Epic Win: Glo Worm
Submitted by R Burgen
In case you missed it (like I did), the Glo Worm wasn’t just a comforting night-light toy, it was an INDUSTRY.
There were Glo Worm Books:
Photo via Wikipedia
A Glo Worm cartoon, called Glo Friends:
There was even a board game! The Glo Worm Light and Learn:
Photo via 80stoysale.com
I had a Glo Worm (Oh, hush. Some of us were afraid of the dark!) and adored it. In fact, I still have it, and my cat loves it — it’s her baby. Weird animal, I know.
The question remains: how did I miss all the other stuff? It was the early 80’s, it’s not like I was busy. HOW???
Nostalgic FAIL
Troll.
I remember it was so hard to press the tummy to make it light up.
My cousins and I all had one so we always fought over who’s was who’s until my grandmother wrote our initials on the tag
Yeah, I took mine apart so all I had was the covered up flashlight. I could make that thing glow! This makes me think of “my buddy” and “kid sister.”
Thank god! I was afraid it was just me being a weakling! I remember taking him apart and finding the little rocker switch and stacking things on top of my glo worm just to see how much weight it took to break/light it up.
I always loved the hiding space inside them too! But i didnt realize a few general rules about FOOD, and after a few weeks my PBnJ got squished up inside its head and killed the flashlight *sniffle* i miss that thing.
haha, oh wow thats so amazing. i loooved glow worms.
HA…. I just found one of those a week ago in my old stuff xD
Glow Worm!!!! i absolutely looovved mine
I also remember it being a pretty effective weapon, that plastic face would leave a mark!
I had the Glo Worm Game and I loved it!!!! It was actually at my Granny’s house and it belonged to all the kids, it was one of the first things we would grab to play with when we were over there and I believe it is still in the toy box to this day, so the younger kids play with it now. A very fun game.
I loved my Glow Worm. I searched for one NIB a few years ago because I don’t know what happened to mine and I had a serious craving to hug something glowy and I didn’t want one some kid had drooled all over. I was not successful, and then I got over it, but now I’m all in need of a glowy hug again.
Check out the Fisher Price seahorse, it glows and plays music.
They are remaking them and you can find them at most toy stores.. they have fun striped clothes now
Mine had a cool shirt/jacket that played music when you pressed the front of it. When the music got to annoying you could undo the velcro dots down the back take it off.
all i remember is gettig hit with one of these deadly ninja weapons for children.
my little sister would swing that thing with considerable power and accuracy. and i couldn’t hit her back…
i’m pretty sure i got a concussion from that badboy right there.
Glow worms are back. My two year old has one and loves it. They look a little different than the old ones.
My brother had a yellow one with Shrek-like nodes on his head. We named him Charley, and it lasted years! I miss it……
I loved GlowWorm! Just bought my new grandson a seahorse that’s kind of like it for Christmas last week. This one plays music and water sounds as well, he loves it.
You can still buy glow worms at Wal-Mart. My one-year-old daughter has one. It used to scare her but now they’re sleepy time pals. The body is blue and shorter and the hat isn’t as long, but they still play music and glow.
This was seriously the toy I wanted but never got as a kid. Every year I would rip through the Christmas presents with an expectant gleam in my eyes, and every year that hope ended in soul crushing disappointment and a glow-free bed. It was a cruel lesson but I suppose it helped prepare me for the cold, glowless realities of life.
I never had a toy, but I secretly wanted one. I remember the cartoon, though. Strange how all of my memories from early childhood are connected to a cartoon in some way…
All of my thoughts in general are connected to a cartoon in some way.
i got one for my 5th birthday
Damn! I had one of these when I was little, still have it in the attic I think.
I had forgotten about those, until I saw this little gem from Fun Factory.
http://www.buzzillions.com/dz_995223_fun_factory_fresh_vibes_worm_ii_patchy_reviews
I am disturbed
I definitely had one of these in my crib back in 1983. I was just a baby but I remember being fascinated by how it would light up when you hugged it.
I had one of these back in 1989! Friggen awesome! I didn’t know my glo worm had an empire either hehe
Yay! I had one of these too, I also remember it being hard to get it to turn on, lol. I didn’t have one of the ones you could just hug and it glowed, I practically had to stand on it to get it to work…. hmmm maybe that’s why it didn’t work so good xD
mine was my “glow baby”
My sister had the glow worm but I had ALL the glow friends. And their glow palace thing. All of the glow friends were about 3 inches tall and they all glowed in the dark. They didn’t have flashlights they were just made of glow in the dark materials. This was about 1988 or so. I miss my glow friends.
I had the glow friends too– nobody else seems to remember them! My sister & I fought over the pink-hatted one cuddled up in white wings like a shawl; I swear she had eyeliner, like many cool 80’s toys…
Omg D: I had one of these for as long as I can remember! Not one of those new-fangled plastic/polyester crap ones either, I had a big cloth one. I kept it for ages, even after the light stopped working D:
It’s about friggin time something showed up here I can relate to
Ftw!
my first daughter was a pre-mie, weighed just 5lbs when she finally came home from the hospital, they told me to keep her wrapped up tight and she looked exactly like a gloworm! everybody always cracked up when we’d show up anywhere. ::sigh:: she’s almost 20 now lol
I still have mine too, but whichever parent put it in storage didn’t take the batteries out. >_< Ew.
Oh, how I love this! I had a Glow Worm when I was a kid:) You guys are really bringing me back!
I think the glo friends was a cartoon that broke up the 2 cartoons during either My Little Ponies or Popples–because I TOTALLY remember it. They also had a line of toys that went along with it that glow in the dark–because let’s face it, back then, that was awesome. If it wasn’t glow in the dark OR had neon colors…it wasn’t cool.
Oh man – I LOVED my GloWorm!! I remember one time we had a black out and my mom tied a string around my GloWorm so he would stay on and act as a night light for me. My parents were fighting like crazy, and I just hugged my GloWorm all night.
I still have the Christmas special on tape somewhere. Epic win for realz.
oh my god! i miss mine! it always took me standing on it to light up, not exactly comforting at night i bed so much as it was a step stool or scale
I had one of these for like, ever. Also a few of the little glow-in-the dark plastic glowworms. I wish I still had the big one. Major warm fuzzies from seeing that photo!
My daughter, now 21 had a glow worm. Have you ever seen what the flashlight part looks like? I was driving down the road with my daughter in her carseat and she unzipped the back of glow worm. Imagine my chagrin when I turned around to find my toddler sucking on what looked exactly like a dildo!
Yes! I LOVED Glo-friends. I have a glo-turtle that carries around my little plastic glo-friends.
I never was lucky enough to have the actual glo-worm though
Glow little glo-worm, glimmer, glimmer…
Something something something, shimmer, shimmer!
This toy always creeped me out. And I think the thing’s head was made of cement, cause man did that hurt to get hit with! (What else do siblings do with toys but beat each other with them?)
Oh my god.. i completely forgot about this thing.
one of my favorite toys! I used to watch the cartoon too…They even have a christmas special, and we still have it on VHS! It has absolutely no plot…but I loved it!
Awwww i still have mine! Its on my bed right now LOL my fiance hates it
My sister broke mine
I still have mine…and sleep with it *is embarassed*…….
These things are so funny =D.
I thought they were cute
I had a pink one. I am going on a quest for another one. ASAP. Thank you Nostalgic Win!
I still have min, it’s green and it’s missing an eye. I loved it when I was younger. I maned her “betty-lou” and she used to keep me company when I was in bed during bad thunderstorms. still didn’t help me get over my thunderstorm fear but she was, and still is my best friend.
too suggestive, in my opinion.