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Some 1950s toys were designed to amuse the entire family. Children and parents alike enjoyed playing with toys like hula hoops, and Slinkys, and Silly Putty.
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Wham-O
San Francisco, CA
Date: 1958
ID: 2000.64.1
Gift of Larry C. McCans
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Hula Hoop
When the hula hoop was introduced in 1958, manufacturers found it impossible to keep up with the demand for the toy. That year, over 15 million hula hoops were sold as kids and their parents twirled in these colorful plastic hoops in backyards all over America.
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Slinky Ad
Life Magazine
Date: November 1957
ID: 2001.169.1
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Slinky
Once glance at this springy toy as it coiled end-over-end down a sloped board at a Gimbel's deparment store demonstration and Americans were hooked. Children and adults alike loved to watch this toy walk down stairs and perform other tricks. Slinky toys offered an innovative new twist on the traditional toddler pull toys.
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Silly Putty Marketing
New Haven, CT
Date: about 1962
ID: 2001.170.1
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Silly Putty
Silly Putty was invented by a General Electric chemical engineer working to develop a synthetic substitute for rubber during World War II. While no practical use could be found for the substance, it turned out to be a great toy. Silly Putty bounced higher and stretched farther than rubber, and even lifted images off the pages of a comic book. Soon after the toy was mentioned in The New Yorker magazine in 1950, Silly Putty was being bounced and stretched by thousands of American adults and kids.
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