Toys have been a beloved part of childhood for generations, providing hours of entertainment and imagination. From classic wooden toys to modern electronic gadgets, there is a wide range of toy trivia questions that can be asked. Whether you're a collector or just looking to test your knowledge, these toy trivia questions are sure to be both informative and entertaining.
Here are some examples of toy trivia questions you might come across: Who created the first Barbie doll? What was the first video game console? What was the best-selling toy of the 20th century? What was the first Lego set ever released? These questions cover various aspects of toy history, including the creators, popular toys, and the best-selling of all time.
In addition to the technical aspects of toys, there are also many fun and interesting facts to learn about. For example, did you know that the first Barbie doll was created by Ruth Handler in 1959? Or that the most expensive toy ever sold was a rare Teddy bear, which sold for over $2.1 million? These trivia questions will not only test your knowledge, but also give you a glimpse into the many fascinating aspects of the world of toys and its evolution.
132 Toy Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- The "Tickle Me" version of what Sesame Street character was the "it" toy of the 1996 holiday season, causing some shoppers to resort to violence to obtain the coveted toy?
Answer: Elmo
- Which game played on a large plastic mat with six rows of large colored circles was originally called “Pretzel?”
Answer: Twister
- One of Hasbro’s most iconic toys is what anthropomorphic spud that kids can stick facial features on? (Bonus fact: It was also the first toy to be advertised on TV!)
Answer: Mr. Potato Head
- Known as "stabilisers" in British English, what is the two-word term in American English for the parallel set of wheels that are often used to assist young learners how to ride a bike?
Answer: Training wheels
- The real one is over 1,000 feet tall and was the tallest structure in the world between 1889 and 1930. At 56 inches tall, the tallest LEGO set available to buy is a replica of which tower referred to locally as "La dame de fer"?
Answer: The Eiffel Tower
- In 1968, Elliot Handler came up with what brand of toy cars as a competition to Matchbox? They are a two-word brand that starts with “H”, modeled as highly modified and fantastical, as opposed to realistic car toys.
Answer: Hot Wheels
- What classic, springy toy once used the ad slogan, "What walks down the stairs alone or in pairs?"
Answer: Slinky
- What kind of animal was Geoffrey, the longtime mascot of the currently-defunct retailer Toys "R" Us?
Answer: giraffe
- According to a 1963 commercial, what toy uses "two-ordinary light bulbs and a special cooling chamber" to make "cakes, cookies, candy, brownies, pizza, pies, and biscuits"?
Answer: Easy-Bake Oven
- With over 35 million units sold since June 1, 1989, what puzzle game is the best-selling Game Boy video game of all-time and was the first video game played in space by Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr A. Serebrov in 1993?
Answer: Tetris
- The Snoopy Astronaut doll soared to popularity in 1969, a year after the character became the safety mascot for what U.S. government organization?
Answer: NASA
- What battery-powered board game has pieces called “bread basket,” “spare ribs,” “water on the knee,” and “funny bone"?
Answer: Operation
- What board game sees players searching Tudor Manor, the home of the recently deceased Boden 'Boddy' Black Jr?
Answer: Clue / Cluedo
- First sold in 1967 and still available today, what two-word toy has kids adorn a light panel with small colored pegs to produce different pictures and patterns? We're looking for BOTH words here.
Answer: Lite-Brite
- Parker Brothers struck a deal with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's estate to namedrop "Sherlock Holmes" in early ads for what board game?
Answer: Clue
- Late 2024 – Hot Wheels, Barbie, and Thomas the Tank Engine are just some of the various toys inspiring the upcoming attractions at a brand-new Glendale, AZ theme park from what toy company?
Answer: Mattel
- A stuffed toy who longs to become real is the title character of Margery Williams's classic 1922 children's book, "The Velveteen WHAT?"
Answer: rabbit
- Inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2021, what line of 18-inch dolls first released in 1986 by Pleasant Company are accompanied with books about various points in U.S. history?
