Where
the hell in Toronto can I get a wolf puppet? I thought it would be easy to find one, but no luck so far. I'd prefer that it cost $10 or less. I need it to complete my Little Red Riding Hood Halloween costume. (If I had a date, I'd make him dress up as the wolf, but as I'm going stag, I'll have to settle for a hand puppet. Yes, I get the symbolism.)
posted by orange swan
on Oct 26, 2005 -
7 answers
Can anyone indentify this
toy (or toy parts)? I found it in a box of matchbox style cars that I bought at a yardsale.
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posted by 445supermag
on Oct 21, 2005 -
2 answers
My cat is dying, any ideas on how I can spoil the hell out of him in his last few months?
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posted by atom128
on Oct 10, 2005 -
39 answers
Pushbutton toys. Our 21-month old son absolutely loves anything with buttons, dials, and switches. But he's far past being interested in computer keyboards. What can I get him beyond Fisher Price, and more along the lines of dead instrument panels and video switchboards? The stuff on eBay always seems to be in working condition and bids well up past $100 (though I would pay that for something really nice). Any sources I might be able to look at, or maybe a different item I might have overlooked? I may be leaning towards an old-school oscilloscope for supervised play.
posted by zek
on Sep 29, 2005 -
18 answers
Back in 1988 or so I remember coming across a toy called, if I remember right, "The Brain." It was clear plastic, cylindrical in shape (a little bigger than but similar to a stack of 20 CDs), and it had about a dozen small black rods sticking up around the top plane of the cylinder. You could see a bunch of interlocking plates in the inside of the cylinder, and they controlled which rods you could move at which time. The goal was to figure out the code.
Has anyone seen this toy or know where I can find one? I've tried eBay and Froogle but no luck.
posted by mark7570
on Aug 25, 2005 -
3 answers
Do you know of applications that simulate things like: notional starship control panels . . .
mechanical Curta calculators . . .
backhoes . . .
Star Trek tricorders and similar devices? These things amuse me, but they're hard to find because there are so many simulation games and actual, industrial simulators advertised on the web, which clutter up my searches.
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posted by 3rings
on Aug 23, 2005 -
1 answer
Please help me find a toy of sorts from the 70s. I think it was called CarTalk -- a handheld flip sign that provided hours of fun while driving the interstates on summer vacations. As I recall, it was an oval-shaped paddle with messages on a spiral binder like: "Hello" and "I think you're cute," as well as some other goofy inspirations for fellow highway travelers. Let me know if you have more information or if you know where to get one.
posted by swamperro
on Jul 12, 2005 -
9 answers
It's printer time! Yaaay! *fanfare* *cows explode* I have an "All in One" or "Multifunction" printer. This means it can fax, scan, copy, and print in color. I can't say I use it a lot, but when I have needed it the most, the fax, scan, and copy pieces have been wonderful to have. So I want to buy another one. Problem is, HP, Canon, Epson, Brother, Lexmark, Dell, and the rest all use different benchmarks. Any AiO fans out there?
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posted by cavalier
on Jul 10, 2005 -
8 answers
Cleaning house, looking to sell books, CDs, toys etc., and I'm LOST. Need advice both specific and general. Is eBay best for books and CDs, or are there other places to get better value? With the 'Net awash in Star Wars paraphernalia, how do I find a price for this elaborate
1998 14" talking Darth Vader? (I've checked books and they're mostly about "vintage" SW toys.) How do I value odd things for my uncle, like this
pipe from Germany circa 1890 or earlier, or some
Xmas cards circa WWII made by Chinese Xtian nuns in Tsing Tao? Is there a market for historical magazines and newspapers, for example with headlines about the first moon walk?
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posted by Shane
on May 14, 2005 -
19 answers
Every toy I buy for my daughter has a ton of those annoying wire twist ties holding them to to the package. Then there's tape....then the invisibly small rubber bands.....it's worse than CD packaging! I have to keep a pair of wire cutters in her bedroom.
