Do You Know These Toys of the 1950s?

Although it launched in the 1930s, Betsy Wetsy reached peak popularity in the 1950s after many design improvements, including its switch from plastic to vinyl. The 1954 version of Betsy Wetsy could drink, wet a diaper, and cry tears out of holes near her eyes. Two years later, a Betsy Wetsy with rooted hair and “sleep eyes” (eyes that closed when she laid down) hit the market.

Arguably one of the most important features of a pogo stick, the two-handle feature didn’t exist until 1957. Before this, pogo sticks had only one handle, which unsurprisingly resulted in chin injuries. Invented by George Hansburg, the modern pogo stick as we know it debuted at the end of the ’50s, and thanks to improved safety, it became one of the most popular toys in the U.S.

This classic red stereoscope became one of the most popular toys of the '50s after acquiring the rights to use Disney characters in 1951. Soon, children were able to see their favorite scenes from Disney shows, films, and even theme parks appear before their eyes in three-dimensional images. The View-Master reels became must-have collectibles in the following years.

Mound Metalcraft Company, a gardening tools manufacturer, founded Tonka in 1947. While the yellow Mighty Dump Truck is its claim to fame, the brand’s first two toys were a crane and a steam shovel (a type of excavator). The company sold 37,000 models during its debut year. An early version of the dump truck was introduced in 1949, but the official Mighty Dump Truck didn’t debut until 1964.

Until the 1960s, consumers had to supply their own potato in order to play with Mr. Potato Head. The original 1952 kit came with hands, feet, ears, two mouths, two pairs of eyes, four noses, three hats, eyeglasses, a pipe, and eight felt pieces for facial hair — but no plastic potato body. After many complaints of rotting potatoes, the brand included a plastic body with the set.

These reusable vinyl sticker sets were among the most popular toys of the decade. The first licensed character featured in Colorforms was Popeye, who appeared in 1957 with a can of spinach and bulging biceps. In the coming years, many popular children’s characters had their own Colorform sets, from Charlie Brown and Gumby to Mickey Mouse and Batman.

Frisbees were first produced in 1957 by Wham-O, but their story began years earlier in 1948, when inventors Walter Frederick Morrison and Warren Franscioni created a flying disc aptly called the “Flying Saucer.” Morrison improved the model in 1955 and renamed it “Pluto Platter,” playing into the UFO craze of the time. He sold his new-and-improved disc to Wham-O and it hit the market two years later.

No single company can lay claim to the invention of the Hula Hoop, although it is now a trademarked name under Wham-O. Similar hoops made of bamboo, wood, vines, grass, and metal have been around since antiquity, and the ancient Greeks were known to use them for exercise. Wham-O began producing its own plastic hoops in 1958, and they soon became one of the most popular toys of the 20th century.

Most of the “Toy Story” gang was created just for the film, such as fan favorites Buzz and Woody, but a few were modeled after real 1950s toys, including Barbie, Mr. Potato Head, and Slinky Dog. Slinky Dog was added to the Slinky brand lineup in 1952, but was later discontinued in the ’70s. After the first “Toy Story” film was released in 1995, Slinky Dog once again hit the shelves of toy stores across the U.S.

Cincinnati-based Kutol Products was the largest manufacturer of wallpaper cleaner in the world in the middle of the 20th century. Its pliable product easily wiped soot from walls, but with the emergence of gas and electric heat, soot was no longer an issue. Kutol founder Joseph McVicker’s sister-in-law Kay Zufall, a schoolteacher, had an idea to use the product as modeling clay instead. Her nursery school students loved it, and in 1956, a new toy was born.

English engineer Jack Odell was inspired to make tiny toy cars due to a rule at his daughter’s school: Students could only bring toys to school that fit inside a matchbox. Working with die casters, Odell invented Matchbox cars. His first model was a construction roller, followed by double-decker London buses and race cars. U.S. sales began a few years later, with tens of millions sold by 1960.

What became a favorite fortunetelling toy at sleepovers across America got its start as a promotional product for Chicago’s Brunswick Billiards. The toy, which debuted in 1950, was a nod to the billiard game Eight Ball. This plastic ball with a 20-sided die printed with mysterious answers still sells around a million units annually.

Silly Putty kept the Apollo 8 crew occupied and their in-cabin tools secured during their 1968 space mission, but the story of Silly Putty began years earlier in 1943, when General Electric chemist James Wright accidentally created the rubbery goo. It was called “Nutty Putty” when it entered stores in 1949, but sales didn’t take off until it was rebranded as “Silly Putty” and repackaged into red plastic eggs.

Created by Art Clokey, Gumby made his first television appearance in 1956 on “The Howdy Doody Show.” The green clay character was so well received that he became the star of his own show, “The Gumby Show.” His orange horse, Pokey, joined him on many adventures, including a trip to the moon in the first episode. By the early ’60s, Gumby toys were breaking sales records around the country.

Sporting a black-and-white swimsuit, the most famous doll of the 20th century debuted on March 9, 1959, at the American Toy Fair in New York City. The first American doll of her kind, she was named Barbara Millicent Roberts, or “Barbie” for short. The doll was styled after Hollywood leading ladies such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, but was inspired by the German fashion doll Bild Lilli.