Dave’s Cool Toys Blog

This is a guest post from Mike Hawks

A toy is an object used by kids to play. Toys have helped kids in developing different mental capacities. Some use tactical toys which improve their thinking and planning. Some use toys for role playing; this helps them improve their character and allows them to prepare for different situations. Dressing up dolls helps a child develop a sense of style. The success and popularity of these toys are often determined using the sales statistics of these toys. Given below are the top five most popular toys in history.

The original Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear
The favorite and most probably the first toy most of us ever received, is the “Teddy Bear”. It is a toy bear which is stuffed with amazingly soft high quality cotton and covered with fur-like outer layer to make it more attractive. Over the decades, these toys have won the hearts of both genders. In 2006, there was a $1.3 billion sale of these toys. The older teddy bears, of the 1920s, would cost a fortune these days. They can fetch up to $131,380 per piece. Other than that, every year there are exhibitions of teddy bears which generate millions of dollars. This toy is not a copyright of any particular organization; there are thousands of manufacturers that make these toys. This is the reason why the revenue generated by the sales of teddy bears cannot be calculated, but it is estimated to be in high thousands of billions of dollars.

Lego
Next in the big names comes LEGO. These are plastic building blocks used to form buildings, weapons, vehicles and several other structures. These blocks have helped millions of children develop a high creativity level over its sixty year existence. Launched in 1949, these blocks really showed companies how to build-up. Today LEGO is the 4th largest manufacturer of toys in the world. It has an estimated worth of about $4.7 billion. It has several theme parks named after it. 

Barbie
Another name that comes up while talking about popular toys is Barbie. Launched in 1959, the name of the toy comes from the name of the founder’s daughter, Barbara. A Barbie is the dream of every little girl, their princess type appearance being the main attraction. During its first year of production approximately 350,000 dolls were sold all over the world. Mattel claims that Barbie is the best selling toy of the century. From $23 million dollar sales in 1963, the dolls helped bring in over a hundred million dollars in 1965. By 1968, the Barbie fan club had over 1.5 million members.

Mr. Potato Head
Launched in 1952, Mr. Potato head came out at a cost of $0.98. It was a great hit with kids as it was the only toy at that time that had a moveable face. It became the first toy to be advertised on TV, giving a rise to its demand. It made more than $4 million in its first year and grossed up a staggering $30 million in 2005.

Play-Doh
Last but not least is Play-Doh. It is a clay-like substance but softer and cleaner. Play-Doh was launched in the mid 50s. It is used for modeling figures or building anything you want, and allows you to let your imagination run wild. It is used in educational institutions to help kids with arts and crafts. In 1958, almost two years after it came into existence, Play-Doh brought in around $3 million. They are sold worldwide and produced sales of more than 2 billion pieces/cans from its existence till the year 2005. Today Play-Doh sells around 90 million cans a year on average.

Mike has been selling educational toys for the last 5 years. Mike is still amazed about the fact that today’s popular toys have been invented nearly 60 years ago!