The Evolving History of Nerf: From Soft Fun to Guns Guns Guns!

[@jinpei05]

Anyone here remember the Nerf Vortex football with the tail that made it fly super far and later versions with a built-in howler whistle? That thing was crazy awesome.

[@redbyrd64]

It’s used by airsoft players as a bunker buster

[@Jumbleman5]

I had the purple whistle one. However I never got it to work since I was a nerd who couldn't manage to throw a damn thing. I stuck with the nerf guns after that.

[@robonintendo]

I 'member

[@arceyes]

Yeah when it launched here in the late 90’s I worked at a toy store over the Christmas holidays and our manager told us to go play catch with the Vortex in the mall. The things flew off the shelves.

[@GlenNewsome]

My kids play with that at the pool in the summer..

[@knyghtlyte]

Have we ever solved the mystery as to who kept taking bites out of every Nerf football?

[@chrislongbeard]

It was the dog. (Said in a muffled voice)

[@MalcolmTurnerKing]

Little Sisters 😂

[@pantheonvideo]

Now i'm hungry.

[@chrisbaker8533]

It was the same kid that ate paste or their buggers.

[@justinrgray4979]

Don’t lie; it was you

[@daverage4729]

That Hasbro symbol with fangs, NEVER gets old. Lmao!!!

[@BBHood217]

'Til the day when all are one.

[@spoonimefan]

​@@BBHood217: "Till all are *guns*" *Looks at Hasbro-owned Megatron*

[@spoonimefan]

​@@BBHood217: Possible alternates now-- "Hasbro: You're/You'll be nerfed or nothin'" or "We'll Nerf you 'till your nothing"

[@judgedrekk2981]

one nerf to rule them all!

[@ElectricIguana]

The sharpshooter was sick, and surprisingly accurate. I could turn the tv off with it!

[@tonybarrett8543]

Not sure if that's a good thing for a toy 🤔 😂

[@SidBurn]

they reissued it, you can buy it brand new again (uses mega darts now)

[@popculturehero]

Earliest Nerf thing I can remember were the nerf swords with little shield targets on the wrist guard. Interesting to consider that nerf and super soaker redefined what toy guns could look like. They really shaped the esthetic of 90s toys. The colors and the high tech industrial curves, preparing for futuristic war.

[@miguelvelez7221]

As a kid of the 80's there's actually some tragic events that opened the market up for toy firearms that were so brightly colored and also so obviously not a real gun in design. The channel did cover it in depth but the short of it is that there were some accidental shootings of kids who were brandishing the then state of the art battery powered water guns made by Intertek. All models VERY convincing looking from not to far away. Very detailed and colored to look like a pulverized black coating. I owned three of their variants in the realistic color scheme. Then... Poof. They were gone off shelves. The hottest thing in neighborhood play combat was just gone. Thus we enter the Super Soaker and Nerf Gun 90's.Those two products filling a niche that had a big opening in it for some time.

[@ArsenicPants84]

dang! I had a bunch of Nerfles when I was a kid, but until this video I had no idea what they were!

[@olyrhys8724]

“Hasbro: ‘til all are guns.” I see you, Dan. One of the best Toy Galaxy vids ever - and that’s a high bar😊

[@johnediii]

I worked at Toys R Us in 1991 and the hottest thing was the Nerf Bow and Arrow. We couldn't keep them in stock and we actually had waiting lists. I managed to get one because I worked there.

[@ClaudiosCollection]

Some of my favorite childhood memories were playing Nerf wars with my brother and friends. It was always a planned spectacle, and we'd prepare our Nerf blasters and ammo darts the night before. Great times. Thanks for the wicked video, Dan!

[@maxordman4100]

I’m a huge Nerf fan! I have had several Nerf guns, bouncy balls, and Super Soakers over the years. Unfortunately I don’t still have all the ones I had as a child but I do still have a strong collection. Thanks so much for doing this video! Nerf is amazing and it’s part of so many young people’s lives. I knew for sure that you would do a video about them eventually and it certainly didn’t disappoint! I will always love Nerf! My mom was never into it. It’s one of many things I’m super happy to disagree with her on!

[@m00k61]

SWEET! I'm part of a modding and nerf war community. It's been an actual life saving hobby for me and I own way too many blasters lol. From high powered 3d printed designs to goofy, gimmicky Nerf brand blasters.

[@m00k61]

Also I'm 42. You're never too old to get absolutely stoked shooting a high powered and or high rate of fire blaster.

