Toys from the Past

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Many of us who had the so-called 'not-have-all' kind of life must have enjoyed our respective childhood with various outdoor games and make-shift toys (memories of my sling-shot and make-shift sword and 'armalite' with rubber band ammunition flashing now).  I chanced upon this great feature fromTIME.COM about the toys from the past and how much of these kiddie treats evolved over time.  One thing though did not change.  The success of these toys were attributable to their ability to tickle the imagination and capture the attention of kids during their respective era.  Credits to Time Magazine for this great feature.  I picked those that were part of my own childhood experience.  Which one were yours?

Action Figures... the 80's is mark with these high quality toys

The Glow Sticks... break and it'll light up.. then there were the saber series and those with sounds

Snap bands... ehe... they came in almost unlimited designs...

If someone only told me these would be priceless after 20 years!!! Transformers

The toy I 'never' had... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series

I'd say the predecessor of the stress ball... SIPA for us Filipinos

You can capture the rest of the toys featured from circa 20s up to the recent line-up available on toy stores with below links.  Photo credits are screenshots from the Time.com site.  By the way, for those already working and feeling really stressed.  Go and visit the nearest (but biggest) toy store/shop there is to recharge. Make sure you can resist the temptation too of spending unnecessary eh?

Aptly described as the era for the metallic wagon (why does red come to mind? oh, it's sesame street's fault) to the famous Yo-Yo.  Click on this link to go straight to the list and the descriptions.

Next stop is the 30's which was known for the likes of a ray gun, microscope sets and that ever famous beach ball.  This link will show you what the 30s kids were going 'gaga' about.

Backwards still to the 40s and kids then were playing with Bubble solutions, Disney's Golden Books (hey, I remember seeing one like these before), the come-backing Slinky (metal spring), the Magic 8 ball and the perennially successful Lego set. Complete list here.

 The 50s era, on the other hand witness the blossom of the likes of water balloons, a Fisher-Price toy, a Putty that reached space, Gumby (remember him?), the famous Matchbox cars, PEZ, Play Doh, the now iconic Barbie hmmm.... Come to think of it, the 50s gave birth to many great collectors item toys. see complete link here.

Next stop is the 1960s.  It boasts of the launch of Etch A Sketch, Barbie's boyfriend Ken, G.I. joe, Easy Bake, Creepy Crawlers, a Super Ball, Radio-controlled Cars, and Hot Wheels.  More on this link.

70's, on the other hand, was the seat for the manufacturing of Nerf balls, Paddington Bear,  Baby Alive, the Rubik's Cube, Star Wars Action Figures, the birth of hand-held games.  Check out more here.

Then came the year I was born... The 80s paved the way for the likes of Cabbage patch kids, Polly Pocket, Slap bracelets, Masters of the Universe Action set, Carebears, Transformers, the Koosh ball, the Ninja Turtles, Glow sticks.  See them in all their glory and let the memories flash back.

And my toy world started to be modernized.  The 90's were home to toys most of which I only watched being featured during the kiddie shows of the circa.  This was the time these toys made it big: Log Cabins, big water guns, beanie toys, Toy Story, the now iconic Tickle-me Elmo, and Furby, to name some.  More here.

 

Now comes the latest era, the Millennium year 2000.  This year welcomed: Bratz, Zhu Zhu and a lot more high tech toys.  See 'em here.

 Yup, I know, there are plenty other that didn't made it up to Time's list such as the Game Boy, Tetris game, Pokemon, etc. But hey, YOU would know 'em better right?