DAILY DIRT: GI Joe, Boggle and Pet Rocks led the holiday buying in the 1970s

December 1, 2023 | By Steve Eighinger, MRN Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

G.I. Joe...old school.

Raise your hand if you remember the fascination of those early Atari games … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 798 of The Daily Dirt.

1. We’re back for round two of the hottest Christmas toys for kids, this time from the 1970s:

1970: GI Joe was THE toy for a young boy at this time. That the Vietnam War was in full swing only heightened interest. The GI Joe figures led to the coining of the term “action figures”.

1971: Weebles were egg-shaped characters made by Hasbro. They made a comeback in 2010 with the new generation made slightly larger.

1972: Boggle was a game that challenged Scrabble for popularity for a few years. Boggle had a sand timer, an idea that I have always felt Scrabble should employ.

1973: NERF weapon toys debuted in this year and remain popular today, earning around $400 million a year in revenue, according to cosmopolitan.com.

1974: Connect Four is a game I still play today with grandkids and find it highly enjoyable. It always reminds me of Vertical game of checkers.

1975: Pet Rocks were stupid in the ’70s, and remain stupid today.

1976: Skateboards made a comeback this year and have remained a pop culture fixture ever since.

1977: The Atari 2600 took the world by storm in the late ’70s. This home video-game console is known for popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and ROM cartridges with game code, allowing players to play games that aren’t already built into the unit. One giant step for gamers.

1978: Hungry Hungry Hippos was a game that featured four “hippos” with the munchies. Did you know the four hippos had names? They were Sweetie, Bottomless, Veggie and Picky.

1979: Baby Alive Doll ate, drank and wet herself. That’s all you need to know.

2. Tis the season for funny Christmas signs and sayings. Here are five I have come across this week:

“Dear Santa, I Can Explain.”

“Dear Santa, Define Naughty.”

“You Sleigh Me.”

“But wait — there’s myrrh.”

“Yule be sorry.”

3. Since it’s officially the Christmas season — remember, it’s Dec. 1 — here are some medal-worthy thoughts about this particular time of year:

Gold medal: “December, being the last month of the year, cannot help but make us think of what is to come.” — Fennel Hudson, outdoorsman and rural lifestyle author.

Silver medal: “It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready.” — Sarah Kay, American poet.

Bronze medal: “Winter is not a season, it’s a celebration.” — Anamika Mishra, Indian author.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Despite the cold weather and snow, I always love December. It means we’re that much closer to baseball season.