Charade
<font color=royalblue>I'm the one on the LEFT side
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/nov/09/toys-woodenstick-us-national-toy-hall-of-fame-newyork
The toy that just cannot be beaten
Robin McKie
guardian.co.uk, Sunday November 9 2008 00.01 GMT
The Observer, Sunday November 9 2008
Article history
It can slay a star trooper; draw pictures in the sand; help to toast marshmallows; make a mast for a toy boat or act as a magic wand. It is the all-purpose universal toy and last week the wooden stick received official recognition for the fun it has brought children over the ages. On Thursday, it was inducted into US National Toy Hall of Fame in New York.
At total of 41 objects, from the bicycle and the yo-yo to the teddy bear and the board game Monopoly, have now been voted iconic toys and included in the hall of fame, part of the US National Museum of Play.
The wooden stick is the first object that costs nothing, has always been available to almost anyone, anywhere, and is only limited by its owner's imagination. "We are only interested in toys that mean something to ordinary people," said curator Chris Bensch. "Here men and women recognise the favourite playthings of their youth and we realised none has as much resonance as the stick."
A total of 35,000 Americans wrote to nominate new exhibits for 2008, of which three were selected: the Baby Doll, the skateboard and the stick. A small selection of wooden sticks, including a pistol-shaped twig, will now be displayed in the museum.
In terms of all-purpose simplicity, the museum previously inducted one similar item - the cardboard box - in 2005. But the box is a latecomer in the history of playthings, not produced commercially until the 19th century. By contrast, the stick has probably been with us for a few hundred thousand years.
The toy that just cannot be beaten
Robin McKie
guardian.co.uk, Sunday November 9 2008 00.01 GMT
The Observer, Sunday November 9 2008
Article history
It can slay a star trooper; draw pictures in the sand; help to toast marshmallows; make a mast for a toy boat or act as a magic wand. It is the all-purpose universal toy and last week the wooden stick received official recognition for the fun it has brought children over the ages. On Thursday, it was inducted into US National Toy Hall of Fame in New York.
At total of 41 objects, from the bicycle and the yo-yo to the teddy bear and the board game Monopoly, have now been voted iconic toys and included in the hall of fame, part of the US National Museum of Play.
The wooden stick is the first object that costs nothing, has always been available to almost anyone, anywhere, and is only limited by its owner's imagination. "We are only interested in toys that mean something to ordinary people," said curator Chris Bensch. "Here men and women recognise the favourite playthings of their youth and we realised none has as much resonance as the stick."
A total of 35,000 Americans wrote to nominate new exhibits for 2008, of which three were selected: the Baby Doll, the skateboard and the stick. A small selection of wooden sticks, including a pistol-shaped twig, will now be displayed in the museum.
In terms of all-purpose simplicity, the museum previously inducted one similar item - the cardboard box - in 2005. But the box is a latecomer in the history of playthings, not produced commercially until the 19th century. By contrast, the stick has probably been with us for a few hundred thousand years.
I can send my boys into the yard and tell them find a good stick. And they will look for the perfect one for a long time adnd then the stick becomes a fishing pole, or a lightsaber, or a knife


