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Thread: Things from your childhood

  1. #31
    He who laughs, lasts. Noilly Pratt's Avatar
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    We still use the corelle mugs! Perfect size for my morning coffee.

    Signature created way-back-when by Goofy

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    Hal-9000 (01-11-2019)

  3. #32
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    The original Tonka Truck Toys

    Made of metal and you could ride on some of them


  4. #33
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    You know, I remember complaining to my parents because we were the last family on the block to get a color TV, to get cable TV, to get certain toys and games.

    My father eventually told me of their early financial struggles during the last decade of his life. He never threw it in our faces as we complained, he only talked about the hard times after we asked. Looking back at the toys I had, the stable family life, being fortunate enough to always have a large group of friends right into my late 20's,
    I feel ashamed for feeling I somehow had less.

    My life was very rich growing up. Thanks Mom and Dad.

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    lost in melb. (01-12-2019)

  6. #34
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    The beginning of Skynet





    Anyone remember this? Three little dashes representing football players and it was the cat's ass. You had to take turns playing and we would watch other people play it for hours.

    In some ways I think this game was a predecessor to something I hate about modern times. The trend to create and keep kids in their own lonely little electronic boxed environments.

    Growing up, we typically didn't spend much time alone unless we were grounded or sick in bed. Today, the youth of the world works toward establishing an online presence across multiple venues and shunning personal interactions where ever possible.

    I won't be here in 50 years and wonder what type of interactions will pass for children's friendships in the future. Technology is great and allows the world to communicate, but at the same time I think it removes part of the soul that used to be present within relationships.

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    Muddy (07-21-2019), RBP (01-11-2019)

  8. #35
    Mr Magoo RBP's Avatar
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    Jarts were the shit! I think they wee banned in like 1987.



    Nice thread idea, Hal.
    Last edited by RBP; 01-11-2019 at 11:35 PM. Reason: Hal already posted Jarts. Sad.
    I wanted to be a Monk, but I never got the chants.

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  10. #36
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    Those lawn darts were heavy.

    Back in the day when things were still made with quality in mind


    The things that really caught my eye from the initial page I was reading, were the chemical based or molding toys. I had that Shaker Maker thing and distinctly recall the light blue color and slimy texture of the figures when you first made them, then how they hardened into a hard, chalk-like material.

    Lots of molecules interacting there

    Which reminds me of another molding toy I played with, but didn't own.

  11. #37
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    This thing had a metal heating element that created 'safe' 'non toxic' plastic bugs and shit


    You don't give kids liquid that changes chemical composition and a device that heats it up....what can go wrong there ffs?

  12. #38
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    Remember the actual glass blowing kit in the first post made by a company called Gilbert?

    Wait, there's more


    The Gilbert Molten Lead Casting Kit



    They made kids actually heat lead pellets up and pour them into molds

  13. #39
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    The Gilbert Chemistry Outfit



    From a webpage:

    "There's that Gilbert guy again. This may look like a pretty safe (boring) science kit, but among the 56 chemicals included in the Gilbert chemistry set was some potentially deadly stuff. Like potassium permanganate, which, besides being poisonous, has been known to make things catch fire. Or ammonium nitrate, the same chemical that the U.S. wants to regulate now because it's used in homemade bombs. All that came in the same box. Aat no point in history has being a young nerd on his birthday been so dangerous."

  14. #40
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    The Atomic Energy Lab & Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab

    ( holy crap this is outstanding )





    From the same webpage as above:

    "The Atomic Energy Lab kit produced by the American Basic Science Club came with real samples of uranium (which is radioactive) and radium (which is a million times more radioactive than uranium). Since the mere presence of radioactive material in a children's product clearly wasn't insane enough, some of the experiments detailed in the manual also required kids to handle blocks of dry ice. Dry ice, by the way, has a temperature of minus 109.3 degrees Fahrenheit, and it's recommended that it only be handled while wearing gloves (none were included).

    Gilbert, of course, couldn't be left behind and introduced their own Atomic Energy Lab, which also came with radioactive samples and even a little Geiger counter that kids could use to measure the amount of radiation left in their bodies after each play session."

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  16. #41
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    The Power Mite mini tools!

    (I definitely used these somewhere, not at home)





    Everything from a table saw to a mini router, what could go wrong?

  17. #42
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    From the webpage:

    Yeah, the burn marks on that toy pretty much say it all. That's an electric toy stove from the 1930s or '40s that could actually be plugged in and heated up, which isn't just dangerous, it's also completely pointless. What are you supposed to heat in there, a canape? Some peanuts? Your brother's mutilated hamster?

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    Muddy (07-21-2019)

  19. #43
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    Stevens' Model Dockyard Locomotive



    A real steam-propelled engine that required kids to pour either kerosene or alcohol into the train and then light it. The toy steam engines of this era were nicknamed "dribblers" or "piddlers" because they tended to piss a continuous stream of alcohol or kerosene-laden water as they rolled along the floor.

  20. #44
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    More from the Gilbert Chemistry Set manual:

    The manual itself taught kids how to create explosions with gunpowder -- on the first page -- and the sole safety feature consisted of a single line telling them not to attempt the same experiment on a larger scale ... which only served the purpose of informing kids that this was a possibility.


  21. #45
    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    lost in melb. (12-03-2021)

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