GROOVIIEST XMAS
Mike Lockley recalls the must-haves on every kids’ wishlist... 50 years ago
THE presents kids open this Christmas will flash, talk, interact. They will be all-dancing, all-singing. To those who remember the season in the early 1970s, they are positively sci-fi.
Back then, Slinky – a mere coil of metal that could walk down stairs – was considered a magical feat of engineering. Kids were in awe of the spring.
But what was the most popular childhood present half-a-century ago? These pages looks at the 1971 must-haves for excited children.
It was a year that signalled the beginning of the end for noncomputerised Christmases. In 1972, the first commercially successful computer game was launched, Atari Pong. The game was tennis-esq, with a player using the simple controller to move an in-game paddle, volleying a small “ball” back and forth with another player. By 1974, Atari had sold 8,000 of them.
■ TOPPING Santa’s list for 1971 was the Space Hopper, the undoubted seasonal success story of the year. It was a large orange balloon with a smiling face and ears.
Youngsters sat on it, clutched the ears and bounced. That was it.
Today, children, entertained by such gadgetry as Nintendo Switch and Alexa, would be singularly disappointed. Back then, simply bouncing was enough.
The UK original was produced by Mettoy and, in 1971, sold for £2.25. Hopper fever first began in 1969 when the Cambridge Evening News carried an advertisement for the toy and described it as a craze.
Hoppers certainly seeped into popular culture. An episode of popular comedy series The Goodies, titled Charity Bounce, was centred on them.
They also made it on to a Star Trek episode, a case of boldly bouncing where no man has bounced before.
Hoppers again grabbed the headlines in 2010 when one was used to save two teenage girls from drowning off Dawlish’s coastline. ■ NOT many people know this, but.. Mastermind board game – the second most popular present of 1971 – had nothing to do with the popular TV quiz show. That was launched a year later. It was big, very big.
Sorry, I’ve started, so I’ll finish. The game involved pegs. According to online encyclopedia, Wikipedia: “One player becomes the codemaker, the other the codebreaker. The codemaker chooses a pattern of four code pegs. Duplicates and blanks are allowed depending on player choice, so the player could even choose four code pegs of the same colour or four blanks.”
Frankly, we’re baffled already. The game was invented by Israeli postman Mordecai Meirowitz. He hawked it around a number of major toy companies, but received a lukewarm response. However, a demonstration by Mordecai at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair paid dividends.
The game was snapped-up by Leicester company Invicta Plastics. It bought the rights and launched Mastermind in 71 in time for the Christmas rush. Back then, it cost £1.64 – just over £22 today.
■ REMEMBER the ad slogan, “Weebles wobble but they won’t fall down”?
That’s one hell of an advertising pitch, a toy that didn’t topple. And that was all Weebles did. They had the ability to stay upright. Yet it was the third most popular children’s gift half-a-century ago.
What were Weebles? Released in July, 71, by Hasbro, they were plastic,
egg shaped figures. A weight at the bottom meant Weebles would spring back after being pushed over.
That’s hardly a skill to keep children entertained for hours, but, 50 years ago, youngsters loved the characters. Weebles came with a number of accessories and sets, including: Weebleville Town Centre, Weeschool, Wegetable Stand and Weebles Barn Dance. Back then, they cost £4.99.
IT was the toy considered so dangerous, many schools banned it. And it was perhaps the controversy that made Clackers the fourth Christmas best sellers.
Many adults still have the mishapen, broken knuckles from painful Clackers contests. They were two heavy spheres on either end of string which were vigorously twirled.
The aim was to swing them so they collided above and below the outstretched hand, making a loud “clack”. There could also be the sound of splintering bone.
Basically, they were the kids’ version of Argentinian weapon, the bolas. What could possibly go wrong? Lots did.
America and Canada withdrew them as the list of Clackers casualties mounted – and the injuries included broken wrists.
The pain behind the product is summed-up by website littlething. com: “Also known as Knockers and Click Clacks, these heavy acrylic balls attached to weighty string had only one purpose – to be knocked together as fast and hard as possible. This resulted in shattered toys and shrapnel flying everywhere. Clackers were officially banned in 1985.”
But in 1971 they were very big business – and quite cheap at £1.05.
I LOATHED Etch a Sketch – fifth in our tinsel league table. It was a plastic tablet of pure frustration.
Under the glass surface lay aluminium powder that could be shaped by a magnetic stylus.
I could create lines, but not the ornate sketches shown on adverts. The stylus was then replaced by two knobs, which further hindered creativity.
The publicity blurb stated: “The original magic screen that’s fun and easy to use. Left knob draws left and right; right knob draws up and down. Turn both knobs together for angles and curves. When you’re done, turn over and shake to erase — then, start the fun all over again.”
Fun? The glass surface was
replaced with plastic after a number shattered. I have no doubt they were deliberately smashed in anger by kids. Despite the limitations, Etch a Sketch certainly stood the test of time.
It was invented in the late 1950s by French toymaker André Cassagnes who christened it L’Écran Magique (The Magic Screen). In 1959 it was snapped up by the Ohio Art Company, rebranded and launched in time for the following year’s Christmas rush.
By the early 1970s, Etch a Sketch, costing 99p, had become a phenomenon. And it is still with us, there’s even a pocket form.
Evidently, children are still gluttons for punishment.
Combined, all top five toys of 1971 would’ve set you back £10.92p, which is worth £150.33p today.
Those youngster who will this year be underwhelmed by what is waiting for them under the tree should spare a thought for we children of the 1970s.
It could be worse. Your parents could just hand over two heavy balls tied together by string and tell you to get on with it.