Answer: American Girl
- Madam's Organ, a bar in DC's Adams Morgan neighborhood, sits at the site of the original "Children's Bargaintown" store, opened in 1948, and which would eventually become what retail juggernaut? The last US stores, sadly, closed in 2021.
Answer: Toys R Us
- “Flip!,” “Attack,” and “All Wild” are three special editions of what Mattel card game that was first developed by Merle Robbins in 1971?
Answer: Uno
- What common cuddly childhood toy did a German seamstress named Margarete Steiff make that later got its common name from a POTUS?
Answer: Teddy bear
- Named for a brand of toys, what chain of theme parks has locations in Billund, Denmark; Carlsbad, California; and Dubai, UAE, among others?
Answer: Legoland
- The Ohio Art toy company purchased the rights to manufacture l'Ecran magique ("the Magic Writer") and renamed the product to what more commonly-known name? The toy was released during 1960 and sold 600,000 units that first year, becoming one of the defining toys of the Baby Boom era.
Answer: Etch A Sketch
- What manufacturer of toy trucks was originally the Mound Metalcraft Company, making metal garden tools out of the basement of a Minnesota schoolhouse before turning to making metal toys? Their toy truck would eventually land on Time Magazine's list of History's Best Toys.
Answer: Tonka
- Which toy consists of a tube containing mirrors and pieces of colored material whose reflections produce changing patterns when the tube is rotated?
Answer: Kaleidoscope
- What 1997 song by the Danish band Aqua declares from the perspective of the titular toy, "Life in plastic, it's fantastic?"
Answer: Barbie Girl
- Fans can buy a dollhouse set of the Casa Madrigal from what 2021 Disney feature film?
Answer: Encanto
- While there have been many iterations since (“Extreme,” “Blast,” and “Beats” to name a few), the original version of the handheld audio game was released by Hasbro in 1996. What’s the toy’s name, which is also one of the commands it gives you?
Answer: Bop It
- What spinning top has four sides and is commonly played with during Hanukkah festivities?
Answer: Dreidel
- What water gun with manually pressurized air, sold by Hasbro, was invented by Lonnie Johnson in 1989?
Answer: Super Soaker
- What is the name of the 1998 toy released by Tiger Electronics that resembles either a hamster or an owl and spoke its own "language" that was gradually replaced by English?
Answer: Furby
- Although you might not know their names, you'll recognize their images. What classic board game features characters on its board officially named Jake the Jailbird (who is interminably in jail) and Officer Edgar Mallory?
Answer: Monopoly
- The Dino Rescue Patroller is a motorized toy that was a popular item for the 2020 holidays and is inspired by what extremely popular kid's television program?
Answer: Paw Patrol
- Beanie Babies come with heart-shaped tags feature what two-letter first name of the toy's creator Mr. Warner?
Answer: Ty
- Babyland General Hospital was the "birthplace" of what line of collectible dolls that was a huge hit in the 1980s and included an individual birth certificate for each doll?
Answer: Cabbage Patch Kids
- Which pocket-size plastic playsets of the ‘90s featured a girl with a P-name?
Answer: Polly Pocket
- What board game was originally created by Frenchman Albert Lamorisse and called "La Conquête du Monde" ("The Conquest of the World")? Parker Brothers purchased the rights to the game and launched it under its American name in 1959.
Answer: Risk
- For most of its life before its bankruptcy in 1995, Lionel Corporation was best known for its production of what kind of toys?
Answer: Electric trains
- What American multinational toy company and rival to Mattel (of Barbie fame) is behind cult classics such as My Little Pony, GI Joe, and Monopoly?
Answer: Hasbro
- Dr. Mindbender was once a friendly orthodontist before losing his mind and joining what "snake-y" organization in the G.I. Joe franchise?
Answer: Cobra
- Octan is a fictional company whose gas stations appear in the building sets of what Danish toy brand?
