Five decades ago, on this date, the toy company Hasbro figured out how to do something that was previously thought to be impossible: get boys to play with dolls.

Of course, these “dolls” weren’t the conventional cutesy version sold to girls. Far from it. They were fashioned as brawny, proud and courageous men — heroes, really — initially representing all four branches of the United States military (Action Soldier, Action Sailor, Action Pilot and Action Marine — the Coast Guard once again was left out).

These figurines later became known as “G.I. Joe”, and have nestled in their comfortable place in the American lexicon ever since.

This is the story that was published on July 24, 1965 in The New York Times, under the headline “G.I. Joe Is Capturing New Market”:

ALTHOUGH it is assiduously promoted as a soldier, “America’s Movable Fighting Man,” the fact is that Hasbro’s increasingly popular G.I. Joe is a doll — a fully jointed, 11-inch-high-doll. And as such, it is the first to score with small boys since Raggedy Andy.

In 2003, G.I. Joe was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame (believe it or not there is such a thing, and it’s located in Rochester, New York).

The toy also spawned a cartoon series that aired in the mid-1980s and that usually contained a bizarre (although probably well-intentioned) public service announcement, like this one about not giving out your personal information to strangers: