Extraordinary Everyday: How the toy industry rebranded dolls for boys - and struck gold

Extraordinary Everyday: How the toy industry rebranded dolls for boys - and struck gold

They weren’t dolls—they were a revolution. Once, dolls were seen as toys for girls—until clever companies reimagined them as “action figures” and made them irresistible to boys. With that simple rebrand came explosive success: from G.I. Joe, the original “action figure,” to the galaxy-spanning rise of Star Wars, the muscle-bound power of He‑Man, and the shape-shifting dominance of The Transformers. Fueled by sharp marketing, rich storytelling, and a single strategic name change, these toys didn’t just win over a new audience—they reshaped the toy aisle forever and struck gold.

The Home Front, One roof, many lives

In episode three of our special series The Home Front, Australia’s homes are doing more than sheltering families - they’re accommodating multigenerational households, solo dwellers, single parents, and shared living arrangements. But is our housing stock too rigid to reflect this diversity? Is it failing behind the way we actually live? In this episode, we meet the architects and designers reimagining the Australian home for today. As external pressures - from climate to cost - reshape our lives, they’re responding with ideas that prioritise flexibility, wellbeing, sustainability, and social connection.

Extraordinary Everyday: The invention that eliminated a day’s hard labour

Laundry once took a full day of hard labour—before the washing machine changed everything.Water had to be carried, clothes scrubbed by hand, wrung out, and then hung to dry. In the mid-1800s, the first washing machines began to appear in the homes of the wealthy, marking the start of a quiet domestic revolution. What once consumed a full day of exhausting work can now be done in under an hour. This is the story of how a single invention transformed everyday life and reshaped domestic labour.

The Home Front, Lessons in Living

In episode two of our special series The Home Front we look at how Australians have lived together in the past—and what those lessons might offer us today. From the tightly packed worker’s cottages of the early 1900s, where strong community bonds helped people get by, to the bold experiments in communal and cooperative living during the 1970s, Australians have long found creative ways to share space. Now, as the housing crisis deepens, one State Government (NSW) is reviving the idea of the housing pattern book—a fast-track design initiative that encourages density, sustainability, and smarter living. But are Australians ready to embrace the idea of “home” not as a private fortress, but where shared space and personal privacy coexist?

Extraordinary Everyday: Why today’s bikes are still stuck in the 1800s

Do you remember your first ride? For kids, it’s a first taste of freedom. For others, it’s transport, fitness—or both. But here’s the twist: for all their variations, the bike’s core design hasn’t changed since the 1800s. So why are those designs still so successful? We go back to where it began—and to the ideas that still carry us today.