Each year there seems to always be that one toy that has people lining up for miles in order to purchase. Here is a list of the most popular toys through the decades.
1920’s – Yo-Yo - An ancient invention, but made popular by Pedro Florez, who began manufacturing it in the U.S. He then sold his toy company to Don Duncan who launched the toy’s popularity into the stratosphere with his Yo-Yo Trick Contests.
1940’s – The Slinky- Created by a mechanical engineer who accidentally knocked over some ship springs and they walked instead of falling. After Christmas demonstrations at Gimbel’s Department store in Philadelphia, the first 400 slinkys sold within minutes.
1970’s – Star Wars Action Figures- Released in 1978, Star Wars action figures sold like hotcakes until 1985. They were relaunched in the mid 90’s before the release of three more installments of the space saga. Original 1978 action figures are now collector’s items worth up to $200,000.
2000’s – Wii- Holiday shoppers waited for hours for the Wii, which was cheaper than its competition (Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft X-Box 360), and by Christmas Nintendo had sold some 3 million units.