[FUN] Old Toys Get New Tech

My trusty Radio Flyer red wagon from the early 1950s, used to haul garden supplies for the past few decades, finally rusted out 2 summers ago. If only new toys lasted as long!

JP,

My old Radio Flyer lasted about as long too. We too used it for hauling everything and anything including our siblings. :-)

Buying electric cars & motorcycles for our children, and then we wonder why so many kids are fat.

Bring back the rugged pedal-cars from my childhood.

Why the BOX the toy came in was always the favorite, it was so interesting, it could become anything I wanted it to be. It was what I was still playing with days after my birthday or Christmas :-)

Same for my children, and thankfully the grandchildren seem to be following the same path.

Long live imagination!

This may be showing my age but my most memorable toy was Roy Rogers Nellybelle. If I remember right, it was a peddle car.

I got a Radio Flyer during WW II. There was a rubber shortage. My wagon had metal wheels, but no tires. Zooming down the sidewalk at each groove there was a click like a train clicking on the rails. People could hear me coming.

I am struck by the tie between two of your recent sendings - this one on toys that require smart phones, apps, etc. for a child's play and the other a few days back about items NOT to have WiFi or internet connections, such as that toothbrush. I.e., the excess.

My great Niece and Nephew (3 and 5 years old) have an old school View-Master which they fight over(read dropped, thrown and otherwise banged around). Just imagine what will happen to a smart phone.

I feel sorry for today's kids. I used to play outside in the real world, imagination was the power used, and it was real fun. Sure technology is cool, but it takes away the imagination need to really have fun.

Cashless Monopoly. Really? Games, like Monopoly, can teach kids to count and even how to make change (a dying skill). My kids learned to count playing games, including Monopoly and cards and even a "kid friendly" version of craps.

The next step in Monopoly evolution might be a computer generated dice roll, the game will then automatically move your game piece, then game will decide whether you purchase the property or not, and will automatically deduct the money from your account. No debit card needed. The game can decide for the player how many houses to build and where. Depending on the speed of the processor, a game of Monopoly could be completed in a few seconds. What great fun!

Radio Flyer! OMG! I wrecked mine countless times doing what my momma told not to do. She'd paint my scraped butt with iodine and cuss me out. I'd go back and try something else - more iodine.
I don't know how many flowers and bulbs, potting soil, mulch and whatever I carried in that thing helping gran and momma in their flower/garden beds.
It was beat-to-hell but It Was MINE. I want to see if they make one adult sized.

I'm not sure what it was called but my grandpa had something he let my play with that was the fore-runner of View Master. There were cards you put in a holder and slid the holder in or out whike you peered through a 'viewer dingus' until the focus was right. There were two pictures on the card you put in the sliding holder thing that, I guess, were taken with a double-lensed camera as the images were 3D. Places I never imagined and the detail was fantastic in b&w. If you know what it was called, please post it here as Mr. Bob won't give out my Email address.

Patrick, we had one, too. Fun!! I Googled (3D "slide viewer") and found images of various vintage "stereo 3D slide viewers." Viewmaster rang a bell. I think that's what we had.

http://www.3dstereo.com/viewmaster/sldvv.html

Patrick, I enjoyed that 'forerunner' of the View Master, too, courtesy of my mother's parents. I think it was 'properly' referred to as a 'stereopticon'.

I still prefer proper slot5 car racing with Scalextric. There are always new cars (and trucks) coming out and there is now the option of Digital racing to bring it right up to date.

I remember my version of the pedal car. I had a pedal tractor! I guess that has something to do with being from the midwest.

These folks were so enamored with Radio Flyer wagons, they built an adult-sized one they could drive.

http://geekologie.com/2010/09/truck-turned-into-giant-drivea.php