The Toys Portal
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pets. Toys can provide utilitarian benefits, including physical exercise, cultural awareness, or academic education. Additionally, utilitarian objects, especially those which are no longer needed for their original purpose, can be used as toys. Examples include children building a fort with empty cereal boxes and tissue paper spools, or a toddler playing with a broken TV remote control. The term "toy" can also be used to refer to utilitarian objects purchased for enjoyment rather than need, or for expensive necessities for which a large fraction of the cost represents its ability to provide enjoyment to the owner, such as luxury cars, high-end motorcycles, gaming computers, and flagship smartphones.
Playing with toys can be an enjoyable way of training young children for life experiences. Different materials like wood, clay, paper, and plastic are used to make toys. Newer forms of toys include interactive digital entertainment and smart toys. Some toys are produced primarily as collectors' items and are intended for display only. (Full article...)
Selected article -
Margaret "Midge" Hadley Sherwood is a doll character in the Barbie line of toys by Mattel that was first released in 1963. She was marketed as Barbie's best friend.
Although created at the same time as Skipper, Midge was re-introduced in 1988 as part of the play line, though two vintage reproduction dolls were made specifically for collectors in 1993 and 1998. These dolls were typically redheaded, freckled and blue-eyed. (Full article...)General images -
-
A girl in Udaipur playing "Jungle Child" (from Girls' toys and games) -
Interlocking Disks enable the construction of high-symmetry models such as that of C
60 Fullerene. (from Construction set) -
A bauernroulette game (from List of wooden toys) -
Girls in Barbie Fashion Show in Children's Museum of Indianapolis (from Girls' toys and games) -
-
Constri (from Construction set) -
Jeujura wooden construction set (Swiss chalet) (from Construction set) -
Paintings of girl with dolls (from Girls' toys and games) -
Toy Museum - http://www.raheelpatel.com/toymuseum.html. (from Toy museum) -
-
Detail from Children's Games by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1560), showing Flemish girls playing popular games of the era (from Girls' toys and games) -
Various spinning tops (from List of wooden toys) -
A gee-haw whammy diddle in use (from List of wooden toys) -
Girls assembling a puzzle (from Girls' toys and games) -
Hello Kitty Dreamcast set, 2009 (from Girls' toys and games) -
-
A bead maze (from List of wooden toys) -
Rows of pink girls' toys in a Canadian store, 2011 (from Girls' toys and games) -
Burr puzzles (from List of wooden toys) -
A matryoshka doll taken apart (from List of wooden toys) -
-
Tartu Toy Museum (from Toy museum) -
An infant boy playing with a toy dump truck at the beach. (from Boys' toys and games) -
Lego bricks are a prominent example of a construction set (from Construction set) -
A puzzle of dexterity, a type of mechanical puzzle (from List of wooden toys) -
1970s No. 2 Meccano set (from Construction set) -
-
Girls playing in a park in the Netherlands (from Girls' toys and games) -
A ball-in-a-maze puzzle (from List of wooden toys)
Selected image
Lincoln Logs is the name of a children's toy consisting of notched miniature logs, used to build miniature forts and buildings. They were invented by John Lloyd Wright, son of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Lincoln Logs were inducted into the US National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Did you know...
- ... that the Roman emperors Augustus and Claudius may have had an affinity for gambling?
- ... that Woody from Toy Story was originally written as a ventriloquist's dummy and the main villain of the film?
- ... that the design for the water playground at Chelsea Waterside Park was criticized because local residents thought that the sprinklers resembled sex toys?
- ... that Elizabeth II's childhood toys at 145 Piccadilly included 30 toy horses and a farm set collected from Woolworths?
- ... that development economist John Toye said free-market proponents "first turn liberty against equality and fraternity, then overthrow liberty itself"?
- ... that the case Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. was considered essential to the future of video game modding in the United States in 1992?
- ...that akabeko (pictured), red cow toys from the Aizu region of Japan, are believed to ward off disease?
- ...that the Love Tester, created in 1969, was the first product by Nintendo to use real electronic components?
- ...that Merrythought is the last remaining teddy bear manufacturer in the United Kingdom?
Subcategories
Related portals
Topics
| By type | |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Organizations | |
| Related topics | |
Types: • Doll • Vehicle • Puzzle • Teddy bear
Industry: • American Specialty Toy Retailing Association • Birmingham toy industry • International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers • Kiddicraft • Play value • Toy safety • Toy store • Toyetic • Wooden toymaking in the Ore Mountains
WikiProjects
- Parent projects
- Arts • Entertainment • Visual arts • Games
- Main project
- Toys
- Sub-projects
- Board and table games • G.I. Joe • Transformers • My Little Pony
- Related Projects
- Animation • Anime and manga • Biography • Comics • Film • Fictional characters • Media franchises • Music • Television • Video games
Things you can do
 |
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