Answer: Lego
- In 1972, a chemist and an inventor patented a “foamable resinous composition” they hoped would be an instant cast for broken bones. However, when they discovered how fun it was to shoot across a room, they decided to market it as a toy instead. What name did they give their party-in-a-can?
Answer: Silly String
- My Magic Mixies, a toy cauldron that allows kids to make plush toys by mixing liquids, is made my what toy manufacturer, which is named after what large elk with very pronounced antlers? Bullwinkle is one.
Answer: Moose Toys
- Selling more than 5 million units in its first year, what company’s Model A Scooter was named the “Toy of The Year” by the Toy Industry Association in 2000?
Answer: Razor
- Osmo makes a toy set for children that allows that to experience what process, a “C” word that is interchangeably used with computer programming? It gets its name from the series of commands that unlocks processes within a computer’s program.
Answer: Coding
- “Bandalore” is an old-fashioned name for which toy, whose modern, English name is thought to mean “come come” in Tagalog? French names for this toy have included “l’émigrette” and “jou-jou.”
Answer: Yo-yo
- The four corner spaces on a standard Monopoly board are GO, Go to Jail, In Jail/Just Visiting, and what?
Answer: Free Parking
- Blueberry Muffin is the BFF of what redheaded doll dressed in pink, who was first manufactured in 1979 by Kenner?
Answer: Strawberry Shortcake
- What outdoor toy got a boost in 1920 when its inventor got the Ziegfeld Follies Girls to use it at a wedding?
Answer: Pogo Sticks
- What early 2000s line of dolls was a sassier take on Barbie, with pouty lips, a “passion for fashion,” and plenty of attitude?
Answer: Bratz
- Lizzie, Henry, Homer, and Harry were the four original characters on the playing surface of what hard-to-swallow Milton Bradley-Hasbro tabletop game?
Answer: Hungry Hungry Hippos
- As seen in the "Masters of the Universe" toy line and cartoon series, what was the name of He-Man's hooded archenemy?
Answer: Skeletor
- What is the single-word name of the American line fashion dolls created by Carter Bryant? The original four dolls had the names Yasmin, Cloe, Jade and Sasha.
Answer: Bratz
- Magnus Carlsen could tell you that the Sanskrit word chaturanga is the original word for what internationally famous board game which was invented in India?
Answer: Chess
- Fans of what “B” Blue Heeler cartoon puppy, debuting in Australia in 2018 and later on Disney Junior, can get tiny figurines of the dog and his family?
Answer: Bluey
- The company's personal transportation device launched in 2000 and quickly sold five million units (mostly for children) and won the "Toy of the Year." What is this "sharp" company?
Answer: Razor
- Although it has other toy uses, what was the name of a ball invented in 1969 made out of foam was marketed as an ‘inside ball’ as it did not damage anything in the house?
Answer: Nerf
- What popular toy was "discovered" during WWII as scientists were searching for a substitute product for rubber?
Answer: Silly Putty
- A plush doll of Appa, the last flat-tailed flying bison, is a doll licensed from what popular Nickelodeon cartoon series that first ran from 2005 to 2008, about characters that can manipulate the world’s elements? It’s not to be confused with a 2009 James Cameron space blockbuster.
Answer: Avatar: The Last Airbender
- What 1985 video game begins with a planned departure from Independence, Missouri?
Answer: The Oregon Trail
- On "The Muppet Show," what Muppet is known for his hooked nose, blue fur, yellow eyebrows, and his love of performing daredevil stunts?
Answer: Gonzo
- In 2021, Bandai issued an R2-D2 edition of what handheld toy, whose name is a blend of the Japanese words for "egg" and "watch"?
Answer: Tamagotchi
- With his signature appearing on the derriere of each doll, Xavier Roberts is well-known as the creator of which line of individually-named, soft-bodied dolls?
Answer: Cabbage Patch Kids
- Perhaps a distant relative of Neil or Louis, what is the name of the gel-filled latex rubber action figure made by Hasbro who can be elongated from 15 inches to almost 5 feet?
