# What was this 80's toy called?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-80s-toy-called/710647>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 23, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-80s-toy-called/710647 "2015-01-23T03:02:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-80s-toy-called/710647/1 "2015-01-23T03:02:40Z")

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I just had a sudden memory of a toy I had as a small child in the mid eighties. It had the form of some kind of military figure–I think some kind of navy officer, with the brushy things on the shoulders. I think it was blue. You could insert cards into it, and the cards were visible on its stomach. The cards had colored patches on them, and if you pushed the colored patches in the right order (as indicated by a set of patches placed in sequence near the top of the card) you heard, in beeps, a popular tune. A different tune for each card. The only one I remember was “Theme From Mash (Suicide is Painless)” This is the toy where I learned what the word “suicide” means… at age six or so…

Anyone else remember this? What was it called? Was it a popular toy?

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-80s-toy-called/710647/2 "2015-01-23T03:30:43Z")

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Playskool [Major](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/370843350539439188/) [Morgan](http://www.80snostalgia.com/major-morgan/)?

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**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-80s-toy-called/710647/3 "2015-01-23T05:16:57Z")

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> [@Frylock](#):
>
> I think some kind of navy officer, with the brushy things on the shoulders.

You already seem to have the right answer, so I’ll just chime in to say that the shoulder things are called [epaulettes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epaulette).