Sand, paper airplane top list for Toy Hall of Fame

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Nofrills toys including the paper airplane, sand and play food are among 12 finalists vying for a place in the National Toy Hall of Fame.

The contenders for the Class of 2017 were announced Tuesday.

Also up for the honor are the board games Risk and Clue, the Magic 8 ball, Matchbox cars, My Little Pony, the PEZ candy dispenser, Transformers, the card game Uno and Wiffle Ball.

Two or three toys will be inducted Nov. 9 into The Strong museum in Rochester, where the hall is located. Anyone can nominate a toy. The inductees are chosen on the advice of historians, educators and others for their longevity and success and ability to inspire creative play.

The winners will join 63 prior inductees, including the dollhouse, dominoes, bubbles and Big Wheels.

About some of this year’s finalists, according to the National Toy Hall of Fame:

Clue: The game that challenges players to solve a murder was introduced in 1947 and remains one of the top 10 best-selling board games of all time.

Magic 8 Ball: Over the past 70 years, millions of people have posed questions and waited for a floating “ask again later,” ‘’signs point to yes” or other answer.

Matchbox Cars: The miniature cars debuted in 1952 and by 1960 were selling at a rate of 100 million a year. They remain a top seller for Mattel.

My Little Pony: The miniature pastel ponies were introduced in the 1980s and reintroduced in 2003. They outsold Barbie for several years at their peak.

Paper airplane: Leonardo DaVinci may be among the most famous to make flying machines out of paper, writing about it in the 15th century.

PEZ: What began as a breath mint in 1927 was transformed into a small brick of candy dispensed by a collectible mechanical box featuring pop-culture characters.

Play food made of various materials has been filling the plates at pretend tea parties and picnics for generations.