The playthings of childhood profoundly affect what we choose do and our contributions to the world as adults. I have made this point again and again, ad nauseum, perhaps (forgive me, please!). I think it is an important point and that toys are important because of the influence and inspiration they can provide.
Curiously, not having any playthings as a child can be as impactful, or more so, than actually having some. A friend of mine recalls a vivid childhood memory of wanting a hamster, but not ever getting one. That hamster he never had as a boy inspired one of the most successful toys ever, a line of motorized hamsters and playsets that sold almost $2 billion at retail!
I recall to this day the Tudor vibration-action football game that I desperately wanted as a kid, and DID NOT RECEIVE. Boy, was I pissed. Sorry for being such a poop that long-ago Christmas morning, Mom and Dad.
Never having forgotten that magical vibration-action game, I think it has inspired the development of one of our patented new technologies. We have developed myriad applications of this technology in toys and elsewhere – creating motion powered by vibration, and in our case, by that of the soundwaves of a speaker.
We are all inspired by playthings we never had.
Never underestimate the power of the playthings of childhood to change the world.