Whew. Posting about the "Star Wars Holiday Special" really got me into the Christmas spirit...how 'bout you? By the way...did you notice? Even back in 1978 - nearly 30 years ago - network executives were practicing political correctness. Holiday Special. Sad, really. Anyhow, that post got me thinking about what were my all-time favorite Christmas presents when I was a kid. The memories came flooding back to me. Could I rate my top five, all-time favorite Christmas presents?
Turns out that I can. And here, for your holiday enjoyment, is my number five:
THE STRANGE CHANGE "LOST WORLD" MACHINE!Produced in an era when the members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission were still wearing poopy-diapers, this was a gift any kid would have welcomed under his Christmas tree. It has it all...brightly-colored plastic pucks that - when put into the Strange Change Machine (basically a heating element with a blower....think of a vertically-mounted hair drier permanently set on 'incinerate') - would turn into dinosaurs before your very eyes!
And what was great was that this sucker got so hot that the plastic creatures became pliable enough that - when you placed them into the bare-metal vise, and turned the crank - you could press them back into their original puck form!
Of course, the combination of a heating element, bare metal and plastic often made for, um, interesting moments. If you weren't careful, this sucker could burn the hell out of you. But that was part of the fun!
I can still smell the melting plastic, hear the whir of the fan, and feel the warmth of the heating element. No doubt if Mattel released this thing today they'd be slapped with more lawsuits than a Chinese lead toy producer. Pity. This is exactly the kind of toy kids need these days. The kind of toy that is fun, that allows a kid to not only create something...but destroy it, and in so doing, will more than likely scare the shit out of them.
This toy ranks as my all-time number five Christmas presents that I've ever received. More to follow!
And what was great was that this sucker got so hot that the plastic creatures became pliable enough that - when you placed them into the bare-metal vise, and turned the crank - you could press them back into their original puck form!
Of course, the combination of a heating element, bare metal and plastic often made for, um, interesting moments. If you weren't careful, this sucker could burn the hell out of you. But that was part of the fun!
I can still smell the melting plastic, hear the whir of the fan, and feel the warmth of the heating element. No doubt if Mattel released this thing today they'd be slapped with more lawsuits than a Chinese lead toy producer. Pity. This is exactly the kind of toy kids need these days. The kind of toy that is fun, that allows a kid to not only create something...but destroy it, and in so doing, will more than likely scare the shit out of them.
This toy ranks as my all-time number five Christmas presents that I've ever received. More to follow!
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