Everything the Junior Atomic Scientist Could Want

"Hey Mom! Can I have my very own atomic science laboratory and play with alpha particles in my bedroom? I promise to use it on the dog like last time" Maybe, but it looks like no good can come out of atomic power being put in to the lap of this child. But that's just what happened back in the 1950's thanks to the genius's at A. C. Gilbert Company.


I'm not sure if Mother is completely buying the whole "harmless" line, but I bet Dad can't wait to get it away from Junior's hands!


And here it is, the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab - highly sought after and covetted by Dad and Junior alike. A.C. Gilbert Co. sold this kit from 1950-51, for $49.50 (kind of steep for a toy set!) which included the following highly scientific components:

• U-239 Geiger-Mueller radiation counter
• Electroscope - to measure radioactivity of different substances
• Spinthariscope - to watch "live" radioactive disintegration
• Wilson Cloud Chamber - to see paths of electrons & alpha particles at 12,000 mps
• Three very low-level radioactive sources - Alpha, Beta, Gamma
• Four samples of Uranium-bearing ores
• Nuclear Spheres - used to build models of molecules
• The book "Prospecting for Uranium"
• The "Gilbert Atomic Energy Manual"
• The comic book "Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom"
• Three "Winchester" Batteries - size "C"

Geesh! What a mouthful. Just repeating the names of some of these components is guaranteed to boost your I.Q. by 10%! My brother didn't have the Atomic Lab kit, but he did have a Gilbert chemistry set that included the 'spinthariscope' for viewing radioactive decay. When this kit finally was passed down to me I remember treating the scope with extreme caution. I was smart enough at an early age to know that radioactivity wasn't a plaything to be taken lightly!

And if Junior should ever get bored with his alpha particles, he could always go out and do some urnaium prospecting, to build up his atomic pile.


Science so simple that even Dagwood can teach you how to split the atom. I wonder how many U.S. nuclear physicists today got their start by reading this material?


There's that "harmless" word again.... and Mother still isn't buying it. "Absolutely not, Jimmy! I've just gotten these floors scrubbed and the laundry all put away. I will not have you messing-up this home with any radioactive fallout."

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The Derby Tradition is a Family Tradition

Brother's 1957 Pinewood Derby Car

As some of you may know by now, Junior is active in the Scouts. Really active...

So far we've (because the dad's are supposed to be partners with their boys) been to weekend camp outs with several thousand other scouts, a couple parties, and a banquet with entertainment performed with Junior's help. He's helped clean a lake, studied science, nature, geology, history and how to properly respect the Flag. For a month he had to follow an excercise routine and show steady improvement. He can now read a map. Recently he's taken classes in First Aid and knows how to treat everything from snakebite to shock to performing the Heimlich Maneuver on a choking victim. I've been lucky not to have any of these performed on me yet!

This past weekend Junior participated in an annual event which has become a tradition with young American boys since the mid 1950's. It's his Scout Pack's Pinewood Derby. It's not his first derby – he's got two church-sponsored events under his belt – but this is his first time to have the grand experience where it all began, with the Scouts.

Page 59 in the October 1954 issue of Boys Life magazine, featuring the story of the first pinewood derby race

The first pinewood derby was the idea of Don Murphy, a Cub master in Manhattan Beach, California, back in 1953. His young son who was a cub scout who wanted in the worst way to try soapbox car racing which was a popular hobby with older boys at the time. Soapbox involved building a homemade car to compete in a sponsored race downhill. Since Don's son was a bit too young for soapbox, the Cub master came up with the idea of building miniature cars for all his scouts to race. He had his scouts and their fathers together shape cars from wood. Some fathers built a 31-foot race ramp with two lanes and a battery-run finish line made from doorbells and rigged with red and white lights to identify the winner.

Fifty-five Cub Scouts participated in that first Pinewood Derby race in 1953 and the event was a hit – not only with the young scouts, but their dads too (imagine that!).

This is an example of a Soapbox Derby racer which inspired the Scouts Pinewood Derby racers. Soapbox competitions were very popular in the 1950's, the one shown above was built by a cousin.

