Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Toys in the attic.

According to another absurd VH1 countdown show, the #1 Toy of All Time is . . . wait for it . . . The Hula Hoop.
I love Toys! rounds out it's Top 10 thusly:

#2 Barbie
#3 LEGOS
#4 G.I. Joe
#5 Mr. Potato Head
#6 Monopoly
#7 Star Wars figures
#8 Yo-yo
#9 Slinky
#10 Wiffle ball and bat.

Well o.k. I think the obvious 2 missing general interest toys here are the Frisbee® and Silly Putty. Aren't Barbie and G.I. Joe really just gendered versions of the same toy (i.e. medium sized plastic doll used to enstill cultural stereotypes about sex and gender). So dump them together as a pair; I mean Ken's out of the picture still, isn't he? That solves one problem. I'm not sure a board game should be in the top 10. That solves the second.

If you want to stick with a game, there are a number of more suitable replacements for Monopoly like Battleship, Life, Risk, or Clue, or, if you're really thinking younger, Candy Land.

My own Top 10 at least today would be in no real order

Corgi ® Cars (especially any of the following: The Green Hornet's Black Beauty 268; Batmobile 267; James Bond D.B.5 270; Yellow Submarine—no box so no handy number)
Märklin HO train set (especially my Heineken car from the brewery in Amsterdam
The Original TINKERTOY
Lincoln Logs ®
Frisbee ®
Nerf Ball
Wiffle ® Ball and Bat
Silly Putty ®
Playskool Car-Go Bike
Parker Bros. Masterpiece

No comments: