Submitted by Asiah M, balance beam champion.

SPOILER ALERT! The weights that allow this bird to balance on just about anything–a table edge, your finger, your nose–are located in the tips of the wings. I hope I haven’t ruined the magic for any of you. These simple marvels were, and still are, marketed as educational toys that teach children (and adults) about things like gravity and center of mass. And to think I just thought they were fun. Lesson learned. Off to physicist school!

Submitted by Alain C, party crasher.

Oh, the number of birthday parties we attended at Discovery Zone! I believe I probably logged more “party hours” at a Discovery Zone than I did at a Chuck-E-Cheese over the course of my childhood. Re-watching this advertisement (which sparked a dozen memories instantly), I realize it wasn’t the ball pit or the tubes you crawled through or the “party rooms” with cafeteria-style seating that brought me back each time; it was my favorite Nickelodeon characters coercing me! What clever (and cruel) cross-promotion. Ah, well. I stopped attending Discovery Zone parties at about the same time I noticed them shutting down around town. Just as well, right? You reach a certain age and ball pits no longer seem fun, they just seem icky.

Submitted by J Alexander, who knows what each letter of ROYGBIV stands for.

Who says it takes more than flashy colors to capture someone’s attention? I mean, that’s all Rainbow Brite was really about, yeah? Colors? Everything had a name relating to color, and, like, the plot was all about stealing and/or restoring color. And somehow that transformed into a billion dollar industry! For all of her success, Ms. Brite doesn’t seem to have done all that much work. Only 3 two-part specials and 8 regular episodes were made. But again: Billion dollar industry. Thanks to the toys and licensing. And, I suppose, a strong presence in pop culture that, to this very day, is referenced by shows like Talk Soup and Robot Chicken.

Submitted by Caitlin, our feathered friend.

‘Tis the time of year when these things, which we ALL made throughout elementary school (and hopefully not beyond that time), pop up in our parents’ houses as “decoration.” It’s almost incredible that these old scraps of paper have managed to survive as long as they have, in boxes, in attics, with 20-year-old tape still stuck on the back. Pictured above is the traditional Hand Turkey, but some of us got creative with materials: Real feathers, glitter, googly eyes. Sadly, Hand Turkeys are about as far as my art career went.

Submitted by Audrey A, who is afraid of worms.

I still ride one of these bad boys around. Around the house, to the store, to work, and even once to Amsterdam. I always get a lot of attention, as you can imagine. The Hasbro Corporation released this toy in the early 1970s, and it is still available today (through Radio Flyer). I seem to remember they were kind of noisy. But does it matter how you sound when you look that cool?