Pop-pop-popping into the Hall of Fame

November 22, 2023 6:44 AM

The Corn Popper toy, a stick with a plastic dome filled with gumball-sized balls, popped into the Strong Museum’s (USA) National Toy Hall of Fame this year. Introduced in 1957, the Corn Popper followed the principles of Good Design established by the Museum of Modern Art just a few years earlier. As a child (or adult, ahem) pushes the Corn Popper, colorful balls go flying and hit the dome with a fun popping noise.

Bonus: The Popcorn Song (1969) by Gershon Kingsley, a brilliant cover from 2022 and more popcorn than you can stomach, previously.

posted by evilmomlady (31 comments total)

Until horrible people invented slime & kinetic sand, this was a pretty clear frontrunner in The Most Evil Toy competition. I believe it's still a favorite to win the terrible toddlers group.
posted by Baethan at 6:47 AM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]

It's a vacuum cleaner, Milhouse.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:15 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I loved this damn thing.

For some reason I always confuse it with the eyeball phone that appeared in Skinamarink. It would have been scary in that movie.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:22 AM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

It's a vacuum cleaner, Milhouse.

We always thought of it as a lawnmower.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:25 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Got a lot of work done with the popper. Sturdy, dependable. Appreciated.
posted by user92371 at 7:34 AM on November 22, 2023 [19 favorites]

Got a lot of work done with the popper. Sturdy, dependable. Appreciated.

Appreciated by all except those who had to listen to it.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:36 AM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

When my niece arrived, I asserted my rights as the Cool Uncle and bought her a corn popper for Christmas.

Never heard a word about it. Not one peep. Pretty sure it was immediately regifted.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:37 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

I bought one for my nephew one Christmas when I was annoyed at my sister.
posted by goatdog at 7:43 AM on November 22, 2023 [12 favorites]

We just told our kids that our vacuum is a “toy” and “vacuuming is a fun game”. Cheaper than a roomba, too.
posted by Doleful Creature at 7:49 AM on November 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

The matter-antimatter matrix in your popper is higgledy-piggledy.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:03 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

pop
Pop
POP!
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:16 AM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

Local vacuum repair shop displays one embellished with DYSON in black magic marker.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:24 AM on November 22, 2023 [13 favorites]

I had a first-generation one as a tyke (1968-ish). i was allowed to use it as much as I wanted as long as it never left the basement.
posted by LindsayIrene at 8:28 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Dang it. I messed up the first pop. pop
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:29 AM on November 22, 2023

You won't enjoy it on as many levels as I do
posted by Gorgik at 8:30 AM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

Be careful about giving noisy toys. One evening, my younger brother ran a Fisher-Price circus wagon relentlessly up and down our hallway. Wood wheels on a wood floor; things were all wood back then. Quite unexpectedly the top blew off: our considerably older brother strode in, laid the wagon on its side, stomped a large boot through the wooden cage where the wooden animals lived, and strode out. Possibly to the woods.
posted by pracowity at 8:31 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

When we were young, my dad and his sisters would give each other's kids the most annoying toys they could find every Christmas. As the recipients, we loved it!
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:38 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Until horrible people invented slime & kinetic sand, this was a pretty clear frontrunner in The Most Evil Toy competition.

I’m pretty sure that title was awarded permanently to anything carrying the V-Tech logo.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:06 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Is this Popcorn Day?
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:20 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Pop-pop-popping on heaven's door.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:23 AM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]

But does it have a moisture sensor?
posted by MtDewd at 9:33 AM on November 22, 2023 [5 favorites]

I loved the heck out of this toy but never had my own...it was something you had to throw elbows for to get at preschool. The most fun was running it as fast or as slow as possible. Either POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP or POP..........
POP.........POP. Very satisfying. If I had had one I would have wanted to take it apart to see how it worked though.
posted by emjaybee at 9:37 AM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

If I had had one I would have wanted to take it apart to see how it worked though.

It's both simple and clever!
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 9:52 AM on November 22, 2023 [8 favorites]

Give me the popcorn popper sound over ANY electronic toy any damn day. Pick any one of these, and the popper will seem soothing.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:00 AM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

I approve of the corn popper toy. Not sure why the new one needs such a monstrously sturdy looking handle though. We had one just like the older model pictured in the article and as far as I know it survived all three of us kids.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:11 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I don’t remember them being that loud.

Of course we didn’t have one a home,
We played with one at our dentist’s office.
posted by calgirl at 10:56 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Loved this toy.
posted by luckynerd at 10:57 AM on November 22, 2023

Hah, you call that an annoying toy?
posted by gottabefunky at 12:35 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

fimbulvetr beat me to the pop, but I explicitly came in here to post strips from my all-time favorite comic, Cul de Sac, so here are a few more:

popper repair
popper on the skateboard ramp

Pop!
posted by kristi at 1:58 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

We gave our son's popcorn popper away when he outgrew it. But we did also find a Hallmark ornament of the popper - it works. It's a tiny perfect replica. It pops. We love it.
posted by caution live frogs at 2:35 PM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

My dad requested that we be given one of these when my daughter was a baby. Retaliation for annoyance when my brother and I were little. Sadly (for him) it seemed the new models available were made cheaper with less balls and less popping. Don't worry dad, there were many other super annoying toys and shows my daughter loved, so karma was still balanced in the end.
posted by weathergal at 3:26 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]