When a museum is online, that means it's not only free, but accessible to people all over the world. That's what MOBOTOYS is. Check out the extensive collection of 20th century toys that move, light up, and play music or speak, thanks to the household batteries that became available around the turn of the century. These toys highlight the intricacies of mechanical design, and range from simple cars that go and animals that bang drums to a full telephone switchboard with an operator plugging calls through. Each exhibit has photographs, packaging details (when available), the toy's history and provenance, and a video to show how it works. Many of the videos have a closeup view of the mechanics at work inside.
The museum is operated by Kelly Kegley, who takes his rather flamboyant ride out in Seattle "just to have fun and make people smile." The toys are from his private collection. -via Metafilter
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The first thing that came to mind when I saw the picture of the.swirchboard operator was Squidgame. I like the retro look of these.
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