K'NEX allowed budding designers, architects, and engineers the chance to construct replica models of everything from bridges and cars to rollercoasters and Ferris wheels. The construction toy system was invented by American entrepreneur Joel Glickman. It consisted of a system of interconnecting blocks, rods, and wheels made of brightly colored plastic, which could be assembled to create many different models. Each K’NEX set would feature a certain quantity of each type of part, and the rest was up to you and your imagination.
The fledgling K’NEX company pitched the idea to toy giants Hasbro, Lego, Tyco Toys, and Mattel. Still, all four companies turned the idea down. The toy was eventually produced and sold directly and retailed through Toys "R" Us. The first K'NEX Box was released in 1993 and included simple rods and connectors that could be easily attached to form basic shapes and objects. A hand crank powered early models to make the different parts move, but eventually, gears and motors were introduced into K'NEX sets so that pieces could move on their own.
K'NEX is a popular learning toy, similar to Lincoln Logs and Legos. It fosters creativity and ingenuity, while giving children and teens the opportunity to learn basic principles of construction and engineering through play. It is also a natural stepping stone to more complex and technical engineering projects like robotic engineering. A larger format version called Kid K'NEX is designed for younger children. Until 2014, the Guinness Book of World Records award for "World's Largest K'NEX Sculpture" was held by The U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Their record was broken by a team from the United Kingdom who created a 13.38-meter long K'NEX replica of a supersonic car.
You may remember these as “Sock’em Boppers” before they were rebranded to the current “Socker Boppers.” But, the fact remains the same – punching friends and siblings with airbag gloves is still “more fun than a pillow fight!”
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Toymakers in the 1990s really were all about the portable toy. From the Tamagotchi and portable CD players to handheld electronics like the Game Boy Color, if you couldn’t take it with you, what good was it to a nineties kid? Aimed at a somewhat...
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Sleeping, walking the dog, and rocking the cradle may sound like a boring list of chores. Still, if you were raised in the nineties, you’d immediately recognize these as tricks you could perform with your Yomega Brain yo-yo. While yo-yo toys have...
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Christmas 1996: a holiday toy season that will live in infamy. The N64 video game system and Tickle Me Elmo were the two hottest toys to hit the market and nineties parents were freaking out. The crazed rush to buy up all of the Tickle Me Elmo’s...
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This iconic toy still maintains a wrestler’s grip on the American imagination more than 44 years after it was first released to the public. Originally developed and produced by the toy company Kenner Products in 1976, Stretch Armstrong was the...
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Although the design is not the same as that old tube TV shape, Lite-Brites are still available for purchase. Grab one today and express your inner '90s kid through light and tiny little plastic pegs.
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For '90s kids, Reptar was somewhere in between Godzilla and Looney Tunes. This made him an incredibly cool character on Rugrats, and a popular choice for clothing/bedding options. Grab this plush and snuggle up to your favorite Rugrats dinosaur pal.
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Do you miss the days of being peed on by a toy doll? Well, miss them no more! Baby Alive is back and ready to provide all of the biological joys that come with caring for a very hungry and thirsty baby.
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A pin relief board was a common site in 1990’s households. Often times, they contained the impression of a smushed face or a hand giving an interesting gesture. Grab one today and feed your creativity through artistic pin expression.
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Playing a game of Let’s Go Fishing was a popular way to pass the time at grandma’s house in the ‘90s. It was all fun and games until she whooped your ass for the third time in a row. Now is the time for you to grab your very own copy and show the world how much better you have gotten.
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