r/Xennials • u/actionerror Xennial • 9h ago
Nostalgia I finally got one!
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I’ve been wanting a plasma orb since the 90s when I saw one at Spencer’s.
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u/Some_Kinda_Username 9h ago
It must be touched
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u/JackTrippin banned from r/genx 🤘 9h ago
This is going to live in a bachelor pad isn't it
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u/actionerror Xennial 9h ago
Yes I’m single. That’s why I can buy whatever I want 😂
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u/JackTrippin banned from r/genx 🤘 9h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/G5eO2XaXAly5a
Oh yeah well my living room is filled with my wife's piles of assorted crap. Checkmate, single guy.3
u/CorgiMonsoon 1980 9h ago
I’m just assuming that there are several boxes of LuLaRoe and Arbonne products amongst all the crap
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u/sceadwian 4h ago
Everyone must own one of these, even if it's just a four inch jobbie. There like 10-20 bucks outside.
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u/Drilling4Oil 1981 8h ago
party at your house!
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u/Electronic-Ride-564 9h ago
Congrats! These were mesmerizing as a kid at the mall. I finally got one myself a few years ago!
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u/actionerror Xennial 9h ago
I mean, I kind of forgot about it but then somehow I saw a sale on it and just decided to finally get one lol. Does yours still work? I hear they wear out over time.
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u/Electronic-Ride-564 9h ago
Mine still works but I haven't had it on as much as I should have considering how badly I used to want one.
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u/actionerror Xennial 9h ago
I’ve always wanted the plasma orb and the lava lamp. I guess I’m getting a lava lamp next lol. Is this my midlife crisis? 😂
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u/madsci 9h ago
Careful, they're fragile! Mine didn't survive my last move.
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u/actionerror Xennial 9h ago
I can see that. The glass is super thin. But somehow I feel like it’s better made than the ones from the 90s. The electric arc it makes now is so pronounced. I don’t remember it being this bright. Or maybe I was just playing with a worn out one at Spencer’s at the time.
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u/Fanabala3 9h ago
I still think of Chunk in The Goonies when he sees one of these. “Laser beams!!”
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u/CorgiMonsoon 1980 9h ago
Come here and give me a nice wet lickery kiss
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u/hypo11 1981 9h ago
If it didn’t come with it, there is a certain type of lightbulb that simply holding it near the ball will make it light up. My son’s came with it.
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u/MegaRadCoolDad 1975 9h ago
Fluorescent bulb?
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u/actionerror Xennial 9h ago
It did not! I will need to find this lightbulb. Thanks for letting me know!
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u/hypo11 1981 9h ago
I was looking for what kind it is and didn’t find a lot of details but you can see a picture of it in this product listing.
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u/actionerror Xennial 9h ago
Dang that one’s like a premium version lol
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u/hypo11 1981 9h ago edited 8h ago
The box calls it a Tungsten bulb and when I search for it this comes up. Can’t guarantee it but it might work.Edit: Never mind. I found the actual bulb in my son’s room and it doesn’t have wire filaments. Some googling calls it an “LED Filament bulb”
Like these: https://a.co/d/0i2JVpWb
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u/PinkFloydDeadhead 1978 9h ago
I got one recently and love that you can set it to react to sound waves since I don't like the ozone smell on my fingers much.
I got one those 5 swinging balls desk things and one of those pin things to put my middle finger in too.
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u/actionerror Xennial 8h ago
Oh man yes I need those too lol. And the perpetual rotating top.
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u/PinkFloydDeadhead 1978 8h ago
Between these three, my lava lamp and my DJ disco light setup, I pretty much have every stupid thing I wanted as a kid.
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u/dustractor 7h ago
I kind of like the way ozone smells because it reminds me of my grandparents' house.
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u/Worth_Specific3764 8h ago
do you have one of those lights you can tap the base of to turn off the light? Because if you do, you can tap this orb with a finger on one hand and point a finger on the other hand at the light and it will turn off. just saying.
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u/Norse_By_North_West 1978 9h ago
I remember getting shown as a kid, that if you put a quarter on top, and get another quarter, you can arc the electricity between them.
I was also told that you absolutely shouldn't connect the arc with your finger 👀
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u/cerealfamine1 1982 9h ago
Awesome! I always wanted one as a kid, and wife got our son one for Christmas 3 years ago. Just a small cheap one, but it's on 24/7 as a night light.
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u/actionerror Xennial 9h ago
It’s on 24/7? I hear you’re not supposed to leave it on for that long. Is it still working?
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u/Plane_Jacket_7251 9h ago
Always wanted one of those as a kid. Now, probably not so much. Top much crap laying around the house as it is. But back then? Hell yeah
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u/wes_rules 9h ago
I still have mine from the 90s, but I lost the power cord for it and have NO idea if it still works or not.
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u/DustedGorilla82 1982 9h ago
I found one in the attic of my house when we moved in!
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u/actionerror Xennial 9h ago
Was it still working then? Do you still have it?
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u/DustedGorilla82 1982 8h ago
It was. I was kind of pissed they left a bunch of shit up there. Got rid of it though cause I’m sure the kids would break it.
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u/pinellas_gal 1984 9h ago
My six year old came home with one of these last week, after a shopping trip with her dad. I was absolutely delighted and I think I’ve used it more than she has.
We went to Service Merchandise a lot when I was a young child and I distinctly remember they had 3-4 of these things on display and just being mesmerized by them.
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u/Chronic_Overthink3r 8h ago
Still got mine from 1986. It’s a Realistic brand from Radio shack. The grandkids are like “meh!” I am still mesmerized by it.
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u/cgriffin123 1985 8h ago
I got one for my kids. Touch it and a screw on a light switch cover at the same time
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u/SuspiriaVortex 8h ago
I was fascinated by these!! Always saw them in friends’ bedrooms, but never had one.
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u/xxxxDREADNOUGHT 8h ago
I need to get one of these, I used to have one when I was a kid that I got at the goodwill
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u/anacctnamedphat 7h ago
If you put nickelodeon gak on it the electricity begins to conduct through it.
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u/Asleep_Onion 1983 7h ago
I remember if you put your whole hand on it, you could tap someone on the arm with your other hand and burn their arm hairs
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u/dustractor 7h ago
My dad used to let random homeless people stay at our house for extended periods of time. One of them had the uncanny ability to spot useful things on the side of the road. We were driving somewhere and he yelled stop and jumped out and brought back one of these, brand new, still in box. Five minutes later, he yells stop again and this time it was a Casio SK-8 sampling keyboard.
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u/jp7755qod 5h ago
Nice! I never got to have this, but I still kinda want one of these.
I did, however, finally break down and buy a lava lamp lol!
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u/Born-Agency-3922 1982 4h ago
I recall a caterpillar crawling onto mine and it started to smoke. Smelled so bad.
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u/59apache01 1978 9h ago
These were one of the big draws at Spencer Gifts and Radio Shack circa 1990. They called it "Illuma Storm"