The Magical World of View-Master Lite-Up Light Toys
Do you remember your first glow stick? I got mine one fine Halloween in the 1980s and to say I was fascinated with it would be an understatement. My mother had bought it for me for “safety reasons”. Something I could wear around my neck while out Trick or Treating at night and not get run over by a car. I fell in love with it as soon as I cracked it open, and I remember staring at it as I fell asleep that night. In the morning it had died, but a passion for a new light source had been sparked, and over the years I would purchase many a glow stick and other off-brand chemical to light up things for myself.
While I was fine with just the sticks, View-Master took glow sticks up a notch when they released their Lite-Up Light Toys. The premise was simple but effective. Take everyday toys and attach a glow stick to them. So toys that you could normally only enjoy in the light of day took on a magical ghostly green hue when you combined them with the power of the glow stick and could be used at night. They had three solid offerings: a parachute, a ball, and the best of the lot, the Frisbee. That is the one I remember getting the most joy out of, even though it was difficult to throw and just plain boring without the glow stick.
Every Halloween I still find myself picking up a glow stick when I see them at a pharmacy or supermarket, but summer is fast approaching and for some reason, I am feeling nostalgic for the View-Master Lite-Up Light Toys. Maybe it is time to try to dig up a Frisbee and wow all the people at the park at night with that beautiful Lite-Up flying disc.
