American Girl Dolls, Risk, sand inducted into Toy Hall of Fame

Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A New York museum's Toy Hall of Fame announced the 2021 inductees are American Girl Dolls, board game Risk and sand.

The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester said the inductees were chosen from a field of 12 finalists that also included Battleship, billiards, Cabbage Patch Kids, the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, Mahjong, Masters of the Universe, the pinata, the Settlers of Catan and the toy fire engine.

American Girl Dolls, created by educator Pleasant Rowland in 1986; Risk, which is based on the French game Le Conquete du Monde and was first published in the United States in 1959; and sand, the substance found at beaches around the world, were inducted during a special ceremony at the museum.

"Although some playthings can only be found online or in certain stores, sand has a global reach that most toy manufacturers would envy. It's been a vehicle for play since prehistory, and anyone who has spent the day at the beach can understand the allure of this toy," The Strong Chief Curator Christopher Bensch said in the announcement.