A space hopper (also known as a moon hopper, skippyball, kangaroo ball, bouncer, hippity hop, hoppity hop, sit and bounce, or hop ball) is a

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

ball (similar to an

exercise ball An exercise ball is a ball constructed of soft elastic, typically in 5 diameters of 10-centimeter increments, from 35 centimeters (14 inches) to 85 centimeters (34 inches), and filled with air. The air pressure is changed by removing a valve ste ...

) with handles which allow one to sit on it without falling off. The user can attempt to hop around on the toy, using the

elastic Elastic is a word often used to describe or identify certain types of elastomer, elastic used in garments or stretchable fabrics. Elastic may also refer to: Alternative name * Rubber band, ring-shaped band of rubber used to hold objects togeth ...

properties of the ball to move forward. The term "space hopper" is more common in the United Kingdom; the toy is less familiar in the United States, and may be known as a "hoppity hop", "hippity hop" or a "sit n bounce". A similar toy popular in the United States in the 1980s was the

pogo ball A Lolo Ball, also known as a POGO BAL, Springbal, Lolobal, Disc-O, Pogo ball, or Pogo-It, is a toy. It consists of a seamless figure-8 rubber ball locked into a structurally supported, sturdy plastic platform. To play with it, one stands on the plas ...

, which has a hard plastic ring encircling the ball instead of a handle.

Use

The space hopper is a heavy

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

about in diameter, with two rubber handles protruding from the top. A

valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

at the top allows the ball to be inflated by a

bicycle pump A bicycle pump is a type of positive-displacement air pump specifically designed for inflating bicycle tires. It has a connection or adapter for use with one or both of the two most common types of valves used on bicycles, Schrader or Pre ...

or car tire pump. A child can sit on top, holding the two handles, and bounce up and down until the ball leaves the ground. By leaning, the driver can make the ball bounce in a particular direction. In practical terms, this is a very inefficient form of locomotion, but its simplicity, ease of use, low cost and cheerful appearance appeal to children.

History

The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Hoppity horse

The space hopper was invented by Aquilino Cosani of Ledragomma, an Italian company that manufactured toy

balls. He patented the idea in Italy in 1968, and in the United States in 1971. Cosani called the toy "Pon-Pon". Space hoppers were introduced to the United Kingdom in 1969. The ''

Cambridge Evening News The ''Cambridge News'' (formerly the ''Cambridge Evening News'') is a British daily newspaper. Published each weekday and on Saturdays, it is distributed from its Waterbeach base. In the period December 2010 – June 2011 it had an average dai ...

'' newspaper, England, contained an advertisement for the hopper in November of that year and described it as a trend. The space hopper became a major craze for several years, and remained widely popular through the 1980s. They are sometimes considered a symbol of the 1970s. The original space hopper of the United Kingdom was manufactured by Mettoy (

Mettoy-Corgi Corgi Toys (trademark) is the brand name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles created by Mettoy and currently owned by Hornby Railways, Hornby.tire valve for inflation. In the 1970s Sun introduced various character versions of the Hoppity Hop, such as the Hoppity Horse, Disney's

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

and

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

(with hard plastic versions of the character's head attached to the ball). The Hoppity Hop sold rather steadily for decades, but by the 1990s sales apparently started to slip due to increased competition from foreign hoppers. At some point, the Hoppity Hop came to be made of a

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

like material, some molded in fluorescent colors. The Hoppity Hop now appears to have been discontinued, but the original – sometimes still in the box – comes up from time to time on online auction sites. According to advertising materials, the Hoppity Hop's original targets were both adults and children. Since the balls only inflated to around , however, it is doubtful that any but the shortest adults could have gotten much use out of one. Today, numerous versions can be found in most stores, ranging anywhere from . Many are manufactured in China. The European "Hop!" balls appeared in the beginning of the 1990s and are still available. Made by Italy's Ledragomma/Ledraplastic, these are essentially the quality

with a handle attached. The sizes of these balls range from the "Hop! 45" to the "Hop! 66" (66 cm, about 26 in). While it is still used for fun and exercise by many adults, the Hop! 66 is still borderline child sized. The demand for truly adult proportioned hopping balls was met with two notable items. The first of these was Kitt 2000 Velp, of the Netherlands Mega Skippyballs, a large hopping ball which by virtue of its size was intended only for adult use. There were three sizes: , and . The Mega Skippyballs are made of extra-strong vinyl, and in the Netherlands there are various Skippyball races and Skippyball championships.

