Americans Choose Favorite Toys of the 20th Century; 'The Toys of Our Lives' Survey Determines Classics.HERNDON, Va., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of Americans reflected on their childhood and participated in a national Internet survey to determine which toys and games will be remembered as the favorites of the 20th Century. Log Cabin log cabin or log house, style of home typical of the American pioneer on the Western frontier of the United States in the great westward expansion after 1765. It was constructed with few tools, usually an axe or an adz and an auger. Building Sets, the original Tinkertoy, the Hoola Hoop, Silly Putty Silly Putty synthetic clay; uses ranging from bouncing balls to false mustaches. [Am. Hist.: Sann, 165] See : Fads , Barbie, the Erector Set Erector Set is the trade name of a toy construction set that was wildly popular in the United States during much of the 20th century. Like Meccano, it consists of collections of small metal beams with regular holes for nuts, bolts, screws, and mechanical parts such as pulleys, and the Flexible Flyer Sled were among the top vote- getters in the survey sponsored by BacktoBasicsToys.com. Over thirteen thousand votes were counted. "These toys have endured because they have a mysterious capacity to be just exactly what they ought to be," said Eric Garfinkel, president of Back to Basics Toys of Herndon, Virginia Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 21,655 at the 2000 census, which makes it the largest of three towns in the county.[1] History . "We respond emotionally to these toys in a way that is not easily explained." Consumers from across the country, who grew up throughout all decades of the twentieth century, took part in the survey. While the responses reflected the changes in toy technology through the years, as well as an increase in the standard of living of many Americans, a surprising number of favorite toys spanned the generations in appeal. "The toys that emerged as the country's favorites are quintessential playthings that never seem to go out of style," said Garfinkel. "The toys that have endured have a certain simplicity in design and outstanding play value that gives them timeless appeal." Ranking of Toys and Games chosen by Americans as favorites of the 20th Century*:
#1 Barbie #11 Silly Putty
#2 Easy-Bake Oven #12 Raggedy Ann
#3 Log Cabin Building Set #13 Doll House
#4 Tinkertoy #14 Mr. Potato Head
#5 Etch-A-Sketch #15 Train Set
#6 Spirograph #16 Erector Set
#7 Slinky #17 Flexible Flyer Sled
#8 Play-Doh #18 Pogo Stick
#9 Hoola Hoop #19 Chatty Cathy
#10 Colorforms #20 Magic 8 Ball
When asked if they still have their favorite toys, 52% of Americans said that they do, and 48% said that they do not. Parents gave the favorite toy to 63% of respondents, followed by 20% who received the treasured gift from Santa Claus and 6% who received it from a grandparent. Less than 1% actually bought their favorite toy themselves. Back to Basics Toys, a catalog and Internet toy company, was founded in 1988 by Eric and Diane Garfinkel, who were disappointed when they couldn't find quality classic toys for their own children. Most of the toys selected as America's Favorites in the survey can be ordered at Back to Basics Toys. Consumers can shop on-line at www.backtobasictoys.com, or request an 88-page catalog by calling 800-356-5360. *Based on over 10,000 votes received in an Internet survey conducted September 1 - November 1, at www.backtobasicstoys.com "THE TOYS OF OUR LIVES" SURVEY RESULTS Overall Responses Favorite Toys - In Ranking Order
#1 Barbie
#2 Easy-Bake Oven
#3 Log Cabin Building Set
#4 Tinkertoy
#5 Etch-A-Sketch
#6 Spirograph
#7 Slinky
#8 Play-Doh
#9 Hoola Hoop
#10 Colorforms
#11 Silly Putty
#12 Raggedy Ann
#13 Doll House
#14 Mr. Potato Head
#15 Train Set
#16 Erector Set
#17 Flexible Flyer Sled
#18 Pogo Stick
#19 Chatty Cathy
#20 Magic 8 Ball
#21 Creepy Crawlers
#22 Yo-Yo
#23 Legos
#24 GI Joe
#25 Wagon
#26 Electric Football
#27 Balsa Plane
#28 Frisbee
#29 Cabbage Patch Doll
#30 Marvel the Mustang
#31 Air Hockey
#32 Go-Kart
#33 Jack-in-the-Box
#34 Nok-Hockey
#35 Labyrinth
#36 Hot Wheels
#37 Jacks
Favorite Games - In Ranking Order
#1 Monopoly
#2 Clue
#3 Life
#4 Scrabble
#5 Candyland
#6 Battleship
#7 Operation
#8 Sorry
#9 Parcheesi
#10 Chess/Checkers
#11 Mousetrap
#12 Chutes and Ladders
#13 Trouble
#14 Risk
#15 Concentration
#16 Stratego
#17 Password
Children of the 1920's
Favorite Toys:
