[OT] Relics from your childhood that influenced you

[PStechPaul]

Brian's reply to the Favorite Authors thread has inspired me to post this challenge to a "show and tell" of any remaining mementos you may have from your childhood, say, through high school, that show what times were like for you in those halcyon days, and how they influenced you as you grew up and came of age. I have been digging through some old stuff and I have found items like the 1957 book by Willey Ley that I mentioned, which evoked memories of Sputnik and Hula Hoops. Here are some items from 1956-1966:


I had other such items that unfortunately have succumbed to many years of dampness and rodents, but I still have lots of things that have survived to some extent.

This is a silly "computer" I built in the early '60s:


This is a Hewlett Packard HP-130A Oscilloscope my father gave me in the late '60s:

And an ancient Systron-Donner digital multimeter, probably late '60s vintage:

I have many other perhaps more interesting memorabilia which I may show in further posts, if there is enough interest. I do have lots of old machinist tools inherited from my father, so probably 1940s vintage. I've shared some of them a while ago.

[J Tiers]

Heh...That 130A.... I believe it was 250 kHz bandwidth, but had a nice differential input on each for biological etc signals. I had one, it was a step up from the Eico.

I cannot point at anything in particular that influenced me. It just seemed that I got interested in electronics, perhaps a fleeing from my parents occupations (both were chemists). I could have gone into patent law, or even medicine and likely been just as interested and involved (patent law probably less so, in reality). It was surely going to be something technical. Turned out to be power electronics.

[JRouche]

"Relics from your childhood"

I would love to answer this question. I can not. There are no relics or anything. Just the way it is man. JR

[darryl]

Our Exciting Universe- that looks so familiar- I'm almost certain I had that book.

No pictures, but one thing I got a boost out of was a vacuum wiper motor. Something that others got a boost out of was the manual windshield washer pump that I played with.

I spent a lot of time behind our black and white tv- with the back off. For a while I was fascinated by Christmas tree light flashers. And I loved playing with the carbon arc heater. About the only thing I have around from 'the old days' is the tube radio that came as a kit. We used to have a guy that came around in an old bus. Every two weeks we'd see his bus coming down the road and we'd get all excited. He had everything in there- dad would buy stuff for resale in our store. The radio kit came from him, as did my Rocket crystal radio. I finally built the radio kit just a few years ago- about 60 years late.

[David Powell]

They were not mine, but they really influenced my future!
The local brickworks was one of the last businesses to use Sentinel steam trucks for regular haulage.
Our house overlooked a road junction on a hill.
I first noticed them as a child of about 3.
These trucks could out pull any petrol or diesel trucks of the day when accelerating up the hill.
Years later I became fireman and sometimes driver on one used as a tar sprayer and have spent a lifetime building working model steam engines.
I would say they had a good influence on me.
Regards David Powell.

[brian Rupnow]

My life has been thru so many changes, disasters, and second marriages that the only memento I have are a lot of really neat memories.

[MaxHeadRoom]

Getting hold of a crystal set with real galena crystal!
Also bumming Practical Mechanics off of US Servicemen .
From then on it was Electrical & Electronics.😎
Max.
Also mrwhoopee post reminded me,
Meccano set.!

[Arcane]

Sadly, like others I only have memories but one thing that did influence me greatly was Superman comics when I was a very young kid and they not only helped me learn to read but also influenced my outlook on life.

[MrWhoopee]

Crystal radio, Erector set (with motor), Gilbert chemistry sets.



I still remember some of the poems:

"The hydrogen dog and the cobalt cat
side by side in the armory sat.
No one thought about fusion or fission.
Everyone spoke of their peacetime mission.
'Til somebody came and opened the door
And no one was never there no more."

[LKeithR]

...Meccano set.!

Yup, I don't have anything now but when I was a kid I pestered my parents into buying several Meccano sets.
I spent hours and hours playing with that stuff...

[Tim Clarke]

The saw and triangle are from a set Dad got me when I was in the first grade circa 1960. The others were

[Tim Clarke]

Passed down a little later. Once I found out how much fun it is to cut out parts and build something, there was no turning back for me.

[Bented]

13 years old in 1973.
I have shown this picture to several people, even the classic car hobbyists are baffled by the car in the background.

[Ringo]

Rambler maybe?

[Ringo]

Gosh, what happened to all the chemistry sets? I guess the EPA or OSHA took those out, huh?