State Fairs around 50 years ago

[AJA]

I was having lunch with a girlfriend of mine and we were catching up with what is going on and I mentioned "chameleons" and she said ..

"I remember as a kid that they would give chameleons away as prizes like they do with the fish in the ping-pong bowl toss today and you use to pin them on you and watch them change colors"

I asked are you sure they were Anoles? and she said "no" she was pretty sure they were chameleons.

Does any one else remember this ? or do you think she was getting chameleons mixed up with something else?

Whether or not they were chameleons or anoles, the practice just sounds so barbaric.

 

[ToniandGizmo]

The only ones I ever saw were the Anoles. That many years ago, keeping true chameleons (by anyone but the MOST experienced),was almost unheard of.

 

[Dunnigan]

I dont know how long ago it was, but many years ago chameleons were worn by women as, well, almost like jewelry. They would have them attatched to a string and that sting was pinned to their shirt or another article of clothing.

So it could very well of been chameleons that were given out at the fair.

 

[ToniandGizmo]

I dont know how long ago it was, but many years ago chameleons were worn by women as, well, almost like jewelry. They would have them attatched to a string and that sting was pinned to their shirt or another article of clothing.

So it could very well of been chameleons that were given out at the fair.

I remember that too. But the only ones I ever saw were anoles.

 

[LBonawitz]

my mom talked about this after i got my first cham and i didn't believe her. she said "nope it changed color and everything", talking about how her sister had one from the fair. i showed her a picture of an anole and she said YEP! thats it! i guess my aunt had it for a few days before it died but it just crawled around in circles on her shirt from where its little string leash was pinned

this was in the 1950's though

i remember they gave out goldfish at my elementary school "field day" when i was about 7. i think its a bad idea to GIVE away any living animal to anybody that doesn't intend to take care of it. my gold fishes (2) lived 4 years and got larger than a dollar bill. they died during a move

 

[MandaRyan]

My boss told me the same thing. We ended up finding out it was Anoles not Chameleons

 

[kenya]

These are all anoles. They are sometimes called "American chameleons" because of their color changing ability. Know why "old world chameleons" are "old world"? Because they aren't anoles (new world chameleons. "New world"= America)