Things I Used As A Kid that Are No More

[the_bird]

My first computer:

My mother won it in a door prize when Radio Shack opened in my home town. Had one external floppy drive that connected via ribbon cable to a big cartridge that stuck into the side of the computer.

I had a CoCo 2. 16k memory. Had a few cartridge-pack games, but mostly if I wanted a game I had to copy it in by hand from my Rainbow magazine. Didn't even have a floppy drive for the longest time; saved programs to cassette!

Upgraded eventually to the CoCo 3 (128k memory, maybe, or maybe 64k).

Taught me how to write programs in Basic at a very early age. When I had to start doing algebra, it was easy - I'd been doing it for years at that point.

Both machines are still in a box at my folks' house. My mother bugs me about once a year to "take this stuff with you when you go home!," but I know that I would hook it up, play with it once or twice and it'd just collect dust in MY attic.

 

[ChshreCat]

There was one great game for the CoCo... Dungeons of Daggorath! I played that for HOURS as a kid. I kept wanting to try it again, then I found this: http://mspencer.net/daggorath/dodpcp.html. Someone ported it to run on a PC! Yes!

 

[GoldMiner]

- Going outside to play all day (and night) and not having to worry about getting abducted

+1 My parents wouldn't even ask where I was going.

I see a lot of people don't get phone books anymore - how have you managed that?

If anything I get more phone books than before.

 

[the_bird]

Hell, yeah!

Somewhere, I had found an emulator that had like every single game that was ever made. Have to see if I can find that again....

 

[Reelale]

Slot car racing.

Sleeping-out in friend's back yards.

Raiding gardens, and orchards.

Riding bicyles all over town until.....

Moose Lodge dances on Friday nights....

 

[Oldyote]

Rock'em Sock'em Robots

 

[Skins_Brew]

Anyone remember not wearing a seat belt? I also can remember riding in the front seat from a very young age and the countless fights with my brother over who got the "Front."

In the summer our mom use to actually lock us out of the house for a few hours in the summer. usually from like 11am to 1 pm. At 1 pm the neighborhood pool opened and that is where we spent the rest of the day, until dinner anyway. CPS would be all over a parent if they locked their kids outside these days.

 

[DeafSmith]

Talking about toys - anyone else have a set of these?

http://home.earthlink.net/~fashimbo/index.html

 

[the_bird]

In the summer our mom use to actually lock us out of the house for a few hours in the summer. usually from like 11am to 1 pm. At 1 pm the neighborhood pool opened and that is where we spent the rest of the day, until dinner anyway. CPS would be all over a parent if they locked their kids outside these days.

Huh. Was mailed delivered around 11:15, per chance?

 

[maxamuus]

In the summer our mom use to actually lock us out of the house for a few hours in the summer. usually from like 11am to 1 pm.

My mom did the very same thing. Go outside and play while she watched her Soaps.

 

[shelly_belly]

Clackers

 

[Sean]

Huh. Was mailed delivered around 11:15, per chance?

Your an evil one!

 

[Reelale]

And this,

 

[Skins_Brew]

Huh. Was mailed delivered around 11:15, per chance?

Took me a second to get that one. I cant remember when the mail was delivered but it was usually delivered by a chick!

 

[Beerrific]

I see a lot of people don't get phone books anymore - how have you managed that?

If anything I get more phone books than before.

I don't even have a home phone and get stacks on my door step. Tried to chase the people down the street and give them back. Their reaction made me think it was not the first time this happened.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

Technology is beginning to pass me by so I started to think of all the things that were a daily part of my life that are no more. Please add if you see fit.

1) Rabbit Ear Antenna
2) Rotary Phones
3) 5 digit phone numbers
4) Walkman
5) 8 track tapes
6) LPs, ELPs and 45s (if you don't know what these are, this is not the thread for you)
7) Atari
8) Mimeographed school work that got you high
9) Writing letters
10) Betamax
11) Video discs (damn didn't they suck)
12) Coleco/Matell Football

Okay OP, I'm 20 years younger than you, and I've used 1,2,4,7,9,11, 13, 14, 15...

I exchange my propane tank and actually bought a popcorn machine today.. I had creepy crawlers, played marbles for keepsies in elementary, Pogs (I bet you guys didn't have those, they were a short lived fad while I was in elementary.) Played computer games on those old mac's with the 10 inch screens....

But then again we had alot of recycled things when I was growing up- hand me down computers and such (we had one with a 5" floppy drive... in 1996)

 

[maxamuus]

Propane exchange is such a rip off. I get mine filled just down the road and usually costs me like 8-10 bucks.

 

[Sean]

(we had one with a 5" floppy drive... in 1996)

Eh hem, Pardon me junior, I believe they were 5.25 Inches.

 

[JohnnyO]

Up until then, this was my favorite toy:

Evil Knievel Stunt Cycle!!!

I was just thinking about that cycle earlier!
So awesome, they were.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I can remember my dad paying 37 cents a gallon for "ethel" gasoline & complaining it was too much. Used to be you'd pull up to the gas pump & the attendant would come running out to pump the fuel for you, he'd ask if you wanted your oil & radiator checked, even check the tire pressure for you, clean your windshield, count your change back to you, give you a free glass or a wad of green stamps that would choke a horse wish you a nice day & do it all with a smile... That's why they were called service stations.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

NeHi pineapple soda (pop)

Shasta makes this now. Pretty effing good.


Camel patches. Bicycle tire patches that you lit on fire to melt the rubber patch to the tube.

 

[the_bird]

We used to save bacon fat, to use later when we fried eggs. Probably while smoking cigarettes and lighting our bicycles on fire.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

We used to save bacon fat, to use later when we fried eggs. Probably while smoking cigarettes and lighting our bicycles on fire.

I still save bacon grease, it's a crime to throw such good stuff away!

Nobody wore bicycle helmets when I was a kid.
Those cars that you inserted a nylon zip-tie sort of thing into and pulled to get the 'flywheel' going, then put it down and watched it go...about 20 feet.
Those stickers (came in a pack of inedible gum IIRC) that were goofs on popular products.
Green Stamps at the grocery check-out.
Those tall orange flags some people put on their bicycles.

 

[jgln]

Easy Bake oven....ok I grew up with 3 older sisters and we used to bake the cakes and sell them out front with cool-aid.

 

[jgln]

Milkman, and the little chutes in your house they would put it in. Penny candy. The first long phone cord that allowed you to travel to a different room in the house for privacy. Using electrical tape to repair a baseball. Oh and the crack in the street was second base and not something people smoked.

We had a metal box lined with styrofoam out by the front door the milkman would put the milk in.

 

[jgln]

Boxes of small round pizzas about 5" across, I used to love those things and wish they were around today. I wonder why they stopped making them round?

 

[Wayne1]

Turntables and vinyl are still very much around.

They've just moved a bit upscale.

Same thing with Tube amplifiers.

If you would care to come to the Rocky Mountain Audiofest in Denver http://audiofest.net/2010/index.php
October 15-17 you can see quite a few turntables, tube amps, horn speakers, open reel tape machines and literally tons of vinyl for sale.

 

[jgln]

Balsa wood planes. I know you can still find them, bought one several years ago for fun, but you don't see kids playing with them like we did.

 

[humann_brewing]

lawn darts were fun, same with crochet or bad mitten