I didn’t receive any toys for Christmas this year. And, not gonna lie, I really miss the days when unwrapping gifts revealed dolls and games, instead of college money. Here are two of the most popular toys from each decade; nearly all can still be bought today. So next year, don’t let Santa give you checks.
1900s:
Rocking Horse: The production of rocking horses became industrialized in the late 19th century, which lowered manufacturing costs. The resulting drop in consumer cost caused rocking horses to establish quite a following by the early 1900s.
Crayola Crayons: To color in style in 1903, a 8 crayon box cost only 5¢ in 1903. The name Crayola came from craie, the French word for “chalk” and ola for “oily.”
1910s:
Raggedy Ann: First appearing in stories written by Johnny Gruelle, Raggedy Ann became a stuffed doll in 1915. Brother Andy was born in 1920.
Teddy Bear: After President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear on a hunting trip, stuffed bears were produced and called “Teddy’s Bears.” Although original teddy bears resembled real bears, they evolved into having rounder, cuter features.
1920s:
Radio Flyer: These red wagons were named after inventor Antonio Pasin’s two favorite intentions: the radio and the airplane. Originally made from wood, this material was soon replaced with metal, and today metal and plastic Radio Flyers are produced.
Lincoln Logs: After architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the earthquake-resistant Imperial Hotel in Japan, his son, John Lloyd Wright, designed a toy that could withstand children’s’ roughhousing, modeling the interlocking log structure after the hotel’s pattern of timber beams.
1930s:
Yo-yo: Yo-yoing was common in ancient Greece, but these were mass-produced in 1929, and popular throughout the 1930s. In 1932, the first World Yo-Yo Contest was held in London.
Finger paint: With the Great Depression plaguing the United States, money was tight among most families. By the mid-30s kids were making artistic messes out of inexpensive finger paint in both school and at home.
1940s:
View Masters: Originally intended as a souvenir from tourist sights, View Masters gave travelers and non-travelers a way to see the world in 3-D. After appearing at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, View Masters began to offer 3-D Disney images, becoming a child’s favorite too.
Slinky: When naval engineer Richard James was designing springs to protect fragile equipment on ships, he accidentally knocked one off a shelf. The spring proceeded to step down from box to box till it reached the ground, and the slinky was born.
1950s:
Play-Doh: First manufactured as wallpaper cleaner for Cincinnati school classrooms, this cleaning putty was soon used for class art projects, so manufacturers began to market it as a toy. Think the name Play-Doh is weird? Its manufacturers wanted to call it “Rainbow Modeling Compound.”
Hula hoop: In the beginning, only acrobats made use of hoops, but by 1958, plastic hula hoops were being enjoyed by teens across the country. Smaller hoops were manufactured a few years later, opening up the world of hula hooping to children.
1960s:
Barbie: Named after inventor Ruth Handler’s daughter, Barbara, these plastic dolls were designed as a 3-D, more realistic alternative to paper dolls. Launching a myriad of new Barbie dolls and clothing in the 60s kept Barbie relevant and popular throughout the decade and beyond.
Easy Bake Oven: Using a light bulb as a heat source, these miniature ovens enabled many girls across America to bake just like Mom, but sometimes with less than ideal results.
1970s:
Pet Rock: Undeniably the easiest pet to care for, Pet Rocks were a 70s craze. If you were lucky enough to receive the store-bought kit, you’d receive a cardboard cage complete with breathing holes and a straw bed. But even families on a budget could afford to give their kids this gift, with just a quick stop to their backyard.
Star Wars Action Figures: After the first Star Wars movie hit theaters in 1977, parents rushed to get their kids the corresponding action figures. The originals were Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Chewbacca, but Darth Vader and Han Solo quickly joined the clan.
1980s:
Care Bears: Originally designed on greeting cards, these characters soon were sold as plush animals. Because each kind of bear sported a different symbol to represent a different emotion on its belly, you needed all of the Care Bears to ensure you’d have a friend at every time of your life.
Rubik’s Cube: Inventor Ernő Rubik, first designed the Rubik’s Cube to test the concept of moving independent parts while keeping the mechanism intact. Only after being unable to restore the original composition did Rubik view it as a puzzle.
1990s:
Furby: These robotic creatures debuted in 1998, programmed to, at first, speak their own Furbish language, but to gradually start speaking more and more English. Consumer demand in 1998 exceeded Furby supply, and resale price ranged from $100-300+ that holiday season.
Beanie Babies: Intended as inexpensive tiny stuffed animals for children, Beanie Babies soon became a collector’s item. If you own a rare one, its sale could receive thousands at an auction.
2000s:
Razor Scooter: The cool kids could perform tricks on Razor Scooters, but most of us just used them as our primary mode of transportation before could ride bikes.
iPod Touch: Before we all got phones, these were our texting gizmos. Unless you skipped the iPod stage and instead went straight for an iPhone, which in that case, you really missed out.
2010s:
Zhu Zhu Pets: Translated as “little pig” from Mandarin, these motorized hamsters move through both their hamster habitats (sold separately) and your floors. Although the craze in 2009 died down by the next year, ZhuZhu Pets have tried to make a comeback by starring in movies.
Hoverboard: While these motorized scooters don’t hover in the air, they are controlled by the user tilting their body weight. Although Hoverboards have been known to cause fires in the past, they are currently being redesigned as nonflammable.
Sarah Kikel ’18
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