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32 Trivia Tidbits About Childhood Toys and Games

Before iPhones, our houses were filled with these bright, colorful things called toys!

32 Trivia Tidbits About Childhood Toys and Games

May 05, 2024 Add Cracked to Google

Like that 1990s Pixar movie we can’t remember the name of, every toy has a story. Before it arrived in our homes, grown-ups somewhere toiled over its design, name, backstory, packaging, marketing, and if you were lucky, its probability of killing you.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who survived playtime, here are some facts about the toys you may or may not have enjoyed growing up. Apologies for any PTSD flare-ups.

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So many tie-ins for Ninja Turtles and PIZZA HUT Cowabunga! Get our radical debut audio cassette, official Concert Tour Guide and autographed poster for de - . $399 SURTRES PIZZA TOSSIN RAPH TEENAGE with any excellent pizza purchase. A 11200 retail value. - - Pizza - - MaxiPa - Hut. Makin' it great! Audio cassettes. VHS concert movies. Mutagen Ranch dressing. PICAL PIZZA Offer CRACKED.COM But don't tell the Hut -- there's a Pizza Tossin' Raph action figure that spews Dominos pies. — Source

31

THE MISSILES LAUNCHED BY THIS BATTLESTAR GALACTICA TOY ACTUALLY PROVED DEADLY TO KIDS. The launcher caused ripped intestines, eye injuries, and one death when a missile lodged in a child's esophagus. They were recalled in 1979. SCARAB CRACKED.COM http://resources.lawinfo.com/personal-injury/products-liability/ — Source

30

Toy Recalls

CRACKED.COM THIS TRICYCLE WAS THE MOST OBVIOUS RECALL EVER. The Disney Princess Plastic Racing Trike brings a fantasy kingdom close to your children. So close, in fact, they risk getting it impaled in their little skulls. One sudden stop is all it takes. To no one's surprise, this murdercycle was recalled in 2011. — Source

29

The Ban on Lawn Darts

CRACKED.COM IT TOOK DEAD CHILDREN TO BAN LAWN DARTS. Contains 4 JAVELIN DARTS 2 TARGET CIRCLES HASBRO JAVELIN DARTS If you're going, What the hell were they thinking to sell huge flying metal spikes to play with, V you're not alone. The U.S. banned them for good in the late '80s-but only after they had caused thousands of injuries (and a few deaths) over three decades. — Source

28

Skydancers

Skydancers were recalled in 2000. 8.9 million were recalled after about 150 reports of injuries, from eye injuries to facial lacerations to a broken rib. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Pogs

Pogs were a rip-off of the Japanese game Menko. Menko's been popular since the 1600s, travelling to Hawaii when Japanese people imigrated in the early 20th century. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Beanie Babies

The creator of Beanie Babies was charged with tax fraud. The billionaire creator Ty Warner had to pay a $100,000 fine but no jail time (?!) for hiding millions of dollars. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

24

CRACKED SILLY PUTTY WAS DEVELOPED AS A RUBBER SUBSTITUTE. It was originally thought to be useless until the scientists examining it whipped it out at parties, which were really boring in the 1940s. — Source

23

CRACKED THE SLINKY WAS DEVELOPED FOR THE NAVY. The strong spring was supposed to secure objects on ships, but then its inventor dropped it and realized it was a lot more fun to play with. Slinky COLLECTOR'S EDITION EDITION COLLECTOR LA EDICIÓN DE COLECCIONISTA HICHE MADE - 5+ Slinky — Source

22

CRACKED FRISBEES USED TO BE PIE TINS. The Frisbie Pie Company unwittingly ushered in a new era of lawn games when, in the grand tradition of broke student upcycling, Yale students figured out they could throw them really far. Fries PIES 46 — Source

21

In the 1980s, the struggling HASBRO toy company released a new action figure for its GIJOE line. The new character SNAKE EYES was clad completely in BLACK because Hasbro couldn't afford COLORED PAINT. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

He-Man

The 1983 HE-MAN was syndicated AND THE developed cartoon MASTERS by Mattel OF THE UNIVERSE just to sell dolls (err... action figures). Reagan era deregulation paved the way for toy companies to create product based programming aimed at children, basically allowing Saturday morning cartoons to become half hour commericals. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

