Toymaker Mattel created a toy in the 1960’s call Creepy Crawlers. It consisted of molds that you would fill with colored liquids called Plastigoop. Then you would put the mold in a special hot plate call the Thingmaker. The Thingmaker heated up to about 400° F and cured the liquid into a soft rubbery, plastic toy. You would remove the mold and place it in a tray of water until it cooled. Then you would use a metal pick to remove these toys from the mold. The Creepy Crawlers looked like various bugs. Mattel made other sets that used the Thingmaker. I had the Creepy Crawler and Creepy People sets. With the Creepy People set, you could make heads, arms and feet that could be placed on a pencil to create the people.
I was probably 6 when I got my first Creepy Crawler set. Most of the time that I played with it, I did it without adult supervision. I would set it up this hotplate in the floor of my bedroom and place a tray of water next to it. If you think that kids like me might burn themselves on a toy like this, you are correct. The wire handle I used to remove the molds from the Thingmaker conducted heat well. More often, I burned my hands on the molds that weren’t cool enough to handle or accidently touching the Thingmaker. I never had any serious burns, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some of the scars on my hands came from making Creepy Crawlers. The tool to pick the toys out of the mold was the equivalent of an ice pick. I’m sure I drew blood a few times working to free my new toys from their molds.
Even with all the potential ways to injure yourself with this toy, it was fun. I probably would have injured myself more often if my parents had kept me in a larger supply of Plastigoop.
