As someone who grew up in the 80s, some of my favourite memories are of playing with 70s and 80s tech. My introduction to the world of computing, as an example, started with the Sinclair ZX81. I could spend hours playing blocky black and white games in complete silence. And Toy Day at school in the early 80s was full of beepy electronic games, and it was heaven! Nowadays just seeing a photo of a ZX81 or a Game and Watch evokes that warm feeling of nostalgia that we all get when thinking back to a favourite memory.
Over the last few years I’ve really wanted to find a good reference book which shows off the techy things I adored while growing up. Nostalgia Nerds Gargets, Gizmos and Gimmicks absolutely does this for me. It’s a book which, as the name suggests, showcases some of the gorgeous gadgets from history. It covers so many electronic items ranging from the Teasmade from 1938 right up to the Oculus Quest 2 from 2021, a huge span of 80s years. It is by no means a definitive list of every gadget over this time, and it isn’t claiming to be, but a book which talks about the items most commonly remembered.
My favourite parts of this book are, quite obviously, the 70s and 80s gadgets and gizmos. Remember the Tomytronic 3D games, the ones you had to hold up to your eyes like binoculars? And the Casio C-80 Calculator watch? If you didn’t own one of these yourself then no doubt you would have known someone who did. And remember the Tomy Dingbot? He was a small bump-and-go robot released by Tomy with an almost Johnny 5 look to his face. My wife still proudly tells people she still owns hers AND his map accessory. These toys and many more are included and discussed.
If you want to reminisce about extraordinary gadgets, gizmos and gimmicks, or even find out more about some tech you may have missed, you do need to buy this book.
Gadgets, Gizmos and Gimmicks on Amazon.co.uk
Follow Nostalgia Nerd on Twitter
