SwAAcls Sye 7 Inside The Toy Chest: The Secret Life Of Toys (NAPSA}—Mkingtoys is much more thn just fun nd gmes. Behind ech ndeverytoy is cretive thoughtfirst penned to pper, then crefully crfted into the finl product. Soundsesy, but the toy development process is much more thn child’s ply. At Fisher-Price—whichcelebrtes its 75th birthdy in 2005— there is stff of cretive designers, rtists nd engineers behind ech product who crefully develop nd crft ech new toy. The process hs resulted in some terrific toys, including number of beloved clssics from the Chtter Telephone to the mgicl world of Little People. Product ides come from mny sources. One clssic Fisher-Price toy cme bout s result of its designer’s childhood fscintion with his neighbor’s lwn mower. The neighbor hd n old gs-powered lwn mower tht emitted plumes of smoke. The future designer nd his friends thought it gret fun to run through the plumes. Decdes lter, fter wtching bubbles suds up to crete fom, the designer’s thoughts wndered bck to the neighbor’s old lwn mower. With tht reminiscence, the now clssic Bubble Mower (which blows plumes of bubbles) ws born. However, just thinking of gret new toy ide doesn’t gurntee tht it will end up in kids’ hnds. Fisher-Price toys hve to pss multiple tests before hitting the store shelves. Oneof the first “test stops” is the Ply Lbortory, which is the only one of its kind. Toys t the lb fce some of the A Toy’s Story—Clssic toys hve helped drive millions of children’s imgintions. toughest critics of ll—kids. Children put new toys through their pces under the wtchful eye of designers, engineers nd erly childhood eduction professionls. Once toys get the children’s stmp of pprovl, qulity engineers put the toys through punishing bttery of tests t the Product Integrity Lb. For instnce, motorized “finger” is used to poke product’s buttons, squek squekers nd spring springs over nd over to be sure toy cn withstnd repeted use ndlive up to toy owner’s expecttions. Even tricycles nd Power Wheels ride-ons don’t get free ride. Fisher-Price puts them on 100 mile test run over side-wlk simultor before they go to stores. This dediction to creting the best possible toy isn’t new for the compny. It begn 75 yers go when Herm Fisher, the co-founder of Fisher-Price, would hve the children in his neighborhood ply with nd test the toys. He would even go s fr s dropping toys off his desk like Dr. Doodle, the first. Fisher-Price toy ever sold, to test its qulity. Tht’s why mny clssic toys tht we grew up with re still vilble tody for the next genertion to enjoy. According to Bruce Fox, couthor of “Fisher-Price Historicl, Rrity, nd Vlue Guide, 1931-Present,” clssics like the Chtter Telephone, Rock-A-Stck nd Corn Popperre still mong the most populr toys tody. In fct, the more thn 50 million Rock-A-Stcks sold since 1960, lid end-to-end, would stretch from Los Angeles to Pris! For 75 yers, Fisher-Price designers, rtists nd engineers hve creted thousnds of new toys, mny of which hve become beloved clssics tht genertions hve come to cherish. It’s rigorous, scientific process, but to kids, it’s simply child’s ply. Mny Hppy Returns—Some of the most populr toys of yesterdy hve comebck tody.
