Inducted Year: 2006
What a bright idea! Power a real baking oven with an ordinary, household light bulb. The best part is that the play makes its own reward. Fifteen minutes in the oven and a slurpy, gooey, doughy concoction becomes a delicious—okay, edible—confection.
In the early 1960s, pretzel vendors on New York City streets inspired toy makers at Kenner, Inc. to make the Easy-Bake Oven. Anticipating parents’ concerns about safety, Kenner substituted two 100-watt light bulbs for a heating element to […]
Lionel Trains
Inducted Year: 2006
Engineering entrepreneur Joshua Lionel Cowen designed his first electric train as a store window attraction around 1900. When customers asked to purchase the train instead of the product it advertised, Cowen founded the Lionel Manufacturing Company to meet demand. Lionel built its reputation on train sets noted for their authentic detail, smooth-operating three-rail tracks, and transformers that allowed kids to vary the speed of their trains. This control, along with rolling stock of coal cars, refrigerated cars, and […]
