Uncanny Finds -- Dippy Canoes

Anyone who has followed this blog for a while knows I have a soft spot for vintage food containers, particularly those of bygone products.  I found this can in the basement of an estate sale home this morning.

From the aisle of misfit groceries comes this racially insensitive can of extruded corn in the shape of canoes, otherwise known as "Dippy Canoes".

The name is a play on the famous Battle of Tippecanoe in which Indiana Governor (and later, 9th president) William Henry Harrison battled Native Americans who had formed a confederacy to oppose U.S. expansion into Native American territory.  The Native Americans lost, of course, and to add insult to injury, 150 years later Quaker Oats would name a snack food after their defeat and feature a stereotypical caricature of one of their own.  Harrison only survived 30 days of his presidential term before succumbing to typhoid, so I guess that was some consolation to the Native Americans.

The Quaker Nibble Division must not have lasted too long.  I only found one 1967 reference to it.

Unfortunately, the previous owner had gotten some paint overspray on the back of the container ruining (or perhaps sparing us) the imagery on the back.

Big Chief Dippy Canoe

His Son Black Cloud

The text on the can reads, "A NEW NIBBLE! From the land of the tepee and the totem pole (editors note: a land which never existed, of course, since those two items were of two entirely different cultures.) comes a great new snack ---DIPPY CANOES. Roasted golden corn...Indian Roasted Corn...gives Dippy Canoes a taste you'll find unforgettable."

Again, from the can: "DIPPY CANOES AND DIPS. How convenient! A crunchy snack that's all scooped out for scoopin' up your favorite dip. That's DIPPY CANOES -- heap good with dips!"

And what exactly made up Dippy Canoes?  From the ingredients: Degerminated yellow corn meal and corn flour, vegetable oil, oat flour, salt, sugar, soda, certified artificial color and BHA to preserve freshness".  That's about 50 ingredients short of today's snack treats.

"You'll find it hard to tear yourself away from DIPPY CANOES -- but you must! Because Quaker's Nibble Division has two other taste treats you shouldn't pass up."

The other "taste treats" are Salty Surfers:

"SALTY SURFERS -- A great snack inspired by the roaring surf. SALTY SURFERS are crunchy little surfboards of corn spiced up with the salty tang of the open sea...a taste that'll keep you coming back for more."

and...

"CORN SKIS -- A revolutionary snack, curved like the runners of a sled...crispy corn, flavored with two kinds of cheese. CORN SKIS, the nibble that escaped from Siberia."

10 cents off an entire carton of Fresca.

Finally, enjoy this commercial for Dippy Canoes featuring two decidedly non-Native Americans portraying "Big Chief Dippy Canoe" and his son "Black Cloud".  At least it has some hip music.