Answer: Stretch Armstrong
- In 1999, the National Security Agency banned what popular toy from its premises over concerns that the toy might be able to record and repeat classified information? Roger Shiffman, owner of Tiger Electronics, later stated that the toy "has absolutely no ability to do any recording whatsoever."
Answer: Furby
- An arctophile is a collector of which stuffed toys?
Answer: Teddy bears
- You might be a child of the 1970s if you know the egg-shaped toy that “wobbles but they don’t fall down" goes by what name?
Answer: Weebles
- Pipsqueak, Mr. Squiggles, and Num Nums were among the initial American release of what colorful, potato-shaped stuffed animals whose name comes from the Mandarin for "little pig"?
Answer: Zhu Zhu Pets
- What “B” line of spinning tops, introduced by Takara in 1999 and distributed by Takara Tomy since 2006, are used in a combat style game with specific characters for attack and defense? The name is a compound word, with part its name resembling the sharp part of a sword.
Answer: Beyblade
- In what year did the Lego Company start producing “Automatic Binding Bricks,” the precursor to today’s Lego bricks?
Answer: 1949
- What classic "stretchy" toy, first released by Kenner in 1976, sported a muscular build and was filled with a proprietary gel similar to corn syrup?
Answer: Stretch Armstrong
- Which modern version of the strategy game Reversi is named after a play by Shakespeare? Apart from the titular character, protagonists of this play include Iago and Desdemona.
Answer: Othello
- Plus-Plus, Maileg, Kay Bojesen, and Lego are toy making companies from which country?
Answer: Denmark
- Yusheng Du, Max Park, and Feliks Zemdegs have all held the world record for the fastest time to "solve" what toy that was invented by a professor of architecture in 1974?
Answer: 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube
- Created by Whit Alexander and Richard Tait in 1998, what “[Board] Game for Your Whole Brain” include themed characters such as Data Head, Word Worm, Creative Cat, and Star Performer?
Answer: Cranium
- When it was first sold in 1945, what classic stair-walking spring toy cost about $1, but was so popular that customers were willing to pay more when steel prices went up?
Answer: Slinky
- What giant toy company (today the second largest in the world) traces its history back to a company founded by the Hassenfeld brothers Henry, Hilal, and Herman in 1926?
Answer: Hasbro
- "Stained Glass of Sintra," "Summer Pavilion," and "Crystal Mosaic" are follow-up titles to what critically-acclaimed tile-laying board game released in 2017, which takes its title from the Portuguese word for "blue?"
Answer: Azul
- Skipper, Anastasia, Todd, Tutti, Chelsea, Kelly, and Kristine are the seven fictional siblings in the Roberts family of what famous children's toy?
Answer: Barbie
- LEGO's "Botanical" range features an array of plastic greenery for your home. Included in the collection is a LEGO version of what flower, which can come in, among other varieties, "Dancing Lady" or "Venus Slipper" forms? The White Stripes sang about a "Blue" one of these, though the LEGO set only offers a white version.
Answer: Orchid
- Interlocking plastic rods, connectors, blocks, gears, wheels, and other components were the main pieces in what popular construction toy system that was founded in 1992 and featured slogans such as "Imagine, Build, Play" and "Building Worlds Kids Love"?
Answer: K'Nex
- This children’s arts and crafts product was originally created to clean wallpaper. What brand name was it given when it started being marketed as a toy in the 1950s?
Answer: Play-Doh
- Legs the Frog, Squealer the Pig, and Chocolate the Moose were three of the nine original versions of what item?
Answer: Beanie Babies
- Move over 'Barbie', another popular Mattel doll coming to the big screen! Lily Collins has been cast as what alliteratively-named toy in a movie planned to be directed by Lena Dunham?
Answer: Polly Pocket
- Inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame in 2000, what toy invented by Richard James in 1943 was used by the U.S. Army as radio antennas in the Vietnam War?
Answer: Slinky
- Breyer Animal Creations is most well-known for its realistic toy models of what barnyard animal?
