# What is this toy called?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-toy-called/210612>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 31, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-toy-called/210612 "2003-10-31T06:07:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-toy-called/210612/1 "2003-10-31T06:07:03Z")

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There was a baby toy I had, back in the early '70s. It was a clear plastic container in a colored plastic frame with three different sizes and colors of tiny spheres. There were three separate compartments, each separated by a divider with different sized holes. Held one way, all the spheres went through to the bottom. Held the other, they were sorted out by size each size in a separate chamber. The frame on mine was dark green and I believe the spheres were pink, blue and yellow. What is this toy called and where can I find one?

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**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-toy-called/210612/2 "2003-10-31T11:54:38Z")

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I believe these toys are called “sorters” or “shape sorters.”

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**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-toy-called/210612/3 "2003-10-31T12:34:09Z")

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I thought sorter was correct, but when I looked up sorters I found only toys that had different shaped holes in which one would put different shaped pieces. Tupperware had a version, still does, one half red, one half blue, and the pieces are yellow.

Does anyone know the original manufacture. I saw the specific toy at a childs house even as late as the late 80s, but they seem to have dissappeared.

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**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-toy-called/210612/4 "2003-10-31T15:36:23Z")

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Did it look something like [this?](http://www.physics.umd.edu/lecdem/services/demos/demosi6/i6-51.htm)

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**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-toy-called/210612/5 "2003-10-31T18:08:23Z")

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That is indeed it, although I think mine was a darker green. I still don’t know that the company that made them called them or what company made them or where to find one. Anyone have any ideas?