From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Novelty headband
A
deely bobber
(also
deeley bobber
or
deeley bopper
)
[1]
is a
novelty item
of headgear comprising a
headband
to which are affixed two springy protrusions resembling the
antennae
of insects.
[1]
These "antennae" may be topped with simple plastic shapes or more elaborate and fanciful decorations, such as mini
pom poms
or
light-emitting diodes
. The name "deely bobber" is a
genericized trademark
;
[2]
other names include
deely-boppers
,
[3]
bonce boppers
,
head boppers,
or
space boppers
. The product was introduced in 1981 and quickly became a fad of the 1980s. In June 1982, a headline of
The New York Times
called them
Martian antennae
.
[4]
Origin
[
edit
]
Stephen Askin invented the original deely bobber in 1981, inspired by the
"Killer Bees"
costumes on
Saturday Night Live
.
[5]
Askin was a former stockbroker and serial entrepreneur who had sold
dartboards
depicting
Ayatollah Khomeini
during the
Iran hostage crisis
of 1980.
[6]
[7]
Askin made prototype Deely Bobbers in his kitchen and
test-marketed
them at the
Los Angeles
Street Fair
of summer 1981, selling 800 at $5 each.
[6]
He sold the invention to the Ace Novelty Co. of
Bellevue, Washington
, which launched it in January 1982 at the California Gift Fair.
[5]
[6]
The name "Deely Bobber" was suggested by the wife of John Minkove, an Ace marketer; it had been her schoolfriend's
placeholder name
for "thingamajig".
[5]
The name "deely bopper" had previously been used for a brand of
toy block
sold between 1969 and 1973.
[2]
Deely bobbers began retailing in April 1982 at US$3.
[5]
They quickly became a
fad
in the United States,
[8]
before reaching the United Kingdom in July. At the
1982 World's Fair
in
Knoxville, Tennessee
, 10,000 a day were sold;
[6]
total sales by August were estimated at 2 million,
[1]
with Askin getting 5% of the wholesale price.
[6]
Imitations costing $1?2 undercut the original,
[5]
though Askin applied for a patent.
[6]
The original decorations for the antennae were
polystyrene
shapes covered in
sparkles
: spheres, stars, hearts.
[5]
[6]
Flashing lights were added to cash in on the hit movie
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
,
[6]
with seasonal themes for later holidays.
[6]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Hard-Times Baubles"
.
Time
. August 9, 1982. Archived from
the original
on January 27, 2008.
- ^
a
b
"Deely-bobber"
Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper
- ^
Ayto, John (2002).
Twentieth century words
. Oxford University Press. p.
531
.
ISBN
0-19-860230-8
.
- ^
Alexander, Ron (June 7, 1982).
"A new fad invades: Martian antennae"
.
The New York Times
. pp. B11
. Retrieved
8 February
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"It's the umbrella that fits on your head"
.
The Tuscaloosa News
. Associated Press. July 2, 1982. p. 12
. Retrieved
8 February
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Lester, Peter (July 26, 1982).
"They're Called Deely Bobbers and They Mean $$ for Gizmo King Stephen Askin"
.
People
.
8
(4).
- ^
Wadler, Joyce (1982-06-30).
"
'Deely-Bobbers' Springing Up in Summer Silliness"
.
Washington Post
.
ISSN
0190-8286
. Retrieved
2023-03-21
.
- ^
Barry, John (August 2, 1982).
"Computer concocts hyphenation"
.
InfoWorld
.
4
(30): 34.
'deely bopper' (those springy cranial antennae that are taking the country by storm)
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