Posts tagged toys

Looking around today do you ever feel some of the things from your 80’s childhood should still be around?. Happy memories of long forgotten toys and TV probably make you feel nostalgic. Are you happy to see the back of them or do you wish some of them were still around?

Technically the first soda stream was invented in 1903 but it wasn’t till the 1980’s that everyone wanted to make their own fizzy pop. A SodaStream was the handy little machine that allowed you to make your own fizzy drinks at home. The thought of going through so much effort for a fizzy drink probably seems silly now not to mention the mess you’d make and the costs of the syrup and gas cylinders.

Half a dozen walking talking cats, and evil mummy and a planet called Third Earth. If you know this is the plot to Thundercats you are definitely a child of the eighties, or at least a sci-fi fanatic. Thundercats was one of the most iconic cartoons of the 1980’s to hit your televisions and featured a lion, tiger, cheater, panther and two small cat like creatures. Each week the audience would join these heroic cats as they tried to defend their Eye of Thundera from the advances of evil.

In the evening you can probably flick through hundreds of channels and still decide there’s nothing on. Most these channels now play 24 hours a day and show everything from comedy to drama to factual to sports and the some. Life wasn’t always this much fun though. How many children of the 80’s remember the little blond girl playing noughts and crosses with her creepy little clown?. If you don’t remember this BBC test card you’re fortunate enough to only know what it’s like to have hundreds of channels. Any child who turned their television on first thing in the morning would often be greeted by her and her clown whilst waiting for their early morning cartoons to start.

When you think of your childhood do you think of your favourite toy, television show or maybe a favourite pair of shoes?. Some of these things will be remembered by many. Find ten people who grew up in the 80’s and the chances are they’ll all remember the following.

Soda Streams were the kitchen accessory to have in the 80’s. Ok so this was more of a toy for children than a kitchen accessory. If you were the one who’d get stuck with the cleaning up it wasn’t quite so much fun. Washing the jars could take forever and you’d spend days finding sticky syrup everywhere. Although the end result never tasted quite as good as the stuff in the shops, the sodastream was always a great way to pass a lazy summer day.

There are several iconic cartoons of the 80’s but the little blue Smurfs have to be one of the most popular. This little society of small blue creatures were predominantly male. There appearances were pretty similar mostly dressing in white hats and trousers. Their lifestyle was a very simple one and they were happy. There was of course the resident bad guy called Gargamel. There were many similarities between the little blue creatures and the seven dwarfs in Snow White. Their idyllic life kept millions of children glued to their televisions throughout the 80’s and they still remain a huge part of pop culture today.

The snap bracket was one of the easiest fashion accessories of the 80’s to forget. These were thin strips of stainless steel or plastic spring bands covered in material. When straight they’d be slapped against a wrist making them curl round to form a bracelet. This might seem like a slightly violent fashion accessory for a child but compared to today it’s fairly tame. These colourful bracelets came in a multitude of patterns and were very cheap. The aggressive designed meant they appealed to the boys whilst the pretty design meant they were equally embraced by the girls.

Looking around today do you ever feel some of the things from your 80’s childhood should still be around?. Happy memories of long forgotten toys and TV probably make you feel nostalgic. Are you happy to see the back of them or do you wish some of them were still around?

Technically the first soda stream was invented in 1903 but it wasn’t till the 1980’s that everyone wanted to make their own fizzy pop. A SodaStream was the handy little machine that allowed you to make your own fizzy drinks at home. The thought of going through so much effort for a fizzy drink probably seems silly now not to mention the mess you’d make and the costs of the syrup and gas cylinders.

Half a dozen walking talking cats, and evil mummy and a planet called Third Earth. If you know this is the plot to Thundercats you are definitely a child of the eighties, or at least a sci-fi fanatic. Thundercats was one of the most iconic cartoons of the 1980’s to hit your televisions and featured a lion, tiger, cheater, panther and two small cat like creatures. Each week the audience would join these heroic cats as they tried to defend their Eye of Thundera from the advances of evil.

In the evening you can probably flick through hundreds of channels and still decide there’s nothing on. Most these channels now play 24 hours a day and show everything from comedy to drama to factual to sports and the some. Life wasn’t always this much fun though. How many children of the 80’s remember the little blond girl playing noughts and crosses with her creepy little clown?. If you don’t remember this BBC test card you’re fortunate enough to only know what it’s like to have hundreds of channels. Any child who turned their television on first thing in the morning would often be greeted by her and her clown whilst waiting for their early morning cartoons to start.

Thus completing the circle of fashion and cults repeated. Before you know it you’re happily spending your money on the same stuff you did twenty years ago. Flowery leggings and baggy t-shirts are seen on just as many high street shop dummies today as they were twenty years ago. If we are indeed being haunted by our cultural past and fashions will roll back around, what else is there from the 80’s we’re going to see back in our homes??

Back in the eighties all the cool kids had a sodastream. Despite the fact they produced the most horrible tasting fizzy drinks everyone wanted one. By the time you’d finish making a mess and getting sticky syrup everywhere you’re mom would usually remember why it was hidden away at the back of the cupboard in the first place. Impractical and disgusting it may have been but it certainly make the soda stream certainly made the summer months more fun. Take a good look next time you’re in the shops. They’re back? Only this time they’ve have a facelift and some much needed improvements have been made to the taste.

When it comes to cartoons symbolic of the 80’s Thundercats has to be near the top of everyone’s list. This series saw a lion, panther, cheater and tiger plus a few other things all living amicably together? Thundercats has gone down in the history books as a cult classic. Hollywood has been promising to revive these kitty cats back for a while now but with funding issues these plans have been shelved.

When it comes to shows on our televisions that we all loved, every person who was born in the 80’s who owned a TV set probably still knows the following lyrics: now this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air gave us one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today. If you’ve been near the cinema any time recently you’ll have noticed another blast form the 80’s past is back. Tying in nicely Will Smiths son, Jaden Smith is bringing the 80’s classic karate Kid back to life. Thus completing the circle of fashion and cults repeated.