GREATEST TOYS IN HISTORY
Added on: 19th Mar 2015
TONKA TRUCK
A Tonka truck was an all-metal toy produced by Tonka Toys
Incorporated which originally was known as the Mound Metalcraft
that manufactured garden implements. A business that started only
as a side line, Tonka trucks like the Mighty Dump Truck earned a name
for being indestructible because of being made of pure steel. However,
the material used was slowly replaced by plastic in the 1980s.
YO-YO
Introduced by U.S. immigrant Filipino Pedro Flores, the history of this
toy can be traced back to nearly 500 B.C but it only found mainstream
success when Flores founded the Yo-Yo Manufacturing Company in 1928.
In the U.S. alone, 300,000 of these toys were produced and sold every day.
Because of its popularity, it was labelled as a “Wonder Toy.”
FRISBEE
As a predecessor of the Pluto Platter that wobbles while on flight,
Frisbee dominated the market in 1964 due to the clever marketing
strategy of Wham-O, the toy company that invented the toy.
Frisbee’s stabilized flight made it a perfect material for a new sport
known as the Ultimate Frisbee, invented by high school students in
New Jersey in 1967, three years after the toy’s invention.
BARBIE
The American toy company, Mattel Inc. produced the Barbie doll in
1959 as a fashion doll that could have different accessories and wear
several set of clothes. Its creation was inspired by a German
doll called the Bild Lill.
HULA HOOP
It is said that no inventor can claim the hula hoop as his original product.
However, the modern hula hoop as we know it today was invented by
R. Knerr and A. Melin in 1958. It is a toy hoop that can be twirled
around the neck, waist, hand, and knees. Hula hoops differ in size
for adults and children. Although, the modern hula hoop is made of plastic
which contain rocks or other noise makers which serve as weights,
traditional manufacturers used rattan or grapevines for the toy.
KEN
Originally known as Ken Carson, Ken is also a product of the toy
company Mattel Inc. and was invented by Barbie’s inventor Ruth Handler.
Produced to serve as Barbie’s fictional boyfriend, it also has a wide
array of fashion which included clothes and accessories.
G.I. JOE
G.I Joe is a collection of action figures manufactured by toy company
Hasbro in the 1960s. Because dolls were too mainstream a term for girls,
“action figures” were accepted as a term for boys’ toys that originally
represented the US Navy, US Army, USAF, and the USMC. The re-launch
of the line in 1982 included a play set with cars and other vehicles for
the figures. A team known as the Cobra Command served as GI Joe’s
counterpart in the background story of taking over the Free World.
BEACH BALL
Invented by Jonatthan De Longe in 1938, a beach ball is a classic
beach toy that is usually about the size of a hand but can reach sizes of
over 3 feet (1m) across or bigger. A beach ball set normally features
a set of soft plastic panels, two circular end panels and an inflation valve.
LITE BRITE
This toy is another product of the toy company Hasbro. As its name
suggests, Lite Brite is a light box that has small holes where coloured
(translucent) plastic pegs fit and create a picture by templates or by
imagination. Colours include green, blue, red, yellow, purple, pink,
orange, and a colourless clear one.
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