Reminiscing is something “older people” do. All of us. We are all older than someone…

It is amazing how a tiny thing can hurtle you straight back into the past.
A casual comment, a sound, a smell or in this case a tweet…

Etch A Sketch inventor dies at 86 bbc.in/11BR4yU

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) February 3, 2013

252 (at the time) retweets of the news yesterday that the Etch a Sketch inventor, Andre Cassagnes, had died at the age of 86, suggests that I was not the only one.

Immediately I was about eight years old, twiddling the two white knobs at the bottom of my screen, drawing crazy pictures, trying to draw straight diagonal lines (impossible!), and then turning the screen upside down and shaking it to clear the picture and start all over again!

Young people probably haven’t got a clue what I’m on about – or perhaps they have as Etch A Sketch rose to new fame through the ‘Toy Story’ movies. 🙂

Anyway, people of my generation DID know. Hardly surprising given that over 100 million copies have been sold…

A mini storm of lovely reminiscences ensued…

In the days when you just got one special toy for Xmas – or was it just me? – Etch A Sketch kept me amused for days on end. Sad but true.

— Gill Phillips (@WhoseShoes) February 3, 2013

Instantly there was interest from international Twitter pals.
Michael Wakely (@wakelym) from Canada was up early and Kathy Magee (@kbmagee69)  in Australia was  catching up with a bit of Etch A Sketch before bed-time. As you do. 🙂

.@acceredigion Ha yes. Spirograph. A different Christmas!… So disappointing if work of art ruined when the pins flew out…!

— Gill Phillips (@WhoseShoes) February 3, 2013

@dragonmisery And spud guns and Fairy Liquid bottles! #garagewars … Too much information!

— Gill Phillips (@WhoseShoes) February 3, 2013

@whoseshoes I won’t mention Barbie or Tiny Tears…..

— Lee Stribling (@dragonmisery) February 3, 2013

@whoseshoes Couldn’t get her in South Africa 😦

— Lee Stribling (@dragonmisery) February 3, 2013

@dragonmisery Not well known in UK either but I loved her. Shoved a key in her back and her hair grew! Magic 🙂

— Gill Phillips (@WhoseShoes) February 3, 2013

.@acceredigion Or the one with the cranky wand that span round to point to different questions…

— Gill Phillips (@WhoseShoes) February 3, 2013

@edanaming @whoseshoes I can see that I had a deprived childhood, would have loved both of these!

— Lee Stribling (@dragonmisery) February 3, 2013

And so it went on.
People having fun recalling childhood memories.

I was tempted to bring in my good pal Sarah Reed as she would have loved this conversation. Sarah has developed wonderful reminiscence cards to spark these type of conversations among people whose childhood memories go back much further than ours. Or the fab Shirley Ayres, who could have told us about Lego through the generations, now much loved by her grandson…

But instead I posted a very tongue-in-cheek tweet:

@edanaming @dragonmisery I have serious and important things to do today. Mary Make-up indeed… 😉

— Gill Phillips (@WhoseShoes) February 3, 2013

@dragonmisery @whoseshoes She did!!

— Edana Minghella (@edanaming) February 3, 2013

And. Mea culpa. Yes, I did start it. It was a bit of quick fun on a Sunday morning. Then we all rushed back to our families and normal Sunday activities…

But reminiscing is fun. And, as we rush about in our busy lives, a key challenge is to make time to enable”older people” to share this joy. People who otherwise have too much time to sit and stare.

It is incredibly rewarding to see people’s eyes sparkle as their own unique special memories come flooding back…

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There were some great comments in response to the original tweet and one that really made me laugh.

@bbcnews give him a shake he’ll be good as new!

— Craig Cooke (@storm_imaging) February 3, 2013

NOT politically correct but I’d like to think that Andre Cassagnes would have loved to know that people remember him and his invention so fondly.

According to the BBC report “Etch A Sketch has been named by the American Toy Industry Association as one of the most memorable toys of the 20th century.” It certainly is for me. Thank you Andre and may you rest in peace, happy that your amazing legacy brought so much happiness to children in the 1960s…and beyond.