2-XL. Synopsis of Toy As people became computer-conscious at the end of the 1970’s, toys moved into the electronic age with items like Merlin and Simon. Most of these toys were designed for simple entertainment, but some of them aspired to greater things. One of the success stories in this arena was 2-XL, an electronic toy that educated its users as it entertained them. 2-XL, originally developed in the People's Republic of China, used 8-track technology as a teaching tool. Mego, a company better known for creating doll-style action figures for Kiss and Star Trek, imported the wonderbot to the U.S. in 1978. The fun of 2-XL began when the user inserted a tape in the robot's midsection and pressed a red button on the top of its head. There were also game tapes for 2-XL that allowed the user to engage compete with 2-XL.
Overall, 2-XL did pretty well, thanks to its combination of clever game design and the entertaining options presented by its many tapes. Release History of Toy Mego. Crayola Crayons. Synopsis of Toy Opening a new toy ranks among the most sublime of this world’s pleasures. And opening a new box of Crayola Crayons might be the sublimest of all—so much so that the word “sublimest,” which is not a word at all, seems perfectly appropriate.
The ends are sharp, the labels aren’t peeled back yet, they smell as strongly as they ever will, and all the good colors are still accounted for—there hasn’t been quite enough time to lose them yet. Any piece of paper, or if you’re feeling randy, the newly-painted white wall in the den—these are now your canvasses, and high art your noble mission. In 1885, cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith took over the Peekskill Chemical Company, named it Binney & Smith, and busily manufactured the pigments that made most barns of the time red, and a lot of automobile tires black. Alice Binney, Edwin’s beloved, came up with the new product’s name by combining two French words which when put together, meant “oily chalk.” Release History of Toy. Clue. Synopsis of Toy Tired of Monopoly’s property-buying frenzy?
Leery of Life’s arbitrary wheel of travail and triumph? Come sit Indian style on the shag carpet and play a game of Clue with us. It’s fairly quick, it’s not easy enough to feel insulting, and best of all, it’s downright sordid! The board game’s inventor was a British law clerk named Anthony Pratt, who dreamt it up circa 1947, while walking his beat as a wartime fire warden in Leeds. Profits from the popular game allowed Pratt to become a pianist, his longtime dream. In the mid 1950’s, Pratt sold his game’s rights to Waddington’s. To play Clue, you needed only to know a bit about the malfeasance. The rest of the cards were divided up, each player chose a suspect to “be,” then rolled the dice to move through the mansion. When a player finally felt confident solving the whodunit, he jotted down his guess and took a private look at the murder envelope’s contents. Though Clue players have never known why Mr. Release History of Toy. Boggle.
Synopsis of Toy This is what happens when Scrabble gets too much sugar in its system. The world has its share of word games, but perhaps none as hyperactive as Boggle. Sixteen letters, three minutes, two or more frantically scribbling, nerve-wracked players—for more than 25 years, that’s been the formula for Boggle’s speed-writing success. Each game started innocently enough: Someone put the 16 letter cubes (a different letter on each side) in the bubble-cased Boggle tray, shook the thing up, and let the letters fall into place on the 4x4 letter grid. And then the madness began. Racing against the three-minute timer, players made as many three-or-more-letter words as they could by mentally lining up adjoining letter cubes—across or diagonally.
Each letter could only be used once, and no skipping over interfering letters just because you could spell some really great word if you did. Once the timer ran out, pencils went down, and players called out the words they’d found. Games. Care Bears. Synopsis of Toy "Caring is what counts. " Boys smash their Tonka Trucks. Girls compete for “Best Dressed” honors with their Barbies and poke fun at even their closest friends’ misguided doll ensembles.
Admittedly, these aren’t the most virtuous of toy pursuits. So when a kid needs some playtime soul-cleansing, a back-to-basics, we’re-all-brothers-in-this-playground-we-call-the-world type of character polish, he or she picked up a Care Bear. These cuties made their first appearance in greeting cards—a telling pedigree, because when the Bears evolved into a plush toy line from Kenner in the mid-1980’s, they still acted like greeting cards. They wished you well, they celebrated your birthday with you, they picked you up when you were feeling down…never before has touchy-feeliness had such an ally in a toy. Kenner soon released more Care Bear characters, and all the Bears were issued in more sizes—there were six-, thirteen-, eighteen- and thirty-six-inchers. Release History of Toy plush Kenner. Marbles: Old Memories. Synopsis of Toy There are the toys that have just come hot off the toy presses, there are your older toys, your folk toys, and then you got your toys that have been around, oh, for a couple thousand years.
These are the ones that make a timeline-artist’s life tough. The ones that have been around so long, nobody remembers a time that they weren’t around. Marbles, baby. Marbles belong in that last category. They may be small, but they pack a longevity punch. The earliest marbles weren’t called marbles, of course, because marble wasn’t the source material just yet. We know that handmade glass marbles were produced in Germany starting in the mid-19th century, because there is a known patent for ‘glass marble scissors’ from that time.
