NEW TOYS IN THE TOY HALL OF FAME

Twister, the Super Soaker and “the puppet” were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York — beating out not only Battleship, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, , but also American Girl Dolls, the coloring book, Jenga, Playmobil, the scooter, the spinning top and Wiffle Ball. The Strong Museum, home to the Museum of Play, said the panel emphasized a toy’s longevity and its ability to foster discovery through play.
– Museum curator Patricia Hogan said puppets were inducted because “playing with puppets helps children develop coordination and manual dexterity.”
– Reyn Guyer, who invented Twister in 1964 as a promotion for shoe polish before licensing it to Milton Bradley Co., said he “never could have imagined how ingrained in pop culture and beloved by kids it would become.”
– The Super Soaker was invented in 1982 by NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson. In the early 1990s, some stores were to stop selling Super Soakers, concerned that they could mistaken for real guns, potentially leading to tragic outcomes. If anything, the controversy made the water guns even more popular.
* My Uncle Warren is nicknamed the Super Soaker, when he comes over and sits on your couch.
* The puppet made it? Somebody must have pulled some strings to make that happen.
* I sense pressure from the Muppet lobby for the puppet win.
* I just can’t believe they whiffed on the Whiffle Ball.
* I think they ignored the Whiffle ball because kids found it too light to do much damage with it.
* Now the Super Soaker? You could take the grid out with one of those.