childhood nostalgia Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

The Swing Wing: The Toy That Looked Like a Neck Injury Waiting to Happen

The Swing Wing was a wonderfully weird 1960s toy introduced by Transogram Games in 1965. It was worn on your head like a little cap, with a long ribbon or tail attached. The idea was to whip your head and neck back and forth until the tail spun around like a helicopter. Think Hula Hoop, but for your head.

The commercials made it look like pure kid fun: boys and girls swinging, twisting, dancing, and making the Swing Wing fly around them. But watching it now, you can almost hear every chiropractor in America screaming.

It was supposed to be Transogram’s answer to the Hula Hoop craze, with company hopes that it might become the next big toy sensation. It didn’t.

That’s probably why people remember it now more as a “what were they thinking?” toy than a classic. It had the perfect 1960s formula: bright colors, a catchy commercial, kids moving around like crazy, and absolutely no adult in the room asking, “Should children be violently snapping their necks for fun?”

Looking back, the Swing Wing is peak retro toy madness. Simple idea, great commercial, questionable safety, and the kind of thing that makes you wonder how any of us made it out of childhood with our heads still attached

Our L’eggs Fit Your Legs

I remember my mom coming home from the grocery store, excited that they had just started selling pantyhose right there in the supermarket. Now, a lot of boys my age could have cared less, but even as a kid, I immediately saw the genius in this.

Before L’eggs, pantyhose usually meant a trip to a department store or some other clothing section. Then suddenly they were sitting there in the grocery store, packed in those unforgettable plastic eggs, right where moms were already shopping for milk, bread, coffee, and cereal. It was one of those simple ideas that made you wonder, “Why didn’t somebody do this sooner?”

And the display was just as smart as the product. Those big spinning racks of egg-shaped containers practically begged you to look at them. Even if you didn’t know much about pantyhose, you remembered the packaging. That was the genius of L’eggs. They didn’t just sell pantyhose, they turned it into an everyday grocery-store item.

Of course, once the pantyhose were out, those plastic eggs often got a second life around the house. Storage, toys, crafts, Easter decorations, you name it. Back then, nothing that useful-looking got thrown away right away.

What Would the Clampetts Be Selling Today?

I remember watching this commercial as a kid, surprised that Jed smoked. I think we all knew Granny smoked, along with her moonshine.

What would Granny, Jed, Jethro, Ellie May, and Miss Jane be promoting today?

“I am stuck on Band-Aid, ‘cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me…”

Yeah… same here

Growing up, I had Band-Aids on all the time… and not always because I needed one. Sometimes it was just proof I went through something that day. Scraped knee, bike wipeout… you wore it like a badge of courage.

But here’s the part that always stuck with me…

Back then, you didn’t have the internet to tell you who wrote what. You just kind of found out things. And for me, that moment came listening to a Barry Manilow cassette.

He’s talking to the audience about his early days… before the fame… when he was writing commercial jingles. Then he starts singing them… and I’m sitting there like, wait… I KNOW these.

And then… boom… the Band-Aid song.

I remember thinking, no way… that guy??

And the deeper you go, the crazier it gets. Before he ever hit it big, he was cranking out jingles for brands like State Farm, McDonald’s, Pepsi… the kind of stuff you didn’t realize you memorized until someone pointed it out.

“Like a good neighbor…”

“You deserve a break today…”

Those weren’t accidents. That was someone who knew exactly how to hook you in seconds.

So of course that Band-Aid song stuck forever… it was built to.

And here’s something else… go back and watch that commercial closely. There are a couple kids in there… just starting out… who would go on to become very big names later on. I won’t spoil it, but once you see it, you’ll have one of those “hold up…” moments.

Think about that…

A simple commercial…

A future music legend writing the song…

Future stars in front of the camera…

And here we are… decades later… still singing it like it never left.

Go-Go-Gophers… Another Theme To Get Stuck In Your Head!

To this day, over 50 years later, most of us can still remember that chorus… “Go-Go Gophers!” You don’t even have to try. It just shows up. I’ll be rushing around doing something and boom… there it is playing in my head like it never left.

And listening to it now, with adult ears? I’ve gotta be honest… I’m kind of amazed this actually aired even back then. But that was the times. Different world, different standards. Still, no question about it… it sticks with you.

This was one of the most requested clips this week, so I figured I’d hold onto it for Saturday morning… feels like the right place for it.