Things Forgotten

Metal lunch boxes you carried to school

Glass lined Thermos

Red plaid Thermos

Family gatherings that involved Lawn Darts, Hand cranked ice cream.. all the kid's took turns and the uncles would add the ice and pour on the salt. The egg toss with live eggs. large bonfires with the long Hot dog roaster, it held three at a time. Making Tonka pies over the fire (do they still make those) Snipe hunts and the yelling at we got for that!

I'm sitting here with my candy necklace on .those ones with all the small circular candies that were 99% sugar while i read this (NO!.do not Cross-dress), looking to see if there any Charleston Chews left in the freezer.  I know I have Mary-Janes, fireballs, Clark Bar Minatures, and what passes for Skybars in a drawer.  Maybe I'll nip off the top of my wax "coke" bottle and drink the stuff.  Or maybe put on my wax lips ( No, I do not Cross-dress). Ah hell, I'll just sit back and light up one of my candy cigarettes as I read the next few posts. or since we are now in a more "forced Healthy Age", forgo the ciggies for some Clove or Teaberry Gum.
 
BTW........all that I mentioned above are still available

Candy jewelry!!

You can lick the face right off of a candy watch.

DawnT


I got thinking about some of the crap sold to kids last night...naturally whammo comes to mind. These were fad toys I'm thinking about that made you part of an elementary school group.

[lengthy list of toys]

 
I saw some of the new tv show 'Toy Hunter', involving finding rare toys, buying them cheap and (trying to) sell them for a profit. The host is skewing to a younger demographic than mine, looking at things from the '80s or so, but it got me thinking how rare it would be to find some 'Flubber' compound from the early '60s. It was made as a tie-in to Disney's 'Son of Flubber', but was quickly recalled when it was found to be a major skin irritant. Its attempted disposal became the stuff of urban legend, that it resisted being incinerated or dumped at sea, and apparently is buried in a lot somewhere, occasionally breaking the surface.
Certainly I was a target for their advertising and was convinced I needed some, and was bugged at its quick disappearance due to what I perceived as a couple of dumb kids who maybe ate some and ruined it for the rest of us.

Don't forget the Wham-O kits...

Limbo Dance Kit
DIY Bomb Shelter Kit...seriously.

I still remember the children's TV series Romper Room, which was "franchised" across the country. Several cities had their own locally-produced versions, each with its own pretty young hostess.        

An area not covered yet, I think...
The ARMY AIR CORPS before the US Air Force became a seperate service.
Ike Jackets in Olive Drab...before Army Green became the standard class A uniform color.
"Specialist" ranks (Army) numbered to match the enlisted pay grade.
I was a "Spec-5" when I was released from Active duty.
How about when "BDU's" (or whatever today's label is) were called Fatigues, and were Olive green and worn with the "Fidel" cap, but only on base...never out in the civilian world.
 
I received my Draft Registration Card in the mail.....while I was on active duty in Vietnam. My First Sgt. did not see the humor in this....but I thought it was funny as hell that I was supposed to report on a coming date to the Los Angeles Recruiting Station for my Draft Physical, and I requested transportation from RVN to SoCal to comply with my Draft Notice !! (1962)
 

When I got to Basic Training at Sampson AFB in Geneva, New York the transition from OD to Blues wasn't complete. I was issued an OD Ike jacket, blue pants and rough-out combat boots that had to be shined with black polish. Ranks were different, too. When I got out I was an Airman 1st Class. That was a three-stripe equivalent to Army Sergeant. Today A1/C is what used to be Airman 2nd Class -- corporal.

New Math  (What a waste!)
 
Head bands
 
Mercury in thermometers
 
 

carolina bob


I still remember the children's TV series Romper Room, which was "franchised" across the country. Several cities had their own locally-produced versions, each with its own pretty young hostess.        

Glad you got the cute ones!  I remember a middle aged, far from slim hostess who would look at me thru her "magic looking glass", and I'd switch back to cartoons

Michael
We were originally issued the brown boots also (Feb. 1960) It took forever to get an even coat of black dye on them, then several cans of KIWI polish to make them shine at all. Right after Basic I bought two pairs of the newer, smooth-finish black boots, and stopped the spit and polish thing immediately.
Hear's one for you MH,
My ride from Travis AFB  in California to Saigon, via Hickam AFB Hawaii, Wake island, Tachikawa-Japan, Kadena-Okinawa, Hong Kong, then Saigon was on "FLYING TIGERS AIRLINES in a triple tailed Lockheed Constellation.  
 
I came out on a MATS C-124 GLOBEMASTER. That C-124 was quite different from todays work-horse C-17 GLOBEMASTER !! Here's mine !

 
 

mayor al


Michael
We were originally issued the brown boots also (Feb. 1960) It took forever to get an even coat of black dye on them, then several cans of KIWI polish to make them shine at all. Right after Basic I bought two pairs of the newer, smooth-finish black boots, and stopped the spit and polish thing immediately.
Hear's one for you MH,
My ride from Travis AFB  in California to Saigon, via Hickam AFB Hawaii, Wake island, Tachikawa-Japan, Kadena-Okinawa, Hong Kong, then Saigon was on "FLYING TIGERS AIRLINES in a triple tailed Lockheed Constellation.  

I came out on a MATS C-124 GLOBEMASTER. That C-124 was quite different from todays work-horse C-17 GLOBEMASTER !! Here's mine !
 

What are those funny looking things on the Jet Engines????????

