Editing specially marked

{{sbenav}}
[[Image:Sbemail194.png|thumb|"Watch out for cereals with anything grown in Iowa in the name!"]]
Strong Bad educates us on the free toys found in cereal boxes.

'''Cast (in order of appearance):''' {{film|Strong Bad}}, {{film|The Cheat}}, {{film|Homestar Runner}}

'''Places:''' [[Computer Room]], [[Strong Badia]] ([[Riverquest Safariventure]]), [[Marzipan's House]]

{{Comp|Lappy 486}}

'''Date:''' Monday, April 21, 2008

'''Running Time:''' 3:08

'''Page Title:''' Lappy 486

{{dvd|strongbad_email.exe Disc Six}}, {{dvd|Sbemails' 50 Greatest Hits DVD|notitle=true}}

==Transcript==
'''STRONG BAD:''' ''{singing}'' If everybody in the world checked their email, the Internet would probably break.

<blockquote class="lappy email">
<div>subject: cerial box toys</div>
Hey ho, Strongbad.<br>
What kind of free toys would you put in specially marked<br>
cerial boxes?<br>
PB<br>
Over the hills<br>
</blockquote>

''{Strong Bad reads 'Hey ho, Strongbad' as 'Hey! Ho! Strongbad!' (as if it was from "[[Wikipedia:Blitzkrieg Bop|Blitzkrieg Bop]]", [[specially marked#Real-World References|see below]]) and 'cerial' as 'keh-ree-al'.}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' ''{typing}'' Ooh, I'm glad you asked Problem Brian. I've been wanting to give specially marked boxes of cereal a specially marked piece of my mind for some time now.

''{A dotted-line circle appears near the top of Strong Bad's head. Two lines appear, going from the circle to a new circle, this time larger and in front of Strong Bad's head. In the bigger circle, there is a picture of Strong Bad's brain.}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' I choose...this piece.

''{An arrow points to a spot on the left side of Strong Bad's brain. He clears the screen, and the circles disappear.}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' ''{typing}'' Well before you get the toys inside, you first have to navigate the treacherous, jaggedy rock filled class 5 rapids of specially marked cereal box fake outs! Luckily, I'm a lame sandal wearing hippie with a ponytail that's been down these rapids with groups of tourists many times!

''{Cuts to Strong Badia, where Strong Bad and The Cheat, wearing a ponytail and a helmet, respectively, are in the 'Riverquest Safariventure' box, with a hose running in front of it.}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' Okay guys, I'm gonna need everybody to lean hard to the right! ''{Strong Bad pulls out some sort of microphone and makes a clicking noise}''

''{Cut to Marzipan's kitchen. Strong Bad walks in from the right.}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' The first hazard to watch out for are cereals that include anything grown in Iowa in the name. You know...

''{Music starts to play in the background.}''

''{As Strong Bad says the items, boxes of Corn Krunch, Wheat Chaff, Oh T'meel, Cripsy<!-- sic --> Hog Crunchities, and Fundament-o's appear, in that order.}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' ...corn, wheat, oats, hogs, fundamentally-sound college basketball players. Please do stay away from these. Those cereals only ever put fitness-related crap in specially marked boxes. 

''{A picture of a step counter appears against a blue background. In flashing letters on the bottom, it says "One Free Takesteppa<sup>TM</sup> Step Take Monitor!"}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' ''{Sarcastic voiceover}'' Oh, great! I can count how many steps I took today!

''{A picture of a defibrillator appears on-screen. At the top of the screen, it reads "Clear?! One Free<sup>TM</sup> Defib Kit Inside!"}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' ''{Sarcastic voiceover}'' Fantastic! I can restart my heart if it stops!

''{Cut back to Marzipan's kitchen, where Strong Bad's face is on a box of 'Hypothetic-O's'.}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' ''{on the box}'' What you do want to look for are cereals with sound effects in the name.

