On July 4, 2019, the third season of Netflix's Stranger Things dropped. Stranger Things is a sci-fi horror series that is chocked full of 1980s pop culture nostalgia and references for of those of us of a certain age.

This season begins in June 1984 but most of the action takes place from June to October 1985. In the first episode, Suzi, Do You Copy?, Winona Ryder's character, Joyce Byers, comes home and finds that her two sons are not home. She microwaves a solitary meal of Stouffer's lasagna and peas before settling in to watch Cheers. Prominantly featured on the counter are two embossed ceramic Merry Mushrooms canisters. There was a spike in interest in our favorite fungi around that time. Coincidence?

Wonder if Stouffer's experienced the same surge in attention.

It may be from October 2014, but it demonstrates the passion we Merry Mushroomers have for our favorite retro kitchenware. I love hearing that clink of the canister lids!

None other than the enigmatic Ms. Dana Barrett in the original Ghostbusters (1984) has a 6 quart Merry Mushrooms slow cooker on her kitchen counter! It’s seen as Dana makes dinner and drinks wine, chuckling as she listens to a radio announcer share the exploits of “those guys on tv” on her sweet stereo.

My husband, Nate, and I were watching the movie and I said, "Wait a second" and grabbed the remote. Skipping back, I paused and stood up to get a better look. Nate was confused until I said triumphantly, "There's a Merry Mushrooms slow cooker back there!" Needless to say, her was quite impressed with my vision.

​If only my hearing were so keen.