When it comes to cult , the sillier , the better . ThePet Rockcraze of the ‘ 70s convinced 1000000 they needed an ordinary rock to worry for ; theedible underwearphenomenon during the same decade made a snack out of undergarments .
But few jest gift beam their nonsense considerably than Deely Bobbers , the headband - mounted antennae that in short sweep the state in the former eighties and turnedmillionsof mass into impromptu insects . suitably , the Bobbers began with a man who had once struck Au pretend fun of the Ayatollah Khomeini .
Bobbers for Dollars
Stephen Askin always had a knack for irreverent gaud items . A one - meter stockbroker and graduate of San Jose State , Askin ’s ship’s company , What ’s Modern , differentiate in developing and marketing the kinds of thing one might determine inSpencer Giftsor in the back of a1960s funny book . Those oversized froth cowboy hats ? Askin was involved . Pac - Man pillow ? Askin . An understuffed plush catdubbedthe Flat Cat ? Askin again . At the height of the Iranian Revolution , he even market anAyatollah Khomeinidartboard . ( Khomeini , the drawing card of the Revolution , was not on friendly terms with the United States . )
At the risk of stating the obvious , Askin toldPeoplethat “ I ’m not concerned in excessively tasteful American craft . ”
For the Bobbers , Askin wasinspiredbySaturday Night Live — specifically , the bee costumes and accompanying feeler worn by John Belushi and others during the insect - centric sketches of the late seventies .
In 1981 , Askin act on the idea as a conformation of “ kinetic carving , ” with a headband ( or tiara ) sporting springs , scintillation , and an eye - watch shape at the end . He decided to appraise their appeal at the 1981 California Gift Show as well as the Los Angeles Street Fair , where he sold 800 of the Bobbers at $ 5 each .
intelligibly , there was a requirement for a novelty purchase that , in Askin ’s words , “ changes [ people ’s ] personalities instantly . ” Askin began sell them to Spencer Gifts , Bloomingdale ’s , and to Six Flags amusement ballpark . need for the Bobbers grew so tumid that Askin entered into a trade with the Ace Novelty Co. in Bellevue , Washington , to mass - produce them . Ace , in good turn , trialed them in Seattle , where 30,000 of the Bobbers sold out . They were a variant of Mickey Mouse ear , signaling to passersby that the wearer was n’t choose thing too seriously .
Ahead of the Curve
Soon enough , there was a near - endless variety of bobfloat on the market . Some were star - shaped ; others had pinwheels ; some could glow in the darkness ; a few had tiny airplanes with propellers blowing in the zephyr . The inevitable belt - offs came , too , undercut Askin ’s official rendering by sell for as minuscule as $ 1 .
Any way you slice it , the Bobbers became ubiquitous . “ They seem to be the most popular headdress since theSony Walkman , ” observedThe New York Times . They were exceedingly popular at the World ’s Fair in Knoxville , Tennessee , and at Mardi Gras , where revel and slightly inebriated decisiveness - making made the ware more appealing . The Bobbersappearedat an anti - atomic demonstration in New York . Some even wore multiple cork at once . sale in 1982 were throw to be in the neighborhood of $ 15 million .
For Ace vice - president John Minkove , the appealingness was simple . “ They ’ve set a lot of people laughing , ” he said . “ They ’re absolutely useless , unless they help to work off tension . Whatever the state of the economic system , most people have a clam to spend on some fun . ”
Askin see a Deely Bobber industry , one where bats would spring up on the headgear for Halloween . He exported them to England and Japan . He anticipated licensing opportunities withGarfieldorThe Smurfs . The only matter that could slow the Bobbers , he said , would be the weather . Snow and rain were not conducive to the bobbing action of the tiara .
That , and time : The Deely Bobber craze slow down fairly cursorily . Askin went on to other venture , most recently consulting forMicroPuzzles , a series of low - firearm - count puzzles packed in run tubes and meant to be solved in a reasonable amount of time . While Deely Bobbers and the various smash - offs are still readily available , they ’re no longer extremely seek after .
And if you ’re look for enshroud meaning in the nameBobbers , do n’t bother . While Minkove ’s wife ’s friend used to use the terminus to refer a random item , “ it does n’t mean anything , ” Askin said .
