The Toy Fair's Top 10 Strangest Products

FloggingMollyrox writes "UGO looks at the recent 2004 Toy Fair's Top 10 Strangest Products. Forget about Lord of the Rings and Spider-Man, the real stuff was an art farm that grows vegetables, a pogo stick that shoots you over the moon, 'real' shrunken heads, and an educational plush toy based on an alien invasion."

Comments

Full lyrics

[bersl2]

http://members.fortunecity.com/chippy3/songs/log.h tml

Flybar's the coolest one

[heptapod]

Looks like someone already got their hands on a Flybar. With video!

Overview

[de la mettrie]

In case of Slashdotting:

#1 - TELLMI (Digitspace): interactive hedgehog with blinking lights and moving limbs

#2 - THE SNOMOLD (SnoMold Industries): plastic bag filled with snow makes instant snowman

#3 - BLADE RACERS (Dynatech Action): "High velocity infrared racing system"

#4 - VOOT-VUE FARM (HSP Nature Toys): plexiglass box to see vegetables grow

#5 - MARVEL MYSTERY BAGS (Visionary Concepts): Plastic Marvel figures hidden in water-dissolvable bags

#6 - THE REAL SHRUNKEN HEAD (Witch Doctors?): "extremely lifelike", or deathlike, as it were, plastic shrunken human heads

#7 - THE FLYBAR (Flybar Inc.): Pogo stick.

#8 - WHAT'S IN NED'S HEAD (Fundex Games): Plush head containing fake vomit, bugs, moldy cheese, rats and worms

#9 - TKO FIT KIDS (TKO Sports Group): Inflatable child-size wrestlers

#10 - BABOOCHI (Baboochi World): Anthropomorphic blue furry M&M-shaped doll

Aw.

[Atario]

Well. That was...disappointing. Here I was, waiting for him to go to the stratosphere, but he just went...about how high you would expect. Feh.

(Still, you deserve +1 Informative for posting the link.)

Re:Aw.

[jargo]

Yes... Andy, who helped us design the Flybar, wasn't going for full height in that video. And yes, the picture on our website is real. It was shot from eye level (approx 5'6"), not from below.

We're hoping to get it out in June '04.

We will be releasing another model (more suited for use by children) later on in the year.

I will try to address any other questions as they come in through the folks that sign up for our mailing list.

Thanks for all the attention,

David Jargowsky
Flybar

There are stranger..

[Channard]

These may be wierd in a 'oo! It's japanese and odd' way, but for my money, the wierdest toys ever can be found at Disturbing Auctions. Just look at the emotionally scarring toys and weep. Half of those are home made and beat hands down anything Japan could come up with.

Talking of weird and wacky toys..

[openSoar]

I'm sure many of the ideas on this site really are available in Japan...

Flybar

[Capital_Z]

I've got to say, that Flybar teaser photo is pretty effective

Re:CPU Usage?

[imsabbel]

Many flash adds use as much cpu as they can get to give you a GREAT framerate. sadly.

X-Entertainment

[stealie72]

The guy who wrote this piece for UGO has an excellent toy/nostalgia/toy nostalgia site. Check it out.

Re:Huh...

[glk572]

The Baboochi is an attempt to indoctronate children in the cult of scientology. Do a little research about Laura C. Byrnes the creator, just a second on google and you can see how screwed up this really is.

http://home.scientologist.org/laurab/

I for one do not like the idea of children playing with a toy created by a long time cult member, especially when it includes a pamphlet to introduce them to the relegion.