# Odd stuff you remember from childhood



## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

Pearl Drops toothpaste commercials: I was a small child but some of the actions by the spokesmodel seemed very suggestive to my reptilian brain.

""How do your teeth feel?" and, barely waiting for the reply, suggestively flicks her tongue over the top row of her spotless teeth and intones the timeless Pearl Drops slogan, "Mmmm... It's a great feeling." The composition of these five words, coming immediately after the flitting tongue movement, creates an unforgettable icon, complete with fresh breath, a sparkling smile, and an invitation to a kiss. "

http://www.yankeepotroast.org/daily/040112.html

Gnip Gnop: No it was't a Jewish boardgame, it was an "action" game that required no skill past slamming your hands on a couple paddles


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

No TV listening to the radio is very odd by todays standard.

_Inner Sanctum_
Radio was famous for its ability to create emotions "out of thin air." One of the emotions that radio did best was stark raving terror. Horror radio shows took the darkened night and solitary listener as a willing companion on an unknown journey of fear, terror and dread. Tales of horror recreated by great actors, a spooky organ and chilling sound effects presented by a creepy, rib-tickling host, was a strange brew indeed. _Inner Sanctum_ did it in spades! To this day the show remains a wonderful "guilty" pleasure of many old time radio fans, who listened back then when these shows first fired the imaginations of all but the most jaded.​

















The ominous organ, and then, the famous turning doorknob and the deadly squeaking door, slow and ominous opened on the deep recesses of the _Inner Sanctum_. But wait! Here is our ghoulishly cleaver, er, clever host of the cutting remark, Raymond.​
From _Inner Sanctum_'s beginnings until 1945, Raymond Edward Johnson played the host with the most deadly runs of puns. Paul McGrath took over as Raymond in 1945, and played Raymond with a little more warmth&#8230;almost body temperature.

The wonderful organ player, probably a skeleton, was always alert for the sting of death, or an encore of gore. And the announcers often played off Raymond, putting up with his gruesome jests with commercial aplomb.

All the sly humor of the intro and goodnight was just a fiendish warm-up for the main event - a story that took you on a wild and scary ride, just like at the amusement park, filled with bumps and twists and turns, on and on to where you might not want to go. But will.

Listen to Inner Sanctum

*LONELY SLEEP

LISTEN TO MP3 *


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

* "FENDER SKIRTS". *

*A term I haven't heard in a long time and thinking about "fender skirts"*

* It started me thinking about other words that quietly disappeared from our language with hardly a notice.*

* Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.*

* Remember "Continental kits?" or a "Conny Kit"  They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.*

* When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake."*

* I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the "foot feed."*

* Did you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the "running board" up to the house?*

* Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore - "store-bought." Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.*

* "Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing. Now we take the term "world wide" for granted. This floors me.*

* On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.*

* When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way?" or "With Child"  It's hard to imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company. So we had all that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply "expecting " *

* Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage like "Underpinnings"  I said it the other day and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now. *

* "Unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all.*

* I always loved going to the "picture show," but I considered "movie" an affectation.*

* Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a word I came across the other day from the 60s - "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down!*

* Here's a word I miss - "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with? "Coffee maker." How dull. Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this.*

* I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like "DynaFlow" and "Electrolux." *

* Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with "Spectra Vision!"*

* Food for thought - Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening their kids with castor oil , or Fletcher's Castoria  anymore.*

* Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most is "supper." Now everybody says "dinner." *

* Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.*

* I thought some of us of a "certain age" would remember most of these.*

 


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## no$.10 (Oct 18, 2005)

1. Ash trays in the Pediatricians office.
2. Ashtrays on airplanes.
3. Marathon Candy Bars.
4. That goofy "_I'm a pepper, she's a pepper_" Dr. Pepper commercial.
5. Mad magazine (though still available, just not the same.)
6. My Dad taking a bud can everytime we went in the car. 
7. Sugar Babies.(I agree they were racist, but they were good, too)
8. My Grandmother had some funky screen attatchment that was supposed to make a black and white TV look like *colorvision*.
9. Variety shows.
10. Metal lunchboxes, with glass thermos (not very pratical).
11. Free parking.
12. Customer service.
13. Never wearing a seat belt (coupled with #6, made interesting childhood)
14. Drive Ins.
15. Bannana Splits. Flinstones at 5:00 on 56, and, of course "Creature Double Feature" on Saturdays. Don't forget Davey and Goliath.

