CHILDHOOD WONDERS
Relive Your Childhood With 10 Of The Most Popular Toys!
Image: Vanessa Bucceri
Toys are usually a child’s first companions: They were there when we were lonely or bored, they taught us through playtime and maybe even allowed us to meet our first real-life friends with whom to share the treasures in our toy box. Since the dawn of our country, a myriad of toys and games have defined each decade, creating wonderful memories in the minds of generations of American children.
We have selected ten of the most iconic toys that have truly defined the lives of countless Americans. Is your favorite toy from your childhood on this list? Keep on reading and enjoy!
1
Teddy bear
Image: Oxana Lyashenko
We’ll start with the surprising origins of a global icon. While there is some debate as to the country of origin of the teddy bear, there’s absolutely no doubt as to where the furry companions of our childhood got their names. And, considering that the source of the teddy bear’s name comes from the highest office in the United States government , we think we can safely state that this toy is truly an American icon.
In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt was invited on a hunting trip to Mississippi, on which his group cornered and tied a black bear to a tree for the president to shoot. Displeased by what he thought was unsportsmanlike behavior, the President refused and the bear was freed. This story was published in many national newspapers, and it quickly became extremely popular. So much so, that a Brooklyn businessman designed a small, cuddly bear and advertised it on his shop as "Teddy’s bear" . And just with that, our 26th President unwillingly named this quintessential toy.
2
Super Soaker
Image: Steward Masweneng
If you were a kid during the 80s or 90s, you probably played with the extremely refreshing Super Soaker on a hot summer day. This reimagined water gun featured an innovative design that added pressurized air for longer and stronger water bursts. Showcasing a futuristic design, the Super Soaker felt like shooting a sci-fi laser gun, which seems only reasonable considering it was created by a former NASA engineer.
In 1982, engineer Lonnie Johnson, who specialized in aerospace design, came across the idea of the Super Soaker while conducting an experiment in his house. Johnson’s prototype combined household items like a PVC pipe and a two-liter soda bottle. While rudimentary, this first design successfully shot powerful streams of water. The rest is history: Johnson was able to mass-produce his design, and the Super Soaker became the summer toy for millions of American children.
3
Slinky
Image: Adam Valstar
Just like with the Super Soaker, the man behind this iconic toy was a successful American engineer. In 1943, while investigating a way to suspend sensitive equipment aboard ships, naval engineer Richard T. James accidentally dropped a torsion spring he was working with. James noticed the curious way in which the spring kept on moving after hitting the ground, and with that, the idea of one of the most beloved toys of the 20th century was born.
Richard and his wife Betty initially made 400 "Slinkys", which were first carried by a department store in Philadelphia for Christmas 1945. This first production was sold in less than 90 minutes , and the Slinky quickly proved to be an instant success. To this day, approximately 300 million Slinkies have been sold all over the world.
4
Rubik’s cube
Image: Olav Ahrens Røtne
Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first: No, the Rubik’s Cube is not an American invention. However, just like the rest of the world, this tricky puzzle took the United States by storm during the 70s and 80s, so it seemed only fair to add this beloved toy to this list. In the 1970s, Hungarian architecture professor Ernő Rubik designed the first prototype of the Rubik’s cube, as a way to create a system with parts that could move independently. However, he realized he had built a rather entertaining puzzle when he tried to restore the sides of his cube. Rubik applied for a patent in Hungary and started selling his "Magic Cube" by 1975.
By the 1980s, the Rubik’s Cube became a global sensation. It is reported that over 200 million cubes were sold between 1980 and 1983. In America, this puzzle immediately gained status as a cultural icon: In 1981, the Museum of Modern Art in New York exhibited a Rubik’s cube, while the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee featured a six-foot version of the toy.
5
G.I. Joe
Image: Justin Wilkens
In 1963, Manhattan inventor and licensing agent Stanley Weston came up with the idea of a military action figure . Perhaps unbeknownst to him, Weston’s prototypes would soon inspire G.I. Joe, the first toy to teach American children about how every U.S. soldier can be a superhero to treasure and admire.
Produced by Hasbro, the G.I. Joe series encompasses countless action figures throughout their almost 60 years of history. Most of the toys feature the titular "G.I. Joe Team", a league of military heroes that defends the world from the evil deeds conducted by the "Cobra" organization.
6
Frisbee
Image: Patrick Reynolds
If any kid playing around with a cool stick they found lying can teach you anything, it doesn’t take much to make a fun toy that children will enjoy. Case in point: In 1937, Walter Frederick Morrison and his future wife Lucille realized how fun it was to toss a popcorn can lid back and forth. After WW2, Morrison worked on several designs until, in 1955, he designed "the Pluto Platter" , the very first version of what we now know as the Frisbee.
The story behind the name of this iconic toy is rather interesting. Wham-O, the company behind the commercialization of the Pluto Platter, realized that Yale University students were calling their product by another name. Since the plastic discs resembled empty pie tins , they called them "Frisbies" after the Frisbie Pie Company, a pie supplier for the university.
7
Barbie
Image: Elena Mishlanova
Barbie truly needs no introduction : She’s definitely the world's most famous doll, selling over six billion units in its 60-year history. She has been featured in a myriad of TV shows and movies, including an Academy Award-winning live-action film in 2023. With such a prolific and wondrous career, it’s easy to forget how Barbie's story started: With an innovator watching her daughter play.
One evening in the 1950s, businesswoman Ruth Handler noticed that, whenever her daughter played with paper dolls, she enjoyed pretending they were adults. At the time, most dolls depicted infants and babies, so Handler created the prototype of an adult-bodied doll, which she named "Barbie" after her daughter Barbara. On March 9, 1959 (a date which is now Barbie’s official birthday), the very first Barbie doll was presented at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.
8
Hula hoop
Image: Patricia Prudente
The hula-hoop is definitively the oldest toy on this list: Archaeologists believe that children and adults played with hoops of some kind since at least 500 BC. However, in 1958, a plastic hoop launched by American toy company Wham-O became insanely popular, and with that, the hula-hoop mania was born.
Named after its resemblance to the hip movements of the traditional Hula dance, the hula-hoop is still a remarkably popular toy . Not only that, hooping is considered an excellent and fun exercise, promoted as an excellent way to improve cardiovascular health.
9
View-master
Image: Girl with red hat
Just like the Slinky, the View-Master wasn’t originally conceived as a kid’s toy. And, to be perfectly honest, at its core it is truly an entertainment experience for all ages: An innovative and fresh way of enjoying beautiful images and scenery. However, it wouldn’t be right not to include this wonderful device in this list, since it has touched the hearts of thousands of American children since 1939.
Created by pharmacist Edwin Mayer in Portland, Oregon, the View-Master was introduced at the 1939 New York World's Fair. While its original intent was to provide an alternative to postcards, over time it included cartoons and short stories aimed at children. Famously, the View-Master’s most popular reels featured Disney and Hannah Barbera characters.
10
Legos
Image: Xavi Cabrera
We’ll end this list with an absolute classic . With over 75 years of history and no sign of slowing down, Legos have truly shaped the lives of millions of children around the world. The true beauty of these colorful bricks is that they are only limited by children’s imagination which, we are sure you’ll agree, is definitively limitless. In the right hand, a single plastic brick can be the start of a giant dinosaur, a spaceship, or a bell tower.
The humble beginnings of Lego come from the town of Billund, Denmark, where a carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen started making wooden toys in 1932. Christiansen named his company "Lego" after the Danish phrase leg godt , which translates to "play well". By the end of the 1940s, the company was already producing an early version of its iconic interlocking bricks, now considered a completely ubiquitous cultural icon.
