|
|
Wizzzer
by Mattel
|
Read memories from others. |
This memory was added on: August 23, 2008
We had these and loved them - they were way better than the typical
metal gyroscope, as they never came apart.
I'll never forget the morning my brother came down to breakfast with
what could only be described as a mini version of a capuchin monk's
haircut.
Mom asked him what happened, and he shrugged "nothing" - but the truth
finally came out - he'd stuck a spinning Wizzzer on the top of his
head, and had to cut it off with more hair than he expected.
John
1958
This memory was added on: July 6, 2008
I was only allowed to play with mine outside because of the damage they did to linoleum, or even the painted concrete basement floor. My rubber ends always got chewed up from whizzing them out on the sidewalk. As a result, I went thru a number of them because you couldn’t get replacement ends. I LOVED all my wizzzers! Crazy colors – purple and pink was one of the more crazier combos.
Christine
This memory was added on: May 27, 2007
I remember getting my wizzer going @hi speed then putting it on a friends head.It would really grab the hair.The longerthe hair the better it would work.
Pete
1958
This memory was added on: January 31, 2007
I have been looking for wizzzers for a long time. I used to have a mean collection. I was a tomboy and I still love and remember wizzzers. I have in fact started a blog going down memory lane. Wizzzers is there along with Kirk's castile soap and other boomer memories. Cool
Qelilah Solomon
1949
This memory was added on: January 28, 2007
I marked up my mother's table spinning this thing. The spinner on the end gripped well and it had a quality drive shaft. Well made toy. But I drove my mother crazy with this thing.
Tony
1964
This memory was added on: January 11, 2007
Oh yeah! Completely forgot about the whizzers until I saw this pic. Mine was blue and white and worked great as a moving obstacle for my SSP Smash-up Derby Cars.
Stevie B.
1966
This memory was added on: January 10, 2007
My fondest (not) memory of my Wizzer a yellow and red one, is being at a girlfriend's house sitting playing with our Wizzers on her kitchen floor and taking that Wizzer while the wheel on it was still spinning and getting it too close to my hair and yes you got it right, my hair got spun so tight onto that toy! It took what seemed forever to get that tangled mess undone; but we did and I didn't even have to have it cut out. What a memory but it is still one of my all time favorites.
Kelly
1961
This memory was added on: January 10, 2007
My fondest (not) memory of my Wizzer a yellow and red one, is being at a girlfriend's house sitting playing with our Wizzers on her kitchen floor and taking that Wizzer while the wheel on it was still spinning and getting it too close to my hair and yes you got it right, my hair got spun so tight onto that toy! It took what seemed forever to get that tangled mess undone; but we did and I didn't even have to have it cut out. What a memory but it is still one of my all time favorites.
Kelly
1961
This memory was added on: January 5, 2007
I just went to the basement to find my old yo-yo for my 7 year old and I found my old blue and yellow wizzer. We just had a blast playing with it until the old rubber tip gave up the ghost. I need to buy a new one 35 years later. My kids loved it. I also found a sst, a gyroscope, Tom Swift and Hardy Boys books. Reading the other posts was a blast
Dogger
1966
This memory was added on: December 28, 2006
Ohh, yes! Kid bro had dozens of these. (They could do a remarkable degree of damage to wood flooring.)
Cactus Wren
1962
This memory was added on: December 27, 2006
I had two wizzers one that shot sparks, another made to look like a Bardaul? (spelling incorrect) oil can!
Fread
1962
This memory was added on: December 27, 2006
Another toy I remember my brother and I both had and in times when we still got along together. We played fer hours with these on the kitchen floor. Then came the marks in the linoleum, Oh Boy!!! Mama was none too Happy bout that. I remember putting Wizzer on the cat we had... Naturally it got tangled in it's fur and the cat ran around the house screaming. I thought it was funny. Mama did't and that was the end of Whizzer for ahile fer me.
JD
1963
This memory was added on: December 22, 2006
Oh yeah I remember Wizzzers. You could use them as giant motorized substitutes in the Battling Tops arena. And put a piece of chalk in the top hole and spin them upside down to make trick spirals. The best place to use them was at school with their industrial floors and cinder-brick walls for ricocheting.
