Weebles are a range of children's

roly-poly toy A roly-poly toy, roly-poly doll, round-bottomed doll, tilting doll, tumbler, wobbly man, wobble doll, or kelly is a round-bottomed toy, usually egg-shaped, that tends to right itself when pushed at an angle, and does this in seeming contradiction ...

s that was introduced in 1971 by the US toy company

Playskool Playskool is an American brand of educational toys and games for preschoolers. The former Playskool manufacturing company was a subsidiary of the Milton Bradley Company and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Playskool's last remaining plant ...

, which is now owned and marketed by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

as part of the Playskool brand. They are

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

-shaped toys designed with a weighted bottom-center. When tilted, the center of mass is raised, and upon release, gravity returns the toy to its original upright position. Weebles have been designed with a variety of shapes, including some designed to look like people or animals. The

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

"Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down" was used in advertising during their rise in popularity in the 1970s and during successive relaunches in the early 2000s. The line was coined by advertising executive J. Mitchell Reed in his Madison Ave Office. In the United Kingdom, Weebles were manufactured and marketed by

Airfix Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced Injection moulding, injection-moulded plastic model, plastic scale model kits. In the UK, the name 'Airfix' has become practically synonymous with plastic models of this typ ...

under licence from 1973 until Airfix's collapse in 1981. In 2023,

PlayMonster PlayMonster (formerly Patch Products) is a manufacturer and marketer of family entertainment products that specializes in games, children's puzzles, toys, activities, and teaching tools founded in 1985. In February 2016, Patch changed its compan ...

acquired an international licence from

to manufacture and sell Weebles.

Design principle

Weeble is shaped like an egg. In order for it to work as intended, the shape must have a bottom which is a more or less smooth (unfaceted)

hemisphere Hemisphere may refer to: In geometry * Hemisphere (geometry), a half of a sphere As half of Earth or any spherical astronomical object * A hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphere ** Western Hemi ...

(to allow the Weeble to roll) and from the central

vertical axis In geometry, a Cartesian coordinate system (, ) in a plane is a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely by a pair of real numbers called ''coordinates'', which are the signed distances to the point from two fixed perpendicular o ...

the shape must be nearly cylindrically symmetrical (that is, any plane cut through the vertical axis line must produce close to the same profile). Next, the shape must be filled with two basic types of unmixed

solid Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ...

s, and the

volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...

of the lighter solid must be greater than that of the heavier solid. Next, the overall shape must have constant positive curvature. Next, the relationship between the heavy solid and the light solid must be such that any orientation of the object off of the vertical axis line must cause the object's

centroid In mathematics and physics, the centroid, also known as geometric center or center of figure, of a plane figure or solid figure is the arithmetic mean position of all the points in the figure. The same definition extends to any object in n-d ...

to raise and to become offset. Lastly, the object must have only one position in which it can achieve stable

mechanical equilibrium In classical mechanics, a particle is in mechanical equilibrium if the net force on that particle is zero. By extension, a physical system made up of many parts is in mechanical equilibrium if the net force on each of its individual parts is ze ...

List of playsets

Numerous playsets were made and marketed in the US throughout the 1970s including a

Haunted House A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

Treehouse A tree house, tree fort or treeshed, is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a ha ...

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

, Camper,

Playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

Fun House A funhouse or fun house is an attraction found in amusement parks and funfair midways, equipped with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, or amuse visitors. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fun houses are participatory attractions ...

Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and briefly returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first te ...

Set,

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 ...

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Theme Set, Weekender and others. Playsets often came with certain figures, though these could also be purchased separately. The ''Weebles 1971–2011 Price Guide and Index'' lists and shows every Weeble model made over the preceding 40 years. There are 116 Weebles in total (83 regular; 21 peelable; 12 tumbling) including all egg-shaped sizes and variations made during 1971–1983. In 2011 Hasbro started making a new line of larger egg-shaped Weebles and had produced 42 new Weebles by July 2011. A wide range of accessories was available for the Weebles, including vehicles, buildings and furniture. Some sets had themes, such as the Weebles circus set. There are 44 Weebles sets that include at least one Weebles figure and a vehicle, or larger sets made between 1972 and 1982. A new line of Weebles was created in 2004 that were not egg-shaped but rather shaped like different animals. These were produced for a couple of years.

Weebleville (2004–2005)

Source: *Weebleville Town Center *Weeschool *Wegetable Stand *Weebles Barn Dance *Weehicles (four sets) *Weemobile *Wescue Wagon *Weegoaway Camper *Weebly Wobbly Tree House *Figures *Mini Weebles Pals (larger figures)

Storybook World (2006)

Source: *

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

's Wobbly Adventure *

Jack and Jill "Jack and Jill" (sometimes "Jack and Gill", particularly in earlier versions) is a traditional English nursery rhyme. The Roud Folk Song Index classifies the commonest tune and its variations as number 10266, although it has been set to severa ...

's Wobbly Adventure *

Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an impudent old woman who enters the forest home of three anthropomorphic bachelor bears while th ...

' Adventure Cottage *

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

Carriage *Weebly Knight & Ogre Adventure *Weebalot Castle *Figures

New Weebles (since 2011)

* Musical Treehouse * Wobble-Go-Round * Figures * Weebles on the Bus * Bobblin' Boat * Wobblin' Wings * Turnin' Whirlin' Racers * Turn 'n Tumble Home * Rock 'n Wobble Playground

In popular culture

* In 1975, the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

introduced a balloon of the standard Weeble design, which lasted until 1978. Almost 20 years later, balloonicles with the Weebles characters Tibbey, Tooey, and Bumpus made their debut.

References

{{Hasbro 1970s toys Toy figurines Hasbro products