Toys
Classic Toys Of Yesteryear
by Mickey on Feb.22, 2010, under Did You Know?, Interesting, Laugh, Toys
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- The V&A Museum of Childhood in London has been given £244,500 of Lottery money to set up a display of “must haves” on Santa’s list of yesteryear. This 1970s spacehopper is one of the toys of Christmas past that will go on display.
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- Sindy is still a star attraction among young girls but this earlier version shows how styles have changed. The Lottery cash will pay for a three-and-a-half year project involving an archivist who will catalogue all the items.
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- The museum, in Bethnal Green, underwent an extensive £4.7m refurbishment programme in 2005, with £3.5m coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Action Man was one of the first dolls of its kind for boys.
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- Dr Who – now popular all over again – had quite a different style in 1978. K-9 was his obedient and brainy robot companion.
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- Models of James Bond’s Aston Martin remain an enthusiast’s dream. The Museum of Childhood is “a gem in the heart of east London,” the V&A’s Catherine Howell says.
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- The museum already holds archives of four famous British toy manufacturers, donated when they ceased trading in the 1970s and 1980, including Lines Brothers, Abbatt Toys and Mettoy. This jack-in-the-box was made by Mettoy between 1945 and 1950.
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- Star Wars toys were the star turn for their maker Palitoy in the six years up to 1984. The recent revival in its popularity means the toys are back in fashion.
taken from SkyNews
Thousands Of Bikers Gather For Annual Toy Run
by Mickey on Nov.30, 2009, under Children, Did You Know?, Inspirational, Interesting, Toys, Wow
Around 20 000 motorcyclists made their way to Nasrec as part of the annual Gauteng Toy Run.
The last Sunday in November sees bikers from various parts of Johannesburg meeting at the Expo Centre to collect toys for under-privileged children ahead of Christmas.
Forty thousand more people were expected at the centre to do their part for children in need.
The Toy Run’s Shaun Fine said Sunday was going to be one of the biggest Toy Runs.
“From the looks of it we might be going for a record. Last year we collected 55 000 toys and I do believe this year we will be beating it,” said Fine.
Cape Town also held a Toy Run on Sunday with thousands gathering at Ratanga Junction.
taken from EWN
The Green Shop – Sun Jar
by Mickey on Nov.06, 2009, under Gadgets, Interesting, Technology, Toys
Jam jars store jam,
the Sun jar collects and stores sunshine so that you can use it at night
Original design by Tobias Wong
Glass jar, solar cell, battery and LED lights.
100X100X160mm
Made with a traditional Mason jar and high tech energy efficient lighting! Captured inside the jar are a highly efficient solar cell, rechargeable battery and low energy LED lamps. When the jar is placed in sunlight the solar cell creates an electrical current that charges the battery over a few hours. This energy is then used at night to power the three LED lamps inside the jar.
The light is diffused by the frosted jar and give the appearance of sunlight emitting from the (warm coloured LED lights are used to give a more natural and warm light). You may have noticed that there is no switch on the sun jar – in fact there are no visible controls at all – there is a clever light sensor inside that automatically activates the lights when it gets dark or lights are turned out!* Mason Jars are not only beautiful but by their very nature they are completely water tight – so the Sun Jar can happily be left outside in any weather conditions. A perfect garden light or night light for a kids bedroom. *there is an override switch inside the lid to turn off the light at night and conserve battery life.
Sun Jars need DIRECT sunshine to work!
Leave the Sun Jar outside or in a sunny window
in DIRECT sunlight for several hours to charge,
(electric light indoors is not bright enough!).
Bad weather is bad news for Sun Jars!
You may find that in winter or cloudy weather your Sun Jar illuminates for less time than normal, or even not at all. This is because your Sun Jar require SUN to re-charge!
For improved results, leave the Sun Jar switched off (switch up) whilst charging. Simply switch it to the on position (switch down) when you would like it to glow. This conserves battery life and will leave it to illuminate when you need it to. If the weather has been particularly bad, as a last resort you can also charge the batteries in a normal battery charger!
Go to The Green Shop to buy a Sun Jar online!
Iran Takes On Barbie Dolls
by Mickey on Oct.13, 2009, under Toys
Tehran – Iran has renewed its effort to fight Barbie dolls with an Islamic model and hence avoid a “cultural invasion,” local media reported on Friday.
In 1996, Iran branded the highly popular Barbie dolls a “cultural invasion” against Iranian children and proclaimed the production of an Islamic toy to counter the threat.
The Islamic “Barbie” dolls known as Sara and her brother Dara arrived on the market in 1999 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution but found little resonance among Iranian children.
According to toyshop owners, the Iranian dolls were not only expensive but also too heavy for children.
Ten years later, the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IDCYA) started another effort by producing a new version of the Islamic dolls.
IDSYA head Majid Qaderi, the creator of Dara and Sara, told ISNA news agency that the new versions of dolls are smaller, lighter and cheaper than the initial models and would hit the market at the beginning of November this year.
Qaderi had in the past compared the Barbie dolls with the “Trojan Horse, with many cultural invading soldiers inside it.”
The Iranian clergy have constantly warned of “irreparable (cultural) damage” toys such as Barbie, Batman, Harry Potter and Spiderman could have for Iranian children.
The warnings in the last three decades of a “Western cultural invasion,” also regarding Western films, music and fashion, have so far had little impact and the illegal articles are still purchased by Iranians on the black market.
taken from News24
