Well I think I qualify, since my first bike was a 1961 Honda 125 twin. And been riding the last 53 years (many many brands)... My latest Honda is still the only one I have ever bought brand new the ST1300 ABS, now a classic.
Old Enough To Remember?
- Thread starter Shuey
- Start date
So on a whim I ordered a new superball. Seems that the balls shrank over the years. The new ones are substantially smaller than the 1965 version. Cost savings? Trying to reduce breakage? I don't know but since I have time on my hands I may fire off an inquiry to the WhamO company.I was amazed to find these still available. Would make a nice xmas gift to me, in case anyone is stumped on what to get.
Sadlsor
Site Supporter
I did during certification for Rescue Diver, but not at night.
ST1100Y
Site Supporter
PADI Advanced plus here...
And they wanted us to excel...
Rescue
Navigation
Environmentalist
Equipment
Photography
Dry Suit
Been years though...
Oh that´s that where you take air with you in bottles....PADI Advanced plus here...
And they wanted us to excel...
Rescue
Navigation
Environmentalist
Equipment
Photography
Dry Suit
Been years though...
That´s adorable.
Attachments
Developments have developed. I have corresponded several times with the Wham-O company:
I started out by completing the "contact us" form at the Wham-O website:
I recently purchased a superball from you and upon arrival I noticed it is not the same size as the original ball I had in 1965. Could you please tell me when and why the ball shrank to its current dimensions?
Email reply from Adrianna in Customer Service:
Thanks for reaching out to us regarding your order. We apologize that you've had a bad experience with our product. Let us quickly look into this for you.
Our goal is to ensure we provide the best products to our customers and feedback like yours help us identify areas for improvement.
Please provide a picture confirmation of the item you received.
To assist you better, we kindly request the following information: Order Number: [Insert Order Number]
Once we receive the requested information, our team will investigate the matter thoroughly and determine the best course of action.
Me:
Thank you so much for your obviously automated reply. I didn't have a bad experience with the product. You don't need my order number to answer my question, which is: Why did Wham-O reduce the size of the Super Ball? I was expecting the same product as the 1965 version, but it was not. I'm not asking for a refund or exchange. I just want to know why it shrank.
Adrianna:
What are the dimensions of the "Super Ball" that you have? Our dimensions haven't changed. The product size is 1.67".
Me:
I have located my original super ball. I measured yours and agree with the 1.67. My 1965 superball is 2". So when did Wham-O reduce the size and why?
Adrianna:
The Super Ball itself did not significantly "shrink" over time, but its popularity and production by the original company, Wham-O, declined in the 1970s due to cheaper knockoff versions flooding the market, leading to a perception of lower quality and potentially smaller Super Balls being available; Wham-O stopped producing the original Super Ball in 1976.
Me:
Ok, let me see if I have this, WhamO stopped producing the original in 1976. Sometime subsequent to that the company you work for bought Wham-O? And now sells a different version of the SuperBall which is not the same as the 1965 ball. I guess I am confused by the current ball having the name and logo of the original Wham-O company and on the back of the package it actually says "We are the original!" The ball I received has no defects and is worth the $6 I spent on it. I'm not asking for a refund or even an apology. But I can't help but feel like a little piece of my childhood just died.
ST1100Y
Site Supporter
Cute... nice try though...
The fashion hyped apnoe diving hasn't widespread back then...
The release of the first "affordable" dive computers (besides Deco-Brain) like Orca Edge, Dacor Microbrain and Suunto ML a big thing OTOH...
For me always the method to get rid of those mind-hamsters...
You fade in, submerge, observe... loosing sense of space and time...
Till a piercing sound interrupted your almost hypnotic trance... the C0023 blaring... dang! 55 minutes already?!...
15 years in it mutated into a mass sport... people clueless, noisy, reckless, careless, no sense for safety... damaging reefs, driving out marine life...
6 cruisers moored at the same spot, each holding +20 divers, assembly line diving, the water "boiling"... nah!...
The very same nah! I start to give alpine passes these days, just crowded with incompetent riders...
My father was a scuba pioneer, probably read too many Hans Hass books back in the day, back then dive tables were not even a thought and knowing what I know now I think I understand why my father was a bit off his rocker. They built their own equipment from surplus WW2 fighter plane airbottles and masks and home made fins, my grandmother stitched his thick rubber suit and off they went.
Feckless and ignorant step mom thew the lot away after he died without saying a word to me (along with a lot of other stuff that meant a lot personally) and it still hurts to think about it.
I started freediving on Malta when I found out that with my meagre wages I could not afford the 500 euros for the basic corse and frankly as soon as I found that I could have a lot of fun without I kept on freediving. I cut my freediving teeth on the wreck of HMS Maori, on the X127, the Rosi and P29
and within two years I could go 25 meters and control the CO2 buildup to stay for up to three or four minutes underwater. Believe me, that is a loooooooooong time. I was never competative and just enjoyed the world underwater.But that has been a while back and I miss it a lot.