16, And Kenistons in Concord, NH off 93. We would stop there alot, of the Root Beer place. That or the Flying Saucer (where was that? Billerica, I think)


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## Future_MALEO_019 (Oct 30, 2005)

Things I remember:
-Smoke filled bars and restaurants.
-Cigarette Machines.
-Playing outside.
-Having less than 50 TV Channels.
-Sunday Best (Actually, I still have Sunday Best, but most kids just go to church in street clothes.)
-When every boy was a Wolf Cub, and every girl a Brownie.
-Memorial Day Parades with the whole town turning out.
-When you still called teachers "Sir" or "Ma'am".
-Video games were a rareity, and you played war and explorers, not SOCOM and Tomb Raider.
-The President was still The President, no matter what party he was.
-Sleeping outside just for the heck of it.

And to think, I'm still young and was only what I would call a "kid" less than 10 years ago! And No$, Sugar Babies are still around, you just need to know where to buy them! My favorite movie snack!


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## no$.10 (Oct 18, 2005)

Future_MALEO_019 said:


> And No$, Sugar Babies are still around, you just need to know where to buy them! My favorite movie snack!


Thank you, I shall seek them out.
Sugar Babies were apparently the by-product of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Mamas. Back in the late 60's, they were shaped like actual babies. But I thought they were bears. I was 5. They were discontinued for some time over the controversy, and I was crushed.
But thank you, I will been picking them out of my fillings soon!


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## meeko1 (Nov 12, 2005)

Gas at .89 per gallon
Jiffy Pop popcorn
Had to get off the couch to change the channel on t.v 
The mailman actually had to get out of the truck and walk your mail to the door.
The Morning Telegarm and The Evening Gazette.... (imagine 2 newspapers per day)
Almost everything was closed on a Sunday
People were actually friendly
Geesh i could keep on going....


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## sempergumby (Nov 14, 2003)

Does any one remeber Star Blaizers. that cartoon where an old WWII destroyer was a space ship with the huge wave motion gun. I love that frikken show. It was keen.


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## Buford T (Feb 12, 2005)

It actually was a battleship named Argo. 

Don't forget John and Roy on Saturday night along with franks and beans with brown bread from a can???....AAAnd a one aaand a two Lawrence Welk for your dining pleasure, zzzzzzzzzzz.


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## USMCTrooper (Oct 23, 2003)

I remember:

1. MASH was a weekly show.
2. Happy Days, Mary Tyler Moore, Munsters, Barney Miller, etc etc were too
3. Three channels on Tv all B&W
4. the 25 foot earpiece cord that plugged into the set
5. vinyl records and record players
6. when gas went UP to $1.25/gal
7. mom & pop drugstores with penny candy in fishbowls on the floor
8. gas stations that had garages with full time mechanics and everything was full serve-one price too. Remember the guy coming to the car so you could sign the slip!
9. LEADED gas
10. Montgomery Wards
11.DRIVE IN movies with cartoons for kids were in every town
12. leaving home to play for 6-8 hours and nobody issued an Amber Alert
13. smoking allowed in HS courtyards
14. students were BUS PATROLS (remember the orange belt & badge!)
15. rotary phones with long cords
16. Saturday morning wrestling
17. 911 still asked for your address
18. 411 was a live person who could help
19. the paperboy wearing a bag walking his route (or her)
20. the invention of PONG
21. Eastern & Pan Am airlines
22. Tang
23. SUGAR Frosted Flakes (now they are called just Frosted Flakes)
24. McDonalds cut up their fries from real potatoes on site (and were red & white striped buildings)
25. Saturday morning kid shows where real kids were in the studio audience

