# Culture artifacts that ...maybe not ONLY you remember....but its getting close. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633 "2018-08-15T03:00:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/221 "2018-08-17T18:21:07Z")
> [@kath94](#): > > Yes! That’s IT! I knew it was round-ish, but octagonal sounds right. As does the time period of the 70s. Thank you! Wish I could find one. “Simple things amuse simple minds” and all that. 🙂 It is just a sheet of liquid crystal like the screen you may be reading this on right now (unless it is OLED.) You may not be able to buy it in the same size/shape as the original toy, but there are [plenty](https://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-Liquid-Crystal/dp/B002V05RWI) [of](http://www.incrediblescience.com/fickle-foam.html) [sources](http://www.sciencebobstore.com/heat-activated-liquid-crystal-sheets/) of sheets. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/222 "2018-08-17T18:37:58Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I remember all these but Zorn. \*Son of Zorn \*was a “fish out of water” show in a world where [expies](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Expy) for characters from the 1980s cartoon \*He-Man \*are an actual ethnic group living on some island nation. The characters from that nation were all drawn in 80s animation style while the rest of the actors were all live-action. The character Zorn is He-Man, come to America to connect with his son from his ex-wife. The series was about Zorn learning to fit into a non-magical barbarian world and his interactions with his extended family and co-workers at his office job. It isn’t remotely a show about “liberal bashing” but DKW has a weird obsession (brought up in at least three threads now) with thinking so. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/223 "2018-08-17T18:41:03Z")
During the space race there was a huge boom in space toys. I had a previously-mentioned [Major Matt Mason](https://goo.gl/images/vwxGMP), who had a cool backpack with a string you could use to make him ‘fly’. But the more obscure of the space toys I had was [Billy Blastoff](http://www.robotnut.com/billy/). He was pretty cool,in that you put batteries in his backpack, and then if you put him in one of his vehicles a small gear at the bottom of the backpack would engage with the gears in the vehicle so it would move. That way, you only needed one set of motors, switches, etc in the backpack, making the set simpler and cheaper. I loved it. ---
**Author:** ![pnschofield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@pnschofield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pnschofield)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/224 "2018-08-17T19:41:03Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > I got this for my 4th birthday…rode the hell out of it. very dangerous but I survived. > > [Space Trainer](http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/space_trainer) > > I have never seen or heard of another one. Isn’t this part of the Scientology “Super Powers” training? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/225 "2018-08-17T20:12:24Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Were all the model kits glow in the dark? It was kind of hard to determine which part of the Wolfman you should paint; he was GITD from his head to his paws. > > Does anyone recognize: > > “My wings are like a shield of steel.” (But his feet weren’t) Batfink. And his massive (but not very smart) _gi_-clad sidekick, Karate. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/226 "2018-08-17T23:07:05Z")
I live outside of Chicago-land, so nobody knows from _Gigglesnort Hotel._ ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/227 "2018-08-17T23:18:53Z")
I had [Sizzlers](http://hotwheels.wikia.com/wiki/Sizzlers) as a kid. Way-cooler than mere Hotwheels, these were a total blast to play with. As a bonus, our cat used to love them! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/228 "2018-08-17T23:22:05Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I live outside of Chicago-land, so nobody knows from _Gigglesnort Hotel._ We had Sheriff John and Engineer Bill. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/229 "2018-08-17T23:38:45Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I live outside of Chicago-land, so nobody knows from _Gigglesnort Hotel._ Was that with Garfield Goose? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/230 "2018-08-18T00:01:39Z")
There were the Kenner SSP Racers. These cars went really fast with a plastic rip cord. 1972 Commercial: [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NxQf-aeDWk) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/231 "2018-08-18T00:04:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > We had Sheriff John and Engineer Bill. And Seattle had Stan Boreson on _King’s Klubhouse_ on KING-TV. I never saw the show, but I had the great pleasure and honor of knowing Stan in his later years. Still wicked smart and a killer accordionist. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/232 "2018-08-18T00:09:16Z")
Does anyone remember the [Girder and Panel sets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girder_and_Panel_building_sets) for making buildings? I had a skyscraper and an airport version as a kid. Lots of fun and you could make it work with Matchbox cars and Hotwheels. I even built some buildings for my HO train set to run into. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/233 "2018-08-18T00:21:09Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Does anyone remember the [Girder and Panel sets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girder_and_Panel_building_sets) for making buildings? I had a skyscraper and an airport version as a kid. Lots of fun and you could make it work with Matchbox cars and Hotwheels. I even built some buildings for my HO train set to run into. I had one of those sets. I think it came with a hand-cranked crane mounted on top of a tower. I remember playing with it on Saturday mornings while _ **The Jetsons** _ was on. I guess I was building futuristic high-rises like the ones on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/234 "2018-08-18T00:33:39Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Does anyone remember the [Girder and Panel sets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girder_and_Panel_building_sets) for making buildings? I had a skyscraper and an airport version as a kid. Lots of fun and you could make it work with Matchbox cars and Hotwheels. I even built some buildings for my HO train set to run into. I had a couple of those. Probably my all-time favorite toy. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/235 "2018-08-18T00:41:38Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Are there a ton of childless adults here? Colorforms, Shrinky Dinks and Lite Brite are very much not in the category of “artifact.” I’ve gotten all of them for my kids at one point or another within the last five years. The Lite Brite we got our kids was a pale imitation of the one I had as a kid. The newer ones (OK, 20 some years ago) had a lot fewer larger pegs, didn’t use the paper patterns behind the board, and used a weak-ass flashlight bulb instead of the 60W 120V bulb. Lame. But not as disappointing as the Spirograph I bought the kids. The set I had when I was young had way more disks each of which had more pen holes, but more importantly used push pins to hold the rings to a cardboard backer. The newer ones used some snap mechanism which was always coming apart when you tried to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/236 "2018-08-18T00:45:40Z")