[@TenRingGaming]

I'm 48 and have a Worker Seagull carbine on the way. 😂

[@m00k61]

@@TenRingGaming turned 43 since. Still love the hobby lol

[@ScottGladstein]

I'm watching Secret Base's massive video series on the Vikings so I was ready for the connection. Wild crossover.

[@designatedred]

The "Hasbro: Til All Are One" joke got me good lol. Major props.

[@barnoldo2877]

Nerf basket ball goal on the back of your bed room door was a must!!

[@MrColinWarde]

Wow Dan, that was a riot! 😂 you guys are excellent!

[@astrozombiac3535]

3 arrows was all I needed,has to be the best outro so far

[@nine_tails137]

The Nerf gun ads always fascinated me, because of the different ways to fire foam darts. I still remember the Nerf Arrow Storm commercial, where that one kid was going power crazy, to the point of tying another kid to a bullseye.

[@speculative]

Oh man, I forgot about Nerfals. I never had any, but I remember them by their unique expressions/ design.

[@JohnnyBGoode9]

Whoever wrote the intro deserves a firm pat on the back, there was some solid wordplay in there.

[@jerryharris6342]

Whoever wrote that outro should be suing Dan shortly.

[@WaitingtoHit]

@@jerryharris6342 Parody is protected under copyright law.

[@jerryharris6342]

@@WaitingtoHit Lawyers aren't funny.

[@WaitingtoHit]

@@jerryharris6342 I agree, but neither are jokes devoid of logic.

[@ZombieEater73]

I had the Nerf Boomerang back somewhere around 84. Loved it though I must have in the 6 months of owning it made a successful throw-and-catch maybe 3 times. 😁

[@TimewiseChubert]

Same here. The boomerang was super fun to make other people your target but I don’t remember doing a successful throw-and-catch. So I was wondering if it actually worked or just just a gimmick. 😂

[@rouenrobinson]

Was Peter Tork sick that day, since he missed out on the commercial?

[@SecretGalaxyTV]

He was out of the band at that time.

[@johnm.withersiv4352]

I'll rewatch the wonderful history of Nerf a few times to be sure, but it seems to have missed Murf the Nerf mascot. Although, I'm not sure Murph has been seen since the initial announcement of the dart covered mascot in 2022. Maybe he'll be an urban legend. Maybe he never existed at all.

[@joeblankenship377]

That Nerf Spiral football, the one that looked like the ship from Flight of the Navigator, was one of the all-time best footballs for backyard games. Super easy to throw a solid spiral and easy to catch.

[@WhispyWoods.]

The rabbit Nerfle was one of my favorite toys as a kid. What a rush to see those again.

[@jonasquinn7977]

I need a movie about young Dan’s Nerf adventures

[@KnowNothingNerd]

I totally forgot about Nerfuls.... I had a few of those. Could never remember what they were called, thanks for the reminder!

[@robertthompson5084]

Kids were playing with stick guns and playing cowboys and Indians well before any advertisements on TV.

[@btetschner]

Love that NERF foam ball and hoop and also that NERF football! NERF made everything so much more fun!

[@Jakk3113]

I own more than 100 Nerf blasters and belong to 3 clubs between Indianapolis and Columbus. Nerf has gone competitive with the BTA and HvZ. Short darts and 150fps+ are the future.

[@stephen3164]

I completely forgot about Nerfles! I had a couple of those - probably played with them daily for a few weeks until I lost them and then completely forgot they ever existed. There were SO MANY new toys coming out every week,it seemed that in the 80’s KB and TRU were THE place to go and see what’s new!

[@Markimark151]

Nerf balls were so popular in school PE class! We used played with Nerf footballs, because they had better grip for kids! Also there was Nerf gun indoor arena for adults in my mall, before they closed it due to safety concerns.

[@CarlosLopez-oc9nh]

Wow some story behind the product thank you for the vid

[@ZXaber78]

Nerf has my heart and I want it back.

[@bushwacka666]

Secret Galaxy continues to be educational as well as entertaining. I always thought that the bow & arrow was the only Nerf product I ever had (well, that and the "Nerf Arena Blast" video game.) But as it turns out, we also had a couple of those "Nerful" toys in the house, (I particularly remember the rabbit-looking one on the skateboard,) though I never knew what they were called or where they'd come from - I never would've imagined they were linked with Nerf. Another childhood mystery solved. Thanks guys!

[@darktetsuya]

I remember the bow and the pump blaster (8:50) "Favorite way to simulate combat?" I was super into laser tag for a bit there was a local place called 'laser force' that had red and yellow-and-back backpacks I was always partial to the red 'firebird' one if it was available. may have to see if something like that is here where I live now!

[@leonigama5597]

good job about The History of Nerf Series Collection

[@bumbleguppy]

I remember we all had to have the Nerf basketball hoop with a bracket that slipped over the top of a standard interior door that came with a single orange nerf ball.

[@jeremylatham1160]

Yes my favorite pastime

[@stephen3164]

I would be scolded for being too rowdy playing nerf basketball in my room. I now have one in my room as an adult, though we hid the ball so the dog wouldn’t eat it, and immediately lost it. So now it’s just a decorative hoop.

[@bumbleguppy]

@@stephen3164 sometimes you just can't win, man :D

[@jnerdsblog]

8:30 holy crap; core memory unlocked

[@KabutoRX]

The Nerf Bow and Arrow song is forever engraved in my head.

[@TraumaRider]

Omg i loved my Laser Tag Setup. I wanted the helmet at one point, but Santa never got it for me.

[@Gappasaurus]

Oh man, I had so much Nerf growing up, from the plain ol’ foam ball & finger poppers to the rocket launcher tank & boomerang… 40 years later and i still have that commercial in my head 😅 🎶 _Boom, boom, boom, Nerf Boomerang!_ 🎶 9:39 Lonnie Johnson? Wasn’t that the “School of Sound Effects” guy from the _Hey Vern, It's Ernest!_ TV show? 😄 Edit: 5:33 Ahhhhh, much better 😊

[@NevTheDeranged]

You're thinking of Lonnie Don, whose range of high quality audio effects in unmatched in the business.

[@Gappasaurus]

@@NevTheDeranged Lol, yes! “You take the meaty part of your hand…” 🤣

[@bronsonjohnson9019]

I remember having one you pumped like an air rifle, we reglued the tips on. That thing left welts.

[@alexgeorge501]

"It's NERF or NOTHING!" I'll never forget that infamous catchphrase they used for some of their ads!

[@NatetheNerdy]

For one of my later birthdays, I got a nerf machine gun that was belt fed. Coolest nerf gun I've seen. You could use it one handed with a shoulder strap like some action hero, or set it up on a tripod for a realistic experience. I loved closing all the doors in my house's hallway, setting up some army guys at the end, and letting loose knowing I couldn't lose any of my darts.

[@tenebrousoul9368]

Thank you guys for fixing that glitch! Much appreciated 👍

[@SidBurn]

great summary as always, concise and detailed!

[@jamesmoss3424]

I remember playing Nerf when I was a kid and it's still lots of fun today. 😀👍

[@mjdoombreed]

Hasbro, til all are one. Even better the second time around!

[@libratigerpictures]

When are you guys gonna do a deep dive on JASON OF STAR COMMAND?!

[@billdefranza4927]

OMG, was that The Monkees? They were a HUGE influence on the Beatles. You can totally hear it.

[@glarryg2318]

My older brother had the Nerf bow and arrow. We would set up elaborate shooting galleries of He-Man and G.I. Joe figures and keep score, with tougher shots earning more points. We banged those arrow tips so much we had to reinforce them with duct tape, and even then they were in danger of falling apart.

[@iamfuturetrunks]

What stinks is that we used to have those great super soakers that could hold quite a bit of water and shoot very far. Then Nerf bought up the rights and we haven't see. Any since then. I still have one of my original ones that I have used to get some hard to reach pigeons that keep crapping at one spot on out house. If I didn't have that super soaker idk what I would do to get rid of them nonleathaly.

[@jondurrett9277]

We bought a few nerf brand super soakers when all of the summer stuff was hitting the shelves. The nerf brand super soakers are horrible. The original ones could be pumped up forever and hold pressure. The new ones don't hold pressure for nothing and they leak like crazy. I miss the original super soakers.

[@RogerPyoko]

I never had Nerf guns growing up, only ever playing with them at friend's houses. The closest I ever came to owning one was when Hasbro decided to have some fun with Megatron had him transform into a (non working) Nerf Maverick for their Classics line in 2006.

[@SerialK1986]

The use of the Michael Rosen "noise" clip at 4:15 caught me off guard, I thought you people at Secret Galaxy only knew how to make fart jokes and Gen X humor, I'm impressed, hehe.

[@megagene]

This video reminded me that I had a green and white Nerf football when I was a little kid that I haven't thought about in 35 years.

