We have a lot of cool (and strange) toys in our offices: cool robots, NERF guns, creepy dolls. But the one thing that has fascinated everyone in our office over the past couple of weeks is, of all things, an ant farm. Granted, it's a cool, neon-blue, glowing ant farm, but it is an ant farm none the less.
We, however, have turned into 3rd graders, checking each day to see what new tunnels have been built overnight and making sure the ants themselves are still alive (which they are.) The manufacturer claims that they live for several months inside the self-contained farm. It is fascinating to see how a tube of live ants dumped on top of blue gel will, over the course of a few days, build an organized (and strangely beautiful) series of tunnels and sleeping chambers. It just goes to show that nature can be entertaining...and no batteries are needed. -- E. Christian Moore
Today we have one of the oldest toys every, dating back to ancient Greece!
Here's a little bit of history on the Yo-yo from wikipedia:
Ancient History:
"The earliest surviving yo-yo dates to 500 BC and was made using terra cotta skin disks. A Greek vase from this period shows a boy playing yo-yo. Greek records from the period describe toys made out of wood, metal, or painted terra cotta (clay). The terra cotta disks were used to ceremonially offer the toys of youth to certain gods when a child came of age—discs of other materials were used for actual play. Philippine historical records indicate that 16th century hunters hiding in trees used a rock tied to a cord up to 20 feet in length to throw at wild animals beneath them—the cord enabling retrieval of the rock after missed attempts."
Modern History:
"James L. Haven and Charles Hettrick of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, received the first United States patent on "...an improved construction of the toy, commonly called a bandelore..." in 1866.
However, the yo-yo would remain in relative obscurity until 1928 when a Filipino American named Pedro Flores opened the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara, California. The business started with a dozen handmade toys; by November 1929, Flores was operating two additional factories in Los Angeles and Hollywood, which altogether employed 600 workers and produced 300,000 units daily."
The Duncan Era:
"Shortly thereafter (ca. 1929), an entrepreneur named Donald Duncan recognized the potential of this new fad and purchased the Flores Yo-yo Corporation and all its assets, including the Flores name, which was transferred to the new company in 1932. Duncan's first yo-yo thereafter was the Duncan O-BOY. Duncan is reputed to have paid more than $250,000, a fortune by depression era standards. It turned out to be a sound investment, making many times this amount in the years to follow.
Declining sales after the Second World War prompted Duncan to launch a comeback campaign for his trademarked "Yo-Yo" in 1962 with a series of television advertisements. The media blitz was met with unprecedented success; thanks in great part to the introduction of the Duncan Butterfly, the yo-yo was more accessible to the beginner than ever.
This success would be short-lived, however, and in a landmark trademark case in 1965, a federal court's appeals ruled in favor of the Royal Tops Company, determining that yo-yo had become a part of common speech and that Duncan no longer had exclusive rights to the term. As a result of the expenses incurred by this legal battle as well as other financial pressures, the Duncan family sold the company name and associated trademarks in 1968 to Flambeau, Inc, who had manufactured Duncan's plastic models since 1955. As of 2010, Flambeau Plastics continues to run the company."
Here are some awesome commercials from the 70s including an awesome one (the first one in the batch) with professional yo-yo masters!
I totally had a camera like that! Who else is with me?
If all this yo-yo talk has you hungering to take up your childhood passion once again, we have tons, in all colors, makes, and models, here for you to enjoy-- check them out!
Have a happy weekend everyone!
--Laura M.
Invented in 1946, by the son of a "clairvoyant", today I found myself wondering how many bad decisions have been made on the recommendations of the Magic 8 Ball. Still made and sold by Mattel, the Magic 8 Ball is today's flash back Friday toy.
How does it work? For that we turn to Wikipedia:
It is a hollow, plastic sphere resembling an oversized, black and white 8-ball. Inside is a cylindrical reservoir containing a white, plastic, icosahedral die floating in alcohol with dissolved dark blue dye. The die is hollow, with openings in each face, allowing the die to fill with fluid, giving the plastic die minimal buoyancy. Each of the 20 faces of the die has an affirmative, negative, or non-committal statement printed on it in raised letters. There is a transparent window on the bottom of the 8-ball through which these messages can be read.
