View source for Pop it

{{Short description|Аnti-stress toy}}
{{About|the fidget toy|the Canadian show|Pop It!|the novelty firework sometimes called Pop-Its|bang snaps}}
{{Infobox toy
|name       = Pop-It
|image      = File:Поп-ит.jpg
|caption    =
|inventor   =
|type       = [[Fidget toy]]
|country    = Canada<br/>United States
|company    = FoxMind
|introduced =
|from       = 2019
|materials  = [[Silicone]]
|slogan     =
}}
A '''Pop-It''' (also known as '''Go Pop''' and '''Last''' '''One Lost''')<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=2021-09-08|title=How a monkey launched the pop-it toy craze|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58408570|access-date=2021-09-16}}</ref> is a [[fidget toy]] consisting of a usually-brightly colored silicone tray with poppable bubbles, similar to [[bubble wrap]], that can be flipped and re-used. They come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, and even come in wearable formats. It is marketed as a stress-reliever and rose in popularity in the spring of 2021 due to [[TikTok]] influencers as well as boredom and stress attributed to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="today">{{cite news|url=https://www.today.com/parents/what-are-popits-viral-fidget-toys-take-over-toy-stores-t224657|title=Viral 'pop it' toys are the new fidget spinners. What are they?|work=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]|last=Tate|first=Allison|date=July 7, 2021|access-date=August 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name="tampabay">{{cite news|url=https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/2021/07/08/pop-it-fidget-toys-are-in-everyones-hands-but-why/|title=Pop It! fidget toys are in everyone's hands. But why?|work=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|last=Hayes|first=Stephanie|date=July 8, 2021|access-date=August 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name="theguardian">{{cite news |last=Ayoub |first=Sarah |date=May 27, 2021 |title=Pop it, a hit: how a rainbow, reusable bubble wrap fidget toy became a playground must-have |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/28/pop-hit-how-rainbow-reusable-bubblewrap-became-a-playground-must-have |access-date=August 29, 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref name="wsj">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-tiktok-made-pop-its-the-toy-of-the-pandemic-11629291601|title=How Pop Its, the TikTok Sensation, Became the Toy of the Pandemic|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|last=Velasco|first=Haley|date=August 18, 2021|access-date=August 29, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ting |first=Yan |date=May 27, 2024 |title=When did Pop It toys become popular? |url=https://www.needfidget.com/blog/when-did-pop-it-toys-become-popular/}}</ref>
==Origin==
[[File:Pop its.jpg|thumb|250px|Pop-Its for sale in [[Miami]], [[Florida]]]]
The mechanical design of the Pop-It bubble popper was originally invented in 1975 by [[Ora and Theo Coster|Theo and Ora Coster]] of Theora Concepts: a married Israeli couple who had invented many games including ''[[Guess Who?]]'' and ''Zingo!''<ref name = "TOI">Cramer, Philissa (September 13, 2021), [https://www.timesofisrael.com/anne-franks-israeli-classmate-created-popular-toy-inspired-by-breasts/ "Anne Frank’s Israeli classmate behind popular breast-inspired fidget toy"], ''[[The Times of Israel]]'' Retrieved September 15, 2021</ref>
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. She is quoted as saying "...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.”<ref name="bbc">[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58408570"How a monkey launched the pop-it toy craze"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324172945/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58408570 |date=2023-03-24 }} BBC News. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-16.</ref>
At first, there were no buyers to manufacture the toy because its rubber construction made mass production expensive.<ref name="TOI" /> In 2009, it was acquired by [[Montreal]]-based company FoxMindGames.<ref>Tate, Allison (July 7, 2021). [https://www.today.com/parents/what-are-popits-viral-fidget-toys-take-over-toy-stores-t224657 "Viral 'pop it' toys are the new fidget spinners. What are they?"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829083324/https://www.today.com/parents/what-are-popits-viral-fidget-toys-take-over-toy-stores-t224657 |date=2021-08-29 }} [[Today (American TV program)|Today]]. Retrieved August 29, 2021.</ref> Many iterations of the prototype were made, and the product material was ultimately changed by them to silicone.
It was introduced as a logic game for the first time by FoxMind in 2014 during the Nuremberg Toy Fair, followed by the New York Toy Fair. The company marketed the product as a logic game that is quick and fun to play and fidget with. It gained popularity initially with toys and games specialty stores and special education specialists. In 2019, FoxMind partnered with Buffalo Games, LLC to introduce the toy/game under FoxMind's Pop It! trademarked brand in all [[Target Corporation|Target]] stores in the US under the name "Pop It!".<ref name="tempa">Hayes, Stephanie (July 8, 2021). [https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/2021/07/08/pop-it-fidget-toys-are-in-everyones-hands-but-why/ "Pop It! fidget toys are in everyone's hands. But why?"]. [[Tampa Bay Times]]. Retrieved August 29, 2021.</ref>
The toy's success is attributed to a 2020 TikTok video of a monkey named Gaitlyn in which the monkey played with a ''Go Pop''.<ref name = "TOI" /><ref name="bbc" /> Many spin-offs of the toy were made, creating a massive hike in silicone raw material prices in China.<ref name="tempa" />
==See also==
* [[Eye popper]]
* [[Fidget spinner]]
* [[Stress ball]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Toy-stub}}
[[Category:2020s fads and trends]]
[[Category:Novelty items]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 2019]]
[[Category:Sensory toys]]
[[Category:2020s toys]]
[[Category:2010s toys]]
[[Category:Silicone toys]]