Jumping Rope

Leave a Comment
Jumping Rope

Jumping rope is one of those activities that knows no age or gender limits, no bounds, no rules, no wrong nor right – just good times, good fun and a great way to get the blood pumping. A staple of city streets and school playgrounds alike, it is a simple activity on the surface, but can become as complex or competitive as one's heart desires. Either way, it remains a beloved part of childhood, and it's sing-song chants have provided the soundtrack to many a summer's day in neighborhoods around the globe.

Continue reading...

Flintstones Vitamins

Leave a Comment
Flintstones Vitamins

In the early sixties, everyone’s favorite stone-age family sitcom, The Flintstones, was entertaining millions of television viewers each week with their prehistoric parody of modern suburban life. And like all cartoons of the era, a little cross promotion of other products was par for the course. Some of the products hawked by the show, such as cigarettes, would leave people aghast in today’s age, but one product in particular was not only good and healthy, but continues to rely on the characters from this show (which went off the air over forty years ago) to market the product. Of course, we are talking about Flintstones Vitamins.

Continue reading...

Mad Libs

1 Comment
Mad Libs

The idea seems simple enough, perhaps even half-baked considering that it’s premise is based on finishing half-sentences. Mad Libs brings out the grammatical wiz in everyone by asking them to offer up a few off-the-cuff words in order to fill in the missing pieces in a few paragraphs. And while the results often resemble utter nonsense, they can also be unexpectedly hilarious. As a result, Mad Libs has endeared itself to millions and remains on store shelves some fifty years after its introduction.

Continue reading...

Thumb Wrestling

Leave a Comment
Thumb Wrestling

All’s fair in love and thumb war. Once the battle cry of “One, two, three, four, I declare a Thumb War!” has been proclaimed and fingers have been interlaced…It’s ON. Your goal: pin your opponents thumb down for at least a second. There are no time limits, though tactics abound; you can either pin your enemy/friend right away, or hang back and let them struggle and tire themselves out before you go in for the final and sometimes brutal attack. Some legendary games have gone on for what seemed like days with the opponents waiting to seize the perfect opportunity to go in for the kill. This is thumb wrestling and it's been a traditional childhood sparring activity since time immortal (or at least a few decades).

Continue reading...

Ghost Stories

1 Comment
Ghost Stories

Few things both frightened and delighted us as children more than a well-told ghost story. Whether we were sitting around a campfire in the middle of nowhere, or simply shrouded under a blanket in our bedrooms, friends and trusty flashlight at our side, these suspensefully-spun tales of evil spirits and apparitions are a childhood tradition that dates back centuries, and one that continues to live each time a group of kids gather in the dark.

Continue reading...

Fireworks

3 Comments
Fireworks

As the celebration of Independence Day draws near, we thought we would take a look at one of the oldest traditions of the holiday, fireworks. An iconic part of every Fourth of July celebration, they have accompanied the festivities since the earliest days of this country’s history. Every year, enormous public displays draw millions of families around the country to watch the sky awash in colorful explosions, usually accompanied by a rousing patriotic soundtrack.

Continue reading...

Tree Houses

1 Comment
Tree Houses

From a very young age, most kids have this insatiable desire to build small dwellings for themselves, a place to hide and imagine, and in some cases, just escape that annoying younger sibling. Couch forts were fine during cold winters, but as we headed into the summer months of our collective youth, we ventured outdoors to build our shelters. And if you really wanted to stretch your independent wings, you looked skyward, for a tall and sturdy tree to call your home away from home. This is for all of you who built a tree house or two in your day.

Continue reading...

Playing Hooky

3 Comments
Playing-Hooky

It’s a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and the prospect of spending such a glorious day holed up in a classroom just doesn’t seem right. And so, you decide “make other arrangements.” That’s right, we’re talking about playing hooky, that time-honored childhood ritual of finding something better to do, alone or with friends, and desperately hoping not to get caught.

Continue reading...

Kitchens

3 Comments
Kitchens

Today’s kitchens, with their modern technology, granite countertops and track lighting, are certainly cutting-edge, filled with their nifty gadgets. And yet, they often seem to possess all the inviting warmth of a hospital operating room. Instead, we take a fond look back at the kitchens of yesteryear, the ones run by our parents and grandparents. The ones we stood in while drinking milk from the carton and where we sat staring at every square inch of a Cocoa Puffs box until it was time to catch the school bus.

Continue reading...