...does anyone here who is OLD enough(Like ME!) remember those ads in the back of comic books of the 1960s, which advertised a WORKING SUBMARINE that a kid could get in and go under water with? Of course, I never bought one, but does anyone know what those things actually were? I always suspected they were made of cardboard.
In the 80s I used to scour the pages of the Johnson Smith catalog... it had wall-to-wall items very much like what you'd find in the comic ads. I spent quite a few allowances, getting fleeced as often as not, but always fascinated by what I received! There was an odd charm to even the most questionable products.
Jim, if you're interested in finding out more about those old scams, there are a lot of videos on YouTube, and I recommend a really well-done book called Mail Order Mysteries:
Jim, thanks for the reminder! I’m old (63) and remember most of those ads. I mail-ordered some of the Helen Of Toy items (“Task Force”, “Fighting Ships”, etc.) and enjoyed them immensely and wish I had kept them! I did purchase some of the others like the “X-Ray Specs”, “Throw Your Voice”, etc., but not thru mail-order. Each summer my parents would take us to the beach and we would always stop along the way at a Stuckeys or some such “Eat Here and Get Gass” place and they sold items like these. And like the webpage you posted, they did cost me my allowance. For many years I had aquariums and I would buy the "Sea-Monkeys" (brine shrimp) and raise them for food for tropical fish.
When I was reading comics my allowance was something like 25 cents a week. Couldn't afford any of that stuff. Glad I saved up for Aurora model kits instead.
When I was reading comics my allowance was something like 25 cents a week. Couldn't afford any of that stuff. Glad I saved up for Aurora model kits instead.
I hear ya! I didn't have an actual allowance, per se, it was money I got for doing chores for my grandparents mostly. Chores for parents was required; for grandparents chores were rewarded financially.
) remember those ads in the back of comic books of the 1960s, which advertised a WORKING SUBMARINE that a kid could get in and go under water with? Of course, I never bought one, but does anyone know what those things actually were? I always suspected they were made of cardboard. 
