THE TOYS WE GREW UP WITH

As a kid growing up in Philadelphia, I could play for hours with my Hot Wheels. Don't get me wrong, I like Matchbox cars, too, but the Hot Wheels were cooler. They came with race tracks that featured a steep hill to get the little metal car going. They still make Hot Wheels, but I doubt whether they're as sturdy as they once were.



Hot Wheels was just one of the many toys I grew up with in the 60's and 70's.
Silly Putty was probably my second favorite. Some freak of a chemist came up with this beige colored goo and put it in a little plastic egg for sale. You can still find Silly Putty. The brilliance of Silly Putty was its versatility. You can smush it on newspaper cartoons and pick up the image, you could form it into a ball and bounce it like a super ball and you could stretch it and shape into anything you'd like. I liked forming little air pockets and popping them at the dinner table, irritating my folks.

Surprisingly, most of the toys we all grew up with are still being sold today, although in more modern looking packaging. You can still buy Play Doh, Mr. Potato Head, Lite Brite, Legos, the board game Chutes and Ladders, G.I. Joe and for the girls, the Easy Bake Oven.

Below are just some of the many games and toys I had enjoyed as a child.


ETCH A SKETCH



PLAY DOH



EASY BAKE OVEN



MR. POTATO HEAD



OPERATION



LITE BRITE



G.I. JOE



CHUTES AND LADDERS



SLINKY



LINCOLN LOGS



LEGOS



BALSA WOOD MODEL AIRPLANES




MONOPOLY




TIDDLYWINKS



DUNCAN YO-YO



ROCK'EM SOCK'EM ROBOTS



SPIROGRAPH