Toy Hall Of Fame: Miss Scarlet And Colonel Mustard Get Their Due

ROCHESTER, NY — Miss Scarlet ... with the wrench ... in the ballroom. Millions of Americans young and old have played the classic murder-mystery board game "Clue," and uttered a variation of that very phrase, thinking they've cracked the case and know who killed Mr. Boddy. On Thursday the wildly popular murder-mystery game finally earned its rightful place in the National Toy Hall of Fame, along with the paper airplane and Wiffle Ball.

The organization, based in Rochester, made the announcement Thursday. The trio of kids' favorites were selected from a dozen finalists that also included the Magic 8 Ball, Matchbox Cars, My Little Pony, PEZ Candy Dispenser, play food, Risk, sand, Transformers, and Uno.

Clue

A British couple designed Clue during World War II and patented the game in 1944, the organization said in a release. They pitched it to Waddington Games, but it remained out of production until 1949 due to material shortages, when it was released under the name “Cluedo.”

Shortly thereafter, Parker Brothers bought the rights to the game and released it in the U.S. as simply “Clue,” the organization said. It remains one of the top 10 best-selling games of all time, with millions of Clue games sold every year, Curator Nicolas Ricketts said. Clue was adapted into a movie and was featured in numerous television and books.

Wiffle Ball

Wiffle Ball got its start in a Connecticut suburb in the 1950s, the organization said. A retired semi-pro baseball player noticed that his son and friend couldn't play baseball due to space constraints in their backyard, and the potential threat the game posed to at least one window. So he cut holes in spherical plastic containers and handed them to his son to test. The ball was eventually perfected to have eight oblong slots, allowing it to grab the air and give it its signature mid-air darting action.

"The Wiffle Ball slowed the game, shrunk the playing field, and made it conducive to post World War II-suburbia," the organization said. Wiffle Ball Inc. opened in Connecticut as a family business and soon was pushing out millions of Wiffle Balls every year.

“The Wiffle Ball changed the outdoor play landscape, taking the basics of backyard baseball and transforming it into something easier for neighborhood kids to negotiate. In the more than 60 years since its introduction, generations of Little League, high school, college, and pro sluggers have begun their baseball careers swinging at a Wiffle Ball,” said Curator Michelle Parnett-Dwyer.

Paper Airplane

The paper airplane has roots dating to the Renaissance era and the infamous inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci, who sketched and designed flying creations using parchment in the 1400s. It wasn't until the 1800s though that Sir George Cayley would identify lift, drag, weight, and thrust as the primary forces that would help the Wright Brothers take off for the first time in 1903, the organization said.

The paper airplane is said to have been invented just six later, but its precise origin remains unclear, the organization said. Paper’s high strength and density made it similar to the materials used to build airplanes.

“Where some toys require financial investment, paper airplanes start with a simple sheet of paper, coupled with creativity and dexterity, to produce a toy with infinite aeronautical possibilities,” says Christopher Bensch, The Strong’s vice president for collections. “They allow the imagination to takeoff and soar!”

National Toy Hall of Fame, established in 1998, recognizes toys that inspire creative play and remain popular over a sustained period. New honorees are inducted every year. Anyone can nominate a toy, but finalists are chosen after consulting with historians, educators, and other individuals who "exemplify learning, creativity, and discovery through their lives and careers," the organization's website said.

Photo credit: National Toy Hall of Fame