Win a Flip Mino HD Camera

[Update: The winner is Dee, from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. You can read his epic misadventure here. Thanks to everyone who entered - we had a tough time picking our favorite entry. Stay tuned for more contests in the coming months. -JG]

We've teamed up with AXE Canada to give away a shiny new $249 Flip Mino HD video camera. To win, just share a retro-related story in the comments about a time when you could have used a dash of AXE Shock deodorant bodyspray. Our favorite tale will win the camera.

Here's mine. Lots of the items we write about come from thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, and the like. These locales tends to be, umm, very fragrant, so after a hard day of thrifting it's easy to take on some of these aromas. But it gets worse when you're sweating bullets because you've spied something you really desire, and you don't want to lose your cool.

I was fascinated by the (insane) Fisher-Price PXL-2000 Pixelvision camera that shot grainy black and white video onto audio cassettes. I missed getting one when they were new, but I figured I'd eventually get lucky at the thrift store. I never saw one, even after I started hitting thrifts a couple times a week.

A couple of years ago, I got lucky. It was behind a crowded counter and all I spotted was its distinctive handle sticking out from a pile of gloves.

I got clammy all over. Did anyone else there know what that strange plastic shape was?!?

I'd only once seen a Pixelvision once before at a flea market, and the seller wanted a couple hundred bucks. What would this one cost? Would I even get it? I was in danger of losing my cool, the kind of thing that makes the staff throw you out. It's just that I'd been searching for the camera for nearly 20 years -- my whole lifestyle of thrift store shopping started by looking for that camera. No wonder I was sweating.

I eventually ended up with the camera. It was marked $2.50 -- but wait -- it was half price that day. So I walked away with the camera of my dreams for almost nothing, it worked perfectly, and I really needed a shower as I drove home.

But enough from me. We want to hear your retro tales of filth and fun. Got a great story of how hard it was to get the grime off  after doing an Evel Knievel jump with your BMX bike? Or were you so caked with crank case oil after tweaking your GTO that your family didn't recognize you? Ever score that perfect classic antique only to find it was so full of bugs that you had to dive for the shower -- or did that only happen to me?

Imagine that you could travel back in time to hand your younger self a bottle of AXE Shock bodyspray. What moment would you choose?

Just leave your story in the comments section - a paragraph or two will do. We'll read them over and the best will win a new Flip Mino HD Camera. Contest open to residents of Canada and the USA only. Entries must be posted before midnight EST on May 13th, 2010 to qualify. Good luck, and thanks to AXE Canada for the Flip prize!