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!
Lincoln Logs
Erector Set
Chemistry Set
Slinky
Hot Wheels
Tonka Toys
Monopoly
I remember playing with everything on your list.
Were you my next door neighbor? He had all the cool stuff.
"Were you my next door neighbor? He had all the cool stuff."
Yeah, that was me! On Gulley Road!
I had a lovely, full size, fully automatic, cap-firing Thompson SMG... Wish I could find another like it.
The glider for Major Matt Mason was cool, too.
But NOTHING beat the old GI Joes...
I hope they fix it soon. Hang in there!
Hot Wheels, no doubt. Ran that orange track all over the house. Yellow starting gate (usually on top of a chair), loop-de-loops, banked turns, the works. Matchbox cars (which were the same size) seemed to be a little faster, though.
No girl toys made the list....HUH!!!
Betty Crocker Oven- made me the baker I am today!!!
Slime- except when my sister would smoosh it in my hair.
Slinky-Went through at least a dozen..darn things used to get "kinked" all the time..but lotsa fun!
Lincoln Logs- Okay, not sure what that did for me, but I liked 'em.
MM
Darn...Forgot about my Big Wheel!! :o)
I was quite the terror on three wheels!
MM
I am so proud to have the top 7 toys underfoot daily!
Colonel Mustard in the Conservatory with the lead pipe!
What about at the end where you have to race to the spot where you make your accusation, and people see what you are doing and keep calling you into their rooms to slow you down (and beat you to it)?
Hmmmmmmm.
'Xplains a lot.
I've heard rumors.
From a hospital of all places!
I don't know the name of it, but it was a ring you slipped your foot into and attached was a ball and a rope or plastic line about a foot long and you jump over this and try to to keep the ball going round and around. Man, we'd do this for hours with my sisters seeing who could run the count up the highest. Ah, the simplest pleasures of childhood!
Man I'm desperately searching for an old boxing toy from the 70's. They were muscular boxers that came in a boxing ring, with controllers (Not Rockem Sockem). They had red noses I think, and if you hit the guy in the nose he would be knocked down. The toy came with a phongraph record which had crowd noise and an announcer I think. Way doper than rockem sockem, but so far only one other person in the world had this toy and knows what I'm talking about. HELLLLLP! Can't find it on Ebay either.
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