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Tonka Tough: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Whoever did this was strong. This is 340 pounds of Tonka-tough steel."''
|'''Leela'''|''[[Futurama]]''}}
A toy, usually 1970s or 1980s vintage, that is considered so tough, it could survive a nuclear war (almost). It may suffer for countless years at the hands of [[Spoiled Brat|a destructive brat]], but will only suffer [[Only a Flesh Wound|minor scuffs and breakages]] in the process. It will still look relatively unharmed after a [[Fate Worse Than Death|10-year stay in someone's poo-filled unheated closet located above a very greasy snackbar]]. Better yet, in the hands of a collector, it will often clean up so well after such an event that it will look almost new. Sometimes it will be [[The Remake|reissued]], and will then [[Badass Grandpa|kick the ass of later]], [[Well
▲{{quote|''"Whoever did this was strong. This is 340 pounds of Tonka-tough steel."'' |'''Leela''', ''[[Futurama]]''}}
▲A toy, usually 1970s or 1980s vintage, that is considered so tough, it could survive a nuclear war (almost). It may suffer for countless years at the hands of [[Spoiled Brat|a destructive brat]], but will only suffer [[Only a Flesh Wound|minor scuffs and breakages]] in the process. It will still look relatively unharmed after a [[Fate Worse Than Death|10-year stay in someone's poo-filled unheated closet located above a very greasy snackbar]]. Better yet, in the hands of a collector, it will often clean up so well after such an event that it will look almost new. Sometimes it will be [[The Remake|reissued]], and will then [[Badass Grandpa|kick the ass of later]], [[Well Intentioned Replacement|more accurate products]]. Usually, it isn't a very realistic and/or accurate representation of its subject, but this should not distract from its most important quality: [[Badass|its toughness]].
May also be applied to other nearly indestructible items, such as certain vintage computer systems (e.g. [[Game Boy]]).
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{{examples}}
* The Tonka Mighty Dump Truck was advertised as being virtually indestructible through the course of normal play, and damned near impossible to break ''outside'' of normal play. In one memorable advertisement for the truck, they had an elephant step on it, as seen at the top of this page. The truck was fine. Think about it... an eight-pound toy truck that could hold several tons of elephant foot and not break. This toughness extended (and still extends) to pretty much the entire Tonka brand, regardless of the toy.
** According to Hasbro (who owns the Tonka toy line), there are currently{{when}} seven people around the world who, because of the Tonka guarantee, receive a lifetime supply of free merchandise because they ''somehow'' managed to destroy a Tonka toy through the normal course of play. Whenever a claim is made on the guarantee, Tonka sends out a team of investigators to make sure the toy in question wasn't destroyed intentionally (by detonating it with explosives, for example), or by extraordinary means that don't count as "normal play" (like accidentally running it through a machine press, for example). For Tonka, the
* [[Fischer Technik]] construction toys are made from super tough nylon, are either so hard ''or'' so flexible they can't be broken, and will usually survive 30 years of play and storage with only minor yellowing.
* Mattel [[Barbie]] dolls of humans and animals.
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** There is a [[Game Boy]] that [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBeTXPaewMo survived a bombing in the Gulf War]. It's still running, and is currently housed in Nintendo's store in NYC for the world to see.
*** The original screen was probably bacon-crispy and had to be replaced, but the circuitry survived.
** ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' did an article about the then-new [[Game Boy Advance]], in which the writer and their friends did all manner of abusive things to it, including ''flushing it down a toilet''. After drying out for three days, the white GBA resumed working as though nothing ever happened, earning it the nickname "Jesus" from the staff.
** The DS has a slightly less reputable history, most especially the DS Lite, which was prone to
*** Astute people notice that the first generation 2DS, basically a 3DS without the 3D effect and made as a single chunk piece instead of a foldable handheld, was released just around ''[[Pokémon X and Y]]'', as if knowing that child wanting their first game would need a more durable handheld.
** GB, GBA, and DS cartridges have all gone through their share of washers and driers and continued working without an issue.
*** Let's Player [[Deceased Crab]] did a parody of ''[[Arkanoid]] DS'', where his version of "playing" the game was to destroy the cartridge. Needless to say after many hammering attempts, it took him a while to even get the case open.
** The SNES cartridges are legendarily tough, but the SNES system can take a beating as well. Water dropped in the system? No problem. Accidentally dropped it down a of stairs? Still works. Run it over with a car by accident while moving? The SNES shrugs it off with ease.
** Forget the truck... a guy once wrote in to [[Nintendo Power]], saying his SNES and ''[[Super Mario World (
** Have you ever tried to destroy any cartridge of the Famicom, the original Japanese version of NES? They have even thicker plastic and are able to shrug off a ''truck'' riding over them, unlike the (comparatively) flimsy American cartridges. The console itself is no less tough, although in this case its flat, streamlined shape helped as well.
** The cartridges in general survive washing machines just fine. The most that'll happen is the label coming off; dry them and they'll work just like on day one. [[Comically Missing the Point|They'll even smell like a spring breeze]].
