Posted on 09/28/2005 5:58:42 PM PDT by 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!
Ditto, FRiend. Hula hoop and roller skates (I was a kid in Southern California :-).
Was it a neon green toxic substance :)
1. bicycle
2. BB gun
3. home-made rubber-band gun
I forgot about "Clackers" Those colored lucite balls on a rope. They would be banned now...LOL
Or the cardboard refrigerator boxes we used to get and roll down big grass hills inside of!
Shrinkey Dinks.
Leather kits, with the burner thingie that got to be a million degrees.
Chemistry sets.
Weebles.
We had those! Everyone on the street had them - I think the Navy dads picked them up cheap in the Pacific!
LOL. At least Evil didn't come with the rocket that he tried to jump the snake river canyon with!!
my favorite
1) wooden swords and trash can lid shields.
2) hopalong cassidy set of six shooters with holsters
3) plastic fort apache calvery and indian set
4) plastic gladiator helmut and sword
5) matel rifle that shot spring loaded plastic bullets with
round sticky caps for the bang sound.
6) risk and stratego games
7) a really cool hand held periscope.
LOL and we could take them to school...imagine that!!!
They did make great weapons.
Apparently so. Though I did enjoy giving Barbie that haircut. ;o)
Oh and your wrists stayed bruised...ABUSE!!!!!
I never liked the hula hoop. I never got it to work right!!
The commercials for Fruit of the Loom were good, anyway!
I only got a BB gun. :(
Guns were okay in my house, unless they actually could do damage.
;-)
I had the Orange and Purple dune buggies!!!
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