by Pam North
Images of certain playthings from our childhood always bring waves of nostalgia for the fun and memories they brought into our youthful lives. Have you ever wondered about the origins of some of these familiar toys?
Cootie, the bright-colored plastic critter-assembly game, was the idea of Herb Schaper, a postal service letter carrier. He whittled the first set out of wood in 1948, and in the next three years hand-made 40,000 more of the wooden games. Then, with the aid of machinery and plastic, 1,200,000 were produced, and by 1978 more than 30 million Cootie games had entertained children world-wide.
James Wright, a GE engineer, concocted the formula for Silly Putty by mixing silicone oil with boric acid. The compound, while similar to rubber, had a 25% higher rebound capacity, was impervious to rot, was soft and malleable, able to stretch many times its length without breaking, and could copy an image of any printed material it was pressed upon. First dubbed "Nutty Putty," the product was marketed in 1949 under the trade name "Silly Putty," and brought in over $6 million worth of sales in the first year, supposedly the fastest-selling toy in history. More than 230 million eggs (and over 3,000 tons of the goop) have been sold since 1950, and Silly Putty has been carried in space by the astronauts to alleviate boredom and to fasten down tools during periods of weightlessness. Athletic trainers and therapists have even recommended kneading it to strengthen grip and relieve stress.
John Lloyd Wright, son of famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was traveling in Tokyo with his father in 1916. The younger Wright, inspired by the construction techniques used in the foundation of the earthquake-proof Imperial Hotel (designed by his father), conceived the idea of Lincoln Logs, which became one of the toy industry's most popular-selling products.
Charles Pajeau, an Evanston, Illinois stonemason, watched children poking sticks in the holes of thread spools, and conjured up the idea of Tinker Toys. Nearly 1,000,000 sets sold in the first year following the introduction of the construction sets at the 1913 American Toy Fair in New York.
In 1967 Elliot Handler, one of the original founders of Mattel, decided
to add axles and working wheels to static-wheel diecast model cars, and
developed a prototype gravity-powered car that could run at a record-breaking
scale speed of 300 miles per hour downhill. Low-friction styrene
wheels hung on torsion bars, a system soon patented by Mattel, was the
secret to the toy car's
high-performance action, and Hot Wheels became the focus of every boy's
playtime.
The Magic Slate was the result of an encounter experienced by R. A. Watkins, owner of a small Illinois printing plant. He was approached by a man wishing to sell him rights to a homemade device made of waxed cardboard and tissue, upon which messages and drawings could be mad and instantly erased. Watkins, undecided, asked the man to return the next day. A middle-of-the- night phone call came from the man, who was in jail, offering Watkins the device for the amount of his bail. Watkins agreed, secured U.S. patent rights and international rights, and successfully produced the item.
Health issues have even been the inspiration for some familiar toys. The Doctor Bag, produced by Pressman Toy Corp, was conceived in the 1920s as a way to ease children's fear of visits to the doctor. The Candyland game, generally recognized as a perfect first game for a child, was the brainchild of Eleanor Abbott, a San Diego woman recovering from polio. She began devising activities for polio-stricken youngsters, and submitted her game idea to the Milton Bradley Company for production.
While some toys were the creations of major companies, many have evolved
from simple, imaginative ideas from ordinary people,
many of whom made a fortune from their flights of fancy.
Next week: More interesting origins of the toys you loved.
Illustrations (photos of Lincoln Logs, and alsoTinker Toys) for
article may be found at:
http://athena.prs.k12.nj.us/groups/rs/toys/construction/blocks.htm