Pop it (toy)

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This article is about the fidget toy. For the Canadian show, see Pop It! For the novelty firework sometimes called Pop-Its, see bang snaps.
Pop it
Поп-ит.jpg
A pop it
TypeStress-relieving toy
Availability2019–present
MaterialsSilicone

A Pop It (also known as Go Pop and Last One Lost)[1] is a fidget toy consisting of a usually-brightly colored silicone tray with pokable bubbles, similar to bubble wrap, that can be flipped and re-used. They come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, and are marketed as a stress-reliever. They rose in popularity in the spring of 2021 due to TikTok influencers as well as boredom and stress attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3][4][5]

Origin[]

Pop Its for sale in Miami, Florida
A picture of the Pop It toy.
A pop it fidget toy

The Pop It was originally invented in 1975 by Theo and Ora Coster of Theora Design: a married Israeli couple who had invented many games including Guess Who? and Zingo!.[6] Theo was a former classmate of Anne Frank.[6]

According to the BBC, inspiration for its design came from a dream Ora Coster had when her sister, an artist, passed away from breast cancer. Recounting his mother’s words, Ora’s son, Boaz Coster, has said:

"She said, 'Theo, imagine a large field of breasts, that you can push the nipple' [...] She went to him and said do a carpet of nipples that you can press from one side to the other. And he did just that.”[1]

At first, there were no buyers to manufacture the toy because its rubber construction made mass production expensive.[6] In 2009, it was acquired by Montreal-based company FoxMind Games.[3] Many iterations of the prototype were made and the product material was ultimately changed to silicone. In 2019, FoxMind partnered with Buffalo Games, LLC in getting an exclusive deal with Target under the name "Pop It!"[3]. After FoxMind approached social media influencers, the toy exploded in popularity.

The company attributes the toy's success in 2021 to a 2020 TikTok video of a monkey named Gaitlyn in which the monkey played with a GoPop.[6][1]

Many spin offs of the toy were made.[3]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "How a monkey launched the pop-it toy craze". BBC News. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  2. ^ Tate, Allison (July 7, 2021). "Viral 'pop it' toys are the new fidget spinners. What are they?". Today. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Hayes, Stephanie (July 8, 2021). "Pop It! fidget toys are in everyone's hands. But why?". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  4. ^ Ayoub, Sarah (May 27, 2021). "Pop it, a hit: how a rainbow, reusable bubble wrap fidget toy became a playground must-have". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  5. ^ Velasco, Haley (August 18, 2021). "How Pop Its, the TikTok Sensation, Became the Toy of the Pandemic". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Cramer, Philissa (September 13, 2021), "Anne Frank’s Israeli classmate behind popular breast-inspired fidget toy", The Times of Israel Retrieved September 15, 2021
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