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Test Your Classic Toy Knowledge

Take our quiz and be transported to holidays of yesteryear

Jayme Deerwester,

AARP

Published December 02, 2022

10 Questions

In the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, toys topping everyone’s wish lists were Nintendo Atari consoles, Rubik’s Cubes and Cabbage Patch Kids. Take a trip down memory lane and see how much you can recall of these hot holiday toys of yesteryear in our nostalgic quiz.

Test Your Classic Toy Knowledge

[ {
 "question" : "If you asked Santa for one of these in 1977, you might have received an IOU instead of the toy itself because the manufacturer couldn’t make enough in time:\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Cabbage Patch Kid",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "GI Joe action figure",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Rubik’s Cube",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Star Wars” action figure",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Although the first “Star Wars” movie came out in May 1977, Kenner didn’t produce the action figures in time to meet Christmas demand that year, “The New York Times” reported. So instead, the company sold certificates guaranteeing the delivery of the figurines by the following spring. Nearly 40 Christmases later, “Star Wars” fans were dying to get their hands on Baby Yoda dolls after the character made its surprise debut in Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” in late 2019. However, this time, the lack of available tie-in holiday products was intentional. Series creator Jon Favreau told “Entertainment Tonight” that he asked Disney not to make Baby Yodas available in December 2019 because he feared the long lead time on toy production would spoil the big onscreen reveal.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "If you had a Cabbage Patch doll in the 1980s, you may have discovered it had the name “Xavier Roberts” printed on this body part:\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Bottom of the foot",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Its rear end",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "Inside of the ankle",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "The side of the torso",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Each Cabbage Patch Kid bore creator Xavier Roberts’ signature on his or her rear end, with the ink color signifying which year it was made. Cabbage Patch Kids also caused Black Friday fisticuffs as desperate parents fought to get their hands on one, especially at the peak of their popularity in 1983.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "This toy actually began as a household cleaning product:\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Silly Putty",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Slinky",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Play-Doh",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "Stress ball",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "The clay-like Play-Doh was originally intended to clean soot off wallpaper back in the days when homes were heated by coal-powered furnaces. Sales dropped as furnaces gave way to oil and gas, but it got a new life when creator Cleo McVicker’s sister, a teacher, had her students build things with it. Seeing their creations gave him the idea of repurposing it for arts and crafts, and it was renamed Play-Doh. Silly Putty was also not originally intended as a toy, either. The silicon-based creation was meant to be a substitute for rubber, which was in high demand during World War II. Adding boric acid to it made it bounce and it was reborn as a toy.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "What color construction paper were you supposed to poke holes in when you played with your Lite-Brite?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "White",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Green",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Black",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "It didn’t matter",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Black construction paper served as the background through which kids poked small pegs of different colors to make shapes or designs. The toy was first produced by Hasbro in 1967.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "On a 1995 episode of “Seinfeld,” Kramer (played by Michael Richards) and Newman (played by Wayne Knight) engaged in an epic tournament involving this board game:\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Battleship",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Monopoly",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Risk",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "Oregon Trail",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "They got really into the geopolitical game Risk, or, as Jerry called it, a “game of world domination being played by two guys who can barely run their own lives.”\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "You needed this household appliance to complete your Shrinky Dinks projects:\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Refrigerator",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Freezer",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Microwave",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Oven",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "With this craft, introduced in 1973, kids would mold and cut sheets of polystyrene into shapes and then heat them in an oven for a few minutes to shrink.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "Which toy pet became available in the ’90s?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Pet Rock",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Pound Puppy",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "My Pretty Pony",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Beanie Baby",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Pet Rocks came out in 1975, followed by My Pretty Pony (later My Little Pony) in 1981 and Pound Puppies in 1984. Beanie Babies didn’t appear on the pet substitute scene until the 1990s.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "This game came free with the Atari 2600 video game console when it was released in 1977:\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Asteroids",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Combat",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "Space Invaders",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Pong",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Each new console came with the game Combat. But it would be the home version of the arcade hit Space Invaders, released in 1980, that made the console a must-have for early gamers.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "True or false: You could make your Teddy Ruxpin play your Twisted Sister tape.\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "True",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "False",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Because Teddy Ruxpin’s ability to talk was controlled by a cassette player in his belly, more subversive members of Gen X could make the hottest toy of 1985-1986 play their choice of tunes. But only officially sanctioned tapes, which had separate tracks for audio and movement, could make him move his eyes and mouth. So while Teddy could play your teenage brother’s copy of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets,” he couldn’t bang his head to it.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "Which color was the Sony Sports Walkman?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "White",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Yellow",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "Blue",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Black",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Having a Walkman made you look cool. Having a yellow Sports edition made you that much cooler.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
} ]

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Test Your Classic Toy Knowledge

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Jayme Deerwester is an editor and writer with two decades of experience at USA TODAY, where she covered entertainment, travel, personal finance and technology. When not in front of a computer, she can be found rowing, kayaking or playing with her dog.

Test Your Classic Toy Knowledge

Test Your Classic Toy Knowledge

Test Your Classic Toy Knowledge

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