The Oozinator is a toy water gun manufactured by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

, Inc. It is a member of the

Super Soaker Super Soaker is an American brand of recreational water gun that uses manually-pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt pistols. The Super Soaker was invented in 1989 by engineer Lonnie Joh ...

family, which includes 10 other squirt-gun toys. It gained notoriety after its release due to its ability to discharge a viscous compound that resembled human

semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is an organic bodily fluid created to contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize the female ovum. Sem ...

, as well as its suggestive television advertisements that depicted said compound being forcefully ejected onto unwilling children.

Description

The company recommends the

Oozinator for use by ages 6 & Up, suggests at retail for US$24.99, and is item # 52695. Product specifications include an "air-powered blaster," 27-ounce water capacity and 20-shot "bio-ooze" capacity. The toy uses an "air-powered blaster" that can propel water up to 35 feet, and "bio-ooze" up to 20 feet. The toy comes with a 10-ounce supply of "bio-ooze." In Spray Mode 1, the toy is actuated and propels water from a nozzle located superiorly on the anterior aspect by squeezing a trigger, located toward the rear. A pressure reservoir which is charged by a lateral pumping action of a forward-pointing, superiorly located rod enables actuation. In Spray Mode 2, the toy spurts "ooze" with each pumping action of a separate, lateral manual handle, located at the inferior aspect of the anterior surface, immediately below the water charging handle. In "ooze" mode, the toy does not store pressure.

History

copyrighted the term Oozinator in 2005 and the toy was put on sale in 2006. In Hasbro's description of the device, they advertised that Oozinator operators could surprise their opponents with "globs of gooey bio-ooze" during a water fight:

Sneak up on your opponents with a surprise bio-ooze attack! Just when they think you’re coming at ‘em with water, blast ‘em with a shot of icky bio-ooze! Shoot out globs of gooey bio-ooze and then drench ‘em with water! It’s a double blast attack that’ll keep your opponents on their toes and running during every water fight.

The product was discontinued not long after release.

Reception

*The AV Club (a Los Angeles-based production company) made a spoof video of a board meeting discussing the Oozinator, where one person sees how the toy could be suggestive, but is ostracized by the others for it.AV Club video
/ref> *The commercial for the Oozinator was featured on the December 18, 2006 episode of ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

.'' In the segment "This Week in God," the Oozinator was named as "the Number One "Devil's Plaything" for

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

," and correspondent

Samantha Bee Samantha Anne Bee (born October 25, 1969) is a Canadian-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actress, and television host. Bee rose to fame as a correspondent on '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'', where she became th ...

noted it offered "Junior's first moneyshot." * Consumer affairs website

Consumerist ''Consumerist'' (also known as ''The Consumerist'') was a non-profit consumer affairs website owned by Consumer Media LLC, a subsidiary of '' Consumer Reports'', with content created by a team of full-time reporters and editors. The site's foc ...

discussed the water gun in several posts, describing it as having the "shape and hue of a grotesque alien phallus." * In a blog post highlighting several comics that had been made about the product,

Wired (magazine) ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fr ...

described the Oozinator as "a super-soaker with shall we say bukkakean properties." *

Engadget ''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...

described it as a "bizarrely suggestive goo-shooting weapon, which is available at Toys R Us until some exec somewhere gets a clue"

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Original Oozinator TV commercialOozinator Video Review"Splooginator" Parody of hypothetical Hasbro marketing meetingOozinator Profile at The Consumerist
Water guns