Posted on 04/19/2021 6:48:11 PM PDT by SamAdams76
Back in the 1960s, when you were Christmas shopping for your children, both boys and girls, you looked for toys that would help teach them useful skills for adulthood.
Before there were Legos, there were Erector Sets. In which you were given a wrench to screw together various steel pieces that were then hooked up to motors to make them do things.
But that's not all. Children were provided with microscopes, telescopes, chemistry sets, electronics kits and even home brewing kits.
Okay, I'm just kidding about the last part. But check out this video.
I had set that you poured latex into and cooked it to form rubber insects.
What I remember most was losing those little nuts in the shag carpet, and Mom howling that I killed her Kirby.... again
I had one of these. I got it for Christmas.
My mom took it away about 2 days later calling it a box of razor blades. They never took the sharp edges off the stamped sheet metal parts. It was like a box of razor blades.
We had a couple of bottle rocket wars too. lucky nobody was injured.
I had an erector set when I was about 7. I saw one a year or so ago in a thrift store but parts were gone. After that I got BB guns, .22 rifle, and a shotgun. I got to start making wine in my bedroom at the ripe old age of about 15 LOL. Two gallon jugs one filled with grape juice, sugar, and yeast and the other jug filled with water. The jug with the juice had a cork and copper tube ran through the cork and into the jug filled with water. At night for the first month or two I’d hear it steadily bubbling LOL.As a kid born in the late 50’s growing up in the 60’s 70’s. I had it made.
Bottle rocket war almost burned down a hay barn at least I was defending it
Then a RONCO Glass Cutter for making drinking glasses out of bottles.
I loved my chemistry and microscope sets growing up. As well as Lego. My siblings were a bit older and loved the train and erector sets as well as Lincoln Logs.
Along with the Erector set, tinker toys and Lincoln logs I remember having a small power tool kit that would cut balsa wood as well.
vac-u-form
Had it, too. Good memory.
Do you suppose Mattel would sell this Thing Maker mold, anymore?
It has to be swell.....it's Mattel!
Edmunds is still around but much more serious and high tech like Thorlabs. But back in the day they sold weird novelties like the drinking bird and even vibrators.
Any Creepy Crawlers?
Girders and panels, but they weren't as "creative" as Erector and Tinkertoy.
I remember the stuff that Gilbert used to make. I had an Erector set and several other things that they made. One Christmas, my grandparents gave me a crystal radio kit that I built. I also had a kit that you could build an electric motor. They also gave you basic information on the physics of how they worked.
LOLOL!!
An excellent toy made much better by combining with the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_U-238_Atomic_Energy_Laboratory
I was a Tinkertoys kid.
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