21 Weird and Obscure Toys from the 60s and 70s You Probably Forgot Existed

There's retro nostalgia - and then there's "what on earth were kids playing with back then?" nostalgia. The 60s and 70s were a playground of invention, where toy makers seemed to just throw spaghetti (and occasionally slime) at the wall to see what stuck. And honestly? Some of it stuck beautifully.

These weren't your mass-market, algorithm-approved playthings. These were odd, charming, slightly offbeat creations that could only have come from a pre-digital era when imagination did all the heavy lifting. We're talking rubber monsters that melted in the sun, mechanical pets that made unsettling noises, space-themed everything (because of course they did), and toy robots that looked like they were built from leftover washing machine parts.

Some toys were pure genius, others were just… confusing. Like, why did every toy line have at least one weird clown? And what was with all the things shaped like food but weren't edible? Still, there's something magical about this era — when toys didn't need Wi-Fi, branding tie-ins, or fancy packaging. They just needed a kid willing to make up a story.

Author image for John Summers John Summers
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1990s 90s memes retro 60s nostalgia 70s 80s music Nostalgia Overload 80s 90s kids 90s memory lane 1970s nostalgia memes 1960s millennial-nostalgia 1980s
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