By : Scott Magee

We’ve all had our favorite toys as children. You know those toys you just couldn’t leave home without or the toy that needed to be played with at least 5 times a day. We here at www.ThinkFastToys.com have chosen our Top 10 Classic Toys. It’s been fun researching the toys that were listing, and we hope you enjoy recalling some of your favorite toys.

Top 10 Classic Toys

1.   The Rubik’s Cube - Originally invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and Professor of Architecture, Erno Rubik. The Rubik’s Cube won the 1980 German Game of the Year Award, a special award for the Best Puzzle. To date, over 350 million cubes have been sold internationally, making it the world’s top selling puzzle game. It is also widely thought of as the world’s best selling toy.

2.   The Etch A Sketch – Invented in the latter part of the 1950’s, the Etch A Sketch hit the shelves just in time for the 1960 holiday season. The Etch A Sketch was introduced during the peak of the Baby Boom era and is known for being one of the best known toys of that generation. In 2003, the Toy Industry Association named the Etch A Sketch to the ” Century of Toys List”, which commemorates the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the 20th century.

3.   The Slinky -Invented and developed by a naval engineer, the Slinky came to life in the early 1940’s and was successfully demonstrated at the popular Gimbels department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the fall of 1945. Since that time, over 300 million Slinky’s have been sold. In 2003 the Slinky was named to the Toy Industry Association’s “Century of Toys List”, which commemorates the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the 20^th century.

4.   Erector Sets – Invented in 1911, the Erector Set is believed by many to have been the subject of the first national advertising campaign in the United States for a toy. It has remained relevant in the toy building world even with competition from rival toy building sets. Every kid has owned or played with an Erector Set, including most kids’ parents or grandparents. This allows the Erector Set to bring generations together for a truly fun and unique building experience.

5.   Mr. Potato Head – Invented and developed in 1949, Mr. Potato Head was first manufactured and distributed by Hasbro in 1952. Mr. Potato Head was also the very first toy advertised on television in 1952 and over 1 million products were sold that year, leading the company to expand and add a Mrs. Potato Head to the line in 1953. In 2000, Mr. Potato Head was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame located at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.

6.   Hot Wheels & Matchbox Cars – I know the purist may get upset that these two brands were combined. So please know that I didn’t do it out of disrespect to either brand, but more to the fact that I grew up playing with both brands. I wasn’t picky when mom said to grab a toy, and whichever car that day tickled my fancy, I had her buy. Hot Wheels were introduced by American toy maker Mattel in 1968 and Matchbox were introduced in 1953 by the now defunct U.K. toy company Lesney Products. After a few different owners, in 1997 Mattel purchased the toy division from Tyco Toys and Matchbox ended up being owned by the same company that owned the Hot Wheels brand. They both are now, in our opinion, an American Toy Classic.

7.   Marbles – The game of marbles has been around for centuries, having been mentioned in Roman Literature, and there were also many examples of marbles from ancient Egypt. Most commonly they were made of clay, stone or glass. The first mass produced marbles in the U.S., were made of clay and produced in the early 1890’s. Marbles is an extremely simple game to learn and can involve 2-6 players at once, making it fun for the whole family.

8.   Wooly Willy – This toy owns one of the oddest names and at first glance, you might not remember it, but every kid has owned at least one Wooly Willy in their life. Wooly Willy is the toy that uses metal filings and a magnetic wand to make various facial hairs on a static face. They hit the toy market in 1955 and they are still in mass prodcution today. In 2003, the Toy Industry Association named Wooly Willy to it’s “Century of Toys List”, which commemorates the most memorable and creative toys of the 20th century.

9.   The Yo-Yo – Yo-Yo’s were first made popular in the 1920’s and are still hugely popular with both children and adults today, but the earliest Yo-Yo to date is from 500 BCE. To us, a toy that can last over centuries, rightly deserves to be on this list. With many great brands and styles of Yo-Yo’s being produced, this is one toy that can keep you and the little ones occupied for hours.

10.   Little Green Army Men – We know these might be an odd choice for this list, but if you really think about it, what kid hasn’t played with some sort of little green army man? Plastic army men are widely available across the United States and have been sold since the early part of the 1950’s. With imagination play on top of many parents list for their children, these were easily brought to mind. They are great for sandboxes, the floor or wherever your imagination leads you.

That’s it!! After much debate, the list for the Top 10 Classic Toys is now official. Make sure you take a minute to check out each one of these great toys on our list at ThinkFastToys.com. Not only are they fun to play with, they will bring back some awesome childhood memories. We had a great time tracking down our all-time favorite Top 10 Classic Toys, and we hope you have enjoyed reading and reminiscing.