Speak & Spell
Speak & Spell was created by Texas Instruments’ Paul Breedlove in the late 70s and introduced to American markets in 1978. It went through several redesigns, but the basic idea remained the same: in a British-ish accent, the toy would ask you how to spell a word. You’d type it in, and the toy would tell you if you were correct or wrong. Minigames, such as Mystery Word and Secret Code, were included in the original console. All of...
The Green Machine – Childhood Bliss
Ok, so this toy is technically from the late 70s (see the awesome commercial below from 1978), but for those of us that were teens in the 80s, we played with the toys of the late 70s! The Green Machine was so cool – so much cooler than its ride-on-vehicle-rival, the Big Wheel. It left a regular ole Big Wheel in its dust; the nimble Green Machine’s rear wheel swivel action design ran circles around the lumbering, clunky Big Wheel....
Chat with Author of Totally Tubular 80s Toys
We recently had the good fortune to review a copy of Mark Bellomo’s newest book, “Totally Tubular ‘80s Toys” and ask the author a few questions. If you haven’t seen this book, it is a veritable treasure trove of information on the toys of the 80s. With great photography of the toys and a year-by-year structure, this is as much a reference work as it is a fun trip down memory lane. For each year, he leads off the chapter with all the...
Fashion Plates
By Julie Anderson My mom was a career woman; she earned two Master’s degrees and was (and is) a computer systems analyst. So, it may not surprise you that she wasn’t all into girly toys for me when I was growing up. Macintosh computer and calligraphy set = YES Barbie = NO French horn and piano lessons = YES Princessy dress-up outfits = NO Add to that the fact that my dad was a structural engineer and I didn’t have a sister, and you...
Top 5 Unsung Toys of the 80s
By Ryan Zimmerman Back again with this week’s countdown. . . . This week: Top 5 Unsung Toys of the 80s. We all know the Rubik’s Cube and Atari and Cabbage Patch Kids reigned supreme on toy shelves in the 80s… but the following are 5 fun toys that played second fiddle, but were first in my heart. 5. Pillow People “Pillow People are lovable . . . Pillow People are huggable. Pillow People are lovable, huggable, friends.” Ahhh —...
