Christmas Won't Be Christmas Without Any Presents Quiz

Answer: Mr. Potato Head

Toy inventor George Lerner came up with the idea of what would one day become Mr. Potato Head in the early 1940s, but it wasn't until 1952 that Hasbro finally put the idea into true mass production. Originally, the toy did not include the potato head, as children were expected to use a real potato. Complaints of rotting toys eventually changed that practice.

Christmas of 1952 made such an impact on Mr. Potato Head sales, that they introduced Mrs. Potato Head the next year. It probably helped that Mr. Potato Head was the first toy (ever) advertised on television.

Answer: Pet Rock

Gary Dahl created a short-lived fad that culminated in the Christmas season of 1975. He marketed rocks as pets, packaging them in mini crates complete with straw, 'breathing' holes, and a 32-page set of instructions entitled "The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock".

Answer: Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 was originally released in 1977 as the Atari VCS (Video Computer System), and came with a console unit, two joysticks, a pair of paddles, and the "Combat" cartridge.

Following the saturation of the market after "Pong" was released in 1975, it did not have a super successful first two years. By the time 1979 rolled around, however, they had 32 different game cartridges, including the very first game linked to a movie franchise ("Superman"). All of a sudden, sales skyrocketed, especially as Christmas approached.

Answer: Cabbage Patch Kids

Cabbage Patch Kids creator Robert Xavier began marketing his dolls as 'Little People Originals' in 1977, but after demand became too much for him to keep up with, he began licensing a smaller version to toy manufacturer Coleco. They began producing them in 1982. They were each unique, and came with 'adoption' papers and a birth certificate.

It was in 1983, however, that they shot up in popularity, which included articles in Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal on the craze. The demand at Christmas for Cabbage Patch Kids became the first real documented Christmas Fad Toy Rage, with near-riots occurring in some places.

Answer: Nintendo Game Boy

The Nintendo Game Boy was amongst the earliest hand-held gaming devices, and it was in heavy competition with Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx, TurboExpress. Part of its appeal was the 35-hour battery life, and the fact that it came with Tetris - ever the popular game.

It was released in Japan in April of 1989, and then in North America at the end of the summer. Over a million were sold in the few months leading up to Christmas.

Answer: Tickle Me Elmo

Tickle Me Elmo dolls (Tyco Preschool) were a true Christmas Fad Toy Rage in 1996. The original production run in the summer was 400,000 dolls, and they were slow to sell, at the start. By the time US Thanksgiving arrived, however, the limited supply had made them a popular purchase... and then they were featured on the Rosie O'Donnell show, and their demand skyrocketed. The company quickly put out another 600,000 dolls, and they were all sold by Christmas.

Demand put the after-market sale price through the roof, with some people asking (and getting) upwards of $1500 for a doll.

Answer: Furby

The Furby (Tiger Electronics) was introduced to the toy world at the American International Toy Fair in February of 1998, so people had plenty of time to be prepared for its release later that year. When it came out just before Christmas, demand was such that 1.8 million were sold in a short span of time.

The popularity of the talking toy did not lessen, and 14 million were sold in 1999.

Answer: Bratz Dolls

The original lineup of Bratz dolls included four different girls - Yasmin, Cloe, Jade and Sasha, designed to follow modern fashion trends. Their sales started slow in the summer of 2001, the effect of trying to break into the well-established Barbie market, but by the end of the year, they had made $20 million in sales of the trendy dolls.

Answer: Sony Playstation 3

The PS3 was launched with much anticipation in North America on November 17th, 2006, with two different models available - a 20 GB model ($499) and a 60 GB model ($699). There were 400,000 units slated for the market, but only about 40% of that was actually available on the release date. What there was sold out in the first day.

The original run plus an additional 1 million were sold by early January.

Answer: Apple iPad

The first generation iPad (16 Gb w/wifi capability) had a USD $499 price tag, with 32 and 64 Gb versions also available (high end price tag of $699).

Rumours of the iPad's impending release had been circulating for some time before Steve Jobs introduced the tablet on January 27, 2010. It's official release date was April 3rd in North America. The iPad (named in homage to the "Star Trek" PADD, a similar device) sold more than 14 million units (worldwide) by the end of 2010.