Growing up in The 70's.

I watched a show about Evel Knievel on the history channel last week. He is one crazy dude, as I’ve said before. During the show they showed a kid playing with his Evel Knievel action figure and its motorcycle. I remember watching boys play with those and being jealous. I wanted to jump the motorcycle too. I also wanted a Six-Million Dollar Man doll and a Big Wheel, but I never got them. How come the boys got all the cool toys?

I was talking to a friend about all this and of course it turned into a conversation about all things having to do with growing up in the 70’s. Like that crazy show H.R. Pufnstuf – a dragon with a nutty hill billy accent. Personally I found him to be sort of creepy. Of course I thought Capt Kangaroo was creepy too.

Then my friend asked me if I remembered Uncle Woody’s Toy Circus and his afternoon TV show. I had forgotten all about it. I did remember that it burned down. That was sad. Apparently Uncle Woody is still around.

Another friend mentioned the slip n slide recently. The idea was to run and dive face first onto a wet sheet of plastic, causing you to slide across the surface. More often than not I’d do a belly flop and just end up having the wind knocked out of me. If I did manage to slip ‘n slide I would usually just keep going and end up with grass stains on my face. I’m happy to see they finally made an improvement on that idea.

Why were the toys in the 70’s so dangerous? Remember Klackers? That was really more of a weapon. And the Lemon Twist. I can’t tell you how many times I limped home from school after bashing that damn lemon into my ankle over and over again. I guess I wasn’t very coordinated.

Another toy I remember wanting but never getting was a Baby Alive. I don’t know why I would want a plastic doll that eats and poops. I think it was because I had a friend who had a one. That fake baby poop was actually pretty nasty. I'm surprised to see they’re still making them. Same with Shrinky Dinks.

Another thing I miss from the 70s is the Wide World of Sports. I loved the theme song and watching that skier wipe out. Remember what the narrator said? “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… this is ABC's Wide World of Sports!” And Howard Cosell! I miss his annoying voice.

I know there’s more out that I forgot, so tell me...what toys, shows, or what have you do you remember and miss from the 70s?