Long before iPads and TikTok, kids in the ’60s were having wild adventures with toys that were half play, half lawsuit in progress. These weren’t toys, really, but small adventures packed in plastic and cardboard boxes.
If you are a kid of these treasures, then congratulations, you made it through the golden age of a notably perilous but absolutely awesome childhood. Buckle up, because you’re about to feel very seen (and perhaps a bit attacked).
Thingmaker
This one would cook rubbery shapes hotter than your mom’s casserole. It was being pitched as a do-it-yourself toy, but Thingmaker was essentially a tiny foundry. You were able to make rings, bugs, monsters — and surely second-degree burns. ’60s fun was constructed differently.
Battling Tops
Simple, Yes. Boring, never. You wind them up and set them spinning to death. Each game was like a WWE showdown in plastic. Children lost friends, pride, and sometimes teeth battling over who owned the best top.
Spirograph
Want to spend three hours creating hypnotic circles that resembled alien crop circles? Spirograph had you covered. It was both mathematics and art, but 100 percent hypnotic. Bonus: you were left appearing intelligent, doing absolutely nothing significant.
Creepy Crawlers
Who was that genius who thought handing kids metal molds, liquid plastic, and an actual mini-oven was a good idea? Creepy Crawlers were the epitome of science-meets-safety-risk toys. You would essentially cook your own gummy bugs — and perhaps a couple of fingertips along the way. But hey, worth it for those rubbery masterpieces.
Troll Dolls
Trolls were not cute, by the way. They were wild-haired, frizzy-eyed, butt-naked bodies. Every child had a set, and whether you considered them lucky charms or cursed toys was a reflection of your energy. People battled over them in schoolyards like it was currency.
Clackers
These seemingly harmless acrylic balls on a string were nothing more than chaos. One misplaced swing, you had a shattered eyeball, a bruised forehead — or both. Still, somehow, every kid in the ’60s was hooked on them. They were loud, cool-looking — and banned in almost every school, of course.
Johnny Seven O.M.A.
This was no toy — this was an armory for a child. Johnny Seven One Man Army was the plastic war Holy Grail. Missiles, grenades, rifle — it was all there. You were an independent militia force. Every neighborhood conflict? If you had this abomination, you were assured of victory.
Slinky
You started strong – descending-stair action, wow, cheer. But 5 minutes in, the knotted cluster no human being was capable of untangling. Still, all the children pleaded for one. It was somehow hypnotic and utterly useless by the third day.
Etch A Sketch
They used to have this annoying red-framed devil box before we had styluses and iPads. You twist and turn until your wrist was sore, only to accidentally shake and delete your masterpiece. But when, by luck, you could get a cool design down? Instant playground legend.
Kenner’s Easy-Bake Oven
Nothing invoked a sense of “independence” quite like baking a crusty cupcake with a light bulb. The Easy-Bake Oven was designed to deliver gourmet desserts, but actually yielded more frequently uneven brownies as hard as drywall. Yet, somehow, something was magical about it. First morsel of adulthood — and the beginning of never trusting cooking instructions again.
Jarts (Lawn Darts)
Let’s get real: these were not toys. These were giant slabs tipped with metal, something you hurled through the air and hoped didn’t smash through somebody’s skull. But everyone played like nothing was abnormally wrong. No helmets. No fear. You, a sunny lawn, and a looming specter of accidental death.
Rock’ Em Sock’ Em Robots
If you never yelled at least once, “YOU KNOCKED HIS BLOCK OFF!” then you never truly lived through the ’60s. The game turned calm playtime into furious arguments. Blue Bomber vs. Red Rocker — plastic showdown supreme.
Stuff GenXers and Millennials Found Cool in the 90s but They Aren’t Anymore
Back then we thought we had it all. Now looking back on some of those past ‘trends’, it’s hard to believe we thought they were cool. Those trends are gone but thankfully we still have the memories of that time period!
Stuff GenXers and Millennials Found Cool in the 90s but They Aren’t Anymore
15 Vanished Jobs That Should Make a Comeback
With our nostalgia-obsessed culture, AI fatigue, and cottagecore daydreams, those 15 forgotten careers might be waiting in hiding for their reboot. So get ready—some of these jobs are history’s weirdos, although they might be your grandkid’s next dream gig.
15 Vanished Jobs That Should Make a Comeback