Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Collectible of the Week: 2-XL (Mego Corp; 1978)


2-XL is a “robot with a personality” manufactured and released by Mego Corp. in 1978.  This small robot is an “electronic toy” and “comes complete with 8-track cartridge, instruction, and game booklet.”

On the box, 2-XL is described as:

THE TALKING ROBOT THAT WILL

Tell Jokes
Ask you True-False Questions
Ask you multiple-choice questions.
Tell you if you are right or wrong.
Give you the correct answer.
Give you more information on different subjects.
Play games with you and your friends.
Play standard 8-track cartridges as well as 2-XL Cartridges.





A whole range of “additional 2-XL tapes” were also available at local toy stores of the day including.

Sports: “For the sports fan in the family, 2-XL sports tape is programmed for exciting questions, jokes, riddles on all sports, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, water sports, etc. Test your knowledge against the coach, ‘Uncle Brainy.’”

Games and Puzzles: “A tape of funny and challenging games and puzzles for the entire family complete with game book. Various levels of difficulty. Great for parties or those rainy days.”

Guinness Book of World Records: “What was the longest frankfurter ever made?  Who was the shortest woman who ever lived?  What was the world’s hopscotch record? Hundreds of challenging questions from the Guinness Book of World Record for hours of fun.

Science Fiction: “For science fiction, Superhero lovers.  Includes jokes, facts on fictional characters, superheroes, and famous science fiction characters.”

Metric System/Education: “2-XL introduces your family to the Metric System. In his own special way, 2-XL ‘educates’ and amuses as he translates the metric system into ‘English.’ A must tape for all members of the family before those speedometers change to kilometers.  And square yards into square meters.”

Interviews with Great People from History: “Did you ever chat with Alexander the Great, or Daniel Boone? Let 2-XL introduce you to the great personalities of history in the most fascinating Talk Show ever.”

Monsters, Myths and Legends: On the trail of Bigfoot, Dracula and Frankenstein, 2-XL encounters the scariest monsters of all time. It’s spine-tingling adventures ahead in our ghostly gallery of myths and legends.”
50’s and 60’s Nostalgia: 2-XL turns back the clock to the fabulous fifties and sixties as he tests your knowledge of intriguing trivia – Elvis, the Beatles, the Brooklyn Dodgers and Gunsmoke to name a few.”

Other cassettes included Astronomy/2-XL in Space, Believe This or Not, Adult Games and Puzzles, Animal World, Storyland: 2-XL and the Time Machine, U.S. Presidents and American History and The Basics of ABC’s.

The wondrous and boxy 2-XL, who came equipped with a voice that sounds like Lou Costello’s, was re-modeled in the 1980s to be less boxy, and somehow less fun.

Below you’ll find TV commercials for 2-XL in both of his incarnations. 




1 comment:

  1. I loved this guy. He may have been a glorified 8 track tape player, but he was MY glorified 8 track tape player.

    ReplyDelete

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