Like wildfire it grew and thanks to publicity provided by Boys Life magazine, spread to packs all over the country. Within a year the pinewood derby was adopted for use in all Cub Scout packs. By 1955 an official supplier was found to make ready-to-build kits containing nails, wheels and a block of white pine to carve anyway the young builder could imagine. From the start, Don intended the derby cars to be done as a father/son project, too. It grew, the annual races went from being a side event to becoming their own premier event. And generally the rules for the competition have stayed the same as Don Murphy had first laid them down.

Brother (playing the jug) and his Scout Den, circa 1957

All this means that when my own brother was a Cub Scout in 1957, the derby was still a fairly new deal, he was lucky to participate in the big event. Dad had helped him shape the body by taking it to work with him and using the electric equipment of the sign shop... Good ol' Dad! How did he do? He walked away with the bragging rights to First Place in "Best of Show." The trophy was simply a typewritten "plaque glued to a wooden base painted silver, but it was still a big deal to win it!

Junior's modern derby car kit

From what I've been able to piece together, the derby car kits themselves perhaps changed the most over the years. First the original wood block was changed to a length of 7" even. Some sources say around 1973 the block swapped its height for width, resting the wider dimension flat so as to resemble modern racer designs more closely. In 1977, the wooden struts were moved to the axle position used today, and then removed completely in 1980, leaving a solid pine block. The big notch cut out of the block for the "cockpit" would also eliminated. The wheels also changed from skinny wheels to a wider tread around this time.

And what does all that mean? It means when I was a Webelos scout in the 70's, that my derby car was a bit of the old mixed with the new. When Dad asked how I wanted to design it I said I wanted it to look just like my big brother's car from 17 years earlier... I had a big case of envy for that thing. So we shaped it together in Dad's workroom on a sanding wheel. It was one of my first experiences working with dad using big power tools. When all was done, I had my dream car. And when comparing cars at the next den meeting I was also the only scout in my den with a 50's style racer! But it looked good in it's shiny blue paint and a racing stripe down the center made of metallic tape. I even accessorized it with a pair of exhaust pipes taken off a toy car. It left some of the other kids filled with the envy bug because when we next met up the night of the race, they'd tricked-out their own racers too!

On derby night the whole Pack met, all the Cub and Webelos scouts in our neighborhood, which maybe amounted to no more than a dozen or so kids all together. Our pack was small! I was feeling very proud and optimistic, that is until much to my horror, the cool exhaust detailing on my derby car had to be snapped off because they extended out too far for the race track. So much for showing-off the best-looking car! By the way, our raceway was very, very simple compared to Don Murphy's back in '53. The track ramp was fashioned from a couple of plywood planks sloping straight out for about 16 feet. And there were no electric lights to at the bottom to indicate the first car to reach the finish, it was all eyeballed by volunteers. And I'm still grumbling because I'd swear that my racer beat that other kid's to the finish line first! Oh well.... it was sudden death elimination in those days. My derby days were over before they barely got started... the story of my life!

Now fast forward to the present. 53 years after the very first pinewood derby began by a Cub leader, Don Murphy. By now more than 90 million Pinewood Derby car kits have been sold since. And the event has long become synonymous with the Scouts. Saturday afternoon Junior finally got his opportunity to compete with almost 40 fellow racers (at the very same church activity center where, some umpteen years ago, I was doing the same thing with my scout pack in fact). He proudly showed off his racer, the one that both his dad (me!) and uncle helped him build. For today's meet, a computer was used to automatically keep tabs on each racers time. The brand new derby track was around 40 feet long, a perfectly smooth aluminum construction officially sanctioned by the Scouts... and with electric sensor beams at the finish line. Each and every racer got to complete in at least 4 heats, once in each of the four lanes, so as to be as perfectly accurate and fair as possible. It's all about the kids having fun.

Junior had a blast.

Junior's Big Day at the Pinewood Derby

By the way, those TWO trophies that Junior brought home at the end of the day? They definitely were not fashioned out of a couple of small wooden blocks painted silver ;)

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Are you interested in more? For more on the beginnings of the very first derby, Pinewood Derby History is a great place to start.

Pinewood Derby Times has a nice timeline explaining the changes made to the derby car kit since the Fifties.

Guard your Frigidaires People, it's Mr. Potato Head from Outer Space!

50's Pressman SPACE FACES Playset
Create your own vegetable space people.

Tele Radar Helmet Disc - check...
Sonic Resonator Headpiece - check...
Super Sight Eyes - check...
Fission Control Nosepiece - check...
Sound Stabilizer Earpieces - check...
Anti-Gravity Feet - cheeeck!