Thanks for the great site, and all those memories.
Glenn
1962
This memory was added on: December 6, 2006
I have Wizzers in my garage! There was a surplus store by my house and a while after the fad wore down they got in a HUGE shipment of them. I bought every different kind that they had. I'm going out to find them right now! My Grand kids are gonna love these. Their Mom still loves me and I don't know why!?
Ed
This memory was added on: October 26, 2006
These things were a blast. My brother and I had several. We would sit on the kitchen floor and play with these for hours. Jumping ramps, trying to stack 4 high, getting caught in our own and each others hair, and how about the shag carpet and bath mats, leg and arm burns. Only a few would make the wizzing noise - we were never sure if those were the broken ones or not. And what was up with the pink. About half of them were pink on one half.
The sizzlers were great as well. From what I recall the first self propelled cars. They didn't seem sell for too long. Also Johnny Lightning, match box and hot wheels cars were great as well. The longest lasting trend for us.
Here is another - what about the SST cars. The one with the geared rip cord and the big wheel in the center. They would fly across the kitchen, jump ramps into the cabinets. Had the Evil Kenevil crash car and rocket replica. those were the days. Give it all up to go back then. Kids these days have no idea. All the toys work for them, no imagination.
Kid from Raleigh
This memory was added on: October 12, 2006
I haven't laughed this hard in years. Since I was the youngest kid, I'd never have gotten away with putting them in even my sister's hair without getting severely beaten. But I did manage to ruin my mom's linoleum kitchen floor, an antique wooden tabletop, and the family miniature schnauzer's beard. They were fun to play with in a dry bathtub too, although the spinning steel shaft acted like a high-speed engraver on porcelain. You just don't see great toys like this anymore!
Jeff R.
1961
This memory was added on: September 14, 2006
I had a blue and yellow Whizzer which I totally loved. I remember playing with it under the kitchen table and whizzing it up on the linoleum floor. One day my grandparents came over and I was playing in the kitchen with the Whizzer while they sat around talking. My grandmother was sitting it a chair...I can't really explain the next bit, but I then thought "Wouldn't it be funny to see if the Whizzer would whiz around on top of my grandma's head?" I proceeded to put the whizzing Whizzer on her head, only to jump about 3 feet in the air when the poor woman started screaming hysterically as her hair wound itself at warp speed around the end of the Whizzer. Anyway, she had a Whizzer hanging from her head and had to have it cut off by my mom right down near the scalp where it left a permanent bald spot. I seem to remember a lot of screaming at that point and was sent to my room for about a year. Still, I loved Whizzer!
R.L.L.
1962
This memory was added on: August 21, 2006
Boy oh boy do I remember these. I still have one of my orginals and when Matchbox came out with them again in '88 I had to buy one. My favorite one was pink on top and black on the bottom. It was the round style. After about a year, it started to make this strange loud squealing noise. I still love it though. The my cousin gave me one of the Spin-Buggies for Christmas in '71 and I had a brand new solid yellow wizzer (which is the one I still have). Never got the thing caught in my hair or my sisters, but had way too much fun with this toy.
Brian Himes
1966
This memory was added on: July 30, 2006
I just found a worn out one with the tip missing for 25cents at the thrift store. Bought it took it home and decided to cut it open and see how it works. When I was a kid I always took things apart to see what makes them work. I guess I'm still a kid at heart at 56. I'm gonna try and find a new one at the toy store so I can play with it. Sure miss the simple toys of yesterday. Remember the gluey stuff you would put on a straw and make ballon things? I got that stuff in my hair once....YUK.....ha ha
Larry
1950
This memory was added on: June 8, 2006
I was just telling my two kids stories about their dumb mom (me). I thought this toy was pretty cool- in fact I think I might still have it-but one day I thought I'd try something...um, stupid? I had fairly long hair, and I decided to give the toy a "whiz"...and then I stuck it in my hair. Yeah, it got stuck alright. I didn't have to have my hair chopped off or anything, but I do remember sitting still for a fairly long ordeal of having it unwound. It kind of parallels the story of my daughter, now 19, who sat on some pink silly putty on an upholstered chair in order to flatten it out...she was four...and it's still there, although no longer in our dining room!
linda
1962
This memory was added on: June 8, 2006
they do still sell wizzers..I bought some for my kids last year at a dollar store. they just sit around and collect dust..I'm the only one who will play with them! I guess they can't compete with video games.
