Archive for June, 2010

Lincoln Logs

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Lincoln Logs are a toy consisting of notched miniature logs, about ¾ inches (1-2 cm) in diameter. Analogous to real logs used in a log cabin, Lincoln Logs have notches in their ends so that small model log buildings can be built. In addition, a Lincoln Logs set has windows and doors to make the buildings more realistic. Some modern sets also come with figures of humans and animals that match the scale of the buildings.

Lincoln Logs were invented in 1916. by John L. Wright, a son of the notable architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1918, they were marketed by the Red Square Toy Company and by John Lloyd Wright, Incorporated of Chicago, Illinois. While it is often assumed that the name of the toy relates to Abraham Lincoln, it is also a reference to the inventor’s father, since Frank Lloyd Wright’s given middle name was “Lincoln”. Lincoln Logs originally came with instructions on how to build Uncle Tom’s Cabin as well as Lincoln’s log cabin.

The architecture of the Imperial Hotel basement in Tokyo, designed by John’s father, which used a unique foundation of interlocking beams to make the structure “earthquake proof”, assisted in the designing of the toy logs.

The sets were originally made of 100% wood, with varying colors of roof pieces, but by the 1970s almost all the wood had been replaced by plastic. However, in more recent years, they have reverted to real wood on all their sets.

Tinker Toys

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

The Tinkertoy Construction Set was created in 1914—one year after the A. C. Gilbert Company’s Erector Set—by Charles H. Pajeau and Robert Pettit in Evanston, Illinois. Pajeau, a stonemason, designed the toy after seeing children play with pencils and empty spools of thread. He and Pettit set out to market a toy that would allow and inspire children to use their imaginations.

The cornerstone of the set is a wooden spool roughly two inches (5 cm) in diameter with holes drilled every 45 degrees around the perimeter and one through the center. Unlike the center, the perimeter holes do not go all the way through. With the differing-length sticks, the set was intended to be based on the Pythagorean progressive right triangle.

The sets were introduced to the public through displays in and around Chicago which included model Ferris wheels. Tinkertoys have been used to create surprisingly complex machines, including Danny Hillis’s tic-tac-toe-playing computer (now in the collection of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California) and a robot at Cornell University in 1998.

Hasbro owns the Tinkertoy brand and currently produces both Tinkertoy Plastic and Tinkertoy Classic (wood) sets and parts.

Nintendo

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Children began to love video games like Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. in 1985, when the Nintendo Entertainment System was introduced. More than 60 million units were sold in its first two years, and it paved the way for high-tech consoles of today like the Wii and Nintendo DS Lite. In addition, Game Boy (the first portable, handheld game system with interchangeable game paks) was born in 1989, enabling kids to entertain themselves on the go. We first featured NES in December 1985.

Etch A Sketch

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Etch A Sketch, which we covered in December 1971, uses technology developed in the 1950s by Andre Cassagnes, an electrician in France. Since its invention in 1960, more than 150 million have been sold worldwide.

An Etch A Sketch is a thick, flat gray screen in a plastic frame. There are two knobs on the front of the frame in the lower corners. Twisting the knobs moves a stylus that displaces aluminum powder on the back of the screen, leaving a solid line. The knobs create lineographic images. The left control moves the stylus horizontally, and the right one moves it vertically.

The Etch A Sketch was introduced near the peak of the Baby Boom, and is one of the best known toys of that generation. In 2003, the Toy Industry Association named Etch A Sketch to its Century of Toys List, a roll call commemorating the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the 20th century.[1] It remains popular to this day.

Barbie Dolls

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Everyone’s favorite doll, Barbie, celebrated her 50th birthday in 2009, and we first covered her in the December 1962 story, “Teenage Fashion Dolls.” Back then, she cost $3, and Ken cost $3.50.

Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler (1916–2002) is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.

Barbie is the figurehead of a brand of Mattel dolls and accessories, including other family members and collectible dolls. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parody of the doll and her lifestyle.

Walkie Talkies

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Back in December 1951, when we first covered walkie-talkies, they were “futuramic playthings” that kids couldn’t get enough of. The other hot toy trend that year was Western gear — toy guns, holsters, lassos, and anything else that helped kids play Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy.

A walkie-talkie, or handie talkie, (more formally known as a handheld transceiver) is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald L. Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, and engineering teams at Motorola. Similar designs were created for other armed forces, and after the war, walkie-talkies spread to public safety and eventually commercial and jobsite work. Major characteristics include a half-duplex channel (only one radio transmits at a time, though any number can listen) and a “push-to-talk” (P.T.T) switch that starts transmission. Typical walkie-talkies resemble a telephone handset, possibly slightly larger but still a single unit, with an antenna sticking out of the top. Where a phone’s earpiece is only loud enough to be heard by the user, a walkie-talkie’s built-in speaker can be heard by the user and those in the user’s immediate vicinity. Hand-held transceivers may be used to communicate between each other, or to vehicle-mounted or base stations.

Play Doh

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Play-Doh is a modeling compound used by children for art and craft projects at home and in school. Composed of flour, water, salt, boric acid, and silicone oil, the product was first manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA as a wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s. When a classroom of children began using the wallpaper cleaner as a modeling compound, the product was reworked and marketed to Cincinnati schools in the mid-1950s. Play-Doh was demonstrated at an educational convention in 1956 and prominent department stores opened retail accounts. Advertisements promoting Play-Doh on influential children’s television shows in 1957 furthered the product’s sales. Since its launch on the toy market in the mid-1950s, Play-Doh has generated a considerable amount of ancillary merchandise such as The Fun Factory. In 2003, the Toy Industry Association named Play-Doh to its “Century of Toys List”.

Play-Doh, first featured in the December 1958 story, “Christmas Toys,” was invented in 1955 by Joseph McVickers at the age of 27. He got the idea when he saw his daughter playing with wallpaper

The Doll House

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Back in 1940, we told parents that “well-designed toys form taste and a love of beauty,” which is why a dollhouse was such a good toy. The best houses are built to scale and are representative of good American architecture. We first featured a dollhouse in a December1940 story, and back then it cost $4 and came with a matching Salem garage that cost $2.

I think I’m going to go play with mine now 🙂

Mickey Mouse

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

The world’s most iconic mouse was born on November 18, 1928, in the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound, “Steamboat Willie.” Even back then, Mickey had a mischievous side — as a deckhand on a riverboat, he plays a song using animals as his instruments and the captain banishes him to the galley, where he must peel potatoes. A 12″ Mickey Mouse cowboy doll cost $2 in 1935. This classic character, who first appeared in a December 1935 issue of the magazine, has been featured on thousands of merchandise items and starred in more than 120 cartoons.

Fun fact: Did you know that Disney wanted to name Mickey something else: Mortimer Mouse

Source: GunH Mickey Mouse

The Scooter

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Children have been cruising the neighborhood in scooters since the 1920s, when this toy first became popular. Tiny versions made of wood and steel evolved into sleek, life-sized scooters in the 1930s that were streamlined, featured mudguards, and cost $3.99.

I remember when I was 10, I begged my parents for a year until they bought me one!