A collectable is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old. A curio is a small, usually fascinating or unusual item sought by collectors. A manufactured collectable is an item made specifically for people to collect.
A model vehicle or toy vehicle is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aimed at children as playthings, there is no precise difference between a model car and a toy car, yet the word 'model' implies either assembly required or the accurate rendering of an actual vehicle at smaller scale. The kit building hobby became popular through the 1950s, while the collecting of miniatures by adults started to pick up momentum around 1970. Precision-detailed miniatures made specifically for adults are a significant part of the market since the mid-1980s.
Matchbox is a popular toy brand which was introduced by Lesney Products in 1953, and is now owned by Mattel, Inc. The brand was given its name because the original die-cast Matchbox toys were sold in boxes similar in to those in which matches were sold. The brand grew to encompass a broad range of toys, including larger scale die-cast models, plastic model kits, and action figures.
An action figure is a poseable character doll made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, or television program—fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys.
A sex shop is a retailer that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as vibrators, lingerie, clothing, pornography, and other related products. The world's first sex shop was opened in 1962 by Beate Uhse AG in Flensburg, West Germany, and sex shops can now be found in many countries and online. Sex shops are part of the sex industry. In most jurisdictions, sex shops are regulated by law, with access not legally permitted to minors, the age depending on local law. Some jurisdictions prohibit sex shops and the merchandise they sell. In some jurisdictions that permit it, they may also show pornographic movies in private video booths, or have private striptease or peep shows. Also an adult movie theater may be attached. There are also many online sex shops selling a variety of adult content such as sex toys, pornographic magazines, pornographic films and fetish wear etc. These types of shop are often favoured by the consumer as they have less overheads and can be perused within the comfort of the home. Their discreetness is also appealing to some.
A Happy Meal is a kids' meal sold at the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red box with a yellow smiley face and the McDonald's logo. The packaging and toy are frequently part of a marketing tie-in to an existing television show, film, or toy brand.
Concealment devices or diversion safes are used to hide things for the purpose of secrecy or security. They are made from an ordinary household object such as a book, a soda can, a candle, a can, or something as small as a coin. The idea is that such an inconspicuous object would not be expected to contain anything of worth.
In the broadest sense, merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to the variety of products available for sale and the display of those products in such a way that it stimulates interest and entices customers to make a purchase.
A space hopper is a rubber ball with handles which allow one to sit on it without falling off. The user can hop around on the toy, using the elastic properties of the ball to move forward.
A Tuyul or Toyol is a mythical spirit in Javanese mythology of South-East Asia, especially in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore.
A Lego minifigure, commonly referred to as a "minifig", is a small plastic articulated figurine produced by Danish toy manufacturer the Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have become hugely successful, with over 3.7 billion produced world wide Minifigures are usually found within Lego sets, although they are also sold separately in blind bags, or custom-built in Lego stores. While some are named as specific characters, either licensed from film, television, and game franchises or of Lego's own creation, many are unnamed and are designed simply to fit within a certain theme. Minifigures are collected by both children and adults. They are highly customizable, and parts from different figures can be mixed and matched, resulting in a large number of combinations.
Child development stages are the theoretical milestones of child development, some of which are asserted in nativist theories. This article discusses the most widely accepted developmental stages in children. There exists a wide variation in terms of what is considered "normal," caused by variation in genetic, cognitive, physical, family, cultural, nutritional, educational, and environmental factors. Many children reach some or most of these milestones at different times from the norm.
A chew toy is designed to be chewed by animals for purposes of stimulation and relief from boredom. The act of gnawing on a chew toy is meant to be soothing and to assist small animals, like puppies, in event of easing the pain when breaking in their adult teeth as the chewing process releases feel-good chemicals from the brain. There are several different types of chew toys, including rawhide, wood, paper and mineral. Chew toys are commonly associated with dogs, though they are also used by birds, rodents, and rabbits.
Breyer Animal Creations, a division of Reeves International, Inc, is a manufacturer of model animals. The company specializes in model horses made from cellulose acetate, a form of plastic, and produces other animal models from the same material as well. Less well known are its porcelain and resin horse figures, which are aimed at the adult collector market. The company also produces model tack accessories and horse-related structures, such as stables, barns, and grooming implements in scale to its model horses.
Webkinz are stuffed animals that have a playable online counterpart, www.webkinz.com, in "Webkinz World." Webkinz were originally released by the Canadian toy company Ganz on April 29, 2005. The toys are similar to many other small plush toys; however, each Webkinz toy has an attached tag with a unique "Secret Code" printed on it that allows you to play with your pet in the "Webkinz World" website. On Webkinz World, the Secret Code allows the user to own a virtual version of the pet for online play. Lil' Kinz are smaller, less expensive versions of Webkinz, while the Signature collection is larger and slightly more expensive. Sales of plush Webkinz toys are limited to the United States and Canada, but international users can buy virtual pets from the online eStore. In 2006, Webkinz had one million online accounts, and according to one estimate published in Wired they took in $100 million. In 2011, Webkinz made its first commercial on TV. Webkinz was updated in 2015 to Webkinz X, making it more kid-friendly.
A traveling carnival, usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, and animal acts. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park or funfair, but is moved from place to place. Its roots are similar to the 19th century circus with both being set up in open fields near or in town and moving to a new location after a period of time. Unlike traditional carnival celebrations, the North American traveling carnival is not tied to a religious observance.
Thomas & Friends merchandise has been produced to capitalize on the success of the television series Thomas & Friends. Whilst merchandise was produced alongside due to the popularity of the first of The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry since 1945, and the original broadcast of the television series in 1984 in the United Kingdom, large numbers of manufacturers have sought to produce Thomas-branded items after the television series was broadcast in America and Japan.
Rent, in MUDs, is a mechanism for both enabling and limiting persistence of a player character's possessions. In the "traditional" rent paradigm, in order to keep belongings between game sessions, the player must travel to an inn and use the rent command there, and is assessed a price, in game money, for each inventory item; items that cannot be paid for are not persisted. If the player simply uses the quit command rather than rent, inventory items are not kept, and fall to the ground. Many evolutions of this approach exist: the rent command is often made to be performable anywhere rather than only at an inn, sometimes costs are removed or made negligible, and so on. At times, in MUDs where inventory is made to simply persist automatically when the player quits the game, the conceptualization of inventory persistence as "rent" is sufficiently ingrained that this is referred to as "autorent".
When adults come into contact with infants, it is unlikely that they would be able to have a proper conversation, as the infant would not know enough about pop culture or general knowledge to create a stimulating conversation for the adult. Also, the adult may not understand baby-language and cannot relate to their situation properly. Therefore, the adult often changes their persona in order to try to elicit a reaction from the infant, to teach them life lessons, or to physically stimulate them. They may simplify their speech to concise sentences or words for them to repeat, or speak in nonsensical phrases. They may make simple movements with their finger on objects for them to copy, or point to brand names/logos or people in family photos to see if they identify them. They may also choose to play one of various games, many of which are old favourites. While the parents or carers may or may not choose to do this on when alone with the child, when in the presence of guests the conversation tends to either divert completely to this type of interaction or at least have these forms of interaction take place as asides in the conversation. Sometimes the interaction is onesided, with the adult taking satisfaction with their attempts, even though the infant does not react, or react without really understanding it. At other times, the interaction is two-sided, and both parties derive pleasure or other emotions from it. Some adults do not change at all when in the presence of other families' infants.
