Erasable, Twistable Crayons

Markers may be all things bright and beautiful for graphic artists and meeting facilitators, but for creative work and play, nothing beats the color and sketch-like informality of Crayons. Recently, the Crayola company has come up with Erasable Twistable Crayons - the first truly executive crayon.

Encased in clear plastic that lets you twist up more color as the tip wears down, the Erasable Twistable crayon is clean and easy to handle, never needs sharpening (because the colorful wax insert is long and thin), and doesn't look like the ubiquitous crayon. This is the key element that makes this new crayon so executive-worthy, it has a fun, yet more "corporate" appearance than the crayons you used as a child. Frankly, it's a little difficult to maintain your position as meeting facilitator when you bring out you tusty box of 64. But when you bring out your Erasable Twistables, why, there's no question that this is in deed a facilitative tool, and something that can't be mistaken for a child's toy. Even though it is.

The Erasable Twistable Crayon gets a Major FUN Award because it extends the wonderful fun of Crayolas into the adult world, where it is so sorely needed. And it's erasable. And twistable, too.

Silly Putty

Silly Putty, need I say more?

In deed I need.

Silly Putty is the "...clay-like stuff that bounces and stretches and picks up ink. Of course, now you can get Silly Putty in glow-in-the-dark colors. But it still feels like putty. And it’s still something that is clearly silly. And it’s also something that people can play with for hours. Roll it. Mold it. Bounce it. Consciously. Semiconsciously. Something that embraces playfulness and creativity. Something with enough flexibility, enough controllability, enough tactile complexity to keep the hands busy and the mind free, all day." (Read more about the executive implications of all this on "Of Kooshballs and Silly Putty").

I mention the adult-worthiness of Silly Putty because we all know how much fun we had with it when we were kids.

Silly Putty gets a Major FUN Award for exemplifying just about everything I think a toy should be and do.

Here, Courtesy of Silly Putty University are the first three of the Top 50 Silliest Uses for Silly Putty

1 Form Silly Putty into a ball, throw it at the stock market listings and invest in the stock it lifts off the page. -- Peter H., Collinsville, Conn.

2 End an unbearable date by making a swollen gland with Silly Putty and excusing yourself because you're not feeling well. -- Judith D., Norwich, Conn.

3 Use Silly Putty as an alternative to cement handprints at Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood for flash-in-the-pan actors. -- Charles G., Dallas, Texas

Wikki Stix

Wikki Stix is an incredibly simple toy, so simple that it invites kids and adults to hours of creative play.

Simplicity-wise, simply by adding wax to yarn (all right, a special, secret kind of wax, but wax, nonetheless), the inventors have created an art toy that is as fun as it is expressive. The fun of it is that it sticks almost anywhere. The Wikki face and Wikki heart and Wikki initials that I experimented with five months ago are still on my wall, waiting only my whim to be peeled effortlessly way.

Wikki Stix receives today's Major FUN Award and is on my most-recommended list for executive retreats and creative brainstorm sessions. My executive-related Wikki Stix exploration concludes with this exemplary story from Stephanie Portola:

"Years ago when I had a Wikki Stix wall in my office people would add to it sequentially and check in with it periodically. It became a group work in progress (although the group members were anonymous to each other). The ever changing work of art was quite creative and fun. For example: One person would "draw" a face in outline, another person would add a face looking into the first face, someone else would come up with a "word balloon" and get the two people talking. Or someone would draw a figure and another person would put flowers in the figure's hand."

The Wikki Stix site is "adapted for the site impaired" because its easy-to-touch-read texture makes it a perfect instructional aid, as well as an invitation to play, for all of us, with more of us.

Oball

Oball is the first throwing toy to get a Major FUN Award because it's the first I've found that so successfully spans ages, abilities and environments. Sturdy enough for serious kicking, light enough to bounce on your head, supple enough to squish into a backpocket. Hit it with a racquet. Catch it with a stick. Put a bunch on the conference table for creative fiddling and the occasional emotional purge. Put your toes in it. Put your nose in it. Throw it in the snow or mud and then throw it in the dishwasher.

As the manufacturer explains: "Oball consists of a collection of brightly colored loops that are fused together to form a soft, rubbery frame ball with round, finger-friendly openings. Oball grows with a person; it can be used by an infant for clutching, by a baby for throwing, by a toddler for kicking and carrying, by a child for catching, by kids and adults for games like soccer or volleyball both indoors and out, or just for fidgeting."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Nine-month-old granddaughter Lily happened to be with us at the Western Toy and Hobbies Representatives Association Trade Show in Pomona, and she couldn't stop talking about the deliciously graspable Oball. When she finally let it go (somebody handed her a stuffed puppy), I got to play with it myself. It's remarkable how friendly it feels - safe, fun to touch and squeeze and bounce on your hand, so easy to catch that you are often surprised that it's in your hand again. An invitation to fun that you can take seriously, and everywhere.