Mental Floss

TOYS

Tracy's Toys

In the '70s, the family could settle in for a nice, relaxing game of 'Town Dump.'

iStock

Like many of us, Randy Knol enjoyed playing with toy dinosaurs as a kid. He received a Flintstones playset from his grandfather as a Christmas present in the 1960s, and his collection of prehistoric figurines has been growing ever since.

iStock

Two Canadians claim to have invented the popular foam toy.

PlaidStallions

The strange story of how a cookie empire nearly came crumbling down over racy, violent model kits.

Museum of Play

Queen Elizabeth, Al Gore, and Tony Soprano all had one.

William Thomas Cain // Getty Images

Soldiers have used the sticky party toy to help scan areas for explosives.

J E Theriot, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

You recognize the name from their baby gear—but they also made ammunition crates for the military.

eBay

You might want to check your attic.

Chloe Effron

Lunar landscapes, hot lava, and Butch Cassidy: There's more to this state than just spuds.

Daniel Novta, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

The pervasive toy brick company makes billions with their plastic parts. They also make more tires than Goodyear.

FatGuyWithGlasses

How Vin Diesel wound up playing with a bunch of shark toys.

David Weiberg/Instructables

Set phasers to fun!

House of Geekdom via Flickr // CC BY-ND 2.0

A look inside the upstart toy company that manages to make a decapitated Ned Stark look adorable.

"Nintendo former headquarter plate Kyoto". Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

Who needs a Game Boy when you could have a remote-controlled vaccuum?

F.A.T. Lab and Sy-Lab // CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Finally you can combine LEGO, Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs, and K'Nex into one genius structure.

LuckyPenny via YouTube

The delicious beginnings of the best Snoopy-endorsed ice treat machine ever made.

iStock

Designer Eric McMillan decried traditional playgrounds as "architectural graveyards … They've been built by adults who've forgotten how to play."

Brian Indrelunas, Flickr // CC BY-NC 2.0

The superabsorbent polymers inside them were originally invented to help soil conserve water.

How the urinating doll industry went too far.

The story of the much beloved toy that's been a hit since day one.