What childhood memories can reveal about our age?

[BobG]

I remember dyed baby chicks at Easter time. I got a blue one. I thought that was the coolest thing. We rented the upstairs of a farmhouse at the time, so, unfortunately, I could only show it off to a few people. I finally had to resort to showing it off to farm animals.

The only animal that really appreciated being introduced to it was the cat, which chomped it right out of my hand.

Running upstairs, screaming, with blood dripping from my hand sure got my mom's attention, though.

I wonder what most people did with their dyed Easter chicks after Easter. It's not like they were baby alligators that could be flushed down the toilet.

 

[Danger]

Whats a fax?

Dipped if I know. We had one at work, and I never figured out how to use it. I have e-mail now, but I use it for receiving only.

 

[Danger]

It's not like they were baby alligators that could be flushed down the toilet.

Thanks for reminding me. With that last place that I mentioned, when we got a TV, there was also indoor plumbing. It was another year or so before we got a gravity tank so we didn't have to fill the toilet tank with a pail, but it was a step up.

 

[Borek]

I know that Evo is within about 6 months of me age-wise.

I thought the same, either one of us is wrong or I am older than I thought.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My favorite dude. I wanted one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlWaTAZUxUQ

 

[turbo]

Remember Tom Terrific and Mighty Manfred? I got introduced to them when I was deathly-ill with flu as a kid, and my father managed to round up an old B&W TV so that I had something to entertain me while I was bed-ridden. I wasn't a huge fan of lots of Captain Kangaroo's stuff, but Tom Terrific was entertaining, as were some of the occasional guests, like the Banana Man. There wasn't much on TV back then, so any kid-friendly entertainment was probably a break for my mother. Without TV, I'd have driven her crazy asking her to change records on the record-player her uncle had given us. The problem was that some of my favorites were on 45s and didn't last too long. I could have put her up the wall asking to hear "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" over and over again (and probably that's why we ended up with that crappy old TV).

 

[ideasrule]

It's things like this that bug me. I can understand a lot of people have no concept of what it was like to follow the Mercury program, the Gemini program, the Apollo program, and, finally, to have man set foot on the Moon. We don't do stuff like that any more, so to a lot of people, that's just stuff from a history book.

We're still fighting the wars from 9/11. How can it be ancient history?

I was describing a *childhood* memory (and pretty early in my childhood, too). 2001 was also the year after I immigrated to Canada. I had no idea about Canadian geography or buildings, let alone American geography or buildings.

 

[ideasrule]

I don't understand 90% of the proper nouns in this thread, but nevertheless, it's interesting to read these posts about what life was like a long time ago.

 

[Moonbear]

I remember going out to play in the snow after a big blizzard. We built snow forts and sledded until we were frozen through. Then we ran inside, stripped off the snowsuits, mittens, hats, scarves, boots and soggy socks and left them to dry and warm by the fireplace while we had hot cocoa or chicken soup. Then we gathered up a dry set of mittens, hats, scarves, boots, socks, and snowsuits, bundled up again, and headed back out into the snow until we were frozen through again!

Or that might just be me remembering shoveling the driveway this weekend.

 

[Moonbear]

And little rocks! Our neighbor had those little porous white rocks on her roof. Those things were responsible for several head knocks and bloody noses.

My first pair of roller skates had been my dad's skates when he was a kid. They were all metal with little leather straps. The base was a metal plate that could be adjusted to the foot size.

Okay, I know we're not that close to the same age, but I had the same kind of roller skates when I was a kid (don't lose the skate key or you couldn't adjust them!). And, it wasn't rocks that did me in, but acorns.

In grade school, we had roller skating parties at the roller rink, and that's where we got to rent the "fancy" rollerskates with 4 urethane wheels and a boot (that never fit quite right so you always got blisters on your feet). Popular lines to a song played at the roller rink were "We don't need no education, we don't need no self-control..." We all sang along to that.

The first video game I had was a box that connected to the TV and had a knob that let you select one of the three games on it...something like pong, jai alai, and paddleball...all three of which basically were played by turning another knob to move the straight line "paddle" up and down to bounce the square ball back and forth.

