50 Fun Facts About 80s Toys

Which electronic toy is built into the alien's communicator in the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?

Speak & Spell came out of Texas Instruments' research into speech synthesis, on a starting budget of just $25,000. A tie-in module later had players spell words such as creature and universe.

Which dolls, sold with adoption papers, sparked violent riots in American stores at Christmas 1983?

Cabbage Patch Kids were so scarce that shoppers shoved, trampled and even swung baseball bats to get one. The maker shipped 3.3 million dolls that year and still could not meet demand.

Which country was home to architecture professor Ernő Rubik, whose cube puzzle went worldwide in 1980?

Hungary first knew the puzzle as the Magic Cube. Rubik invented it in 1974 and patented it at home before Ideal Toy released it internationally in 1980.

Which car did the yellow Autobot Bumblebee turn into in the original 1984 Transformers toy line?

Volkswagen Beetle was Bumblebee's disguise among the first Autobot Mini-Cars. The 2007 live-action film turned him into a Chevrolet Camaro, and the 2018 film Bumblebee gave him his original shape back.

Which Soviet-made puzzle game was packed in with Nintendo's Game Boy for its 1989 North American launch?

Tetris was chosen over Super Mario Land after rights holder Henk Rogers argued that Mario appealed mainly to young boys, while the falling-block puzzle would appeal to everyone.

Which talking bear, a best-selling toy of 1985 and 1986, told stories from a cassette deck in his back?

Teddy Ruxpin moved his mouth and eyes as the tape played. The character was created by Ken Forsse, and later versions swapped the cassette for a digital cartridge.

Which board game did two Canadian journalists create in Montreal in 1979, selling 20 million copies by 1986?

Trivial Pursuit was the work of photo editor Chris Haney and sports editor Scott Abbott. Most versions of its origin story involve the pair sitting down to a game of Scrabble.

Which Autobot leader was killed off in the 1986 animated Transformers film to make way for new toys?

Optimus Prime's death shocked young viewers far more than Hasbro had expected. The screenwriter had advised against it, and the hero was later revived in the TV series.

Which plush characters began in 1981 as American Greetings card artwork, each with a symbol on its tummy?

Care Bears were painted by artist Elena Kucharik for greeting cards before they became plush toys and TV stars. Each tummy symbol stands for that character's personality.

Which blue-skinned Mattel villain was He-Man's archenemy, forever scheming to seize Castle Grayskull?

Skeletor believed the fortress held the power to conquer the planet Eternia. Mattel's Masters of the Universe line gave him a crew of henchmen called the Evil Warriors.

Which plush dogs of the mid-1980s came in a doghouse-shaped carton with their own adoption certificate?

Pound Puppies were created by Mike Bowling in 1984 and first sold by Irwin Toy in Toronto. Tonka then took them to the United States, where more than 2.5 million found homes in 1985.

Which tiny doll, first sold by Bluebird Toys in 1989, grew from a figure housed in a powder compact?

Polly Pocket's concept dates to 1983, when Chris Wiggs's design firm mocked up a miniature world inside the makeup case. Bluebird, of Swindon in England, was bought by Mattel in 1998.

Which block-stacking game did Leslie Scott create from wooden bricks her family bought at a sawmill in Ghana?

Jenga takes its name from kujenga, a Swahili word meaning to build. Scott was born in what is now Tanzania and grew up speaking both English and Swahili.

Which fictional terrorist organization served as the nemesis of Hasbro's G.I. Joe team from 1982?

Cobra's schemes filled a long-running comic series written by Larry Hama. The 1982 relaunch also shrank the heroes to 3.75 inches, following the success of Star Wars figures at that size.

Which silent G.I. Joe commando of 1982 was molded in plain black plastic to save Hasbro the cost of paint?

Snake Eyes needed no paint at all: the first figure was cast in black plastic, and the mask meant the head needed no detail either.

Which Mattel heroine, the twin sister of He-Man, headlined the Princess of Power toys and a 1985 cartoon for girls?

She-Ra was meant to interest young girls the way He-Man appealed to boys. The name grew out of a Mattel executive's joking suggestion of Sheila.

