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By sending in cereal box tops and a coin or two—often a dime—kids could

order kites, whistles, badges, tops, and hundreds of other wonderful
treasures. The Hike-O-Meter, hooked to your belt, registered how many
miles you hiked. The 5-Way-Detect-O-Scope was a cardboard-and-metal

device for sighting objects and estimating their distance.
38 Jack Armstrong fans sent away for whistle rings like the one Jack wore.
The ring arrived in the mail with a copy of Jack’s secret whistle code.
Other shows offered rings outfitted with secret compartments, with
compasses, magnets, flashlights, and sirens, and with mirrors that allowed

you to see behind you without turning your head. Some rings glowed in
the dark. Because the rings were made of cheap metal, most of them
turned the wearer’s finger green after a few days.

39 Some families could not afford to buy the packaged breakfast cereals
and other products that sponsored radio shows. When it came to box tops
and the toys and gadgets you could get with them, many poor kids were
out of luck. But they could always make their own toys. One of the most
popular homemade toys during the 1930s was the rubber-band gun, made

from a piece of wood, a clothespin, and a rubber band. Kids pretending to
be cowboys or detectives could shoot a rubber band ten feet or more with
one of these. With a crayon or a bit of paint, wooden clothespins could

also be transformed into dolls, soldiers, and other make-believe people.

Chidren playing simple, imaginative games.

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