# What's the best toy of the past 100 years ?



## Caillou (Jun 9, 2003)

Seeing my boys (3, 7 and 9) play with toys that my brothers and I used to play with is quite amazing. Legos, hot wheels, the red and blue battle ship board, the Fisher Price rolling phone, Monopoly. Some seem to stand the test of time so well. They have this magic to them.

Which toy do you think are part of a top ten list ? Which one is at the very top? Which new toy will make it over the next decades. Post you pick.

(yes you can vote for Macs







)


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

In no particular order:

Lego

Meccano

Macs

Hot Wheels

The toy submarine I had as a four year old that shot torpedoes in the bathtub... coolest thing in the world and I don't know what happened to it. 1964 or so... probably 8 -10" long, a WWII model. Dang.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Well checkers and cards seem to stand the test of time tho perhaps that's too broad.

Certainly dolls and dollhouses never go out of style for girls - my daughter had her Barbies at play for many many years.

Cars and trucks for boys for sure. I'm not sure we ever get grown out of 

Lego has to be way up there in play value. 

Games I've enjoyed all my life.

Crokinole - our very own Canadian invention. 

Cards of all sorts 









...hey shut up and deal


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## Bertrand (Fr) (Nov 14, 2003)

My passion was between 11 and 18 for my train Märklin.

I was the director of a train company leading 15 square meter railways with mountains, river and cities. There was 5 machines running together in all directions, there was often catastrophs.

A 7 years job.


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## Moscool (Jun 8, 2003)

Barbies
Cluedo (updated to the Simpsons version)
Masterpiece


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Who can forget the classic board game SORRY!









We played it for hours as kids.

Cheers


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

IMO, anything that allows a youngster to use and develop his/her imagination and fosters a sense of accomplishment is a success; particularly if the toy invites camaraderie.

My personal childhood faves: Meccano, Dinky Toys, scale models, electric trains, slot cars and my first guitar!

During my misspent adolescent years, building performance cars was my love; especially VERY fast VWs.

Now, my singular passion is Macs. And GarageBand is opening new doors for fun. Thanks, Apple!


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## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Mark:

Yeah, I forgot about Etch A Sketch... I played with that a great deal at a certain age. For board games, my brothers and I were suckers for Risk... we'd have monumental games of that and Stock-Ticker. Monopoly was great, too. Other games: the ingenious Goldbergian tribute that was Mousetrap, and one-note wonders like Kerplunk.

Alec's talk of scale models prompted me to recall our extensive collection of N-scale trains... matter of fact, just for nostalgia's sake, I gave my brothers some N-scale rolling stock I bought for Christmas. I was on the Danforth with my gal who was shopping for wool to make scarves as prezzies, and lo and behold there's a hobby shop I'd never before noticed. What a score! I could have spent a couple of hours in there. Tiny working locomotives, some so intricately detailed they cost hundreds of dollars! Insane. But we had lots of fun as kids with these train sets. Beautiful craftsmanship and great fun to make dioramas out of shrubbery and balsa wood. We also built a lot of car and boat models.


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## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

Max
I played with a huge collectiuon of Meccano parts for several years as a 8-12 year old.

also I think the Etch a Sketch was a great invention, also Monoploy,Mastermind and yoyos. I just sold my collection of HO slot cars and accessories to my friend, I enjoyed them but had no room.
Of course I also agree my Mac is my favorite toy of recent years.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

I've still got my banged up Hot Wheels. Spent a bagillion hours playing with those.









Dumbest most popular toy I think is the Slinky. Kid would play with for a day then it'd get put aside. 

One game I have spent hundreds of hours on (Especially while on the castle throne - with many a fallen asleep legs)  is the electronic version of Yahtzee. 










Highest score I ever got was 713 with 5 Yahtzees!!


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

Lego has to be at the top of the list. However, let's not forget the ultimate toy of all time:

Any expensive thing of Dad's that you're NOT supposed to play with.