''{The box flies off-screen. When Strong Bad names the sound effects, boxes of Fruit Smax, Chocolate Breakfast Candy Bar Pops, Soundy Puffs, Blue Laser Blasts, and Sugar Rittled Gunshots in a Crowded Mall appear in order.}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' ''{voiceover}'' Smacks, pops, puffs, blasts, and, um, gunshots in a crowded mall.

''{Cut to Strong Bad standing in the kitchen. X, explosion, boxing glove, square, shoe, and [[Marshie]] shaped marshmallows appear around him.}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' You know, the kind with the squarish, sugared pieces of styrofoam they claim are marshmallows. These are guaranteed to have a nice, big{{--}}

''{Cut to a dirty Strong Bad hand reaching in the box of Cheat Commandos...O's}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' {{--}}reach-your-nasty-unwashed-hand-straight-to-the-bottom-of-the-box toy in it.

''{Strong Bad pulls out a [[Ser-g-geant Marshie]] figure in its blister pack}''

''{Cut to Strong Bad standing in the kitchen with a box of Fruit Smax on the table.}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' Next up are the three most useless letters in the specially marked alphabet. 

''{Zoom to Strong Bad's mouth}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' U...P...C. 

''{Cut back to Strong Bad standing.}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' If you spot these wastes of serif on a cereal box, 

''{Cut to a bar code}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' turn and run as fast as you can. 

''{Cut back to Strong Bad standing.}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' This means not only are they gonna make you buy ''{six more boxes of Fruit Smax appear}'' several more boxes that you have to cut the bar codes off of, but you're also gonna{{--}}

''{Cut to a close shot of a Cereal Flakes box. Above, the red text reads "FREE PLUSH CEREAL BOX" and the black text reads "WITH 25 PROOFS OF PURCHASE AND $15 SHIPPING AND HANDLING"}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' {{--}}have to involve your mom so she can write a check for the shipping and handling if she's back from Vegas! 

''{Record scratch. Cut back to Strong Bad standing, talking angrily}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' The nerve of those cereals! You leave my mom ''{slams fist on the table}'' out of this!

''{Screen changes, there is now a box of Cheat Commandos...O's on the desk.}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' Some cereals can't even be bothered with a toy at all. 

''{Cut to the box}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' They try and pass off the back of the box{{--}}

''{Box flips, revealing a cutout of Crack Stuntman's head, with holes at the sides so that it can be made into a mask. On the top left are scissors indicating that it can be cut out and the words "snip snip".}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' {{--}}as some kind of prize. ''{Zoom in on the mask}'' That dotted line you expect me to cut along is like a toyless slap in my face! Masks, 

''{The image of Crack's face becomes a maze. [[Gunhaver]] appears in the bottom left at the maze's entrance, with a caption reading "Help! I'm lost!"}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' mazes, 

''{The top part of the maze becomes a word search, most of which consists of uncommon letters, like "Q", while the words "'''BUY MORE CEREAL'''" appear in bold. [[Reynold]] is seen on the upper right, with a caption reading "Find 3 words!"}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' word searches, PAH! 

''{Throws box, cut back to Strong Bad standing}'' 

'''STRONG BAD:''' I know the kind of kids that enjoyed these funtivities on the backs of cereal boxes, and let me tell you, they were real easy to beat up.

''{Homestar Runner walks in wearing a Crack Stuntman mask.}''

'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' Blah, Strong Bad, blah! I'm a crappy Stuntman!

'''STRONG BAD:''' You know what kind of toys I'd put in specially marked boxes?

'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' Yes.

''{Zoom in on Strong Bad}''

'''STRONG BAD:''' Anything ''{Reaches into a cereal box}'' heavy and pointy enough ''{Zoom in on box}'' to do lasting damage to the face.

''{Zooms out as Strong Bad takes out a chainsaw-car and throws it at Homestar, knocking him backwards onto the floor.}''

'''HOMESTAR RUNNER:''' Wahhhh! Strong Bad, while I'm down here, can you help me finish this word search? I can't find 'dextrose-flavornoids'.