CRACKED ВЕВОР AND ROCKSTEADY WERE CREATED SOLELY FOR TOY SALES. They didn't appear in the live action movies, but were created by Peter Laird as more characters for the cartoon's toy line. They weren't given much personality or backstory, just Shredder's henchmen for the Turtles to beat every time. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES — Source

18

CRACKED THE TRANSFORMERS CARTOON WAS MADE TO HAWK PRODUCT. In 1984, Hasbro bought a toy line from the Japanese company Takara, and rebranded them as Transformers. They created the Transformers series based on the toy line, and made $950 million in toy sales from 1984 to 1990 alone. — Source

17

Lego is the world's largest tire manufacturer. The company produces over 318 million tires every year- or about 870,000 tires a day. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Mr. Potato Head used to be a real potato... that you had to provide. TRY НЕ ВОЛ POTA E! BA Pie F J any poi Incla bod ma Originally MR the toy came with Lot to a stick into a had In 1964 potato you Mattel began providing the plastic potato body. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

Barbie and Ken

Barbie and Ken are named after siblings. Together since 1961, it still took them until 2004 to break up. The couple reconciled in 2011. CRACKED.COM — Source

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14

Silly String is used to find tripwires around bombs. Soldiers shoot the string into the air and if it falls to the ground they know there aren't any wires- if it hangs in the air they know otherwise. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

Furbies were banned from the Pentagon. Officials feared the toy would record classified information. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

K'Nex Citadel Shadowman93 devoted an entire room to his K'Nex creation, Citadel V2. It's the culmination of over three years of work and constitutes more than 55 individual elements, five lifts, three motors, and innumerable jiggers which direct the balls down 17 separate paths. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

32 Trivia Tidbits About Childhood Toys and Games — Source

10

LEGO

350,000-Piece LEGO City Brick engineer Gerry Burrows completed the 350,000-piece Garrison of Moriah in only 11 months. It includes a colosseum, hangar, bridge, waterfalls, and Gerry-Burrows-sized statuary. Thematically, it draws from The Lord of the Rings, the Bible, and classical architecture, and is peopled with Star Wars action figures. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

GRAGKED.COM TANAGOTTETI IT was THE child YOU NEVER HAD! — Source

8

Sonic the 1994 1995 Th 1992 1993 1993 Hedgehog 1999 1990 made 199 1992 199 1994 1996 1999 his 1934 debut 1990 in 1992 1991. 19:5 1997 1991 1995 MAIV And Resident 10 Evil THEY was released in 1996. 1992 1993 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 CRACKED.COM NOW YOU KNOW: THE '90s — Source

7

Nintendo and Sony

In 1992, Sony and Nintendo briefly 1992 1990 199 joined forces. 1997 1998 1999 1995 1996 1997 SONY SONY PlayStation + START SELECT Their love child was a single 096 1997 prototype that played both Nintendo cartridges and Sony CD-ROMs. 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 NOW YOU KNOW: THE '90s CRACKED.COM — Source

6

In 1991, The Little Tikes Cozy Coupe was America's best selling car. little likes For over 40 years, the company has sold 457,000 cars each year. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

You can watch a Cabbage Patch Doll be born at BabyLand General in Georgia. The doll hospital is staffed by LPNs (Licensed Patch Nurses) who facilitate births from Mother Cabbage on the hour. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Nerf's first slogan was You can't hurt babies or old people. eR The world's first INDOOR BALL NERF NeRF TM The world's BALL first INDOOR The motto helped sell millions of Nerf balls in just its first year. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Frank Lloyd Wright's son, John Lloyd Wright, invented the Lincoln Logs. Не got the idea when he saw his dad employ a similar interlocking style in order to earthquake proof one of his buildings. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

The Super Soaker was invented by a Nasa Engineer. In addition to the Super Soaker, Dr. Lonnie Johnson also invented the Nerf Gun and holds over 100 patents. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

Super Smash Bros.

In 1999, we were all using the pause trick 199 in 1990 Super 1996 Smash Bros. 98 1999 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Nintendo + It was 1993 a super-sweet 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 1997 Nintendo 64 move that'd 995 freeze the game in action. NOW YOU KNOW: THE '90s CRACKED.COM — Source

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