Toys tagged with 60s - 2/7

Colorforms

"They stick like magic!" Actually, magic had very little to do with what made a Colorform stick, rather it was just the adhesive quality of the thinly-cut plastic. The real magic lay in their ability to encourage the imagination. Colorforms were mere props, whether they resembled geometric shapes or a sitcom star. The box provided the stage; it was up to you to choose and arrange the props and, most importantly, concoct the story. Perfect for rainy days and long car trips, generations of kids have created millions of Colorform settings over the years.

Cootie

Creepy Crawlers

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Many boys harbor a fondness for bugs. Not only are they fun to play with, but there is also the realization of the sadistic havoc you can wreak with them. Every family member had a target on their back and if you played your cards right, you could evoke a scream of blood-curdling fear with just the right placement. Of course, like all of God’s creatures, the little critters wanted nothing more than to escape your clutches and, therefore, weren’t the most cooperative accomplices. If only someone could invent a bug that didn’t run away. Even better, if only you could manufacture an endless supply of inanimate insects all for yourself, imagine the terror you could induce. Mattel Toys, always plugged in to the secret desires of youth, came through by offering your very own bug factory. You know them as Creepy Crawlers.

Dawn

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Barbie may have had Ken and a few assorted friends to pal around with, but Dawn, one of the many dolls to try her hand at competing with the blond icon, had a downright entourage of cohorts. This was one popular and remarkably groovy chick with a style all her own.

Don’t Break The Ice

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At one point during the 1960s, toy companies raised eyebrows with a line of games seemingly designed to bring out the megalomaniac in every child. With Ants in the Pants, kids launched plastic bugs into a pair of trousers. Cootie taught children the value of constructing even more bugs. But of all these games, nothing came close to being as diabolically fun as Milton Bradley’s Don’t Break The Ice.

Easy-Bake Oven

7 Comments

Moms don’t generally relinquish control of their kitchen appliances to the kiddies, especially the oven, and for good reason – a 450-degree chamber isn’t the best place for kids to stick their hands. And yet, the oven is where all those delicious baked goods come from – moist cupcakes, gooey chocolate chip cookies, basically the finest treats a kitchen can offer. And what about all those future culinary wizards, eager to get a head start in the world of batter and frosting concoctions? Luckily, for the upcoming chefs of the world, and the rest of the kids who simply dreamt of their very own bakery - where they could escape the “don’t touch that” limitations imposed by nervous adults and churn out a never-ending supply of tasty concoctions, there was the iconic Easy-Bake Oven. Let’s take a look back at a toy that offered the sweetest of rewards.

Electric Football

3 Comments

When it comes to throwing around a virtual pigskin, there are a plethora of electronic options available today that simulate the game of football right down to the minute details. The grunting players look remarkably similar to their real-world counterparts, the stadiums are replicated to the very last detail, and the gameplay options allow the gamer to do virtually anything that can be done in a real game. Prior to these technological advances, however, electronic football games of the past couldn't rely on realism as a selling point, but they made up for it with a healthy dose of sheer fun, and some of these games are still beloved to this day. Let's take a look at the formative years of football games and the quirky gameplay that forever etched them into our collective memory.

Erector Sets

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When it comes to toys, the words "some assembly required" aren't often welcomed by parents. But every once in a while, a toy comes along where assembly is the sole purpose, a task left to the child that engages the imaginative mind while providing countless hours of fun. And for almost a hundred years, Erector Sets have done just that, becoming one of the most iconic building toys of all time.

Etch-A-Sketch

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Perhaps one of the most popular drawing toys ever conceived, the Etch-A-Sketch has been testing the imagination and dexterity of millions of artists for the past fifty years with its two little white knobs. Master their operation and you can create a masterpiece. Make a little mistake, and you will literally have to shake it off and start over. Let's take a look back at the history of this classic toy.

Fashion Plates

41 Comments

For all the little girls dreaming of being a dress designer when they grew up, Tomy Toys had just the thing to get those creative ideas flowing. Granted, they weren’t exactly an original concept; fashion plates have existed as far back as the 18th century. But these were specially made so that young hands could experience the exciting world of fashion design without ever leaving the kitchen table. Now, you could be the Christian Dior of your family!