Imitated but never duplicated, Barbie is one of the most successful toys ever. Many of my Barbie® memories include my friends and I cutting her hair, searching for her high-heeled shoes and creating our own swimming pool in the bathroom sink. Barbie was certainly my favorite toy and I am sure many of you would agree (yes, even you guys. . . we know you loved to wage war on her with your G.I. Joes).

Barbie was first introduced at The New York Toy Show in 1959, and she was unlike anything else in the market. Barbie had the fashion sense of paper dolls, the realism of baby dolls, and the beauty of a young woman who would go on to inspire the imaginations of millions of little girls. Within ten years, Mattel had sold $500 million in products.

Many people do not realize that Barbie, and her boyfriend Ken, were actually inspired by real people. They were named after the children of Ruth and Elliot Handler, the doll’s creator. That’s right — the original Barbie (Barbara) and Ken (Kenneth) were brother and sister!
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What is Silly Putty? It squishes, stretches, bounces- you can even use it to lift images from the newspaper. This toy has been amusing kids and adults alike for the past 50 years. It seems like every time you pick it up, you can find something new to do with it. But did you ever wonder how it came to be? As it turns out, Silly Putty is an accidental creation from World War II. Silly Putty has its own website with all the Silly Putty information you could ever want to know, including the following history:

During World War II, the Japanese invaded rubber producing countries in the Far East which cut off supply to the United States. This restricted war production efforts- especially for tires and boots. As a result, the War Production Board asked American industry to create a synthetic rubber compound.

James Wright, an engineer with General Electric mixed boric acid and silicone oil in a test tube which resulted in a polymerized substance- that wasn’t exactly what he was hoping for. He removed the gooey putty from the test tube and threw it on the floor… and it bounced! General Electric sent the gooey putty to several engineers, hoping to find a use for it, but no practical uses were discovered.
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Growing up, we all probably built giant towers, trucks, buildings and castles out of LEGOs. It seems that everyone knows the LEGO brand, but maybe not the story behind the name.

Coined in 1934, the name was created by its founder by truncating the Danish phrase “leg godt,” meaning “play well.” In addition, the word “lego” in Latin translates to “to gather or put together.” The idea of playing and building is exactly what creators intended the LEGO brand encapsulate. LEGOs enable children to individually and collectivity express creativity and imagination, while also enhancing development skills. According to the company website, the overall LEGO philosophy is that “good play” enriches a child’s life even into adulthood. The founders definitely knew what they were doing 75 years ago because today, LEGO is the sixth largest global toy manufacturer.

By: Kelly Wilson

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If you are like most people, the best thing you can draw on an Etch A Sketch is a staircase- not a personal portrait or a rendition of a popular painting. The popular Etch A Sketch is a beloved toy that both intrigues and frustrates its users. The challenge to create a picture by turning two knobs can keep you busy for hours. If you really mess up your design, you’ll have to shake it clean so you can start all over again. What exactly gets shaken up, you ask?

Inside each Etch A Sketch is a bunch of aluminum powder which sticks to the screen. The knobs move a little stylus which displaces the aluminum powder on the screen to reveal dark lines. When the Etch A Sketch is shaken, the beads of aluminum powder redistribute themselves evenly over the screen leaving a clean drawing board.
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