Answer: Horse
- Although its current name comes from Tagalog, what toy has been seen on Greek vases dating to 500 B.C.? The toy may be even older than that, as a similar toy originated in China about 1000 B.C.
Answer: Yo-yo
- Which toy with an onomatopoeic name, first sold in the 1960s, consists of a tube, colored straws and marbles?
Answer: KerPlunk
- What early 2010’s collectible rubber bracelets that formed into shapes (typically animals) became such a cultural phenomenon that national news outlets reported the toys being banned in school districts?
Answer: Silly Bandz
- Developed by George Lerner in 1949 and manufactured by Hasbro in 1952, what children's toy was the first ever to be advertised on television? The campaign was groundbreaking as it was the first campaign to explicitly market towards children, upending the advertising industry and the economics of the toy industry.
Answer: Mr. Potato Head
- What alliterative 'M' name is given to a brand of tiny vehicles and matching playsets first made by Galoob in the mid-1980s?
Answer: Micro Machines
- What Hong Kong based children’s electronics company makes the KidiZoom Smartwatch, that allows kids to use basic smartwatch functions such as video capturing?
Answer: VTech
- John Lloyd Wright, son of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, invented what popular architecture-adjacent toy?
Answer: Lincoln Logs
- One of the world's oldest games is known as "draughts" in British English and what in American English?
Answer: Checkers
- What’s the compressed-confection-sounding name for the brand of round, super-soft, plush animal toy that was released in 2017 but really took off during the COVID-19 pandemic when kids (and adults) needed a comforting squeeze?
Answer: Squishmallows
- What is the name of the talking animatronic toy that was an "Illiop" but quite closely resembled a bear? The toy reached peak popularity in the mid-1980s and helped aid the launch of 1986's Nintendo Entertainment System.
Answer: Teddy Ruxpin
- The prototype of what toy was developed by Albert Carter, the son of a Cincinnati, Ohio clairvoyant who used a similar device with her clients?
Answer: Magic 8 Ball
- "Plasti-Goop" is poured into a mold, which is then heated in a trademark "Thingmaker" to make a collection of bugs and insects: this describes what alliterative Mattel toy that dates back the 1960s?
Answer: Creepy Crawlers
- Students at what Ivy League university used pie tins from the Frisbie Baking Company to play catch, thus giving birth to the flying disc that in its plastic form would ultimately be known as a "Frisbee"?
Answer: Yale
- According to the lyrics of a classic kids' song, "if you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise" because what toys are having a picnic there?
Answer: Teddy bears
- What Finnish indie pop band, perhaps best known for their 2011 single “Laws Of Gravity”, share their one-word name with the last name of a Hungarian inventor best known for one of the most ubiquitous toys of the 1980s?
Answer: Rubik
- The National Toy Hall of Fame inducted this toy in 2003, saying that it "naturally inspires water play and soothes youngsters’ fears of water." Its name is a bit of a misnomer, as it's more commonly made from vinyl. What is the toy?
Answer: Rubber Duck
- O.M.G. Fashion Dolls and J.K. Mini Fashion dolls are both spinoffs of what line of unboxing toys, which are owned by MGA Entertainment?
Answer: L.O.L. Surprise!
- What toy ball, made of about 2,000 rubber filaments, was invented by engineer Scott Stillinger in 1986 to help his kids play catch?
Answer: Koosh Ball
- Made of chenille and equipped with transformative Velcro straps, what toys—or decorative home goods, depending on how you look at it—were invented by entrepreneur Jennifer Telfer in 2003?
Answer: Pillow Pets
- The first Troll Doll, created in 1959 by Thomas Dam for his daughter for Christmas, was made out of what?
Answer: Wood
- What shop and local landmark is, at half a century of operation, Pittsburgh's oldest toy store?
Answer: S. W. Randall Toyes and Giftes
- How many differently shaped pieces were in the original game of Tetris?
