A deely bobber (also deeley bobber or deeley bopper) is a

novelty item A novelty item is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new (hence "novelty", or newness). The term also applies to practical items with fanciful or ...

of headgear comprising a

headband A headband or hairband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plast ...

to which are affixed two springy protrusions resembling the antennae of insects. These "antennae" may be topped with simple plastic shapes or more elaborate and fanciful decorations, such as mini

pom pom A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material. The term may refer to large tufts used by cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, also known as ...

s or

light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corre ...

s. The name "deely bobber" is a

genericized trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...

; other names include deely-boppers, 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 ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called them Martian antennae.

Origin

Stephen Askin invented the original deely bobber in 1981, inspired by the "Killer Bees" costumes on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''. Askin was a former stockbroker and serial entrepreneur who had sold

dartboard Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed projectiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the board, thoug ...

s depicting

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

during the

Iran hostage crisis The Iran hostage crisis () began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, with 52 of them being held until January 20, 1981. Th ...

of 1980. Askin made prototype Deely Bobbers in his kitchen and test-marketed them at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Street Fair A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood. The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey informa ...

of summer 1981, selling 800 at $5 each. He sold the invention to the Ace Novelty Co. of

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the f ...

, which launched it in January 1982 at the California Gift Fair. The name "Deely Bobber" was suggested by the wife of John Minkove, an Ace marketer; it had been her schoolfriend's

placeholder name Placeholder names are intentionally overly generic and ambiguous terms referring to things, places, or people, the names of which or of whom do not actually exist; are temporarily forgotten, or are unimportant; or in order to avoid stigmat ...

for "thingamajig". The name "Deelie Bobbers" had previously been used for a brand of construction toy sold by

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known as Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. It remained family owne ...

between 1969 and 1973."Deely-bobber"
''

Online Etymology Dictionary Etymonline, or ''Online Etymology Dictionary'', sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the etymology, origins of English la ...

'', Douglas Harper. Deely bobbers began retailing in April 1982 at US$3 (). They quickly became a

fad A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors tha ...

in the United States, before reaching the United Kingdom in July. At the

1982 World's Fair The 1982 World's Fair, officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (KIEE) and simply as Energy Expo '82 and Expo '82, was an international exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Focu ...

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, 10,000 a day were sold; total sales by August were estimated at two million, with Askin getting 5% of the wholesale price. Imitations costing $1–2 undercut the original, though Askin applied for a patent. The original decorations for the antennae were

polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It i ...

shapes covered in sparkles: spheres, stars, hearts. Flashing lights were added to cash in on the hit movie ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...

'', with seasonal themes for later holidays.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deely Bopper 1980s fads and trends Headgear Novelty items Party equipment Products introduced in 1981

Origin

See also

References