How about Teletypes and acoustic coupler modems? My dad had one at home for a few years in the early 70s. Allowed him to come home from work at dinner time, then get some more work done after us kids went to bed. An early telecommuter. And of course the phones (rotary and then touch-tone) that were wired into the wall and that you leased from Ma Bell. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/237 "2018-08-18T00:53:24Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Does anyone remember the [Girder and Panel sets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girder_and_Panel_building_sets) for making buildings? Yes, pre Legos. I had those and Lincoln logs and some castle stone things to build my Edith Nesbit Magic City. There was also some brick things which used a early lego-like way of linking, but not as secure. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/238 "2018-08-18T00:56:48Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I live outside of Chicago-land, so nobody knows from _Gigglesnort Hotel._ Used to air in South Carolina when I was a kid. One I’ve thought of seems to be genuinely obscure (I’ve tried googling for it before with no results): a Darth Vader ripoff toy called Dark Invader. Was a similar size (and sold in the same time-frame, in the same shelf space at my local Sky City) as ROM: Space Knight. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/239 "2018-08-18T01:33:30Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’ve never met anyone else who remembers Fun Factory with Daryl Hoyt. I remember the Fun Factory game show with Bobby Van… > [@Ethilrist](#): > > I seem to be pretty rare in that I remember watching the Star Wars Holiday Special. Perhaps even more rare because I enjoyed it, but that’s a different topic. > [@enipla](#): > > Slip 'N Slide. Complete with steel stakes that if came out of the ground, you could impale yourself on. A couple of things still referenced in comic strips - the Star Wars Holiday Special makes an appearance every year in _Sally Forth_, and Slip 'n Slides appear every now and then in _Drabble_. > [@terentii](#): > > Now tell me who remembers Marty Engels? 😛 No, but I remember Marty _Ingels_. > [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Things that (it seems) only I remember: > > - [Simon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yqj76Q4jJ4) (electronic game that was a huge rage for about a year in the early 80s) > - [Night Flight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Flight_(TV_series)) (TV show that aired all the videos that MTV refused to air- for either being too edgy, too metal, not new wave enough, etc.) > - Fridays - sketch comedy show > - The band [Sparks](https://vimeo.com/262151804) The last reference I heard about Fridays: I can’t remember where, but somebody said, “Did you know Larry David was in the cast of _Fridays_?” > [@DKW](#): > > Arcades that actually took quarters. Completely replaced by tokens by around 1985. There were a few quarter-operated machines in diners, bowling alleys, convenience stores, etc. up to the early 90’s. > > Duckman. The only show I’ve ever watched that, in my estimation, got the repulsive-jerk-as-hero formula right. There were a lot of reasons this worked, but in short, the jokes hit, the cast was diverse and interesting, and, most importantly, _it knew where to draw the line_. It’s so rare nowadays to see any show that manages to show its unpleasant, sordid side without becoming utterly repulsive and unwatchable, and this show nailed the balance _perfectly_. Definitely deserved more than four seasons. > > Son of Zorn (won’t bother linking my thread again; do a search for “Zorn” if for some bizarre reason you’re interested). Was completely bombarded by ads for this for weeks on Kongregate. Then it began, and…_liberal bashing?_ Seriously? That’s the whole concept?? Slimed its way through one season, not renewed. I bring it up every now and then as my go-to “This is why you don’t base anything that’s supposed to be goddam _entertaining_ on liberal bashing!” case, but pretty much the rest of the planet forgot it existed roughly 5 minutes after the final episode. You’d think it’d have a _little_ traction in the Age of Trump, but other than a couple diehards on YouTube, I haven’t heard one person say a word about it. All of the machines at the “Pinball Hall of Fame” in Las Vegas - there’s a thread about it in Game Room - take quarters. Not only do I own a Duckman 3-D poster autographed by Everett Peck (apparently, there was only one store in the world that sold them - the old Viacom store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago; it closed in early 1999), but I literally waited years for Klasky-Csupo to get around to releasing the series on video. It finally did, but it took so long that there aren’t really any “extras” to speak of as they were probably all lost or destroyed by the time the DVDs came out. I’m a little surprised Jason Alexander didn’t get a voiceover Emmy for the role. I like to joke that this happened at the 1996 Creative Arts Emmys: “And the Emmy for Voiceover Performance goes to (looks at the name) Excuse me? After the Susan incident? (i.e. the whole George/Susan storyline on Seinfeld) I don’t think so (rips up the envelope) Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no winner this year, yeah, that’s it, no winner.” Seriously, because of the way the category worked back then, there was no winner in that category in 1996. I saw _Son of Zorn_, but I think too many people were turned off by the real life-animation mix, especially with the son with the human top half but the animated legs. And you would think someone like that would be banned from sports (he was the kicker on the football team, but learned that length and accuracy are two entirely different things), as otherwise he’s going to break every track & field world record. (And did you know every episode had a credit for Zorn’s placeholder (“Zorn IRL (In Real Life)”)?) ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633/240 "2018-08-18T01:56:22Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > All you Froggy The Gremlin people need to read “The Armageddon Rag” by George R. R. Martin. 😉 I thought about that book. I read it when it came out, and had totally forgotten who wrote it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/culture-artifacts-that-maybe-not-only-you-remember-but-its-getting-close/819633.md?page=13)