Sure, we were all psyched about the commercials before last weekend’s Super Bowl, but will any of them spawn Emmy Award-winning TV specials? The California Raisins, which began as a 1986 commercial on behalf of the California Raisin Advisory Board, did just that in the late 1980s. Here’s a look back at their most memorable moments.

“I Heard it Through the Grapevine”

Done in the styling of Mr. Michael Jackson. This version of the song even made it onto Billboard‘s Hot 100 list, peaking at #84 in 1988.

Meet the Raisins!

On November 4, 1988, the Raisins made their primetime debut in this spoof on standard musical documentaries. The show follows the group’s humble beginnings, rise to success, fall from stardom, and eventual comeback.

A Claymation Christmas Celebration

The Raisins appeared in this Emmy Award-winning special singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Show Opener

In 1989, the Raisins got their own animated television show. It only lasted 13 episodes.

Unwrapped

In 2002, the Food Network show Unwrapped featured a segment on the California Raisins. Watch this for a look back at how the advertising phenomenon grew to have a worldwide fan base.

Famous Fans

Even Ray Charles wanted a piece of the California Raisins in this memorable commercial.

If you, like me, learned everything you know about football from Friday Night Lights (the TV series, not the movie. Duh.), you probably watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. Whether it was famous frogs, talking babies, thirsty supermodels or something a little more outrageous, advertising during the big game has become almost as relevant as the football. Here’s six of our favorite classic Super Bowl ads. Did we forget yours? Tell us in the comments.

1973

In 1973, Master Lock ran a famous ad where one of their locks survived being shot by a sharpshooter. For years, the company continued the tradition and ran a similar ad, spending almost the entire annual marketing budget on the single commercial.

1992

Remember this iconic Pepsi commercial starring supermodel Cindy Crawford?

1993

Michael Jordan plays horse with Larry Bird for a Big Mac.

1995

The Budweiser frogs—named “Bud,” “Weis” and “Er”—appeared in one of the most famous advertising campaigns in the history of the alcohol industry. This commercial was directed by Gore Verbinski, who also directed the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films.

2010

Voiced by comedian Pete Holmes, the E-Trade Baby has become so popular that Lindsay Lohan sued the company for supposedly naming a character after her.

2012

Already a hit, Matthew Broderick spoofs Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in this Honda commercial, which will debut on Sunday.

And if you missed it yesterday, Chris Higgins dissected one of the most famous ads of all time — Apple’s “1984.”

Twenty-eight years ago, the recently departed Steve Jobs unveiled the first Macintosh computer. It was the first personal computer to utilize a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a command-line interface, making it accessible to the masses. It was the most successful personal computer in history and, as we all know, Apple became a technological super-power. Today, we take a look back at some of Apple’s unique and notable commercials.

1984

This is the very first Apple commercial. Is it just me or is this a little unsettling?

Think different.

Perhaps the most famous of all Apple’s advertisements, this promotion took on a deeper meaning after the death of Steve Jobs.

Mashup

Here’s a collection of almost all of Apple’s commercials over the last decade or so. (Totally worth 10 minutes of viewing!)

Mac vs. PC

“Are you a Mac or a PC?” became a common questions in households all over America.

iPod

These icon commercials became synonymous with the Apple brand and were often spoofed in popular culture.

iPad

This ad originally aired during the 2012 2010 Oscars.

Did you know that the original idea for K’Nex came from a guy playing with drinking straws at a wedding? Later, the company was turned down by major toy corporations and LEGO before being picked up by TOMY and becoming one of the most fun ways to pass the time—for kids and adults. Here, check out some of the coolest machines—and other wacky inventions—created using only K’Nex.

1. Metropolis

Using almost 30,000 pieces, this tower, reaching 2.4 meters into the air, took almost a full year to complete.

2. Project Cyclone

Using more than 80 feet of track, this construction stands seven and a half feet tall.

3. K’Nex Computer

Moving away from simply cool buildings, this creation can do complicated math formulas, making it smarter than me.

4. Lawnmower

This K’Nex project is fully functional. Maybe I would’ve been more excited for chores if I got to use this for yardwork!

5. Chainsaw

Is this more or less terrifying than an actual chainsaw?

6. Optimus Prime

Just plain cool.

More from mental_floss…

119 Amazing Facts for National Trivia Day
*
The Easter Island “Heads” Have Bodies
*
Indiana Once Tried to Change Pi to 3.2
*
When the Car Radio Was Introduced, People Freaked Out
*
11 Sounds Your Kids Have Probably Never Heard
*
10 Facebook Status Updates Gone Horribly Wrong
*
16 Movie Sequels Nobody Has Ever Heard Of

Today in 1959, the United States officially welcomed Alaska as the 49th state. Some Alaska fun facts: Alaska was purchased for $7.2 million in 1867. The state has a longer coastline than all the other U.S. states combined. The first big-box store, a Wal-Mart, opened in Alaska in 1993, which helped reduce the otherwise exorbitant cost of living. Happy anniversary, Alaska! Here are six songs about the biggest U.S. state.

“Anchorage” by Michelle Shocked

In this single from 1988′s Short Sharp Shocked, the narrator writes to an old friend, who has moved from Texas to Anchorage.

“Alaska and Me” by John Denver

I see absolutely no good reason why this jaunty number isn’t the state song of Alaska.

“Stephanie Says” by Velvet Underground

Though it was originally recorded in 1968, this tune wasn’t released until 1985. You may recognize it from The Royal Tennenbaums.

“When It’s Springtime in Alaska” by Johnny Horton

This 1959 single was the first of three number-one hits for famed country singer Johnny Horton.

