1.  Halley’s Comet – I was eight in 1986, when the Halley’s Comet craze was all over the place.  I caught the fever and was obsessed by it.  I went to the same planetarium show about a dozen times, would write (unassigned) reports on it, and woke up a few early mornings to try and see it with my dad.  I checked out all the books my school library had on it, and was just reminiscing about some of the awesome covers they had:

 

And this one was the best – one of those books with a tape that you read along to.  I got it at the Science Center and wore the tape out.  I wish I still had it! It ended with a song called “A Once in a Lifetime Feeling” that the narrator just randomly broke into.

 

2.  Gertrude’s Secrets – This game was created by The Learning Company, who also made a bunch of other classroom-type computer games.  This was one of my first “video games”, and I pretty much played it nonstop during computer time in the first grade.  The graphics and screen layout design are interesting and appropriate – it’s got a real 1970s “this is the wave of the future of education” feel to it.  Found this video of someone playing it on Youtube:

 

 

3.  Dreams of Space – My friend Robert turned me onto this great blog, focused on vintage books about space.  It’s filled with awesome images like this one.  Check him out, here!

 

4.  Loud Mouth Lime – Waffle Whiffer recently shared some awesome packaging from a Pillsbury version of Kool Aid.

 

5.  The Magic Roundabout – another French gem, broadcast in the US on Pinwheel.

 

Pretty nostalgic Five Things this week.

 

-ds