Before the arrival of the ipad, PSP, PlayStation,
Xbox and Wii, people our age (assuming you’re in your 20s and 30s) used to play
with things too mundane and simple that kids nowadays usually take for granted.
Back in the days, our toys didn’t have to
worry about battery life, internet connectivity, sensitive and fragile screens
and controllers and hefty price tags. They weren’t complicated and yet they
still gave kids fun and wonderful memories.
Here are some examples of such toys.
Plastic
Balloon – is a tube of viscous plastic substance
(which has a scent similar to paint thinner) that can be made into semi-solid
bubbles. This is done by first squeezing out the plastic substance out of the
tube and rolling it into a ball. A small straw is then inserted into the ball
and the user would blow into the straw thereby inflating the plastic into a
bubble.
 |
| Photo credits to gecua |
The straw can then be removed from the
plastic bubble by pinching the hole where the straw was once inserted, sealing
the air inside. The user can also enlarge the bubble as well as share the
plastic balloon by allowing his or her playmates to blow into the balloon by
first creating a small hole at the side and then blowing air inside it.
Rainbow
Spring – rainbow spring as the name suggests is a plastic
spring painted in rainbow colors. It was based on the original metallic slinky
which was invented in the early 1940s by American Naval engineer Richard James.
Just like the original slinky, the plastic
rainbow spring can do a number of tricks such travelling down a flight of steps
and stretching and reforming itself among others. Aside from its use as a toy,
rainbow springs have also been used as home and office decors, pen holders and
table-top displays.
Kisses
– Kisses, which are fragrant gel-like beads, are
probably the most intriguing toy of the 90s. That’s because a lot of kids are
under the impression that Kisses have the ability to procreate. Yes, you heard
it right, procreate (nanganganak daw)! J
According to kisses experts this is done by
placing the same colored kisses in a small container lined with cotton (like a
match box or pencil case) then soaking them in alcohol. Some would even say
that they multiply faster if you mix small and large kisses together in the
belief that small kisses are females and the larger ones are males.
Teks
– teks are traditional card games that are commonly
played by Filipino boys. These cards usually depict popular movie or TV series
at the time it was printed. Kids usually play with them by tossing two cards in
the air and betting which card will land right side up.
During the mid-90s, these cards were
replaced by larger sized ones that usually depict famous cartoon characters
like those from Dragon Ball Z and Ghost Fighter (Yu Yu Hakusho).
Garter
– Ten-twenty and Chinese garter are the most common
game played by small girls in the 90s. Both games make use of a stretched
garter which is raised higher and higher as the game progresses.
The only difference is that Chinese garter’s
objective is to have the players cross the garter without having tripped on the
garter, while that of ten-twenty is played by doing a jumping routine over the
garters while singing a song.
And that’s our top 5 Pinoy toys of the 90s.
I hope this post was able to bring back some nostalgic memories of your
elementary (or high school days). Of course there are other toys that we weren’t
able to mention in this article. If you can remember them, please feel free to
leave a comment below. Thanks!
