Source: Dr. Toy
Toys have always been
a part of history. Toys reflect society, culture, family traditions,
history, innovations, observations and much more. You will enjoy these
tidbits of information about toys, toy inventors, toy company origins
and more provided by The Toy Manufacturers Association and others. Send
your toy story to Dr. Toy via drtoy@drtoy.com
"Betcha
Didn't Know..."...that behind every toy, there's a story as
entertaining as the toy itself! These tales include how some toys were
invented, how others got their names, how some famous companies began,
and fun facts to enjoy and share. All new anecdotes are preceded by a *.
So let's see how much you know about the toy industry!
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ALIEN VISIT
* Paul Cleveland of WPF Toys experienced an unusual occurence which led
him to create his new line of alien toys. Cleveland was raised in New
Mexico near Roswell, the reported site of a 1953 alien spacecraft crash.
One night in 1955 the then 10-year-old Cleveland had gone outside to
finish his chores. When he walked back into the house it was bedlam. His
worried parents demanded to know why he had run away. The boy was
confused and said he just finished his chores, but his parents replied
that he had been gone for over three hours! Soon after the incident he
began to grow and in four years he was close to seven feet tall. The
events of that strange night were soon forgotten...until 1997.
Cleveland, now a successful toy industry executive, was in a product
development meeting when he broke out into a cold sweat and felt a
strange prickling sensation. He was watching a video spoofing of the
Roswell Alien autopsy and suddenly images of aliens flashed across his
mind. He immediately began to draw what he saw in his head, a series of
alien creatures. And so, ALIEN ANATOMY, ACTION ALIENS and ALIEN
INVASION, a new line of toys, was developed. (WPF Toys & Games,
Inc.)
APE LAY
ONWARDS
* Say these words out loud until you hear yourself saying, "A
play on words!" At age 15, while riding on a bus with his baseball
team, Terry White started saying word puzzles like these to a friend.
The response was so hilarious that he knew he had come up with a great
idea for a game. Terry's game remained undeveloped for 15 years, until
the day he saw a game inventor on television. Inspired, Terry rekindled
his idea. With a pregnant wife, he went against the odds and quit his
job selling industrial equipment to pursue his dream full-time. In 1994,
he contacted Tim Walsh of Patch Products, a game company in Wisconsin.
MAD GAB became a Patch game and an instant hit. (Patch Products)
BLURT
* When Tim Walsh of Patch Products went to help out in his wife's
classroom, little did he know that he would come home with a new idea
for an educational game. At the school, Tim spotted a dictionary and
started thumbing through the pages. He then read out loud, "The nut
of an oak tree." Instantly one of the students blurted out,
"oak nut," and another said, "acorn!" Seeing the
children's enthusiasm, Tim read several more definitions, and the whole
class had a blast trying to beat the other students to the answer. This
inspired Tim, who had already created the board game, TriBond. He said
the easiest part in making this game would be giving it a name -- he
knew what to call it as soon as the kids started blurting out answers.
Thus the popular game BLURT was invented. (Patch Products)
CANDY LAND
VISIONS OF SUGARPLUMS. While Eleanor Abbott of San Diego, California was
recuperating from polio in the 1940s, she occupied herself with devising
games and activities for youngsters who had polio. One of her inventions
was called "Candy Land." Her young friends liked the game so
much, she submitted it to Milton Bradley Company where it was
immediately accepted. Since then, CANDY LAND has been recognized
internationally as a "child's first game." (Milton Bradley
Company)
COOTIES
* COOTIE celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Herb Schaper, a
letter carrier for the U.S. Post Office, whittled the first COOTIE out
of wood in 1948. In the first years, Schaper built, by hand, 40,000
wooden COOTIE games. Three years later, more than 1,200,000 were
produced with the aid of machinery. By 1978, COOTIES 30th birthday, more
than 30 million COOTIE games had entertained children worldwide. Milton
Bradley acquired COOTIE and other Schaper classics in 1987. (Milton
Bradley Co.)