Eventually we graduated to the Atari 2600, that had Breakout, which was basically the same game, but in color and played with joysticks. We still played pinball in the arcades, along with PacMan, Caterpillar and Space Invaders.

On TV, we watched shows like Starsky and Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Muppet Show...oh, and that was a TV where you had to get up and turn knobs to change channels, and whack the side of it when it started to hum or flicker while you were watching.

 

[turbo]

Okay, I know we're not that close to the same age, but I had the same kind of roller skates when I was a kid (don't lose the skate key or you couldn't adjust them!). And, it wasn't rocks that did me in, but acorns.

In grade school, we had roller skating parties at the roller rink, and that's where we got to rent the "fancy" rollerskates with 4 urethane wheels and a boot (that never fit quite right so you always got blisters on your feet). Popular lines to a song played at the roller rink were "We don't need no education, we don't need no self-control..." We all sang along to that.

The first video game I had was a box that connected to the TV and had a knob that let you select one of the three games on it...something like pong, jai alai, and paddleball...all three of which basically were played by turning another knob to move the straight line "paddle" up and down to bounce the square ball back and forth.

Eventually we graduated to the Atari 2600, that had Breakout, which was basically the same game, but in color and played with joysticks. We still played pinball in the arcades, along with PacMan, Caterpillar and Space Invaders.

On TV, we watched shows like Starsky and Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Muppet Show...oh, and that was a TV where you had to get up and turn knobs to change channels, and whack the side of it when it started to hum or flicker while you were watching.

You're a baby!

 

[RonL]

My playground when I was about 4 & 5 years old, my friends and I ran through these planes at will, after they had been gutted on the insides, they are headed for the smelter.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/B-32s-walnutridge-1946.jpg


Ron

P.S. some had nose art, the only one that I remember was "cow cow boogie"

For anyone that likes history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walnut_Ridge_Regional_Airport

 

[Evo]

Rat finks, just saw them on Anthony Bourdain. Of course troll dolls.

 

[MotoH]

I remember when they turned GI-Joe into this sissy little plastic man. You used to be able to buy all sorts of accessories for them! Different kits and the like. Now they are these tiny not to scale solid plastic guys with all this goofy tech!

Oh and Stretch armstrong!

 

[edward]

There were no plastic toys when I was a kid. I do remember my old all metal Marx wind up Bulldozer with rubber tracks that could climb over just about anything.

 

[Zantra]

And now a word from the <50 crowd..

I'm a wee tot but...

I remember the 84 world series- or more to the point, the celebrating that went on after, and well into the night. Go Tigers!

I had a pair of those metal skates myself-pre roller blades

Black and white TV that clicked when you changed the channel- and then had to use pliers when the knob broke off

Colecovision, Atari 2600, commadore 128, Amigas, and yes even the pong/Jai Alai thing with the knob controllers. Sega Master System/NES 8-bit and All of these screwed onto the antennae screws on the back of your TV with an RF Converter

I remember the Challenger disaster because I was watching in class on TV when it happened.

Jessica and the well. Or was that more recent ?

I took my first programming class in high school -waterloo basic where we sat at dumb terminals that connected to the mainframe at the local college, which was probably the size of the entire classroom.

I remember when Michael Jackson was alive AND black, and everyone had a red leather jacket and could breakdance.. sigh

Tear down that wall Mr gorbachev

Anyone connecting with this?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eWW_F82HV-A&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eWW_F82HV-A&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Maybe I am weird for my age.

I played with legos, Lincoln logs, slinkies, and silly putty as a kid.

Aside from chess my friends and I mostly played games involving throwing dirt clods at each other and climbing trees.

The first real books (that is not kids books) I owned were Huck Finn and Black Beauty and my first favourite book was the collected adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

The first music I remember listening and liking other than classical was the Benny Goodman Orchestra.

I am withholding more age specific things though.

The first computer game I ever played was on a Commodore 64. It was called Face Maker. The first game system I ever owned though was a Nintendo(still as a kid).