“Road to Alaska” by the Bee Gees

A rock song off the “To Whom It May Concern” album from 1972, this song is about running to Alaska, “nowhere near Nebraska.”

“The Prince William Sound” by David Dondero

This tune by American songwriter David Dondero romanticizes the “sound” of the Prince William Sound, located off the Gulf of Alaska.

Below, you will find A Muppet Family Christmas in its entirety. This film, which features the Muppets, the Sesame Street gang and the Fraggles, is my favorite holiday movie in the whole entire world. The one-hour TV special originally ran on ABC in 1987 and for years, I would drag out my taped-from-TV VHS tape and watch the show (complete with old-school commercials) until I literally wore a hole in the tape. In the movie, the whole gang surprises Fozzie Bear’s mother at her home in the country. Doc and his dog Sprocket—from Fraggle Rock—end up joining the Muppets in their holiday activities. It’s awesome. Trust me.

Something almost as fun — the commercials!

13 Nostalgia-Heavy Commercials To Make You Pine For 1987—including Croonchy Stars, The Halls of Medicine, The Lego Maniac, Mr. Belvedere promos, a toned-down Dick Vitale, and Definitely Dinosaurs (“Scared ya, didn’t I!”).

I love Saved by the Bell more than is probably reasonable for a grown woman. (Need evidence? Click here and here.) One of my favorite things about the show was always its impromptu and unexplained musical numbers. Here are six moments when the gang from Bayside song burst into song.

Hot Fudge Sundaes

In perhaps the most memorable (and mocked) episode of SBTB, Jessie, Kelly and Lisa form an all-girl group called Hot Sundaes. Then Jessie gets hooked on caffeine pills to balance her busy schedule and, well, you know the rest …

The Five Aces

The gang performs at a ’50s-themed dance. Here they are practicing. To see the actual performance, click here. (Totally worth it.)

The School Song

After the student body turns on Zack for rigging the contest to write a new school song, Screech’s terrible entry wins. Fortunately, his pals help out with some revisions.

The Glee Club

In this episode the gang backs Screech’s gal pal Violet Bickerstaff (played by Tori Spelling) as she solos in the choir. Also in this episode: a very young, pre-Party of Five Scott Wolf.

Friends Forever

In a totally over-the-top dream sequence episode, Zack envisions his friends as a successful band, Zack Attack. Their hit song “Friends Forever” makes them famous. Their rock star status tears them apart.

Zack and Kelly’s Break Up Song

While the show’s quintessential couple is ending their relationship, their friends are singing “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?”

While in costume.

Today is the 333rd day of the year! Here are six—that’s three times two for those without a calculator—songs with the number three in the title.

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

This Meatloaf song was on his 1977 album Bat out of Hell, written by Jim Steinman. Steinman wrote this song after being instructed to write something simple—like Elvis would sing.

Three Times a Lady

This 1978 song by the Commodores is really cool. But not nearly as cool as Lionel Richie’s bedazzled jumpsuit in this video.

Song of Three

This Sesame Street classic aired during the show’s first season in 1969. Jim Henson produced and directed a series of live-action short films teaching numbers.

Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)

This Arcade Fire song was written by Win Butler and his wife Régine Chassagne with former bandmate Josh Deu. The song takes place in Montreal during the North American ice storm of 1998, which left the city in darkness for more than a week.

Three Is A Magic Number

Schoolhouse Rock first aired this video in 1973.

Three Little Birds

The origin of this Bob Marley song is highly disputed. Marley’s friend Tony Gilbert claims it was written about a trio of canaries while three female singers from the reggae group I Threes who did shows with Marley claim it is a reference to them.

Our Thanksgiving gift to you: Six videos of dogs and turkeys. You’re welcome.

Scaredy … dog?

This turkey-stealing gives new meaning to the phrase “free range.”

Dexter loves his frozen turkey so much that he wants to sleep with it. Literally.

Margaret the Bulldog had a bad Thanksgiving—no turkey and she was in heat!

This Chihuahua loves turkey so much, he’s willing to fight for it!

Uh-oh … looks no leftovers for this family.

More from mental_floss…

11 Soldiers Welcomed Home by Very Happy Dogs
*
Free Bird: The History of Presidential Turkey Pardoning
*
Happy Franksgiving: Why FDR Rescheduled Turkey Day
*
The Best and Worst Political Campaign Songs (But Mostly the Worst)
*
Andrew Jackson’s Big Block of Cheese

There’s been a lot of talk about college sports lately thanks to the tragic scandal at Penn State University. This has had me thinking a lot about what sports mean to a school. One of the things I’ve always loved about college (and high school) games is the halftime show featuring the marching band. Here’s six of my favorite college fight songs. What’s yours?

Michigan

Louis Elbel wrote “The Victors” in 1898 following a last-minute win over the University of Chicago to win the Western Conference championship.

Notre Dame

Written by the Shea brothers in 1904, this famous fight song has been featured The Simpsons, Airplane! and Rudy.

Alabama

“Yea, Alabama,” created through a contest held by The Rammer-Jammer newspaper, was written in celebration of the 1926 Rose Bowl victory over Washington.

Georgetown

This song is actually a combination of three different tunes—”The Touchdown Song,” “Cheer for Victory,” and “The Hoya Song”—that were joined to create “There Goes Old Georgetown.”

Harvard

“Ten Thousand Men of Harvard,” written in 1918 by A. Putnam, is taught to Harvard freshmen in the first few weeks on campus at an annual gathering where the marching band parades across Harvard Yard.

Columbia

Written in 1923 by Columbia students Corey Ford and Roy Webb, this tune is rumored to have inspired then-MGM publicity director Howard Dietz to use a lion as the company’s mascot.