Forbes magazine is a famous business magazine.
The magazine often publishes lists of successful business ventures; this Christmas they listed the most popular toys of this century (1900-present).
Do you recognize any of these…
1910-1919
Toy: Raggedy Ann Dolls
Year Introduced: 1915
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Erector Sets (1913), Tinkertoys (1913), Lincoln Logs (1916)
Forbes Fact
Lincoln Logs were invented by John Lloyd Wright, the son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright was inspired by the way that his father designed the earthquake-proof Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.
1920-1929
Toy: Madame Alexander Collectible Dolls
Year Introduced: 1929
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Yo-Yo (1929)
Forbes Fact
Madame Alexander was the first to create a doll based on a licensed character (Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind), thus paving the way for the glut of movie dolls, figurines and action figures that accompanies contemporary Hollywood releases. She also created the first dolls in honor of living people, producing a set of 36 Queen Elizabeth II dolls to commemorate the 1953 Coronation celebrations in Britain.
1930-1939
Toy: View-Master 3-D Viewer
Year Introduced: 1938
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Sorry (1934), Monopoly (1935), Betsey Wetsy doll (1937)
Forbes Fact
The View-Master was the brainchild of piano tuner William Gruber. During World War II, viewers were used in training for the U.S. military, and more than 1 billion have been sold thus far. The most popular View-Master reel? The scenic reel of Mecca.
1940-1949
Toy: Candy Land
Year Introduced: 1949
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Tonka Trucks (1947), Magic 8 Ball (1947), Scrabble (1948), Slinky (1948), Clue (1949)
Forbes Fact
One out of every three American homes owns a Scrabble board. More than 100 million sets have been sold worldwide, and 1 to 2 million sets are sold each year in North America alone.
1950-1959
Toy: Mr. Potato Head
Year Introduced: 1952
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Silly Putty (1950), LEGO Building Sets (1953), Matchbox Cars (1954), Play-Doh (1956), Yahtzee (1956), Frisbee (1957), Hula Hoop (1958), Barbie (1959)
Forbes Fact
The original Mr. Potato Head contained only parts–eyes, ears, noses and mouths–parents had to supply children with real potatoes to play with! Eight years later, manufacturer Hasbro decided to include a hard plastic potato "body" with the toy to replace the real spud.
1960-1969
Toy: G.I. Joe
Year Introduced: 1964
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Etch-a-Sketch (1960), Game Of Life (1960), Troll Dolls (1961), Easy Bake Oven (1963), Operation (1965), Twister (1966), Battleship (1967), Lite Brite (1967), Hot Wheels (1968)
Forbes Fact
How does the Etch-a-Sketch work? Exactly the way it did when the toy was introduced 45 years ago. A stylus is mounted on a pair of orthogonal rails, which move when you turn the knobs. A mixture of extremely fine aluminum powder and beads (which help the powder flow evenly) lines the Etch-a-Sketch's interior. When you turn the device upside down and shake, this mixture sticks to the inside face of the glass. And when you then turn one of the knobs, the stylus scratches off the aluminum dust to create a line on the screen.
1970-1979
Toy: Rubik's Cube
Year Introduced: 1978
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Nerf Balls (1970), Uno (1972), Dungeons and Dragons (1974), Playmobil (1974), Star Wars Action Figures (1977), Strawberry Shortcake (1979)
Forbes Fact
Erno Rubik, inventor of the Rubik's cube, was a lecturer in the Department of Interior Design at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest when he created his now-famous cube. The cube (which has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 different possible configurations and only one solution) made Rubik the communist bloc's first self-made millionaire and Hungary's richest private citizen.
1980-1989
Toy: Cabbage Patch Kids
Year Introduced: 1983
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Trivial Pursuit (1982), Care Bears (1983), My Little Pony (1983), Transformers (1984), Koosh Ball (1987), Pictionary (1987), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1988), Super Soaker (1989)
Forbes Fact
In 1985, the peak of the Cabbage Patch Kids craze, doll sales totaled $600 million (that's more than $1.1 billion in 2005 dollars).
1990-1999
Toy: Beanie Babies
Year Introduced: 1996
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993), Lamaze Learning Products (1995), Tickle-Me Elmo (1996), Tamagotchi (1997), Furby (1998), Groovy Girls (1999)
Forbes Fact
Sales of the 1996 holiday season's "must-have" toy, Tickle-Me Elmo (which turned otherwise sane parents into angry, stampeding hoards), didn't take off until talk show host and comedienne Rosie O'Donnell pulled an old Groucho Marx gag on her unsuspecting guests. Every time a guest said the word "wall," Rosie threw one of the 200 Elmo dolls that manufacturer Tyco toys sent to her studio into the audience.
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2000-Present
Toy: Razor Scooter
Year Introduced: 2000
Other Notable Toys Of The Decade: Jumbo Music Blocks (2001)
Forbes Fact
More than 5 million Razor scooters were sold within a year of their debut. The original Razor Scooter was manufactured in the late 1990s by Taiwanese bicycle frame and specialty parts maker J.D. Corporation. President Gino Tsai, a mechanical engineer, claims that his legs were too short to move quickly around his large factory in Chang Hua, Taiwan, so he decided to give the classic scooter a sleeker, modern update.
I was VERY angry!!!
