To many a young child, the dark can be a terrifying thing. Sitting alone in your big kid bed, imagining monsters crawling out from beneath it… we’ve all been there. While hugging a teddy bear or turning on a night light may have helped quell that gnawing, scary feeling a little bit, there was another toy invention in the ‘80s that really saved the day: the Glo Worm. Part plush toy, part night light, the Glo Worm was the answer to every kids’ nighttime woes. A nice, warm glow to beat away the dark, combined with a cute, huggable creature? No brainer.
Designed by the Playskool division of Hasbro, Glo Worms first hit the market in 1982. Glo Worms, based on the real life insect larva that glow in the dark thanks to bioluminescence, had light green bodies, and soft plastic heads with sleepy eyes and a green night cap. Inside the body of the Glo Worm was a battery pack that powered its glowing head, which turned on when you gave the worm a squeeze. The toy quickly rose to popularity, and soon inspired spin-offs like a musical version, the Glo Worm Criblight, and the Glow Worm Light and Learn, a worm-themed board game that used a glowing worm pointer to identify a player’s progress in the game.
But if you remember more than just physical Glo Worm toys, don’t worry, you’re not crazy. There was also a television series that began in 1985 with an animated television special called “The Glo Friends Save Christmas.” In that special, the Glo Worm world grew past just the little green worm into a whole slew of Glo Friends, including a butterfly, a beetle, a doodlebug….the list goes on. As you might guess, a lot of these Glo Friends were also made into plush dolls as well, and most of those dolls also came with a book to accompany each of them. It was a veritable Glo Friends empire!
If you want to pass down the Glo Worm love to the next generation, guess what, you can! That’s right, you can buy a version inspired by the original Glo Worms. But if the ‘80s classic is more your style, you can always turn to eBay. There was even a Funko Pop Glo Worm at one point. Or, if you just want an extra quick nostalgia fix, check out the ‘80s commercial below. And don’t forget to drop us a comment with your favorite Glo Worm memories!
- In 1989, Wendy’s released a series of 13 soft vinyl Glo Friends toys to advertise their restaurants. These weren’t really huggable like regular Glo Worms, but were small enough to be used as finger puppets.
- Twenty-six episodes of The Glo Friends animated series were made, produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions (yes, that Marvel, which wasn’t nearly so popular in the ‘80s) in collaboration with Toei Animation.
- The Glo Friends show originally aired as segments on the My Little Pony ‘n Friends show, in between other segments called MoonDreamers and Potato Head Kids.
- In 2011, TIME magazine listed the Glo Worm at #77 on their list of the All-Time Greatest Toys.
- In 2005, Glo Worms came into some controversy when it was revealed that the plastic used in the worms’ heads was softened with phthalates, which can be dangerous when swallowed by children. It’s unclear if this is still the case, but we sure hope not.
- In 1989, Wendy’s released a series of 13 soft vinyl Glo Friends toys to advertise their restaurants. These weren’t really huggable like regular Glo Worms, but were small enough to be used as finger puppets.
- Twenty-six episodes of The Glo Friends animated series were made, produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions (yes, that Marvel, which wasn’t nearly so popular in the ‘80s) in collaboration with Toei Animation.
- The Glo Friends show originally aired as segments on the My Little Pony ‘n Friends show, in between other segments called MoonDreamers and Potato Head Kids.
- In 2011, TIME magazine listed the Glo Worm at #77 on their list of the All-Time Greatest Toys.
- In 2005, Glo Worms came into some controversy when it was revealed that the plastic used in the worms’ heads was softened with phthalates, which can be dangerous when swallowed by children. It’s unclear if this is still the case, but we sure hope not.
