I even worked at a plastics company (managed by our neighbor) that made them...I put the string on and placed them in a bag with the label...

It’s astonishing to me that every time I’m reminded of them, I can hear the clacking in my memory. I loved them so much! I think my mom tossed them when I moved out.

Holding them by the central ring you would swing them up and down and hit the balls together on the top (above your hand) and then on the bottom below your hand...they made a loud clacking sound when they hit. Sometimes they would break and go flying, thus much of the danger...They came in various colors from blue to red and others...

https://www.tiktok.com/@aircircuskiteshop/video/7389846693853826335?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

attached to the ends of rope,In the center of the rope., was a a rong for hand. You would pull down and the balls would come up and strike each other. Then come back down and strike each other. You would have to see how long you could continue the back and forth motion. You have to remember the balls were about the size, maybe a little smaller then a tennis ball. Sometimes the ball would rope would hit at an angle. and the user was hit or a person got to close. It was very dangerous and taken off of the market.

Also, Jarts (what could go wrong) & cap pistols.
For clothes, baggies & platform shoes for guys. (Yes, I wore both.)

Platform shoes for guys were great.

It was kind of ugly.

I think one or more of The Young Rascals (Good Loving'," "Groovin&quot wore them. And I LOVE that you showed a sewing pattern...I probably made some back then!

I did not have a CB radio, but too many of my guy friends did.

I remember clogs but I hated mine.

radio.

That's what I now call my computer.

LOL

A Schwinn Stringray bike with extended "chopper" forks.

Bold striped bell bottom jeans.

Last edited Tue Nov 4, 2025, 01:54 PM - Edit history (1)

And flavored blunt wrappers as well.

charm bracelets and circle pins. Fifties and early sixties era.

I only got a poodle skirt because my cousin outgrew hers and she was a size larger than me so the skirt fit perfectly and I loved it to death!! For once I got to wear "cool kids" clothes - wow.

Still think they are cute

rebounds as I got hit in the face by one I was using.

Tie dye and batik were quite important as well.

Oh, how could I forget fringed suede jackets - always wanted one, couldn't afford it.

Fringed jacket and vest were made from fake suede. I got them at KMart.

were inspired by the Davy Crockett television show in the mid 1950s.

and yard darts were my favs. Yes they were dangerous, but so was riding in the bed of the pickup truck, biking without helmets and cars without seat belts. Most of us survived…

things you mentioned.

Ben Casey shirts.

.

back

to really know who he was. Anyway, I threw up on it the first night I used it. I have a vague recollection of that night.

They were called Penny Loafers because you'd put a penny in the slot of the shoe. We used to put a silver dime in place of the penny because the dime was shinny and made the shoes stand out.

Mine was silver plated! I thought it was beautiful.

But I am sure I would have thought they were cool!

I also had them in pastel ice cream colors. I think we wore them with generic polo shirts

Yup, we had the 8 ball too.

Then my friend got the same pair only hers had gromets along the edge & looked so cool I was jealous until they rubbed blisters on her feet.

My favorite thing was a cool suede purse with fringe.

trying to sound like a motorcycle. Imperial or Butterfly yo-yos. Thanks, Deb for all the memory lane fun!😊🧡

but go up and down.

peace sign. Studs that you attached to your jeans. My favorite was hearts .

She knew it right off the bat and she's only in her forties.

me for Christmas one year 🙂.

I just stuck it in my purse until I can think of where to put it...or give it to...

when I’m gone. I have three nieces (all adults). Maybe one of them will keep it. If my husband out lives me it will be his problem. I tried to declutter when we moved two years ago, but there are a lot of things I wasn’t ready to part with.

Jordache jeans, scrunchie socks, stirrup pants, large dressy shirts and placing a large belt over the shirt.

Besides the Jordache jeans, I don't know why the other stuff was in style in elementary and jr. high. Apparently Jordache jeans are still made and sold and they were nice and lasting jeans.


Then came high school and the fashion didn't get any better with hypercolor t-shirts, jean bleaching and tight rolling the bottom of jeans. There's another word for tight rolling the bottom of the jeans but I'm not repeating that word because it means something different today.

Then it was clothing brands like Bugle Boy, BUM Equipment, LA Gear, Guess, Nike, Vision Street Wear, Calvin Klein and Big Dog that were all the rage in high school.

When I started driving there were these toys that came out called Jibba Jabba and I wanted one. They pulled them off the shelf because one had to grab it by the throat and shake it and it would make a silly noise.

Around the same time, super soakers became a thing. People would load them up and go out cruising around town and super soak other vehicles and people on the cruise strip. The police in my town would pull cars over to make sure it was water in the super soaker instead of bleach or whatever.

Fun times!!

of but never wore. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

My body feels like it's 70 but I act like I'm 21!!!

the 70's balls on wires. ebayed it cause bad colors. got a elmo faux fur vest, but never wore it.

i wore flannel before grunge + waffle-weave long underwear. i was layering before trendy too. always did my own thing. jellyfish look. always a jellyfish.

to put on thebell part of the jean. So they wouldn't get stuck

Bell bottoms. And many of the girls would cut slits up the sides of the calves, and would insert polka dot material to cover the slits. Very cool.

My first thought was clackers, platform shoes, bell bottoms, tie-dye, macrame, and lots of other things already mentioned, but going back further (I was probably about 5-7), I remember when “sidewalk surfing” became a thing. My older brother hammered my roller skates flat and screwed them to a board because no one sold skateboards in Iowa yet. That thing was DANGEROUS! metal skates on probably a 6” x 18” chunk of tongue-in-groove board (painted with surfer stripes lengthwise) and it felt like you were flying over ice—except that ice wouldn’t carve you up like face-planting on a bumpy sidewalk.

It’s a wonder were even survived the ‘60s.

cutting the inside and adding a triangular piece of fabric to the front and back.

And inserting fabric patches into regular jeans to make bell bottoms...

I still have one jeans' tote bag.... Too tough to give up its ghosts!!!

Those were the days...

I don't remember what it was called

I remember an orange ring around the ankle, a lime green string with a red bell at the end.

Double ring buckle embroidered cloth belts. Rabbit fur jackets. Sewing anything and everything to our bell bottom jeans.

jacket.

... and Wallabee shoes. Those were my nice "going out" clothes.

Most of the time I wore blue jeans, a tee-shirt, a hoodie, and shoes I could run in, same as I ever have since my grandma stopped buying clothes for me in the third grade because I refused to wear them.

I probably would have been more popular in school, and even in college, if I'd accepted my grandma's fashion advice.

old Baba.

Duncan yo-yos and the yo-yo tricks were a craze in the mid 70s.

Pet Rocks were also popular, but I only saw one in a department store display.

Big bell bottoms. The explanation. The girls liked them on me.

I still don't get the STP stickers, but I had one on my notebook, lol.

machine for a nickel at the food store. Wasn't it said that if you rubbed their hair it would bring you good luck?

I also have a couple of Beanie Babies.

I probably gave him away when I got older.

I remember my mother being happily surprised because she used to play with them when she was little.

I was a pretty good competitor, I have to say. We usually played for bragging rights, but sometimes we got into a real match where we played for what would be referred to in racing as 'pink slips', meaning that the loser gave up his jacks set.

The competitions were fierce!

(The school finally banned them because of too many accidents involving lost jacks and people's feet.)

I only got it to go down all of grandma's steps one time.