CLASSIC TOY INVENTIONS

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Lincoln Logs were invented by John Lloyd Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright’s son. The original instructions included a how to construct a replica of Abraham Lincoln’s cabin.
Tinkertoys were invented after a stonemason saw kids being thoroughly entertained by building things with pencils and spools of thread.

Hula Hoops have been around forever in various formats, but the “official” Wham-O toy was invented in 1958. The inventors promoted it by going around to various playgrounds and parks giving children samples and showing them how to use it. Something tells me two random men showing up in a park handing out toys wouldn’t go over that well today…
Play-Doh was first sold as a wallpaper cleaner. How’s that for weird? It was rolled it on the walls to remove coal dust.
 Slinky was invented by Naval engineer Richard James. He knocked a coil 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. 

LEGOs were invented by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a master carpenter who lived in Denmark. The word comes from the Danish words LEg and GOdt, which together means “play well.” They later discovered that in Latin, Lego means “I put together.”