National Toy Hall of Fame
Strutz @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 5:35 pm
Ok... so much serious stuff going on in our world right now that we need something fun.
Which one(s) would you pick from the list?
$1:
No-frills toys including the paper airplane, sand and play food are among 12 finalists vying for a place in the National Toy Hall of Fame.
The contenders for the Class of 2017 were announced Tuesday.
Also up for the honour are the board games Risk and Clue, the Magic 8 ball, Matchbox cars, My Little Pony, the PEZ candy dispenser, Transformers, the card game Uno and Wiffle Ball.
Two or three toys will be inducted Nov. 9 into The Strong museum in Rochester, where the hall is located. Anyone can nominate a toy. The inductees are chosen on the advice of historians, educators and others for their longevity and success and ability to inspire creative play.
The winners will join 63 prior inductees, including the dollhouse, dominoes, bubbles and Big Wheels.
About this year's finalists, according to the National Toy Hall of Fame:
• Clue: The game that challenges players to solve a murder was introduced in 1947 and remains one of the top 10 bestselling board games of all time.
• Magic 8 Ball: Over the past 70 years, millions of people have posed questions and waited for a floating "ask again later," "signs point to yes" or other answer.
• Matchbox Cars: The miniature cars debuted in 1952 and by 1960 were selling at a rate of 100 million a year. They remain a top seller for Mattel.
• My Little Pony: The miniature pastel ponies were introduced in the 1980s and reintroduced in 2003. They outsold Barbie for several years at their peak.
• Paper airplane: Leonardo DaVinci may be among the most famous to make flying machines out of paper, writing about it in the 15th century.
• PEZ: What began as a breath mint in 1927 was transformed into a small brick of candy dispensed by a collectible mechanical box featuring pop-culture characters.
• Play food made of various materials has been filling the plates at pretend tea parties and picnics for generations.
• Risk: The war and strategy board game was published in the United States in 1959. Its innovative mechanics ignited renewed interest in strategy games in the 1970s.
• Sand: Historians believe even the earliest humans played in the sand, and records from the 1800s document the building of sandcastles and other sculptures.
• Transformers: The mid-1980s line was marketed with an elaborate back story supported by a Marvel comic book series, cartoon series, animated movies, electronic games and goods including its own cereal. The latest movie was released in June.
• Uno: Easy to learn and quick to play, the card game has players dispose of the cards in their hands.
• Wiffle Ball: The perforated plastic ball has been batted and thrown since 1953. Inventors determined that eight oblong slots provided the best performance.
The contenders for the Class of 2017 were announced Tuesday.
Also up for the honour are the board games Risk and Clue, the Magic 8 ball, Matchbox cars, My Little Pony, the PEZ candy dispenser, Transformers, the card game Uno and Wiffle Ball.
Two or three toys will be inducted Nov. 9 into The Strong museum in Rochester, where the hall is located. Anyone can nominate a toy. The inductees are chosen on the advice of historians, educators and others for their longevity and success and ability to inspire creative play.
The winners will join 63 prior inductees, including the dollhouse, dominoes, bubbles and Big Wheels.
About this year's finalists, according to the National Toy Hall of Fame:
• Clue: The game that challenges players to solve a murder was introduced in 1947 and remains one of the top 10 bestselling board games of all time.
• Magic 8 Ball: Over the past 70 years, millions of people have posed questions and waited for a floating "ask again later," "signs point to yes" or other answer.
• Matchbox Cars: The miniature cars debuted in 1952 and by 1960 were selling at a rate of 100 million a year. They remain a top seller for Mattel.
• My Little Pony: The miniature pastel ponies were introduced in the 1980s and reintroduced in 2003. They outsold Barbie for several years at their peak.
• Paper airplane: Leonardo DaVinci may be among the most famous to make flying machines out of paper, writing about it in the 15th century.
• PEZ: What began as a breath mint in 1927 was transformed into a small brick of candy dispensed by a collectible mechanical box featuring pop-culture characters.
• Play food made of various materials has been filling the plates at pretend tea parties and picnics for generations.
• Risk: The war and strategy board game was published in the United States in 1959. Its innovative mechanics ignited renewed interest in strategy games in the 1970s.
• Sand: Historians believe even the earliest humans played in the sand, and records from the 1800s document the building of sandcastles and other sculptures.
• Transformers: The mid-1980s line was marketed with an elaborate back story supported by a Marvel comic book series, cartoon series, animated movies, electronic games and goods including its own cereal. The latest movie was released in June.
• Uno: Easy to learn and quick to play, the card game has players dispose of the cards in their hands.
• Wiffle Ball: The perforated plastic ball has been batted and thrown since 1953. Inventors determined that eight oblong slots provided the best performance.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/paper-airplane-sand-among-finalists-for-toy-hall-of-fame-1.3585934
raydan @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 5:43 pm
Paper airplanes and Matchbox for me... I don't really consider Magic 8 Ball or Pez to be toys.
Strutz @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:24 pm
I agree.
I was curious so took a look for what ones are already in the Hall of Fame. Funny how many on the list I either had or had a friend who had. 
$1:
To date, the following toys have been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Select a toy from this list to reveal its history.
http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys
fifeboy @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:29 pm
Matchbox cars all the way!
ccga3359 @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:43 pm
Where the hell is Lego?
fifeboy @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:00 pm
ccga3359 ccga3359:
Where the hell is Lego?
Eggo my Lego!
Actually, an excellent point, although Lego wasn't around when I was young, we used erector sets. My kids loved Lego though.
herbie @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:45 pm
Used to have blocks big enough to see so you didn't step on them!
Matchbox is ancient, like Dinky Toys... where's Hot Wheels?
Strutz @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:54 pm
That list is this years possible ones to be inducted.
If you check the link I put in my 2nd post you'll see that Lego, erector sets and Hot Wheels are already in the Hall of Fame. 
I noticed on the same site you can vote for your favorite from this years list.
housewife @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:49 pm
Good to see lego made it but where is meccano. When mine were young we had tons of lego meccano and knexs. All really hard on the feet if stepped on. The Yo-Yo is an other good one. If anyone needs Yo-Yo string let me know I ended up with a couple boxes of them
ccga3359 @ Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:55 pm
OK so Lego is already inducted. My seconnd favourite plaything was the girl next door. Was she already inducted too?
DrCaleb @ Wed Sep 13, 2017 5:34 am
fifeboy fifeboy:
ccga3359 ccga3359:
Where the hell is Lego?
Eggo my Lego!
Actually, an excellent point, although Lego wasn't around when I was young, we used erector sets. My kids loved Lego though.
I'd go for Lego, or Mecanno/Erector sets. Those are what led me to Engineering. Actually, it would have been the Radio Shack Electronics sets that did that but odds are no one remembers them.
But the Atari 2600 was pretty ground breaking. Video games surpassed Hollywood revenue probably 10 years ago.
BartSimpson @ Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:20 am
Cardboard boxes should have been on the list. 
housewife @ Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:11 am
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
Cardboard boxes should have been on the list.
They already are in. First birthday and Christmas are so shocking to people who don't know just how much fun the box the toy came in is.