toys

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Cops Make $200K Lego Bust at Oregon Toy Store

Owner accused of 'knowingly' buying stolen Lego sets from thieves who took them from other stores

(Newser) - Police in Oregon say they've recovered at least $200,000 in stolen Lego pieces—after thieves lifted them from local retailers and sold them for "a fraction" of their price tag to another store owner who "knowingly" scooped them up despite being aware of their origins, reports...

Player Uncovers Decades-Old Tamagotchi Secret

An enthusiast of the popular '90s toy found a way to unlock new characters

(Newser) - A discovery nearly 30 years in the making might inspire those who grew up in the '90s to break out their old Tamagotchi pals. 404 Media reports that an enthusiast of the virtual pets figured out how unlock two characters long thought to be unplayable. The Tamagotchi player, rhubarb_pie,...

This Year's Toy Mantra: 'Soft Sells'

Demand for stuffed animals is up 4% in an otherwise 'soft' toy sales season

(Newser) - The buzz word in the stuffed animal world these days is "soft," with toymakers scrambling to make their offerings to stand out as the plushest stuffies in the biz. And despite toy sales being soft as well (down by 8%), the Wall Street Journal reports that stuffed animals...

For Older Set, a 'Generations' Version of Favorite Games

Toymakers tweak classics like Scrabble, Life, Trivial Pursuit to appeal to people 65-plus

(Newser) - Toymakers are tweaking original classic games or coming out with new ones that embrace an audience that's been around for a while: people more than 65 years old. The products are being marketed as a way for older folks to sharpen their brain skills, as well as allay loneliness...

Finally, a Big Win for One of the 'Forgotten Five'

Fisher-Price's Corn Popper moves from perpetual finalist to inductee in Toy Hall of Fame

(Newser) - Fans have pushed the Fisher-Price Corn Popper into the National Toy Hall of Fame, elevating it from perpetual finalist to 2023 inductee, alongside baseball cards, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Nerf foam toys, the hall announced Friday. But Barbie's kind-of boyfriend, Ken? He was left out, despite having a huge...

Toy Hall of Fame Fans Can Vote on 'the Forgotten 5'

Pogo stick, Fisher-Price Corn Popper, My Little Pony, PEZ, Transformers all up for a vote

(Newser) - They're playfully called the "forgotten five": A handful of toys—the pogo stick, the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, My Little Pony, PEZ dispensers, and Transformers—that regularly approach toy-box royalty as finalists for the National Toy Hall of Fame, only to be tossed back on the pile. For one...

Hasbro Is Reviving the Furby
Hasbro Is Reviving
the Furby
Jun 23, 2023 12:20 PM CDT

Hasbro Is Reviving the Furby

Original launched 25 years ago

(Newser) - First launched in 1998, Hasbro's Furby was something new: A big-eyed, fuzzy electronic companion for kids that cooed and burbled and even learned words. Furbys could also communicate among themselves, appearing to have nonsensical conversations when situated in sight of each other. A massive hit at first, with 40...

Baby Shark Toys Recalled After 12 Kids Injured
Baby Shark Toys
Injure 12 Kids
Jun 23, 2023 10:31 AM CDT

Baby Shark Toys Injure 12 Kids

Toymaker is recalling versions of toy with hard plastic fins

(Newser) - About 7.5 million singing and swimming "Baby Shark" bath toys are being recalled after multiple lacerations and puncture wounds were reported in children playing with them. Zuru, a California-based toymaker, said it's recalling both full-size and mini versions of its robotic baby shark toys that have hard...

'Bird' Heard in Home's Walls Was Something Else Entirely

Animal rescue called off after UK resident discovered creature was a stuffed 'Harry Potter' toy

(Newser) - It can be quite distressing to discover there's a wild animal trapped in the walls of your house, as one UK resident thought had happened in their case. Per UPI , a call was recently made to Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue about a bird in such a predicament in a North...

