# Weird toys you vaguely remember **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231 "2003-06-20T18:16:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Quantum\_Butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e79b87/32.png) [@Quantum\_Butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quantum_Butterfly)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/121 "2003-06-23T07:56:38Z")
Anyone else have Marbleworks? A set of connecting tubes, funnels, spinny-round things and I don’t remember what else all of the right size to let a marble go through. You build up your contraption, put a marble in and see if it goes where you intended it to go! One of those educational toys, but still lots of fun. At least half the fun was the rattling sound the marbles made going through the plastic tubes, particularly when we put a whole handful in at once. Mom really loved that 😃 I’m surprised nobody’s posted about My Little Ponies yet! Granted, they were ubiquitous in the late 80s/early 90s, but still. One rather odd one in my collection was a pony with a “magic growing tail”. Pull the tail- wow, it gets longer! Twist her head around- wow, it gets shorter! Must’ve had a spool of some sort in there. It was vaguely disturbing to see my pony’s head pointing backwards, especially when it fell off. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/122 "2003-06-23T08:17:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Quantum Butterfly \* > \*\* > I’m surprised nobody’s posted about My Little Ponies yet! \*\* I love these for an entirely different reason. I sell toys. Ponies can be bought for a quarter, washed, and marked up according to rarity. OTOMH-Pony Varieties unicorns, pegasi, horned pegasi, sparkle eyed, seahorse, minis, cleisdale, multi colored mane, I’d keep listing but it’s 4:30 am. You wanna tell yer Gen X girlfriend yer sorry? Fergit flowers. Go wit a My Little Pony. ---
**Author:** ![BizarroRonJeremy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@BizarroRonJeremy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BizarroRonJeremy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/123 "2003-06-23T15:32:32Z")
Here’s a link with some info about Evel Knieval toys. [http://www.geocities.com/Pipeline/Ramp/2716/](http://www.geocities.com/Pipeline/Ramp/2716/) Seeing as how I haven’t touched or seen my old Evel toys in about 25 years, looking at these pix are bringing back a flood of mid-70’s memories…wood paneling, shag rugs, skinned knees, banana seats, Count Chocula, Hong Kong Fooey, everybody smoking cigarettes in all public places…_sigh_ Another Gen-X chick gift idea…Strawberry Shortcake More Captain Kangaroo memories: - the Candyland game (anyone remember the dialogue from this ad?) - the Game of Life ---
**Author:** ![BizarroRonJeremy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@BizarroRonJeremy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BizarroRonJeremy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/124 "2003-06-23T15:34:50Z")
Oh, lest we forget… Big Jim and Friends… [http://www.dollsandtoysaustralia.com/Bigjim.html](http://www.dollsandtoysaustralia.com/Bigjim.html) There’s something disturbingly pseudo homo-erotic about these guys. ---
**Author:** ![BizarroRonJeremy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@BizarroRonJeremy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BizarroRonJeremy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/125 "2003-06-23T15:44:57Z")
Ok, I think I was right about my suspicions… GI Joe would never be caught dead in one of these: [![](http://www.vecchigiocattoli.it/bigjimgolfcabriolet.jpg) ](http://www.vecchigiocattoli.it/bigjimgolfcabriolet.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![BizarroRonJeremy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@BizarroRonJeremy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BizarroRonJeremy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/126 "2003-06-23T15:50:56Z")
Sorry to flog a dead horse, but this is starting to irk me… [![](http://www.vecchigiocattoli.it/bigjimactionfigure.jpg) ](http://www.vecchigiocattoli.it/bigjimactionfigure.jpg) [http://www.vecchigiocattoli.it/bigjim9413.jpg](http://www.vecchigiocattoli.it/bigjim9413.jpg) (for his stint in the Village People) [http://www.vecchigiocattoli.it/bigjim7153.jpg](http://www.vecchigiocattoli.it/bigjim7153.jpg) (the Richard Simmons look) ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/127 "2003-06-23T16:09:10Z")