Shawn
1964
This memory was added on: April 28, 2006
Oh my gosh !! A lost memory. I had the yellow and red.
i was young once
1971
This memory was added on: April 24, 2006
i had a whizzer it was a blast me and my 3 brothers each had one we would put them in each others hair make them whizzing noises do the neck burn fun times
stevis63
1963
This memory was added on: April 17, 2006
I loved whizzers! I wish they still sold them now, just so I could show the kids how fun they were!
Here's a nice page that shows the history of Whizzers, Wizzers, and all things tops, with pictures: http://www.spintastics.com/HistoryofTop.asp
During the 1960’s Matchbox company created the Wizzer top which had a built-in friction type motor that was activated by sliding the top’s tip along a smooth surface. There was also a Wizzer made by the Tyco company. A similar top was also developed by the Duncan company called the Whizzer.
Dave
1963
This memory was added on: April 17, 2006
I wound one up reall good one time, and held it up to my ear to hear the namesake whizzing sound, got it a little too close to my head and wound up a clump of my hair and consequently pulled it out of my head! Ouch! They were great fun except for that.
Gus
1961
This memory was added on: April 5, 2006
I still have one that came with a little car (blue hot rod Corvette looking thing). Get that little orange top going and drop it in the car and it would do wheelies all over the place. I pulled it out the other day to entertain my girlfriend's 3-year-old niece and we enjoyed it for a few minutes until the rubber tip, which had grown brittle with age, self-destructed. Anybody know if the make repro tips?
E-man
1963
This memory was added on: April 3, 2006
My brother and i had a few whizzers plus some attachements for them to battle or do stunts. The coolest whizzers were these three:
The Whistler The Sparker The Color Changer
I was surprised that the flint inside the Sparker never ran out as much as we used it. The Color Changer had a transparent upper half and a spinning disk inside that would change colors as the top would spin down. Fun toys! But, Sizzlers and Hot Wheels were the best.
Bill
1958
This memory was added on: April 3, 2006
My uncle bribed me into taking a bath with 2 wizzzers, one of which I recently found while poking around in my parents old house. I gave it a spin and that familiar sound brought a huge smile to my face. I excitedly started telling my 15 y/o and 3 and 4 y/o kids about it. While demonstrating it, half of the rubber wheel fell off. A couple hours later, the rest fell off. It had hardened and cracked. In any case, it brought me to this website. I see that many other people my age have been affected similarly. Simple times... yeah.... dig it.
goldy
1965
This memory was added on: February 20, 2006
Of course I remember my wizzer top. I also remember my father replacing our retro linoleum tile in our basement a few years later. It seems he didn't care for the thousands of wizzer 'wind up' marks that scared our floor. Unfortunately the new tile was more 70ish than the original.
Patrick
1966
This memory was added on: February 19, 2006
I had a couple of these too, never mind getting them stuck in your sisters hair, I had to explain to my Dad why we had to take the family golden retreiver to the vet to get the toy out of his hair.
Scott
1963
This memory was added on: January 20, 2006
wizzzers were a fun,simple toy-as were pretty much all toys back then.those definetly were simpler times.anybody know where i can get my hands on a time machine? anybody?
steve
1962
This memory was added on: December 30, 2005
For all of you in nostalgic moments, you can reintroduce the whizzer to your generation of families to wreck your linolium floors and rip hair up. They sell them at wal-mart now. My two boys love them, only I showed them a trick I did. I would spin them and use water based markers to touch the top in spin motion. I think if I pattened it I would be a millionaire with spin art. Yes I agree Matchbox ruled that era, here I am at 41, I have talked about the wizzer and cascade to my boys who are now 15 and 10 since they can remember. I finally got cascade for Christmas through ebay. I nearly cried. I never thought I would see it again. Thank God for Ebay.
christine
1964
This memory was added on: December 29, 2005
I'm sitting here cracking up just thinking about these. Who doesn't have the memory of their sister running around the house with a Wizzer hanging from her head while screaming "mommy"? Seriously though, this is a cool toy. We did so many tricks. It stunk when the rubber end would wear from overuse.