''{[[New Paper]] comes down}''

==Easter Eggs==
*Click the words "Problem Brian" to see the book by [[Lem Sportsinterviews#Beverly Sportsinterviews|Bev Sportsinterviews]].
*Click on Homestar's foot at the end to see a [[printable]] [[Crack Stuntman]] mask.
*Click on Strong Bad's head at the end to see [[Breakfast Cereals from Specially Marked|all the cereal boxes shown in the email]].

==Fun Facts==
===Explanations===
*[[Wikipedia:Whitewater#Classification of whitewater|Class 5 rapids]] have rocks, waves and possibly a steep drop, requiring advanced rafting experience.  It is the second highest of the six whitewater classifications.
*The UPC, or [[Wikipedia:Universal Product Code|Universal Product Code]], is a type of [[Wikipedia:barcode|barcode]] that is used to track the movement of store products.
*[[Wikipedia:Chaff|Chaff]] is material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds.
*Dextrose is a simple sugar (specifically, the metabolizable form of [[Wikipedia:Glucose|glucose]]).  It is the primary means of energy for living things.
*"Flavornoid" may be a [[portmanteau]] of flavor and [[Wikipedia:Flavonoid|flavonoid]], a member of a group of substances found in many plants and plant-based foods with anti-oxidant properties.
*A [[Wikipedia:defibrillator|defibrillator]] is a device used to restart someone's heart to a regular heartbeat when it goes into cardiac arrest (a common cause of death where the heart fails to beat correctly).

===Trivia===
*The pedometer reads "EVERY STEP U TAKE: 12 STEPS".
*The Cheat Commandos O's box now has Fightgar saying "Those still aren't O's!", similar to Fightgar's comment "Those aren't O's!" on the box in [[Cheat Commandos...O's]].
*The UPC text reads "UPC FUNZONE | Collect them all!", and the UPC number is "566353 0453080", which represents [http://www.upcdatabase.com/coupon.asp?upc=0566353045308 a generic, $0.30 coupon].
*The summary of the [[Podstar Runner]] RSS feed reads, "Strong Bad gives specially marked boxes of cereal a piece of his mind."
*Factoring in Easter eggs, this is the shortest email of the Lappy era that is hosted on the site.
*The [[YouTube]] description for this email is "Strong Bad complains about the different types of toys that come in cereal boxes. Hey, maybe give this one a chance! It might be funny!"

=== Remarks ===
*The box where Strong Bad takes out the Marshie action figure is the same box that was too lazy to put any toy inside.
**It's also the same figurine which was offered "free" (but actually costing five dollars plus shipping and handling) with proofs of purchase in [[Cheat Commandos...O's]].
*When Strong Bad reaches into the box to get the toy Marshie, his arm is longer than usual.
*Strong Bad says that the UPCs are "wastes of [[Wikipedia:Serif|serif]]"; however, the UPC shown on the cereal box does not contain serifs.
*Strong Bad does not consider that [[Wikipedia:Corn Pops|Corn Pops]] have both something grown in Iowa and an action word in their name.

===Fixed Glitches===
*The week of the Podcast's release, attempting to update the Podcast on iTunes would only bring up the message, "'Strong Bad Email' does not seem to be a valid podcast URL."  The feed was not repaired until September 10, 2008.

=== Goofs ===
*The "Problem Brian" Easter egg is still clickable when hidden by the closeup of Strong Bad's brain.
*Strong Bad's hair doesn't move in sync with his head in the Riverquest Safariventure scene.
*There is a layering problem with the milk on the Cheat Commandos...O's box that makes it look as though the milk is behind the back of the bowl. See [[Cheat Commandos...O's]] for the way it should be.
*The Email Strong Bad and Back buttons at the end of the email are still clickable when hidden by the Crack Stuntman mask's background in the Easter egg.

