Top, Lite-Brite, Masters of the Universe land spots in National Toy Hall of Fame
The top beat out bingo for a spot in the National Toy Hall of Fame on Thursday as the ancient plaything was inducted along with Mattel’s Masters of the Universe and Hasbro’s Lite-Brite.
The globe- and time-spanning spinning top, a favorite since the dawn of childhood in cultures stretching from Asia to Europe to the Americas and Australia, finally snagged its moment at the Strong Museum in upstate New York, the hall’s home.
“The top is one of the oldest toys and an integral part of many cultures, where it developed independently as a plaything,” Christopher Bensch, chief curator of the Rochester-based museum, said in a statement. “With more than 5,000 years of history behind it, it’s about time that the top spun its way into the National Toy Hall of Fame!”
Even adults have been mesmerized through the ages with the spinning toy, as the museum, which chooses and bestows the awards, pointed out. Ancient Greek pottery depicts women playing with tops 2,000 years ago, and kids today still love spinning and competing with this toy outfitted with nothing more than the laws of physics. A version of the top is also used in board games, with the eight-sided teetotum providing the element of chance, the museum said.
The second of the three winners, the Lite-Brite by Hasbro, has been popular for more than 50 years, since its 1966 introduction. It used to be known as the “magic light box” by borrowing from the concept underlying stained-glass windows. Users create glowing, colorful pictures via pegs shoved into a lit-up black background, encouraging “kids to color and draw with light, applying 20th-century technology to ancient mosaic techniques,” curator Nicolas Ricketts said.
Inductee Masters of the Universe has been popular since the 1980s, thanks to the “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” cartoon series. He-Man and She-Ra action figures and other characters “had the strength, weapons, and power to defeat the villain — and give kids confidence,” curator Michelle Parnett-Dwyer said in the museum’s statement.
The three were among 12 finalists that also included bingo, Breyer Horses, Catan, Nerf, the piñata, Phase 10, Pound Puppies, Rack-O and Spirograph.
