Toy Historian Answers Toy Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED
241,670
Published 2023-12-12
Director: Justin Wolfson
Director of Photography: Ben Dewey
Editor: Louville Moore
Expert: Chris Byrne
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas
Production Manager: D. Eric Martinez
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila
Casting Producer: Nicholas Sawyer
Camera Operator: Mar Alfonso
Sound Mixer: Rebecca O’Neil
Production Assistant: Sonia Butt
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Additional Editor: Paul Tael
Assistant Editor: Billy Ward
00:00 Toy Support
00:13 Teddy Bears
00:52 Poop Toys
01:50 Prototypes
02:21 All Ages?
02:58 It's All Math
03:23 Action Figures
04:21 Rubik's Cube
04:59 Pet Rock
05:30 Beanie Babies
06:28 Transformers
07:26 Future Toys
08:10 Sustainable Toys
08:54 Lego QC
09:26 Recalled
10:13 Mr. Potato Head
10:53 Cabbage Patch Kids
11:40 Funko Pop
12:24 Mr. Machine
12:57 Collectors
13:26 Happy Meal Toys
13:58 Toy Design
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All Comments (21)
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I mean this with all due respect and even admiration: Chris looks exactly like what I thought a toy expert would look like.
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He was very on point with the comment of toys probably not changing that much in 50 years (at least for little kids). I remember when a niece turned 2 or 3 (can't quite remember), but everyone got her these big elaborate toys -- and at the time I was very poor and just got her a bouncy ball... that 5 dollar bouncy ball won her attention COMPLETELY.
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Chris is the kind of person I want to show up to games night and just share trivia all night. We'll groan and give him a hard time but we all quietly love it, and he knows that.
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Personally Lego is the ultimate toy, it is unlimited fun that encourages creativity and engineering, it teaches art and science as far as your imagination can take you.
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He sounds and looks exactly like a person I would envision if they told me that they were a toy expert.
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I don't want to brag, but I bought a 50 piece puzzle that said 4 years and up. 4 years? It only took me 10 days
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My job is running injection molding machines and I love that Lego and their quality control came into the conversation because they truly are miraculous in their execution of perfect plastic bricks
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Tech is great, but I truly don't ever think action figures will be replaced. There's just something so satisfying and fulfilling about acting out storylines and generally messing around with something tangible that looks and feels like something or someone you see as super badass
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I appreciate the comment about math in toy design, as I became a toy designer on Hot Wheels with an engineering degree. Physics and math play key roles in mechanism and play set design, and I love every part of the process.
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Rubik's cube is really a masterpiece of a toy. Simple but ingenious. I remember around early 1980s when I was like 12 somebody brought one to the school and everybody tried to solve randomly haha. Eventually most of us learned after somebody found one tutorial on a magazine (the easiest layer by layer algorithm.)
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As an ER doctor, I can also say that anatomically and physically there are many changes that happen to a pediatric child after the age of 8. 8 is a very important number clinically.
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I gave my Dad a homemade "pet rock" in the 80s. To this day, he still keeps it on his desk. ❤ My Mom went NUTS about Beanie Babies. She kept telling us that she was investing in our inheritance. 🤦🏼♀️ I currently have almost 500 BB collecting dust... 😂
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My toy fad was the Beyblades. Everyone in my neighborhood played with them and battled using big bowls.
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He said Lego's are sustainable because they get passed down most. Classic answer, love this guy. 😂
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This guy is my role model. I wanna be a toy expert and still sound smart at the same time
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6:50 if you want to see some truly stunning examples of injection molding and mechanical design, build a gundam model. They're absolutely astounding little engineering projects.
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I could listen to this guy for hours and not get bored. This is so good.
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4:45 The association between Rubik’s Cubes and intelligence is thankfully changing though! It’s now more a super fun hobby than a sign of IQ. Anyone can solve the cube if they have the motivation, I’ve seen it first hand.
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One thing about toys I find fascinating is how our attitude towards toys has evolved over the decades. Today, we get amazed by toys that light up, or interact with you in some way, I.e. usually some electronic feature. But back in the 50s or 60s, if you had a toy robot and its arms were moveable, that was considered amazing in its time, even if today it’s pretty standard for most dolls and action figures
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At first I thought being a toy expert was a hobby but this guy clearly knows his stuff. I have seen the light and definitely respect the profession after this video
