See 'n Say

See 'n Say is an educational toy created by Mattel in 1964 after the success of Chatty Cathy. It was the first Mattel talking toy allowing children to choose the exact phrase as heard. Although the first release focuses on farm animal sounds, it had spawned through many themes from the alphabet, counting, nursery rhymes, to licensed products.

As of October 2023, a version of the product was still available from Mattel.[1]

History

In the 1960s, after introducing a line of talking dolls that said different phrases when a string protruding from their upper back was pulled, Mattel trademarked the word chatty. Several Mattel pull-string talking dolls and toys were packaged in boxes that read "A Chatty Toy" or "A Chatty Doll by Mattel". However, these dolls and toys spoke phrases at random when their "chatty ring" was pulled. See 'N Say, introduced in 1964, was the first Mattel talking toy that allowed children to choose the exact phrase they wanted to hear by adjusting a pointer on the toy's face to a particular item and pulling the "chatty ring".

The Farmer Says See 'N Say made animal sounds when a pointer shaped like a miniature farmer was aimed at pictures of animals on its dial. For example, when pointed at an image of a sheep, the phrase "The sheep goes...baa, baa" was heard. Likewise, the Bee Says See 'N Say recited different letters of the alphabet ("G...Girl") when its bee-shaped pointer was aimed at them. Unlike other toys, the original See 'n Says required no batteries. Instead, sound was produced by a simple low-fidelity phonograph record driven by a metal coil wound by pulling the toy's string. This was the same mechanism used in Chatty Cathy dolls.

After the success of the Bee Says, the Farmer Says, Mattel introduced several other toys in the line. The Mister Sound Says made city sounds, the Mister Music Says reproduced sounds of musical instruments, the Zookeeper says which made Zoo Animal sounds, Mister Circus says which made Circus sounds and the Clock Says gave the time indicated by the position of the pointer on its face. A Doctor Dolittle Says edition was released after the 1967 film Doctor Dolittle, and See 'N Says featuring Disney characters were introduced in 1968. In 1968 Mattel created a Winnie the Pooh See 'N Say exclusively for Sears and Roebuck department stores. Also introduced in 1968 were See 'N Say Talking Storybooks.

Further reading

• Kettelkamp, Sean. Chatty Cathy and Her Talking Friends. Schiffer Publishing: 1998. ISBN 0-88740-954-7

External links

• The inner workings of a mechanical See 'n Say, HowStuffWorks