=== Inside References ===
*The chainsaw car is from [[what i want]].
*Strong Bad's ponytail was first seen in [[bike thief]] as part of his college student persona.
*Strong Bad taking The Cheat on a Riverquest Safariventure tour and making microphone click noises calls back to [[theme park]], in which he did the same with Homestar.
*The walking man on the step counter is from [[50K Racewalker]].
*Corn Krunch was previously seen in [[death metal]], where it contained a full-size alto saxophone (contradicting Strong Bad's claims in this email).
*Strong Bad pulls a [[Ser-g-geant Marshie]] toy out of the box of Cheat Commandos...O's.
**Also, one of the "squarish, sugary pieces of styrofoam" marshmallows is shaped like [[Marshie]] himself.
*This toon prominently features [[Breakfast Cereal|cereal]].
*Strong Bad says to "leave [his] [[parents|mom]] out of this."
*The UPC says "[[technology|OBOE SHOES]]" and [[EGGS]] upside down.
*"Iowa Groan", "Oh! T'Meel" and "New Tritious" are all [[homophones]].

=== Real-World References ===
[[Image:SBbrain.PNG|150px|thumb|Strong Bad's brain]]
*The opening of the email, "Hey, ho, Strong Bad," is said in a way reminiscent of "{{w|Blitzkrieg Bop}}" by the [[Ramones]]. The song's chant was previously parodied in [[The House That Gave Sucky Treats]], in which [[Marzipan]] [[The House That Gave Sucky Treats Costumes|dressed up as]] {{w|Joey Ramone}}.
* Strong Bad's [[brain]] is based on the second form of the final boss in the [[Nintendo#Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)|Super Nintendo]] game ''{{w|Contra III: The Alien Wars}}''.
* The Fundament-O's box resembles cereal brands like {{w|Wheaties}}, known for {{w|List of athletes on Wheaties boxes|featuring prominent athletes on the box}}.
**It is also a reference to [https://cereal.fandom.com/wiki/Wheaties_Dunk-A-Balls Wheaties Dunk-A-Balls], a basketball-shaped cereal from 1993.
* The 'One Free Takesteppa Step Take Monitor!' is a reference to {{w|pedometers}} that have been included free in boxes of certain healthy cereals.
*"Every step U take" is a line from the song "{{w|Every Breath You Take}}" by {{w|The Police}}.
*"Pops" and "Smacks" are specifically referring to two Kellogg's cereals. {{w|Corn Pops}} were introduced in 1951, and {{w|Honey Smacks}} were introduced in 1953. Coincidentally, Kellogg's dropped "Corn" and "Honey" from their brand names at various points and simply referred to them as "Pops" and "Smacks".

==DVD Version==
{{commentary|email=true}}
=== Commentary Transcript ===
('''Commentary by:''' [[Matt Chapman]], [[Mike Chapman]])

'''MATT:''' I don't eat enough cereal anymore, Mike.

'''MIKE:''' I've made a conscious effort to try to eat more, Golden Grahams being my main...

'''MATT:''' Yeah?

'''MIKE:''' Yeah. ''{pause}'' There was one day where they had, uh, Golden Grahams on sale...

'''MATT:''' Yeah?

'''MIKE:''' And so I bought four boxes...

'''MATT:''' Yeah?

'''MIKE:''' And I realized... I was wearing my Golden Grahams shirt. ''{both laugh}'' So I walked up to the checkout counter with four boxes of Golden Grahams, wearing a Golden Grahams shirt, and I was a pretty cool guy.

'''MATT:''' Nice!

'''MIKE:''' I used to have a Blimpie shirt that I would accidentally wear when I would go to Blimpie ''{muffled by Matt laughing}'' in college, and always feel like a dork.

'''MATT:''' Good job! ''{pause}'' Uh, I like Strong Bad's end boss brain he had there.

'''MIKE:''' I didn't see it! What...

'''MATT:''' Piece of his mind, I think he says.

'''MIKE:''' ''{simultaneously}'' Oh, yeah, that's right. Yeah.

'''MATT:''' And he has a gross eyeball and some horns...