DOCTOR BAG
* IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE? Pressman Toy Corporation, the
country's third largest game company, celebrated its 75th anniversary in
1997. The New York City-based, family-owned business was founded in 1922
when, in an effort to ease children's fears of visiting a doctor, Jack
Pressman introduced the first toy Doctor Bag. Even with this interesting
start, Pressman's core business was -- and remains today -- classic
games. In its 75 years, the company estimates that it has sold over 25
million checker sets and 15 million sets of chess and Chinese checkers.
(Pressman Toy Corporation)
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HOT WHEELS
* REALLY HOT WHEELS. This year marks the 30th anniversary of HOT WHEELS.
The success story startswith one man's idea to speed up the industry. In
1967 Elliot Handler, one of the original founders of Mattel, decided to
add axles and working wheels to the static wheel diecast model cars of
the times. What was developed was a prototype gravity-powered car that
could run at a record-breaking scale speed of 300 mph downhill. The
secret to such high performance racing action was low-friction wheels
made of styrene which were hung on torsion bars and soon to be patented
by Mattel. Handler took one look at this new, ultra-fast car, and
exclaimed -- "Wow, those are hot wheels" -- thus, also naming
the new product. (Mattel, Inc.)
JENGA
* OUT OF AFRICA. As a child Leslie Scott, creator of JENGA, the second
best selling game in the world, lived in Africa and for some years
Swahili was her first language. This is how she came up with the name
for her game. JENGA is a Swahili word, meaning "to build."
(Milton Bradley Company)
K'NEX
* THE K'NEX CHALLENGE. In a recent K'NEX Website contest, K'NEX
challenged kids to determine the number of red K'NEX Rods they would
need, laid out end-to-end, to equal one mile. Several kids took the
challenge quite literally, but found they'd never accumulate enough rods
to get the answer. So using their math skills, they measured and
calculated and several hundred kids entered the contest with extremely
close answers -- very heartening news for parents and educators. K'NEX
is not only a fun way to build but also a fun way to learn. More and
more schools are adopting the "K'NEX in the Classroom"
teaching program. For those who think they can do as well as the kids,
onE red K'NEX Rod is 5.112 inches long. (K'NEX Industries, Inc.)
KOOSH BALL
* AN EASY CATCH. The KOOSH ball is celebrating its 11th anniversary this
year. KOOSH has entertained people of all ages with its amazing
versatility and tactile feel, but was actually invented to teach young
children how to catch. In 1987, engineer Scott Stillinger found that his
kids' small hands couldn't easily grasp balls during a game of
"catch," so he tied rubber bands together to make a small,
catchable ball that was easy for small fingers to hold onto. What to
name the unusual toy? Listening to the "koosh" sound the ball
made as it landed in his hand, the inventor realized this was the
perfect name and the KOOSH Ball was born! How many rubbery strands does
it take to create the energy-absorbent, porcupine-look of a KOOSH Ball?
The answer -- approximately 5,000 fibers go into each ball! (OddzOn
Products)
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LEGO
* SILVER ANNIVERSARY BELLS. LEGO Systems, Inc. celebrates its 25th
anniversary in 1998. For 25 years, LEGO has been building kids'
imaginations in the United States. The LEGO System of Play has grown
from 108 elements in 1973 to an assortment numbering more than 2,000
pieces. While the LEGO collection unveiled at the 1973 Toy Fair featured
19 sets, the LEGO Showroom at the 1998 Fair showcased 178 construction
toys. (LEGO Systems)
LINCOLN LOGS
* 80 YEARS YOUNG. LINCOLN LOGS will celebrate its 82nd birthday this
year! They were designed and developed in 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, son
of one of America's most famous architects, Frank Lloyd Wright. The
younger Wright conceived his idea for LINCOLN LOGS when he was traveling
with his father in Tokyo and became inspired by the construction
techniques used in the foundation of the earthquake-proof Imperial
Hotel, which his father designed. (Playskool - Division of Hasbro, Inc.)
