Top 7 Childhood Toys Ever (vanity)

PA Times | 9/28/05 | Dr. Pissant

[pissant]

For many of us, being a child was no picnic. Without the resources to take opulent family vacations, we instead spent our youthful summers painting fences, mowing the lawn, weeding gardens, washing the dogs, cleaning our rooms and picking berries to earn a pocketful of change.

When School started back up in September, the joy of seeing our friends again was quickly doused by the 2 hours of homework each night (Parochial School..ya know).

But the one thing we could rely on to put that spring back in our little feet was the trunk full of TOYS. Yes, those magical toys. Here at the Pissant Institute for Toy History and Youth (PITHY) we've compiled the definitive list of the coolest toys with which we pleasantly whiled away our precious free time. Sorry girls, none of your toys made the list (though a little Pissant did cut the hair off of his sister's Barbie).

Top 7 Childhood Toys

7. Major Matt Mason

The astronaut doll. With space helmut and rocket capsule! Inspired by NASA (or was it David Bowie?)

6. Stretch Armstrong

A goo filled, stretchable man. Good exercise, but the real joy was cutting him open to see what was inside...

5. Little Green Army Men

Countless hours setting up the armies for the ferocious rubber band wars with your brother.

4. Radio Flyer Wagon

The best part was loading 2 into the wagon and heading down a hill, only to realize how poorly they steered!

3. Legos

You could build some pretty nifty forts for your Little Green Army Men

2. Hot Wheels

Oh, the pride from having the fastest car in the neigborhood. Unfortunately, the orange track pieces made a fine whip for mom to beat us with!!

1. Tonka Toys

From the Road Grader to the Steam Shovel. Playing in the dirt and mud was every boys favorite pastime!

[tacticalogic]

Or empty all the powder from the whole roll into a jar and throw a match in it!

I used to do that in a bottle, cork it and set it off with a magnifying glass!

[PennsylvaniaMom]

It would be interesting. There is a comedienne, I can't recall her name right now, who does a spot on routine on playgrounds...then (we play on steel bars, 8 feet off of concrete ground...and today, round plastic edges two feet off of mulch. With hand sanitizer to be distributed after play...). Too funny...

[diamond6]

You forgot Barbie!

[Kryptonite]

I loved my bigwheel.

Balsa Wood Gliders were great too. I could buy one with my own money whenever I wanted.

And when I decided to fly a kite, I'd spend hours at it. But my favorite toy was a bbgun, and just behind that was my go cart. My fishing pole probably falls in the top 10 as well.

Can't forget about the walkie talkie either.

[kcordell]

Mattel's Six Shooter with greenie stick on caps and little plastic bullets that would actually shoot.

[BigSkyFreeper]

I still have my 2 foot tall GI Joe doll. Fuzzy beard and kung fu grip are NOT sold separately.

[Kryptonite]

That reminds me of the vibrating football game where we'd set up our blockers and ball carrier, or passer, or the kicker (my favorite player), and then flip the switch to make them all move across the field. They all had little plastic *hairs* under them that we could manipulate to make them do certain things, like go faster or slower, turn, or go in circles.

But my favorite football game as a kid was this from Mattel in 1977.

I think half the boys in my class had one.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Several years ago my two youngest went Trick or Treating as Buzz and Woody from Toy Story. I bought the Buzz costume for the little one, and I made Woody's vest, kerchief, etc. The only place I could find stuff was Wal-Mart...not only did they sell cowboy boots (which actually got worn out the were worn so many times) but their toy dept. sold silver six-shooters w/tolled leather looking plastic holsters (which I had to get a second set of to arm the youngest as well).

On that Halloween, one of my neighbors (who later sported a Kerry/Edwards bumpersticker years later) pointed out to me that Sheriff Woody, being a Pixar Disney character wore empty holsters. I pointed out to my neighbor that my 7 year old son was a pro-second amendment kinda guy. The neighbor didn't know what to say... ;)PaMom

[glasseye]

ding ding ding....we have a winner!

[fortunecookie]

but their toy dept. sold silver six-shooters w/tolled leather looking plastic holsters (which I had to get a second set of to arm the youngest as well).

I couldn't find those for years! I'll look there.

On that Halloween, one of my neighbors (who later sported a Kerry/Edwards bumpersticker years later) pointed out to me that Sheriff Woody, being a Pixar Disney character wore empty holsters. I pointed out to my neighbor that my 7 year old son was a pro-second amendment kinda guy. The neighbor didn't know what to say... ;)

LOL, that's perfect! How rude though, what some lefties won't do to pretend they are compassionate! It's a costume, for heaven's sake. I like the way you handled it!

[Horatio Gates]

I loved the lame vibrating football game! Very unpredictable!!

Sure it's fun until you start losing all of your allowance money because you didn't take the points. Yeah, I'll say it's unpredictable! 8>)

[KC Burke]

I am going to recount a story about a safe toy chosen for my dad on his tenth birthday, which was in 1927.

I heard this from my grandmother, his mom, first hand thirty-some years ago. I usually have this toy at my home, so I know it is real.

I had him recount it himself, only a few weeks ago, so I know I have it precisely and it is the honest truth and not a second-hand story.

.

.

. He wanted a bicycle.....

.

.

. Grandma thought they were too dangerous....

.

.

. He was a kid who had an older kid pull him on his sled behind a model Tee, so she had a right to be prudent.

.

.

. So, she bought him a shotgun instead.

.

.

.410, breech loading, but a shotgun, none the less.

Wanted him to be safe...after all, he was a little reckless for a ten year old, and you know bicycles can kill.

[Texas Eagle]

With space helmut ...

Who's that? The first German to orbit the earth?

[toomanygrasshoppers]

Clue
Monopoly
Tinker Toys
Candy Land
Chutes and Ladders
View Master
Bill Dings (If you remember these you ARE old) :>)

[Texas Eagle]

For many of us, being a child was no picnic. Without the resources to take opulent family vacations, we instead spent our youthful summers painting fences, mowing the lawn, weeding gardens, washing the dogs, cleaning our rooms and picking berries to earn a pocketful of change.

Childhood my big blue eyes. You just described my adutlhood.

[RightOnline]

Much depends on one's age.

In my era...........Johnny Seven OMA ("One Man Army"), one of the coolest all-in-one destructive weapons ever devised in the mind of a toymaker. I never owned one; jealously watched the commercials.

Now, this was back when 'war toys' such as submachine guns, etc. were COOL and not politically uncorrect. You'll never find such toys now.

[Kryptonite]

My dad bought me a .410 when I was 12. :)

But when I think of my grandparents, I think of their nesting dolls.

[Horatio Gates]

I still have a bunch of the army men. I should have grabbed them when I was back on the east coast visiting. Now my GI Joe saw lots of hand to hand action with the other iterations of GI Joe on my block in NE Philly. There was an episode or two of the army men having to conquer the invading 12 inch GI Joe from some off world location. My brother had an GI Joe who was black. I don't recall seeing many of those

[RightOnline]

Oh...oh...........Creepy Crawlers. What a COOL toy. You got this set with liquid colored plastics.....you squeezed the liquid into molds........I think you heated 'em up a bit?......and voila!!! Got yer own rubber/flexible plastic/whatever spiders, etc. GREAT toy. Hours o' fun.

[RightOnline]

"I had a Chrissy! I had forgotton about her, and her orange lacy dress!"

Yes!!!! .....and her lacy underthings covering her nubile young body that..........ummmmmm.......wait.............................................never mind.