To use the ball, it must be held with the window initially facing down. After "asking the ball" a yes-or-no question, the user then turns the ball so that the window faces up, setting in motion the liquid and die inside. When the die floats to the top and one of its faces is pressed against the window, the raised letters displace the blue liquid to reveal the message as white letters on a blue background. Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary (or recommended) to shake or jostle the ball before turning it, as doing so can create air bubbles that may visually distort the answer.
What about a commercial? I couldn't find a commercial, but I did find a video (NSFW- Language) of some guys microwaving a Magic 8 Ball. And I found a clip from Scrubs, "The Human Magic 8 Ball"
I do like that show. I also found this commercial for All State Insurance with the President from 24.
I don't know what it is, but now I want to buy both a Magic 8 Ball, and some new car insurance.
Here is a list of the possible outcomes from asking the Magic 8 Ball a question:
● Very doubtful
So, 10 good replies, 5 either way, and 5 negatives. Interesting. Good to know if you are going to base some of your decision making on this tried and true method.
"Will my readers have a great weekend Magic 8 Ball?"
"Signs Point to Yes"
--Laura M.
Today is the day of Dr. Seuss
A wonderful man as ever let loose
He taught us to rhyme
and to always find fun
today is the time
to say "We love you a ton!"
Seems everyone is celebrating Dr. Seuss' big day today. Even the First Lady got in on the act by reading The Cat in the Hat to a group of school children.
So we will celebrate the way we know best, with a bunch of Suess toys, and just forget the rest!
Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat Finger Puppets
Manhattan Toy Dr. Seuss Horton
The Wonder Forge Dr Seuss Classic Cards
New Dr. Seuss Quote Vinyl wall Art Decal Decor "A Person's a"
Cat in the Hat I Can Do That! Game
Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat Fish in a Teapot Action Plush Costume Hat
Manhattan Toy Dr. Seuss The Grinch - Medium
The Wonder Forge Green Eggs and Ham Speedy Diner Game
Dr Seuss Cat in the Hat Costume Boy - Child Medium 8-10
Horton Hears a Who! - You to the Rescue!
Trend Lab Dr Seuss Velour Cat In The Hat Chair and Ottoman, Olive
Are You My Mother? Hardcover Book with Plush Animal Character
Child Dr Seuss Horton Elephant Costume
Manhattan Toy Company Dr. Seuss Fox in Socks
LeapFrog Tag Activity Storybook - Green Eggs and Ham
LeapFrog Tag Classic Storybook the Cat in the Hat
Dr. Seuss Fish Slide by Schylling
Manhattan Baby Dr. Seuss Plush Toy Sweet WHO Boy Snuggle Pod
I'll leave you with a quote from my favorite Dr. Seuss book, The Birthday Book,
"Today you are you! |
 |
...who is you-er than you! |
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!
--Laura M.
The Olympics are a reason for celebration in my house. Nine times out of ten in our household there is some kind of sports event on the TV , when the Olympics come around, we usually have them tuned in. With all the sliding, skating, skiing, and racing this week, I thought that Flexible Flyer Sleds would be a great Flash Back Friday Toy. Here's a little history from an article by D. B. Ryan.
"The Flexible Flyer Sled, the iconic toy of films such as "A Christmas Story," was the brainchild of a Pennsylvania Quaker farm implements manufacturer named Samuel Leeds Allen. Allen worked with his father, John C. Allen, from a crafts barn on "Ivystone," his working farm. The inspiration for the sled came from his love of sledding and his experiences at Westtown Boarding School and Friends' Select School in the late 1850s. Sledding, or "coasting," was a popular winter pastime during the 1800s. S.L. Allen's children served as testers for each new sled design.
S.L. Allen had a practical reason to design sleds, in that he wanted to provide work for his employees at the manufacturing facility. Farm equipment was a seasonal business: it sold well when farmers were not actively involved in working their farms, during the winter months. The summer and fall months left Allen workers waiting for new projects. He did not want his employees to leave for occupations with a full-year employment."
