Remember this hideous monster? Cast you mind back to the 70's...it's the space hopper! It's an iconic symbol of all that's horrendously bouncy and orange!You may well be surprised to know that the Space Hopper is still going strong.
When this toy was first released the manufacturers made some outrageous claims that it would make bicycles, cars, and walking become things of the past - apparently the whole world was going to hop everywhere. Fortunately, this vision of the future never came about but that didn't shoppers buying the space hopper in huge numbers.
Ugly as it may appear, the Space Hopper is great fun and you may well find yourself prising the kids off of it just so that you can have a bounce.
A bit of space hopper history
The original UK version of the space hopper was made by Mettoy (Mettoy-Corgi).Originally released in 1968, the US was marketed as the Hoppity Hop (although the name has been distorted to "hippity hop").
The earliest HH's were made of rubber (usually red or blue) with a round ring handle on top and automotive tire valve for inflation. On the back of huge sales figures, a number of spin-offs were created including Disney's Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (featuring hard plastic copies of the character's head attached to the ball).
Sadly, during the 1990s sales of the HH started to slip due to high levels of competition from foreign hoppers - most of them being of poor quality, easily punctured material. The original Hoppity Hop is now no longer being manufactured by original versions can still be found at auctions or for sale on the internet.
As you've probably guessed, the Space Hopper, and it's cousins, haven't been designed for just kids...they're great fun for adults too! Mmm, take me back....
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