Pepsi and Jheri Curl Juice Are an Explosive Combination

Even in 1984 people knew Michael Jackson was a freak and was acting perverted around children. But Pepsi pulled him in to be the new celebrity spokesperson anyways, which is about when I swore off all Pepsi products. Fireworks set off Jackson’s Jheri Curls in this video below. Watch as all of the stage hands spray him with fire extenguishers and then stomp the fire out on his head.

The Jheri Curl is described here at Wikipedia:

The jheri curl’s decline in popularity probably occurred because of the damage it caused to the wearer’s hair. Perming the hair was time and labor-intensive and expensive to upkeep. The harsh mix of chemicals required for the process caused the wearer’s natural hair to become extremely brittle and dry.

To maintain the look of the jheri curl, users were required to apply activator and heavy moisturizers daily and to sleep with a plastic cap on their heads to keep the hairstyle from drying out. These products were relatively expensive (a typical bottle of activator was small, retailed anywhere from $3 to $6, and was quickly depleted.) The activator in particular had the undesirable side effect of being very greasy; this would often stain clothing and anything that came into contact with it.