Change Strange

I stumbled across this website: http://www.snowcrest.net/fox/str.html and MAN did it bring back some memories AND remind me of how different the world has become since I was a tyke! Take a minute and check out the toy. Then come back.

I do not recall ever asking for this toy, it just showed up one christmas morning. My parents knew that I was a science fiction dork and they probably figured I'd like the toy. Chaa! Try LOVE it!

It had SOOOOO much additional potential as a toy. Now, there's NO WAY any kid could get a toy like this today. In fact, other than giving a child a blowtorch in their christmas stocking, no other toy would be as dangerous, either... but hey, I was a responsible (for the most part) child.

Basically (for those of you who decided to just keep reading even THOUGH you were told to take a look at the website above first), the toy was a single-burner electric stove. There was a plastic dome to "protect" youngsters from inadvertent fingerprint meltage. Not to worry, the dome of protection could be popped off without a fuss.

Now frankly, a single burner stove-top in the bedroom SHOULD be toy enough for ANY eight year old (or older) kid. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! There was a little crusher machine that, when you put stuff into it, you could... umm, CRUSH it! Just crank the crush-o-matic wheel and SPLOOSH, whatever was in the "danger chamber" (as I like to think of it) was squished!

Now, of course, some things that were DESIGNED to be used with the toy came with it. Little plastic dinosaurs that you were supposed to heat on the "burner" and then throw into the crusher and squish into flat little plastic squares. Later, putting the squares on the burner would allow them to spring back into their dino-shapes. Yeah, that WAS cool. But think of all the OTHER stuff in a little boy's bedroom that DIDN'T come with the toy... but that could still... interact with it!

I'm really tempted to try and recapture my youth by finding one on eBay... [sigh] Why couldn't my "mid-life crisis" be the one where I get the red convertible sports-car and the beautiful young model(s)? Oh... I remember... my wife would be the one to get the Strange Change machine and guess who'd be looking out of the "danger chamber"?