Oh, how this toy teased me as a kid. I would start drawing something halfway decent and then I would hit a wall because I would get so close to what I wanted and then make a wrong move…then came the shake part and start all over again. The definition of insanity would be this toy in my hands…but yet I still tried. Some people can do interesting things with it…I’m not one of those people.
In the late 50s French electrical technician André Cassagnes applied his experience with the clinging properties of an electrostatic charge to invent a drawing toy with no spare parts.
The Ohio Art Company took a look at the toy and invested $25,000. It has sold more than 175 million units worldwide since it hit stores on July 12, 1960.
They have new versions of it now with more options. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etch_A_Sketch
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All I could ever draw on it was a stair case.
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Yep that is all I could get also…I was terrible
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They were fun, although I did get frustrated you couldn’t draw any curves, just R-angles!
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I called it a etch-a-mess, but I love it.
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It tormented me as a kid… but it was fun.
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Torment? Oh, let’s not talk about the Rubik’s Cube. haha
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Oh YES… I would end up pulling all the stickers off and putting back on right lol.
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I bought a “cheat” book to learn the algorithms… still couldn’t do it. I did learn to take it apart with a screwdriver. Lo
My eldest son can work the magic.
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I’ve actually thought about getting one again just to see…then have childhood flashbacks.
Some people can just do it… my mind doesn’t work like that.
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Oh heck, one of the most frustrating toys! I was fine with straight lines but as soon as I had to do a diagonal – no, not happening (even though I knew how). And yet I had one when I was a child and another when I was a teen. Obviously it didn’t sink in that I couldn’t do it!!
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It was frustrating! No nice curved lines…it drove me crazy playing with it. I remember them most on car trips to Florida. That is a 7 hour drive…and that was 7 hours of frustration.
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Oh my god, I can imagine!!
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