I always wanted (but never got) a Tootsie roll molder. Remember those? They came out at the same time Tootsie roll tried fruit flavored varieties. You could put the rolls in different molds and make cars or a working whistle. I had one of the monster maker kits, which lasted as long as the supply of compound. Once we ran out of the latex or whatever it was, that one ended up in the back of the closet. I also remember a mini film projector that we used to watch short Scooby- Do cartoons. You just needed a clean wall in a dark room. Unless I dreamt that last one. One of my favorite '70s games was Survivor. The one with marbles that sat on a plastic board with moving rods that had holes in them that the marbles would fall through when they lined up. The last one with a marble still on the board was the winner. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/128 "2003-06-23T18:21:43Z")
**CadburyAngel** ’s post reminded me of this horrible 70’s game based on the movie **JAWS**. It was a big plastic shark and you propped the mouth open and put a bunch of junk in it’s “stomach” (It came with plastic boots, tires, etc. ) You took turns fishing junk out of the shark’s stomach with a fishing pole, and I guess when enough junk would be removed it would trigger the shark’s mouth snapping shut. Re: “Magic Sand.” Mine was actually CALLED Magic Sand and acame in a small “genie”-shaped bottle. You could get it in red, yellow and blue. (This was circa 1983-4 I think. Maybe in different decades it had different names.) Did anyone mention “Cat’s Eye” yet? My cousin had that game and I loved it. Seriously though: LOUDEST GAME EVER! My mom heard the cacophany it made and said I was absolutely NOT getting my own. ---
**Author:** ![Quantum\_Butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e79b87/32.png) [@Quantum\_Butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quantum_Butterfly)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/129 "2003-06-23T18:59:02Z")
> [@](#): > > _Posted by DocCathode_ > I love these for an entirely different reason. I sell toys. > > OTOMH-Pony Varieties > unicorns, pegasi, horned pegasi, sparkle eyed, seahorse, minis, cleisdale, multi colored mane, I’d keep listing but it’s 4:30 am. You sell Ponies?!?!?!?! OMG! :eek: 🆒 Email addy, please! I want some! This is sad, I know, considering I’m 20 yrs. old, but you just can’t get Ponies in the store anymore! They were my favorite toy EVER. I insisted on keeping my collection in a box somewhere so my kids can know the joy of Ponies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![flyershistory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71e660/32.png) [@flyershistory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyershistory)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/130 "2003-06-23T19:01:03Z")
How about the classic “Buckaroo” . You’d “plunge” the donkey’s butt down and take off various items from his pack. Eventual someone would trigger it to “buck” (scattering the items) ---
**Author:** ![flyershistory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71e660/32.png) [@flyershistory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyershistory)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/131 "2003-06-23T19:01:09Z")
How about the classic “Buckaroo” . You’d “plunge” the donkey’s butt down and take off various items from his pack. Eventually someone would trigger it to “buck” (scattering the items) ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/132 "2003-06-23T19:55:35Z")
I grew up in the 70s. Here are some of my most remembered toys: **Criss-Cross-Crash:** This was a Hot Wheels race track. The track was in a figure-eight shape where one track cross the other at the middle. You and another person would run your cars around the track by launching them out of a crank mechanism. Eventually both cars would meet at the crossing point and crash into each other. **Flash Brite:** This was a hand-cranked flashlight. The faster it was cranked the brighter the light would shine. It came with red, green and yellow disks that would snap over the light to make different colors. My mom tells me I wore three of these things out. **Owl calculator:** This was a match teaching calculator with an owl’s face on it. His eyes were LEDs. One was green and the other was red. There was no numerical readout on it. The way it worked was to enter a simple math problem (e.g. 2 + 3 = 5). You had to supply the correct answer, though. If it was correct, the green light would flash and it would beep. A wrong answer would flash the red light and it would make a buzzing sound. One toy I wish I had but never got was a programmable truck with a numeric keypad on it. The operator could enter a series of numbers and arrows to program the truck’s course. It would move x number of feet as programmed and then turn directions. A kid brought it to school once and I begged my mom to get it for Christmas and then my birthday, but they never got it. It was $50, which in the late 70s was probably $100 today. ---
