“You are a toy!” Could the oft-recited line from the 1995 feature film Toy Story—a beloved classic—hide a more profound meaning? The film’s portrayal of toys, which are sentient in their private world but lifeless in the presence of humans, can be interpreted as a commentary on the performative aspects of existence under oppressive systems. Moreover, it sketches a rough outline of a protective practice deployed by African Americans for centuries.
The central theme of Toy Story revolves around the life […]
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Survey Says: How Family Feud Gets Its Answers
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
“We surveyed 100 people. The top six answers are on the board…”
You probably easily guessed those iconic lines come from Family Feud. But have you ever wondered who those 100 people are?
Writing material and building each episode is plenty of work for any game show. When Family Feud started production in 1976, the staff took on an even bigger challenge. Not only would they write the material (the […]
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My Little Pony Prances into the National Toy Hall of Fame
My Little Pony invites children in the age-old play of hair grooming, brushing, and braiding. The ponies encourage fantasy, narrative, and storytelling. The variety of figures promotes collecting as a pastime. And, at the heart of it all, the ponies acknowledge many children’s fascination with horses. The continued popularity of the line proves that this brand—pardon the pun—has legs and has earned its place as a 2024 inductee to the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Hasbro based My Little Pony on […]
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The Next Phase: Welcoming Phase 10 to the National Toy Hall of Fame
I don’t bring a stack of board games to family Thanksgiving anymore. Although my very kind mother will occasionally humor me and play one of my games, I’ve never seen her have more fun at the table than when we played the traditional card game Hearts this last summer. My aunt, too, has been more than happy to teach me how to play (and how to lose) gin rummy. Years after getting into board games, both personally and professionally, I’ve […]
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It’s Transformational: Transformers Enter the National Toy Hall of Fame
One of the great things about kids’ imaginations is their capacity to magically turn one thing into another as part of their play. A big empty cardboard box becomes a spaceship. A group of dolls and stuffed animals becomes the students in a classroom. A cluster of marbles rolling across the carpet becomes a herd of horses, evading the cowpuncher who wants to round them up and train them. In a child’s mind, anything is possible, and transformations can happen […]
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Japanese Games at the Strong, Part III (PC-FX)
Released in 1994, the PC-FX was a 32-bit home video game console developed by NEC and Hudson Soft. The PC-FX was preceded by the TurboDuo (PC Engine Duo in Japan) and the PC Engine SuperGrafx (never released outside of Japan), and both were 16-bit fourth generation systems. The PC-FX’s computer tower-esque aesthetic of its console and its liberal use of full motion video in its games made it stand out among the fifth-generation video game consoles. Ultimately, however, its high […]
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Playing with Sex and Gender in Fantasy Tabletop Games
When does play become personal? When does a person’s exploration of a dungeon or fantasy world turn into an exploration of themselves? For some, certainly the answer is “never.” The distance between the game world and the real world is enough to bar any introspection. Or perhaps their playstyle simply does not warrant it. Certainly, one would assume this was true for the fantasy tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs) in the 1970s when the wargame and simulation aspects of the hobby […]
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How *That* Microphone Became a Game Show Staple
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
It seems strange that game shows have a signature microphone. If you watch a comedy sketch spoofing game shows, then the host character is usually holding a long, pencil-thin microphone. Watch reruns of classic game shows, or even the game shows of today, and you’ll see that same long, thin microphone. What happened? Why did the game show genre develop an affinity for such a specific microphone design?
The early […]
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A Day in the Life of a Conservation Undergraduate Intern
As an undergraduate intern working with The Strong Museum’s Conservator in the summer of 2024, I spent my days working on a large variety of projects related to the museum’s enormous collection. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes at The Strong to produce and maintain the playful exhibits that the museum is known for, and it has been wonderful to see just a snapshot of the process. To commemorate my time at The Strong so far, I […]
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