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. Various materials, such as 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 collector's items and are intended for display only. (Full article...)
Selected article -
Ole Kirk Christiansen (born Ole Kirk Kristiansen; 7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958) was a Danish carpenter. In 1932, he founded the construction toy company Lego, later known as the Lego Group. Christiansen transformed his small woodworking shop, which initially sold household products, into a manufacturer of wooden toys. By 1934, he had officially named the company Lego and established its fundamental principles. The business shifted to producing plastic bricks after the acquisition of a plastic moulding injection machine in 1947. Following his death in 1958, the company's management was handed over to his son, Godtfred. (Full article...)
General images -
A ball-in-a-maze puzzle (from List of wooden toys)
Jeujura wooden construction set (Swiss chalet) (from Construction set)
A young boy playing with a toy dump truck at the beach. (from Boys' toys and games)
Hello Kitty Dreamcast set, 2009 (from Girls' toys and games)
Tartu Toy Museum (from Toy museum)
A gee-haw whammy diddle in use (from List of wooden toys)
A bauernroulette game (from List of wooden toys)
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)
Paintings of girl with dolls (from Girls' toys and games)
Rows of pink girls' toys in a Canadian store, 2011 (from Girls' toys and games)
Girls playing in a park in the Netherlands (from Girls' toys and games)
A puzzle of dexterity, a type of mechanical puzzle (from List of wooden toys)
1970s No. 2 Meccano set (from Construction set)
Interlocking disks enable the construction of high-symmetry models such as that of C
60 fullerene. (from Construction set)
A girl in Udaipur playing "Jungle Child" (from Girls' toys and games)
Lego bricks are a construction set example. (from Construction set)
Girls assembling a puzzle (from Girls' toys and games)
A bead maze (from List of wooden toys)
Girls in Barbie Fashion Show in Children's Museum of Indianapolis (from Girls' toys and games)
Various spinning tops (from List of wooden toys)
A matryoshka doll taken apart (from List of wooden toys)
Burr puzzles (from List of wooden toys)
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Selected image
A teddy bear formerly owned by Kermit Roosevelt, thought to be made by Michtom, early 1900s; Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, 2012
Did you know...
- ... that before becoming a voice actor, Kikunosuke Toya was the keyboardist of an all-male Princess Princess cover band in high school?
- ... that "Toy Town" was said to have "almost destroyed" the happy hardcore scene?
- ... that a song about the discovery of sex toys and hundreds of condoms from West End Girl recently became Lily Allen's first UK top-ten single since 2014?
- ... that Lego sued Nintendo over their N&B Block toys?
- ... that the Free Universal Construction Kit connects ten otherwise incompatible children's construction toys?
- ... that Elizabeth II's childhood toys at 145 Piccadilly included 30 toy horses and a farm set collected from Woolworths?
- ...that a 1950s Annalee Doll was auctioned off for a record $6,000 in 1992?
- ...that The Lego Group produced 381 million tires (example pictured) in 2011, making it the largest tire manufacturer in the world?
- ...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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- Toys
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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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