Saturday Morning Flashback, Part II

Not to go all crazy old man on you here, but I think kids today—despite their hyper-edge game systems that make anything from the ‘70s (e.g. Atari, Odyssey, Intellivision) resemble a rock and stick—are missing out on a lot their parents enjoyed as kids themselves.

For example, and it’s a big one, Saturday morning cartoons are now nearly extinct for two reasons: a) networks cannot get advertisers for them, and; b) after the creation of Cartoon Network, et al., and DVDs animated shows are no longer restricted to airing during late afternoons and weekend mornings.

Therefore, the anticipation of Saturday cartoons once relished among ‘70s kids, is now pretty much dead considering modern-day moppets can dial up a cartoon at will. Call me coy, and I know parents will disagree, but I prefer the “old way” of cartoon distribution.

But all this aside, I think today’s kids are also missing out on several great toys circa the 70s which are largely not available today due to pesky government bodies like “consumer safety advocacy groups."

Case in point:

Check out Crazy Foam’s cool, mouth-centered packaging.
Who the hell can say they never said “Hey, look! The Hulk’s throwing up!
Whhhoouuuggh!” at least once during a 70s-era bath? That means you, Hef!

For those not in the know, Crazy Foam was essentially alcohol-free shaving cream which kids could use during baths to (in theory) clean up, make foam beards or hats, or mold into would-be cream pies (excellent for reenacting “Three Stooges”-style fights in the bath).

Ah, memories….

But unfortunately, my own Crazy Foam days were short-lived when my parents learned over time that despite the product being designed to slip down drains with bath water, that CF residue (sounds like a ‘Nam reference, doesn’t it?) was simply everywhere after uses – and made for a helluva clean-up job.

Too bad.

Still, these kids today - if they’d just take a moment between Guitar Hero riffs to stop and smell the pretend Hulk vomit every so often, we might all live in a future that was a lot nicer.