Toys TOYS

Lite Brite

With a bedtime of around 8pm you're life seemed pretty limited as a kid in the 80s... until Lite Brite came on the scene! Because even with the lights off it meant you could have hours more fun, creating dazzling displays that lit up your bedroom like a very small disco.

The famous Lite-Brite commercial jingle begins: "Lite-Brite, makin' things with light. Outta sight, makin' things with Lite-Brite." Another jingle featured "Lite-Brite, Lite-Brite, turn on the magical shining light!" Another popular jingle included the lines: "We're making things with light. Lite-Brite makes them glow so bright! A steamboat, a chicken, a tropical fish. A lemonade sign or whatever I wish!"

By day, the Lite Brite would seem like a simple transparent plastic box with rows of holes in it. But behind the holes was a light source, which when you plugged the supplied coloured pegs into the holes, would light them up so they looked like little LEDs. Using blue, clear, green, orange, pink, purple, red and yellow pegs you could mastermind quite a colourful scene without feeling your creativity was being stifled by Milton Bradley (owned by Hasbro) who, incidentally, launched the toy in 1967. Though a bout of artist's block could easily be overcome with a helping hand from the pre-marked guide sheets that came in the box. These pre-marked sheets were sold separately, too (of course), comprising all the usual 80s themes: Scooby-Doo, Mickey Mouse, My Little Pony, Star Wars and even Mr Potato Head.

One artist form Denver has no problem in this department, going on to produce the world's largest ever Lite Brite in 1999, which set a Guinness Book World Record.

Nowadays, Lite Brite is more advanced, though seeing as most kids have computers there isn't as much call for it.


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Do You Remember Lite Brite?

Do You Remember Lite Brite?

  • Anonymous user
    on
    Yes I spent many hours playing with Lite-Brite when I was a child. I was first introduced to it when I went over to my parents' friends' house who had older children, and soon enough I got the toy myself. I even had the exact same box that's shown! I remember that the paper would bleach out after a while from the light inside. I had the pre-marked sheets including special ones like Strawberry Shortcake. I also had blank ones where I could make my own designs. One thing I hated about Lite Brite was taking out the pegs, being the lazy person that I am.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    Never even heard of it 'til now but sounds a great idea - works along similar lines to fibre optic by the sound of it.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    My sister and i used to play 'air traffic controller' with the lite-brite. we'd make a red or blue triangle (it was the Bermuda triangle) and then pretend to send planes to disappear (those were the other pegs)! we were strange children! we also did the pictures.