The German glass company Elias Greiner Vetters Shon, the same company that holds the patent on the marble scissors, made swirl-design marbles up by hand until the 1920’s, which were exported to American and English markets. Release History of Toy games hobbies. Army Men: Old Memories. Synopsis of Toy Toy trends come and go, but some old soldiers never die. In times of war, in times of peace, those valiant fighters we call Army Men have stood valiantly in place (probably because their feet are molded to plastic bases, but who are we to question their heroism?). Whether they come in a bag, a bucket or a playset, these plastic toy soldiers have been reliably popular with kids for over fifty years. Modern toy soldiers are usually made of plastic, but the original toy soldiers were made of alloys like tin. They originated in Europe during the late 1800’s, with Germany, France and England taking the production lead.
The initial soldiers had solid bodies, but later models were made in a hollow style that made them cheaper to manufacture. Toy soldiers emigrated to U.S. factories around World War I. The solution was plastic. Various companies produced Army Men, but a few stood out in terms of popularity. Release History of Toy Sub Categories of Toys action figures various. Voltron. Synopsis of Toy The success of The Transformers as a cartoon and a set of toys led to a mania for transforming robots during the mid-1980’s.
Soon enough, the airwaves were overflowing with shows like Challenge Of The Gobots and M.A.S.K., and the toy shelves were packed with replicas of the shape-shifting vehicles that appeared on the shows. Riding at the top of this robo-wave was Voltron: Defender Of The Universe, a series that took the transforming-vehicle idea a step further by presenting a series of such vehicles that could join together into one giant robot. The end result was a hit show and a series of spinoff toys that were just as popular. Voltron began its life as a popular cartoon, which was actually a combination of two different Japanese cartoon series: Golion and Dairugger XV.
These two series were edited together and dubbed in English by the Harmony Gold Company and the end result was Volton: Defener of the Universe. Release History of Toy 1980s - Voltron Other Toy Links. Captain Action. Synopsis of Toy “Oh, the brave, strong and true, Streak of lightning from the blue, Captain Action!”
With a change of clothes and mask, Captain Action could alter his identity into some of the mightiest heroes on the planet. But if you even thought about saying the words “playing dress-up” around Captain Action, you were pretty much asking for whatever smacking you got. He’s not a doll, he’s an action figure! And yes, smarty pants, there is a difference. ’s outfit, a sword, and a ray gun (making Captain Action ready to fight both ancient Romans and futuristic aliens). The prospect of owning ten different heroes for the price of one (well, one plus nine new accessory packs) was enough to overcome any qualms about buying a “dress-up doll” (don’t tell Captain Action we said that).
Alas, like many of the good ones, Captain Action’s multi-faceted career was all-too-brief. “Fighting evil, that’s his creed, Thundering power, lightning speed, Captain Action!” Release History of Toy. Cootie. Synopsis of Toy There was a bit of a risk in bringing Cootie home from the store. No matter how many times you looked around before walking inside, no matter how carefully you shielded the name on the box, there was always the unshakable fear that somebody would spot you and spread the word: “Cooties!
You really do have Cooties! I saw it! Each Cootie box came with enough parts to make 4 complete Cootie bugs. Herb Schaper invented Cootie back in 1948, whittling the parts from wood. Release History of Toy 1948 - Cootie Sub Categories of Toys games Toy and Game Manufacturer Schaper Mfg., Milton Bradley Other Toy Links. G.I. Joe (80's, 90's): Old Memories. Synopsis of Toy “A Real American Hero” War. What is it good for? Toys. G.I. G.I. The first smart move on Hasbro’s part was setting up a Cold-War-esque conflict between “Real American Heroes” (G.I. The second brilliant field maneuver in the G.I. New Joes, Cobras and assorted accessories appeared every year, creating an arms race on both sides of the conflict.
On the vehicle front, the two sides faced off in “some assembly required” battlewagons like the battery-powered MOBAT Tank, the H.I.S.S. The Hasbro/Marvel alliance also paid off handsomely with an action-packed G.I. But like all good military men, G.I. A second, DIC-produced series of cartoons debuted in 1989, and Hasbro tried to draw in new and old Joe fans with Micro Figures, Command Rings, bright neon paintjobs, and other strategies. Real American Heroes aren’t so easily defeated, however. Release History of Toy 1964 - G.I. Sub Categories of Toys action figures Toy and Game Manufacturer Hasbro Other Toy Links. Sega: Old Memories. Synopsis of Toy “Sega! Sega!” Remember those old Charles Atlas comic book ads about the 98-lb. weakling who got sand kicked in his face by a bully, went home, bulked himself up, and came back a bully-kicking hero? Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch, but Sega’s home console story wouldn’t be too out of place in Charles Atlas Land.