Funko Is Dumping $30M in Unsold Dolls

Warehouses are overflowing with Pop figures

(Newser) - Toy company Funko apparently overestimated demand for its bobbleheaded pop culture collectibles so badly that hundreds of thousands of them are doomed to end up as landfill. In a trading update Friday, the company said it plans to "eliminate" excess inventory for a writedown of at least $30 million,...

Kids Aren't the Only Ones Spending Their Cash on Toys

Those 12 and older, aka 'kidults,' make up a quarter of toy sales these days

(Newser) - Inflation has dampened retail sales across the board. But as moms and dads finish up their curtailed shopping for the holiday season, there's a chance they're not just buying toys for their kids—they might also be putting some in the cart for themselves. The latest data from...

Latest Lego Action Figure Is Familiar Face

Thanks to Chicago novelty shop, Ukrainian leader Zelensky is Lego-fied, complete with Molotov cocktails

(Newser) - A shop in Chicago that specializes in custom Lego pieces is making headlines with some new inventory that's raising cash to help a war-torn nation. Vice reports that the Windy City's Citizen Brick—a storefront that "started with a very dumb dream" to create unique Lego minifigures...

He Didn't Invent Toys, but He's the Genius We Can Thank for Them

Inc. profiles Al Kahn

(Newser) - Al Kahn. "You surely do not know his name, but you likely owe part of your childhood happiness to him," writes Scott Eden, without hyperbole, in a profile of the 74-year-old for Inc. Kahn is not a toy inventor, but he's the man responsible for seeking the...

Grown-Ups Can Now Use This Fisher-Price Classic

Company's working adult version of toddler toy uses Bluetooth to connect to your own smartphone

(Newser) - Bridget Carey says she's "broken inside from working at home way too long" (we hear that), but a recent addition to her home office has her newly perked up: an adult version of Fisher-Price's Chatter Telephone , the pull toy for toddlers you may remember from your childhood...

California Has New Rule for Toy Departments

Big stores must have gender-neutral sections

(Newser) - California has become the first state to require large department stores to display toys in gender-neutral ways. The new law, signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend, does not outlaw traditional boys and girls sections at department stores, per the AP . Instead, it says large stores must also...

He Created the 'Game of Life'
He Created the 'Game of Life'
obituary
Sep 21, 2021 4:34 PM CDT

He Created the 'Game of Life'

Toy-maker Reuben Klamer is dead at age 99

(Newser) - Reuben Klamer is in the Toy Industry Hall of Fame, with all kinds of creations under his belt. But his death at age 99 this month shows that one in particular is his true claim to fame—the Game of Life. The Milton Bradley game came out in 1960 and...

Mattel's Naomi Osaka Barbie Sells Out in Hours

Tennis star has a doll in her likeness

(Newser) - Tennis star Naomi Osaka was one of 20 or so "Sheros"—read: female heroes—gifted a Barbie doll in their own likeness in 2019 . The public was apparently eager for a Barbie of the world's highest-paid female athlete, too, as a new doll of Osaka sold out...

Lego's Biggest Set Ever Is 'Awe-Inspiring'

Toy company debuts Rome's Colosseum, a 9,036-piece set due out on Black Friday

(Newser) - If you've already finished building the Millennium Falcon and the Death Star, Lego Group has an "awe-inspiring" new challenge for you. In what it's touting as its "largest Lego brick set created to date," the Danish company last week unveiled its 9,036-piece replication of...

She Made Her Own Scientist Barbies. Now It's Official

Mattel teams with forest ecologist, honors her with doll that looks like her

(Newser) - When Nalini Nadkarni was a kid, she'd run home from school, climb into one of the eight maple trees in her parents' backyard, and spend an afternoon there with an apple and a book, per the AP . That time in the treetops set the tone for the rest of...

A 'Child' Is Born, and Immediately Ascends Amazon

Baby Yoda from 'The Mandalorian' tops plush toy list, but it won't be available for a few more months

(Newser) - The hot item of the holiday season is none other Baby Yoda , the character also known as "The Child" in Disney Plus' The Mandalorian—but no one's going to be unwrapping him (and it is a him ) for several more months. Variety reports an 11-inch Mattel "...

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