John
1966
This memory was added on: December 1, 2005
Wizzers were so much fun...expecially when you and a friend each had one and could battle them. I took these form my older brother's desk drawer and sneaked them into the hallway. Alwasy more fun when the toy is not yours!
For those of you who long for one...my husband came home with a Happy Meal chicken little toy the other day...took us two days to realize thst is was a wizzer in disguise. You spin it and then place it in a little car to make it go. Much more fun to do it without the car like back in the good old days!
Deanine
1967
This memory was added on: October 20, 2005
I had two "Wizzers", a round black & red, and a green & blue "Wedge". One of them would make a strange sound for a few seconds if you spun it up too fast. I wore out the rubber base on 'em. The TV commercial that I recall for "Wizzers" featured "Flight of the Bumblebee" music in the background. And yes, predictably. one day one got into my sister's hair. This was also the era of "Hot Wheels", "Rockem Sockem Robots" eetc. Great memories . . .
anonymous
1962
This memory was added on: July 12, 2005
I got this thing wrapped up in my hair too! My aunt had to cut it out :(
I tried to spin it on my head after watching my cousin do it (who had a brush cut).
fran
1967
This memory was added on: June 29, 2005
I'm probably the youngest here, but I too had a whizzer, but it was the key chain version. Which was great fun to bring to middle school class, except it was too noisy for lectures :(. I had always wanted a full version but never got one... until now. I work at Toys'R'Us and I unpacked a whole bunch the other day, except they are called "Zipz" and made by "Big Time Toys." They are the real deal tho, since the literature included reads almost identically to my whizzer instruction manual (yes I dug up my old key chain one too).
My package says "Zillions of Tricks" similar to the old school one above. Great toy.. still pleasing me today at 19! Good times.
Greg
1986
This memory was added on: May 3, 2005
i could get mine to travel across a piece of string...i drove my mom nuts revving it up on the rubber matt she had in the kitchen...seeing all those pieces actually brought tears to my eyes....simpler times.
wally
1968
This memory was added on: April 24, 2005
Ouch! Just saying the word wizzers makes my head hurt. Traumatized me for life! (I had very long hair). I remember my parents kitchen floor taking the punishment fromseeing how fast we could make them go. Mine had glow in the dark stickers and these little things to try to balance these tops on. I think I still have a bald spot.
1970
This memory was added on: April 16, 2005
My kid brother must have had a dozen of these! The damage done to wood floors and tabletops was appalling.
Wren
1962
This memory was added on: April 1, 2005
Fire that puppy up and put it in your sister's hair. That was fun, except for the whippin' from dad.
Comes out with peanut butter
Mike
1965
This memory was added on: February 25, 2005
Make a wish Have a ball Dream a dream Be it all
Anyone remember K-Mart when it was S.S. Kresge (sic)?
Tony
1960
This memory was added on: February 5, 2005
Had several Wizzers, and a "stunt" platform. It was a rectangle with a handle with two sides, about 8" by 4". It had a ramp you had to get the Wizzer up on one side by tilting it. By the way, seeing mentions of Sizzlers, I also had the Hot Line train which used the "Juice Machine" for the sizzlers and ran on black hot wheels track.
Scott
1963
This memory was added on: January 3, 2005
i had a couple of them i remember the cool noise it used to make i dont know whatever happened to all of my old toys probably mom got rid of it all when i moved out
mike
1963
This memory was added on: December 12, 2004
On Easter my parents would get us one or two presents along with our easter candy, and one Easter in the early 70's my mom got my brother and I a could of Wizzzers. Mine was round and his was a odd diamond shape. We played with them out on the drive way that Easter as i recalled, right after watching MAKE A WISH.
What an odd memory to have.
