I remember those very well. My favorite place to "set them off" was in the middle of a dance floor.I threw one of those in class once. It didn't turn out so well.
Edit: I cleared out a few places with these...
so jealous!! that's badassa couple weeks ago I let temptation get me and payed too much money for this...
but he's cool as hell!! and now I want them all!!
Tinker Toys...
I remember being a kid at my grandparents house, they had a ton of board games and about twenty tubes of Tinker Toys. I'd spend all day creating Tinker Toy sculptures.