The Top 50 Christmas Toys of the Past 100 Years

TOP 50 CHRISTMAS TOYS Over the past 100 years, the toys on children's Christmas wishlists have changed dramatically. From longing for a teddy bear to hoping for the latest games console, the popular toys of today are a far cry from those a century ago. OF THE LAST 100 YEARS Teddy Bear The story about President Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot a black bear inspired Morris Michtom to create a stuffed bear for his toy store. The rest is history. for more than 100 years practically every child in the US and Europe has owned at least one teddy bear. Erector Set ERECTOR This is one of the most popular toys of all time. Today children still find building and creating new things an adventure, using a toy that their great-great-grandparents played with. The early decades of Lionel Trains the twentieth century featured a lot of interactive which allowed The first Lionel train was designed to attract window-shopping New Yorkers using the power of animated display. But it was not long before consumers wanted toy trains in their own homes. toys, kids to build and LIONEL TRAINS create -a reflection on the real world, I where construction was rife. For example, the Municipal Building and Woolworth Building were completed in 1913, no doubt inspiring a Crayola Crayons Crayola boxes included only eight crayons up until the 1930s. Today CRAYOLA there are over one hundred different types of crayons and the product became a necessity in every classroom. Raggedy Ann Newspaper cartoonist, Johnny Gruelle had this doll made for daughter and decided to begin selling copies. Those copies have found their way into countless homes, even today. generation of children. Tinker Toys Designed for children too young for Erector Sets, Tinker Toys were made with little hands in mind. Viewmaster Slide Viewer Monopoly Even though the Viewmaster wasn't originally marketed as a kids' toy it became a must-have on every child's Christmas list. MONOPOLY Originally rejected by the game manufacturer, more than 200 HEH million Monopoly board games have been sold globally - and more than 5 billion little green houses "built" since 1935. Games for leisure 2$ became popular during these decades, with the launch of Monopoly I and Scrabble. The ీ/ The Slinky Designed to be affordable as well as fun, more than 300 million Slinky units have been sold worldwide. I Second World War I meant there were I fewer toys in production too. Scrabble On the board of 15-by-15 squares, Scrabble continues to challenge and delight players to form words across and down using the lettered tiles. Silly Putty Originally created by accident, Silly Putty became popular because it bounces, bends, transfers newspaper images and more. Yahtzee Roll the dice and score depending on the combination (5-of-a-kind is a Yahtzee). Still popular, 50 million games are sold each year. Barbie The first Barbie wore a black and white swimming costume and was available as a blonde or brunette. Named after its creator's daughter, more than one billion dolls have sold worldwide. Hula Hoop The hula hoop had been around for thousands of years but a plastic version, manufactured in the 1950s, enjoyed incredibly success with 25 million selling in just four months. Play-Doh Although originally made as wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s, this modeling compound is still loved by children of all ages. Alongside traditional toys like Yahtzee and Play-Doh, manufacturers were beginning to target I games separately at I boys and girls. The Barbie doll was Easy Bake Oven Originally heated by two light I bulbs, the toy oven now features a heating element and is sold with cake mix and miniature pans. G.I. Joe Etch a Sketch introduced in the 1950s and the Easy 1 Bake Oven in the 1960s, both becoming extremely popular with girls. For the boys, there were GI Joe, Action I Man and Government Issued (GI) Joe was marketed at boys and called an "action figure" not "doll". The first figures were Action Soldier, Pilot, Marine and Sailor, with Action Nurse launching later. Turning the two control buttons, horizontal and vertical patterns are created on the toy's grey screen. Action Man robot-themed toys I to enjoy. The UK version of GI Joe, the first Action Man figures were Action Soldier, Sailor and Pilot. Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots Kids control either the Red Rocker or Blue Bomber, and do battle until one of the robot's head is knocked off! UNO Dungeons & Dragons It is estimated more than 20 million people have played this game, making it one of the most popular role-playing games of all times. Pong Connect Four Connect Four Popular with children, there is also the Uno World Championship (UWC) which is held each year in MoScow, Russia where more than 71 countries compete. One of the first arcade video games, Pong used I. 2D graphics and paved the way for the future Success of video games This disc-based game also goes by other names including the slightly random Captain's Mistress as well as Plot UNO Four and Four in a Line. Speak & Spell These decades saw I popularity split I between puzzle games like the Rubik's Cube and Star Wars JAR One of the first handheld electronic The George Lucas-created film series began in 1977 and by 2008 had generated $4.41 billion in box office revenues. toys with a display, two further models (Speak & Read and Speak & Math) were later added to the range i electronic toys like I Speak & Spell. The I first first commercially successful computer Transformers Rubik's Cube Originally called the Magic Cube, more than 350 million cubes have been sold worldwide. Koosh Ball KooA Named after the noise if makes when it lands, the Koosh Ball is made from around 2000 rubber strings. Optimus Prime Despite his aggressive appearance, Optimus Prime's character in the Marvel Comics series was weighed down by self-doubt. i game, Pong, landed I in 1976 too, I marking the start of ' a change in favored kids' toys. My Little Pony The first-generation range of ponies ran from 1983 to 1995 and inspired an animated film and TV series. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teddy Ruxpin Lego With its name taken from the abbreviation of two Danish words "leg godt" meaning "play well", Lego" is now the world's fourth largest toy manufacturer in terms of sales. The talking bear had an inbuilt tape deck in his back and delighted children by "reading" Named after four Renaissance artists, the Ninja Turtles first appeared in comic books before starring as toys, and in video games and films. books. The Game Boy became the must-have toy Game Boy Furby Tickle Me Elmo Together with the Game Boy Color, the Game Boy has sold almost 120 million units. Tetris is its most popular game. The Furby electronic toys proved popular, and more than 40 million units were sold in the first three years. Based on Sesame Street's Elmo, the toy laughs when squeezed - do it three times, and Elmo laughs hysterically. the 1990s, I with TV and of film-inspired toys also doing well. POG Introduced initially as a tool for teaching math, POG dates back to the 1920s in Hawaii but gained popularity in the 1990s among school children. Power Rangers Buzz Lightyear A range of action toys were launched to celebrate the sUccess of the Power Rangers TV series and films. With its name inspired by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the Buzz Lightyear toy originally appeared in Toy Story. Beanie Babies These bean-stuffed toys ran froIm 1993 to 1999 - until customer demand led to a new line launch in 2000. Tamagotchi Connexions Using infra-red technology, the Tamagotchi lets players connect to other Tamagotchi owners. Computer games I consoles soared to I the top of wish-lists during this decade, with - Playstation 2 Razor Scooters Compact and folding, the Razor Scooter is a popular toy and the Pro Model version is popular with freestyle scooter fans. The best-selling games console ever, 150 million PlayStation 2s have been sold and more than 1,5 billion PS2 games sold. sports-related gadgets like the Razor scooter, TV-based toys like High School | Musical dance mat Playstation 3 A Bratz Dolls In the first five years, 125 million of these fashion dolls were sold and in 2005 worldwide sales hit $2 billion. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) connected 1,760 PlayStation 3s to create a supercomputer, in November 2010 - it became the world's 33rd largest supercomputer. RoboSapiens This robot can be controlled by a remote control and has up to 67 commands, including imitating the death scene from Citizen Kane when tuned off. and Ren 10. as well as fashion Nintendo Wii I dolls, continuing to I do well. Standing out from the competition with a wireless Wii remote that lets you motion the moves as you play, global sales have exceeded more than 90 million units. . Nintendo DS Xbox 360 The best-selling handheld games console, more than 149 million units have been sold. The DS stands for "Developers' System" and "Dual Screen". In year one, the Xbox 360 launched in 36 countries - more countries than any other console during the first year and almost 60 millions units have sold since. The High School Musical Dance Ben 10: Alien Creation Chamber Part of the High School Musical crave, this dance mat lets kids perform the routines to the show's hit songs. Kids can create the alien of their imagination using this toy. Sources http://voices.yahoo.com/top-ten-toys-yesterday-1900-1920-677094.html http://www.goodnewsweekly.ca/2010/10/most-popular-toys-from-1930s.html http://www.permuto.com/media/uploads/2009/11/PER-TOYS-R4.jpg CASH GENERATOR 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1910s S0007 S066T