Toys
Marybel - the doll that gets well
Introduced in 1959 by the Alexander Doll Co. You could break her bones or give her measles, then nurse her back to health.
via Theriaults
"I need crutches and I must wear a cast 'cause I broke my leg riding pony too fast."
"I broke my arm when I stumbled and fell. Now I wear a cast to make it well."
Cincinnati Enquirer - Oct 21, 1959
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 29, 2018 -
Comments (6)
Category: Toys, 1950s
Belly Bongo
From the mind of inventor George Fullerton came, in 1973, the Belly Bongo.A rapid-motion twist produces an up-tempo pong-pong-pong-pong. With proper body movements, Belly Bongo makes you your own bump-and-grind drummer. A checker in the electro-mechanical division at Honeywell, Fullerton spends his evenings designing and tapping away at product prototypes in his Largo home. Belly Bongo is the latest in a long line of toys and crafts he's invented. Fullerton explains his wealth of entertainment ideas as a direct result of the lack of hair on his head. "It's all because I'm bald-headed," he says with a laugh, "If you're bald-headed, it means you're crazy."
Tampa Bay Times - Apr 22, 1973
Springfield News-Leader - June 16, 1995
Tampa Bay Times - Apr 22, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 25, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, Toys, 1970s
Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure
Makes one savor the genius of TOY STORY and sequels even more.
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 09, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, Music, Toys, 1970s
Feral Cheryl
An eco-feminist, anti-Barbie doll featuring tattoos, unshaven legs, pierced nipples, pubic hair, and dreadlocks. Created by Lee Duncan of Australia in 1995.Duncan still has a few Feral Cheryls available for sale at her website feralcheryl.com.au. They're going for $75 AUD (about 57 US dollars).
Palm Beach Post - May 31, 1995
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 23, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Toys, Gender, 1990s
Growing Up Skipper
In the Barbie family, Skipper is Barbie's younger sister. The 1975 version of her included the unusual feature that moving her arm caused her to experience "plastic puberty" (as one reporter put it). From wikipedia:
Appleton Post-Crescent - Dec 19, 1975
Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 19, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Toys
The Bubble Hat
More pix and info here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 09, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Eccentrics, Toys, Headgear, 1950s
Bugs for Dolls
From the Pittsburgh Press - Oct 23, 1938:Dead Crickets Are Toys in China
In China, where life is hard and patience strong, the toy man is a favorite of old and young. On the streets of Peiping he displays his wares and children flock to see — and if they have pennies — to buy. A set of his most fascinating wares are fashioned from skins of dead crickets, dressed up to satirize the many street vendors in the ancient city.
"This cricket has been mounted to represent a vendor of flowers and plants."
"These crickets represent a barber shaving a customer."
"Barbers bring their trade to the customer in China. They carry their 'shops' on long poles which they balance on one shoulder. Above is a Chinese cricket-barber carrying his tools along the street, offering to shave the head of any he meets."
"Bicycles fill the streets of Peiping. Hence the toy-man's set would be incomplete without a cricket astride a wheel."
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 10, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Toys, 1930s
Chilly Bang! Bang! Squirt Gun
The brief, controversial product life of the Chilly Bang! Bang! juice-filled squirt gun. Kids put the gun barrel in their mouth and squeezed the trigger to enjoy a refreshing squirt of juice.First sales were halted because the plastic tab at the end of the barrel was deemed a choking hazard. Then in 1991 it was banned outright. New York Senator Nicholas Spano noted, "The last thing we should teach our children is to put gun barrels in their mouths."
Democrat and Chronicle - Aug 30, 1989
Democrat and Chronicle - Sep 6, 1989
The Ithaca Journal - May 18, 1991
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 13, 2017 -
Comments (8)
Category: Toys, 1990s
1960s Marx Presidents Set
Gee, I wonder why they quit adding new presidents after LBJ?
More info here.
Original ad here.
ADDENDUM: WU-vie GES seems to have found a Nixon figure from the final incarnations of this set.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 05, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Politics, Toys, 1960s
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |