The mechanical design or the Pop It bubble popper was originally invented in 1975 by Theo and Ora Coster of Theora Concepts: a married Israeli couple who had invented many games including Guess Who? and Zingo!.[1] Incidentally, Theo was a former classmate of Anne Frank.[1] 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' [1] 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.”[2] At first, there were no buyers to manufacture the toy because its rubber construction made mass production expensive.[1] In 2009, it was acquired by Montreal-based company FoxMind Games.[8]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 the FoxMind’s Pop It! trademarked brand in all Target stores in the US. Target under the name "Pop It!"[3]. In 2021 it has since expanded into Sam’s Club and many online retailers including Amazon. After FoxMind approached social media influencers, the toy exploded in popularity on different media platforms. 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 Go Pop.[1][2] Many spin-offs of the toy were made creating a massive hike in silicone raw material prices in China.[3] FoxMind is the originator of the Pop It! And Go Pop! trends are successfully engaged on numerous fronts in legal efforts to enforce its legal rights over its creation.
References:
1. Cramer, Philissa (September 13, 2021), "Anne Frank’s Israeli classmate behind popular breast-inspired fidget toy", The Times of Israel Retrieved September 15, 2021
2. "How a monkey launched the pop-it toy craze". BBC News. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-16. Hayes, Stephanie (July 8, 2021).
3. "Pop It! fidget toys are in everyone's hands. But why?". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
