Some of the best times were had while caring for our virtual pets. They taught us responsibility and paved the path toward our eventual parenthood.
Easy Bake Oven
Future pastry chefs everywhere began their journey with the beloved Easy Bake Oven. Who knew that with a simple household lightbulb could help to produce some of the tastiest treats?
Skip-It
We certainly got our exercise in when we would head outside to jump and skip for hours with a Skip-It. Either that, or we would nearly knock our ankles out after getting tripped up.
Bop-It
Twist it! Early on we had learned valuable lessons in stress management, as the Bop-It’s narrator teased and taunted us as the commands became faster and faster, until we just couldn’t keep up. But nothing was more satisfying that winning a round.
Pogs
Ah, yes. Pogs. The things that every single kid collected, yet nobody really could tell us what they were for. We sure had fun flipping them like tiny cardboard coins, though! As kids, we had to have them! Those sweet little discs of happiness.
Gak
Not quite the consistency of Play-Doh, and not exactly slime, Gak was an exceptional substance all it’s own. We could spend hours molding and playing with the slimy substance. But, it was never truly gone, and has been making a steady comeback over the last few years, meaning we can pass on one of our favorite toys to the next generation.
Furby
Back when these hell-demons first hit the shelves, they went just as fast as they came. Every kid wanted one under the Christmas tree. While they are technically still around today, nothing can quite compare to the original.
Beanie Babies
These little beanbag animals spawned a generation full of kids that possessed an attitude that is usually reserved for zealous collectors. Remember those limited edition animals, like the Princess Diana commemorative bears? People were willing to pay any amount of money to get their hands on certain Beanie Babies. These days, you can purchase them for about $3 on eBay.
Super Soaker
Let’s just take a quick moment to appreciate the feeling of pure joy we would get when we fully soaked a fellow playmate with our Super Soakers? We would pump until our arms got sore, and then pump some more, just for that satisfying moment of soak-age. Of course, then we would have to run for our lives to get away from them so they couldn’t soak us.
Sky Dancers
Even though these toys were the enemies of moms everywhere, little girls loved them. It felt like the most amusing feeling in the world to pull their strings and let them go, sending them high up into the sky – or, well, until they hit the ceiling and flew spastically around the room, always finding something breakable. But that’s precisely what made them so much fun!