1. The original working names for the cereal was Flint Chips and Rubble Stones.

 

"Flint Chips" and "Rubble Stones" do not sound as appetizing. Honestly, they sound like something that might damage your teeth. Good call, Post!

2. It was adapted from Sugar Rice Krinkles cereal.

 

This clown-touted cereal was discontinued in 1969, its formula adapted to transform into a Flintstones tie-in. While the original primetime series The Flintstones had ended in 1966, the characters were still seen every Saturday morning in reruns in 1969.

3. It was introduced nationwide in 1971.

 

After some limited test marketing, the Pebbles cereals rolled out nationwide in 1971, the same year that a new cartoon, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, premiered. Fred and Barney, meanwhile, gobbled up the cereal in animated ads like this one here.

4. The Canadian version had a different shape.

 

That's right, north of our border, Pebbles were more "puffs," technically! Note the different shape on the box! They also have French on the box, which is pretty cool.

5. There were just three colors and three flavors at first.

 

When introduced, Fruity Pebbles were only orange, red and yellow, corresponding to natural orange, lemon and tangerine flavors. Those flavors were tweaked later in the Seventies to be natural orange and artificial lemon and cherry, as seen on this box here. Over the years, several new "pebble" colors have been introduced — purple (1985), green (1987), blue (1994), "Incrediberry Purple" in 1995, and "Bedrock Berry Pink" in 2005. You can kind of date your childhood based on which colors you remember.

6. It is the oldest surviving cereal based on a TV show or movie.

 

Take that, C-3PO's! The same goes for you, E.T. Cereal! Pebbles are the king of Hollywood tie-in breakfasts. With its big birthday coming up, it's going to be 50!

7. There have been more than 20 different varieties of "Pebbles" cereal.

 

Fruity and Cocoa are merely the elder parents. The different varieties truly proliferated in the 1990s and 200s. The spin-offs have included Dino Pebbles, Cinna-Crunch Pebbles, Ice Cream Pebbles, Dino S'mores Pebbles, Cupcake Pebbles, Candy Corn Pebbles, and Cinnamon Pebbles… just to name a few.

8. Hulk Hogan sued over a Pebbles commercial.

 

In 2010, a television commercial for Pebbles cereal included a character named "Hulk Boulder." Bamm-Bamm defeats the wrestler. There was just one problem — Hulk Hogan (birthname Terry Bollea) originally performed under the name "Hulk Boulder." Hogan filed suit again Post.

Image: AP Photo / Chris Carlson

Look for boxes of Pebbles cereal with MeTV puzzles in stores now!

 

Be on the "look" for special boxes of Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles cereal! as you will "see" — we have "Spot the Differences" puzzles on the back of the boxes! See if you can find all the differences! (You'll need both TVs from the packaging to complete the puzzle, naturally.)