Follies of the Madmen #484

Flashcubes were a godsend to the home shutterbug - no more burnt fingers removing a searing hot bulb from the socket - and another bulb ready as fast as one could manipulate the winder. The really fun ones were the Magicubes, which didn't require a battery to work. They had a static charge stored in them and one could fire them off by poking a pencil into a slot in the bottom of the cube and tripping a wire to complete the circuit. I still have some, but doubt that they carry a charge anymore.

I had a camera that used these, but my dominant memory is the use of one in a production of The Hobbit in high school. Gandalf's staff had a flashcube socket hidden in the upper end. When he needed to smite some Orcs, he could flick a switch to make "lightning" come from the staff. Pretty high tech for a high school play in the 70s, and surprisingly effective in a darkened theater.