Classic Lion-O Costume, HOOOOOO!

Vintage Lion-O unleashed in all his vinyl glory!

In the movies, the teachers' lounge is often depicted as the center of the adult universe within a school building. It has been my experience, however, that in truth it is primarily a place for folks who are moving or cleaning out their garages and file cabinets to leave their discarded stuff. Occasionally, I'll walk into the school's copy room (our building's de facto "lounge") and there will be piles of dividers, nick-knacks and other things placed atop a sign declaring their status as "FREE." Once in a blue moon, there are even interesting things to be had!


At first glance, parents might think
this is a crazy-haired clown, but it's
just Lion-O!

Two years ago (yes, it has been sitting on my classroom bookshelf for that long before finding its way home at the close of school this past June), someone left behind a child's Vintage Ben Cooper Lion-O Halloween costume circa 1985. (Fun Fact: At one point, Ben Cooper, Inc. was the largest supplier of Halloween costumes in the United States.)

While I have neither children young enough to wear the costume, nor a great interest in the current iteration of ThunderCats, I do have a healthy nostalgic affection for the show and characters from my own childhood. Originally on air from 1985 to 1989, ThunderCats was a popular animated kids show that, while having a thin narrative thrust, featured lots of cool super-cat character designs. Lion-O was their youthful leader who's battle cry, "ThunderCats, HOOOOOO!" still resonates today.

The Internets supplied me with some quick background regarding the box I brought home: The costume I have has the original price sticker on it ($4.99) and even at the age of fifteen I would have loved to have had this costume. Though realistically, I could never have squeeze into a large-sized costume (let alone the medium I now have in my possession), I would have testes that vinyl by giving it a shot "back in the day."

Of course back in 1985, when costumes were much less expensive, $5 was a lot of money...

Oh, what treasures lurk in the teachers' lounge!