Fredd Gorham
1965
This memory was added on: December 8, 2004
wizzers! damn, these bring back great memories of being a kid in the 60's. i still have one. i think the top half glows in the dark. my little brother had one shaped like a a pepsi can.p.s. i never got one stuck in my hair.
steve
1956
This memory was added on: December 3, 2004
I remember revin' it up and going up to my brother and put it against his neck. LOL Like an 'indian burn' for the lazy kid. I stopped the torture after I did it on myself and realized how much it hurt!
Ken Randall
1967
This memory was added on: November 12, 2004
I remember it getting caught in my hair!
karla
1965
This memory was added on: October 26,2004
I had a green and orange one and my brother had a pink and blue one.Some how my son still has my brothers pink and blue one, but I don't know what happened to mine.
I loved the sound they would make as they zig zagged accross my parents kitchen lino. We would stack one on top of each other, and I wondered how many you could stack in total
Ian Black
1965
This memory was added on: September 10, 2004
I must have it still somewhere. It was the yellow and green one. Also had a Sizzlers circuit with the juice machine and a Silly Putty. At the time I thought Mattel toys were the most exciting things on earth. Still do!
Leo
1962
This memory was added on: August 9, 2004
this is yet another of those fascinating toys. Never owned one, but have played with them. When I was young, I called them goof balls because I did not know the name. Well now mystery solved.
Larry G
1971
This memory was added on: July 31, 2004
I had a Wizzer. It was a great toy. Maybe it's in my parents' attic.... I'll have to look. Sizzlers!!! I had the track with the Gas pump charger--It is called "the juice machine". As a matter of fact I stil have the track and charger. You know, Sizzlers were brought back on the market recently by a company called Playing Mantis. Yhey must have aquired the license from Mattel or something. I'm 37 and I have two sons, 6 and 10. They love the cars--- unfortunately I don't have any of the original ones any more BUT, we did but some of the new ones!! They're COOL!!!!
ScottB
1966
This memory was added on: July 15, 2004
I still have my black/yellow one from 1970. There was a skull sticked on it. But the accessories (space theme) were lost.
Joerg
1965
This memory was added on: July 15, 2004
Another great Mattel toy of the late 60's and & 70's!! They owned that era. I remember wearing out my Wizzzers on the cement drive way of my parent's house and also thinking "...what if it touched my hair?" Zizzzz...OUCH!! F@#K!! Yes, mixing long kid hippy hair and a Wizzzers is a true test of being a child of the 70's. FYI. How about mentioning Hotwheel's Sizzlers?? First Ni Cad battery powered toy ever! 30 years later I'm still chraging up a Ni Cad battery toy...this time for my cell phone while I drive down the highway in my full sized Hotwheel. Remember the Sizzler's red-top gas pump charger? TheSizzler's garage with the spinning rubber wheels and orange track with purple connectors? Sizzlers !
Rick Rockwell
Old
This memory was added on: July 13, 2004
The funny thing was on a few occasions my brother and I deliberately put them in each others hair.
David Serrano
1960
This memory was added on: July 9, 2004
Still got one (somewhere)!!
Bill
1962
This memory was added on: June 1, 2004
Mine was greenish-yellow and grey, and I also did the "caught in the hair" thing with it. OW!!!
Lizzie
1963
This memory was added on: May 20, 2004
I must of laughed for five minutes (still laughing now actually it's hard to type). I got a wizzzer stuck in MY HAIR TOO :) other than that it was fun to play with though.
Michael
1965
This memory was added on: March 22, 2004
I still have mine and they still work. I have 2 and also have the things that spins around when you put both of them in it. My daughter thinks they are great!
Leticia
1962
This memory was added on: February 23, 2004
I remember the Wizzzer commercial where it would show somebody with the Wizzzer spinning on top of their head. I tried that trick and ripped a big wad of hair out of my scalp. That's right, it got all wrapped-up in the spinning tip and tore out a portion of my hair. My mother had to cut part of my hair to remove the toy from my shredded doo. Those were good times.
Frank
1962
This memory was added on: February 12, 2004
These were cool... my cats loved them and feared them. It's a wonder our arms didn't get worn out trying to make them go though - probably where carpal tunnel started.
Tammi
1965
This memory was added on: February 11, 2004
I had a purple and white one that I played with for hours. It was really fun! One of those toys you don't get sick of.
Sarah
1964
|
|
