Last month, our very own Stacy (who just survived a freaky accident involving a downed power line - glad you're ok, Stacy!) wrote a very neat post over at mental_floss about the background stories of 10 classic toys.
Take, for instance, Slinky:
Slinky was invented by Naval engineer Richard James. He knocked a spring off of a shelf when he was working to develop springs that could keep ship instruments stable in choppy waters. The spring did what a Slinky does… it stepped down to a stack of books, then to the table, and then to the floor, where it righted itself into a cylinder. James knew it would be a great toy, and tests by neighborhood kids proved him right.
Link - via i met a possum
rolls over your neighbors dog. It fits on your back, its great for a snack, LOG LOG LOG!
Its log, its log, its big its heavy its wood! Its log, its log, its better than bad, its good!
Everyone wants a log. Your gonna love it log. Come and get your log! Everyone needs a log!
LOG LOG LOG!
Stick your tongue in a wall socket...
Wait 10 seconds.
Pull out and cry...
Wait 10 minutes.
Pick your nose and voila... Nose Goblins!!!