MADAME
ALEXANDER
A LEGEND LIVES ON. MADAME ALEXANDER dolls were the creation of Beatrice
Alexander Behrman, the daughter of Russian immigrants. Mrs. Behrman,
whose father operated New York's first doll "hospital,"
started making dolls in 1923, and her creations soon became famous for
their molded heads and limbs, lifelike eyes, rooted hair and elaborate
costumes. Mrs. Behrman sold the company to several New York investors in
1988, two years before she died at age 95. But America's first and only
remaining doll manufacturer has not compromised her high standard of
quality and unique craftsmanship. Today, most of the company's
manufacturing is still done in Harlem, New York, and more than 500,000
dolls a year are sold. (Alexander Doll Company)
MAGIC SLATE
MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BAIL. In the early 1920s, R.A. Watkins, the owner
of a small printing plant in Illinois, was approached by a man who
wanted to sell him the rights to a homemade device made of waxed
cardboard and tissue, on which messages could be printed and then easily
erased by lifting up the tissue. Watkins wanted to sleep on it, and told
the man to return the next day. In the middle of the night, Watkins's
phone rang and it was the man calling from jail. The man said that if
Watkins would bail him out, he could have the device. Watkins agreed and
went on to acquire a U.S. patent and rights, as well as the
international rights for the device, which he called MAGIC SLATE.
(Golden Books Publishing)
MATCHBOX CARS
& TRUCKS
POCKET-SIZED WHEELS. The original Matchbox car series was created in
1952 by Jack Odell when he cast a small brass prototype of a Road Roller
and put it in a matchbox-size container so his daughter could take it
with her to school. More than 40 years later, the Matchbox brand is
still known to collectors and kids alike for its quality, vehicle
diversity and affordability. In many places MATCHBOX cars are still sold
for under $1 and each year more than 100 million of them are sold.
(Mattel, Inc.)
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PENNY FOR
YOUR THOUGHTS
The MAGIC PENNY MAGNET KIT was developed as a result of a chance event
by Professor Robin Wilson of Brunel University, together with Professor
Patrick Riley of University College, London. It all started in
September, 1992, when Professor Wilson stepped outside his home for a
breath of fresh air and noticed a magnetic key box lying on the ground
with a coin stuck on it. Knowing that copper is not magnetic, he
contacted the Royal Mint in London who informed him that, since 1992,
British 1p and 2p coins were being manufactured from steel to cut costs.
British pennies nowadays are only thinly coated with copper to prevent
rusting. This revelation set off a flurry of investigations and
activity, resulting in the development of this exciting new magnet kit.
(Dowling Magnets)
RADIO FLYER
* FLYING TUNES. Antonio Pasin, founder of the 80-year-old company RADIO
FLYER, gave his toy wagons names that were intended to capture the
spirit of the times. For the wagon that has become an icon, he chose the
word Radio, because at that time everyone was fascinated by radio, the
new wireless invention, and Flyer, which gave a nod to the wonder of
flight. (Radio Flyer, Inc.)
SLINKY
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL. This year SLINKY celebrates its 53rd anniversary!
The idea for one of the most famous toys in history was inspired by a
meter for testing horsepower on battleships. A torsion spring used in a
testing meter fell from the desk of marine engineer Richard James and
tumbled end-over-end across the floor. James took it home to his wife
Betty and said, "I think I can make a toy out of this." This
he did by devising a steel formula that allowed the spring to
"walk." Betty went through the dictionary for a fitting name
for the toy and found it in SLINKY, which was defined as "stealthy,
sleek and sinuous." In 1945, as Christmas neared, Gimbel's
department store agreed to provide counter space for 400 SLINKYs.
Richard James was there to demonstrate the toy to a crowd of shoppers
and within 90 minutes all 400 SLINKYs were sold. (James Industries)
SILLY PUTTY
* PUTTY IN YOUR HANDS. More than 230 million eggs of SILLY PUTTY have
been sold since 1950 -- that's more than 3,000 tons! Over the years,
SILLY PUTTY has been put to some unusual uses: The astronauts of the
Apollo 8 mission carried SILLY PUTTY into space with them to alleviate
boredom and to help fasten down tools during the weightless period. Many
athletes including baseball, football and tennis players, use SILLY
PUTTY to strengthen their grip and SILLY PUTTY is recommended by many
therapists as an ideal stress reliever because of the calming effect it
can have on your nerves. (Binney & Smith, Inc.)
SUPERSONIC
EAR
* LOUD AND CLEAR. The SUPERSONIC EAR has had some unusual uses as
reported by some very satisfied consumers. The SUPERSONIC EAR was once
used to determine if a cat had fallen into a well. When the faint
"meow" was picked up by the directional microphone, Tabby's
presence was confirmed, and she was plucked from the well in one piece.
