# Help me think of the name of a toy I used to have as a child.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 12, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844 "2005-10-12T03:37:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/1 "2005-10-12T03:37:17Z")
A friend and I were getting all nostalgic about our childhood toys. Granted, I’m only 19 so these were toys from the early 90s, but cool nonetheless.
He reminded me of a toy that I once had, and LOVED as a child, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called. Bear with my description, please, it’s a bit fuzzy.
Basically it was like a tiny art table, and it came with a bunch of different sized gears and wheels. The gears had holes on them so when you stuck a pen in the holes and moved the gear around the art table (where obviously you had placed a piece of paper) it made really awesome swirly designs. The gears were all different shapes and sizes so you could pretty much make an infinite amount of cool drawings.
Okay, maybe this will help. Don’t laugh at my art skills, but I’ve tried to re-create this thing from my memory. [HORRIBLE DRAWING OF SAID TOY.](http://razz.zoto.com/img/45/a8aad1b8a9d224566c9797aab0bfdb64.jpg)
Anyone remember these things?
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### Author:  [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/2 "2005-10-12T03:40:06Z")
Spirograph?
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### Author:  [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/3 "2005-10-12T03:42:37Z")
They were called Spirographs here.
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### Author:  [@Av8trix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Av8trix)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/4 "2005-10-12T03:43:45Z")
[[Here’s a pic.](http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/Spirograph.html)
I had the one called “401” 🙂
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### Author:  [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/5 "2005-10-12T03:45:31Z")
> [@La Llorona](#):
>
> Spirograph?
I’m betting that’s it. I had one of those, too.
[Here](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000096R4K/104-8561588-3329545?v=glance) is a picture of a Deluxe Spirograph at Amazon.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/6 "2005-10-12T03:46:36Z")
Here’s a [Java](http://www.wordsmith.org/~anu/java/spirograph.html) version.
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### Author:  [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/7 "2005-10-12T03:46:45Z")
> [@Av8trix](#):
>
> [[Here’s a pic.](http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/Spirograph.html)
>
> I had the one called “401” 🙂
Beat to the punch. Those are better pictures. 😃
(But hey! You can still buy them if you want to recapture your childhood!)
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### Author:  [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/8 "2005-10-12T03:47:44Z")
I think **raz** is referring to the Spirograph’s kid brother, the [SpiroTot](http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/instruct/spirotot/Spirotot3.html). It was a little easier to use than the Spirograph and didn’t require pushpins to hold the outer ring in place. I LOVED the spirograph!
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### Author:  [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/9 "2005-10-12T03:51:20Z")
That’s a toy? When I was a kid all our toys had “made in occupied Japan” on them. And we were glad to get them, let me tell you!
(and if I had kept them I could sell them for a bundle on e-Bay)
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### Author:  [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/10 "2005-10-12T04:47:32Z")
> [@La Llorona](#):
>
> Spirograph?
Definitely
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### Author:  [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/11 "2005-10-12T05:44:12Z")
Wow, Spirograph. (That’s all I came in here to say, in a thanks-for-the-memories kind of way.)
Time to go start a Colorforms thread.
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### Author:  [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/12 "2005-10-12T06:01:30Z")
Obligatory **Simpsons** reference:
> [@](#):
>
> \*[Bart checks the decrepit old Spirograph factory. A lone man plays with a Spirograph on a slanted desk.]
>
> Bart: Yo, Dr. S: have you seen Milhouse today?
> Dr. S: No.
> Bart: OK, thanks. [starts to leave]
> Dr. S: Wait: did you know that there’s a direct correlation between the decline of Spirograph and the rise in gang activity? Think about it.
> Bart: I will. [walks off]
> Dr. S: No you won’t. [goes back to drawing]\*
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### Author:  [@Sengkelat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sengkelat)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/13 "2005-10-12T06:09:42Z")
I had a SpiroTot as a kid. I was always envious of my sister’s Spirograph, but I guess my folks felt I was too lame for the big kids’ version.
I will now go weep from the pent up emotional trauma of it.
The Spirograph java applet is pretty neat, but it doesn’t compare to the fun (?) of moving the little geared plastic circles around yourself. Just clicking a button and having it already done takes all the anticipation out of it.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/14 "2005-10-12T06:21:40Z")
> [@Sengkelat](#):
>
> he Spirograph java applet is pretty neat, but it doesn’t compare to the fun (?) of moving the little geared plastic circles around yourself. Just clicking a button and having it already done takes all the anticipation out of it.
Just for you, [another one](http://wannabe.guru.org/lynn/apps/) with all the fun and suspense intact.
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### Author:  [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/15 "2005-10-12T12:07:16Z")
That’s exactly what I was talking about! Thanks, everyone! I’m so excited to see that they still make them. A new Spirograph is definitely on my wish list.
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### Author:  [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/16 "2005-10-12T12:26:38Z")
> [@movingfinger](#):
>
> That’s a toy? When I was a kid all our toys had “made in occupied Japan” on them. And we were glad to get them, let me tell you!
Luxury.
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### Author:  [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/17 "2005-10-12T12:58:32Z")
Ooh! I know this!
Was it … _Rosebud_?
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### Author:  [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/18 "2005-10-12T14:53:42Z")
Spirograph sits right next to my “Light-Bright” and my Etch-O’-Sketch in my closet of childhood memories…
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### Author:  [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-the-name-of-a-toy-i-used-to-have-as-a-child/325844/19 "2005-10-12T14:59:00Z")
ok - here’s one for you baby boomers
it was called GUX - it was spongy stickx and blocks that you put together to build things - and because they were slightly sticky, they stayed together
the ad campaign had the tag “g-g-g-g-g-gux” going up a musical scale and down again
at a friend’s 7th b-day party, she received this as a gift, and her younger brother ate one or two pieces before their mom caught him at it
i know i’m not imagining it, but i’ve yet to find anyone else who remembers it