August 1965: Super Ball

This invention relates to a toy and more particularly to a ball or sphere having extremely high resilience and a high coefficient of friction.

     -- "Highly Resilient Polybutadiene Ball" (U.S. Patent Office; filed August 25, 1965; patented March 22, 1966): @

Here's the new SUPER-BALL that bounces like nothing you've ever seen before. Its strange, lively antics will distract classrooms and disrupt the dignity of business offices. Everybody is fascinated by SUPER-BALL, the handball-sized black ball that mysteriously leaps high into the air, darts this way and that, or bounces back in unlikely directions with a new twist.
     -- Advertisement (Family Weekly, November 14, 1965): @ 

Note: The earliest ad I could find was dated August 4, 1965.

* Wham-O product site: @

* www.superballs.com (tribute site): @

* "Kinematics of an Ultraelastic Rough Ball" (Richard L. Garwin, Columbia University, published in American Journal of Physics, January 1969): @

* "How Super Balls Work" (www.howstuffworks.com, 2011): @

* "A Boom with a Bounce" (Life magazine, December 3, 1965): @

* "Can You Invent a Million-Dollar Fad?" (Popular Science, January 1966): @

* "Corny Name, 'Super' Game" (Associated Press, January 6, 1970): @
* Entry from "Toys and American Culture: An Encyclopedia" (Sharon M. Scott, 2010): @

---

1965: Barbie Miss Astronaut

Two years after Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union became the first woman in space, Mattel begins selling astronaut outfits for Barbie ("Miss Astronaut") and Ken ("Mr. Astronaut"). It would be another year before Hasbro introduced astronaut gear for GI Joe.

* Summaries from www.barbiecollector.com: @ (Barbie) and @ (Ken)
* Summary from Fashion Doll Guide: @

* "Mattel's Astronaut Barbie Becomes a Mars Explorer with NASA help" (space.com, 2013): @ 

---

Monday, March 9, 1964: G.I. Joe

Hasbro introduces "America's Movable Fighting Man" at the American Toy Fair in New York. The "action figure" was on store shelves and in catalogs for the Christmas season.

-- Image from 1964 Sears Christmas catalog, courtesy of gijoe.ebcutler.com; link below. 

Note: The date of the toy's introduction is a matter of some debate; several resources say it was February 9. Lacking any evidence to the contrary, I'm going with March 9, based on the toy fair opening that day.

* Summary from Collectors Weekly: @

* "The GI Joe Story" (Toy Collector magazine, Page 67; June 2007): @

* "Macho in Miniature" (Smithsonian magazine, August 2002): @

* "The secret history of G.I. Joe" (Tom Engelhardt, August 2013): @

* "From Vietnam to the New World Order: The G.I. Joe Action Figure as Cold War Artifact" (Roger Chapman, Studies in The Social Sciences, Page 47; May 1999): @

* The Beachhead (G.I. Joe site): @

* G.I. Joe Collectors' Club: @

* "Toy Figure Having Movable Joints" (from Google Patents): @

* 1960s Christmas catalogs (from GIJoe.ebcutler.com): @

* "Visions of Christmas Sales Captivate Toy Buyers" (New York Times, March 10, 1964; subscription required): @ 
* "Military Toys Come Under Fire" (Herald Tribune News Service, March 11): @
* "Toy makers accept stronger code guides" (Broadcasting magazine, Page 52, March 16): @
* "Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies That Make Them" (G. Wayne Miller, 1998): @
* "G.I. Joe: The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action" (John Michlig, 1998): @

* "Warman's G.I. Joe Field Guide: Values and Identification" (KP Books, 2005): @ 

* Promotional film shown to buyers at toy fair: @  

---

Monday, November 4, 1963: Easy-Bake Oven

The baking toy, made by Kenner Products, goes on sale. 

From the packaging: "Bake your cake and eat it too! It's quick! It's easy! Simply add water and bake these delicious treats ... 'Cook Book' tells how to Easy Bake. You can get Kenner refill mixes or use Mom's ingredients."

From the patent (linked below): "This invention relates to toys and it is directed particularly to a toy oven in which a child may bake many varieties of foods 'just like mother's' but on a much reduced scale. ... (T)he oven is heated by ordinary light bulbs. The temperature generated by these bulbs is found to be adequate for baking purposes, but it is not so great that it cannot be effectively baffled, insulated and vented so that there is no danger of a child being burned by touching any of the exposed parts of the oven, even though it be small in size. ... (I)t is found that the average child can turn out excellent baked products with very little instruction using the oven of this invention."

* Short history (from Hasbro, current owner of Kenner): @

* Entry from National Toy Hall of Fame: @

* Early television ad: @

* Patent (from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office): @

* "The Evolution of the Easy-Bake Oven" (from Sociological Images blog): @

* "UC alum Ronald Howes creates Easy-Bake Oven" (from University of Cincinnati): @

* "The Passing of Mr. 'Easy-Bake Oven' " (from Super Chef blog, 2005): @

* "Light Bulb Baking" (Todd Coopee, 2013): @ (book) and @ (website) 

---

March 1963: Mouse Trap

Ideal Toy Company introduces the board game at the American Toy Fair in New York (March 11-16). The object: put together a Rube Goldberg-like apparatus to move balls through various mechanisms and cause a basket to drop over a mouse.
* From "Timeless Toys" (Tim Walsh, 2005): @

* From "Warman's 101 Greatest Baby Boomer Toys" (Marc Rich, 2005): @ 
* Entry from BoardGameGeek: @ 

* Early TV commercial: @ 
* rubegoldberg.com: @ 

---

Undated: Barbie's Dream House

Mattel begins selling the cardboard fold-up house -- one room, complete with a closet, record albums and a photo of Ken. A print advertisement reads: Here's where Barbie lives! Her house comes with a convenient carrying handle, includes a complete suite of easy-to-assemble, modern, slim-line furniture and all the special living accessories Barbie has chosen for her home. Folds away neatly and compactly when not in use. $8.00 (Slightly higher west of the Rockies)

* Photos of this and other Barbie houses: @

* TV commercial: @

* Earlier post on introduction of Ken doll (March 1961): @

---

Saturday, March 11 / Monday, March 13, 1961: Ken doll

After two years on her own, the popular Barbie doll gets a boyfriend as Ken is introduced by Mattel Inc. at the American Toy Fair in New York. (While Mattel is marking the 50th anniversary on March 11, serious doll collectors prefer March 13, the date the toy fair opened, as the actual birthday.) Ken (last name Carson) was named after the son of Mattel's owners. "He's a doll!" the ads proclaimed.

* All about Ken (from www.barbiemedia.com): @

* Barbie and Ken quiz (via CNBC): @

* First TV commercial: @

* www.manbehindthedoll.com: @

* dollobserver.com (blog): @

* "Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll" (book by M.G. Lord): @

---

Tuesday, July 12, 1960: Etch A Sketch

The Ohio Art Company's factory in Bryan, Ohio, begins producing the mechanical drawing toy, developed in the late '50s by French electrician André Cassagnes. (Arthur Grandjean is sometimes mistakenly cited as the inventor; click here for the full story; scroll down to "Real History verified by the Ohio Art Company.") Thanks to extensive advertising, the toy's popularity would soar as the holiday season nears; Ohio Art's factory works until noon on Christmas Eve.

* "Inside an Etch A Sketch" (from www.howstuffworks.com): @

* "How an Etch A Sketch works" (from www.todayifoundout.com): @

* Short history and timeline (from Toledo Blade newspaper): @ and @

* Patents: @ and @

---