The first toy of this kind was created

The first toy of this kind was created in 1890 in Russia by Vasily Zvyozdochkin

It is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other (they usually all have similar theme) The number of nested figures is traditionally not less than five, but can be much more, up to several dozen

Matryoshka (1)

It’s a medieval toy inspired by the biblical story, and it was very popular in the rich families.

It’s usually made of wood with a set of small figurines, which are places inside it, a couple of each type

Noah’s Ark (1)

First mass manufactured in Germany in the 1800 s, this toy was known in ancient Rome, Egypt and even ancient Pakistan cultures

The British and World Championship on this game has been held at Tinsley Green, West Sussex, England, every year since 1932

To play any game you need a lot of these toys. They can be made from stone, glass, ceramics and metal, and are usually colored

Marbles (2)

This doll’s birthday is March 9 th, 1959 It was made by Ruth Handler, an American businesswoman, for the toy company Mattel, Inc

The first model was introduced in both blonde and brunette versions, while nowadays it’s mostly blonde.

There is a psychological syndrome called by the name of this toy to depict people who try to copy physical appearance of other people (or toys). In Ukraine a model called Valeria Lukyanova made a plastic surgery to resemble the outlook of this toy.

Barbie doll (1)

Its history can be traced back to Ancient Greece (it’s 2500 years old toy) It found crazy success in the late 1920 s, when a young U. S. immigrant from Philippines named Pedro Flores reproduced the toy from his homeland in the States.

The World Contest was originally held each year in Orlando, Florida, but last two years it traveled first to Prague – and in 2015 it will happen in Tokyo It was very popular in 1990 s here, in Ukraine

It is a long string connected to a thick spool, that starts to rotate as it is unwound.

Yo-Yo (2)

Flemish paintings show children playing this toy 400 years ago, but because of it’s mundaneness and easy way to prepare, one can assume they have been popular for many centuries

It became popular when Chicago cleaningsupplies company named Chemtoy Started producing it in 1940

In the 1960 s they became a universal symbol of peace since they were very popular with the hippies Using them in kindergarten education can teach young children many important physical concepts such as flexibility, transparency, shape, mass and many other

Soap Bubbles (1)

Naval mechanical engineer Richard James in 1943 made this toy unintendedly, working on one of his projects to keep fragile equipment steady on ships

In November, 1945 he brought it to the show at the toy store and all inventory of 40 items he had was bought out in 90 minutes. The price of this doll was initially 1$

This toy was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame of US in 2000 and in 2002 it became Pennsylvania's official state toy It is used as a part of other toys no less then alone. It became very popular here in 90 s

Slinky (2)

This toy was developed at the same time by toymakers Morris Michtom in the US and Richard Steiff in Germany in 1903

The name of this toy was to indicate Theodore Roosevelt, as he disliked being called like that – and it was also connected to the mass killing of the particular animals, sanctioned by this US president in 1902

This toy can stabilize and calm a child during emotional crisis, so in some countries police and fire departments are equipped with them to give to children in such cases.

Teddy Bear (1)

It comes from the 14 th century legend about English prelate (priest) Sir John Schorne According to the legend, he sealed the devil in his boot to protect the village of North Marston in Buckinghamshire

There is a handle in this toy you can turn and listen to the music as you do so

The melody used is usually "Pop Goes the Weasel“ At the end of it (or in the middle) you might have a surprise waiting for you

A jack-in-the-box (2)

This toy evolved from Chinese version of Yo-Yo, that was popular in 12 th century. First it was made from bamboo, then from wood during the Victorian era.

French engineer Gustave Phillippart developed the modern rubber version of this toy in the early twentieth century, and also called it in Greek, literally “across throw”.

The toy itself is a spool, larger than a Yo-Yo. You throw it in the air using a string, and try to catch it again with it. The programs of many Chinese schools provide performances during the Chinese New Year or near the end of the school year.

Diabolo (3)

This toy was made in 1949 by Danish carpenter Ole Christiansen The name of his company is translated from Danish as “play well”

In February 2015 his company replaced Ferrari with title "World's most powerful brand". In May 2011, 13 sets of this toy were brought to the International Space Station to research their behavior in microgravity.

It is a kit of interlocking blocks, originally made from wood, and now from special plastic. There a lot of models and toys you can construct with it, some of them come as predesigned kits, and some generic.

.

Lego (1)

It was invented in 1928 by Sorensen Adams In 1987, Sam Adams son, Joseph "Bud" Adams, redesigned the mechanism of this toy It was shown in such cartoons and movies as Batman, Sponge. Bob, Simpsons

It is a practical joke device that you keep in your hand Many people believe it produces electric current, but it just creates the sensation of doing it

Buzzer - Hand Buzzer or Joy Buzzer, Zapper (first model) (2)

It first appeared in 17 th century, most probably originating from the idea of the child’s cradle It is most often made from wood

The largest toy of that kind was built in 2000 and is 7 feet 8 inches tall (according to Guinness Book of World Records) It’s a wooden statue of a specific animal that children can ride

A rocking horse (2)

This toy was first developed by the Japanese company Takara In 1984 American company Hasbro bought out the rights for this toy to sell it in the USA.

To popularize this toy, there were comics and cartoon series and eventually even high-budget movies (and video-games) made.

The plot of the movies describes the confrontation of two factions – good and bad one One of the taglines of the toy line is “More than meets the eye”

Transformers (1)

In the 1940 this toy first appeared on TV in the comedy But it was actually only created in 1950 since it missed the critical component that couldn’t be produced earlier

Albert Carter created this toy in 1950 s, inspired by the idea of the spirit board that his motherclairvoyant used. The first name of this toy is Syco-Seer (Psycho) It is not only a toy, but a fortune-telling device

It is a ball you can ask a yes-no question, and the answer floats up on the 20 -sided dice floating inside the ball

Magic 8 Ball (2)

The birthday of this toy is November 23, 1996 Bandai toy company, the third largest toy company in the world, produced it

First model of this toy was actually a video game, which became very popular and was issued separately as a stand alone toy

Its name is combination of words and “pet” and “watch” Initially it was planned as an educational toy for future mothers

Tamagotchi (2)