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Popular Toys Throughout the Ages

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the you-put-the-ball-on-the-string-in-the-cup dept.

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.'"

7 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Whippersnappers expect the world now by eclectro · · Score: 5, Funny


    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"
  2. Missing data by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dildo sex toys were discovered to be used around 4000 years ago

  3. What I didn't see... by SeaFox · · Score: 5, Funny

    Was a nice game of Global Thermonuclear War.

  4. Lego lost to a potato? by br0pbr0p · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's with the kids in that era? How can you like a potato over LEGO?!?! Lego is the ultimate toy, hands down.

  5. Re:Man, this brings me down memory lane... by Fennario · · Score: 5, Funny

    Perhaps that is what really seperated us from the animal herd, is that we SEEKED out things to challenge us...

    Including grammar!

  6. Sticks... by Valcoramizer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.
  7. Re:The View-Master by sd_diamond · · Score: 5, Funny

    So it's still being used for training the U.S. military?

    No, it's now used to make policy decisions.