I've seen this Pressman set before, offered for quite a bit lower (and lost my a bid on it too - boo!). Toys like this make me feel like I missed out on something special by not growing up in the Fifties. I love the whimsical slant that seemed to permeate so many of the space toys dreamed-up during the pre-dawn of the Space Age. It's a shame much of that had to disappear. Thanks to Sputnik, Americans seemed to have lost any sense of humor when the reality dawned upon them that they were suddenly behind in the great Race for Space.


But seventy-five dollars for the opening bid??? *Gasp* I'll have to let this guilty pleasure pass, this time. Let some one else with much deeper pockets have the fun of creating their very own veggie army of spacemen, and I shall keep typing up posts about those who do.

Finally It's Christmas!

Brother and sis posing with their new toys from Santa. And there's that brand new electric robot I told you so much about before.

Under the Christmas Tree - The Gift Pile Grows

Under the Christmas Tree - What's Cookin'?

If it was made for girls during the mid century, odds were that it was coated in pink. And that it had something to do with making a home. And that it most definitely had to be the most Modern convient appliances of Today!

"Gee Beav... You'd better get your head unstuck in that oven before Mom and Dad get home!"

Under the Christmas Tree - The Real Action Figures

"Keep trying, Men! We absolutely must get through... I haven't missed an episode of 'Little Orphan Annie' in years!!

Yes, the original Adventure Team is back in action once again. Many a Good boy got one of these under the tree, but I acquired mine by sheer luck. I wasn't even Eight yet when the teenager next door gave me a box of his old 'junk' which he'd outgrown. Among the discarded items were two G.I. Joe figures! One was dressed in Army fatigues and the other in Navy dress. These were the original "action figure," both of the 1964 issue... before Joe grew that fuzzy flocked facial hair he was to became so well known for.

At it's beginning, the 12" G.I. Joe line represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Soldier (Army), Action Sailor (Navy), Action Pilot (Air Force) and Action Marine (Marines). And every figure sported a cool scar on the face to prove he was ready for action.

Soon after my lucky score, Mom was buying me Action Man outfits and equipment when she took me along on her weekly shopping sprees to the local K-Mart (by the mid 70's, after the Viet Nam War, manufacturers worried it was no longer marketable to associate toys with the military, so toy-maker Hasbro turned G.I. Joe into an Adventure Team adventurer). Since my two G.I. figures were identical, I figured they were twins, one I called Joe and the other John. Every day they went on a new adventure. Oh, the fun I had!

My current collection of Joes (at top). A few years ago Hasbro produced limited anniversary editions of the original action figures, complete with authentic packaging (immediately above)... *sigh* I couldn't resist.

The original 1964 issue!

Under the Christmas Tree - Batteries Not Included

The Mid-Century was the real beginning of the battery-operated age for children's toys: Toy robots and vehicles, radios, walkie-talkies, and all types of imaginative electronically advanced gadgetry to equip the average All-American kid. Remco would have to be, without a doubt, one of my favorite manufacturers, for all the attention the toy company paid to that all-important imaginative ingredient. Plus their products from this time-period just scream the age they were made in!

Remco's Electronic Radio Station was manufactured in a number of versions and colors over the years between the 50's through the 60's, including a colorful and spacey Dan Dare version aimed at the fans of the British comic strip. The station comes with an operational searchlight that you can manually rotate (just who or what you were expected to aimg it at is unclear) , a telegraph buzzer with a handy built-in note pad for taking down those secret coded messages, and a set of the futuristic Remco hand-held walkie-talkies that could be plugged into the station's advanced communication center. Add to this the multiple dials and spiffy twin signal towers, and you have an almost guaranteed ticket for hours of kid-entertainment!

And in my case it would have meant Dad would have been bumping around in the dark at night since I would have quietly borrowed the batteries out of his flashlight so I could operate my new toy... hmmm, maybe that's what the searchlight was used for?

Under the Christmas Tree - Atomic Science for Fun

In Atomic Age America, EVERYTHING was about Science. So naturally parents and toy companies lost no time in addressing the needs of that mid-century mindset.



This sweet chemistry set (#12066) in an all metal cabinet was made by the long-time premier name of science designed for the budding scientist, the A. C. Gilbert Company. Besides the long line of chemistry sets, the company also produced Erector sets, microscopes, and American Flyer trains.