**Author:** ![ravesaint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb8c5e/32.png) [@ravesaint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ravesaint)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/133 "2003-06-23T20:41:02Z")
[Space Pets!!!](http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/8410/hoomdorm.html) Funky looking robot things that ran off of air pressure. You pumped them up and then hit a switch and depending on the model they’d either hop (this is the one I had. Terrified the hell out of my dog 😃 ) or crawl around. I’m the only person I know who remembers these things, much less owned one. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/134 "2003-06-23T20:53:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dwc1970 \* > \*\* > > **Owl calculator:** This was a match teaching calculator with an owl’s face on it. His eyes were LEDs. One was green and the other was red. There was no numerical readout on it. The way it worked was to enter a simple math problem (e.g. 2 + 3 = 5). You had to supply the correct answer, though. If it was correct, the green light would flash and it would beep. A wrong answer would flash the red light and it would make a buzzing sound.\*\* I had one too, but I don’t remember the lights. Did yours wear a cap and gown? I just associated the calculator with Wonder Woman (Linda Carter) somehow. Thanks twice. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/135 "2003-06-23T21:02:41Z")
What about Sea Monkeys? In comic books of the early 70s, you could order all sorts of fantastic things, Sea Monkeys being among them. There was also an “X-Ray Vision Glasses” that you could send off for. Parents wouldn’t let me order those, but we did order some of those soft science experiment thingies. Seems like one of the experiments, explaning the law of conservation of energy was a Slinkee! Or am I remembering two different things as one? Of course, who can forget the hours of prognosticating fun one could have with a Magic 8 Ball. “Unclear” “Yes” “No” ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/136 "2003-06-23T21:09:26Z")
You know? As I read this thread, I can’t help but think that if one of us had the means to procure a whole bunch of nostalgia toys and market them online, they could make a killing this Christmas. Something to think about. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/137 "2003-06-23T21:17:50Z")
I was a sucker for action figures and gross out toys. Typical 80s boy I suppose. I had the Mad Scientist Alien Disection Kit (which I loved, I’m perfectly normal… stop looking at me that way…), collected Garbage Pail Kids ect but three toy lines stand out in my memory of my childhood and you almost never ever hear about them today. Sectaurs Inhumanoids Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors For some reason I only ever collected the bad guys… the heros all sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/138 "2003-06-23T21:31:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dwc1970 \* > \*\* > **Owl calculator:** This was a match teaching calculator with an owl’s face on it. His eyes were LEDs. One was green and the other was red. There was no numerical readout on it. The way it worked was to enter a simple math problem (e.g. 2 + 3 = 5). You had to supply the correct answer, though. If it was correct, the green light would flash and it would beep. A wrong answer would flash the red light and it would make a buzzing sound. > > \*\* The one I had looked like an old man with glasses, a big white moustache, and wore a mortarboard. I think he was called a “Little Professor” ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/139 "2003-06-23T21:32:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dwc1970 \* > \*\*One toy I wish I had but never got was a programmable truck with a numeric keypad on it. The operator could enter a series of numbers and arrows to program the truck’s course. It would move x number of feet as programmed and then turn directions. A kid brought it to school once and I begged my mom to get it for Christmas and then my birthday, but they never got it. It was $50, which in the late 70s was probably $100 today. \*\* That was the [Big Trak](http://www.bugeyedmonster.com/toys/bigtrak/). I still have mine (though the paper insert under the keyboard is kind of mildewed) and have the trailer as well. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231/140 "2003-06-23T21:41:06Z")
Ooh! Long before Garbage pail kids, there were stickers (I think in gum packs like baseball cards) that had Mad Magazine style ads on them. They were about the same size as baseball cards. Like Scary Ghost laundry detergent, for the whitest sheets. Head and Boulders rock shampoo. (Not those particular things, but along those lines.) And they were stickers! _:::sigh:::_ except for my OP, no else remembers _my_ toys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-toys-you-vaguely-remember/183231.md?page=8)