Friday, September 30, 2011

Wooly Willy Magnetic Mustache Toy



I loved Wooly Willy and his
MAGNETIC PERSONALITY.
Wooly Willy -- the magnetic mustache game was another toy I often thought of breaking open to see what was making it so magical. Wooly Willy was created way back in 1955 by Donald and James Herzog for their father's toy company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Wooly Willy provided 15 minutes of fun.
I loved giving him different looks.

Wooly Willy was basically a picture of a bald dude encased in plastic filled with tiny metal bits that would form a mustache, beard, bushy eyebrows or head of hair as you moved the attached magnetic wand around Willy's face. It was a very simple concept and for some reason we kids loved it.

I think I remember getting Wooly Willy in my Easter basket a few times. It was the perfect toy to keep kids busy in the car or at boring restaurants back when we didn't have handheld video games. Sure, it got boring after about fifteen minutes, but I still loved creating different looks for Wooly Willy. Did you?

8 comments:

Shannon said...

I completely forgot about Wooly Willy! He was a lot of fun. I now remember getting this toy in goody bags at birthday parties in the mid to late 80s. We sure liked some crazy, stupid toys back then, didn't we? :)

b-chica said...

Yep, I had Wooly Willy. Mine was on a card with 4 other magnetic games - 2 for "drawing" by dropping metal balls in a grid of dents and also tic-tac-toe.

C said...

I didn't have Wooly Willy when I was a kid, but I found these at Target in the party aisle and I play with my three year old all the time. He thinks it's hilarious!

Sabrina Steyling said...

I'm telling you, I wish I came up with some of these seemingly simple ideas for toys that ended up being so popular. For Wooly Willy to still be going strong today definitely says something. :)

Belle said...

A very cool little game. Great for car trips if I remember right.

Ms. A said...

I would not have remembered the name, but certainly remember the face! There have been several around here. (No, I won't be sending a pic, I don't think I'd be able to locate any of them)

LL Cool Joe said...

Ah now this does bring back memories! But I'm sure it was called something else because they would never have got away with calling it "Willy" in the UK. :D

Pat Tillett said...

A blast from the past! I remember these and even owned at least a couple of 'em. I remember getting one as a party favor.

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