Stretch Armstrong was by far the coolest toy for boys and girls alike! First made by Kenner in 1976, this action figure was unique in that you could pull on the arms and legs and stretch Armstrong without breaking him…or so the company’s advertising claimed. Armstrong’s body was well-muscled, dressed in a pair of swimming shorts, and filled with corn syrup, which proved very messy when the boys in my class decided to puncture poor Armstrong’s leg with a pencil (typical). Also, after many cruel stretching sessions, sometimes the limbs would start to harden or develop small cracks that allowed the goop to leak out.
In the 1990s Stretch Armstrong was re-issued with a more buff, wrestling-inspired physique and a canine sidekick, Fetch Armstrong.
Looking back now, I realize that these toys were ingenious because they were basically stress balls for kids! It is much better that a kid takes his or her anger out on a stretchy doll than on another kid. Plus, there’s just something about stretching a Stretch Armstrong, knowing that at any second, the toy could erupt and cover you in yucky goo!
Do you have fond memories of Stretch Armstrong or any of the stretchy toys that followed?
