The toys of our lives

Matchbox cars: The name was more than a marketing gimmick. The cars originated in London, where toys brought to school had to be small enough to fit inside a box of matches.

Erector Sets: These construction sets were aimed squarely at boys. Even the ad tagline was sexist: "Hello boys! Make lots of toys." Girls played with them, anyway.

Davy Crockett hat: Fueled by the immensely popular Disneyland TV series and film, the coonskin cap was the style statement of the decade. Never mind that the real frontiersman never wore one.

Electric football: Long before there was John Madden Football, these vibrating tables filled the bill for gridiron fans. No one cared that the players ran amok the instant you flipped the switch.

Barbie: This doll has changed over the decades, but one thing remains constant: Barbie stirred up controversy then, and she still does.

Rat Fink: This demented rodent was created by a counterculture cartoonist who conceived it as a put-down of the oh-so wholesome Mickey Mouse.

Twister: Sears stores initially refused to carry this game because it was too risqué. It started innocently enough as a kids' shoe promotion created by St. Paul admen Charles Foley and Neil Rabens.

Tonka Toys: Minnesotans Avery Crounse, Lynn Baker and Alvin Tesch originally split their time between making garden tools and toys. They decided to give up the tools and focus on toys. Good call.

Jarts: These oversized darts flourished before toy safety was a major concern. The original metal tips were replaced by plastic ones, but that still wasn't enough to keep them from eventually being banned.

Nerf balls: Created by the Reynolds Guyer Agency of Design in St. Paul, the first incarnation — foam rocks — was a bust. But when they were marketed as "the world's first indoor ball," sales soared.

Speak & Spell: We didn't know it at the time, but we were looking at the forerunner of the hand-held computer game.

Pet Rock: This fad, which started as a spoof about pet ownership, proved that marketing is everything as millions of people forked over hard-earned money for something that was available for free. Jeff Strickler

Information and photos provided by Minnesota History Center.