Eddy Goldfarb reflects on lifelong journey as renowned toy inventor

When Eddy Goldfarb was six years old, a man who would change his life visited the Goldfarb house for dinner. This man had an unusual occupation that fascinated the young boy from Chicago.

"I bothered my mother with ideas when I was young, but I would not take the quarter she would offer me to stop talking," Goldfarb, now 102, says with a laugh. "I was always creative and inventive; I think I was lucky in that way."

The visitor was an inventor, and as he explained his profession, Goldfarb knew he wanted to be an independent inventor. "Companies have wonderful R&D departments and wonderful inventors, but I knew I wanted to be independent," he says.

Goldfarb achieved that dream and many others. At 102 years old, he continues creating thanks to a 3D printer and his writing.

In 1927, at age six, Goldfarb began a journey that would see him become one of the most revered toy inventors of all time. Before reaching this pinnacle, he studied at the University of Houston during World War II.

On December 7, 1941, after hearing about Pearl Harbor's attack on the radio in his apartment, Goldfarb volunteered for the Navy. He moved into the Navy’s barracks at the University of Houston to study electrical engineering and radar technology.

"We marched from our barracks to the classroom every day," he recalls. Despite being a creative spirit, Goldfarb relished everything about this experience. "We could pick up submarines as far away as the horizon."

He fell in love with both the campus community and its surrounding area. In one instance, a nearby family offered hospitality by accommodating his worried mother during her visit.

Goldfarb's training led him to a secretive radio lab at Treasure Island in San Francisco before working on submarines in the Pacific during WWII. His submarine, USS Batfish, is credited with sinking nine Japanese ships.

"It was a horrible time," he recalls about losing close friends in combat. Yet these experiences taught him resilience and gratitude for life's blessings.

During submarine duty downtime, Goldfarb filled notebooks with ideas and sketches. After returning from war in 1945, persistent rejections met his toy ideas until his breakthrough invention: Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth.

This iconic chattering teeth toy propelled him into prominence at the 1949 Toy Show in New York City. Overcoming setbacks through grit and optimism led to a storied career involving toys like Battling Tops and KerPlunk.

"There is always rejection and disappointment," advises Goldfarb. "So my advice to anyone is to always do as much research as you can and keep going."

Collaborating with talented individuals like Del Everitt and René Soriano furthered his success. He also worked closely with his son Martin for three decades.

"I started alone but ended up with 39 people on my staff: artists, engineers...I did not do it alone," says Goldfarb.

At an age few people reach while still working creatively, Goldfarb continues using modern tools like a 3D printer to make lithophane materials and writing stories—some dating back to contests entered as a teenager.

Despite not winning early contests like "The Perfect Twenty Dollar Bill" story competition—a tale about counterfeit money gone wrong—Goldfarb's hallmark optimism persists.

To view more about Eddy Goldfarb's life or read some of his stories visit www.eddysworld.net

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