Decades Old Mr. Machine Mystery Solved?

For years, my husband has lamented the death of his Mr. Machine.  For those of you unfamiliar with the toy, made by Ideal company's famous inventor Marvin Glass, Mr. Machine was a robot toy that could be taken apart and reassembled. (You can see an animation of Mr. Machine here and some of his most famous inventions here.)  Nostalgia Central notes that

In theory, at least, the $11.95 toy was supposed to teach kids basic mechanical skills.  In reality it taught them life skills that would come in handy years later when trying to repair the family lawn mower or washing machine.

Namely, there's always one part left over when you put it all back together . . .

My husband received the toy one childhood Christmas, and the next day, tragedy!  His brother Mike and his next-door-neighbor Ricky dismantled it and could never get it put together again. His parents searched and searched for a replacement, but because the toy was so popular, they could never find another.

So you can imagine my delight when I saw a reproduction Mr. Machine in a toy catalog last October.  Quickly, I arranged for one to be delivered to my in-laws' house so my husband wouldn't see it.  I rushed to the mailbox every day to confiscate all incoming toy catalogs (no small feat during the pre-Christmas holiday season) so my husband wouldn't know that his long-lamented toy was once again on the market.  I didn't even let the kids in on the secret. 

And Christmas morning, my husband was so thrilled to receive his Mr. Machine that tears came into his eyes.  Finally, the injustice of lo, these many Christmases ago had been righted.  I felt the warm glow of satisfaction.

Recently, my husband reverently opened the box and started Mr. Machine on a merry romp around the room.

And you know what?  Mr. Machine boasts a VERY LOUD bicycle-type bell, a bell that rings CONSTANTLY while Mr. Machine is in motion.  A more tooth-grittingly annoying noise would be hard to imagine.  I ached to disable the thing.  Which started me thinking . . . . .

Mike has never admitted to the dastardly act, at least not in my hearing, and Ricky isn't around to defend himself.  My in-laws "were never able to find another Mr. Machine," even though they claim to have searched diligently, even though it was a "hot" toy that season.  The toy is guaranteed to drive any adult insane.  Hmmmmmm.  Maybe that original Mr. Machine didn't fall victim to Mike and Ricky after all.  Maybe he was a victim of [dramatic music plays] parental foul play!

A jury of their peers would never convict them.

Comments

[James]

When I was very young (minus five), my favorite record was an LP that contained nothing but the theme from Walt Disney World's It's a Small World ride... over and over and over again. I listened to that record every day for hours, until one day it was suddenly gone.

My mother said the broken record was an accident, and I believed her (of course). Years later, though, she confessed that she threw the record out because she was so sick of hearing it.

[Beth]

Lol, James--I can certainly understand! My husband's parents have vehemently denied my implications here, but whatever happened to Mr. Machine, he was tempting fate by being so danged irritating.

[jo(e)]

I am just reading this now -- but what a funny story!

[Retro Avatar]

I had another Marvin Glass creation. It was a game called "Operation".

After several days the buzzer stopped working. Of course, the fun was gone once the thing couldn't buzz when you touched an edge. Especially since I was trying to tap out Morse Code by touching the tweezers to the "bread Basket" area.

Can't help but think some family member silenced the game for the sake of sanity.

random-data.blogspot.com

[Alex]

Here's another cute Mr. Machine story. It talks about other baby boomer toys too! It's about only toy and their adult versions. Funny stuff!

http://tinyurl.com/yqprrx

[tish]

HI,I'm glad to see that someone else loved their Mr.Machine. it is my most memorable christmas gift as a child. they finally got it right with this and no dolls...LOL

peace,
tish

[Doug Gosha]

Funny.

However, I had a Mr. Machine back then too and quickly discovered that you could remove the bell and still enjoy his other actions without driving everybody else crazy. He walked a LOT faster without the bell though!

He still emitted the squawk cyclically but that was no where near as annoying as the constant ringing:^)

Doug

[iBeth]

Thanks, Doug!  We'll have to try that out.