:rock:


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

I remember "odd and even" days for gas rationing (NJ)
That there were actual lines for gas (granted I was like 5 or so)
I remember actually walking to school
Milk was 5 cents, chocolate was 7 cents
Polyester was worn almost on a daily basis
orange and green were acceptable in the same room as part of the funishings


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## stm4710 (Jul 6, 2004)

Not really an odd memory, but I remember the OLD Danvers police crusiers always going to my elderly nieghbors house for medicals along with Open cabbed Engine 1, now engine 5 with firefighters in 3/4 coats and boots and Lyons ambulance still responded from the Funeral home. And this was only in the 90's!!!!!!


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## dcs2244 (Jan 29, 2004)

I remember being in "Danny Sheahans Steak House" (Lockport, NY) when I was about twelve...there was a lady at the next table eating her salad with one hand and burning a Camel with the other (and talking 'a-mile-a-minute'...but that's another thread)...pretty sad that a citizen couldn't stop smoke long enough to eat!

I was talking about ice cream ('Hoodsie cups" were on sale) with a buddy of mine last night. He brought up a product called "Buried Treasure", ice cream on a stick available in the seventies. They had a collectable plastic stick with a super hero...I never heard of them, but they did exist.


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## Officer Dunngeon (Aug 16, 2002)

I can remember when cigarettes were $1.65 a pack (and I could buy them without an ID) and I remember Child World and the York Steakhouse in Dedham. That place SUCKED!

Sno-cone machines and Easy Bake ovens rocked. So did my Wonder Woman Underoos because they came with a BRAW! :mrgreen:


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## dcs2244 (Jan 29, 2004)

I remember when cigarettes went to $1.00 a pack and we all swore we would quit...fortunately they were available at the gas station next to NECCO in Cambridge for $0.90...:fun: 

I also remember when gasoline was $0.439 a gallon, after the first 'oil embargo' and before the second. I had to pay $0.479 for ethyl or the engine in my 69 Plymouth Satellite ('faster than the speed of light...') would pre-detonate... 

I also remember China Sails' restaurant across the street from the Chestnut Hill Mall, where the owner, Uncle Charlie, made sure that cops could imbibe for short money!


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## fjmas1976 (Aug 27, 2005)

The old "Shopper's World" in Framingham was so much better than the new one that is there now. It was semi-outside and had tons of stores. During Christmas they would have these HUGE wooden soldiers all over the place and Santa and his reindeer would visit. They had a stall with all these live reindeer in them and you could feed them, pet them, etc. There was a movie theater there and a barber shop.........

Also remember when cops could still receive tokens of appreciation from the public. My dad used to get large pizzas from Domino's for $2 each (get 3 pizzas for $6, throw the pizza guy a ten and he was happy)......$2 admission to the movies....free rides on the T. Those were the days....... #-o


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## dcs2244 (Jan 29, 2004)

I remember "The Fair", which is now out of business, but had a lot of great stuff cheap...not just 'close-out' items ala' "Ocean State" and "Building 19"...

I remember when giving your kid a whack on the butt wasn't "child abuse".

I remember when the public school was not a "partner" in raising your child.

I remember International Harvester school busses...my first bus was #24, Mr. Dale was the driver, and the bus was a fifties iteration of IH...(and owned by the school district, not Laidlaw...).

I remember when hitting a girl was not acceptable.


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

I remember S&H green stamps...they went out of business when I was a kid.


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## 94c (Oct 21, 2005)

My dad's 1965 Rambler station wagon. There was no shift lever just buttons on the left of the dash that you would press for drive and reverse. 

The three stooges and the rotating antenna so I could watch the Bruins on TV-38


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## Officer Dunngeon (Aug 16, 2002)

USMCMP5811 said:


> begging him to stomp on the brakes so us kids would go flying into the back of the front seat.
> falling out of trees
> a back hand right across the face
> duked it out
> ...


