Otherland Toys
- The most innovative and hard to get toys. Included in their current range are remote control vehicles and a cyber dog. Free UK mainland delivery.

Toys and Their History

In our modern world, toys are taken for granted by children and parents alike, especially on special occasions such as birthday or Christmas. However, it can be interesting to take a little look back in time to have a look at the origins of some of our favourite or mainstay toys, and see just how they've evolved over the years.

• Mr Potato Head
  Mr Potato Head is a toy that has been a favourite with children for many years, and he has enjoyed something of a Rennaissance since his appearance in Disney's Toy Story. Mr Potato Head was originally invented by George Lerner, a New Yorker, in 1952. He sold his invention to the company that owned Hasbro, and they still manufacture this toy today. Mrs Potato Head was introduced a year after her husband.
• The Yo-yo
  The yo-yo is an ancient toy. It is unknown who invented it, but the earliest versions found in ancient Greece date back over two thousand five hundred years. These yo-yo's were made of wood or metal. The word "yo-yo" comes from an ancient Philippino word meaning "come back". However, in the Phillipines the yo-yo was used as a weapon. The yo-yo became popular in the UK at the beginning of the nineteenth century was was originally called a "Bandalore" - the word yo-yo was not used until the 1920's when a Philippino immigrant started to manufacture them as toys in the US. The rights to manufacture the yo-yo were bought in 1929 by D.F. Duncan Sr, and he enhanced the design to give us the modern day yo-yo.
• Silly Putty
  If your children are anything like mine, at some time in the past they will have demanded that you buy them some Silly Putty. Silly Putty is like plasticine except if you roll it into a ball - it will bounce. It can also copy print onto its surface, although if you keep doing this it does discolour the Silly Putty after a while. It really is a quite intriguing material, not that I've played with it much myself. Ahem. Silly Putty was invented by James Wright, an engineer, in the 1940's. He made it by mixing silicone oil with boric acid.
• Etch-a-Sketch
  Etch-a-Sketch was invented by a Frenchman, Arthur Granjean, in 1958. After it was displayed at a toy fair in Germany, the rights to its production were bought out by the Ohio Toy Company, who gave the device its current name.
• Super Soakers
  Originally called the Power Drencher, this toy was invented in 1988 by Lonnie Johnson, who was an Aerospace Engineer. In effect, he invented the world's first water pistol that incorporated an increase in water pressure into its design, for additional soaking capacity.