WASHINGTON (AFP).- Soap bubbles, little green army men and Rubik's Cube are the latest inductees to the US National Toy Hall of Fame, the National Museum of Play announced Thursday.
They were among 12 toys considered this year for the honor, alongside the likes of American Girl dolls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and paper airplanes.
"Little Green Army Men encourage imaginative play and make-believe," said curator Christopher Bensch of the National Museum of Play in Rochester, upstate New York.
"Bubbles are purely physical, with the skill required to carefully blow them and the visual and tactile delight they promote," Bensch told AFP via email.
"And Rubik's Cube offers users an intellectual challenge to puzzle out its solution. Together, the three cover an impressive range of types of play."
In a statement, the National Museum of Play traced the origins of soap bubbles back to at least 17th century Europe, when children blowing bubbles appeared in Flemish paintings.
"Today, retailers sell more than 200 million bottles of this inexpensive and clean toy annually," it said.
Little green army men, made from molded plastic, evolved from metal and lead toy soldiers.
They first appeared in 1938, initially depicting US infantry men, hit the big time in the 1950s when a box of 200 cost $1.98, and starred in the 1995 animated hit "Toy Story."
An icon of the 1980s, the Rubik's Cube was the brainchild of Hungarian architect Erno Rubik -- and by some estimates, more than 500 million have tried to unscramble it.
It remains the centerpiece of puzzle-solving competitions in more than 50 countries, while books and websites explain the secrets to mastering the colorful 3-D combination puzzle.
Fifty-six toys now enjoy pride of place in the National Toy Hall of Fame, including Barbie, Lego, Frisbee, the Atari 2600 game system, Mr Potato Head and the humble cardboard box.
The National Museum of Play is part of The Strong museum in Rochester that also includes the International Center for the History of Electronic Games. It draws 560,000 visitors a year.
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