This all explains a LOT about you. :lol:


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## Cinderella (Jun 17, 2005)

I remember having to wear white socks and black shiny shoes
and not forgetting my best sunday dress!!lol

and being dragged to church by my ear lol :innocent:


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## Irish Wampanoag (Apr 6, 2003)

I remember living in Boston 70s and early 80s

Cops drove chevy novas, station wagons, grand torinos as cruisers.

Being white in a back area was a death sentence and visa versa.

Boston and federal officials considered desegregation achieved when 50 white kids were attending school with 950 black kids

When a kid went missing they considered him/her a run a way.

You could ask your brother or sister or their friend to buy alcohol so long as you gave them enough to buy some for them. (and no one got hurt drinking)

If you were 15 and you got laid by a older woman 17, 18, 19 no one would know about it least of all you parents (except you friends) and no one would go to jail.


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## Dr.Magoo (May 2, 2002)

I remember some guy driving around in his ice cream truck. He wouldn't sell you something unless you said "Please Uncle Remo". The more I think about it, I wonder if he is now on the SOR. :woot:


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## HOTLUNCH (Sep 13, 2005)

1.Willie Whistle on channel 38...where is he now?
2.Some home auction show on channel 25 where the auctioneer always said to the live bidding audience..."Folks, Im gonna do something crazy..." and his little Mr. Smithers would prance around in front of him acknowledging bidders.
3.The Boston Breakers.
4. V-66
5.Starcase and Preview channels


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## Officer Dunngeon (Aug 16, 2002)

On Willie Whistle (from "Ask the Globe"):

That was the station's program director Dick Beach, who played Willie 
for nearly two decades before retiring and moving West in the mid-1980s. 
Throughout the period Beach kept Willie's true identity a secret. He had 
previously, in 1962, played a clown named Salty at a TV station in Toledo, 
Ohio. In addition to his managerial duties, and playing Willie in a number 
of charitable appearances, Beach also hosted a morning cartoon show on Ch. 
38 five days a week.

I had one of my crayon scribblings featured on Willie Whistle one morning! I loved that silly little freak.


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## Guest (Nov 23, 2005)




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## Officer Dunngeon (Aug 16, 2002)

Don't forget "Uncle" Dale Dorman on Ch. 56, V66 vj and KISS108 dj.


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## lokiluvr (Dec 30, 2004)

Pulling up to the A&W and having the waitress roller skate up to the car to take our order
Bringing the speaker in the car at the drive in
A black and white TV with an antenna on the roof


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## Officer Dunngeon (Aug 16, 2002)

lokiluvr said:


> A black and white TV with an antenna on the roof


Huh? Black and white?? Antenna??? :blink:

I've even heard rumors that TVs used to have DIALS on them and you had to GET UP OFF THE COUCH to change the channel or set the volume! That's INSANE!


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## screamineagle (Jul 11, 2005)

I have never felt so old before.


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE *
1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !! ​


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​*
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they 
carried us. *



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​*
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. *



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​*
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored 
lead-based paints. *



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We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we 
rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took 
hitchhiking. 



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​*
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. *



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Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. *



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We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. *



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​*
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE 
actually died from this. *



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​*
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but 
we weren't overweight because *



​*
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING*! 



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​*
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back *
when the streetlights came on. 



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No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K. *



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​*
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down *
the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the 
bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. 



​
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 
99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell *
phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat 
rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! *



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We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no 
lawsuits from these accidents. 



​*
*We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. 



​*
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, *
made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. 
*
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them! *



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Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't 
had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! 



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The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They 
actually sided with the law! 



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This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers 
and inventors ever! 



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The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. 



​*
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned *



​*
HOW TO 
DEAL WITH IT ALL! *



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And YOU are one of them! **CONGRATULATIONS!* 



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*
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as 
kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good. *



​*
and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were. *



​
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!


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## USMCTrooper (Oct 23, 2003)

AMEN


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

How about old time Boston Radio Shows

Bob & Ray

Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding

*boston mary cries &
terrence mccaffigen

LISTEN TO MP3 *


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