Two of the biggest toy crazes EVER!

Cabbage Patch Kids The Coleco toy company began mass-marketing the dolls in 1982, under the new name of Cabbage Patch Kids, which quickly became a major toy fad. Kids loved the huggable dolls and were fascinated with the adoption aspect.
In the 80s, the Cabbage Patch Kids did what other toys had failed to do. It got moms wanting one for themselves. They were Christmas news stories where they lined up for hours outside stores. But a number of Christmas crowds over the nation quickly turned into Christmas mobs as they pushed & punched each other to grab the hot toy

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Tickle Me Elmo is a plush Elmo doll that giggles and says "That tickles!" when his belly is squeezed. Three squeezes in a row sends him into a laughing, shaking frenzy. Produced by Tyco in 1996, Tickle Me Elmo became that year's hottest toy -- and the hardest to find toy since the Cabbage Patch Kids craze in 1983

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Viewer Question: Were you a kid with a Cabbage Patch Kid or a Tickle Me Elmo?

WWJD: What Would Jesus Do?

WWJD: What Would Jesus Do? The slogan "WWJD" came straight from the pits of fad hell.

"What Would Jesus Do?" all started with a youth group from the Calvary Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan. As members of "Generation X," they wanted to influence their community for Christ. Inspired by the 1896 Charles Sheldon Book, "In His Steps" (which asked the same query), these youths were moved to apply this question to the daily choices that they all faced. As a tangible reminder, they had simple cloth bracelets made that used the abbreviation, WWJD. The bracelets caught the attention of friends, classmates, parents, and town's people. Soon, almost everyone was wearing one of these bracelets. As their popularity grew, the bracelets were mass-marketed, causing the retail revolution that we see today.

It's the perfect mix of the simple and the profound: encapsulating the charge to be Christ-like Christians into four little words, easy to remember and inspirational.

 The title track, by band Big Tent Revival.

 Sample lyric: What would Jesus do walkin' in my shoes/workin' at my job and goin' to my school?

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Viewer Question: Do you have a WWJD bracelet?

 

Two toys I wanted as a kid but never got.

The Furby

      The main reason for their popularity was because of apparent "intelligence", reflected in their ability to develop language skills.
Furbys can communicate with one another via an infrared port located between their eyes. Furbys start out speaking entirely Furbish, a language with short words, simple syllables, and various other sounds, but are programmed to speak less and less Furbish and more and more English as they "grow".
There was a common misconception that they repeated words that were said around them. This belief most likely stemmed from the fact that it is possible to have the Furby say certain pre-programmed words or phrases more often by petting it whenever it said these words. As a result of this myth, several intelligence agencies banned them from their offices.



Tamagotchi / Giga Pets

      Giga Pets are a series of virtual pets. They were first created and released in 1997. The first Giga Pets included the Bit Critter, Compu Kitty, Digital Doggie, and Micro Chimp. Baby T-Rex and Virtual Alien were added shortly after, with Komputer Koala and Floppy Frog following.
Virtual pets such as Tamagotchi and Giga Pets, are sold on a self-contained, palm-sized computer. The egg shaped cases of the Tamagotchi, a small screen has an image of the pet, while buttons on the case let the user perform different tasks, such as .

   Feeding the Tamagotchi a piece of food or a snack.
   Playing games with the Tamagotchi.
   Cleaning up a Tamagotchi's waste.
   Checking its age, discipline, hunger, happiness and other statistics.
   Connecting with other friends

   Dissatisfied pets can emit beeps and sometimes "die"

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Viewer Question: What are some toys you didn't get?