This Aug. 25, 2020 photo provided by the The Strong museum in Rochester, N.Y., shows the 12 toys that are up for induction to the the National Toy Hall of Fame later this year. From top left are My Little Pony, Baby Nancy, Lite-Brite, Sorry and Masters of the Universe. From bottom left are Yhatzee, Tamagotchi, Risk, sidewalk chalk, Bingo, Jenga and Breyer Horses. (Victoria Gray/The Strong museum via AP)
Breyer Horses and My Little Pony are neck-and-neck in the race to the National Toy Hall of Fame, making the list of 12 finalists for the Class of 2020, announced Wednesday.
Baby Nancy, an ethnically correct Black doll unlike those produced before her debut in 1968, is also up for the honor. The games Risk, Sorry, Yahtzee, bingo and Jenga also made the list, which is rounded out by Lite-Brite, Masters of the Universe, sidewalk chalk and the 1990s virtual pet, Tamagotchi.
Three of the finalists will be inducted into the hall Nov. 5.
“These 12 toys represent the wide scope of playthings — from simple sidewalk chalk that has its roots in ancient times, to Baby Nancy, which proved a turning point in the representation of race in dolls, to the more recent, highly innovative Tamagotchi,” Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections, said in a news release.
Bensch said all the nominees have influenced how people play, one of the key criteria for earning a spot in the hall of fame alongside icons from the jack-in-the-box to the cardboard box, both inducted in 2005.
Honorees also must have lasted through generations, have reached icon-status, and foster learning, creativity, or discovery through play.
A national selection committee casts ballots for the winners. Members of the public, who submit nominations all year, can also weigh in on the final selection through an online “Player’s Choice” ballot from Sept. 9-16.
This will be the 23rd class to be inducted into the museum, which is located inside the Strong museum in Rochester, New York.
More about the nominees, according to the Strong:
— Baby Nancy: Introduced by Shindana Toys, a company dedicated to making toys that reflect Black pride.
— Bingo: a staple of fundraisers for churches and charities that descended from a lottery game first played in Italy around 1530.
— Breyer Horses: collectibles produced by the Breyer Molding Co. for the past 70 years.
— Jenga: the stacking game created by Englishwoman Leslie Scott based on wooden blocks from her childhood in Africa. The name has Swahili roots.
— Lite-Brite: colorful plastic pegs are backlit when placed in a black background.
— Masters of the Universe: a Mattel-produced line of action figures led by He-Man and She-Ra.
— My Little Pony: pastel mini-horses introduced in the 1980s and reintroduced in 2003.
— Risk: the war and strategy board game first published in the United States in 1959.
— Sidewalk chalk: the medium of masterpieces, as well as generations of driveway hopscotch games.
— Sorry: the board game that relies on cards, rather than dice, to move players’ pawns from start to home.
— Tamagotchi: the palm-size digital pets considered a fad by some but credited with helping to shape the electronics toy market in the 1990s and early 2000s.
— Yahtzee: the dice game that maker Hasbro estimates is played by 100 million people on a regular basis.
Chris Vecchio, senior analyst at DailyFX, joins Cheddar News to discuss what investors should watch as the three major indexes see wild swings all week.
On this episode of ChedHER: Avery Cyrus, one of TikTok's top LGBTQ creators discusses her partnership with Space Hero to become a citizen astronaut, and how she's using her platform on social media to give back; Boss Women Media Founder breaks down how she's empowering female entrepreneurs with 'Boss Business Showers;' Palmly Co-Founder explains how she's building a social networking app for Christians.
Rita Brooks, Co-Founder of Palmly, joins ChedHER to discuss how she's creating a social networking app for Christians, and her experience being a female founder in the tech industry.
Avery Cyrus, one of TikTok's top LGBTQ creators, joins ChedHER to discuss her partnership with Space Hero to become a citizen astronaut, and how she's using her platform on social media to give back.
A year after the r/WallStreetBets community on Reddit drove GameStop and other meme stocks to unprecedented heights, the subreddit seems to be losing its luster among retail investors. Caitlin McCabe, markets and retail trading reporter from The Wall Street Journal, joined Cheddar to talk about the waning popularity of the group “Users are going on to find the next GameStop, and instead, they're seeing many of the new users who have joined the subreddit still talking about GameStop and AMC," McCabe noted. "And, they've become frustrated as they're ready to move on from those original meme stocks."
Marty McDonald, Founder of Boss Women Media, joins ChedHER to discuss how she's empowering female entrepreneurs with 'Boss Business Showers,' and advice for turning your side hustle into a career.
Plant-based meat giant Beyond Meat's reign over the fast food world continues, as McDonald's announced that it is expanding its test of Beyond's McPlant burger, to nearly 600 restaurants, an increase from the eight that it's been testing in since November. This comes less than two weeks after Beyond Fried Chicken made its nationwide debut at KFC restaurants, the first time that plant based chicken has been widely distributed in a fast food capacity. Arun Sundaram, Senior Equity Analyst at CFRA Research explains why these latest collaborations may be proof that Beyond Meat products could slowly be becoming an unlikely staple in the fast food and chain restaurant world as consumers opt for more healthy food options.
Citi recently began collaborating with fitness entrepreneur Tracy Anderson to promote its Custom Cash Credit card. Pam Habner, CEO of U.S. Branded Cards for Citi, along with Tracy Anderson, creator of The Tracy Anderson Method, joined Cheddar to discuss how health and fitness matched up with a cash back credit card. "The fact that Citi is going 'hey if you lead a healthy lifestyle, we're going to help you out. We understand that it's more expensive and we're going to give you cash back for living your best life,'" Anderson said about the partnership, which also includes a custom promotional Spotify playlist.
