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TOY

This article is about playthings. For other uses of the term, see toy (disambiguation).

A toy is something used in play by children, adults or pets. Many items are manufactured to serve as toys, but items produced for other purposes can also be used as toys. For example, a child may pick up a household item and 'fly' it around, imagining it as an airplane. Other items, marketed as toys, are intended primarily as collector's items and are unlikely to be played with.

The origin of toys is prehistoric; dolls of infants, animals, or soldiers, and miniature representations of the tools of adults are readily found at archaeological sites. The origin of the word is unknown, but it is believed to have been first used in the 14th century.[1]

Contents

History

Toys have a history as old as civilizations itself. Toys have been unearthed from the sites of ancient civilizations. Some of the types of toys excavated at the Indus valley civilization (3000-1500 BCE) includes small carts, whistles shaped like birds, and toy monkeys, which could slide down a string.[2]

Types of toys

Construction toys

A construction set is a toy that is a collection of separate pieces that can be joined together in many different ways, for example to create model cars, spaceships or houses. The things that are built are sometimes used as toys once completed, but for many players the most fun is to be had from building things of their own designs, so that old models often get broken up in order to reuse pieces for new models.

Construction sets such as the all time classic LEGO building blocks and Lincoln Logs have long been an appreciable child's pastime. Indeed, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato wrote that the future architect should play at building houses as a child. [3] Anatomically correct models could also be considered construction sets, the hobby of constructing these models is shared by boys and girls, men and women, of all ages. If one were to extend the definition of construction sets even further it might also include Build it Yourself houses, or any number of sets sold to be assembled into useful shelters or furniture. Construction sets appeal to people who like working with their hands, puzzle solvers, and imaginative sorts.

Other examples:

Dolls

A doll is a model of a human (often a baby), a humanoid (like Bert and Ernie), or an animal, usually made of cloth or plastic. Sometimes, intended as keepsakes or collections for older children and adults, it could be made in wood, porcelain, bisque, celluloid or wax. Some dolls are intended as toys for children, usually girls, to play with. Others are for decoration or have some cultural significance, possibly for use in some ceremony or ritual, or as a physical representation of a deity. Archaeological evidence places dolls as foremost candidate for oldest known toy, having been found in Egyptian tombs which date to as early as 2000 BC.

The model is often a miniature, but a baby doll may be of true size. A large model of hard material is called a statue. A doll or animal model of soft material is also called a plush toy or plushie, or simply a stuffed animal. The most popular toy of this type is the familiar Teddy Bear.

Dolls are distinguished from action figures, which are generally of plastic or semi metallic construction and poseable to some extent, and often are merchandising from television shows or films which feature the characters. Modern action figures, such as Action Man, are often marketing towards boys, and dolls towards girls.

Also common are various types of miniature figures. Toy soldiers have been a popular toy for centuries, allowing children to act out battles, often with toy military equipment and a castle or fort. Miniature animal figures are also widespread, with children perhaps acting out farm activities with animals and equipment centered around a toy farm.

Toy vehicles

Children have played with miniature versions of vehicles since ancient times, with toy two-wheeled carts being depicted on ancient Greek vases.[4] Modern equivalents include toy motor vehicles such as those produced by Matchbox or Hot Wheels, as well as miniature aircraft. Also common are a variety of toy trains, ranging from wooden sets for younger children such as BRIO to more realistic train models as produced by Lionel and Hornby.

Mechanical puzzles

A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces.

Notable mechanical puzzles include:

General categories are:

  • Assembly puzzles
  • Disassembly puzzles
  • Interlocking puzzles
  • Disentanglement Puzzles
  • Fold Puzzles
  • Lock puzzle
  • Trick vessels
  • Impossible Objects
  • Dexterity puzzles
  • Sequential movement puzzle
  • Simulated mechanical puzzles

History of mechanical puzzles

The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC. The game consists of a square divided into 14 parts, and the aim was to create different shapes from these pieces.

In Iran “puzzle-locks” were made as early as the 17th century AD.

The next known occurrence of puzzles is in Japan. In 1742 there is a mention of a game called “Sei Shona-gon Chie No-Ita” in a book. Around the year 1800 the Tangram puzzle from China became popular, and 20 years later it had spread through Europe and America.

The company Richter from Rudolstadt began producing large amounts of Tangram-like puzzles of different shapes, the so-called “Anker-puzzles”.

In 1893 professor Hoffman wrote a book called “Puzzles Old and New”. It contained, amongst other things, more than 40 descriptions of puzzles with secret opening mechanisms. This book grew into a reference work for puzzle games and modern copies exist for those interested.

The beginning of the 20th century was a time in which puzzles were greatly fashionable. The first patents for puzzles were recorded. The puzzle shown in the picture, made of 12 identical pieces by W. Altekruse in the year 1890, was an example of this.

With the invention of materials such as plastic, which were easy to shape, the range of puzzle possibilities grew. Arguably the most famous puzzle worldwide, Rubik's Cube, would not be possible without modern polymers.

Software toys

Most computer games are usually considered to be games, but some are in fact toys as defined by Chris Crawford since they lack clear goals or an explicit end state. Examples include the popular SimCity and its spinoffs, and some other simulation games.

Action toys

A variety of toys are meant to be played with as part of active play. These include many traditional toys such as the hoop, the top, the foot bag, astrojax, myachi, and the yo-yo.

Toys for commercial promotion

Many successful films, television programs, books and sport teams have official merchandise, which often includes related toys. Some notable examples are Star Wars, a science fiction film series, and Manchester United, an English football club.

