Space hopper
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A space hopper, also known as a skippyball, kangaroo ball, hop ball, or a hoppity hop, is a rubber ball with a diameter of about 60cm. The ball has a large handle which allows one to sit on it without falling off, by holding on to the handle. The goal is to hop around with it, using the elastic properties of the ball to move forward. This can be carried even further by employing several balls and organizing a race.
The toy was invented by Aquilino Cosani during the 1960s and was originally termed the PON-PON.
Space Hoppers bounced into the UK during the Summer of ’71 and served absolutely no useful purpose whatsoever.
They didn’t allow you to go faster, bounce higher, or run further than you could on foot. But you had to have one.
For much of the early 1970s children spent hours bouncing up and down busy roads until they either developed a headache, fell off and grazed their knees, or burst their Hopper - not an easy task unless it was cunningly over-inflated.
The original UK space hopper was manufactured by Mettoy (Mettoy-Corgi). Wembley also made a similar model but had smooth handles rather then the ribbed original. The orange kangaroo design is now available in Adult Sized versions in the UK.
External links
- History (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blspacehopper.htm)
- If you hadn't one, you were hopping mad (http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/1000expats/expatsfeatures/tm_objectid=14647610&method=full&siteid=50080&headline=if-you-hadn-t-one--you-were-hopping-mad-name_page.html) — article on the toy
- UK Original Space Hoppers (http://www.space-hoppers.co.uk/)
- Memories of Space Hoppers (http://www.doyouremember.co.uk/memory.asp?memID=137)