'''MIKE:''' ''{laughs}''

''{Mike and Matt talk over each other, pause}''

'''MATT:''' ''{in response to Riverquest Safariventure}'' Ohhh.

'''MIKE:''' Do you remember... My two favorite cereals growing up were Halfsies...

'''MATT:''' Uh-huh.

'''MIKE:''' ...which don't exist anymore...

'''MATT:''' No.

'''MIKE:''' ...and, uh, Bigg Mixx, which doesn't exist anymore.

'''MATT:''' Bigg Mixx, that had the, what was it called? Chicken... wolf...

'''MIKE:''' ''{simultaneously}'' Chicken-wolf Moose-pig.

'''MATT:''' Yeah. Did he have a name, or was he just called the Chicken-wolf Moose-pig?

'''MIKE:''' I think he was just called the Chicken-wolf Moose-pig.

'''MATT:''' I remember one of the things you got in specially marked boxes of Bigg Mixx was this-- Ooh! Look at that Videlectrix...

'''MIKE:''' ''{laughing}'' Pedometer?

'''MATT:''' Yeah. Um... Sorry. But it came with, like, tape, like, police tape, that said, uh, Chicken-wolf Moose-pig Crossing on it, or something.

'''MIKE:''' ''{talking over Matt}'' Really? Wow. I have to see if I can find some of that.

'''MATT:''' I like that little Gunshot, uh...

'''MIKE:''' Sheriff?

'''MATT:''' Sheriff. He's a thing of puffed wheat or shredded wheat, maybe.

'''MIKE:''' ''{laughing}'' Looks like Strong Bad's arm is a little longer than usual, reaching down into that box.

'''MATT:''' It's alright, man. ''{pause}'' Mike?

'''MIKE:''' Yeah?

'''MATT:''' There you go. ''{long pause}'' C'mon. Talk.

'''MIKE:''' Uh... Ssss.... Uh...

'''MATT:''' Flakes! Awful good cereal flakes, Miss McDunnough!

'''MIKE:''' ''{simultaneously}'' I would like to have... ''{laughs, lets Matt finish}'' I would like to have a little, um, plush of that cereal... piece of cereal.

'''MATT:''' Oh, yeah! It...

'''MIKE:''' We should make one of those.

'''MATT:''' Yeah. Little flake?

'''MIKE:''' ''{chuckling}'' Uh-huh.

'''MATT:''' ''{as Crack Stuntman}'' BLAAAH! ''{as himself}'' Huh? I do that voice.

'''MIKE:''' ''{reading box}'' Snip Snip!

'''MATT:''' ''{laughs}'' Uh, I need, uh, my hair... My hair needs a clippin'. Snip snip. That was maybe the easiest word find I've ever seen, Mike. Where every other...

'''MIKE:''' Word finds...

'''MATT:''' ...every other letter was Q... ''{Mike laughs}'' ...except for the one...

'''MIKE:''' Do you ever see people at the airport doin' a word find? A book of word searches?

'''MATT:''' Yeah! My wife does them on the plane. So stop makin' fun.

'''MIKE:''' ''{laughs}'' Where is... Where is the fun in a word search?

'''MATT:''' ''{indignantly}'' It's fun. ''{both laugh}'' Wait, what is that one called? I forget what that last kind of cereal is called.

'''MIKE:''' ''{laughing}'' Sweet Deals?

'''MATT:''' ''{laughing}'' Sweet Deals? And it just has an alien hand holding a spoon...

'''MIKE:''' ''{laughing}'' Yeah, I spent four seconds on that... that box of cereal.

'''MATT:''' You made, like, twelve different cereals! ''{continues unintelligibly}''

'''MIKE:''' I had to give up at some point. ''{Matt laughs}''

{{dvdproofread}}

==External Links==
{{sbemailextlinks|194|13929|youtube=TrSgHAIqIkQ}}

{{Strong Bad Email}}
[[Category:Podstar Runner]]