Four Toys You Grew Up With Are Now Hall of Famers
Four New Toys Join the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester
The National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester has announced its newest inductees, and some of your childhood favorites may have made the cut.
Four familiar names are joining the hall of fame: bingo, Care Bears, Pokémon trading cards, and playground slides.
The toys beat out eight other finalists and are now officially part of The Strong National Museum of Play's collection in Rochester.
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Care Bears have been spreading kindness and friendship since the early 1980s.
What started as a collection of colorful characters grew into a huge brand featuring toys, books, television shows, movies, and video games. There are now more than 100 different Care Bears.
Pokémon trading cards debuted in 1996 and quickly became a favorite among kids and collectors.
Whether you actually played the game or spent your allowance trying to get your hands on a rare card, Pokémon has been a big part of childhood for generations.
Bingo and Playground Slides Make the List
Bingo might seem like an unusual choice for a toy hall of fame, but the game has been bringing people together for centuries.
It dates back to an Italian lottery game in the 1500s and eventually became a popular pastime around the world.
And then there's the playground slide. It's simple, it's fun, and just about everyone remembers the excitement of climbing the ladder and racing down, unless, of course, it was one of those metal ones that turned into a giant frying pan on a hot summer day.
Which Toys Didn't Make the Cut?
The four winners beat out eight other finalists, including Bop It!, Mahjong, Monster High dolls, Mouse Trap, Polly Pocket, Sorry!, Tickle Me Elmo and Yahtzee.
Sorry Elmo. Maybe next year.
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All four new inductees are now part of the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester.
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Gallery Credit: Rebecca Cruz