Every TOY or GAME has a STORY to share with kids.

Today, it’s the STRONGMAN STRIKER’S turn to tell its story (with a little help from Grandma Sharon)…

WHAT is the Strongman Striker:  The Strongman Striker is often called the High Striker… and it’s a game of strength involving a contestant, muscles, a mallet and a bell.

WHO plays Strongman Striker:  Kids of all ages!

WHERE is Strongman Striker played: Strongman Striker is most often played at carnivals, amusement parks, along boardwalks and at county fairs.

WHEN was Strongman Striker invented:  While there may have been muscle-pumping see-how-strong-I-am games just about forever, the patent for the mallet-pounding, bell-ringing strong man device belongs to Royce A. Nokes and Willliam Gordon and was issued in 1908.  The patent does acknowledge pre-existing ideas and devices.

WHY was Strong Man Striker invented:  FUN.  CHALLENGE.  It’s difficult to resist testing your strength while in the company of people you may wish to impress!  There is nothing quite like watching the ball or weight of the Strongman Striker reach the top and ring the winner’s bell (and, of course, the stuffed animal prize).

HOW is Strongman Striker played:  A contestant takes a mallet (usually rather large and heavy), hauls it over his or her shoulder and strikes down to a wooden platform.  The wooden platform releases a small ball, block or weight that’s then sent up in vertical length to ring the bell at the top of the device.  If the bell rings, the contestant is a winner.

There has always been the question of whether the Strongman Striker operator can control the ball, block or weight as it makes its way up to the bell.  The answer is yes… but often denied.  The tension of the guide wire carrying the ball, block or weight can be tightened by a trick foot lever, hidden under boards of the platform device.  Nice to know, muscle-man who can’t ring the bell!

If you can’t make it to a carnival, amusement park, boardwalk or county fair with your kids or grandkids, there’s always the toy high striker, wonderfully Adapted for kids of all abilities where lights, music, vibrations and sound effects take the place of the ding-ding bell.

When’s the last time you showed your kids just how STRONG YOU ARE?  (Just keep an eye on those hidden levers!)

Join me here each day in July for TOY STORIES on 365 Days of Literacy for Kids! A little fun, a little learning and a little “ta-dah!”