1) Alphabet Blocks, 2) Carroms, 3) Erector erector /erec·tor/ (e-rek´ter) [L.] a structure that erects, as a muscle which raises or holds up a part. e·rec·tor n. A muscle that makes a body part erect. Also called arrector. Sets, 4) Etch-A-Sketch, 5) Flexible Flyer Sleds, 6) Jack-in-the-Box, 7) Jig-saw Puzzles, 8) Log Cabin Sets, 9) Marbles, 10) Teddy Bear Favorite Games: Chess/Checkers Children of the 1930's Favorite Toys: 1) Doll Houses, 2) Raggedy Ann Raggedy Ann good-natured despite misadventures; doll with perpetual smile. [Children’s Lit.: Raggedy Ann Stories] See : Cheerfulness , 3) Flexible Flyer Sled, 4) Tinkertoys, 5) Erector Sets, 6) Train Sets, 7) Shirley Temple Doll, 8) Etch-A- Sketch, 9) Wagons, 10) Yo-Yos Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Chess/Checkers, 3) Scrabble Children of the 1940's Favorite Toys: 1) Tinkertoys, 2) Doll Houses, 3) Log Cabin Building Set, 4) Raggedy rag·ged·y adj. rag·ged·i·er, rag·ged·i·est Tattered or worn-out; ragged. Ann, 5) Erector Sets, 6) Flexible Flyer Sleds, 7) Train Sets, 8) Yo- Yos, 9) Wagons Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Scrabble, 3) Chess/Checkers, 4) Parcheesi Parcheesi: see backgammon. Children of the 1950's Favorite Toys: 1) Log Cabin Building Set, 2) Hoola Hoop, 3) Tinkertoy, 4) Barbie, 5) Etch-A-Sketch, 6) Slinky slink·y adj. slink·i·er, slink·i·est 1. Stealthy, furtive, and sneaking. 2. Informal Graceful, sinuous, and sleek: wore a slinky outfit to the party. , 7) Train Set, 8) Doll House, 9) Mr. Potato Head Potato head might refer to:
Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Scrabble, 3) Clue, 4) Parcheesi, 5) Chess/Checkers Children of the 1960's Favorite Toys: 1) Barbie, 2) Easy-Bake Oven The Easy-Bake Oven, currently a product of Hasbro, is a working toy oven that for many years used an ordinary light bulb as a heat source, but now has a true heating element. Eleven versions of the Easy-Bake Oven have been sold. , 3) Spirograph spirograph /spi·ro·graph/ (-graf) an instrument for registering respiratory movements. spi·ro·graph n. An instrument for registering the depth and rapidity of respiratory movements. , 4) Log Cabin Building Set, 5) Etch-A-Sketch, 6) Chatty Cathy, 7) Tinkertoy, 8) Slinky, 9) Creepy Crawlers, 10) Colorforms, 11) Silly Putty Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Life, 3) Scrabble, 4) Battleship battleship, large, armored warship equipped with the heaviest naval guns. The evolution of the battleship, from the ironclad warship of the mid-19th cent., received great impetus from the Civil War. , 5) Operation, 6) Candyland, 7) Clue Children of the 1970's Favorite Toys: 1) Easy-Bake Oven, 2) Barbie, 3) Log Cabin Building Set, 4) Spirograph, 5)Tinkertoy, 6) Etch-A-Sketch, 7) Play-Doh, 8) Colorforms, 9) Silly Putty, 10) Slinky, 11) Raggedy Ann Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Life, 3) Clue, 4) Candyland, 5) Battleship, 6) Sorry, 7) Operation Children of the 1980's Favorite Toys: 1) Barbie, 2) Cabbage Patch Dolls, 3) Play-Doh, 4) Easy-Bake Oven, 5) Legos, 6)Log Cabin Building Set, 7) Etch-A-Sketch, 8) Silly Putty, 9) Tinkertoy, 10) Colorforms, 11) Mr. Potato Head Mr. Potato Head is a popular children's doll, consisting of a plastic model of a potato. Originally, the potato is blank; however, it can be decorated with numerous attachable plastic parts to make a face, including a mustache, hat, nose and other features. History Mr. , 12) Slinky, 13) Raggedy Ann, 14) Doll House, 15) GI Joe, 16) Pogo Stick, 17) Go Karts Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Clue, 3) Life, 4) Candyland, 5) Operation, 6) Battleship, 7) Risk Children of the 1990's Favorite Toys: 1) Play-Doh, 2) Yo-Yos, 3) Go-Karts, 4) Mr. Potato Head, 5) Barbie, 6) Silly Putty, 7) Labyrinth, 8) Easy-Bake Oven, 9) Pogo Stick, 10) Air Hockey, 11) Slinky, 12) Etch-A-Sketch Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Candyland, 3) Battleship, 4) Clue, 5) Scrabble, 6) Chess/Checkers Children of the Mid-Atlantic Region Favorite Toys: 1) Log Cabin Building Set, 2) Barbie, 3) Easy-Bake Oven, 4) Colorforms, 5) Tinkertoy Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Clue, 3) Scrabble, 4) Life, 5) Battleship Children of the Mid-West Favorite Toys: 1) Barbie, 2) Log Cabin Building Set, 3) Easy-Bake Oven, 4) Tinkertoy, 5) Spirograph Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Life, 3) Clue, 4) Candyland, 5) Scrabble Children of the North East Favorite Toys: Barbie, 2) Easy-Bake Oven, 3) Log Cabin Building Set, 4) Etch-A-Sketch, 5) Colorforms Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Scrabble, 3) Life, 4) Candyland, 5) Clue Children of the Pacific North West Favorite Toys: 1) Barbie, 2) Log Cabin Building Set, 3) Easy-Bake Oven, 4) Spirograph, 5) Train Set Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Clue, 3) Scrabble, 4) Sorry, 5) Life Children of the South East Favorite Toys: 1) Easy-Bake Oven, 2) Barbie, 3) Log Cabin Building Set, 4) Hoola Hoop, 5) Etch-A-Sketch Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Candyland, 3) Sorry, 4) Scrabble, 5) Operation Children of the South West Favorite Toys: 1) Barbie, 2) Tinkertoy, 3) Easy-Bake Oven, 4) Log Cabin Building Set, 5) Etch-A-Sketch Favorite Games: 1) Monopoly, 2) Clue, 3) Life, 4) Battleship, 5) Candyland |
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