Classic Toy of the Day

The Satiny Parachute!

You knew it was going to be either a really Good or really Bad Gym Day when the teacher whipped out the parachute. When this thing didn't float like a butterfly, it was one of the more pointless activities I can remember doing in gym....but when it worked, those were some GoodTimes! What made it work? From what I remember, one of the things that helped was not having ALL 26 members of the class grabbing on a section...those loops were there for a reason. Another thing that helped was not having all of the uncoordinated elementary school dumb-asses in your class. You remember them, the ones who just went up-down-up-down as fast as they could, as if they themselves were going to take flight. Also, generally speaking, parachutes without gaping holes worked better than those with. When synchronicity DID occur, however, your options were limitless.....throw in a bouncy ball, a doll, someone else's lunch box, a skinny person, and watch it launch... take turns running under it to see if you can make the other side before your satin burial...and, let's not forget, that lovely little "Whoosh" sound which effectively wiped out your teacher's voice. I miss my old fake Nike blue-and-whites.