12. Little Plastic Army Men
WikipediaWar! huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothin'! Except, some might suggest, for inspiring some of the best films, music and toys through history. And that's got to count for something. When it comes to war-related good times, it has been the legions of plastic army men which have captivated more children for the longest time. Granted, these days we get our war thrills from online death-fests like Call Of Duty, but in simpler times it was these little guys which helped us play out our battle fantasies. Packaged in big plastic bags or buckets, we poured them onto the theatre of war like the disposable heroes they were, cannon fodder to soak up the bullets of our enemies. Adventurous generals would spice things up with those small firecrackers, perfect for creating a more cinematic (and dangerous) battlefield experience. Melting the soldiers with magnifying glasses or matches was also fair game - in our back yards, heinous war crimes were all part of the fun.
11. Marbles
WikipediaSmall solid glass balls. Thats all they are. But we bought these things by the shedload all the same. They started showing up in various styles - marbles with a metallic shimmery look, or milky opaque, some clear, some with swirls of colour; and in various sizes too. We bought bags of the things, treasuring the harder to find varieties like they were precious stones. Then we realised that if you crack open a ball bearing it was filled with steel marbles! Oh, the joy! Bring a couple of those bad boys on the playground and watch as your prize winning bearing didn't just knock your opponents' out of the way, but smashed them to pieces too. Of course that wasn't a very honourable way to play - in more circles the steel "marbles" were akin to hiding brass knuckles in your boxing gloves - but hey, it got the job done.