Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Nostalgic trip continues ...

Any body else remember the "super ball" ??

This week I have an assortment of super-bouncy balls, or vending machine super balls as they are commonly called ... this morning in the kitchen I played catch with Ms H.'s cat Chrysanthemum ... then at work I bounced one of them around while letting my brain work through some stuff ...

Like yesterday's quest for candy ... my brain recalled the many super balls I've had over the years ... I once even owned a real black coloured Wham-O Super ball in addition to the bright red, the clear with sparkles, and a HUGE number of the little one inch superballs bought for a quarter from a vending machine, usually in the entrance way of the grocery store ...

Bring out a super ball and you get one of two reactions: a smile of recollection as those around you recall thier own memories of such frivilous fun and who enjoy the unfettered moment, OR a frown of disapproval ... so far at work the smiles have prevailed ... one co-worker commented - "I used to do THAT in my mom's kitchen, and it drove her nuts ..."

Such is the joy of the super ball !!!!

Sometimes bouncing a superball around the office brings a little bit of fun and frivolity and we all need a little more of BOTH !!!

Click here to see a tribute site on superballs !!!

1 comment:

P.I.E. said...

Shawn,

I just finished a book on WHAM-O with a great number of pages dedicated to the Super Ball. The book is called the WHAM-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory! The Super Ball was invented in 1965 by chemist Norm Stingley who brought it to WHAM-O. After perfecting the molding of it (early batches had a tendency to break apart) WHAM-O sold 6 miliion of them in 1965 alone! It was my favorite boyhood ball, right ahead of the Wiffle ball!

Tim Walsh
www.theplaymakers.com