Online craze sees mystery boxes of toys become big Christmas hit

5 years ago

MYSTERY boxes with surprise collectable toys inside are set to be a huge hit this Christmas because of a social media craze of “unboxing” them on Youtube. Parents could end up shelling out multiple times on toys, as it is impossible to know which of the characters they are receiving. And the collectable nature of the items mean toy firms can benefit from the same product being bought over and over. Videos of bloggers and influencers unwrapping toys are huge hits with young viewers, viewed millions of times online. LOL Surprise has become the number one collectable brand in the UK, with two of their offerings tipped as the most popular toys by a panel of experts this year.

10 years ago

THE Master of the Queen’s Music has joined violinist Nicola Benedetti in attacking the state of music teaching in Britain. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies said he backed “to the hilt” Benedetti in calling for every young person to be made to study classical works to help them understand humanity. Orkneybased Sir Peter said it was both “a disgrace” and “a shock” so many youngsters had never heard of

Mozart or Beethoven – let alone listened to their music. The 79-yearold musician, rated as one of the world’s greatest living composers, said Benedetti, who recently worked with 200 young musicians at the Royal Albert Hall, had done “a great service” in highlighting the issue.

25 years ago

The Scottish games development community has celebrated the conclusion to its talent-fostering inititiative, the Games Developer UK 98 competition. The winners were announced recently at an dinner held in Stirling Castle. From the original pool of more than 600, a panel of experts whittled the entries down to five winners. Entries were judged against criteria including originality, creativity and playability. Chris Chadwick, from Yeovil was presented with the top overall prize of £5000 for his entry “Blitter Boy in Operation Monster Mall”.

50 years ago

Glasgow’s cultural centre will cost £23m., based on mid-1973 price, it was reported yesterday at a meeting of the corporation’s finance and civic amenities committee. The committees decided in principle to give the go-ahead for the complex at the junction of Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street. Treasurer Ellen Mcculloch said the Government would be pressed for the maximum financial help and it was hoped they would meet 75% of the costs. The centre will contain a concert hall, replacements for the Citizens’ and Close theatres, and restaurants.

100 years ago

The medical inspection of school children has formed the subject of correspondence in our columns during the past week, and suggestions have been made to the effect that the medical and clerical staffs employed in this branch of educational work could be substantially reduced without injury to the health of the children. In one of the letters, from a teacher in a county school, it was contended that medical staffs could be reduced by 80 per cent. In support of this contention the report of the Chief School Medical Officer of Stirlingshire was quoted. The second letter, from a dentist with many years’ experience in school work, stated that 92 per cent of the children who were inspected had teeth which required treatment.