Ten years ago, the top few toys on the market that children were asking for were toys like the Furby, the Tickle Me Elmo, the Tamagotchi, Beanie Babies and the Teletubbies. There was nothing too technological about these types of toys, and all parents understood them, and how they worked. (Except for the Tamagotchi…some parents may have had some trouble understanding what the point of an electronic pet was!) After that year, the next fads in toys were toys such as, the Baby Furby and, believe it or not, the Yo Yo! The Yo Yo came back on the scene after being completely redone and presented as the new and improved ProYo. Baby Furby was just as big a hit as the Furby of the year before, and toy stores made a good profit off of this interactive toy.

After these toy trends were over, the TV show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” hit the airwaves, and of course, the board game came out before Christmas and was asked for by many kids that year. Along with this popular game came some toys that were a lot more technologically advanced than the toys of Christmas past. One example of this type of toy is the robotic pet. This toy was very popular with both parents and kids, because it provided a type of surrogate for a real pet, without being smelly, dirty or noisy. The robotic pet did a lot of real, pet like things without the hassle of having to care for a real pet. It was also a great idea for families with pet allergies. After the robotic pet, technology basically took over the toy industry, and now there are toys like, more advanced robotic toys, video games, X Box, Guitar Hero, Nintendo Wii and all of the plug and play games. There are actually toys that allow kids to exercise without even stepping outside! There are still toys in the stores that are like the ones we had years ago, such as doll, cars, train sets, and the like, but kids these days are asking more for the technological toys. Toys have almost become a popularity contest – kids want what their friends have, and if they don’t own certain toy, they are not “cool” to their classmates.

Who hasn’t heard the old saying….back when I was young? Times have changed and so have the toys our children play with. Video games now dot the landscape with violence and virtual worlds for our children to “enjoy”. But something else has changed with this new age, the availability of classic toys. With the Internet, it is now possible to find the toys your grandfather or your father grew up playing with. These toys never go out of style. Let’s take a look at the history of one of these toys: The Erector Set.

Gilbert ultimately finished Yale Medical School, but decided to enter the toy business rather than practice medicine. He was a gifted inventor and chose to entertain and educate children. His most popular invention? The vintage construction toy-the erector set. In 1911, on one of his many train trips from New Haven (his home) to New York City, he watched out the window as workers positioned and riveted the steel beams of an electrical power line tower. He decided to create a children’s construction kit, with evenly spaced holes for bolts to pass through and he included nuts, pulleys, gears and eventually engines. Although a British company called Meccano was selling a similar toy, Gilbert thought his “erector set” would be more realistic. His set had more technical advantages, especially steel beams that were not flat, but were bent lengthwise to produce a ninety degree angle, thus, four of them joined together side-to-side, formed a sturdy, square support beam.