The Retro Blog

Recently the Muppets have been making entertaining videos for youtube. (Warning: clicking on the first link will result in several hours of the phrase ‘bork bork bork bork’ circulating through your head). They’re so much fun, you might want a Muppet of your own. That’s what Ideal Toys figured way back in the 60’s. Here’s [...]

My friends and I often look back at the parks of our youth fondly. We can wax poetic for hours over the old Pioneer Park in Novato. It’s almost mythical at this point. It had a giant spinning octopus, dozens of swings without safety belts, and several super tall firemen’s poles. At the center of [...]

The Mattel Sonic Blaster was a 60’s air cannon toy that could barely push over a piece of cardboard but produced a military grade weapon sound. While the novelty of shooting weak bursts of air might wear off pretty quickly I learned from a message board for gun nuts that some creative kids thought of [...]

Barbie’s done just about everything a girl can do. She’s been an astronaut, driven a camper, and worked at McDonalds. One thing Mattel has forgotten to do has been to make Barbie get attacked by birds. Oh wait, now she’s getting attacked by birds. This stylishly retro dressed Tippy Hedron Barbie comes complete with a [...]

I’m a renter and am thus not allowed to have any pets. The boyfriend and I have decided, though, that if we could have a pet we’d want a basset hound. We think these lazy, short dogs would suit us perfectly. But since we can’t have one, what’s the next best thing? Ideal toys has [...]

The game where “you make strategic offensive and defensive moves, and then try to bust your opponent’s balls.” I especially like the lazy, drawn out narration. Something makes me think this one didn’t quite make it to production.

“You’re a ball buster!”

The Retro Blog readers in Seattle have the opportunity to indulge in some vintage Japanese robot toy worship at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. An exhibition running now through October 26 features many cute little retro visions of the future, many of which can be viewed in this gallery.

What’s with little girls and hair? They love it. There seems to be something very soothing to children about dragging a brush through lengthy tresses. Luckily there’s always a marketing guy willing to cash in on little girls’ weird obsessions. Ideal toys stepped up to the plate with Crissy, a doll whose hair shrinks with [...]

Space Patrol is a prime example of what fun can be had with plastic rayguns and miniatures. The series aired nationwide from 1950-1955. The whole thing was performed live, which makes the “special effects” all the more thrilling. The show followed the adventures of Commander Buzz Corry through space in the 30th century. Strangely, a [...]

When the average person thinks about the history of video games, Pong typically springs to mind. But what came before? All the way back in 1958, a select group of nerds were getting very excited about a game called Tennis for Two. The game was invented by physicist William Higinbotham to entertain visitors at the [...]

Tired of being unable to afford revamping your house with stylish designer furniture? Well at least you can enact your dreams in miniature. I found large collections of dollhouse sized mid-century modern furniture at Tokyu Hands, a chain department store in Japan specializing in a DIY lifestyle. I guess the DIY part here is how [...]

Like a lot of great inventions, Silly Putty was a complete accident. Researchers were attempting to invent a new rubber substitute because of a shortage during World War II. Instead they found a fun way to squash and stretch images from the funny pages. Marketed as a toy since 1950, Silly Putty is still adored [...]

The other night I was watching 60 Minutes when this lovely little segment appeared:

Two thoughts came to my mind:
1. When did 60 Minutes become Jackass with a budget?
2. Why isn’t that ray-gun more awesome looking?
I’ll address only issue two here. This thing looks like a giant black tray with a hole in it stuck on [...]

When I was four, I had a baby doll called Toby (named after the baby in Labyrinth). Now, I remember loving Toby and carrying him around and rocking him and thinking that I would love him until I was old enough to have a real baby and name him Toby. Not once did I ever [...]

Oh Pez. You’re sort of delicious. I guess. Let’s face the facts, Pez would never have made it if they hadn’t come up with the wonderful dispenser gimmick. Since 1955, the Austrian company has been selling their little candies by putting them in the slit throats of various animals, cartoons, and pop culture figures, and [...]

&Check out this sweet commercial for Pie Face, a game whose title describes it all. Yes, this is a game where you steal whipped cream from the fridge, apply it to a sponge, and wait for a machine to smash it into your face.
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To me, Pleo looks like a sad modern attempt to make [...]

I’ve been keeping an eye on these electric bikes from Schwinn for a while. The battery gives you an extra push when you get tired. I think I’d be inclined to ride a bike more often if I weren’t so intimidated by San Francisco’s landscape. It’s certainly not the worst looking bike, and it [...]

The Baby Bugatii is a replica of a 1927 pedal car that looks so nice I think I’d like to use it to run errands. It would go well with an Amelia Earhart aviator cap, a nice set of goggles, and a long black scarf. Yes, in my mind I’m accessorizing a pedal car that [...]