The Toys that Built America

After passing on the biggest deal in toy industry history, Mattel president Ray Wagner finds himself a step behind former colleague-turned-rival, Bernie Loomis.

Defense contractor Ralph Baer invents the world's first home video game console. But it is soon eclipsed by a new table tennis game that becomes one of the most famous video games of all time.

A visionary named Marvin Glass oversees the creation of many of the most iconic toys of the 20th century. Glass pushes the boundaries of what a toy can be, and inspires generations.

At the height of the Industrial Age, a Danish carpenter is led to a new building material: plastic. With it he'll create the biggest toy empire the world has ever seen.

Hungarian professor Erno Rubik ignites 'Cube Mania' with his 3-D puzzle that takes the world by storm. And Leslie Scott will stop at nothing to bring an iconic building block board game to market.

In the 1970s, an art student creates a one-of-a-kind doll to sell at local craft markets. She has no idea that a young entrepreneur will use it for a mass-produced toy.

In the 1980s, groundbreaking technology redefines classic toys. A former amusement park employee creates the world's first realistic talking toy.

After the U.S. video game crash of 1983, a Japanese electronics company single-handedly resurrects the industry with a game featuring a jumping plumber.

These are the stories of America's most innovative, groundbreaking and profitable toys designed to shock-and how they grew to claim a big piece of the 100-billion-dollar toy industry.

Explore the Christmas crazes that helped transform holiday shopping into the frantic, no-holds-barred $1.1 trillion frenzy that it is today.