The kit shown above are the remains of a set given to Brother Dear back when he was keen on science as many other kids back in the 50's and 60's. I got my little mitts on it when I found it in the family attic, forgotten for who knows how many years.

There used to be a experiment manual that fit in the left compartment, a complete set of test tubes, glass rods, chemicals and a little tube you were supposed to look through to discover the thrills and mysteries of the atom. I was old enough to be a bit wary of handling that tube since I didn't want to get any radiation on me. Sure, it said that the expirements were safe, but I knew better than to let an 8-year old mess around with atomic energy, even if that 8-year old was me... Such a smart kid, I was!

For a brief history of these sets, go to: The Chemestry Set Generation

Under the Christmas Tree - Toy Robots

What kid could have resisted Robert the Robot and Electric Robot (aka E. Robot and Son) who has a nifty little drawer in his chest to store his tools. These were the first two examples of all-plastic molded body parts to be used in toy robots, which were always constructed of lithographed tin plate before.

In the 1950's Electric Robot and Son were manufactured in the U.S.A. by Louis Marx in response to the immensely popular Robert the Robot by rival manufacturer Ideal Toys. Electric was just different enough from Robert to avoid copyright infringement, yet the strong similarities undoubtedly appealed to young buyers with smaller budgets.

This toy robot was molded with a black plastic body (there was also a rare silver-brown version) with movable red head and arms was electrically powered by two batteries, allowing Electric to illuminate his bulb eyes, run along on manually steerable rubber wheels (forward and reverse), and make loud buzzings through a Morse code button on his back (a nifty code guide was inscribed on the back of his head). Also on his head is an extendible antenna with an adjustment knob, knobs for right and left arm movement and from his chest opens a small drawer with tools (aka the tool chest for a hammer, wrench & screwdriver).

Completing Electric's gadgetry is a smaller "baby" version of himself, all red, and clad in a silvery diaper who the proud Father could swing from one of his silver clawed graspers.

Looky What I Found Today

Today was a good day. Then I went shopping. And Today got even better.

My eyes must have popped-out when they caught this atomic boomerang record album rack at my favorite hangout for the mid century style-concious. It has the hand-crafted look like it was made in shop class or someone's garage workshop, but it's all high-end styling! And look at the cool stringwork on the back rest...


Bandito the marionette wasn't spotted until I was being rung through at the checkout counter of another shop. He's now happily adding a bit of PeeWee bewilderment to Junior's abode.

The Inter-Planetary Monetary Currency of the F-U-T-U-R-E

Through the miracle of modern technology, I bring you Space Money - able to withstand the extreme stresses of space travel: high speeds, cosmic rays, zero gravity and the scorching temperatures of reentry. Good for the inter-planetary traveller on all the solar planets including Pluto (which incidentally is no longer classed as a planet)!

Images courtesy of usahousewares

Note:
Space Commander can not be held responsible for any illegal activities pertaining to this post, including the illicit downloading, photo-manipulation, counterfeit printing and trading of the a fore mentioned Space Ranger inter-planetary monetary currency items illustrated above. Remember, the forgery of play money is all good fun until someone gets hurt. Thank you, and have a nice day :)

Here I Come to Save the Day!

Thank you all for the kind comments on my last post, I really do appreciate it! I can't tell you how many times it's felt like a losing battle over the past year of renovating.

Life's still throwing whatever it can to keep me from my bloggly duties lately (booo!), but hopefully it'll eventually be worth it. Until then I bring you... Mighty Mouse!

Yes! At last help is on the way... Faster than a speeding Eames era sofa... able to leap tall pole lamps in a single bound! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a mousketeer on steroids?? Don't let home retro-vating get you down, because Mighty Mouse is here to save the day!

Now if I can only get him to refinish those darned wood floors... ;P

Kidhood in a Cigar Box

Thanks to Maggi and her wonderful blog Circle 7-2099 for the inspiration of today's post ;)

Most of everyone's childhood treasures slip away over the years. Mom was very good at making regular donations to the Goodwill while I was dutifully away at school trying to do my best to excel at the subjects of recess, lunch, and watching the clock slowly creep to 3:00pm. When I came home, little did I suspect that my own dear sweet Mother had performed the dreaded toy-donation run behind my back! It was years before I caught on to the horrible truth, and to then take counter measures.

