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toy
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flying a kite clay model of a wheeled cart Day of the Dead toys kachina dolls toy walking horse Entertainment robots
Transforming traditional toys into smart electronics
toy giraffe in cage playing with dolls
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toy summary
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flying a kite
flying a kite Boy flying a kite.

toy

Written by
Felicia McMahon
Research Associate, Department of Anthropology, Syracuse University. Author of Not Just Child's Play: Emerging Tradition and the Lost Boys of Sudan.
Felicia McMahon
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

toy, plaything, usually for an infant or child, and often an instrument used in a game. Toys, playthings, and games survive from the most remote past and from a great variety of cultures. The ball, kite, and yo-yo are assumed to be the oldest objects specifically designed as toys. Toys vary from the simplest to the most complex things, from the stick selected by a child and imagined to be a hobbyhorse to sophisticated and...

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