Vintage Talking Animal Plush: Mattel’s Yackers
I grew up in the 1970’s. Back then, there were no cell phones, no computers, no iPods, and no fancy electronic games. The kid’s toys I grew up with were simple but they were fun. Yackers were among these cool toys.
In the latter part of the 60’s, Mattel came up with Yackers. There were five different animals: a lion, a monkey, a dog, a parrot, and a skunk (yes, a skunk!). These animals had a pull string and when you pulled the string, they would say fun and silly phrases. Their mouths would move too when they spoke. They were so much fun! And for the late 60’s, early 70’s they were cool and just so “modern”. In 1965 they retailed for $8.99.
You can still find Yackers mainly on eBay, they don’t come up so often and sometimes condition is bad, but if you want a piece of your childhood back… The monkey (Chester O’Chimp) is quite easy to find. The skunk is pretty rare. The Yacker skunk comes in 2 version: Sniffy Mint (red and white) and Lilac the skunk (violet color). The red and white is the most sought after and price can go up very fast especially if the condition is great.
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Do you remember them? Have you played with Yackers as a kid? Would you consider paying a few hundreds to get one now?