# What's the word? Thunderbird!



## jswordy (Apr 1, 2015)

Nice little historical piece in "Modern Drunkard" Magazine...

http://www.drunkard.com/issues/59/59-thunderbird-is-the-word.html


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## sour_grapes (Apr 1, 2015)

Nice article! My father used to recite the Thunderbird jingle to us as children. We knew our responses. Imagine this fine domestic tableau:

Daddy: "What's the word?"
6 kids: "Thunderbird!"
Daddy: "What's the price?"
6 kids: "20 twice!" (That is what I remember, anyway. The article you referenced cited "30 twice." Maybe I am mistaken, or maybe there was a price hike in the meantime!)

Perhaps we recited the other phrases that were mentioned in the article as being part of the ad , but I don't recall them; as the youngest, I may have been too young.


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## Rocky (Apr 2, 2015)

This brings back a lot of memories. In Pittsburgh in the late 1950's it was "What's the price? Fifty twice minus 1 makes 99 cents a full quart. What's the reason? Grapes in season!"


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## vernsgal (Apr 2, 2015)

sour_grapes said:


> Nice article! My father used to recite the Thunderbird jingle to us as children. We knew our responses. Imagine this fine domestic tableau:
> 
> Daddy: "What's the word?"
> 6 kids: "Thunderbird!"
> ...



Or too old to remember


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## JohnT (Apr 2, 2015)

An American classic????

Oh dear Lord.....


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## Rocky (Apr 2, 2015)

I am a firm believer in always following the money. It was not so much a "classic" as a wise economical choice back in the 50's. For example, a six pack of Iron City (lovingly called "Iron Stomach") was about a buck. That would give you 72 ounces of liquid at about 4% alcohol or something under 3 ounces of alcohol. Contrast this with a 32 ounce ("full quart") of The Bird, at 20% ABV giving you about 6.4 ounces of alcohol, or more than twice as much for about the same price. With this in mind, and subscribing to the theory that "flowers and candy are nice, but liquor is quicker!" the choice was simple.


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