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The simple spinning top has been around for a pretty long time. Egyptian tops dating back to 1250 BC have taken their place in the British Museum. Ancient Greece also had their tops, and the kids from Judea has their Dreidels – tops that helped promote religious study. In the 1950’s, tin tops entertained children as well. But when toy-maker Mattel got into the top business in the late 1960’s, the simple top changed for good.

 

With names like the Spin-Fire, the Mach-1, the Night Winder, the Prowler, the Wedge and the Bonehead, Mattel took it’s cue from the hot rods and muscle cars of the ‘60’s and created the Wizzer, a top for a new generation. This was no simple, spin-it-between-your-fingers top. Inside their bulbous plastic cases, Wizzers contained a gyroscopic motor. A pin jutted out of the Wizzer’s bottom end that was surrounded by a rubber nub. All you needed to do was roll the rubber tip against a flat surface until the motor gained enough momentum, and release the top on the end of the metal pin. You could also spin the Wizzer in your hand, and feeling the vibration of the gyroscopic motor was half the fun.

 

Wizzers also looked really cool. The early models came in crazy two-tone colors, and the packaging was designed so that you could peek through and choose your desired color combination. They also came with accessories like patterned drawing discs and trick ramps, so you could practice and develop your spinning prowess.

 

But that wasn’t enough for the mighty Wizzer. Mattel jumped on the licensing tip with brand-designed tops made to look like soda and soup cans like Hawaiian Punch, Planters Peanuts, and Campbell’s Soup. You could soup up your Wizzer with the enclosed sticker kits and create your own artistic statement. The rainbow-making Wizzer had a clear plastic top half and a colored disc inside that you could watch as it spun around. And if that wasn’t enough, the Upsy Downsy Wizzers came with little Upsy Downsy dolls that had long, yarn hair, and names like Furry Hurry and Hairy Hurry. These critters actually rode the spinning Wizzers, and, after ride on that gyroscopic motor, their hair went crazy.

 

You can’t keep a good Wizzer still. They were retired in the ‘70’s, but Matchbox brought them back in the ‘80’s, and then again by Duncan, the yo-yo people. It seems like no matter how decked out they get, a good, classic toy is hard to put down.