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## Guinness (Jan 4, 2002)

How about the simple brown cardboard box used to deliver major appliances. Fun by the truckload ... safe ... engaging to the young mind ... entertaining ... inexpensive ... and makes four great toboggans during the winter.

MIke


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

When I was in grade 3 we used to play with wooden Tops that
were wound up with a string and then two at a time flung down
together in a corner of the school yard for a Top fight.

Most of the Tops were home made by someones parent that
was a wood worker, But the occasional few were store bought.
(My grandmother sent me one from England at the time) 

Later on when I was in grade 4 the Top quickly became out
dated and replaced by the Whizzer Top, It was bit pricey back
then and it didn't have the same charm as the original that it
replaced, In fact...I don't remember ever seeing a Whizzer fight.

Nowadays I see that another past time favourite has started to
make a come back...Battling Tops.

So...As you can see...My favourite toys were kinetic toys,
If I couldn't wind it up or interact with it...Then I didn't want it.

That pretty much holds true today, Although the toys of years
past are hard to find nowadays, There are some speciality
stores that will sell retro toys...But...They are expensive.

Dave


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

Lego would probably be at the top of my list.

Second would be the radio control model truck kits I bought and put together a few years back - not only was it fun putting them together, but it was fun playing with them after they were built.


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## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

speaking of Hot Wheels
Do you guys know what old Hot Wheels in nice condition go for on EBay now?
Check it out now and you will fall on rear.
Some have sold for as much as a thousand dollars, US funds or more.
Considering the age and scarcity of these toys , they are amongst the most valuable of modern collectables and they continue to maintain their value-at least until the baby boomers die off in 25 or 35 years.
What is also shocking is the price of many 60s and 70s items that are now only available to the rich.

Let me tell you an example of how unfair it all is. in the early 80s I dreamed of owning a set of Mars Attacks gum cards from 1962. I finally found a set in 1988, and it was beyond my reach at $600, I figured someday I would get them. Now They are even further beyond my reach at about $2000 or more for the set.

So all the stuff we thought was cool as a kid is gradually finding their way into dealers display cases and private collections of doctors and lawyers etc, who can spend $1500 on a 1968 Hotwheel car.

Hunting and gathering?


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## Griller (Jan 17, 2002)

the *ball*


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Down to first elements excellent.  

A fishing rod + a dock = kid heaven.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

At the risk of showing my age, there is one more toy not mentioned here that was very popular in its day:








Cheers


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Sinc, talk about a "blast from the past". Tinkertoy! My favorite childhood toy. "Thanks for the memory."


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## Caillou (Jun 9, 2003)

Nobody mentioned Tonka trucks ? (still have one)
G.I. Joes ? (loved them, esp. the big 4 yellow wheller)
Silly putty ?

=)


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## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

i agree with "the ball" with chess a good second
one is exercise for the body, the other for the mind


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## jonmon (Feb 15, 2002)

Transformers (I collect them







), Lego, Yo yos, Barbie


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Then there's... Firewire Dino 

Dave


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Looks more like "Hubzilla" to me Dave!

Cheers


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## The Librarian (Apr 11, 2003)

an awesome board game i used to play as a teenager quite a bit, and which i am now about to ressurrect, is Poleconomy. cool canadian monopoly game with many more features. anyone else remember it? c.1983.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

> Poleconomy. cool canadian monopoly game with many more features. anyone else remember it? c.1983.


Yep, I remember it. It had two levels or ways of playing it. I think me and my sister used the easier simple way. It had Canadian companies or something didn't it.


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## silverstripe (Dec 29, 2003)

I'm a girl, so I always got stuck with crap like Barbies, Cabbage Patch Kids and Strawberry Shortcake dolls. 

My favorite toy - the Mac!

Runner up - my iPod

Second runner up - my Nikon Coolpix.

Yours truly, Mizz Tomboy.


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