I had not seen this before, neither in real life or on TV. It was one of the figures from Ideal’s Rocks & Bugs & Things line. The concept of the line was that carnivorous monsters disguised themselves as rocks and insects in order to surprise and eat their prey.

There were ten figures (at least in the first wave; I’m not sure if there was a second) total. Five were rocks and five were insects. Of those five, I thought my rock and the tarantula were the best.

The best thing about the one I got was that his hand popped his prey into his mouth. Not only so, but when his prey was in his mouth, he could then go back into his rock form. So you could store the prey inside. As Retroist readers might know, I’ve always been fascinated when things disappear entirely into other things (like NES games into the NES), so this was a big plus for me.

The prey in question were little bipeds called Mordles. They looked a little like an angry Q*Bert.

But while the Rocks & Bugs & Things preferred Mordles, they could eat other things. MUSCLES would fit easily into Gravelguts’ maw, as would Space Creatures. Plastic men of various kinds could also be eaten, and so could Kenner’s Yoda. I’m pretty sure Gravelguts even tried to eat Cop-Tur.

As far as I know, I was the only kid in my neighborhood to have and enjoy a Rocks & Bugs & Things figure. They disappeared as quickly as the Manglords did. And I haven’t been able to get one off of Ebay (though I have seen a few). For all intents and purposes, they have disappeared. But you know, there’s a lot of rocks my house, and on some evenings I will look at them and be thankful I’m not a Mordle.

The Hall of Fame includes classic toys that have icon status, inspire innovation, discovery and creativity, and have stood the test of time. Toys inducted include familiar brand names like Scrabble and LEGO along with generic items like a ball or baby doll. Even items that require more imagination, like a cardboard box or a stick have achieved Hall of Fame status. There are more to toys and creative play than flashy boxes and licensed properties.

In addition to the dollhouse, blanket and Hot Wheels, the finalists for 2011 included: Dungeons and Dragons, Jenga, Pogo Stick, puppet, radio-controlled vehicles, Rubik’s Cube, Simon, Star Wars action figures, Transformers, and Twister. I voted for a top but that didn’t make the cut. If your favorite made the finalist list be sure to vote next year. It has a good chance to make it to induction status.

The National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong, established in 1998, recognizes toys that have inspired creative play and enjoyed popularity over a sustained period. Each year, the prestigious hall inducts new honorees and showcases both new and historic versions of classic toys beloved by generations.

Anyone can nominate a toy to the National Toy Hall of Fame. Final selections are made on the advice of historians, educators, and other individuals who exemplify learning, creativity, and discovery through their lives and careers.

Throughout the years, Diener has released a wide variety of small rubber figures. Those of you who grew up in the late 70s/early 80s like myself were probably introduced to Diener toys through McDonald’s Happy Meals. Three separate collections I remember McDonald’s offering were the “Dinosaur” series, the “Monster” series, and these guys, the “Outer Space” series.

The “Outer Space” collection (my own name for them) consisted of 8 different figures that came in one of 5 different colors: orange, green, yellow, pink, and blue. As a kid you would have needed to eat a lot of Happy Meals to collect all 40 of these guys. Nowadays, you only need three things: a credit card, an eBay account, and a bit of patience. If you’re lucky enough to pick all of them up in a single auction, be prepared to pay for the privilege; I paid somewhere between $1-$2 per figure (before shipping). If you pick them up in small lots, expect to acquire lots of duplicates before you get them all. Probably the hardest part about tracking these figures down is that most sellers don’t know the proper name for them, so be prepared to spend a lot of time searching for things like “rubber orange robot thingy”.

Diener is infamous for reusing the same molds over and over again. The original McDonald’s releases were made from some sort of rubber, but I’ve seen the same figures released in both hard plastic and as pencil erasers.

Out of the 8 different figures, 4 are robots and the other 4 are space ships. Personally I like the robots much better: they stand up better, and assuming there’s any sort of scale going on in Diener-land, are monstrous in size compared to those tiny ships!

On today’s show we talk all about the classic 1980s/1990s talking toy, Teddy Ruxpin. We talk about the creation of this amazing toy and the talented people behind it. We also talk about the TV shows based on Teddy and his different versions.

If you have any suggestions for topics you would like for me to cover in the future, email them to me at retroist@retroist.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/retroist and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/retroist.com.

You can use the subscription button below to add the show to your favorite news reader or subscribe to show directly through iTunes. Thanks for listening and enjoy the show.

This episode has recently been moved offsite. Click the link below or one of the mirrors to download it. If you are interested in hosting a mirror of this episode, please drop me an email at retroist@retroist.com with the URL of the file.

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Today’s show is about the venerable granddaddy of Nintendo gaming, the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES. We talk about its creation in Japan, its ability to ignore the great North American Video game crash and its last influence on gaming culture. The show has great music, some retro commercials and a surprise or two thrown in to boot. Oh and we are launching a forum system here at the Retroist so join in the discussion at the very first podcast discussion thread.

If you have any suggestions for topics you would like for me to cover in the future, email them to me at theretroist@gmail.com or call the Retroist Hotline at 641.715.3900 extension 57185. Want to chat? Contact me via AIM. My handle is retroist. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/retroist and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/retroist.

Have a movie, video or far out topic you would like Jonathan to talk about? Drop him an email at faroutspacenuts@rfrpodcast.com. Got an idea for a top 5 list? Email metagirl at metagirl@retroist.com.

You can click the player below the opening paragraph to listen to the show directly from the site, you can use the subscription button below to add the show to your favorite news reader or subscribe to show directly through iTunes. Thanks for listening and enjoy the show.

The episode has recently been moved offsite. Click the link below or one of the mirrors to download it. If you are interested in hosting a mirror of this episode, please drop me an email at retroist@retroist.com with the URL of the file.

• Episode Mirror #1