{"id":2575,"date":"2014-05-15T06:41:48","date_gmt":"2014-05-15T10:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.50.23\/wordpress\/blog\/?p=2575"},"modified":"2018-11-16T05:18:16","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T10:18:16","slug":"retro-birthday-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forths.com\/index.php\/2014\/05\/15\/retro-birthday-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Retro Birthday Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you remember your favorite childhood toy? \u00a0I don’t recall many toys from my younger years, but I had one toy that I could never forget. \u00a0This most memorable toy reflected a simpler, less litigious time in America. \u00a0These were the good ol’ days, when a boy\u00a0had the God-given right to burn his fingers on molten plastic, or play with ungrounded electric appliances.<\/p>\n

For our birthdays this year, Nicki wanted\u00a0to do something different. \u00a0She remembered our earlier discussions about our most memorable childhood toys, and set out to find the exact toys that Deb and I talked about. \u00a0After months of hunting and bidding, she found our toys, still in their boxes, and still very playable.<\/p>\n

Deb’s favorite toy was a doll named Velvet, a 15-inch doll with hair that grew. \u00a0Velvet was released in 1970, as a companion product to the taller 18-inch Crissy<\/a> doll that similarly grew her hair. \u00a0When Debbie opened her gift, she immediately remembered the box it came in and the heavy yarn carrying handle at the top. \u00a0She remembered learning how to braid hair with her Velvet doll. \u00a0A button on the doll’s belly allowed her hair to be pulled to longer lengths, while a rotary dial on her back could be turned to retract her hair back into her head.<\/p>\n

My favorite toy was the Strange Change Machine<\/a>, which dates to 1967. \u00a0The toy came with 16 plastic cubes that would unfold into various dinosaurs and monsters when heated in a chamber. \u00a0A plastic landscape was included, and background scenery was printed on the back of the instruction sheet. \u00a0Nicki found a set that was surprisingly complete, with 13 of the original 16 cubes. \u00a0The monsters could then be re-heated in the chamber, placed into the vise-like “compression chamber”, and squeezed back into their original cube shapes, complete with the Mattel logo embossed into their sides to\u00a0instill a sense of brand loyalty in little children.<\/p>\n

I fondly recall sitting on my back porch with my original Strange Change Machine. \u00a0I would place a cube into the hot toy using my bare fingers, because only a wimp used the blue plastic tongs. \u00a0When the toy unfolded minutes later, I would again use my bare fingers to extract the hot beast from the chamber, which would when stick to my fingers. \u00a0After heating a few monsters to life, I would get little blisters on my fingers, a badge of honor for the little evil scientist I imagined I was.<\/p>\n

I never thought I’d see another Strange Change Machine again, much less play with one. \u00a0When I opened the gift at Nicki’s house, I was instantly transported back to my back porch. \u00a0Thankfully, my excitement helped me fight back the tears of joy – evil scientists don’t cry, right? \u00a0I couldn’t wait to test this toy, so on Nicki’s kitchen counter, I powered up the machine and felt it warm up. \u00a0We tested a plastic cube, which unfolded into a little beast after several minutes. \u00a0Nicki then operated the compression chamber to squeeze it back to a cube, and the trip was complete. \u00a0I never thought I’d experience that again.<\/p>\n

Thanks Nicki! \u00a0We enjoyed our trips back to those simpler days.<\/p>\n