8 People That Invented Toys for Our Children and Made a Fortune

All children have their favorite toys or hobbies. Some children have favorite toys that are unique. But there are also some products for children that millions of them love. For example, the Nerf blasters that any boy would love to play with, or the LOL dolls that girls around the world are asking their parents for. But who invented all these things?

We at Bright Side decided to find out who is behind the creation of the products our children are ready to spend all their pocket money on. And in the bonus, you will find out the history of the game that you probably love.

LOL dolls

Isaac Larian, the CEO of MGA Entertainment, had the idea of creating these dolls. When he couldn’t sleep one night, he was watching popular YouTube videos and found that certain videos that showed unpacking toys got a huge number of views. Then, he realized that he had to come up with a toy that would be interesting to unpack.

With a team, Larian created small dolls with big eyes that are wrapped in plastic balls and 7 layers of film. The main feature of the toy is that while a child is unwrapping it, they see little surprises under each layer. And in the end, they get the doll itself.

When Larian offered his invention to Walmart, it was turned down. They said nobody would buy this toy because you can’t see it. But they were totally wrong and LOL became the hit of the decade.

Fidget spinner

The history of creating of this toy is very mysterious. Catherine Hettinger created this toy in 1997 for her daughter. Catherine was suffering from myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder that causes muscle weakness which made it hard for her to play with her daughter. So, she created a turning device that could keep the little girl’s attention for a long time. Also, according to Hettinger, the toy was supposed to help children calm down.

But the spinner as we know it today was patented in 2016 by Scott McCoskery. He made it by himself and used it to battle anxiety. Soon, he started getting orders for fidget spinners from his friends and then from people he didn’t even know.

Hoverboard

Today, every teenager would probably love to have a hoverboard. The invention that seems to be too cool and modern, actually appeared in the ’90s of the previous century. The prototype of hoverboards was the Segway: a similar-looking device that has a handle to make turns.

They were invented by Dean L. Kamen. Interestingly, the owner of Segway Inc., Jimi Heselden, died in an accident while using his own product.

Later, Chinese engineers started to modernize this device and, over time, they figured out how to get rid of the handle and teach the device to make turns with the shift of the center of gravity. The first hoverboards appeared at the beginning of the 2010s.

LEGO

The company, that is now producing possibly the most famous toy in the world, was created by Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1916. In his workshop, he made different wooden things for home. But once, there was a fire and all the materials burned. The only product his company continued to make were the toys for children that you didn’t need a lot of wood to make, but they were painted in bright colors.

The company was named LEGO from the Danish leg godt — play good. In 1947, LEGO started producing plastic toys, including the famous blocks.

Minecraft

This game is just as interesting as making things with LEGOs. Here, the player is in a 3D world made of cubes that you can build however you want. The video game was officially released in 2011 and the developer is Markus Persson also known as Notch.

The game became popular among adults and children. During the first year, it made the creator a millionaire. Markus published a comment on Reddit where he said that he was surprised with the money he’d suddenly earned, because he had grown up in a poor family. He spent some of the money on the well-being of his relatives and some — he gave to charity.

Nerf

In 1969, inventor Reyn Guyer came to the Parker Brothers. His idea was a home football game that could be used inside the house. It included a ball that was light and small.

The Parker Brothers decided to only keep the ball. It was the first product sold and branded as Nerf. The company executives realized that it was a hit and developed the idea, adding pneumatic blasters with these balls.

Children loved this toy gun because of how well it was made and how far it could shoot. In 2011, Nerf was named the best toy for boys.

Happy Meal

These food kits were invented in the ’70s of the 20th century. The employees of McDonald’s in Guatemala decided to make the process of eating with children as simple for parents as possible. They decided to create kits for boys and girls. The idea was successful and soon it reached the management in Chicago. Bob Bernstein was responsible for the concept of Happy Meals.

Once, Bob noticed children looking at boxes of cornflakes and he thought that McDonald’s also needed to have great packaging. This is where the idea of boxes with fast-food and toys came from and the best children illustrators worked on the design.

Obviously, the idea was extremely successful and it won the hearts of little kids.

Monster High

The gothic appearances of these dolls attract girls like a magnet. Adults are surprised to find out that their daughters like vampires, werewolves, artificial blood, and skulls.

Garrett Sander had the idea of creating these toys with his twin brother Darren and together they designed the girls whose parents are the monsters from horror films and scary tales.

Today, the Monster High crew is not just a bunch of toys. There are several animated movies, a book series, and even a video game about them. And in 2017, Mattel released Enchantimals that combine the features of people and animals.

Bonus: “Monopoly” was supposed to change society.

The story of this product started in 1903 when Lizzie Magie created a board game called “The Landlord’s Game.” The inventor was trying to show the growing generation that it was unfair that a small group of businessmen could just own a lot of property.

Lizzie wanted to sell the game to a lot of customers, so she went to the Parker Brothers with her offer. They turned it down because they thought the rules were too complicated. But in 1936, Charles Darrow went to the same company with a suspiciously similar idea. His offer was also turned down.

But Darrow was a persistent man and he released “Monopoly” on his own. When it became popular, the Parker Brothers realized that they had made a mistake and accepted Darrow’s offer. The game was incredibly popular. Today, there are even “Monopoly” competitions. But Lizzie’s original idea was lost: in the modern version, the ultimate goal is to own everything.

Which toys or devices do your children really love? Do you know how they were invented?