Toys have been around for centuries sparking joy in family house holds across the world. Parents will go to the end of lengths to get their child the toy of their dreams just to see them smile for the holidays.
Stacker created a list of the most sought out toys from the years you were born and if these toys don’t spark instant nostalgia we don’t know what will. The toy list was created with valuable information from national toy archives and data from The Strong National Museum of Play. Before we dive into which toys were popular from years past we dug up the origin history of the word toy.
The history origin of the word “toy” is very fascinating but still remains slightly unknown. According to the Britannica, the history of the toy dates back to early BCE. The word toy was first written back in 500 BCE from the Greeks. They created what we know today as the modern yo-yo which were made from wood and metal. The Britannica did state that it is believed that China may be the original creator of the yo-yo from a date before 500 BCE.
As to what is the oldest toy in the world? Many archeologists are still figuring that out. The Fleet Science Center at FleetScience.org says, the world’s oldest toy is the spinning top.
We will wait for more history to become uncovered as the world may never know. But what we do know is that this list give great insight on the evolution of toys in America and how modern technology has advanced overtime. The prices of toys and the quality of toys have changed significantly. For the better? We will let you be the judge of that.
We chose toys from each decade but to see the whole check out Stacker’s list here.
1920: Raggedy Ann Doll
Estimated Price: $1
1950: Magic 8 Ball
Estimated Price: N/A
1960: Etch A Sketch
Estimated Price: $2.99
1970: Nerf Ball
Estimated Price: $2
1980: Rubix's Cube
Estimated Price: $1.99
2010: iPad
Estimated Price: $499
