How Super Mario Helped Nintendo Conquer the Video Game World
Super Mario, one of the most iconic characters in video game history, made his inauspicious debut in 1981. He wasn’t much—just a handful of colored pixels on a grainy screen,…
Tag: Toys
8 Essential Gadgets From the 1980s That Are Now Obsolete
As decades go, the 1980s had more than its share of iconic technology, from Walkmen to VCRs to pagers. Most innovative gadgets and entertainment devices of the Reagan era have…
14 Popular Dolls From 20th-Century America
Throughout human history, children have played with and cared for dolls. Miniature facsimiles of human beings have been found around the globe from all periods of history, using all kinds…
10 Ways to Make Your Kids Less Materialistic During the Holidays
Photo: EvgeniiAnd (Shutterstock) The season is upon us: Mailboxes are filling up with letters from children to a jolly bearded toymaker/reindeer breeder while we frantically shop for the things our…
How Toys Changed After World War II
World War II gave rise to countless innovations that would change American life for decades to come—from the rugged Jeep, to mass-produced penicillin, to the terrifying atomic bomb. But, ironically…
5 of the Most Influential Early Video Games
Home video games may seem like a contemporary phenomenon, but they actually have roots that go back to the Truman administration. That’s when computer scientists began tinkering with electronic machines…
How G.I. Joe Jump-Started the Action Figure Craze
Action figures were originally toys that were ready for “action,” because they were more flexible than similar-sized dolls. Designed with multiple joints, G.I. Joe could wage war, Jane and Johnny…
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