My dad especially would buy my sister(s?) as babies/toddlers dog chew toys to play with. His reasoning being (now that I've asked) that they stood up to teething toddlers/getting tossed around a lot better than actual baby toys

My sister had a squeaky barrel of monkey toy she Adored

New revelation: they were also probably more affordable than "actual" baby/toddler toys

Because Lasting Longer on top of probably being cheaper