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Popular Toys Throughout the Ages
Ant writes "MSNBC has a story on the 'must-have' items from decades past. From the article: 'With so many new toys and games hitting store shelves every year, it may be a little surprising that many of the most popular playthings are actually quite old. But people have been playing for a very long time. In 4000 B.C., Babylonians played a board game that was probably the ancestor of chess and checkers. Stone yo-yos were first used in ancient Greece around 1000 B.C. Kites appeared in China around the same time, though historians speculate that they have probably been flown since before recorded history.'"
almost all those toys survived through the entire century. I'm surprised barbie or hula hoops arn't on that list. Beanie babies and razors were definate fads though. Rubix cubes will live forever because it's especially educational for young ones but fun for people of all ages. Really though, iPod should be the most recent one.
It's pretty well accepted that the ancestor of modern chess, chaturanga, originated in India. A small minority disputes this, claiming that it originated in China, which is plausible if not as likely. But I've never heard of any evidence that chess originated in any form in the Middle East.
English is easier said than done.
I remember when we had pong on TV. We watched the ball go back and forth. And we were grateful.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Dildo sex toys were discovered to be used around 4000 years ago
So it's still being used for training the U.S. military?
Was a nice game of Global Thermonuclear War.
... But isn't it cool that 10,000 years ago, when angels pushed the planets around the earth, the sun was a glowing ball of rock a few hundred yards wide, and diseases were what you got if you pissed off the local god of leaf-hunting or whatever, people still needed something to challenge their minds when they had spare time. I think this is the greatest thing about the human race - we don't just live in the here and now, we need rules, structure, challenges, mystery, luck to entice us. Perhaps that is what really seperated us from the animal herd, is that we SEEKED out things to challenge us, whereas most animals (and let's get real, most humans, probably including me) would just be happy with lots of food and a nice warm sunny day.
I think games are the highest sign that there is intellegent life here after all.
The article claims that $4 million in 1952 is equivalent to $30 billion 2005???? I think someone made an order of magnitude error. Forbes seems to be really good with their money.
Alaskan Volcano Getting Stinky
What's with the kids in that era? How can you like a potato over LEGO?!?! Lego is the ultimate toy, hands down.
You know, I like articles from Forbes, but those slideshow things they like to use have got to go. Did some editor actually think that they make the articles better?
Your design to a real part online: Big Blue Saw
Announcer: "Hey, kids of America, it's hand painted wooden ball-in-a-cup, Mexico's favorite toy for over 340 years. Who needs constant video game stimulation when theres ball-in-a-cup? You just toss the ball, catch it in the cup, dump it out of the cup, toss it, and catch it in the cup again. The ball is on a string and attached to the cup, so there's no worry if you dont catch the ball in the cup. And cleanup is as easy as catching a ball in a cup. So why spend another day not catching a ball in a cup when you can be catching a ball-in-a-cup?"
Jingle:" Ball in a cup, Ball in a cup, it's a ball in a cup!"
Kid: "Ball in a cup!"
Jingle: "Ball in a cup!"
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
I contend that the stick is probably the oldest "toy" ever used (although it could be debated that it was only a tool). When humans first started using tools, they were in the form of sticks, rocks, etc. Children probably learned the use of these objects through play, so it is sensable to assume that ancient kids played with sticks. I know that when I was a child, a stick was one of my favorite toys (it could be used like a sword, drum stick, or almost anything)
We raise our slide-rules high.
Rubik's Cube may have been invented in the 70s, but it wasn't mass-manufactured until 1980. Seriously, it wasn't even called the Rubik's Cube until 1980. (It was originally called the Magic Cube.)
I've scored mega points with my young nieces with the following simple toys;
- a tent ($15 at Walmart)
- Socker Boppers
- pretend picnic stuff
- pretend tools (hammer, screwdriver, etc.)
'many of the most popular playthings...'
...still walk the streets.
Oh, you mean kids' popular toys :(
One of the very few "interactive" toys of the time (the 1970s), it gave true geeks to be the inside view of life as a cyborg, between being able to physically change the cybernetic parts of Steve Austin, you could also have a view through the "eye" of the 6 Million Dollar Man, and even, via his "exercise station" view his exploits using a Fisher Price style 8mm film strip viewer. There were some cool electronic toys as well, but unless your parents were deep in cash, you didn't have it.
Sure, there was Micronauts, and even Battlestar Galactica toys at the time, but you could build stories and adventures around the Bionic Man. The others were primarily reenactments of the shows/commercials (even Micronauts didn't really have a story to speak of, until the Marvel Comics series that came out a few years later).
And of course there was the huge response to the Atari 2600 in the late 70s, in fact, it singlehandedly spawned an entire industry. Ignoring that little bit of history is like ignoring the discovery of electricity or fire, for that matter.
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
How can this poll possibly be correct when not a single game console made it? You'd think that one of the the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, the Playstation or the Game Boy would have managed to at least earn an honorable mention. I read that the total video game industry is about the size of the movie industry, and growing faster!
The moral of the story is that kids will make toys out of anything, and there is essentially no need for Toys for Tots.
Boy, someone's a Grinch.
Sure, Toys For Tots is a superfluous charity, but I really can't see any reason for such bile. I would imagine it's nice for a disadvantaged kid to get a brand new toy or two at Christmas. Might even make him or her actually forget they're disadvantaged.
If do don't agree, cool, put your money elsewhere. But AFAIK the charity's on the up-and-up and does some good. Lashing out at a couple of marines and volunteers like you claim you did does nothing but make you look like an a misanthrope.
...and everyone of them would sooner or later poke themselves in the eye.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Most of our history has been devoid of cure for cancer. Coming to think of it, most of our history has been devoid of computers, and we've done just fine - so I guess you're just a hypocrite, saying that others should do without modern toys while using one yourself.
You got that right. Merry christmas, and I hope that you get no presents since you're obviously doing so well without that stuff anyway, asshole.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
Forget anything before or since, he's the pinnacle. A truck that tranforms into a fucking robot? Greatest. Toy. Ever.
Even better: http://www.realhamster.com/
Yar.
How many classics came out of that era? Just a few I can remember: barbie, hola-hoop, silly putty, legos, G.I. Joe, slinky, frisbee, play-doh, easy-bake oven.
Don't know why, but it seems like era stands out in toy history.
My personal favorite toys are the DEAD BODIES of the WEB DEVELOPERS responsible for godawful ad-infested ugly-ass "slide shows" with shitty controls and no real content within.
Well, that, and dreidels.