Sun cameras
Popping caps from capguns
^^Yes! taking that perforated red roll of caps, sitting on the curb and hitting the caps with a rock until they exploded. Sometimes the cap would pop too close to the fingers holding the rock and it would hurt/burn. And that particular sulfur smell.
For the strong-hearted: tearing off a strip of several caps, folding it up like an according and whacking it with a large rock for a bigger explosion.
^ re: mercury - cleaning out my Dad’s house, found a vial of mercury in the medicine cabinet!
Miniature plastic soldiers…Revolutionary War- red for redcoats and blue for patriots; Civil War-blue for the North and grey for the South; and World War II-green for US soldiers.
Slingshots.
Amen to this! Today’s chemistry sets are so safe and sterile…and boring.
I’ve noticed that most of my lab mates (we’re chemists) had one of those awesome chemistry sets as children – and almost everyone who had one never followed the instructions. We just mixed everything together and hoped for an explosion…
I was addicted to Tab, too. I had a long distance card I had to use to call home from college. I worked at a camp in the summers and had about 20 friendship bracelets we wore. I had 5 pairs of Keds tennis shoes. (obviously not a fashionista) I had big hair and used aqua net like crazy.
Buying Levi’s in the days before they were pre-shrunk to fit and faded on the shelf. Remember how dark blue and huge they were before a few washings and drying? I can remember my older brother rinsing and rinsing his jeans in a bucket in the back yard because he didn’t want them to look so new. A well-loved faded pair of jeans were EARNED.
Graduating from Sears Toughskins to Levi’s
I remember when a blue and an orange magic marker turned my dad’s old t-shirt into a Mets jersey for street ball.
These days all it takes is $75 for a Mets jersey.
My mom putting a can of cream of mushroom soup into every meal, Wax lips, tanning butter, watermelon lipsmackers, cigarette commercials and those garter belts us ladies had to have to secure the 2 inch thick Kotex pads (sorry guys).
I had the awesome chemistry set too.
I was so excited when I FINALLY got a pair of Levi’s instead of those awful, indestructible Sears Toughskins. Those things wouldn’t die. My mom had the audacity to buy the Levi’s with the little R circle copyright tag instead of a tag that said Levi’s…I took them back and got ones with a real tag 
Wearing my sparkle blue Cat Eye Glasses. Wow, were they ugly.
How about filling in paper college applications?
Also, selecting colleges with limited information, since one could not look up on the web site for courses, curricula, faculty, etc. information, and there was no net price calculator to estimate financial aid.
Remember when most stores were either closed on Sunday or were open only in the afternoon, based on the assumption that most people (employees and customers) were observant Christians who were in church on Sunday morning?
@ucbalumnus Alcohol sales were frequently also not allowed on Sunday.
New Hampshire let a liquor store open up right on the state line to accommodate thirsty drivers from Massachusetts on Sundays.
Easy Bake Ovens
“How about filling in paper college applications?”
You’re giving me heartburn, @ucbalumnus!
Blue books…simple manners…the Cold War…