Forgotten Toys Quiz
Which Toy Came First? A Quiz That Catches Almost Everyone Out
Eight pairs of famous toys and games. One in each pair is far older than most people assume. Can you pick the right one every time?
Toy history is full of surprises, mostly because a toy that feels modern is often very old, and a toy that feels ancient is often a twentieth-century invention with good marketing.
The jigsaw puzzle, for example, started as a teaching aid: a map glued to wood and cut along the borders of the counties, so children could reassemble it and learn the geography. That was happening in the 1760s, well over a century before the teddy bear existed.
The other trap is the difference between invention and availability. Plenty of toys were invented years before anyone could buy one, and a few were sitting in a factory doing something else entirely — Play-Doh spent its early life as a product for cleaning coal soot off wallpaper.
Eight pairs below. Pick the one that reached the shops first.
Take the quiz
Eight pairs. In each one, pick the toy or game that was available to buy first.
-
1 Which came first: the Rubik's Cube, or the Etch A Sketch?
The Etch A Sketch went on sale in 1960. The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 and sold internationally from 1980.
Show the answer
B. The Etch A Sketch — The Etch A Sketch went on sale in 1960. The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 and sold internationally from 1980.
-
2 Which came first: Monopoly, or Cluedo?
Monopoly was published commercially in the mid-1930s. Cluedo was devised during the Second World War and first published in 1949.
Show the answer
A. Monopoly — Monopoly was published commercially in the mid-1930s. Cluedo was devised during the Second World War and first published in 1949.
-
3 Which came first: the yo-yo, or the spinning top?
Spinning tops are among the oldest known toys, with examples found at archaeological sites thousands of years old. Yo-yo-like toys are also ancient, but the top is older and far more widespread in the archaeological record.
Show the answer
B. The spinning top — Spinning tops are among the oldest known toys, with examples found at archaeological sites thousands of years old. Yo-yo-like toys are also ancient, but the top is older and far more widespread in the archaeological record.
-
4 Which came first: LEGO bricks in the form we know, or Scrabble?
Scrabble was sold under that name from 1948. The modern interlocking LEGO brick, with the tubes inside that make it clutch, was patented in 1958.
Show the answer
B. Scrabble — Scrabble was sold under that name from 1948. The modern interlocking LEGO brick, with the tubes inside that make it clutch, was patented in 1958.
-
5 Which came first: the teddy bear, or the jigsaw puzzle?
Jigsaw puzzles began as dissected maps for teaching geography in the 1760s. The teddy bear appeared in the early 1900s.
Show the answer
B. The jigsaw puzzle — Jigsaw puzzles began as dissected maps for teaching geography in the 1760s. The teddy bear appeared in the early 1900s.
-
6 Which came first: Play-Doh, or the Frisbee as a mass-market toy?
Play-Doh was sold as a toy from the mid-1950s, having started life as a wallpaper cleaner. The flying disc was marketed under the Frisbee name from 1957.
Show the answer
A. Play-Doh — Play-Doh was sold as a toy from the mid-1950s, having started life as a wallpaper cleaner. The flying disc was marketed under the Frisbee name from 1957.
-
7 Which came first: Meccano, or the modern Hornby model railway?
Meccano was patented in 1901. Hornby trains followed in 1920, from the same founder, Frank Hornby.
Show the answer
A. Meccano — Meccano was patented in 1901. Hornby trains followed in 1920, from the same founder, Frank Hornby.
-
8 Which came first: the Slinky, or the Hula Hoop craze?
The Slinky was demonstrated and sold from 1945. The Hula Hoop craze belongs to 1958, although hoops as a plaything are far older.
Show the answer
A. The Slinky — The Slinky was demonstrated and sold from 1945. The Hula Hoop craze belongs to 1958, although hoops as a plaything are far older.
0 out of 8
Where this came from
- Toys and childhood collections — V&A Museum of Childhood
- Games and pastimes collections — Victoria and Albert Museum
- History of construction toys — Science Museum Group
Read next
Countdown Twelve Things That Lived in an Ordinary 1980s Bedroom
The poster, the radio-cassette, the pencil case with a combination lock: twelve objects that were in almost every 1980s bedroom and are now in almost none.
Quiz How Well Do You Remember Television Before Streaming?
Eight questions about test cards, listings magazines, aerials and the rituals of watching television when everybody watched the same thing at the same time.
Quiz Can You Name the Country From Three Clues?
Ten countries, three clues each, getting easier as they go. No maps, no flags, just geography, borders and the occasional oddity.