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 and the wildly inflated prices that were charged for the toy in secondary markets made this loveable Sesame Street doll one of the most notorious fads of the nineties.
Tickle Me Elmo was produced by Tyco Preschool and released in the summer of 1996. It was moderately popular until it received a huge plug on the Rosie O’Donnell Show, after which the doll became nearly impossible to track down in stores. Inspired by the way children tickle each other into hysterical laughter on the playground, Tickle Me Elmo was invented by Ron Dubren. In order to activate, Elmo requires hugs from kids that make him shake and giggle. It was very popular among preschool-aged children who loved Elmo’s silly laughter as well as his rumbling frame.
While the doll retailed on shelves for about $30, it commanded much higher rates on the resale market from parents desperate to give their child the season’s most popular gift. “Elmo-mania” swept the country, it even allegedly inspired a few big-box store breakdowns as adults brawled in the aisles over the few remaining Elmo’s. Elmo’s popularity and the craze associated with acquiring the toy was mirrored in other nineties toys like Beanie Babies and later the Furby electronic robotic toy. By the end of December 1996, the entire Tyco stock of one million Elmo’s had been sold. The toy continued to remain popular among consumers, and other tickle-able characters were spun off including Tickle Me Cookie Monster, Tickle Me Ernie, and Tickle Me Big Bird.
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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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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Having glowing star stickers on your wall was very popular as a '90s kid. Whether you got them as a prize from Chuck-E-Cheese, or found some in the dollar store - it was cool to sleep under the stars every night of the week. In fact, it’s still cool!
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The slap bracelet, an innocuous little wrist wrap turned children's toy, was to early '90s kids what fidget spinners are to children of the 2010s. Incredibly simple and idiotically brilliant, the slap bracelet was both a fashion statement and an...
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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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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...
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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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With our galaxy under threat from the Evil Emperor Zerg, we must rely on the greatest Space Ranger to ever patrol our toy boxes: Buzz Lightyear! Relive those epic childhood Toy Story moments with your very own Buzz Lightyear doll. To infinity... and beyond!
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Another example of nineties toymakers going HAM on miniatures. Tech Deck fingerboards are small skateboards that can be manipulated and “ridden” using your fingers. Fingerboards were initially produced as keychains for skate shops but evolved...
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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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