I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in standing by this list, but I’m afraid I share it with prepubescent dweebs.  Carry on!

Item #1 – The Hand Boiler

Remember these?  You held them in your hand, and the liquid would boil up to the top.  Then you would take it out of your hand and then the liquid would return to the bottom… only to be boiled by your hand again.  I guess these aren’t much different from those plastic collapsible animals, but they seem cooler (maybe cooler should be italicized as well).

Item #2 – Wire Ring Puzzles

I adored these.

For some reason.

Item #3 – Astronaut Ice Cream

In pre-Challenger America, NASA was The Shit.  Every kid in this country dreamed of becoming astrophysicists, and we swallowed the pill that this was the way spacemen (and women) enjoyed our favorite childhood treat.  It didn’t take us becoming rocket scientists to realize this wasn’t worth all the work.

Item #4 – Squirmles

“These ain’t ya daddy’s Squirmles! Wait. Yes, they are…” – Abandoned Slogan

I had a few of these as a kid and I used them to torture my sisters.  Not in any “frightening” way or method, either.  They always wanted to play with them; I wouldn’t let them.

Item #5 – Chemistry Set

My godfather bought me my first (and only) chemistry set when I was about ten.  I made a lot of powders change colors, and it was awesome!  This particular set costs $250. It must be super awesome…