[@RichLuciano1]

Years ago a friend invited me to the Red Hat building in Research Triangle Park. He told me they had a line item in its budget for Nerf guns. They had these things all over. Lots of randon gun fights.

[@natsune09]

Bonus Nerf fact: Nerf made the protective "wheel" that housed the camera used in 'Friday the 13th part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan' used for the POV shot of the head rolling down and into the dumpster.

[@disky01]

I own quite a few Nerf guns and I appreciate your commentary on how Nerf might affect the perception of guns as toys. I have to wonder how many adults who treat their guns like toys today may have grown up with Nerf as a gateway. Not that I didn't enjoy growing up with violent '80s media but I'd wager that there are plenty of people our age who may have taken it to heart.

[@TJ52359]

I know a few gun guys who Nerf with their Kids... they instill Trigger discipline from day one

[@disky01]

@@TJ52359 Trigger discipline isn't really what I'm talking about. It's more about the lack of respect for the fact that they own a device designed for killing human beings. So many people I know who own guns seem to glorify them as if they're sports cars or video games or some other frivolous thing, when they're nowhere near the same. That is why American gun culture terrifies me. Many of the most enthusiastic fans don't have the maturity necessary for it.

[@TJ52359]

@@disky01 1st Rule of Firearms is The Gun is Loaded until YOU verify it isn't. 2nd Rule of Firearms do not point a Gun at ANYTHING you do not wish to destroy to quote Alan Ladd in Shane A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. " So many people I know... " then you need to get to know Better people

[@startrekmike]

@@TJ52359 I know some folks who handle gun ownership pretty well but I also know some that are very much part of modern "gun culture" where they get super into the hyper-consumerist side of things while also letting the gun community dictate their politics (even outside of gun related issues). The commenter above may need to "know better people" but that doesn't change that a good chunk of the gun community (at least in America, I have no experience with gun cultures outside of that) has become unhinged and have made firearms ownership their entire political, social, and personal identity.

[@bz4701]

Best video ever, I love Nerf!

[@JacobsenBros]

I of course like everyone my age grew up with Nerf guns and now I am really blown away by where the technology has gone. I struggled pulling back the bow and arrow, but now they have revolvers that you simple pull back the hammer with a thumb. So crazy.

[@SaturdayAdventures]

My brother had the bow & arrow. It was so badass.

[@reiddutchess9955]

Few things made me happier as a kid than a fresh nerf gun

[@DoorsInTheLabyrinth]

my cousins had the nerf fencing set and that was my favorite. I always liked swords better than guns anyway, but training precision by hitting the targets rather than just whacking each other on the head was neat and fun. I mean, it always just devolved into headstrikes, but the concept was there!

[@linamishima]

One of the more bonkers Nerf things was, following the success of Unreal Tournament, there was a Nerf branded and styled deathmatch FPS game o.O

[@vermontmike9800]

My Nerf boomerang always wound up on neighbors roofs.

[@itsagundam79]

The Nerf sports line should really just be rebranded ROOFS. It's all gonna end up there from a wayward toss or a sudden gust of wind.

[@shawnawesome7770]

I had nerf table hockey when it came out. also indoor mini golf. Was super fun.

[@gundambassexe31]

I saw several nerf commercials in the 90s to 2000s lol

[@subunderground]

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed hearing the word "balls" throughout this video.

[@mekman4]

Great Stuff, as always!

[@azraelcales]

Had quite a few Nerf products growing up. Now that I'm an adult I go with Xshot. 😎😝

[@Matthew_Raymond]

No love for Dart Zone or BuzzBee?

[@CitrusXVA]

Growing up, I envied people with Nerf blasters. The only ones I ever got a hold of were broken ones that were otherwise thrown out. The good news is that my imagination was firing on all cylinders and that junk helped inspire the direction of stories I wrote as a kid and teenager.

[@baditude41]

The Nerf Boomerangs were the best. I wish they still sold them in stores.

[@kerosoldier]

My first nerf blaster was the bow and arrow. Still a fan.

[@Bflorio12]

I had the Nerf bow and arrow, the Nerf Vortex, the Nerf football, the Nerf Basketball, some version of the Nerf baseball that had a vinyl around it instead of foam and of course, the original Nerf ball.

[@Bflorio12]

oh wait, I may have had Nerf fencing swords too!

[@madcat2296]

If I had a nickel every time I watched a video by a KZbin channel starting with "Secret" that talked about the Minnesota Vikings connection with Nerf footballs in August 2023, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

[@captlazer5509]

Dan was an intense kid.

