Allan's Useless Fact of the Week...

The word "pixel" originally referred to the colored pegs in the Hasbro Lite-Brite.



Aww, Lite-Brite. My mom wouldn’t let me have one. I think it’s because I was a “healthy” child and she was afraid I would eat the pegs. They did kind of look like Gummy Bears so there’s a distinct possibility she was right.

Oh, you know what else my mom wouldn’t let me have? Mac-n-cheese.



I’ve moved on and forgiven her. And now that I’m a big girl I get to eat all the mac-n-cheese my greasy, cholesterol-riddled heart desires. But that’s neither here nor there.

Back to toys. My favorite toy ever was the Snoopy Snow Cone Maker.



You know what was so great about it? It was great practice for learning how to make frozen drinks – margaritas, daiquiris, etc. In fact, I wish I had a Snoopy Snow Cone Maker today. It was so much easier to clean than my blender.

Incidentally, snow cone makers were the hot Christmas gift last year. I know this because my ex-boyfriend spent hours trying to track one down online for his nieces. I guess it’s part of some retro toy craze because I keep seeing 15 year old girls wearing Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bear clothes and accessories.

Crap, did I just use the word “retro” to refer to toys I used to play with? I suddenly feel nauseous and unable to finish this story.

I'm going to go make a margarita, some mac-n-cheese and call it a night.