Seriously? Since when are books considered toys? VH1 included this exact same thing on their toy list. That’s not to say that I didn’t like books, I absolutely LOVED them and still do. I guess the term “toy” is being loosely defined here as anything that will occupy a child’s mind/imagination for a while, which books will certainly do. The same could be said for bicycles and board games, which TIME didn’t include. VH1 did, however.
These were not very good time-wasters (IMHO a good toy will occupy a child for hours), but they’re definitely interesting novelties that could be fun every now and then. I didn’t have either one of these toys when I was a kid, but I got them as an adult.
We had an old Barbie doll with molded plastic hair that was short and BROWN. I never knew for certain if that was a true Barbie or not, as all the others I’d ever seen were blondes. I remember pretending she was the mom, while the other Barbie (w/blond, comb-able hair) was the daughter. We also had Skipper, Barbie’s younger, and less voluptuous, sister/niece (?). We did not have Ken, but we did have the full-size GI Joe with the fuzzy hair and beard. If that dark-haired Barbie was/is a major collectible I’m going to kick myself, as I myself donated her to a thrift store ages ago. The other Barbie I later turned into Pinhead Barbie for a sketch comedy show I was in (see photo below). I’m sure the toys in Toy Story would be horrified at that transformation, but she now makes an honorable appearance every Halloween. :)
We definitely had this toy in the house, but being the youngest of four meant many toys went through a lot of wear and tear before I got around to playing with them. This one is a perfect example – I never understood the appeal of the Lite-Brite because I never saw a single black paper pattern that the pegs were supposed to go into! Not one! All I had was the grate and a bunch of colored pegs that didn’t fit in the holes properly (very much like the attached photo); I barely touched this thing.
This was the greatest toy invention EVER! We had the round, soft foam balls at first (see pic, before the football came out) and I just loved them! Never had playing ball in the house been so much fun. The NERF balls of today are actually thicker and sturdier than the ones I remember – they’re much harder to squoosh with your fingers now, but they’re still fun.
This early electronic hand-held game was one I did not have myself (I played with my classmates’), but – believe it or not – it was actually an educational toy! At least for me. I’d never understood the basic mechanics of football before this game came out. The phrase “first and 10” was gibberish to me, and I could never figure out how points were accumulated. (In soccer, if you make a goal, you get one point. Pretty simple. Football isn’t like that.) This electronic game broke down all of those barriers for me, and I finally understood how the game was played. “Ten equals ten YARDS? A touchdown is 7 points? Oooohhhhhhhh, NOW I get it!” LOL
I loved this game. I mean, I really LOVED this game. It’s another one I didn’t have, but I knew people who did and I always wanted to play it. It’s basically an electronic version of the card game Concentration. Totally nerdy. Totally cool. :)
To be fair, rag dolls actually pre-date the TIME list by quite a bit (there’s one in the British Museum from 300 BC), and Raggedy Ann in particular was created in 1915, so it’s not surprising that they’re not on the list. This was my favorite toy as a child, and I still have her! She’s accompanied me across the country since the 1970’s and currently sits on display in my bedroom. :)
By the way, Lincoln Logs and the Erector Set, more toys not on the list, also pre-date the TIME list. Lincoln Logs were first made in 1916, while the Erector Set was actually invented in 1911!
They have Little Tykes Cozy Coupe Car on this list, but not the Big Wheel?!? Sacrilege! What a great toy! This was yet another one that our family couldn’t afford – I remember wanting one of these SO badly it was sad. It was agony watching the other kids in the neighborhood tearing around on these things (nothing worse than toy envy). :p