Nostalgia Riddles
Instructions: Read each riddle carefully. Use the hint if you get stuck, and write your answer on the line provided.
- 1.
I spun round and round while playing your favorite songs. You placed a needle on me gently. What am I?
Hint: Think vinyl...
- 2.
I have keys but open no doors. Each press leaves an inked letter behind. A bell rings when you reach the end of a line. What am I?
Hint: Writers used me before computers.
- 3.
I have a dial with numbers and a curly cord. You had to spin my wheel and wait for each number to return. What am I?
Hint: You couldn't push my buttons — I didn't have any.
- 4.
On warm summer nights, you'd park your car and watch movies on a giant screen under the stars. What am I?
Hint: You never had to leave your car.
- 5.
I was small enough to fit in your pocket and brought music and news through a tiny speaker. I ran on batteries and had a dial to find stations. What am I?
Hint: A portable way to tune in.
- 6.
Drop a coin in me, pick your favorite song, and I'll play it for the whole diner to hear. What am I?
Hint: I was usually found in restaurants and soda shops.
- 7.
I had four wheels, one on each corner, and you strapped me onto your shoes to glide down the sidewalk. What am I?
Hint: There were rinks dedicated to using me.
- 8.
Point me, click, and in a minute a white square slides out. Shake it gently and watch the image slowly appear. What am I?
Hint: Instant photography, no darkroom needed.
- 9.
I held your music on a ribbon of tape. You could flip me over for more songs, but sometimes I'd get tangled. A pencil could fix me. What am I?
Hint: You'd rewind me with a pencil to save batteries.
- 10.
I sat on your roof and caught invisible signals from the sky. You'd have to adjust me to get a clear picture on your television. What am I?
Hint: Sometimes called rabbit ears when I was indoors.
- 11.
I'm a lamp filled with colorful goo that slowly rises and falls in mesmerizing blobs. I was the grooviest decoration of the 1960s. What am I?
Hint: I was a psychedelic centerpiece.
- 12.
Wear me on your finger and I'll change colors based on your emotions — or so they said. What am I?
Hint: I was a 1970s jewelry sensation.
- 13.
Stand on me, bounce up and down, and try not to fall off! I have a spring and two foot pegs. What am I?
Hint: A bouncy toy for the backyard.
- 14.
Swing me around your waist and try to keep me spinning. I was a 1950s craze that got the whole nation twirling. What am I?
Hint: Wham-O made millions of me.
- 15.
Hold me up to your eyes, pull the lever, and see a 3D picture on a little cardboard disc. What am I?
Hint: I showed stereoscopic images on round reels.
- 16.
I was bigger than a cassette and held your music on a continuous loop of tape in a chunky cartridge. I often got stuck in the player. What am I?
Hint: Popular in cars during the 1970s.
- 17.
Sit on a spinning stool at my counter and order a milkshake, an egg cream, or a cherry phosphate. What am I?
Hint: Often found inside a drugstore.
- 18.
For just a cent, you could pick me from a jar — a root beer barrel, a Mary Jane, or a piece of taffy. What am I?
Hint: The cheapest treat at the corner store.
- 19.
Every morning, I'd appear on your doorstep in glass bottles. You'd leave the empty ones out for me to take back. What am I?
Hint: A milkman brought me to your home.
- 20.
I was the family car with wood-paneled sides, a long body, and a big back for kids and luggage. What am I?
Hint: The ultimate family road trip vehicle.