Before my time, but I inherited all this stuff from my older brother and sister. I had the microscope, the chemistry set, and oh man, did I have Erector sets. These are commercials strung together, so they’re full of marketing pitches. Let me clue you in. They didn’t begin to describe the awesomeness of these toys.

Gilbert made race car tracks and crystal radio sets, it’s true. They were crummy. We had them, though, from other toymakers. We had Aurora slot car sets that were out of this world. Right now, blindfolded, I could strip down and reassemble the chassis and electric motor in those cars, and get the drop of oil they required in exactly the right place. I made a crystal radio that had headphones so I could listen to static and mumbling properly. It was glorious.

Don’t ask me why I know what the borax in the chemistry set tastes like. Just don’t.