Which Cincinnati toy company, then owned by cereal maker General Mills, made the first Star Wars action figures?

Kenner took its name from the Cincinnati street where its first offices stood. General Mills spun it off in 1985, Tonka bought it in 1987, and Hasbro took over in 1991.

Which Star Wars bounty hunter's mail-away figure lost its promised firing rocket over safety fears?

Boba Fett was the first new mail-away figure created for The Empire Strikes Back, and he arrived with the rocket fixed in place. A rocket-firing prototype sold at auction for $16,000 in 2003.

Which Galoob line of toy vehicles from 1987 was advertised on TV by fast-talker John Moschitta Jr.?

Micro Machines were made slightly larger than N scale and came as vehicles and miniature playsets. Galoob, the company behind them, is now part of Hasbro.

Which toy robot did Nintendo bundle with the NES in 1985 so wary American shops would see a toy, not a console?

R.O.B., the Robotic Operating Buddy, only ever worked with two games, Gyromite and Stack-Up. After the 1983 video game crash, it let the NES be sold as a sophisticated toy.

Which sketch-and-guess party game did Robert Angel publish in 1985 after inventing it with his roommates?

Pictionary started with a first print run of just a thousand copies, paid for with $35,000 that Angel and his two business partners gathered.

Which Hasbro toy horses of the 1980s had colorful bodies and manes and a unique symbol on their flanks?

My Little Pony grew out of My Pretty Pony, a horse figure introduced in 1981. The first line then ran in the United States until 1992.

Which freckled doll with scented hair had dessert-named friends such as Huckleberry Pie and Orange Blossom?

Strawberry Shortcake began on greeting cards before the first doll appeared in 1979. That first toy was a rag doll designed by Muriel Fahrion and made by her sister.

Which Hallmark heroine of 1984 rode a horse named Starlite and led the Color Kids?

Rainbow Brite started her story as a girl named Wisp, who earned the new name by freeing the Color Kids and bringing color to a gray land. Mattel made the dolls.

Which pajama-clad Hasbro toy of 1982 lit up its vinyl head from within when a child squeezed it?

Glo Worm hid a battery-powered light inside its plush body. It sold so well that Hasbro followed it with a musical version and a Glo Bug in 1984.

Which American Greetings plush creatures of 1986 could tuck into a pouch on their own backs to form a ball?

Popples were made by Mattel between 1986 and 1988. The idea is said to have come from rolling up a pair of socks.

Which infrared toy gun game did Worlds of Wonder launch in 1986, around the same time as rival Photon?

Lazer Tag was such a hit that its maker's sales force used it as leverage to get the Nintendo Entertainment System into reluctant American stores.

Which trading-card company had cartoonist Art Spiegelman dream up the Garbage Pail Kids stickers of 1985?

Topps saw the idea begin as an unreleased sticker for its Wacky Packages line. The full series that followed was Spiegelman's brainchild.

Which little-known toy company launched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures in 1988 after bigger rivals passed?

Playmates insisted that a cartoon series be made before it would risk the toys. It then produced around 400 Turtles figures between 1988 and 1997.

Which comic-book publisher developed the story concept behind Hasbro's Transformers robots in 1984?

Marvel Comics had already produced a successful tie-in comic for Hasbro. The robots themselves were rebranded from two of Takara's toy lines in Japan.

Which Decepticon leader's original 1984 toy changed into a replica Walther P38 handgun with a scope and silencer?

Megatron began as a Japanese toy modelled on the gun from the TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The Japanese version even came with a sword and plastic bullets it could fire.

Which 1985 cartoon and toy line starred Lion-O, a young lord who wakes on Third Earth after suspended animation?

ThunderCats aged its hero by accident: his suspension capsule slowed his aging rather than stopping it. LJN made the action figures.

Which giant cartoon robot of 1984 formed when five pilots combined their robot lions to protect the planet Arus?

Voltron was edited together from a Japanese anime called Beast King GoLion. A second version, with fifteen pilots in vehicles, was cut from a different Japanese series.

Which Tonka robot toys, led by the heroic Leader-1, reached American stores a year before the rival Transformers?

