Almost everyone grew up playing with their favorite toy which may have ranged from a doll to an action figure or a stuffed animal. In most cases, wherever there have been children, there also must have been toys. This is one universal fact that is constant throughout our childhood because despite hard times, nothing can possibly hinder a child’s imagination from transforming any nearby object to a toy. Whether it is about providing comfort or entertainment to a child or bringing back nostalgic memories, there is something magical about toys. Read on further below for some fun facts about toys!
THE OLDEST TOY BOX IN THE WORLD
The earliest form of toys was dolls. A collection full of stone carvings was found buried along with a child at the Itkol II burial ground located within southern Siberia and it was considered the earliest toys that were ever discovered. The stone carvings illustrate people and animals which date back to about 2500 BC.
BABY FUN
A baby rattle made of ceramic has been found close to Ankara in Turkey which is said to be roughly 4000 years old. Dolls are more ambiguous as to the purpose that they serve, but rattles are more specific and are used as toys even until today.
YO-YO
It is believed that the world-famous yo-yo is the second oldest toy in the world, after dolls. Though its exact origin is not known, it is believed that the yo-yo was invented within Ancient China and it was used as a form of weapon for centuries in the Philippines. The yo-yo got its name from what is believed to be a Tagalog word which translates to “to come”.
HOOP LOOP
The Hula Hoop was one of the many toy crazes in the United States within the 1950s. However, it was not that well-known anywhere else. Doctors in Britain noted a rise in health concerns involving the back and neck with hula hoop use. In Indonesia, the hula hoop was banned for promoting immoral behavior. As for the Soviet Union, the hula hoop was regarded as a symbol of “the emptiness of American culture”.
LEGO PRECISION
Since 1958, Lego has been following a standard system that promotes consistency and precision. Any Lego block that is produced in 1960 and subsequent years will work flawlessly together even up to this date.
LEGO FAMILY
Since their production in 1978, slightly more than four billion Lego figurines have been manufactured. This figure is more than the population of the top three highest-populated nations in the world combined.
LEGO POSSIBILITIES
Lego lets your imagination and creativity flow right through without limits. In fact, six pieces of the standard eight-studded Lego blocks can be combined in a total of nearly one billion ways.
CLEAN DOUGH
Play-Doh was invented with an initial purpose of cleaning soot off of wallpapers. Antique restorers are still using it today solely for this purpose. It was not until 1954 that people started using it as a toy.
SWEET DOUGH
In 2017, Hasbro applied for a trademark of the distinctive smell of Play-Doh. They describe the smell as a vanilla fragrance that is sweet and slightly musky with a slight cherry overtone and combined with the smell of a wheat-based dough that is salted.