- Some toys, like the Rubik's Cube, never go out of fashion.
- Throughout the decades, cultural and technological changes have impacted the type of toys that become popular.
- Business Insider consulted with experts at the Toy Insider, who identified 22 of the best-selling toys of all time, from the Rubik's Cube in 1980 to the Rainbow Loom in 2012.
- Some of these iconic toys are still popular today.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Some toys will always be iconic.
Though it took off in the 1980s, the Rubik's Cube is still a cultural phenomenon today, with over 350 million sold worldwide.
Others toys, like Silly Bandz, had a brief moment of fame before being relegated to the proverbial island of misfit toys.
Though toys are a constant, toy stores are another story. Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and liquidated in 2018. The company was absorbed by Tru Kids Brands in February. Today, Amazon, Target, and Walmart all have sizable toy offerings, filling the hole that Toys R Us left behind.
Business Insider consulted with experts at the Toy Insider, who identified 22 of the best-selling toys of all time. The information is broken down by year and number of units sold.
According to the Toy Insider, when Nintendo's gaming system came out in 1988, the company sold 7 million units and 32.5 million cartridges. In 1997, Tamagotchis had their moment and brought in $150 million in sales.
From the Rubik's Cube in 1980 to the Rainbow Loom in 2012, here are 22 of the best-selling toys of all time, according to the Toy Insider.