GoBots were adapted from a Japanese line called Machine Robo and split into good Guardians and evil Renegades. They sold well at first but were soon overtaken by their rival.

Which 1989 party game has players describe a word to teammates while avoiding five banned words listed on the card?

Taboo's first edition came with a turquoise electronic buzzer. Each card prints the word to be guessed at the top, with the five off-limits words below it.

Which Mattel motion controller for the NES was wielded by the rival gamer Lucas in the 1989 film The Wizard?

Power Glove sold nearly one million units, yet players found its controls imprecise and hard to use. Only two games were made specially for it.

Which toy company went bankrupt in 1988, a few years after its Adam home computer failed on the market?

Coleco is short for Connecticut Leather Company, the name it began under in 1932. Its Adam computers went on sale with critical bugs, just as the home computer industry crashed.

Which Hasbro rock-star doll of the 1980s fronted the Holograms in a cartoon and feuded with a rival band, the Misfits?

Jem was the stage identity of record-company owner Jerrica Benton. She switched personas with help from Synergy, a holographic computer built by her father.

Which armored green tiger of Mattel's Masters of the Universe line, striped in orange, carried He-Man on its back?

Battle Cat is the mighty form of Cringer, the royal pet of Prince Adam. In the 1980s cartoon Cringer can talk and is afraid of just about everything, hence the name.

Which board game became a 1985 comedy film, starring Tim Curry as a butler, that screened with one of three endings?

Clue is known as Cluedo outside North America, a name that blends clue with ludo, Latin for I play. Each ending of the film gave a different solution to the mystery.

Which line of LCD handhelds did Nintendo's Gunpei Yokoi devise after watching a bored businessman tap at a calculator?

Game & Watch began with a title called Ball in 1980 and stayed in production until 1991. Yokoi pitched the idea to the company president while filling in as his chauffeur.

Which 1985 toy line of gimmick-laden vehicles sent Matt Trakker's task force against the criminal group V.E.N.O.M.?

M.A.S.K. stands for Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. Most of its vehicles came with a driver whose headgear gave him a special ability in the story.

Which blue-furred plush toy with horns and fangs came with orange plastic handcuffs that a child could snap apart?

My Pet Monster was one of the few plush toys of its day marketed to boys. The cuffs had a breakaway link, so a child wearing them could pretend to burst the chain.

Which 1986 board game has players steal a jewel from the idol Vul-Kar and carry it along winding paths to a boat?

Fireball Island returned decades later through a Kickstarter campaign that was fully funded in its first hour and went on to raise over $2.5 million.

Which four-wheel-drive toy trucks, each powered by a single AA battery, did Schaper Toys begin selling in 1980?

Stompers were developed by inventor Eddy Goldfarb, and the first five included a Chevrolet Blazer, a Ford Bronco and a Jeep Honcho. LJN answered with a competing line, Rough Riders.

Which toy company launched the PXL2000 in 1987, a child's camcorder that recorded video onto ordinary audio cassettes?

Fisher-Price pulled the camera after a single year, but low-budget filmmakers rediscovered it in the 1990s for its grainy, shimmering black-and-white picture.

Which Mattel line of wrestler figures, based on Japan's Kinnikuman manga, came in garbage-can packs of ten?

M.U.S.C.L.E. figures began in Japan as Kinkeshi, a line of collectible erasers. The American versions were made of a harder rubber.

Which stuffed toy line from Japan's Sekiguchi Corporation did Mattel sell in America, backed by a 1983 TV cartoon?

Monchhichi dates from 1974 and was already a hit at home, where a 1980 anime about a pair of twins made the monkey dolls more popular still.

Which Tyco toy line of 1988 pitted the heroic Valorians against the Rulons, with both sides riding prehistoric beasts?

Dino-Riders had a cartoon made mainly to launch the toys, and only fourteen episodes were produced. The heroes befriended their dinosaurs, while the villains brainwashed theirs.

Which tabletop role-playing game from the company TSR became a CBS animated series that ran from 1983 to 1985?

Dungeons & Dragons was animated for television by Japan's Toei studio, and the series ran for twenty-seven episodes over three seasons.