** When Carlos Mencia decided to destroy a [[Nintendo 64]] for his show ''Mind of Mencia'', it took two strikes from a large mallet before any visible cracks formed in the case.
** A couple of [[Let's Play]] people [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors|decided to test]]
** In short, it's not just Nintendo's ''[[Nintendo Hard|games]]'' that are hard.
*** [[Fridge Brilliance|Perhaps it's because the games are so hard that their plastic casings have hardened to match?]]
** Averted, sadly, with the [[Nintendo 64]] control stick. It was built in such a way that the plastic quickly wore itself down from the rotation, resulting in a loose stick with extreme center play. On the other hand, it uses optical encoders instead of potentiometers like later Nintendo controllers, which are significantly more durable and precise due to their contactless nature. It's a shame that the mechanical gimbal and pivot assembly can't hold up compared to the sensors.
** Likely [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]''. After the first battle, your room looks like a tornado just hit it, but if you examine the Wii, you'll find that there's not even a scratch on it.
** In an X-Play segment called ''Webb of Destruction
** In a letter from a 1999 issue of [[Nintendo Power]], one boy had lost his [[Game Boy Color]] in the garage, only to find it 3 months later sitting in a puddle of used oil. After carefully disassembling and cleaning it, it was able to work like brand-new, if a bit worse for wear. The editor recommended to all readers to not allow your systems to be submerged in any liquid for safety's sake, but also that this sounded entirely plausible.
** The Switch and its even more portable version the Switch Lite have also proven to be as durable as their predecessors, judging by the several survival tests it was subject to by enthusiastic YouTubers. That, sadly, doesn't extend to their controllers, the Joy-Con, which are ''so'' prone to experience drift on the analogue sticks, there is at least one class-action lawsuit over the fact that Nintendo attitude over the widespread and pervasive problem is extremely similar to the one Ford had towards the [[Every Car Is a Pinto|Pinto's little exploding problem]].
* The Takatoku VF-1. [[Superpowerful Genetics|By extension]], all later VF-1 toys based on the same mold qualify: Matsuhiro VF-1J, Bandai's 1980s VF-1's, Bandai's early 2000nds VF-1 reissues, Bandai's late 2000nds VF-1 reissues and [[Transformers Generation
* Bandai's mid-1990s [[Macross|Macross 7]] 1/65 VF-17 and VF-19 releases and their 2001 reissues.
* Bandai/Tonka's earlier [[Challenge of the Go Bots|Super Gobots]].
* Most of Bandai's 1990s ''[[Super Sentai]]'' and ''[[Power Rangers]]'' toys.
* Quite a few ''[[Transformers]]'' toys are well known for the fact that they simply refuse to be destroyed, including quite a few of the 1987-1988 toy releases, which started using tougher, thicker plastic than many of the Diaclone-based toys, and several of the ''[[
* [[MSX]] machines made by Yamaha appear to be completely indestructible. It's not unheard of them surviving ''decades'' in the Soviet high schools with no apparent wear.
* Motorola's RAZR series. Able to survive anything, from dipping (returned to normal functioning after just one day drying) to being thrown from the third floor
** More generally, this tends to apply to quite a lot of older phones - you can throw them from the third floor and they'll be fine.
* The government can't afford to buy armor when you're in tour in hostile territory? No problem, just make sure you always have your [https://web.archive.org/web/20160913201640/http://www.toughbookuniverse.com/?tag=bullet Panasonic Toughbook] with you.
* [[Nokia]]'s 3310 model cell phone. Takes beating, getting wet, ''can be used as ice hockey puck'' and the damn thing still works.
** It can be put through a washing machine without any damage at all.
** The 3310 can only be destroyed [[Memetic Mutation|in the fires of Mordor]].
*
* [[Flash Memory]] is this, compared to other forms of data storage. Kid-friendly toys almost exclusively use it and stories abound of thumb drives being lost in the wash, sat on, dropped in freezing snow, found in [[Creepypasta|desolate areas]], etc.
* Western Electric's [http://www.beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/telephones.html telephones] during the days when the Bell telephone company (which would later be led by WE's owner, AT&T) reigned supreme. Many of them are still in use today.
* [[w:CorningWare|CorningWare]], a long-running brand of dinnerware and stovetop kitchenware. It was made of a glass-ceramic material called [[w:Pyroceram|Pyroceram]] which was virtually indestructible. In fact it was ''so'' tough it did itself in as a product line -- there was almost no market for replacement dishes and pans, and after a few decades sales started dropping -- no one was buying it any more because if you wanted it at all, you probably already had a set (and may have gotten it from your parents), and it wasn't going anywhere, except maybe to your children (and their children). For this reason Corning discontinued its manufacture in the United States in the 1990s, and after a brief revival some twenty years later that ended again in 2022, no longer manufactures kitchenware out of Pyroceram. Corning still markets kitchenware under the name "CorningWare", but it's not made of Pyroceram any more.<ref>In fact, as of the 2020s, Pyroceram is only made in France for use in cooktops and laboratory equipment.</ref>
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[[Category:Toy Tropes]]
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