Apparently, the diecast cars of today are only the latest of a long line of small, wheeled toys that date back thousands of years. But just what do you call a toy car that’s made from clay?
Jason wrote about how the oldest surviving child’s toy is a roughly 6,000-year-old fired clay model of what appears to be a cart. Canopysaurus:
Since this toy was made from fired clay, does that make it a Pot Wheel?
LTDScott had the same idea:
Fired clay? OG Hot Wheels.
Hoonicus:
Update !: A large rock was found nearby, with what appears to be a racecourse carved into the surface! Archaeologists are calling it Boulder Dash!
AmberTurnSignalsAreBetter:
The first thought that came into my mind: “How long do you think it would last on the belt sander?”
…and that’s why I’m not an archaeologist.
DysLexus:
Wait. How’d they know it’s a children’s toy? That’s a bit judgmental.
I know lots of adults that still have toys just like this. I mean if I lived 6,000 years ago and spent all that effort building the very first toy ever made in the history of the entire world, the last thing I’m going to do is give it to that brat of mine to just break it and then say “I said I wanted a Yellow one”. Deep eye roll.
Stryker_T:
This makes me think of ancient ancestors of DT searching for the “holy grail” of pull cart projects and telling his wife “Theia, Not-Her-Real-Name” why this is a good investment.
Beached Wail:
As this toy illustrates, even back in the day there was Noah substitute for cubit inches.
Mike Harrell comes in with obscure car knowledge, as usual:
They’re displaying it backwards. Turn it around, and it’s pretty clearly a Reyonnah 175, which is apt given that the Reyonnah’s manufacturer was named Hannoyer.
Matt wrote a Members Only Exhaust Leaks about the reader who paid us $1,000 to tell Polymarket to buzz off. I love Sid Bridge’s looks into the PR side of things:
(Puts PR hat on): Two thumbs up from a PR guy. You gathered all the facts, you understood what kind of reaction your readership would have, you polled them directly (giving them some ownership), you listened to the response, which confirmed your instincts were correct, and you followed through.
That, my friends, is how it’s done. Yes, this was an advertising question, but at its core this was a PR consideration and it’s the kind of crisis management I get paid to do: make sure there’s no crisis in the first place. It’s super easy if you have a tendency to do the right thing.
You were right. This would have negatively impacted your reputation with your most important public. You’re also being super transparent, which is cool – and not even required in this situation.
So high-fives all around. You passed this test.
Have a great evening, everyone!
A dreidel?