The Spirograph
Geometry, but you were allowed to enjoy it.
Toothed plastic wheels, a biro and a lot of pins, producing patterns that looked far more impressive than the effort involved.
Denys Fisher, an engineer from Leeds, invented it while working on bomb detonators. It became one of the best-selling toys of the decade.
The pins that held the outer ring were the weak point: they punched through the paper, through the cardboard behind it, and into the dining table. Every Spirograph household has a marked table.
Cost back then
19/11
Goes for now
£20–£50 for a complete boxed original