Steel Beer Cans:
Canned beverages were factory-sealed and required a special opener tool in order to consume the contents. Cans were typically formed as cylinders, having a flat top and bottom. These would become known as "punch top" cans, as they required a opener tool, typically a wedge shaped metal cutter that latched onto the top rim for leverage where lifting it by hand would cut a triangular opening at the top edge of the can. A small second hole was usually punched at the opposite side of the top in order to let air in, allowing the beverage to flow freely.
Today, Worldwide production for all beverage cans is approximately 475 BILLION cans per year worldwide.
North America is the biggest market for cans, using almost 100 billion for drinks and about 30 billion for food, industrial products and aerosols a year.
Here's a way to solve the National Debt.
Create a Dept of Recycling.
Transfer Federal employees from other useless Depts like Education and Agriculture to the Dept of Recycling.
Have them go out and collect used cans and turn them in to recycling plants.
Take the $$$$$ earned and apply it directly to the National Debt.
Payed off in no time.
Then disband the Dept of Recycling!!!!!

carolina bob


I still remember the children's TV series Romper Room, which was "franchised" across the country. Several cities had their own locally-produced versions, each with its own pretty young hostess.        

 
My ever patient mom and I waited in a long line in the early 60's to meet Miss Louise, our local Romper Room enchantress, at Woolworth's and also sucked mom into buying a "catch-O"...good for minutes of fun before I stabbed my sister in the eye. 

Bruce Lee movies on Saturday afternoons

Leg warmers to match the head bands.

Foodbme


Steel Beer Cans:
Canned beverages were factory-sealed and required a special opener tool in order to consume the contents. Cans were typically formed as cylinders, having a flat top and bottom. These would become known as "punch top" cans, as they required a opener tool, typically a wedge shaped metal cutter that latched onto the top rim for leverage where lifting it by hand would cut a triangular opening at the top edge of the can. A small second hole was usually punched at the opposite side of the top in order to let air in, allowing the beverage to flow freely.
Today, Worldwide production for all beverage cans is approximately 475 BILLION cans per year worldwide.
North America is the biggest market for cans, using almost 100 billion for drinks and about 30 billion for food, industrial products and aerosols a year.
Here's a way to solve the National Debt.
Create a Dept of Recycling.
Transfer Federal employees from other useless Depts like Education and Agriculture to the Dept of Recycling.
Have them go out and collect used cans and turn them in to recycling plants.
Take the $$$$$ earned and apply it directly to the National Debt.
Payed off in no time.
Then disband the Dept of Recycling!!!!!

Yeah and we called them "Church Keys".....back when Gawd Bless America meant no debt

Pet rocks. I don't remember too much about them.

Mood rings. For the hands.

White lipstick

Blue eyeshadow. Forget that.

Since it's not included in the poll..and it will make a dinner to die for...

Who is killing the Great Chefs of Europe?

It will be rich...so The Jane Fonda workout.

Oh...or maybe Deal-a-meal.

Don't forget the matching Kerchief.
 
I don't think anyone mentioned slide rules. Still have my circular and long one somewhere. First four function calculators that were affodable came out during college for around $100 from TI around '74. Guy's walking around with those flopping, little pouches on their belt looked funny. There was a pecking order. The guys who's parents were rich and could afford to buy them a Hewlett Packard calculator were held in awe. Anyone remember RPN? I couldn't afford one until they hit the mark under $50 and wound up with one that would do crazy things if you didn't just punch the key quickly. They wouldn't let us use them during an exam, but would let us use slide rules.
Anyone remember how adults were freaking out over kids using them? That would return again when they learned the word "spell check" during the 80's from the media and had no clue what it meant. I remember how I tried to beg my dad to use my calculator and he refused. Sadly both were that way with technology to the end although my dad would use a calculater in later years. That and a touch tone phone had to be milestones. 
 
 

CCinNJ


Blue eyeshadow. Forget that.

My Father had a TI 58 that he used for work. So the "this is not a toy" speech.

He did buy me something called a diabolo. A Chinese yo-yo from Mexico. It was the first one I ever saw...and I never saw another one. Fun...but mysterious. Two sticks...with a string that was used to balance a device in the middle. I still wanted to play with the calculator too.

Using blush as eye shadow (80's)

FriedClamFanatic

Foodbme


Steel Beer Cans:
Canned beverages were factory-sealed and required a special opener tool in order to consume the contents. Cans were typically formed as cylinders, having a flat top and bottom. These would become known as "punch top" cans, as they required a opener tool, typically a wedge shaped metal cutter that latched onto the top rim for leverage where lifting it by hand would cut a triangular opening at the top edge of the can. A small second hole was usually punched at the opposite side of the top in order to let air in, allowing the beverage to flow freely.
Today, Worldwide production for all beverage cans is approximately 475 BILLION cans per year worldwide.
North America is the biggest market for cans, using almost 100 billion for drinks and about 30 billion for food, industrial products and aerosols a year.
Here's a way to solve the National Debt.
Create a Dept of Recycling.
Transfer Federal employees from other useless Depts like Education and Agriculture to the Dept of Recycling.
Have them go out and collect used cans and turn them in to recycling plants.
Take the $$$$$ earned and apply it directly to the National Debt.
Payed off in no time.
Then disband the Dept of Recycling!!!!!

Yeah and we called them "Church Keys".....back when Gawd Bless America meant no debt

We reserved the term "Church Key" for the ones with the loop that was used to open bottle caps.

Using lipstick for blush.

CCinNJ


Leg warmers to match the head bands.

CCinNJ


Blue eyeshadow. Forget that.

Got any photos?