By Hasbro.

scientific set of the same genre! BUT, he became a doctor....just retired at age 72. How the years fly by.

Thanks for this fun OP!

I never had any of those sets, TG. I really can't remember a lot of childhood toys, except a doll or two. We played outside a lot, so I guess we made up our own games. I had a lot of books and art supplies.... and I became an art teacher!

This was a fun topic!

Last edited Tue Dec 23, 2014, 03:47 AM - Edit history (1)

Anyway, my guess would be dolls, maybe Raggedy Ann types and Lincoln logs and Tinker Toys....Legos were my kids toys in the late 70's and early eighties....well, at least that's what I garnered from my vacuum sweeper!

I mostly remember board games like Monopoly, and card games like Old Maid. I also had a Raggedy Ann doll and a Slinky (a metal one, not one of those cheapo plastic ones) and Silly Putty and a Magic 8-Ball.

because of the Lone Ranger and some lesser cowboys on that new adult toy - the TeeVee.

You used a real potato in the olden days, not a plastic one. It got kind of messy sometimes, and the potato would rot if you forgot about it or threw it in the box with your other toys. Maybe that's why they started including plastic potatoes in the set, but the real ones were more fun because you could stick the accessories anywhere on it and make weird mutant Mr. Potato Heads.

plastic generation. My Mom wouldn't buy me one, but my cousin got one that I played with for ten minutes and immediately got bored

My first toy I can remember was an aluminum flying saucer sled. Both my sister and I each got one. I ended up taking off the back deck staircase with my sister in close pursuit. She careened into me and ended up breaking my nose when her sled hit my face. I think those sleds lasted us a good ten years though!

Now they're apparently a classic!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-26-Aluminum-Vintage-Snow-Sled-Downhill-Saucer-Disc-Lid/361142000842?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140602152332%26meid%3D36d8f6a6284b40c196554cdf333ec055%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D20140602152332%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D251392504960

...of a fresh potato was part of the experience.

Though that was also the year Connect Four was released

Brontosaurus, with the occasional Pterodactyl if we could catch one

When I was 2.5 years old I was given a small toy iron that my mother said cost 10-cents and I ironed the rest of the day. I ironed everything in the house including the stairs. What a hoot.

I don't know about the year I was born (1943) but for my 4th birthday in December 1947, I wanted a Sparkle Plenty doll. My dad was in the Army and our family was living in Tokyo. My mom and I rode all over Tokyo in Dad’s Jeep trying to find one at a PX, but there were no Sparkle Plenty dolls to be found anywhere. What we did find were Japanese bombing victims in dire need of help (I can still see them in my mind, as if it were yesterday), so we forgot about the silly doll and got out of the Jeep to see what we could do for them. Mom did a lot of social work and had lots of contacts, and our next visit was to take them food and clothing, and we weren’t alone, because Mom’s social worker friends were with us, also loaded down with goods.

Sparkle Plenty first appeared on June 6th, 1947 in the series as an extremely beautiful baby born from the genes of two homely looking parents, Gravel Gertie and B.O. Plenty. Immediately the world fell in love with her. Her picture made the cover of practically every newspaper in the country including local magazine Glance.

Slinky, including the slinky dog. I was 10 weeks old Christmas of '56 so I probably got some onesies and winter clothing.

Then we had that wheel thingy .

Silly Putty, Candy Land, Kewpie dolls, Cootie, Clue, Bouncing Putty, Wind-up Clacking "Talking Teeth"

Steel Pogo Sticks, John Deere Die-Cast Tractor, Lionel Trains Milk Car, Tonka Trucks

on edit: oops: look here http://www.pop-culture.us/Annual/1939.html

I had to look this up. I'm guessing the first item didn't stay around very long, because I never heard of it.

Muffin the Mule pull-toy, View-Master* with Disney reels, Scrabble**

We went through a lot of these sets during my childhood.

I could not find anything else.

in the 1940's and 50's.



https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRm9SbdgcarkTycnuGxdg5MQfkFUBq8n61CJXNU0V5JVamfM5-h9s_40A

When I was a toddler (early 50's) my parents got me an outdoor mini 'roller coaster'. A child would sit on this four-wheeled car that was mounted on a metal frame/track that locked into the top stand...about 31/2 feet off the ground. Then someone would get behind and push and the car would roll down about 7 feet of downhill track. I've seen similar concepts made out of plastic for today's children.