I was thrilled to receive my very own Winky Dink kit. It was my first experience being one of the in-crowd. For those of you who weren't kids in the '50's, here's a good summary of this toy from Wikipedia: "The central gimmick of the show, praised by Microsoft mogul Bill Gates as "the first interactive TV show,[1] was the use of a "magic drawing screen," a piece of vinyl plastic that stuck to the television screen via static electricity. A kit containing the screen and various Winky Dink crayons could be purchased for 50 cents. At a climactic scene in every Winky Dink short film, Winky would arrive on a scene that contained a connect-the-dots picture that could be navigated only with the help of viewers. Winky Dink then would prompt the children at home to complete the picture, and the finished result would help him continue the story. Examples include drawing a bridge to cross a river, using an axe to chop down a tree, or a creating a cage to trap a dangerous lion.
Another use of the interactive screen was to decode messages. An image would be displayed, showing only the vertical lines of the letters of the secret message. Viewers then quickly would trace onto their magic screen, and a second image would display the horizontal lines, completing the text.
A final use of the screen was to create the outline of a character with whom Jack Barry would have a conversation. It would seem meaningless to viewers without the screen, further encouraging its purchase."
I do remember the controversy about whether it was dangerous to be too close to the screen. Those x-rays, you know.
