Okay, so I thought this particular vintage item would be easy to find information about... turns out I was WRONG!I think I need to explain.
When I was a kid, my mom had some big spoons that were used to serve vegetable; they were slotted or perforated spoons, so the liquids would strain off of the veggies. the handles were some black material, very comfortable in the hand. I've coveted them for years.
Then I went to this junk store and found some with the same handles... not the slotted spoons, but a couple of random forks. Over the years I've found a long tined fork, a pickle/fish fork, a bread & butter knife and a big spoon, and finally, a kind friend gave me the slotted spoon she had found at a garage sale. I also got my mom's slotted spoons at long last! The handles are kind of ruined, but I think that was probably the result of putting them in the dishwasher.
I went on Ebay several times, trying to find full sets, and couldn't and that is when, finally, I figured out where the items came from.
They were gifts-in-the-box bonus items with detergent!
Do you remember back in the 'good old days' when powdered laundry detergent - for example, a brand named Duz, and another brand named, pointedly enough Bonus - came with a 'gift' in each box? Bonus brand detergent appearently came with a towel in each box, and Duz, wikipedia says, came with glasses and plates.
But... darned if I can find the brand that came with cutlery in each box!! I suppose nowadays people would look askance at finding a knife in their box of powdered laundry detergent, but in the good old days, people expected brands to court them with gifts!!
So... do you remember this trend? Do you have any like these? Do you know what brand of detergent these came out of? It has to be something that was sold in Canada.
If you know, please tell me, but I'm also interested in any memories pertaining to bonus items in laundry detergent! Click on the photo to see a larger picture of these utensils.
