G.I. Joe, the world's first action figure, is turning 50
The birthday of what's called the world's first action figure is being celebrated this month by collectors and the toy maker that introduced it just before the nation plunged into the quagmire that would become the Vietnam War — a storm it seems to have weathered pretty well.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/06/gi-...p=features
oh yes the barbie for boys
My older brother still has his frogman and astronaut GI Joe's from the late 60's in pristine condition. Mine didn't survive as a friend of mine discovered the kung fu grip hands were easily liberated with a Daisy pellet gun. GI Joe may be tough as nails, but he couldn't withstand the wrath of a pack of bottle rockets. He did fly for a good 50 feet before blowing up though.
I grew up watching the 1980s G.I. Joe cartoons. The scratchy growl of Cobra Commander as he lamented the failure of his latest plot was a soundtrack for my childhood. Some of the newer iterations of the G.I. Joe cartoons actually aren't half bad. Renegades in particular is one I came across on Netflix and wound up getting into pretty fast.
And yes, I, like every male child of the last 50 years, had a G.I. Joe action figure collection. Probably ended up in an attic somewhere between my parents' houses.
G.I. joe used to repel down the end table using yarn. I'll miss him.