Raise your hand if you are a history dork! I love this kind of stuff: The real life stories behind the invention and marketing of classic toys like the Slinky and Mr. Potato Head. Who knew that our most beloved playthings had dark pasts and endorsement campaigns and interesting tales along the road to becoming the crap you step on in the middle of the night on your way to the bathroom? Here's a great rundown of the twisted inception and careers of seven classic toys. 

For example, did you know the Slinky was marketed and made successful by a genius woman when her husband's midlife crisis led to him joining a Bolivian religious cult? Or that Play Doh was an early example of product placement and celebrity endorsement, when one Captain Kangaroo took a share of the profits? Mr. Potato Head used his own celebrity to both campaign against smoking (I totally remember when he puffed on a pipe) and pimp Burger King fries, which seems like creepy cannibalism to me. Now gimme the dirt on Barbie and GI Joe, and I'll be satisfied.