Think back to your childhood, what were the trends of that time? What was the hairstyle that everybody wanted, the shoes celebrities wore, the most popular song that would never take a break from the radio?… This trendy lifestyle might look different for many people, but one thing remained stylish, our favorite toys!

Most of the population growing up in the early 2000’s (2000-2010) shared the same toys. These included Barbie, Bratz, Webkinz, Beanie Babies, Tamagotchi, Furby’s, Heelys and so many more classics! According to various sources on Google, the Top 10 house-hold toy brands that everyone and their mother had (in no particular order) were; Barbie, Tamagotchi, Playmobil, Polly Pocket, Tickle me Elmo, Groovy Girls, Furby’s, Bop it, & Skip-it. But just because Google comes up with a search result doesn’t necessarily mean it’s 100% accurate. The results were taken on a world wide scale, on a smaller scale, this may not apply. On that note, students were interviewed to voice their thoughts on the web search. Whether they thought the search was accurate, and if not what they would tweak. 

“Barbie and Pop it I definitely agree with,” Abby Jones (’25) said.

“I would say it’s pretty accurate,” Susanna Glass (’26) said.

“I think that is quite accurate! I would agree,” Joshua Janisse (’26) said.

“Some seem accurate like Barbie. Some I’ve never heard of, So I’m guessing they shouldn’t be on the list,” Chris Chor (’25) said.

Most of the students came to a general consensus that the top 10 list was pretty accurate. On the other hand, some thought that the list could be changed.

 “I think that I would add Bratz Dolls because they were really popular with people ’cause they could dress them how they wanted to,” Katelyn Edwards (’26) said.

“Oh, okay hmm… the only two I’m not sure on is Groovy Girls and Tama-whatever but they were probably popular before I was born,” Varenya Modugla (’24) said.

Regardless of how fashionable these toys were, did anyone really even bother to know more about them? I interviewed kids to see if this was really the case. The questions asked all related to the origins, purposes, and instructions of/for these toys.

Question 1:

“When was the first Barbie Doll produced?”

“I have absolutely no clue when it was first made,” Edwards (’26) said.

“1950 something,” Jones (’25) said.

Barbies’ ‘birthday’ is March 9, 1959. The doll was on display at the American Toy Fair in New York, according to History.com ‘Barbie Through the Ages’. 

Question 2:

“Do you know off-hand who the creator of Lincoln Logs is?”

The answer stumped those questioned, as John Lloyd Wright created the interconnectable toys.

“No… Is it somebody famous?” Chor (’25) said.

“Abraham Lincoln?” Janisee (’26) said.

Question 3:

“How many Hot Wheel Cars do you think are produced each year?”. An incredibly close guess was made by Susanna Glass.

“I would say about 500 mil Hot Wheels are made per year,” Glass (’26) said.

‘Hot Wheels Turns 50: Here’s How Design Drives the Iconic Toys’ Car and Driver claims that 519 Million are indeed produced every year.

Question 4:

“What is the name of the City with which the Bratz Dolls T.V. series takes place?”

“Haha no clue, I’ve never watched it,” Modugla (’24) said.

Question 5:

“Did you have a favorite toy growing up? If so, can you please describe it?”

There were many, mixed results.

“My favorite toy growing up would have to be Shopkins. They were little toys that you could do anything with,” Edwards (’26) said.

Jones (’25) was also transported back into childhood

“Yes, I had two Barbie’s from Monster High and MLP figurines. I think it was Luna the one with wings and Frankie,” Jones (’25) said.

“Legos probably,” Glass (’26) said.

“My favorite toy was a Thomas the tank engine train, it was blue and had a small motor to make it move around,” Janisee (’26) said.

“I kinda didn’t have a favorite toy because I wasn’t into that stuff… If anything, it was RC cars or robotics,” Chor (’25) said.