The blanket, an all-purpose plaything as well as a comfort for generations of thumb-suckers like Charlie Brown's best friend in the "Peanuts" comic strip, landed Thursday in the National Toy Hall of Fame along with Hot Wheels and the dollhouse.
The trio take their places at The Strong, a children's and cultural history museum in upstate New York, alongside 46 classics ranging from the bicycle, kite and teddy bear to Barbie, Jack-in-the-Box and Mr. Potato Head.
Curators said the blanket was a special addition in the spirit of two earlier inductees, the cardboard box and the stick. They praised its ability to serve either as recreational raw material or an accessory transformed in myriad ways by a child's daydreams.
"Every now and again we like to shake things up, remind folks there's play experiences that happen purely creatively ... rather than coming with rules, a path, a backstory you feel constrained into," said Christopher Bensch, the Rochester museum's chief curator.
