The
90s
A
decade of fads and prosperity leads to everything from Power Rangers to
Pogs to Pokémon. Tickle Me Elmo pulls a Cabbage Patch on
holiday-shopping parents, while Beanie Babies raise the collector
frenzy to more...
The
80s
The
Smurfs spawn a tidal wave of cute clones: Monchichis, Snorks, Popples,
etc. Rainbow Brite and My Little Pony fly high, Jem steals some of
Barbie's thunder, He-Man leads the Masters of the Universe to more...
The
70s
Stretch
Armstrong fuses "tug of war" with the action figure, and Japan totally
revitalizes the concept with the Shogun Warriors and Micronauts.
Shrinky Dinks prove that ovens aren't just for food any more more...
The
60s
Hasbro
responds to Barbie with G.I. Joe, the world's first "Action Figure."
NASA's high-profile space race inspires a constellation of new toys,
with Major Matt Mason and Billy Blastoff leading the way. The Hoppity
Hop bounces onto the scene more...
The
50s
For
boys, it is the age of cowboys and spacemen: Davy Crockett and Roy
Rogers lead the pack of western heroes that share the toy aisles with
the out-of-this-world likes of Commando Cody and Tom Corbett more...
The
40s
World
War II halts the production of metal toys for the first half of the
decade, but the post-war years more than make up for it. Chutes and
Ladders, Cootie and Candy Land delight the pre-adolescent set, Slinky
makes kids crazy over a metal spring more...
The
30s
The
1929 Stock Market Crash makes toys a luxury most 30's kids can't
afford, but imagination makes do in the meantime. The Great Depression
does make the man who invented Monopoly a millionare, and a mouse named
Mickey brings smiles more...
The
20s
The
twenties roar on, as kids play with everything from Lincoln Logs to
Yo-Yo’s. Antonio Pasin starts mass-producing the little red wagons that
will soon be called "Radio Flyers," Pogo Sticks send kids bouncing
happily down the street more...
The
10s
Raggedy
Ann sweeps the imaginations of girls, while Erector sets and Tinker
Toys get boys excited about contruction. Henry Ford's Model T car gets
shrunk down to toy form, as die-cast cars from Tootsietoys and others more...
The
1900s
Contrary
to the later beliefs of the Pokémon generation, kids at the Turn of the
(last) Century have more than their share of toys to play with. By
refusing to shoot a cub, Theodore Roosevelt inspires the invention of
the Teddy Bear. more...
The
90s
The Simpsons reinvent the prime time cartoon, while Animaniacs,
Ren & Stimpy, and Batman take the animated world to
wacky, icky, scary new frontiers. more...
The
80s
Video games (Pacman), toys that became cartoons and
other fads (Smurfs, G.I.Joe, Transformers), as well as a wave of
"regressed" characters as children more...
The
70s
Hanna Barbera’s teen sleuths with talking animal
sidekicks (Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Scooby Doo, Funky Phantom),
primetime spinoffs and psychedelic more...
The
60s
The first post-TV generation grew up in the golden glow of
animated splendor as the Jetsons, The Flintstones, and a
vast array of superheroes invaded the living more...
The
50s
It was the age of the atom, and the dawn of Saturday
morning as the original Baby Boomers tuned in to see Howdy Doody, Mighty
Mouse Playhouse, and Kukla, Fran and Ollie… more...
The
90s
Left Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin finds slapstick
gold, while Disney hits the mother lode from Beauty and the Beast
and Aladdin to Mulan and Tarzan. A new wave of
digital more...
The
80s
E.T. phones home and the Spielberg era continues
with Raiders of the Lost Ark, Goonies, Gremlins, Explorers
and Back to the Future. The Care Bears and Rainbow
Brite more...
The
70s
America's favorite beagle hits the road with his pal
Woodstock in Snoopy, Come Home, while Benji comes home to
stay. Wilbur finds salvation in Charlotte's Web, Charlie finds a
golden more...
The
60s
Disney unleashes 101 Dalmatians, Hayley Mills
lights up the screen in Pollyana, Fred MacMurray invents flubber
in The Absent-Minded Professor, and Julie Andrews more...
The
50s
Danny Kaye makes movie magic in Hans Christian
Anderson and again in The Court Jester. 20,000 Leagues
Under the Sea thrills moviegoers, Godzilla stomps Tokyo, more...
