Do You Remember What This Object Is?

Take a look at the photo above. If you were born after 1970, you might be stumped. You might think it is a bottle opener or a very small wrench. But, nope it is neither of those things! Rack your brain and see if you can come up with the answer.

We love looking back at vintage items that many people may have long forgotten about. This little object was likely a big part of your social life if you were a teen in the ’60s and ’70s. Do you know what it is yet?

This item is a skate key!

Roller skating used to be a very popular social activity. This is when discos were all the rage. Before skates had laces, there were metal roller skates. They were actually strapped on over your shoes, instead of replacing them.

To make sure that they were tight enough to skate with, you had to tighten them using this skate key. Each pair of metal roller skates came with a key. The key fit into the loop near the top so that you could tighten the skates and be able to fit in them. Do you remember doing this now?

What happens if you lost that small key?

While kids were skating around, most wore this key on a string around their neck so that they wouldn’t lose it and be unable to tighten the skates. If you lost the key, you would have to get new skates! Your parents likely made you keep that key handy because they wouldn’t buy you a new pair if you lost the skate key.

Skates are so different these days and roller skating just isn’t that popular anymore. Skating rinks are going away slowly but surely. It is such a sad thought! Do you remember when you got your first metal skates and this skate key? Where did you go skating with your friends?

Do you have any metal roller skate and a skate key lying around? Unfortunately, according to eBay, they aren’t worth much these days, coming up at only a few dollars. So, if you do still own them, it may be best to keep them around for nostalgic purposes!

If you enjoyed this nostalgic article, please SHARE with your friends and family and have them guess what this object is! You’ll surely stump the younger generation with this one.

Watch the video below to check out this old film from the ’70s that features those metal roller skates… see if you remember the song!