[@spoonimefan]

You mean *awesome* kid!

[@captlazer5509]

@@spoonimefan awesomely *intense* as John J Rambo Jr.

[@jondurrett9277]

I still buy nerf blasters and im anxiously waiting for the pro stryfe to come out

[@Brainwav]

The OG Nerf bow was the best. I had that and the addon that let you mount 2 more arrows on it. I lost so many on our roof.

[@MJRLHobbyStuff]

Man, I had the original ball shooting tube. Good times

[@tranwc]

❤LMFAO! 50yrs old and still buying nerf blasters on a regular basis. My parents prohibited "war toys" growing up, so here we are.

[@pong86r]

completely forgot how innocent nerf used to be. but i did NOT FORGET how gaddammned great Tiger lazer tag was!

[@benjaminmuratore9341]

I had a nerf gun growing up. It was one I remembered seeing commercials for on television, and to fire it you had to cock it like a shotgun, though it only fired one dart at a time. Also, am I the only one who finds it strange that's there's never been any kind of nerf cartoon or tv show? You would think they'd have made one during the 80's or 90's, but there was nothing. Even the early/mid 2000's would've been a sensible time for one. Heck, talk of a nerf feature film would probably make perfect sense at this point.

[@SuperSpeed21]

Its always Nerf or nothing. I feel like I have too much nerf blasters but at the same time, not enough.

[@bastien-]

I was waiting for a Nerf-Based "I WARNED YOU...!"

[@MrBeardsley]

Dartmouth, eh? Why am I not surprised the man behind Nerf went to a party college.

[@jlogg8738]

Finally! Putting the toys back in secret Galaxy.

[@chrisblake4198]

One of the products I remember from the mid 80s was Nerf Ping Pong. At first seemed odd because ping pong balls are notoriously not dangerous, but the way Nerf did it worked, because while the balls ended up heavier and made of foam, the paddles were hollow vacuum formed plastic and thus much safer to swing around than wooden paddles.

[@redhotjcc]

I’m excited to watch this, but I have to say after browsing Tubi last night and finding: Higlander Animated Series. Something I never heard of. I feel like I need a short video on what happened there. I watched five minutes and it was obviously an English dub of a clearly unrelated Asian market IP and nothing in the original animation to do with Highlander. But as much as I could probably look up the answers…I want Dan Larson to tell me the history with flashy video editing and synth-pop. Please Please Please!!!!😊

[@jaylerd]

One time I brought a nerge handgun onto a plan and got stopped by security. I fired it to show them they were idiots and it was a toy - dad was upset. But they let me bring it on anyway. That was a good gun.

[@xnflg3074]

ya know, i honestly never once considered how risque twister would've been when it first came out haha

[@homelee665]

What you identify as the "Nerf N-Strike" is actually the Unity Power System. It consisted of the Titan, Hornet, and Scout blasters combined. The N-Strike series had many more blasters. But overall, a great video!

[@j.t492]

We had one of the weirder NERF products, the NERF Fencing set.

[@sdelmonte]

Second video i have watched this month to mention Fred Cox and the Nerf football. Check out Jon Bois's history of the Minnesota Vikings and his waxing eloquent about the importance of the Nerf football to American culture.

[@Thenewbagman]

good ball playing

[@QuestionMan]

Damn that Nerf Boomerang. Never could get that to work right. Thus was born my cynicism and hostility towards advertising.

[@chrislongbeard]

By the time nerf guns (ahem blasters) came out I was playing with real guns. And thanks for reminding me of nerfles, just another thing to look for on ebay

[@Mr_GoR_]

Had the Nerf Fencing set. It was a pair of foam swords with targets built into the plaatic guard.

[@user-zx8de8op9l]

I was 15 years old when the Nerf gun came out. My 7 year younger brother never had one I don't think. I had the basketball hoop, football, soccer ball, and ping pong, baseball. I do remember the Vortex football.

[@redbyrd64]

Wrong laser tag commercial. The Lazer Tag that Tiger was selling was the Lazer Tag Team Ops, then the Lazer Tag Phoenix LTX, which was rebranded under the Nerf Logo.

[@rubysuncle]

Besides the ubiquitous Nerf football, as a kid in Bklyn I was also gifted the first gen Nerf Blasters (only held a single ball each), the Nerf pool table set up (the pool balls we not proper soft Nerf so it was kinda odd) and the Nerf fencing set. I say the fencing set was the original foray into armed combat.