Skip-It
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| Company | Tiger Electronics |
|---|---|
Skip-It is a children's toy introduced in 1960s, the most popular variants of which were manufactured by Tiger Electronics in the 1980s and 1990s. The Skip-It apparatus was designed to be affixed to the child's ankle via a small plastic hoop and spun around in a 360 degree rotation while continuously skipped by the user.[1]
Early toys similar to the Skip-It included the Jingle Jump,[2] the trademark application for which was filed on December 30, 1963 by Jak-Pak Industries.[3]
In the spring of 1968, Montreal-based plastic company Twinpak released a toy with similar function known as the Footsee, supposedly based on a game Twinpak co-founder Bob Asch saw an Arab child play in Jerusalem.[4] The toy was a tremendous success in Canada, and Reliable Toy Company of Toronto released the Skipit (as the name was then spelled) that same year as a competitor. Twinpak sued Reliable for copying the design of their toy, and secured a temporary injunction prohibiting Reliable from manufacturing the Skipit,[5] but by June 15, 1968 the two companies had reached a settlement allowing Reliable to continue manufacturing Skipits.[6] Both toys were also distributed in the United States at this time. In 1975,[7] the Chemtoy Corporation would release a similar toy called the Lemon Twist, which featured a lemon-shaped ball.[8]
Tiger Electronics acquired the rights to the Skip-It in 1988 from its American rightsholder, the Paul E. Price Company.[9] Tiger Electronics added a mechanical digital counter to the ball, which was patented by Avi Arad and Melvin R. Kennedy in 1990.[10]
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Skip-It apparatus became a commercial success through its advertisements on daytime Nickelodeon broadcasting as well as other children's programming.[11]
A version of the toy was featured in the Hong Kong martial art movie Butterfly and Sword (1993) where the character Miu Siu Siu / Ho Ching is seen playing with it.[12]
In 2011, Time magazine included it in their 100 greatest toys ever.[13] The Skip-It apparatus was designed to be affixed to the child's ankle via a small plastic hoop and spun around in a 360 degree rotation while continuously skipped by the user.[14]
In 2013, a spin-off of the board game Twister was developed, Twister Rave Skip-It.
References[edit]
- ^ Marti Anne Maguire, Jaclyn Bissell (2010). 101 Ways to Score Higher on Your Sat Reasoning Test. Atlantic Publishing Company. p. 114. ISBN 9781601382221.
- ^ "WOOLWORTH'S Jingle Jump (advertisement)". The Pittsburgh Press. July 8, 1964. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Class 22 - Games, Toys, and Sporting Goods". Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. 830: TM 148. September 20, 1966. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ Bieler, Zoe (23 September 1969). "Hey, look Ma — now it's Handsees!". The Montreal Star. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Toymakers must settle own dispute". The Montreal Star. Canadian Press. 1 June 1968. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Reliable Toy back in game with Skipit". National Post. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 15 June 1968. p. 32. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "SN 72,980". Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. 948: TM 188. July 20, 1976. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "A Look At Some Toys We Were Told Were Dangerous But Which We Loved Anyway". StarPulse. June 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ "Trademark Assignment Details, Reel/Frame: 0616/0982". Assignments on the Web. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ US patent 5083964A, Avi Arad, "Hoop-like toy with counter mechanism", published 1992-01-28, issued 1992-01-28, assigned to Tiger Electronics Inc
- ^ "What ever happened to: Skip-It?". The Spectator (Eau Claire, Wisconsin). September 29, 2008.
- ^ Mak, Michael (Director) (January 16, 1993). Butterfly and Sword (Motion picture) (in Cantonese). Hong Kong: Chang-Hong Channel Film & Video Co.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ Townsend, Allie (Feb 16, 2011). "ALL-TIME 100 Greatest Toys: Skip-It". Time magazine website. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011.
- ^ Marti Anne Maguire, Jaclyn Bissell (2010). 101 Ways to Score Higher on Your Sat Reasoning Test. Atlantic Publishing Company. p. 114. ISBN 9781601382221.
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