Kids Toys with Nostalgic Staying Power
Merchandised toys, home gaming toys, and Rubik’s Cube defined the children of the eighties, but the toys mentioned here are just the tip of a plastic empire. Some of the names that might spark nostalgia include some franchises that are huge hits with Generation X; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debut in the 80s. Jem and the Holograms became a 2015 movie. G.I. Joe, Barbie, and Glow Worm are still on toy shelves. Kids still ride Big Wheel style bikes and head home for a Snoopy Snow Cone machine treat. Gremlins toys rivaled E.T. for movie merchandise impact. Holdovers from earlier decades were still popular; Colorforms, Shrinky Dinks, Monchichi, Etch-a-Sketch, Hungry, Hungry Hippos, Matchbox and Hot Wheels retained popularity past the Reagan years. Dungeons and Dragons created a new phase of interactive gaming. It was a revolutionary time, before the Internet but after Atari, to explore the world through toys.
Where did we find this stuff? Sources and Additional Reading
A brief history of the Rubik’s Cube. Hope Reese, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 September 2020.
Breathed, Berkeley, One Last Little Peek: The Final Strips, the Special Hits, the Inside Tips 1980-1995, Little, Brown and Co., 1995
Do you remember Pillow People and Pillow Pets? (n.a.) Retroist, 18 September 2014.
Pac-Man Video Game History and Background. Jennifer Rosenberg, ThoughtCo, 24 March 2020.
Sterner stuff: The history of the Transformers. Phil Kollar, GameInformer, 10 December 2009.
The legendary history of Voltron. Nate Osterman, CompleteSet.com, 5 October 2020.