On February 24, 2010 we were thrilled to find one of those plastic toys. We named him "Diver Mike."
On March 19, 2016, some six years later, it was a stunner to find another Frogman, this time on La Selva Beach just south of Santa Cruz.
Six years have passed since that first find and in Internet years in terms online information available, that means exponential.
The three figure have now been identified as the Torch Man (red), the Obstacles Scout (green) and the Demolition Expert (yellow).
The 1950's era TV advertisement is now available:
and there is a spread of the cereal box showing detailed instructions:
As Kellogg's cajoles, collect 'em all. We will some day complete our trifecta collection. We are on the lookout for the Demolition Expert.
In 2008 we met Michael Stocker at the Environmental Grant Makers Conference held at Asilomar in Monterey (100+ miles south from our home in Forest Knolls). He was presenting his information about noise pollution in the marine environment—a grave threat to sea creatures as the ocean depths become ever more militarized and industrialized by the likes of "Diver Mike". Marine life communicates by sound and as the ocean gets ever more noisy crucial connections between creatures are lost in the cacophony. "Hey, Michael, where do you live?, we ask. Turns out Mr. Stocker lives just across the road in Forest Knolls. He's been our great pal since then. Have a look at his efforts to ease the burden of the clanking, gear shifting, explosion testing of the "Diver Mikes" of the deep: Ocean Conservation Research