Popular culture

The humorous science fiction novel and audio book ''Kangazang'' features space hoppers (referred to as 'Hoppas') who are depicted as an alien race living on the planet Profania Alpha. The space hopper character of Pon-Pon is instrumental in helping the two main characters save the universe. Space hoppers can be seen being used in the background of one scene in Episode 59 of ''

Star Trek: The Original Series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...

'', " And the Children Shall Lead". Episode 12, season 2 (production number 19) of the popular British comedy from the 1970s ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television com ...

'' was mostly related to space hoppers. The plot of the episode (called " Charity Bounce") involved a charity bounce on space hoppers from London to Brighton. The space hopper lent its name and face to the Birmingham psychedelic trance parties that ran from the mid 1990s to 2000, and also appeared at the

Glastonbury festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

. In a Season 7 episode of ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'', "

The One Where They All Turn Thirty The seventh season of '' Friends'', an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on October 12, 2000. ''Friends'' was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television ...

", Phoebe bounced for one mile on a Hippity Hop, this being on a list she had made of things to do before turning 30. In ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' Series 3, Episode 11 "Utopia", the Tenth Doctor refers to Captain Jack's Vortex Manipulator as a space hopper in contrast to his TARDIS, which he calls a sports car. The pornographic parody film ''

Bat Pussy ''Bat Pussy'' is an American pornographic film, believed to have been produced and possibly released in the early 1970s. Ostensibly a spoof of the 1966–1968 ''Batman'' television series, it has been cited as the earliest example of a pornog ...

'' (1973) features the titular character using a space hopper for transportation. A character named Space Hopper, which resembles a toy space hopper, appears in Ian Stewart's book ''

Flatterland ''Flatterland'' is a 2001 book written by mathematician and science popularizer Ian Stewart about non-Euclidean geometry. It was written as a sequel to ''Flatland'', an 1884 novel that discussed different dimensions. Plot summary Almost 100 ...

''. In ''

The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The ...

Presents'' post-apocalyptic / cyberpunk episode ''Slags'' (1984), the horns and part of a cut-up space hopper is used as a hood by one of the characters. The British animated

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...

Monkey Dust ''Monkey Dust'' is a British adult animated satirical sketch comedy series created by Harry Thompson and Shaun Pye. The series is characterized by its dark humour, frequent shifts in animation styles, and handling of taboo topics such as be ...

'' features the recurring character Ivan 'The Meat-Safe Murderer' Dobsky, a man imprisoned in 1974 for a crime he didn't commit, being finally released in every episode with no possessions other than a variety of 1970s clothing and a space hopper called Mr. Hoppy. Mr. Hoppy is eventually revealed to be both sentient and responsible for the Meat-Safe Murders himself (as well as the murder of Dobsky's wife of several hours). The space hopper is the inspiration of two

emote An emote is an entry in a text-based chat client that indicates an action taking place. Unlike emoticons, they are not text art, and instead describe the action using words or images (similar to emoji). Emotes were created by Shigetaka Kurita ...

s in the 2017 online multiplayer game ''

Fortnite Battle Royale ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed and published by Epic Games. It is a companion game to '' Fortnite: Save the World'', a cooperative survival game with construction elements. It was initially re ...

'', which are the "Bouncer" and "Ollie Bounce". The former, introduced in the game's ninth season, involves the player character using the space hopper toy itself, while the latter is a special emote exclusive to an outfit based on one of the five elite agents of the game's twelfth season, Agent Skye, in which she takes off her hat, which transforms into a rotund creature named Ollie, and rides him like a space hopper. In the British crime drama '' Endeavour'', episode "Apollo" (2019), a child is seen bouncing on a Space Hopper in a scene contemporaneous with the 1969 Apollo mission, consistent with the toy's 1968/1969 release in the U.K. In 2018 the British eccentric Steven Payne completed the first crossing of the Alps by spacehopper from Bardoneccia in Italy to Grenoble in France, a world record journey of 122 km (75 miles) which took 19 days. The trip received wide coverage on national and international TV, radio and in various newspapers.

References

External links

The Space Hopper Forums

– article on the toy {{DEFAULTSORT:Space Hopper Physical activity and dexterity toys Rubber toys Products introduced in 1968