koko the clown

When you were a kid, did you ever wake up scared in the middle of the night? Did you wake up your parents to make you feel better? Maybe they brought you a glass of water, or let you sleep in their bed for a little while, so you wouldn't be scared.

Or maybe, if your dad had a copy of the March 1964 issue of "Mechanix Illustrated," your father could have made you your very own:

KOKO, the clown

With nothing more than a chunk of masonite, an electroluminescent panel, and some felt and yarn, your dad could have made this:

koko, evil incarnate

A night light so frightening that you wouldn't dare to get out of bed! Oh, it might not have helped you sleep, but for your parents Koko is better than NyTol.

As a bonus, Mechanix Illustrated gave your parents a bonus torture method:

this is how we make fire.

"Oh, don't plug this light into the wall- if you plug it into an extension cord, you can stick it right in the whiny punk's face! And don't worry about that don't leave things plugged into extension cords for long periods of time thing- this hunk of junk will burst into flames long before the cord wears out."