I mostly watched Hanna-Barbera cartoons and I Love Lucy as a kid. When I was little though (young enough that I do not remember it) I watched nothing on tv but Popeye and Love Boat.

While my later books were older my favourite kids books were Pete's Dragon, Jungle Book, and The Black Hole (all Disney).

I owned a record player as a kid but I also owned a boombox.

When I was a kid we didn't have cable except for the year that my grandfather bought a giant satellite dish to get free satellite tv, it was some sort of promotion I think before they encrypted the signal and started making people pay.

 

[Borek]

oh, and that was a TV where you had to get up and turn knobs to change channels, and whack the side of it when it started to hum or flicker while you were watching.

Side whack was for horizontal stripes, for verticals you had to hit the top.

Unless it was a different model.

 

[Danger]

My first record player had a 78 setting... and I needed it.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

In the news, today:

Frisbee inventor dies at 90

SALT LAKE CITY – Walter Fredrick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died. He was 90.

...Morrison sold the production and manufacturing rights to his "Pluto Platter" in 1957. The plastic flying disc was later renamed the "Frisbee," with sales surpassing 200 million discs. It is now a staple at beaches and college campuses across the country and spawned sports like Frisbee golf and the team sport Ultimate...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100212/ap_on_sp_ot/us_obit_frisbee_inventor

I loved playing frisbee at the beach with girls in bikinis.

 

[Dembadon]

I remember when they turned GI-Joe into this sissy little plastic man. ...

That happened about the year I was born ('83). I thought you were much younger than me. The G.I. Joes prior to the version about which you are speaking died off around '78 or '79. I was never much into G.I. Joes. I spent a lot of time with Legos.

 

[Andy]

Anyone remember manta force?

 

[turbo]

Anyone remember manta force?

Nope, but when Saturday mornings rolled around, Sky King, Lone Ranger, and Roy Rogers were a pretty good break from cartoons, even if the plots were thin and dorky.

 

[Andy]

Roy rogers? He's john mclanes alter ego isn't he?

 

[turbo]

Hmm, Roy and Dale...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My first record player had a 78 setting... and I needed it.

We had 78s. For some reason, childrens records were released on 78s long after the music industry had moved to 45s and 33s. I also remember listening to my grandmother's Victrola. It was already very old... probably one of the earliest commercial versions. I think those were all 78s as well.

Lazy Mary will you get up...

 

[turbo]

We had a large collection of 78s, inherited from older relatives. Our console record player played 45s, 33s, and 78s. When the power failed, we sat out on the glassed-in porch and listened to our crank-up spring powered Victrola. 78 only.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

My earliest memories would give you no clue to my age. I think the first thing I remember that might date me is when Hula Hoops came out. Perhaps you can better guess my age if I tell you what I forget, like whether I took my pills or not.

 

[Astronuc]

In the news, today:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100212/ap_on_sp_ot/us_obit_frisbee_inventor

I loved playing frisbee at the beach with girls in bikinis.

and drinking beer.

I liked playing Twister with girls in bikinis.

Actually, I liked doing anything with girls in bikinis!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

and drinking beer.

I liked playing Twister with girls in bikinis.

Actually, I liked doing anything with girls in bikinis!

Uh oh, now don't get me started. I had forgotten about Twister... and volleyball...and 151

 

[turbo]

My earliest memories would give you no clue to my age. I think the first thing I remember that might date me is when Hula Hoops came out. Perhaps you can better guess my age if I tell you what I forget, like whether I took my pills or not.

I remember being invited to a cousin's birthday party when Chubby Checker's "Twist" was just hitting the airwaves, and I invited a cute gangly girl to come with me. I was of an age when some boys were not that interested in girls, but I had some frisky female relatives and neighbors that jump-started my interest early. By the time I got to be in my early teens and looked back on some of the girls that wrestled me and my friend Barry to the ground and tickled and kissed us until we hollered, it occurred to me that I had been incredibly foolish. They were cute and they gave us treats (when they weren't "tormenting" us), and they'd lose interest in a while anyway and go back upstairs to listen to Elvis and put on fresh lipstick.

