All Hail Reagatron


Jim at Cornfed Gamer alerted us to this article at Wired about an action figure museum in Oklahoma. Most notable was the surprise revelation that we have Ronald Reagan to thank for some of the fondest memories of our childhood.

Liberal action figure fans may be chagrined to learn that many of their favorite toys would not exist today if not for Ronald Reagan. Under his watch the FCC removed restrictions implemented in the ’70s banning children’s shows that promoted a commercial product.

Suddenly shows like Transformers and He-Man emerged with accompanying lines of toys. Occasionally, broadcasters got a cut of the toy sales for scheduling certain shows. From 1977 to 1987, the percentage of toys on the market that were licensed from TV shows or movies jumped from 20 to 80 percent.