Childhood Toys Jul 8

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Objects with human and animal forms that could have been toys, have been found in deposits from ancient Sumer dating to 2600 BCE (before the common era). The earliest-known written historical mention of a toy comes from about 500 BCE in a Greek reference to yo-yos made from wood, metal, or painted terra-cotta.  

It is believed that the yo-yo originated from one of three countries: China, the Philippines or Greece. However, the oldest historical mentions and artifacts that have been found are from Greece.

The earliest documented dolls go back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. A doll is a small model of a human figure, typically one of a baby or girl.

An action figure is a doll representing a person or fictional character known for vigorous action, such as a soldier or superhero. The figure typically is posable, with jointed limbs.

Some arts and crafts materials such as chalk, crayons, markers, paints and pencils, children’s easels, and paint-by-number sets, can be considered toys, as well as reusable compounds, or items that can be manipulated into creating an object. Some examples include dough, sand and clay.

Building sets and accessories such as Legos, are items that have interlocking pieces that can be taken apart and allow for building in multiple ways. Some expensive sets  include accessories that go along with the building set (wheels, mini figures, motors, remote controls and computer parts).

A board game is a game usually played with pieces on a board, or some area with marked spaces. Most board games use pieces that may be moved, placed, or traded depending on the rules of the game. These pieces may be money, chips, pawns, or other objects. Board games may often involve some random chance with dice or cards. Examples of these games are chess, checkers, backgammon, parqués, and go. More modern ones are Scrabble and Monopoly.

Sports also inspire us to play. Balls, games and sports ativities can include sport-related items. Toy sporting equipment and all sizes of sports balls are included here. Also skates, scooters (stand-up) and skateboards. The item may be powered by the child or have a motor for movement. Here we can also consider toys that are developed for use in the snow.

The history of video games began in the 1950s and 1960s as computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on mainframe computers. MIT's Spacewar! in 1962 was one of the first computer games to be played with a video display.