Hiding stuff under my bed was one method that I tried early on ... But.... it had mixed results. Somehow Mom would always find that stash when she knelt down to pick up my dirty socks (also kicked under the bed). As I became older, I grew more skilled in the fine art of sneaky-ness. Finally, I out-sneaked Mom by stashing the most precious items of my loot up in the attic crawlspace (I'm still pretty proud of my brilliance!). At last my goodies were safe! And so my days of hording-run-amok began...

Anyhoos... from early on the easiest thing for a kid to collect and stash safely away from the dreaded toy purgings is the small pocket-size stuff: bubblegum cards, foriegn coins, pocket knives, pop bottle caps, stamps, lady fingers, army men.... I saved mine in the old cigar box.

Most of the loot I collecting were hand-me-downs from Brother Dear, my Dad, the Grandparents, and Uncle Richard. There's my cubscout patches, the green rabbit's foot that my dog Phoebe chewed on, pocket knives, water pistols, a penny flattened on the railroad tracks behind our home, a cap gun spool of blanks, a promo pen from my Grampa's barber shop, arrowheads, a spoon from the Dairy Queen down the street, and my brother's old baseball card collection. Oh and souvineer photos from the 1933 Chicago World's Fair from Grandma E.!

This collection's estimated value = Priceless!

From Junior's Toybox - "They Came from Outer Space"

With the imminent possibility of an outer space menace threatening to invade American soil, your first priority is to assure your family's survival. “A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them."

It is with the highest priority that we teach our sons and our daughters these words:

"Watch Out!" "Always be alert" and to "Always be prepared."

Ideally we should begin our children's training at the youngest possible age...

We do this through their toys.

Tom Corbett Space men Figures! These two are definitely up to no good!


Friction-driven Tin Saucer - the spring-antenneaed dome spins!


Tin litho Target Game to become a sure-shooting Space Ace!


Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!


Captain Video space men figures!

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Be sure to come back tomorrow for more -- it's "Flying Saucer Hysteria Week" seen only at Atomic Living!

Secrets of the Saucer - Revealed!

In 1954, History is made... in polystyrene.

The first ever "flying saucer" plastic model kit is produced (and patented) in 1954. In fact, it's the very first space-themed and science fiction kit ever available to the good citizens of Earth. This little hunk of plastic embodies all that America's best and brightest scientific research has gleaned together about these strange visitors from another world.

The Lindberg "Flying Saucer" kit reveals all: the aerodynamic inverted dinnerplate shape, the pair of turbo thrust rockets mounted on the smoothly curved silver hull, the rotating rim studded with jets, the futuristic cockpit bubble... and yes, the presence of a little green man at the controls of the whole unearthly device.

And what of the twin blaster cannons which one must assume that our large-brained friend is aiming? Just what are his intentions? Can we be long for this world???

You too can own your very own piece of saucer history. This kit has been reissued several times over the years. One of the more recent releases, reissued under the Glencoe name, can still be seen offered on eBay.

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Be sure to come back for more tomorrow... it's "Flying Saucer Hysteria Week," only on Atomic Living!

Stolen!

Junior's beloved vintage Schwinn bike with the chopper handlebars, minus the banana seat, painstakingly assembled from bits and pieces by his loving Pop, was stolen. In broad daylight. Off our front porch. No witnesses :(

Space Race Card Game

DSCN5428, originally uploaded by Space Commander.

The card game is called "Space Race." There's two sets of #1-11, one for each player. The rest of the deck consists of cards that forfeit a turn. Each player takes a turn from their deck. The first player to collect all planet cards (collecting only in order, starting with card #1) wins.

The game was reissued/repackaged a couple times from the '50s-'60s by Ed-U-Cards in New York.

Radio Line Scooter

In the Fifties, it wasn't just bikes and little red wagons
kids clamoured for


Produced in the 50's and early 60's, you can see these scooters pop up from time to time in the shops, missing chunks of the hard rubber tires, covered in orange rust and looking very neglected.

If you are in the process of restoring one of these, there are scooter decals available through this site.

If you're interested in browsing through retro reproductions, try Radio Flyer's site.

Unlike most this foot scooter is in nice shape. A little bit of fine steel wool, cleaner, elbow grease, and Junior's good to go!