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Showing posts from March, 2013

Who invented the Rubik's cube?

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all images taken from Google images The Rubik's Cube : Created by Ernő Rubik; a Hungarian sculptor and Professor of architecture. From simply being a small invention to becoming the German Game Of The Year in 1980, the Rubik's Cube will always go down in history as the puzzle sensation! Over the years many have attempted to achieve 'world records' to match up each cube with the correct colour under a certain time limit. Ronald Brinkmann holds the World Record at the West German Championships in 1982, completing the cube in an incredible 19 seconds. The game is very time consuming but also challenges a persons patience, focus and above all; colour coordination. During World War 2, Ernő Rubik was born in Budapest, Hungary on July 13th, 1944. His father was a flight engineer and his mother, a poet. Ernő graduated at the age of 22 from the Technical University, Budapest Faculty of Architecture . He then went on to do postgraduate studies in sculpting

Happy Easter from Everyone at Toyday

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We're all set for a cold but dry and sunny Easter weekend. Perfect for a stroll about the shops.                                           Toyday Looe                      Toyday Totnes Good Friday                  10.30am till 5.30pm             10.30am till 4.30pm Saturday                        10.30am till 5.30pm             10.30am till 5.30pm Sunday                           11.00am till 4.30pm                  Closed Easter Monday              10.30am till 5.30pm             11.30am till 3.00pm Enjoy your hot cross buns, chocolate eggs and whatever you have planned!

Good behaviour reward jar

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A simple way to reward your child's good behaviour is to decorate a pot or jar. We painted one for Blake with some glass paints, and every time he does something good, he gets a bead or two. If he's naughty, then usually the threat of taking some beads away is enough to change his behaviour. We have worked out a redemption system, where one bead is worth 10p. This has helped Blake to value and appreciate the cost of things he "wants", when he knows that will cost 10 beads, or this will cost 20 beads etc. Blake has been saving up all year and will be treating himself to something soon!

The Meaning Behind Nursery Rhymes.

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We have just been having a discussion about nursery rhymes and how they came about. After looking into it we have found a lot of what we thought is probably wrong. It is commonly thought in England that the Nursery Rhyme 'Ring of Roses' relates to the plague of 1665. Ring-a-ring o' roses, (It is thought that this relates to a rash that accompanied the black death) A pocket full of posies, (People carried posies to ward of the plague) A-tishoo! A-tishoo! (Sneezing or coughing was a symptom) We all fall down. (and finally death) This explanation to the rhyme didn't come until after the 2nd World war which leads scholars to believe this was not the original meaning of the song and more likely it was just a children's dancing game where the fall at the end was actually a curtsy. Another common theory is that Oranges and Lemons relates to public executions. It is thought that it is more likely sung on festive days of the church when the bells were rung and t

The beginning of Walt Disney

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Hello there's Becky again . . . :-) I had change the work experience because the toyshop is always the best for me!!! ;-)   Today I have the chance to write about              W a l t    D i s n e y  . . .    I promise you it's really interesting, because I think we have all watched a film once a time. Something about Walter Elias "Walt" Disney . . . the reason and the inventor from Walt Disney films.       He was born on the 5th December 1901 in Chicago. "Walter was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist, well known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O. Disney, he was co-founder of Walt Disney Productions, which later became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world."   He and his staff created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters including

Toyday Customers Top 10 Favourite Childhood Toys

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As voted for by Toyday customers, below is a list of their top 10 favourite childhood toys. 10. Jenga Jenga was a popular party game first developed in the 1970s and finally released by Parker Brothers in the mid-1980s.  Build a tower of blocks, and then take it in turns to remove one block at a time...Eventually the tower will topple! 9. Slinky A treasured toy that sprang to life in 1945. This loosely coiled spring which can provide great entertainment poured from hand to hand or even made to walk down steps. Price: £4.99 8.Train Set Many young children, especially boys, love to play with trains. There are many different varieties of train sets available for children of all ages, which you can add additional pieces to.   This Bigjigs First Train Set is figure of eight of wooden train track with train and scenery, which other railway sets can be added to so the child can add to this set as they get older. Price: £10.99 

I Wonder How Many People Still Have Pet Rocks

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The Pet Rock was a huge fad in the 70's which was sold as a very low maintenance pet that effectively never dies. Which begs the question how many pet rocks are still around today? Gary Dahl sold enough in 6 months to make him a millionaire at just under $4 each so there should be at least 250,000 pet rocks out there today. The original pet rock was nothing more than a grey pebble in a pet carrier. It came with an instruction manual on how to care for your pet rock including humorous tips such as teaching it to sit, stay and play dead. There's something charming about the amount of imagination needed to love that stone as a pet and it's no more crazy as a fad than things like pogs which lets face it are just printed discs. You can make your own pet rock, you don't need to purchase any expensive kits. Just get a rock and love it. You can add some googley eyes or paint it in what ever design you choose to give it it's own character. If your going to paint it, ch