Trends for January 15, 2001

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Jan. 15, 2001 | 9:47 a.m.

Back in time

It's time for an all-retro installment of Trends, when we examine some of our favorite old stuff that's new again.

Fans of Coca-Cola no longer have to scour garage sales and swap meets to find the soft-drink company's old-fashioned logo merchandise. Just click on coca-colastore.com. The website features all sorts of officially licensed Coke stuff.

OK, so theyre technically not "vintage" items, but they still look cool. The site boasts sections for Coke decor trays, ceiling fans, even bedsheets and comforters NASCAR-themed items, collectibles for kids and a special holiday selection (which includes such things as pillows embroidered with Coke's famous Santa Claus).

On the site, you can also answer Coke trivia questions, play a game of Coke darts against the computer and piece together a Coke jigsaw puzzle.

Sweet stuff

Is it just me, or is it getting tougher to find wax bottles these days?

Come on, who doesnt remember wax bottles? Neon-colored syrup encased in, well, a tiny wax bottle. Bite the cap off and slurp it down. Hmm, in retrospect, it does seem kind of gross. Nevertheless, these and other nostalgic candies Clark Bars, Hot Dog gum, Lik M Aid Fun Dip and many, many others can be had not at the corner drug store, as during the good-old days, but through the aptly named Groovy Candies.

The Cleveland company, founded in 1998, sells the treats in boxes (70 pieces priced at $29.95), bags (15 pieces, $3.50) and something called a "Groovy Toobey" (50 pieces, $19.95). The stuff can be ordered by visiting groovycandies.com or calling (888) 729-1960. The site also features candy news, including which treats have met the end of the manufacturing line. The latest additions to the list: Black Cow, ButterNut, Pom Poms and Snaps.

About the 'Bunch"

The kids are all grown up, off leading their former-child-star lives. The maid is a recluse, and Mom had a gig hosting a national morning TV show, but lost it.

Sing along, everyone: "And that's what became of the Brady Bunch!"

If you cant get enough of the pleasantly perfect TV family in reruns, you're in luck. Pick up a copy of the new book "The Brady Bunch Files" (Renaissance Books. $11.95).

Author Lauren Johnson, also an art therapist, spent 10 years compiling 4,000 pieces of Brady trivia to include in the book. In it, she revives such nagging questions as: What really did happen to those gaudy earrings of Carol's after Cindy hid them under a towel in that bathroom? Here's another: What possessed Alice to hug the postman?

And, finally, which character penned the words, "Even when he punishes me, it's because I deserve it"? If you know the answer to that query off the top of your head, you may also want to give Johnson's apy skills some consideration.