Finally, the humble paper airplane gets the recognition it deserves

Paper airplane.
(Image credit: iStock.)

A paper airplane is a thing of beauty. It can be made anywhere using little more than a single sheet of paper, and provide hours of wholesome fun. On Thursday, this simple, beloved toy was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, alongside the board game Clue and the Wiffle Ball. Feeling nostalgic yet?

Each year, the public nominates toys and the internal museum advisory committee checks the nominees to see if they meet the museum's criteria. The toys must be beloved by children across generations, giving them longevity and icon status. Other contenders on the shortlist for this year's inductees included the Magic 8 Ball, Transformers, Risk, and Uno. Sixty-five toys have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since it opened in 1998 as part of the Strong Museum of Play. This year's honorees now sit alongside classic toys like Barbie, alphabet blocks, jump rope, bubbles, and the Candy Land game.

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Elianna Spitzer

Elianna Spitzer is a rising junior at Brandeis University, majoring in Politics and American Studies. She is also a news editor and writer at The Brandeis Hoot. When she is not covering campus news, Elianna can be found arguing legal cases with her mock trial team.q