Why? The obvious answer is to protect the toys, but there MUST be more to this story. Is this a conspiracy to damage Chinese worker's hands? American purchasers? A Google search just finds people who hate the twist ties, no explanations
posted by Instrumental
on May 5, 2005 -
11 answers
Lately, if you open a packaged kids toy, you're faced with the daunting task of unwrapping and untangling the toy from its own packaging. This is a daunting real task when faced with a kid who simply wants to play. Why all the wires?
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posted by dhacker
on Mar 21, 2005 -
10 answers
Help me identify something from my childhood. I remember having a bunch of little "army men" style Martian figures between 1984 and 1986. They each stood about an inch tall, were made of rubber or resin of some kind (no plastic), and were basically a "Smurfs in Space" knock-off. What were these little guys?
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posted by Servo5678
on Feb 25, 2005 -
9 answers
A couple of people I work with and myself were having a debate on how big the Star Wars franchise is financially? With Lucasfilms being private they never release revenue. Does anyone know how many dollars of Star Wars videogames and toys are sold each year?
posted by rje7
on Jan 27, 2005 -
7 answers
I'd like to have some custom action figures made, and then mass-produced on a smallish scale....
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posted by mudpuppie
on Jan 21, 2005 -
12 answers
What do you call those three-dimensional geometric novelties, consisting of eight cubes, joined to each other at one edge to form one large cube, whose pieces can be flipped around to display different images on the exterior of the large cube? What is the history of this delightful object? What are the geometric priniciples behind it?
posted by Faze
on Jan 20, 2005 -
15 answers
Help me remember and/or locate a semi-obscure toy from the 1980s! [I'm nosier, Ed]
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posted by Dr. Wu
on Dec 23, 2004 -
14 answers
Can any of you parents help out a clueless, childless aunt with some toy recommendations? [MI]
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posted by JoanArkham
on Nov 30, 2004 -
35 answers
A friend would like assistance purchasing a remote control car for a child turning 10. Durability, longevity, and quality are paramount, but it has to be something preassembled, not a kit. Can you help her?
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posted by majick
on Sep 19, 2004 -
12 answers
(Probably more useful for next time, but...) My niece (6) and nephew (4) are over, spending the night. After about an hour with our "toy box," they were officially Bored. Mom and Dad won't be here for a good four hours yet. How to entertain kids with a neighborhood full of friends at home and a toy room that rivals Toys R Us?
posted by ferociouskitty
on Jul 11, 2004 -
21 answers
My infant daughter has cloth toys that make a "crinkle" sound and I want to know what the material is inside it that causes the crinkle..does anyone know what it's called? Where can I find it? Is it separate (two different pieces of material-one inside the other) from the outside material (which is soft cotton) or all one piece? I want to make her some toys that crinkle...
posted by aacheson
on Jun 7, 2004 -
9 answers
I've invented two toys. One is kid-friendly and easy to produce, and the other would require a plastic mold-injection process (so I can't possibly make a mock-up) but rave-kids would go nuts for it.
Obviously - I guess - I can't say what they are, since I'm afraid of people stealing my ideas. What do I do? Should I just email companies and tell them what my ideas are? Will they steal my ideas, or is it company policy to honor the inventor?
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posted by interrobang
on Mar 30, 2004 -
12 answers
Eighties educational toys. When I was growing up, I had some plastic building blocks that I'd like to find again. They came in bright colors and were covered in densely packed, tiny pegs on each face (front, back, and sides). If you pressed two blocks together, the pegs would interlock and stick together. They came in all sorts of shapes, but were thinner than wooden blocks and slightly flexible. Any idea what these were called or where I can find a set?
posted by Jeff Howard
on Mar 2, 2004 -
6 answers
A company I work with has designed a rather tasteful/classy (IMHO) adult toys website ... but we don't have much of a budget left for advertising. Besides MeFi Adwords, of course, what is the best way to get the word out without having much (if any) of a budget?
(Note: Link to the site ommitted out of respect for no-self-linking. However, post a comment if you'd like me to link to it and I will.)
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posted by SpecialK
on Dec 12, 2003 -
16 answers
