2008 National Toy Hall of Fame finalists named

The 2008 National Toy Hall of Fame nominees were announced yesterday. Each year, the Strong National Museum of Play names a group of finalists for induction, of which only two will be selected for the Hall of Fame this year.

This year's nominees are:

Hot Wheels
Magic 8 Ball
Rubik’s Cube
Clue
The Game of Life
Yahtzee
The Flexible Flyer Sled
Thomas the Tank Engine
Wiffle Ball
The skateboard
The baby doll
The dollhouse

Personally, I'd vote for Hot Wheels, and the Rubik's Cube (though the Magic 8 Ball would be a close third). I really don't understand the nomination of generic toys like "the skateboard" or "the baby doll" -- do these belong in the same category as name-brand toys? When I was a kid, we used to play with "water" and "dirt" alot too, why not nominate those? Obviously generic toys like "balls" and "dolls" need to be recognized in some way too, but putting them up against name-brand toys seems a bit unfair if you ask me. For the complete list of the 39 toys in the Hall of Fame, visit this link.