15 Comments
Sep 20Liked by John Toma | NOSTALGIA NATION

Definitely the quarters and the cassette tape...

Expand full comment
author

Remember the rubber coin holder with the slot in the center?! Lol, those were amazing. No need for them now unfortunately.

Expand full comment
Sep 19Liked by John Toma | NOSTALGIA NATION

I still have my speak and spell from what must’ve been the early eighties and the ET cartridge, “Spell Elliot!” And I taught my son to spell with it 😆

Expand full comment
author

Lol, I think the Speak and Spell is such a great tool, I've used it with my kids also. The sounds are so engrained in my brain it's really something else!

Expand full comment
Sep 19Liked by John Toma | NOSTALGIA NATION

I love how these old electronics still work 40 years later. The only thing you really have to worry about is the battery acid leaking from being in there for 40 years!

Expand full comment
author

Great point, Adam. I make sure to leave the battery compartment empty of batteries. Most people miss that for sure!

Expand full comment

I... forget. I've ruined a couple of my older pieces this way, close with the S&S...

Expand full comment
Sep 19Liked by John Toma | NOSTALGIA NATION

I feel like we appreciated things more back in the day. There was no instant gratification. Even if we had a movie 9/10 you didn't rewind it last time. So even something as simple as starting a movie required you to wait for it to rewind. I guess that's what buffering is now lol.

Expand full comment
author

We definitely appreciated things more back in the day. I think there was this idea of scarcity we lived with to some degree, and most of us didn't have much to begin with, so we placed heavy emphasis on the experience. We also all shared in similar experiences, so since I knew, for example, my school pals were going to talk about the next episode of Knight Rider, I made sure to watch it. There are several things on this list that I didn't get until years after they came out. Now things are plentiful, people wait in lines and get them on the same day they are released.

VCRs were an exercise in patience for sure LoL!

Expand full comment

An excellent list. It has been far too long since I've blown into an NES cartridge.

Among my favorite games was Nintendo's version of the Ninja Turtles arcade game, but among my least favorites was that first Ninja Turtles Nintendo game. That second level was impossible.

Expand full comment

Gosh, I rmr so many of these sounds. My parents still have a player that plays casettes haha. I should fire it up next time I'm over there

Expand full comment

I have the Griffey card still.

Expand full comment

I'm all about the sounds of cassettes and videocassettes! I still have many! What I don't have is the sound of an ice cream truck! I do miss that.

Expand full comment

You really nailed it with that list! #3 and #4 got me especially. I remember those dial ups well. I used to go on BBS's every day and made a bunch of friends that way as we would post comments about wrestling to each other. The only problem was they weren't wrestling related BBS's we were on, and the sysop (remember that term) would continually tell us to stop that we were clogging his board. It's nice to see all the He-Man figures being put out again in stores too. I've bought a few myself lately.

Expand full comment

Oh my gosh, NES, the dial up internet. I can still hear it! Great, nostalgia!

Expand full comment