This is the most fun you can have without needing a shower later(but, if you do need a shower you have been playing with soap so it's all good. Just reacquired a Bubblething after a 5 year hiatus. Left my other one stateside. I recommend this to anyone with small children or people that breathe in their life as you will certainly draw a crowd with a 5 foot round bubble.
Unsure if this falls under 'The good ole days', but it is interesting in an historical sense. Here is a(an?), Heinz ad in Canada from 1944(courtesy The Torontoist).....they could taste the end of the war and knew that all 50 Canadians involved were coming home soon(ok, I made that part up).