 

[Math Is Hard]

My earliest memories would give you no clue to my age. I think the first thing I remember that might date me is when Hula Hoops came out. Perhaps you can better guess my age if I tell you what I forget, like whether I took my pills or not.

I still play with Hula Hoops. :)

 

[Astronuc]

I remember being invited to a cousin's birthday party when Chubby Checker's "Twist" was just hitting the airwaves, and I invited a cute gangly girl to come with me. I was of an age when some boys were not that interested in girls, but I had some frisky female relatives and neighbors that jump-started my interest early. By the time I got to be in my early teens and looked back on some of the girls that wrestled me and my friend Barry to the ground and tickled and kissed us until we hollered, it occurred to me that I had been incredibly foolish. They were cute and they gave us treats (when they weren't "tormenting" us), and they'd lose interest in a while anyway and go back upstairs to listen to Elvis and put on fresh lipstick.

When I was in 6th grade, my brother and I met a couple of frisky 8th grade girls - at an evening function at the church where my father was minister. A lot of wrestling and kissing. I didn't holler.

 

[Ouabache]

I remember that too. Our milkman used a horse drawn carriage - into the early 60's. Bread was delivered in a van. And some guy would show up periodically selling honey. Those were the days.

I also learned to use a slide rule. Used it during my freshman year of university, but transition quickly to a first generation calculator - with 3 memory address.

Slide rules are cool! We had a really big one hanging on the wall in high school.
(For those who haven't learned to use one, you're missing out!).
If you feel a little rusty on your skills and don't have your trusty one handy..
Try http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/sim/n909es/virtual-n909-es.html" . (you don't just look at it, it works nice).

I seem to recall milk being delivered in glass bottles with http://www.rubylane.com/shops/charmingandcheap/iteml/8154#pic1" on top.
And bits of ice on the tab, to help keep the milk cold & fresh.
In cities by the coast, there was a fishman that came 'round hawking fresh fish.
We didn't buy too much from him though. Dad often caught saltwater fish
(e.g. tautog, cod, bluefish, striped bass & fluke).

We also had 3 strong channels on TV, but lived close enough to the next metropolis
to have 3 more (with a lot of fuzzy snow & white noise). If we turned the rabbit ears just so
and held onto it or just stood near it, we might get to see some programs through the snow.

(Why is that? -(uh oh geek alert ) the electrolytes in solution in our body affect RF signals,
making us part of the tuning circuit, affecting the impedance match mostly,
by our body's internal capacitance and altering the shape of the antenna,
effectively increasing its aperture).

Though I rarely stayed up late enough, through bleary eyes I do recall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoL-KCFbIpA" on one of the stations.
McGee recites the poem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gillespie_Magee,_Jr.#The_poem".

 

[Ouabache]

We had a large collection of 78s, inherited from older relatives. Our console record player played 45s, 33s, and 78s. When the power failed, we sat out on the glassed-in porch and listened to our crank-up spring powered Victrola. 78 only.

That crank-up sounds awesome! Wish we had one of those..
I still have quite a stack of 78s (pile has become bigger after also inheriting older relative's collections). I looked at online auction sites and found they are not worth much, due to their physical condition and availability (too many of them were pressed).

As a kid, we had 78s & 33 1/3 LPs. Not too many 45s though. We played them on a Magnavox console that looks a lot like http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~postr/bapix/Magnav1.htm" ,
with the green tuning eye.

I say looks, because it is still in the family. I recently restored the radio section (AM and SW) and amplifier (replacing broken caps, burned resistors & weak tubes). I particularly enjoyed (and still do) the short wave tuner. Lots of fun hearing different tongues around the world. The original turntable is long gone, but recently found a suitable replacement, I will wire up. If you look at the last image on that link, you will see it (like ours) has an AM loop for an antenna, and a SW dipole stapled to the frame.
Ours Magnavox has space for the 'new' technology FM (but the tuner was not yet available at the time purchased).
There is an FM position on the mode switch.