National Toy Hall of Fame Nominees Announced

The National Toy Hall of Fame at Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York has announced its annual list of toy nominees being considered for entry into its hallowed halls of play. And the nominees are:

Baby Doll
Clue
Dollhouse
Flexible Flyer Sled
The Game of Life
Hot Wheels
Magic 8 Ball
Rubik's Cube
Skateboard
Thomas the Tank Engine
Wiffle Ball
Yahtzee


A "National Selection Committee" will chose two of the twelve nominees to be enshrined along with the 38 current Hall of Fame playthings. For my money, I've got to let it all ride on Wiffle Ball and Clue. Which two do you think will win?

Where's the Love?

Some of you undoubtedly watched the Emmy awards last night. I don't watch much TV, so I was surprised when a show called Mad Men won so many awards. I'd never heard of it before last night, so I did some research on it. AMC spent a reported $25 million to promote the show before its second season debut on July 27th. Nearly 2 million viewers watched the first episode of the show and a few months later, the love showered down. I wonder if the show will be around in 2 years? 5 years?

Create a TV show that reaches a few million people a night and you might win an Emmy. Create a piece of music that sells a million copies and you’re on the cover of Rolling Stone. Write a book that sells a million copies and you’re on the New York Times Best-Seller list. Create a toy or game that sells 200 times a million and lasts for 50 years or more and no one has ever heard of you.

You may not have heard of Mad Men before last night, but I bet you've heard of a toy named Slinky. Toy and game inventors are unappreciated when you consider the amount of entertainment they have provided us. Betty James developed a toy that has possibly entertained a billion people over a period of 63 years and counting. She's an amazing woman with an amazing story about an amazing plaything. Now I ask you, where's the love?! Where's her Emmy!?

Burt Meyer worked for toy designer Marvin Glass throughout the 1960s and '70s and had a hand in inventing some of the most fantastic pieces of plastic ever in Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Mouse Trap, Lite Brite, Toss Across, and others. Where's his Emmy?

Finally providers of play like Betty and Burt get their own, long-overdue award. This year's inaugural TAGIE awards will take place at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair on November 21st. Held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, this event will feature a Lifetime Achievement Award for Burt's former partner in Marvin Glass, Jeffrey Breslow, and awards in "Excellence in Game Inventing - Excellence in Toy Inventing and 'Rookie' Rising Star Inventor of the Year."

I am honored to have been asked to host this prestigious event and I will do so with great pride. Play has value, toys and games have value, and it's time we acknowledge the people behind the playthings.

Move over Oscar, Emmy and Tony and make room for Tagie!

The WOW factor in toys

Richard Gottlieb writes a blog for people in the toy biz called Out of the Toy Box. The other day he wrote about the state of the "Wow Factor" in toys, and as he always does so well, spelled out how the playmakers in the industry mustn't allow one attribute to define their creations. "The toy industry was one of the first to measure product potential with 'Wow!' In many cases, the term was used to describe products that had some sort of technological edge," he wrote. "I am wondering, however, whether an industry that is not a first adapter of new technology can ultimately survive on just 'Wow!' After all, every day you open the newspaper and read about some new cell phone, iPod or software that elicits a 'Wow!' How do we compete with that?"

My brain goes to WHAM-O toys these days and I recalled an image of a product that put the WOW front and center, right on the package. You can't get much further away from a "technological edge" than a farm.


I suppose in 1959, this was WOW. The Ant Farm came out in 1958. In 1959 Instant Life debuted and was renamed Sea-Monkeys in 1962. Kids grow up faster than they used to and I suppose we keep giving them more and more advanced playthings because their sophisticated (not so little) minds demand it, but a part of me longs for the day when watching something grow, warranted a "WOW!"

Wheelie-Bar Anyone?

As I type this, there is a Wheelie-Bar for sale on Ebay. This does not happen very often and the price of $1,350 tells you all you need to know about the popularity of this 1966 WHAM-O classic. I bet the seller gets what he/she is asking. The WHAM-O Wheelie-Bar is a desired piece of 1960s American because it appeals to WHAM-O collectors, bicycle enthusiasts and fans of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, the cartoonist whose irreverent Rat Fink character decked out the box in 1966. If you didn't think they were cool already, check out this TV ad from 1966.

Can I jump over my house with these shoes?

I caught an article on a children's shoe designer that was inspired by the zippiness of zectron. Read about him here.

Superballs.com

Ferroni’s Hardware store in the New Jersey town where I grew up had a mutually beneficial relationship with the local Masso’s Delicatessen. Each would have the others’ business cards and flyers near their check out counters, and undoubtedly each benefitted from the other’s generosity.

Nowadays, it’s website links. When I wrote the Super Ball chapter of WHAM-O Sper-Book, I consulted with Rick Shean, owner of Superballs.com. Rick is the ambassador of bounce and the raconteur of recoil. Reading his incredible story of finding an entire warehouse of original Super Balls, is a must for any Super Ball fan. Rick linked to here and I linked to there, and it feels good. Like Masso’s and Ferroni’s.

Ferroni’s Hardware hasn’t been around for 20 years, but I still mourn the loss whenever I drive by the spot it used to be and see the strip mall/convenient store/gas station that has replaced it. I would regularly take my allowance, hop on my Sting-Ray bike, and pedal to Ferroni’s. The door that you had to close behind you held a bell that would announce your coming and going. I’d plunk my change down on the worn, wooden counter and Mr. Ferroni would let me pick my very own Super Ball from the counter display. Nothing else bounced like Super Ball.

(sigh...)

At least Masso’s is still there!

The book has arrived!

Today I tore open a brown paper envelope from Chronicle Books to find what you see here — an advance copy of my WHAM-O SUPERBOOK and a nice congratulatory note from my editor. For those of you that don’t recognize it, the cover is a parody of an original super ball package.

In early 2007, I pitched the idea of this book to Wham-o because I knew without access to their archives, the project would not fly. They saw the vision of a very visual book with fun and fascination facts and gave me complete freedom. Shortly thereafter, I tracked down Rich Knerr, one of the founders of Wham-o. I was happy to learn that he was alive and well at 82, and that, yes, he’d be willing to talk with me. I had the great privilege of interviewing him for this project and I am very thankful for that. Rich’s daughter Lori proved to be indispensable. she shared her vast Wham-o toy collection and her insights and stories. In upcoming posts, I will share my experiences in launching and promoting the book.

Please leave me a comment and better yet, subscribe so you’ll always be notified when I share another post. Here we go, folks! I hope you’ll get lost in the pages of your past. Buckle up and please keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times!