Portal:Toys

The Toys Portal

A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pets. Toys can provide utilitarian benefits, including physical exercise, cultural awareness, or academic education. Additionally, utilitarian objects, especially those which are no longer needed for their original purpose, can be used as toys. Examples include children building a fort with empty cereal boxes and tissue paper spools, or a toddler playing with a broken TV remote. The term "toy" can also be used to refer to utilitarian objects purchased for enjoyment rather than need, or for expensive necessities for which a large fraction of the cost represents its ability to provide enjoyment to the owner, such as luxury cars, high-end motorcycles, gaming computers, and flagship smartphones.

Playing with toys can be an enjoyable way of training young children for life experiences. Various materials, such as wood, clay, paper, and plastic, are used to make toys. Newer forms of toys include interactive digital entertainment and smart toys. Some toys are produced primarily as collector's items and are intended for display only. (Full article...)

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A frisbee (pronounced /ˈfrɪzbiː/ FRIZ-bee), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly 20 to 25 centimetres (8 to 10 in) in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitively for throwing and catching, as in flying disc games. The shape of the disc is an airfoil in cross-section which allows it to fly by reducing the drag and increasing lift as it moves through the air, compared to a flat plate. Spinning the disc imparts a stabilizing gyroscopic force, allowing it to be both aimed with accuracy and thrown for distance.

A wide range is available of flying disc variants. Those for disc golf are usually smaller but denser compared to ultimate frisbee, and tailored for particular flight profiles to increase or decrease stability and distance. The longest recorded disc throw is by David Wiggins Jr. with a distance of 338 metres (1,109 ft). Disc dog sports use relatively slow-flying discs made of more pliable material to better resist a dog's bite and prevent injury to the dog. Flying rings are also available which typically travel significantly further than any traditional flying disc. Illuminated discs are made of phosphorescent plastic or contain chemiluminescent fluid or battery-powered LEDs for play after dark. Others whistle when they reach a certain velocity in flight. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various toy-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A bead maze (from List of wooden toys)
Image 2Hello Kitty Dreamcast set, 2009 (from Girls' toys and games)
Image 3Interlocking disks enable the construction of high-symmetry models such as that of C
₆₀ fullerene. (from Construction set)
Image 4Detail from Children's Games by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1560), showing Flemish girls playing popular games of the era (from Girls' toys and games)
Image 5A bauernroulette game (from List of wooden toys)
Image 6Jeujura wooden construction set (Swiss chalet) (from Construction set)
Image 7A girl in Udaipur playing "Jungle Child" (from Girls' toys and games)
Image 8Girls playing in a park in the Netherlands (from Girls' toys and games)
Image 9A matryoshka doll taken apart (from List of wooden toys)
Image 10Kondapalli Toys (from List of wooden toys)
Image 11A ball-in-a-maze puzzle (from List of wooden toys)
Image 12Girls in Barbie Fashion Show in Children's Museum of Indianapolis (from Girls' toys and games)
Image 13A young boy playing with a toy dump truck at the beach. (from Boys' toys and games)
Image 14Paintings of girl with dolls (from Girls' toys and games)
Image 151970s No. 2 Meccano set (from Construction set)
Image 16Wooden unit blocks, a type of toy block, in a wooden wagon (from List of wooden toys)
Image 17Kiddicraft and Lego building blocks in different colors. (from Construction set)
Image 18Rows of pink girls' toys in a Canadian store, 2011 (from Girls' toys and games)
Image 19Tartu Toy Museum (from Toy museum)
Image 20Lego bricks are a construction set example. (from Construction set)
Image 21A gee-haw whammy diddle in use (from List of wooden toys)
Image 22Girls assembling a puzzle (from Girls' toys and games)
Image 23A puzzle of dexterity, a type of mechanical puzzle (from List of wooden toys)
Image 24Various spinning tops (from List of wooden toys)
Image 25Burr puzzles (from List of wooden toys)
Image 26A peg wooden doll from Val Gardena, 1850 (from List of wooden toys)

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Credit: Dave Parker

A dollhouse is a toy home, made in miniature. For the last century, dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. The term dollhouse is common in the United States and Canada. In UK the terms dolls' house or dollshouse are used.

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Did you know...

... that Korean brick toys, colloquially called "Korean Lego", often feature themes of "war and danger", including sets such as military vehicles?
... that a song about the discovery of sex toys and hundreds of condoms from West End Girl recently became Lily Allen's first UK top-ten single since 2014?
... that the Free Universal Construction Kit connects ten otherwise incompatible children's construction toys?
... that "Toy Town" was said to have "almost destroyed" the happy hardcore scene?
... that crab is served in school meals in Toyama Prefecture?
... that Taylor Swift released a demo containing lyrics that were trimmed from the final version of her song "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys"?