Answer: 7
- Sharing its name with a breed of dog, what is the name of the range of die-cast toy vehicle created by the Welsh company Mettoy?
Answer: Corgi
- Portrayed by Dolph Lundgren on film, which action figure was first released by Mattel in 1981?
Answer: He-Man
- The playsets were invented in Germany but gained worldwide popularity after the 1973 Oil Crisis pressured companies to make products with less plastic. The figures—from knights and pirates to farmers and rescue heroes—aren’t as bendable as action figures and the vehicles and buildings do require some assembly (though not as much as Lego). What’s the line of toys called?
Answer: Playmobil
- The brand Burley is most often associated with what specific bicycle accessory? The Oregon-based brand has been selling this item since the early 1980s.
Answer: Kids trailer
- Barbie’s got quite a few sisters: Skipper, Stacie, and baby Krissie. What’s the K-name of her other kid sister (of “Potty Training” playset fame)
Answer: Kelly
- Which geometric drawing device now made by Hasbro was first sold in 1965?
Answer: Spirograph
- What toy was once banned in Japan because the motion of operating the toy was considered indecent?
Answer: Hula Hoop
- In an Etch-a-Sketch, a coating of aluminum powder is scraped off with a stylus. By contrast, what toy invented by the Pilot Corporation in 1986 uses a stylus to pull magnetic particles up through an opaque liquid?
Answer: Magna Doodle
- What “T” box is a speaker designed for small children, where attachable toys cue up stories and audio messages to keep kids company at night?
Answer: Toniebox
- When Barbie broke up with Ken in 2004, she was briefly paired with what other B-doll, a surfer from Australia?
Answer: Blaine
- Forest Frontiers, Dynamite Dunes, and Leafy Lake were the three initial "scenarios" in the first game from what video game franchise?
Answer: RollerCoaster Tycoon
- What line of highly muscled heroes and villains was created by Mattel in 1979 to try and rival the popularity of Kenner's Star Wars action figures? Mattel introduced their backstory with a comic book and made them the subject of an animated television series that ran from 1983 to 1985.
Answer: Masters of the Universe
- What children's (and adults') toy was originally created by John Spilsbury in 1767 as a way to better teach geography?
Answer: Jigsaw
- There were really two big names in digital pets of the ‘90s-early 2000s: Tamagotchi and what other toy put out by Tiger Electronics that let you raise your own pixelated baby T-rex or even Salem from “Sabrina the Teenage Witch?”
Answer: Giga Pets
- What gasoline brand issued the first toy version of its iconic green, yellow, and white toy tanker trucks in 1964?
Answer: Hess
- A doll named Emily is one of the prized possessions of Sara Crewe, the title character of what classic 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett?
Answer: A Little Princess
- Before it was colored, scented, and packaged in little yellow containers, Play-Doh was originally created by Kutol Products of Cincinnati, Ohio to clean what?
Answer: Wallpaper
- Wooden dolls (usually with no arms or joints) in medieval and Tudor-era England were called what "B" saint's name "Babies," after the fair in London where they were sold?
Answer: Bartholomew
- Calling all fans of Geoffrey the Giraffe...In what state, in the city of Rockville, did the first Toys "R" Us store open in 1957?
Answer: Maryland
- Under what name was a version of G.I. Joe (made by the English company Palitoy) sold in the UK starting in 1966?
Answer: Action Man
- The first widely marketed Chia Pet was released in 1982. What animal was it?
Answer: Ram
- In the ‘90s, Galoob released a pretty pastel toy that sent a fairy flying into the air (and more often than not, straight into a ceiling or wall) when you pulled its string. What were they called?
Answer: Sky Dancers
- The Game Boy, released by Nintendo in 1989, combined aspects of the Nintendo Entertainment System and what earlier handheld gaming system (Nintendo's first)?
Answer: Game & Watch
- According to the Guinness World Records, what toy holds the record for "longest throw of an object without any velocity-aiding feature," at 1,333 feet?
Answer: Aerobie
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.