I’m thinking stuff like a magnifying glass for roasting ants (don’t actually do this) or those big hair-clip claws.

  • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
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    18 hours ago

    When I was a kid: basic printer paper. Drawing is probably part of the intended usecase for a sheet of paper, but I’d also do a bunch of origami and use it to try to make models of airplanes

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      Growing up, our household had a giant roll of butcher paper. It was 2 ft (60cm) wide and about 1000 feet (300m) long roll. I have no idea why we had it, but as kids we were allowed to use as much as we wanted for whatever we wanted. It turned into a childhood of projects, games, costumes, banners, signs, crafts, wrappings, pranks, etc. Close to the beginning as kids, we’d asked for art supplies like markers, paint, pens, pencils, charcoal, etc to transform that boring cheap paper into different universes. We became creative because it was available.

      Something about having an unlimited supply of something and infinite permissions was an unexpected freedom.

    • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      Fuckin love me some wagos, even if I can never remember the name! I just got a pack of these last week to fix my garage door opener, and I’m so happy I have extras sitting on my desk

    • Gerudo@lemmy.zip
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      16 hours ago

      Up until 2 days ago I didn’t even know these existed, and now I’m seeing them on Lemmy of all places. Seem super handy.

  • taiyang@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    For what it’s worth you can also use a magnifying glass to create designs in wood; it doesn’t have to be for ant murder.

    My add to this is a graphing calculator because you can put games on it and parents simply didn’t (and probably still don’t) know. You thought I was doing calculus? Ha level 19 in Tetris.

  • Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.world
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    19 hours ago

    Zippo is the figit toy of boomers.

    Roller bearings, they’re so satisfying.

    Arch lighters. I have one that fits in a zippo case!

    Bumble ball, it’s a baby toy with a spinning motor in it, bounces around wildly when you hit the button. As an adult, these things are hilarious and a holding one is a great ADHD stim.

    You can make a herbarium out of snack jars from dollar tree. I’ve never had so much fun looking at a jar of dirt.

    Oragami. Any time I’m left unattended with scrap paper I the area with butterflies and flowers. Keeps the hands busy and everyone gets blown away by it.

  • Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    If you’re into fun technology stuff, a raspberry pi can be a million different things for you.

    • Toes♀@ani.social
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      18 hours ago

      With the current market being unaffordable. If you’re interested in this hobby I wanna add on check out RISC-V chips and orangePi systems.

  • Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io
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    18 hours ago

    The ‘safety-seal’ ring around the cap of a jug of milk (No sane person will ever drink milk, ever again, thanks RkJfr!), water, etc. Cats love them, and humans are amused by cats playing with them.

  • IWW4@lemmy.zip
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    19 hours ago
    • Pool Noodles
    • Sprinklers on a hot day
    • A couple of plastic swords
    • a beach ball