An original Flexible Flyer is even on display at the Smithsonian Institution of American History.
These sleds were made in Medina, OH from 1969 to 1973.
This is a 1969 photo from the Ohio Historical Society where workers pose with some of the sleds made at the plant. Here is a great article from The Gazette from Medina County, OH on the sledding plant's history
You can still get a Flexible Flyer sled today- wooden or a more modern plastic model. You can check out the full selection here.
Have a great weekend- I am off to Vancouver to catch a little bit of the Olympic spirit! I'll report back on Monday.
--Laura M.
We've been watching the news coming out of Toy Fair this week and are really excited. We'll be bringing you some of the coverage later in the week and next week from Eddie Moore who was able to attend this week. We are very excited for him to get back to Seattle and share with everyone- but here are some of the products that we have seen around the web this week.
I am very excited for Barbie's new career! This time around she is going to be a computer engineer. How awesome! Now my little girl's doll can write code along with me! Her other new career- as voted on by her fans- is a News Anchor. Both are very cute and just what I would expect form the Queen of Pink!
The folks over at Woot have been blogging about Toy Fair this week and the sweetest thing I have seen so far is the Emerson House. It's an amazing looking doll house that has solar powered lights. I want to live in that house!
Another new product that I have been hearing all about are the Vamplets. I got the BEST press release right before the show on these little guys because they are sponsoring a blood drive at the show. Very funny marketing technique- but also very helpful. A win-win!
adorable aren't they? I mean- for blood sucking un-dead at least.
and here's one thing many girls out there wish they would have been at Toy Fair to see:
Yes, that's everyone's favorite werewolf- Taylor Lautner. Could that kid be more adorable?
Here's another shot of Nerf's new products (oh yeah, and Lautner again...)
Another toy that is getting some press around the toy blog are the Hexbug Nanos. Apparently, they are "robotic creatures that behave just like a real bug!"
ok, that would freak me out if I just caught one out of the corner of my eye!
Another gadget at toy fair that has people all "a twitter" is the Puppy Tweets. Miss your dog while you are at work? Well, Mattel has found a way to make interacting while you are apart- easier. This gadget will "tweet" when you dog moves, barks or naps.
One picture before we go...
I see the resemblance, don't you? That's right, Hasbro got Robert Downey Jr. to unveil some of their new Iron Man 2 toys. He looks pleased don't you think?
--Laura M.
One of the toy sites that I keep an eye on for news about action figures, movie toys, and more is Topless Robot. A recent post on this site of awesomeness was "10 Great Nerd Toys for Developing Young Nerd Minds"
I enjoyed the post so much that I wanted to share these nerd toys with our readers and ask what other nerd toys are out there? Over the holidays we published the "Geek Parent Gift Guide" and loved our reader's suggestions. Leave some comments for us on what you would consider a great Nerd Toy.
2. Young Mad Scientist Alphabet Blocks
3. Batman Sounds and Lights Trike
6. Fisher-Price Super Friends Toyline
7. Albert Einstein Action Figure
So that was the top ten from Topless Robot, what are your top ten? Tell in in the comments section.
--Laura M.
This past week I attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City to get away from the toy industry for a few days and to catch up with friends from my previous life in the entertainment industry. But it seems that, even on top of a mountain in Utah, the world of toys was still able to find me.
On a short shuttle ride to a screening of the documentary, "Waste Land" (excellent, by the way), I struck up a conversation with a group of people from Los Angeles, one of whom was an actor named Sean Moran. His friends informed me that Sean not only plays Private Fike in the mega-successful film, "Avatar," but his likeness was also made into one of the action figures for the film. (They apparently even incorporated Sean's own tattoos onto the action figure as well.) It didn't occur to me to interview Sean about the process until after I was already in the screening (Sorry -- I was on vacation, remember?) but I'll try to contact him and ask him about the experience of becoming an action figure. Stay tuned. -- E. Christian Moore.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
