Stretch Armstrong keeps best at room temperature. Stretch Armstrong is made of latex rubber filled with gelled corn syrup, which allows it to retain shape for a short time before shrinking to its original shape. An estimated 67 different versions from Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, and other countries released Stretch Armstrong variations between 1976 and the 1990s. The last two were filled with a granular solid in place of the viscous liquid found in the other figures. A vacuum pump, which attached to the heads of these figures, removed the air from within, which "froze" the toy in its stretched position.
Kenner Products for the marketing of merchandise across the United States, beginning in 1958. In the early 1960s, Kenner introduced its corporate mascot, The Kenner Gooney Bird, which would be used in both its company logo (""It's Kenner! It's fun!"") and TV ads, in both animated form and puppetry. One commercial was produced by Muppets creator Jim Henson and the puppet featured there would later be used for the "Sesame Street" character Little Bird. The Bird was phased out by 1974. The company was purchased by General Mills in 1967. In 1970, General Mills merged its Rainbow Crafts division into Kenner Products,