A joy buzzer (also called a hand buzzer) is a

practical joke device A practical joke device is a toy intended to confuse, frighten, or amuse individuals as a prank. Often, these toys are harmless facsimiles of otherwise potentially disgusting or terrifying objects, such as vomit or spilled nail polish. In other ...

that consists of a coiled

mainspring A mainspring is a spiral torsion spring of metal ribbon—commonly spring steel—used as a power source in mechanical watches, some clocks, and other clockwork mechanisms. ''Winding'' the timepiece, by turning a knob or key, stores energy in ...

inside a disc worn in the palm of the hand. When the wearer shakes hands with another person, a button on the disc releases the spring, which rapidly unwinds creating a vibration that mimics an electric shock to the unsuspecting victim.

History

The joy buzzer was invented in 1928 by Soren Sorensen "Sam" Adams of the S.S. Adams Co. It was modeled after ''The Zapper'', a product that was similar to the joy buzzer, but did not have a very effective buzz and contained a button with a blunt point that would hurt the recipient's hand. Adams brought a large prototype of his newly designed buzzer to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where a machinist created the tools that would make the parts for a new palm-sized Joy Buzzer. In 1932, the item received from the U.S. Patent Office. The instant success of the new item allowed Adams to move to a new building and increase the size of his company. Adams continued to send royalty payments to the tool and die maker until 1934 when the payments were returned. In 1987, Sam Adamses' son, Joseph "Bud" Adams, redesigned the mechanism for greater durability and a louder buzz, marketing it as the ''Super Joy Buzzer''.

Electric shock

A common misconception, largely due to false advertising by the makers of the device, is that the joy buzzer delivers an electric shock, when in fact it only causes a vibration simulating a shock.

In pop culture

The joy buzzer has found its way into several pop culture media since its creation. *Some stylized villains in fiction (e.g.

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

's nemesis

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, the character first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' on ...

) employ "lethally powerful" joy buzzers as weapons. *In

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

cartoon film '' Mickey's Rival'' (1936), Mickey Mouse's hands are shocked by Mortimer Mouse's trousers. *In the ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

'' episode "Pranks a Lot" (2004),

Patrick Star Patrick Star is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He is voiced by actor Bill Fagerbakke and was created and designed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. He first ...

's hand is shocked by a joy buzzer. *In ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' episode " Homie the Clown" (1995), Homer Simpson is shocked with a joy buzzer multiple times by

Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ), better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the List of animated television series, animated television series ''The S ...

to the point where he is tortured by it. Two years later it makes another appearance in "Principal and the Pauper" (1997) where Bart used it on Principal Seymour Skinner promoting the reply "What the... Oh an enjoyment buzzer!".

Related device variations

Some device variations were later created to actually shock the person being pranked rather than simulate the shock with vibrations. These devices include the shocking pen, which generates a mild electric shock when a victim clicks the button on top, or shocking gum, which also delivers a mild electric shock when a victim touches or pulls upon what appears to be the last stick of gum from a box.

References

{{reflist Practical joke devices

History

Electric shock

In pop culture

Related device variations

See also

References