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Most young mammals play, and will play with whatever they can find, turning such things as pinecones, rocks, and food into toys. It simply makes sense then that toys have a history as old as human civilization itself. Toys and games have been unearthed from the sites of ancient civilizations. They have been written about in some of our oldest literature. Toys excavated from the Indus valley civilization (3000-1500 BCE) include small carts, whistles shaped like birds, and toy monkeys which could slide down a string.
The earliest toys were made from materials found in nature, such as rocks, sticks, and clay. Thousands of years ago, Egyptian children played with dolls that had wigs and movable limbs which were made from stone, pottery, and wood. In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, children played with dolls made of wax or terra cotta, sticks, bows and arrows, and yo-yos. When Greek children, especially girls came of age it was customary for them to sacrifice the toys of their childhood to the gods. On the eve of their wedding, young girls around fourteen would offer their dolls in a temple as a rite of passage into adulthood.
Source: Wikipedia
Many new toys and new types of toys are created by accidental innovation. After trying to create a replacement for synthetic rubber, Earl Warrick inadvertently invented "nutty putty" during World War II. Later, Peter Hodgson recognized the potential as a childhood plaything and packaged it as Silly Putty. Similarly, Play-Doh was created as a wallpaper cleaner. In 1943 Richard James was experimenting with torsion springs as part of his military research when he saw one come loose and fall to the floor. He was intrigued by the way it flopped around on the floor. He spent two years fine-tuning the design to find the best gauge of steel and coil. After a name change, the Slinky was sold as a toy for both genders in stores throughout the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Toy story (1995): directed and written by John Lasseter and starring (voices of) Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Tagline: The adventure takes off! Plot outline: A cowboy toy is profoundly threatened and jealous when a fancy spaceman toy supplants him as top toy in a boy's room.
Source: IMDb
The National Toy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years. Established in 1998, the National Toy Hall of Fame was originally housed at A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village in Salem, Oregon, United States, but was moved to the Strong Museum (now the Strong - National Museum of Play) in Rochester, New York, in 2002 after it outgrew its original home. The following thirty-six toys have been enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame:
Alphabet Blocks; Barbie; Bicycle; Candy Land; Cardboard box; Checkers; Crayola Crayon; Duncan Yo-Yo; Easy Bake Oven; Erector Set; Etch-A-Sketch; Frisbee; G.I. Joe; Hula Hoop; Jack-in-the-box; Jacks; Jigsaw puzzle; Jump rope; Lego; Lincoln Logs; Lionel Trains; Marbles; Monopoly; Mr. Potato Head; Play-Doh; Radio Flyer wagon; Raggedy Ann; Rocking horse; Roller skates; Scrabble; Silly Putty; Slinky; Teddy Bear; Tinkertoy; Tonka Trucks; View-master
Source: Wikipedia
Blind Spot Toy: It is never too early to start your Christmas holiday shopping. Why not be original this year and avoid the toys that everyone seems to be buying? Why not give the gift that keeps on giving, the "Apparatus for Aligning Image with Blind Spot of the Eye"!! Patented in 1975, this toy allows the user to locate their blind spot! In order to play this amazingly fun game, strap the toy tightly on the top of your head. Close your left eye and focus on the dangling tab with your right eye, then switch eyes. Voila! The dangling tab has disappeared into your blind spot. Not only will this invention provide endless hours of fun and good times for everyone (especially at parties), but anyone wearing this apparatus will unquestionably become irresistible to the opposite sex. Enjoy!
Source: www.totallyabsurd.com
Cuddly Toy by the Monkees
See lyrics
Charles Lee Ray, or Chucky for short (b. January 24, 1950 – d.November 9, 1988[1]) is a fictional character from the Child's Play series of horror films, the original screenplay was credited as written by Don Mancini, John Lafia and Tom Holland. He is the primary villain featured in the series. Chucky is a doll that was possessed by means of voodoo magic by serial killer Charles Lee Ray, the notorious Lakeshore Strangler. During most of his time as a doll, Chucky chased after a boy named Andy Barclay because Andy was the first person he told his real name to as a doll. Brad Dourif has voiced the character in all of the films and also appears at the beginning of the first film and in subsequent flashbacks.
Source: Wikipedia
Chocolate Toys
See recipe
The following are all toys-related (an amusing use of a word or phrase which has several meanings or which sounds like another word):
When the spinning disc toy was created, it was top secret.
The place that made rubber balls almost went bankrupt, but they bounced back.
A group called the Balloons sings pop music.
A little boy called his father who made balloons 'pop'.
A china doll was marked in tiny letters: 'maid in USA'.
If you try a jigsaw puzzle that is too hard, don't go to pieces.
Don't disturb anyone working on a puzzle or you may get some cross words.
Source: http://punoftheday.com/
The Tin Drum is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass. The novel is part of Grass' Danziger Trilogie (Danzig Trilogy). It is considered one of the finest pieces of German post war literature and a great contributor to the genre of Magical Realism. The story is about the life of Oskar Matzerath, who writes his autobiography from memory while in a sanitarium during the years 1952 to 1954. However, Oskar's memories begin before those of ordinary people. The story starts with his own birth, when Oskar sees the light of "two sixty-watt bulbs" in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). Gifted with a piercing shriek that can shatter glass or be used as a weapon, Oskar declares himself to be one of those "auditory clairvoyant babies", whose "spiritual development is complete at birth and only needs to affirm itself". At age three he receives a tin drum for his birthday and decides, after observing the obtuseness and duplicity of the adult world, to will himself not to grow up. As a result, he retains the stature of a child while living through the beginning of World War II, Hitler's holocaust, several love affairs, and the hypocritical world of postwar Europe. Through all this the tin drum remains his treasured possession, and he is willing to kill to retain it.
Source: Wikipedia
Barbie made her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie's official birthday.
Source: Wikipedia
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,/ All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy. (Maria Edgeworth)
As soon as a child has left the room his strewn toys become affecting. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end. (Henry David Thoreau)
The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent. (Sam Levenson)
Source: Creative Quotations
Channapatna is a small city located 60 km south-west of Bangalore, India on Bangalore-Mysore state highway. The city is famous for its wooden toys. In the native language (kannada), Channapatna is also called as "gonmbegaLa ooru" meaning toys town in English. These toys are manufactured in tradational or advanced small scale industries.
Source: Wikipedia
The highest price paid for a single toy soldier is £3,375 ($5,714) for a uniformed scale figure of Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, made by the Lineol company of Brandenburg, Germany., the figure was among several sold by the Danish auction house Boyes in London, UK on 23 April 1991.
Source: Guinness World Records
Every age wants its playthings. (French)
Source: Creative Proverbs
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