The Toys Portal
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A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pets. Toys can provide utilitarian benefits, including physical exercise, cultural awareness, or academic education. Additionally, utilitarian objects, especially those which are no longer needed for their original purpose, can be used as toys. Examples include children building a fort with empty cereal boxes and tissue paper spools, or a toddler playing with a broken TV remote. The term "toy" can also be used to refer to utilitarian objects purchased for enjoyment rather than need, or for expensive necessities for which a large fraction of the cost represents its ability to provide enjoyment to the owner, such as luxury cars, high-end motorcycles, gaming computers, and flagship smartphones.
Playing with toys can be an enjoyable way of training young children for life experiences. Different materials like wood, clay, paper, and plastic are used to make toys. Newer forms of toys include interactive digital entertainment and smart toys. Some toys are produced primarily as collectors' items and are intended for display only. (Full article...)
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A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in the 17th century.
It is played by holding the free end of the string known as the handle (by inserting one finger—usually the middle or ring finger—into a slip knot), allowing gravity (or the force of a throw and gravity) to spin the yo-yo and unwind the string (similar to how a pullstring works). The player then allows the yo-yo to wind itself back to the player's hand, exploiting its spin (and the associated rotational energy). This is often called "yo-yoing" or "playing yo-yo". (Full article...)
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A gee-haw whammy diddle in use (from List of wooden toys) -
Constri (from Construction set) -
Burr puzzles (from List of wooden toys) -
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Girls in Barbie Fashion Show in Children's Museum of Indianapolis (from Girls' toys and games) -
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Detail from Children's Games by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1560), showing Flemish girls playing popular games of the era (from Girls' toys and games) -
A young boy playing with a toy dump truck at the beach. (from Boys' toys and games) -
Lego bricks are a construction set example. (from Construction set) -
1970s No. 2 Meccano set (from Construction set) -
A girl in Udaipur playing "Jungle Child" (from Girls' toys and games) -
A bauernroulette game (from List of wooden toys) -
Rows of pink girls' toys in a Canadian store, 2011 (from Girls' toys and games) -
Girls assembling a puzzle (from Girls' toys and games) -
Paintings of girl with dolls (from Girls' toys and games) -
A matryoshka doll taken apart (from List of wooden toys) -
Various spinning tops (from List of wooden toys) -
A bead maze (from List of wooden toys) -
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A puzzle of dexterity, a type of mechanical puzzle (from List of wooden toys) -
Jeujura wooden construction set (Swiss chalet) (from Construction set) -
Girls playing in a park in the Netherlands (from Girls' toys and games) -
Interlocking disks enable the construction of high-symmetry models such as that of C
60 fullerene. (from Construction set) -
A ball-in-a-maze puzzle (from List of wooden toys) -
Tartu Toy Museum (from Toy museum) -
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Hello Kitty Dreamcast set, 2009 (from Girls' toys and games)
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A construction set is a set of standardized pieces that allow for the construction of a variety of different models. The pieces avoid the lead time of manufacturing custom pieces, and of requiring special training or design time to construct complex systems.
Did you know...
- ... that Elizabeth II's childhood toys at 145 Piccadilly included 30 toy horses and a farm set collected from Woolworths?
- ... that "Toy Town" was said to have "almost destroyed" the happy hardcore scene?
- ... that crab is served in school meals in Toyama Prefecture?
- ... that the design for the water playground at Chelsea Waterside Park was criticized because local residents thought that the sprinklers resembled sex toys?
- ... that before becoming a voice actor, Kikunosuke Toya was the keyboardist of an all-male Princess Princess cover band in high school?
- ... that Korean brick toys, colloquially called "Korean Lego", often feature themes of "war and danger", including sets such as military vehicles?
- ...that the red and yellow molded plastic Cozy Coupe from Little Tikes was called the "world's best-selling car" for most of the 1990s by The New York Times?
- ... that presenter Pat Kenny tore up two tickets for The Late Late Toy Show live on air in 2008?
- ...that children up to the age of five can find it difficult to distinguish between television programmes and toy advertising campaigns?
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Types: • Doll • Vehicle • Puzzle • Teddy bear
Industry: • American Specialty Toy Retailing Association • Birmingham toy industry • International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers • Kiddicraft • Play value • Toy safety • Toy store • Toyetic • Wooden toymaking in the Ore Mountains
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- Board and table games • G.I. Joe • Lego • My Little Pony • Transformers
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- Animation • Anime and manga • Biography • Comics • Film • Fictional characters • Media franchises • Music • Television • Video games
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