The Amazing PEZ Candy And Dispensers

The amazing PEZ candies and dispensers have been around for a long, long time.  In fact they were invented in 1927 by an Austrian confectioner named Eduard Haas III.  The rest of the story, as they say, is history.  In case you are wondering, the name PEZ was derived from the letters at the start, the middle, and the end of the German word for peppermint, pfefferminz.  Over 3 billion PEZ confectionery bricks are consumed each year in the U.S. alone.  That is an astonishing number.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Viewmaster │ A Really Cool Toy!

I really enjoyed my Viewmaster as child, and actually I still do!  For me it is sort of mystical the way it can totally immerse you with its visual magic.  The Viewmaster company was formed by Harold Graves and William Gruber in 1939, and as the say, the rest is history.  It is amazing that it has been around for so long.  Twenty-five different models of viewers, and 1.5 billion disks have been manufactured.  Despite its long history and the many changes in its models and materials, the same basic design of disks and internal mechanism has persisted throughout, ensuring that every disk ever made will work in every model ever produced.  Now that is what I call backward-compatibility.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Little Green Army Men

Little Green Army Men have been around forever.  When I was little, a hundred of them could be bought for ninety-nine cents, and they came in an army locker made of cardboard.  Of course they were not as fancy as the Green Army Men that can be bought today, but still, I had many hours of fun playing with them.  There is something so cool about toy soldiers.  You can let your imagination go wild, and create all kinds of battlefield situations.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

Can you remember the beautiful halcyon days of your youth when you did not have a care in the world, and spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon flying a kite in a park?  Well, I still have very fond memories of those times.  I wish that I could turn the clock backwards, and relive those warm and tranquil moments when I sailed kites in the Elysian Fields of my youth.  There is something so mystical about flying a kite.  It seems so simple, but it is really magical at the same time.  You guide the kite by its silvery umbilical cord, and make it dance in the light fantastic of the sky.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Toy Trains

I have very fond memories of playing with my toy trains during my childhood.  My first train set had an engine that was spring driven.  That means that I had to wind it up to make it go.  It did not matter to me though, I had a lot of fun with it.  Later on I got my first electric train, and I was hooked on trains forever!  That set had a train station with people, and assorted object.  I could not believe how much I enjoyed playing with it.  Do you think that children nowadays can be as fascinated with trains, as much as we did in the old days?  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Monopoly - The King Of Board Games

Monopoly is my most favorite board game.  As a child it held a curious fascination for me.  I remember the super long games that we used to play when the weather was rainy.  Monopoly is a magnificent game.  Even though I live alone in a small apartment in Waikiki, Hawaii, I still get to play Monopoly whenever I want because I have four different versions that I can play on my video game systems.  I play it on my Nintendo Entertainment System, SEGA Genesis, SEGA Master System, and the original Gameboy.  I have a special strategy that I use to defeat multiple computer players.  It works most of the time, and is based on the fact that the computer generated players are basically greedy.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Ender's Game

For those of you have not yet discovered the joys of Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game", now is the perfect time to begin experiencing it.  Back in 1992, a user logged on to a BBS that I was operating called "Beneath The Ruins", and while in chat mode, I asked him about his curious handle which was "Endyr".  He said that it was based on a book he read called "Ender's Game", and that he changed the second "e" to a "y" in Ender to make it look cooler.  He was right, it does look "way cool"!  It was so cool that I adopted it as my handle.  I read the book, and it has become my perennial favorite to this day.  Card has written the perfect book about about childhood.  I have read it about one-hundred times, it is that good.  I won't even begin to describe the plot.  I don't want to spoil it for you, but it is a must read.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Robbie The Robot Dances In The Street

This is one of the coolest toy videos that I have ever seen.  Robbie The Robot really does his dancing thing with great aplomb.  Robbie would be a great addition to anyone's toy box.  Please click on the video widget below for a rollicking good time.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

The Teddy Bear

President Theodore Roosevelt was the inspiration for the first Teddy Bear in America.  While on a hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902 he spared the life of a black bear.  Morris Michtom saw a drawing of this incident and was moved by this to create a new toy.  Michtom got Roosevelt's permission to use his name, and the Teddy Bear was born.  Police, fire and emergency officials found that giving a teddy bear to a child during a crisis stabilized and calmed them, so the National Association of Police & Lay Charities (NAPLC) created the Teddy Bear Cops program to distribute teddy bears to police, fire, and emergency officials throughout the United States, for their use in providing teddy bears to children in emergency situations.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Classic Video Games And Classic Video Game Systems

  Atari 2600

Atari LYNX

 

SEGA Master System

Phantasy Star

 

  Escape From The Midmaster

  Nintendo Entertainment System

   

R.O.B. Robotic Operating Buddy

It may be of no surprise to all of you, but I just love classic video games and classic video game systems.  Yes, Aunt Martha, I play my Atari 2600 system at least once a week.  To me the modern video games don't leave much to the imagination, the games do all of that for you.  The earlier video games challenged your mind, because the graphics were so minimal.  Consequently, the game designers in those days really had to be creative so that the player could be immersed in the experience within the technical limitations of the various systems.  My all time favorite games are "Escape From The Mindmaster, for the Atari 2600 that utilized the Starpath Supercharger which increased the system's RAM, "Phantasy Star" for the SEGA Master System, "The Legend Of Zelda", and the "Dragon Warrior" series for the NES.   By-the-way, just to show you how much of a collector I am, I still have three unopened Starpath Superchargers, sealed in the original shrink-wrap.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Jack-In-The-Box

I have loved Jack-In-The-Boxes all of my life.  It's difficult for me to say why, but they never fail to make me smile.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

The Little Auto - My First Book

This is actually the first book that my mother borrowed for me from the library.  I was two years old at the time.  It was also the first book that I learned to read.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Nerf Toys

It's fun to play with Nerf toys.  I find it amazing that there is such a large assortment of Nerf toys to choose from.  I tend to prefer the Nerf toy guns, as they look so cool.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

The Ouija Board

I have to admit that ever since I was a boy, I loved to play with the Ouija Board.  Actually I got quite good at it, and got some amazing answers from it.  I guess you have to have an open mind.  My dear Aunt Martha says that a person should be careful when using a Ouija Board, as sometime bad entities take control over it.  Oh well, I will take Aunt Martha's advice into consideration.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

REMCO Radio Kit

My lifelong fascination with electronics started when my parents bought me the REMCO Transistor Radio Kit pictured above.  The rest as they say is history.  For a very long time in my youth, I wanted to be a TV repairman, but I outgrew that and ended up becoming a history professor.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Gilbert Erector Sets

It's regrettable that the Gilbert Erector Sets are no longer available to buy.  They were discontinued a long time ago, but they can found sometimes on Ebay.  Well I was lucky to live in an era when they could be bought at any toy story.  I loved my set and I built things for hours on end.  I've often wondered how such a lovely toy got such an unfortunate name.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Tinkertoy

I got my first Tinkertoy set when I was four years old, and it was great!  Sometimes I played with it the whole day.  It was a toy that challenged the imagination.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.

Tom Corbett Space Cadet

I'm really showing my age now with Tom Corbett Space Cadet which was a very Sci-Fi TV show that appeared in the early 1950s.  When I first saw this Tom Corbett rocket in the toy store I begged my parents to buy it for me.  I wonder if a toy like this would hold any fascination for kids now-a-days.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Toy Box, wherever you may be.