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The History Hour
The history of toys
The History Hour
Dec 27, 2025

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We learn about how Play-Doh evolved from a cleaning product to a childhood favourite and the creation of one of the best-selling board games of all time, Catan.

Our guest is the editor of Toy World Magazine, Caroline Tonks, who takes us through the history of toy crazes.

We also hear about the invention of the hoverboard, and how the Tamagotchi allowed people to have their own virtual pet.

Plus, how the family favourite game, Jenga, was born in 1970s Ghana.

And our Sporting Witness looks at how a piece of software revolutionised the game of football through data analysis.

Contributors:

Peg Roberts – daughter of Kay Zufall

Benjamin Teuber – son of Catan inventor Klaus Teuber

Caroline Tonks – editor of Toy World Magazine

Shane Chen – the inventor of the hoverboard

Akihiro Yokoi – the inventor of the Tamgotchi

Leslie Scott – the creator of the game Jenga

Ramm Mylavaganam – inventor of ProZone

(Photo: The Tamagotchi was introduced in 1996 and is one of the best-selling toys in history. Credit: Reuters)

More Episodes
Jun 6, 2026
The creation of Inspector Montalbano and Australia's first Big Thing

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Giuliana Pieri, an expert in Italian noir from Royal Holloway, University of London.

We start with the author Andrea Camilleri on the creation of his fictional detective Inspector Montalbano in 1994, and his influence on Italian noir.

Then we explore the tapes recorded in the 1950s with Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.

We hear about the Chinese protests in 1989 that led up to the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Plus, the launch of Ireland's first Irish language television channel in 1996.

Next, when Diana Ross missed a penalty at the World Cup in 1994.

Finally, we hear from the artist behind the first of Australia's 'Big Things', the giant novelty sculptures that became a national phenomenon.

Contributors:  

Professor Giuliana Pieri - an expert in Italian noir from Royal Holloway, University of London

Andrea Camilleri - Italian crime-writer (archive)

Saskia Sassen - daughter of Dutch journalist Willem Sassen, who recorded interviews with Adolf Eichmann

Wu'er Kaixi - Chinese student organiser of pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square

Sinéad Ní Ghuidhir - first live presenter to speak on Teilifís na Gaeilge: Ireland's first television channel broadcasting exclusively in the Irish language

Alan Rothenberg - former president of the US Soccer Federation

Paul Kelly - Australian artist behind both the Big Scotsman and the equally iconic Big Lobster

Christobel Kelly - daughter of Paul Kelly

(Photo: Italian writer Andrea Camilleri, Rome, Italy, 2011. Credit: Luciano Viti/Getty Images)


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May 9, 2026
Sir David Attenborough's first Zoo Quest and a WW2 sabotage mission in Norway

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.

We start with the broadcaster and naturalist, Sir David Attenborough. To mark his 100th birthday, we go back to the mid 1950s and the television programme that launched his career. Our guest is Dr Paula Kahumbu, a Kenyan conservationist and head of the conservation organisation, Wildlife Direct.

Then, the story of a World War Two sabotage plot carried out by a team of Norwegian resistance fighters.

We hear about Africa's worst stadium disaster, at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana.

Plus, a Spanish nun reflects on the killing of two fellow sisters during the Algerian civil conflict in the 1990s.

We also hear how the world's most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex was found in South Dakota, USA, in 1990.

Finally, how the Nigerian 4 x 400m relay team were declared Olympic champions, 12 years after the race.

Contributors:

Sir David Attenborough - naturalist and broadcaster (BBC archive)

Dr Paula Kahumbu, CEO of Kenyan conservation organisation, Wildlife Direct

Gunnar Deinboll Jenssen - nephew of the Norwegian resistance fighter Lieutenant Peter Deinboll

Herbert Mensah - former chair of the football club Asante Kotoko

Sister Lourdes Migueles - Spanish nun who chose to stay in Algeria during civil conflict

Peter Larson - American commercial fossil collector and researcher

Enefiok Udo-Obong - former Nigerian sprinter

(Photo: Sir David Attenborough, naturalist and broadcaster, with two ring-tailed lemurs. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)


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The history of toys

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