (Cereal Adventure attraction) in Mall of America closed in 2005. It is now a mini-golf course. Now, to KABOOM cereal. In the fall of 1969, Kaboom first hit the stores. The big difference was that Kaboom had just the slightest hint of raunch (bitter) taste, both the marshmallows and the colored oat pieces. It was that distinct when compared to other GM sugary cereals. And oddly enough...I liked it! The initial run of Kaboom ended in 1972. I have one early TV commercial from the "Heckle & Jeckle" Saturday cartoon show (1/4/70, NBC).
Rod - September 28, 2012 - Report this comment
Kaboom was awesome as a kind. I loved it! I loved the clown too...General Mills needs to bring the cereal back...
dbmathis - October 20, 2012 - Report this comment
Screaming the pain of your sad eyes and too-wide smiles, my twisted faces. Dance, dance and ignore it all, my happy clown. Twinkle, twinkle, little marshmallow stars, so delicate and pink. Did the screaming faces come from you, happy clown? I wonder each time the white milk spreads all over the faces without heads, swelling their ranks to the rim of the bowl. And what of the...things? Are they animals you're juggling, or are they shapes bloated with vengeance, looking down at your hands splayed from the weight of collecting the ghosts of people who haven't died yet?
Rose - November 01, 2012 - Report this comment
I ate this as a kid in the 80's and I have to admit that it tasted pretty bad. I would eat all the colorful cereal pieces first just to enjoy a mouthful of marshmallows at the end. It brings back great childhood memories though!
shalonda green and crystal domars - April 08, 2013 - Report this comment
Y'all need to put kabooms back on the market there's nothing wrong with but healthy,and good. Every thing else is still on the market and they say different stuff causes cancer like cigarettes cancer.eye lashes cancer still selling and that's not all. So please put kabooms back on the market and see how many people buy and get thank u.
Joe S - May 07, 2013 - Report this comment
Back in the 80's I had a friend named Jean.There was a rumor that she bought 30 boxes of Kaboom cereal, poured the cereal in a large garbage bag,and tossed it in the trash.She then took the empty boxes,and made a wall hanging in her nursing school dorm hallway by juxtaposition the boxes together with clear tape. She denied she did it,but I like to believe she did,because it seems so funny to me.
Cori - May 27, 2013 - Report this comment
I absolutely Loved this cereal when I was little. It reminds me of my Grandma. I don't eat sugary stuff anymore, but I would definitely eat a bowl of this for the Memories!!
Jim - July 31, 2013 - Report this comment
The main thing I remember about Kaboom, is that it would turn your poop fluorescent green.
Amanda - May 11, 2014 - Report this comment
I absolutely loved kaboom I grew up in the 80's and that was my favorite cereal I haven't found any since 2006 but miss it those who liked it can sign a petition on line tobring it back in those who didn't why even Comment
Erica from KC - January 25, 2015 - Report this comment
Loved kaboom cereal and correct many haven't heard of the cereal or thought I made it up. Maybe it was sold in the inner city from the comments. I'm currently in remission and seriously doubt it was from cereal I ate 28 years ago. Also it seems there are more people with cancer than in the 70 and 80s. Just brings u back to a simpler time and Saturday cartoons. It's a memory of childhood when all u wanted was milk to go with ur cereal. Lol. However iam scared of clowns but I think that's do to bozo and the clowns in the ice cream van that would kidnap kids. Much luv and (KABOOM)
Rob Lambert - September 30, 2017 - Report this comment
From the Saturday morning cartoon vault, the first TV commercial, roughly animated, with the clown. This aired on "George of the Jungle" over ABC (5/10/69). Show ends with a 20-second Smokey Bear PSA, with Bullwinkle reciting a poem (a la Bullwinkle's Corner). On a tree, a poster of Smokey winks an eye. This Ad Council message was result of a lawsuit settlement between Jay Ward Productions and the U.S. Forest Service. In 1964, a Dudley Do-Right cartoon was made with a villain character named Stogey Bear, who smoked cigars and used them to ignite forest fires. USDA sued, citing infringement, and misrepresentation of Smokey Bear. Another condition of settlement was that the Stogey Bear cartoon never be rerun on television.
Rob Lambert - October 01, 2017 - Report this comment
Additional notes to last story. I saw the notorious Dudley Do-Right cartoon on video. Stogey (or Stokey) Bear was hypnotized (by Snidely Whiplash) into being a forest fire-bug, wearing the pants and ranger hat as Smokey. Cartoon ends with Stogey starting the 1871 Chicago Fire, while in Mountie Dudley's custody. ABC-TV ran it twice on the "Bullwinkle" show, last early in 1965, before being called out by the Forest Service. Producers Jay Ward and Bill Scott had other scrapes in court over their cartoons, including TV personality Durward Kirby (the Kirkwood Derby), and another government issue involving using the White House in a cartoon (changed to U.S. Capitol).
Iris Foss - June 27, 2018 - Report this comment
Wow, I remember eating this cereal 24-7...It tasted so good! For all three pregnancies I was able to get it with WIC. I noticed my hair and nails grew when I was indulging in the cereal.
Rob Lambert - September 02, 2020 - Report this comment
Nearing the 50 year mark, 1970, when Saturday morning TV shifted further away from cartoons in favor of live-action shows. Another audio cassette "basement tape" I purchased contained excerpts of "Woody Woodpecker Show" from 9/19/70 on NBC. Kaboom cereal, Cocoa Puffs and Barbie commercials. Also, network promos for Krofft's "Bugaloos" and "Doctor Dolittle" cartoon. Also on the tape, portions of the "Bugaloos" on NBC, with Kellogg's sponsoring a portion (Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes). Rounding out the 30 minute side, portions of "Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp" on ABC. Commercials for Honey Comb with Monkees cut-out records, Mattel Hot Wheels with Mongoose and Snake racing set. Also, Post Rice Krinkles (bobby Sherman cut-out records). This was pure Saturday silver (gold was the '60s).

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