Unintended toys

Play-Doh, originally intended as a wallpaper cleaner.
Play-Doh, originally intended as a wallpaper cleaner.

After trying to create a replacement for synthetic rubber, Earl Warrick inadvertently invented "nutty putty" during World War II. Later, Peter Hodgson recognized the potential as a childhood plaything and packaged it as Silly Putty. Similarly, Play-Doh was created as a wallpaper cleaner.[5] In 1943 Richard James was experimenting with torsion springs as part of his military research when he saw one come loose and fall to the floor. He was intrigued by the way it flopped around on the floor. He spent two years fine-tuning the design to find the best gauge of steel and coil. After a name change, the Slinky was sold as a toy for both genders in stores throughout the United States.

Regulations

Many countries have passed laws regarding the types of toys that can be sold. Most of these seek to limit potential hazards, for example, the types of materials that go into making a toy. Such regulations are especially necessary for toys, since most toys will be used by children, who may not be able to judge what is safe and what is dangerous.

European: The most comprehensive legislation is the Toy Safety Directive of EU (Council Directive 83/189/EEC). The directive gives a list of essential requirements to comply with, and is interpreted into the law of each member state of the EU in their respective Toy Safety Regulations (e.g.: the UK's Toys (Safety) Regulations 1995 (Statutory Instrument 1995 No. 204)). Compliance leads to a CE Mark, which is a mandatory requirement for selling the toy in the EU market. The directive also gives a list of items usually not considered as toys, eg fashion jewellery for children, Christmas decorations, Air guns etc, under the scope of this directive. Also from a safety perspective the directive lists the EU-wide standards for essential requirements on Physical & Mechanical properties, Flammability, Chemical properties, Electrical properties, Hygiene, and Radioactivity. The Toys Safety Directive (and subsequent state regulations) also calls for the closest applicable national or international standards to be applied where a standard is not specified in the Directive. This interpretive clause is present to ensure that new and innovative toys are still established as safe before being placed on the market. If a toy is found to be unsafe - by breaching one of the specified standards, or by a manifest risk of injury not specified in standards - then the producer (the manufacturer, or the first importer into the EU of the product unit in question) is held to be guilty of an offence under the Toys (Safety) Regulations (or equivalent EU state law). The principle of due diligence may be used by the producer to avoid prosecution, fines and possible imprisonment, whereby they argue that all reasonable steps were taken to ensure the safety of the consumer with regards to the toy. The unsafe toy will be withdrawn from the EU market, with all member states' authorities being notified by means of the RAPEX alert system.

Examples

This is not intended to be a complete list.

Toys in child development

Often toys serve a dual purpose. Besides entertainment, toys also serve to enhance cognitive behavior and to stimulate creativity. Toys for infants include those with distinguishable sounds, bright colors, and a unique feel. During this time, infants begin to recognize shapes, colors and after repetitive use, the nascent person attains familiarity with object reinforcing memory recollection. Coordination and other manual skills develop from subsequent childhood activities of interaction with toys. Marbles, jackstones, and stackable blocks require use of hands and bodies. Mental agility, beginning with childhood, is challenged by a toy's puzzle of spatial relationships. Play-Doh, Silly Putty and other hands-on materials allow the child to make toys of their own.

Educational toys for children of a greater age often contain some puzzle, problem-solving technique, or mathematical proposition. A popular toy for this age group was the Rubik's Cube. Popularized in the 1980s, solving the cube requires some planning and problem-solving skills. Newton's cradle, a desk toy designed by Simon Prebble, demonstrates the conservation of momentum and energy.

Toys and gender

Traditional sex roles dictate that certain toys are acceptable for one gender and different toys for the other. For example, boys are expected to play with toy vehicles, action figures, construction tools, etc., whereas girls are expected to play with dolls. The playing with toys of the opposite gender can result in negative consequences from parents or fellow children. In the west in the 21st century, it is now considered much more acceptable for girls to play with boys toys; but for boys to play with dolls is still felt by many as disconcerting.

Feminists have criticised these traditional sex roles, including as expressed in toys, as furthering the subservience of women -- boys' toys encourage them to be active and take dominant roles, whereas girls' toys they see as expressing the view that the proper concerns of women should be child rearing and their own bodies (fashion) rather than economic activity. Feminists, and some psychologists and social scientists, see these gendered patterns of toys as not originating in any innate part of male or female biology, but rather in what toys parents are accultured to see as appropriate for each gender child, and which thus from that the children themselves come to see as appropriate also. An opposing school of psychologists and social scientists has however claimed that the male and female differences in toys are rooted not in cultural but in the differing biologies and genetics of the male and female brains. The former school is predominantly associated with the political and religious left, whereas the latter school is predominantly associated with the political and religious right.

Economics

According to about.com, traditional toy sales totaled about $21.3 billion for 2005 in the United States.

See also

References

  1. ^ Definition of "toy" from etymonline.com
  2. ^ http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Indialife.html
  3. ^ Karl Hils, The Toy - Its Value, Construction and Use, Edmund Ward Ltd., London, 1959.
  4. ^ Karl Hils, The Toy - Its Value, Construction and Use, Edmund Ward Ltd., London, 1959.
  5. ^ On the invention of silly putty, from web.mit.edu

Further reading

  • Kline, Stephen. 1995. Out of the Garden: Toys, TV, and Children's Culture in the Age of Marketing. Verso Books; ISBN 1859840590.
  • Walsh, Tim. 2005. Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them. Andrews McMeel Publishing; ISBN 0740755714.
  • Wulffson, Don L. Toys! Henry Holt and Company; ISBN 0805061967

External links

Construction Toys:
Original Article from WikiPedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy
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