Jump Rope: 1793, Thomas Middleton spent a long lonely day with just a rope, inadvertently creating a playground sensation.

Pet Rock: 1963, Tyler Clemmings, a survivor of the Great Depression, realized that seeing-eye-dogs can be costly to feed.  He introduced the “seeing-eye-rock”.  47 devastating lawsuits later, he reintroduced the “pet rock” (also known as the “lonely paper weight”).

Sock Monkey: 1937, Seeking to save money, Theodore Woodward finds a way to provide his children with stinkier stuffed animals.

Magic 8-Ball: 1947, After years asking regular 8-balls what the future holds, Grant Mathers had an idea.  It was a success, but three years later he died of natural causes.  Those natural causes: gambling debts. 

Paint-by-Numbers Kit: 1958, Glen Risdale created the most successful addition to his line of educational toys designed to stifle creativity.

PEZ: 1946, Richard Burkins witnessed a man with a stoma having trouble eating a mint.  He imagined “What if that man was your favorite cartoon character?”. The fun candy dispenser was born.

Lincoln Logs: 1863, Abraham Lincoln demanded reasonably priced materials to build tiny cabins he could terrorize as a “giant”.

Slinky: 1952, Gregor Remmings convinced children that defective springs were fun.

Etch-A-Sketch: 1960, Glen Risdale strikes again creating the most frustrating way to draw.

Frisbee: 1927, Michael Gibbons created a way to play fetch with his dog despite his debilitating phobia of balls and sticks.

Cabage Patch Kids: 1974, Unable to have the “bird and the bees” talk with his children, Wayne Barch comes up with a doll to elaborately misconvey human reproduction. 

Hula Hoop: 1955, Arthur Melin, disappointed by a slump in island culture, created a device that trained everyone to dance like a Hawaiian woman.

Jigsaw Puzzle: 1797, Barthollemew Rathers III realized that purchasing nice pictures wasn’t frustrating enough.

Hacky Sack: 1968, Hoping to create a reason for dirty hippies to take a break from smoking pot, Charles Duncan inadvertently created something just as annoying.