Most Popular Toys Of All Time
The holidays are on their way and parents will soon be shopping to find a great bargain for their children’s most desired toy. It is interesting to look over the past and remember some of the most popular toys of all time.
Toys have a long history of entertaining mankind with records of playthings dating back to 4000 B.C. in Babylonia. Archeologists discovered a board game that appeared to be the beginning of chess and checkers. Yo-yos constructed out of stone were a toy used in ancient Greece during 1000 B.C. and children in China were recorded flying kites about the same time.
Crayola crayons were released in 1903 and, according to Forbes, the average child in America colors for approximately 28 minutes each day. By the time children are 10, they have colored through an estimated 730 crayons. Furthermore, parents and schools buy 2.5 billion crayons every year. Teddy bears were also released in 1903 and are still one of the most popular toys for sale today.
Another favorite that was released over 90 years ago is the Raggedy Ann Doll, which was released in 1915 and Lincoln Logs were on store shelves a year later. Lincoln Logs were designed by John Lloyd Wright who was the son of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He was motivated by his father’s design of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.
In 1938, the View-Master was released. This fun toy was the invention of William Gruber, a piano tuner, during World War II. The U.S. military used similar devices for training and now more than 1 billion View-Masters have been sold.
Scrabble came out in 1948 and currently an estimated one in every three American household store the game in their entertainment closet. The game has sold over 100 million boards throughout the world and North American residents alone purchase between 1 to 2 million sets every year.
The 20th century brought the creation of a variety of cherished playthings. Toys that are still popular include board games such as Monopoly, Sorry and Tripoley, which were first sold in the 1930s. Twister was released in 1966 and was an instant hit selling over 3 million games within the first year. It has gone on to sell over 22 million and is still for sale on the toy aisle.
Other toys were popular when they were first sold and then fell out of favor only to be rediscovered by a new generation. For example, Cabbage Patch Kids were popular in the 1980s and began selling again in the 2000s. A similar situation occurred with Troll dolls, which were a big hit in the 1960s and were nowhere to be found in the 1980s. However, the dolls found a new generation to love them in the early 1990s.
Mr. Potato Head became available in 1952 from the Hasbro Playskool Company and was the first toy to be advertised on television. The toy provided Hasbro with a profit of over $4 million its first year on the market. Another unique creation was Play-doh, which was originally invented to clean wallpaper, but after color was added, the product appealed to children. Its creator, Joseph McVicker, was a millionaire by the time he turned 27. Mattel, another large toy company, reportedly sells approximately 1.5 million Barbie dolls every week, which totals about two dolls each second.
Toys bring the imaginations of children to life. They encourage creativity and help children’s brains to develop correctly. Furthermore, toys bring back the enjoyment of childhood and the pleasure adults experienced during the budding years of their youth. Quality toys of the past are still among the most popular toys today, and children currently enjoy the entertainment that sparked the imaginations of their parents.
Categorised as: Toys