One gentleman used the SUPERSONIC EAR to locate a family of skunks that
had taken up residence under his floorboards. Rather than tear apart the
entire floor, this clever man used the SUPERSONIC EAR to locate the
exact position of the skunks, saving him time, money and a lot of hard
labor! (Wild Planet Toys)
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TEDDY BEARS
THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S NAMESAKE. Legend has it that on a hunting trip in
November 1902, President Roosevelt refused to shoot a captured bear,
which had been tied up by the President's party for him, calling it
"unsportsman-like" to shoot a defenseless animal. The incident
became immortalized in newspaper accounts and political cartoons across
the country. At about the same time, Morris Michtom was displaying two
toy bears in his shop's store window. After reading accounts of the
President's hunting trip, he decided to write to Roosevelt and ask his
permission to name the new toys "Teddy's Bears." Permission
was granted and the stuffed toys were an overwhelming success. By 1907,
the demand for the teddy bear was so brisk that Michtom moved his store
and founded the Ideal Toy & Novelty Company. Meanwhile, in Germany,
Margarete Steiff introduced her new stuffed bear creation at the 1903
Leipzig Toy Fair. An American buyer noticed the bear and ordered several
thousand. According to the Steiff Company, their teddies were used as
table decorations at the wedding of President Roosevelt's daughter,
Alice. ("The Teddy Bear Catalog," by Peggy & Alan Bialosky)
and (Steiff, USA L.P.)
TEENY
BOUNCERS
DREAMS DO COME TRUE. Imperial Toy Corporation founder Fred Kort is a
Holocaust survivor who escaped from the notorious Treblinka death camp,
one of only nine people in the world known to have survived. He started
his career at General Electric and then as an engineer at the Biltmore
Hotel in Los Angeles. After decades of learning about the toy industry,
he was finally able to accomplish his lifelong dream of building his own
toy company in 1969. He formed the Imperial Toy Corporation by first
launching just one product: high bouncing balls called "Teeny
Bouncers." Today, Imperial's product line features more than 800
year-round and seasonal items which are sold in over fifty foreign
countries. (Imperial Toy Corporation)
TOOTSIE TOYS
MODELED TO A "T"! The diecast toy car business made its debut
in 1906 when the Dowst Brothers Company of Chicago made a miniature
Model T Ford. The early vehicles were called TOOTSIETOYS, named after
one of the Dowst Brothers' granddaughters, "Toots." Today,
Strombecker, the maker of TOOTSIETOYS, produces over 40 million cars per
year. (Strombecker Corporation)
TRIVIAL
PURSUIT
* EVERYBODY'S PLAYING. TRIVIAL PURSUIT celebrated its 15th anniversary
last year. Since 1982, it has made its way into more than 50 percent of
all homes in this country. More than 30 million TRIVIAL PURSUIT games
have been sold worldwide in 18 languages and 32 countries. (Parker
Brothers)
TWISTER
LET'S DO THE TWIST. TWISTER, the first game ever invented that required
people to use their bodies as playing pieces, has been played by an
estimated 65 million people around the world. TWISTER actually grew out
of a project that inventor Reyn Guyer was working on for his father's
design company. While trying to develop a promotion for Johnson's shoe
polish, it occurred to Guyer that a polka dot paper mat he'd just
created might better serve as a game...and TWISTER was born. (Milton
Bradley Company)
YAHTZEE
GAME FOR A CRUISE? YAHTZEE was invented in 1956 by a Canadian couple
aboard their yacht. When friends were invited aboard, they were taught
how to play their "Yacht Game." Eventually they approached
Edwin S. Lowe, who made his fortune selling Bingo games in the 1920s,
and asked him to print up a few games as gifts. Lowe liked the game so
much he offered to buy all the rights. The couple was not interested in
receiving royalties, and they signed away their rights in exchange for a
few copies of the game. Lowe changed the name of the game to YAHTZEE and
enjoyed great success with this classic dice game. Milton Bradley
acquired the E.S. Lowe Company and the YAHTZEE game in 1973. (Milton
Bradley Company)
