If you grew up playing with playing with Tonka trucks as a kid, here’s a little trivia you might find interesting. I always thought that “Tonka” conjured up the image of toughness and it’s a great brand name for the trucks. Coincidentally, “Tonka” is the Dakota-Sioux for “Great” or “Big.” The first trucks were produced in 1947, with the first Tonka dump truck coming out in 1949. The metal toys lived up to their name and the design idea “that a toy should be durable and provide the child with as much play value as possible.”

The company that produced the toys was founded as a metal-working company in Mound, Minnesota. After some early failures making garden tools, metal tie-racks, etc., they reinvented themselves as Tonka Toys. Their new name and logo (featuring the name above waves) were obvious references to nearby Lake Minnetonka. Mound is located on the north side of the western end of Lake Minnetonka.

More Tonka Toy history on Hasbro’s page “The History of Tonka Trucks / Tonka brand history” and the Tonka wikipedia page.

Briefly looking over results for old Tonka trucks on eBay, you’ll find that vintage trucks are going for well over $100. For example, this Gambles delivery truck sold for $1426 and this 1950’s Carnation Milk Van sold for $814!

Makes me wonder if I have any Tonka trucks to sell…

Did you know… the Memphis airport is the world’s busiest cargo airport. The airport owes it’s status to FedEx’s “world hub” in Memphis.

Minne-Etymology lesson:

The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota language name for the Minnesota River: Mnisota. The root Mni (also spelled mini or minne) means, “water”. Many locations in the state have similar names, such as:

• Minnehaha Falls (”waterfall”, not “laughing waters” as is commonly thought)
• Minneiska (”white water”)
• Minnetonka (”big water”)
• Minnetrista (”crooked water”)
• Minneapolis (”water city”, polis is the Greek word for “city”)