The
40s
Max and Dave Fleischer's Mr. Bug Goes to Town bows
on Dec. 7, 1941. Walt Disney brings Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo
and Bambi to animated life. Alexander Korda's Thief of Bagdad
more...
The
30s
Shirley Temple lifts America's Depression-era spirits
with The Little Colonel, Curly Top, and Heidi. Walt
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons hit new heights, Mickey Rooney more...
The
90s
A little something for everyone… Depressed? It always rains in the grunge world of flannels and army surplus. Angry? Let it out, you riot grrrl more...
The
80s
The tide comes in as a new wave washes away the fashion debris left by disco. Neon is the newest color of the rainbow, designers get crazy more...
The
70s
Jeans get tighter, bikinis get smaller, tube socks get higher, afros gets bigger and colors get brighter. It's all about spreading the plumage more...
The
60s
From the Jackie Kennedy's proper A-line and pillbox hat to Beatlemania mop tops, from space age styles to hippies with long hair more...
The
50s
The teenage lifestyle is born, and with it come bobby socks and boppers, poodle skirts and pompadours. But if all that rock and roll is too much more...
The
40s
World War II puts fashion on hold, but the postwar leisure class makes up for it. Girls look just like Mom in identical outfits, while the boys dress up in more...
The
90s
The future arrives with a tiger uppercut to the jaw in Street
Fighter II, and the era of the one-on-one fighter kicks in. Mortal
Kombat amps up the gore to more...
The
80s
The entire world gets a major case of Pac-Man fever,
and video games get their first true superstar. Video takes the arcade
into a new golden age, riding on more...
The
70s
The era of the video arcade game is ushered in with Computer
Space in 1971, but few really notice. Pong rights that wrong
the following year, and more...
The
60s
The future can be yours, as long as Zoltan and Madame
Morgana get their due. If action is more your style, Bazaar and
Hayburners II give a few new more...
The
50s
Photo booths become a national craze, letting best friends
and puppy lovers take home a four-strip keepsake. Shuffle games move
beyond bowling with more...
The
40s
The Voice-O-Graph lets amateur crooners save their
performances on a cardboard record, Drive Mobile puts gamers behind
the wheel, and Monkey Climb… well, more...
The
30s
Baffle Ball single-plungerdly invents the pinball
craze, while Bumper and Contact take the game two steps into
the future. At the penny arcades, fortune telling more...
The
90s
They’re underachievers and proud of it. Bart, Homer and the rest of the
Simpsons put the “nuclear” in the nuclear family sitcom, while Jerry
Seinfeld scores with a show about “nothing.” more...
The
80s
Family Ties conservative offspring Michael J. Fox reverses traditional
family values, while Bill Cosby takes them to new heights. Blair,
Natalie, Jo and Tootie learn The Facts of Life.
more...
The
70s
The Bradys get groovy, The Partridge Family goes on the road, Good Times and What's Happenin' lay down some serious urban slapstick, Happy Days ignites a tidal wave of nostalgia
more...
The
60s
The sitcom moves into the office on Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith, and the western moves to the inner city as private-eye and traditional cops and robbers shows.
more...
The
50s
We interrupt this program to bring you this late-breaking bulletin:
In the beginning, there was live TV. The migration from radio had
begun. From Donna Reed's perfect family to Marshal Dillon and Joe
Friday, more...
The
90s
Hip-hop music jumps off the streets and into the pop mainstream thanks to high-stepping, fast-rapping performers like Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. Later on, the hip-hop
more...
The
80s
Blondie, Devo and Duran Duran usher in the new wave with electronic sounds and pop hooks. In the stadiums, Foreigner, Van Halen and Journey
more...
The
70s
Led Zeppelin adds extra volume and energy to r&b to create heavy metal, inspiring a legion of hard-rocking groups like Aerosmith and AC/DC
more...
The
60s
The Beatles bring pop music into a new era as they charm the
world with their cute image, jangling guitars and stunning pop
melodies. The British Invasion hits in full force
more...
The
50s
Elvis Presley shakes his hips on The Ed Sullivan Show, and the rock ‘n’ roll craze begins. For those scandalized by such unwholesomeness, there's always nice young men like
more...
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