Category

TOYS

The must-haves that emptied shelves and started playground fights.

1. 1990 · #1

   Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

   In 1990, a child could watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at home, choose a favorite at the toy store, see them at the movies, and play as one beside friends at an arcade machine. The four heroes were everywhere—and they lived in a sewer. The live-action movie opened on March 30 and eventually earned about $135 million in the United States and Canada. But the film was only one doorway into the craze. The cartoon supplied personalities, the arcade game encouraged friends to fight side by side, and the toys moved the adventure onto bedroom floors. That reach earns the Turtles the number-one spot. Each format offered a different way into the same obsession. Turn off the television and the characters did not disappear; the next adventure was probably already waiting nearby.

2. 1997 · #4

   Tamagotchi

   A keychain pet that died if you ignored it. Schools banned them. Kids smuggled them. America discovered that guilt could be a gameplay loop.

3. 1997 · #2

   Beanie Babies

   Ty's small stuffed animals were treated like a stock market. Tags stayed on. Retired designs sparked rumors. People really did believe a plush toy was a college fund.

4. 1998 · #1

   Furby

   Tiger Electronics shipped a wide-eyed fuzzball that spoke Furbish, learned English, and sold out before most kids had heard one talk. Parents hunted. Scalpers priced. Nightly news treated a toy like a weather emergency.