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That pic you see is of my Dad, circa 1977 I believe, with one of the iconic kids’ products of my generation. Yep, when I was growing up, I knew at least a dozen kids who all had that same, huge football-shaped toy chest, and three decades plus later, I’m not ashamed to say that [...]
I like scary things. Always have, since as far back as I can remember. I’m sure for a time this caused some consternation for my parents—like the time I was 12 and they caught me taking horror novels out of the adult section of the library using a modified library card (I’ll share that one [...]
From Fisher-Price’s Classic Retro Toy Series comes a 1971 reproduction music box. The appearance is very much the same, but this newly-made version follows current product standards. Included are five discs, which play a total of 10 songs, including Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Farmer in the Dell and London Bridge. Tots can still wind [...]
In the 1950s Smethport Specialty Company produced magnetic and metal toys, along with military components. Brothers Donald and James Herzog worked for the Pennsylvania company when, in 1955, James realized the dust from grinding magnets could be used as a drawing tool. Soon after he filed to patent the first Wooly Willy magnetic drawing kit. [...]
This Magic Cymbal Monkey Toy is a remake of an old classic. Battery operated, he clangs his cymbals as he hops around and chirps. Many different cymbal monkeys have been made since the 1950s. The original – called the Musical Jolly Chimp – was made by Japanese company Daishin C.K. during the ’50s, ’60s and [...]
Here’s a 1946 page from Popular Science spotlighting the Slinky toy. It’s always interesting to read vintage copy: Given an initial shove, “Slinky” eerily and deliberately flip-flops end over end down a flight of steps. It is simply a spring, but it does stunts that made R. P. James, Philadelphia engineer, think of converting it [...]
There are few who can whistle real music through their noses. For the rest of us, there’s the nose flute – also called a nose whistle or a Humanatone. This single-piece instrument relies on rhythmic breathing through the nose while maintaining or fluctuating the opening of the mouth. This simple, classic gem isn’t to be [...]
Who could resist these Marx Toys friction toys featuring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck? These toys date to the 1950s-1960s. The toys stand about 4″ high and use a German-made friction motor. Friction toys are driven by springs – the spring is wound when the wheels are pushed backwards across a high-friction surface (like carpet [...]
When marketing consultant Peter Hodgson risked $147 of borrowed money to introduce a bouncing putty to the world, his target audience was adults. As that market dwindled, it was kids lifting newsprint that made him shift gears. The once-failed product that was created in hopes to help the war effort turned into a multi-million dollar [...]
When I was a kid in the 1970s, I loved to draw. I’d mostly doodle superheroes and Star Wars characters on big sheets of dot-matrix printer paper my mom brought home from work. I thought I was pretty good… Then I got my first Etch A Sketch, and boy, did that little red tablet knock [...]
The holiday season is chock full of family traditions, from fruitcake and ham to Christmas trees and gingerbread cookies. But the most fun tradition might be Christmas stockings. Did you ever try to guess what was in the stocking by the shape of the bulge? You can’t beat the excitement and mystery of seeing a [...]
This is a beautifully restored Wyandotte Truck. Wyandotte pressed metal toys were manufactured by the All Metal Products Company, which was in business from 1920 to 1957. They mass-produced inexpensive, yet high quality metal toys, chiefly from scrap metal leftover from automobile manufacturing. The Wyandotte name, used as a brand name for their trucks and [...]