And what’s more, the former 98-lb. weakling is still enjoying the happy ending after more than 15 years in the home console business. Formed in 1954, the Service Games Co. Unfortunately, the public had already fallen in love with a certain Nintendo Entertainment System (the NES). Regardless of its European success, Sega’s U.S. reputation in the home market was still that of the also-ran, the Betamax, the 98-lb. weakling. NEC’s TurboGrafx-16 actually beat Sega to the 16-bit punch by six months, but lack of a “killer app”—a must-have game title like Super Mario Bros. The Sega Genesis was a runaway hit, and Nintendo scrambled for a 16-bit system of its own. Sega. Lazer Tag. Synopsis of Toy “The game that moves at the speed of light.” If you were a kid in 1986, you probably remember the hype. For months before Worlds of Wonder finally released Lazer Tag, the company built up suspense to unbelievable levels with a series of teasing ads.
We knew it was called “Lazer Tag,” we knew it would change the world of sports—heck, even the whole world—but exactly what it was remained a mystery. Slowly it began to take shape: There was a gun (good so far), there was a cat-and-mouse pursuit (still with you), and it somehow involved lasers (sold!). Lazer Tag finally reached its hungry public in the summer of 1986, and while it may not have lived up to everyone’s imagination (sorry, no death ray), it was still very, very cool. The idea of free-for-all shooting matches with real (as far as we knew) lasers was certainly appealing, but the expensive electronics put Lazer Tag out of the price range of many would-be taggers.
Release History of Toy 1986 - Lazer Tag Other Toy Links. Hello Kitty. Synopsis of Toy “After all, you can never make too many friends.” She started out as just a cute face on a coin purse, but today she graces more than fifteen thousand licensed products. Purportedly, she weighs what three apples weigh, but her parent company enjoys annual profits in the billions, thanks mostly to her. Yes...billions. She doesn't even have a mouth, but she somehow makes us believe that she's our friend and she somehow coerces us to buy into her motto, which is stated above.
And we mean "buy into" quite literally. When he was growing up, orphaned at thirteen and chronically lonely, Shintaro Tsuji yearned for “heart to heart communication”—with a person or an animal or a toy, it didn’t matter—as long as some kind of connection to something outside of himself was fostered. It goes without saying that Hello Kitty was a huge favorite among little Japanese girls.
Sanrio issued the Kitty Baby line in 1999—adorable infant kitties for your adorable infant kid. Sanrio Other Toy Links. Jacks: Old Memories. Synopsis of Toy Twosies and threesies were okay, but if you really wanted to be named playground princess, sixies and sevensies were almost always required. It’s said that Jacks have origins in ancient counting games, but they started to captivate American kids around the turn of the twentieth century.
The balls weren’t rubber back then, but the object was still the same: pour the spiky jacks (usually ten, twelve or fourteen of them) out onto the ground, toss the ball in the air, then pick up as many jacks as you can before the ball touches back down on terra firma. If you’re playing with a red rubber ball, you have before that devilish bouncer touches down twice. Oh, it wasn't as easy as it sounds—especially since all of this is done with one hand. The rules varied, and in some games, it was necessary to yell the names of moves out mid-game, making Jacks not just a test of hand-eye coordination test, but of verbal skill as well. Release History of Toy Sub Categories of Toys games hobbies. Game Boy. Gumby. Mouse Trap. Tamagotchi. Don't Break the Ice. Ants in the Pants. REEL 2 REAL - I LIKE TO MOVE IT LYRICS.
SHAGGY LYRICS - Boombastic. Los Del Rio - Macarena Lyrics. MC Hammer - You Can't Touch This Lyrics. KRIS KROSS - JUMP LYRICS. Baby One More Time. Step By Step New Kids On The Block. WILL SMITH LYRICS - Gettin' Jiggy Wit It. OUTHERE BROTHERS - BOOM, BOOM, BOOM LYRICS. Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby Lyrics. 'N SYNC LYRICS - I Want You Back. SPICE GIRLS LYRICS - Wannabe. AQUA LYRICS - Barbie Girl.
The 50 best films of the ’90s. 100 Greatest Movies of the 1990s. James and the Giant Peach. Mars Attacks! Best in horror/thriller 1990-1999 list. Edward Scissorhands. The Lion King (1994. The Nightmare Before Christmas. Batman Forever. Beauty and the Beast (1991. Scream (1996. Toy Story (1995. Boyz n the Hood (1991. Jurassic Park. Forrest Gump. Clothing/fashion. 90's. Spice girls. 90s-Fashion. 1993. Rocko's Modern Life. Doug (TV Series 1991–1994. The Proud Family | Disney Channel. Beavis and Butt-head.
Seinfeld - Official Site. Hey Arnold! Amanda Show. Recess. South park. The simpsons. Full House. Friends. Rugrats. That 70's Show. Family guy. Futurama. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TV Series 1990–1996.