Tobar Large 60cm Retro Space Hopper Ball

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It's easy to see why skateboards, rollerboots and BMX's were so popular among kids in the 70s, but Space Hoppers? For one, it seems a little odd to be bouncing up and down on a big orange rubber ball at the best of times, and considering it didn't help - but rather hinder - getting from A to B, it could be labelled a bit pointless, really... They didn't enable you to jump higher, go faster or run further than you could on foot. But you had to have one.

A magical combination of tenderness and grief starring an unforgettable protagonist . . . Fisher writes gorgeous, lyrical prose, and every scene is infused with magic and heart . . . riveting, surprising and deeply touching’ The Hoppity Hop sold steadily for decades, but by the 1990s, sales began to slip due to increased competition from foreign hoppers. The European Hop! balls appeared in the early 1990s and are still available. Made by Italy's Ledragomma/Ledraplastic, these are essentially the quality Gymnic exercise ball with a handle attached. The sizes of these balls range from the Hop! 45 to the Hop! 66 (66cm, about 26"). The space hopper is the inspiration of two emotes in the 2017 online multiplayer game Fortnite Battle Royale, "Bouncer" and "Ollie Bounce". [4] [5] This is a magical, moving story about past and present, grief and healing, choices and yearning. A heart-warming, touching novel’ PlatinumIt’s hard to believe that this is a debut, it’s so confidently written. This is a story that will sing to all’ Woman’s Way The space hopper is a heavy rubber ball about 60–70 centimetres (24–28in) in diameter, with two rubber handles protruding from the top. A valve at the top allows the ball to be inflated by a bicycle pump or car tire pump. In the British crime drama Endeavour, episode "Apollo" (2019), a child is shown bouncing on a Space Hopper in a scene contemporaneous with the 1969 Apollo mission, consistent with the toy's 1968/1969 release in the UK.

Space Hopper is an original and poignant story about mothers, memories and moments that shape life. The space hopper was invented by Aquilino Cosani of Ledragomma, an Italian company that manufactured toy rubber balls. He patented the idea in Italy in 1968, and in the United States in 1971. Cosani called the toy "Pon-Pon". Despite being marketed as 'the amazing inflatable riding ball', its design was pretty simple. The earliest space hoppers were made of red or blue rubber, inflated via an internal valve system, reaching up to around 20 inches. These days though, adult versions are available too, enabling the children of the 70s to relive their bouncing glory days - this time with fewer grazes on their knees.Today, numerous (usually Chinese) versions can be found in most stores, ranging anywhere from 16" to 24". Within the first three months, more than 300,000 units were sold across the country. Because of market and media saturation of this toy, any such ball, regardless of origin, is now generally known in the US by that name. The original space hopper in the United Kingdom was manufactured by Mettoy ( Mettoy-Corgi). Wembley made a similar model, which had smooth handles rather than the ribbed original. The orange kangaroo design is now available in adult-sized versions in the UK. [2] The Hop! 66 is still primarily child-sized. Demand for truly adult-proportioned hopping balls was met with two notable items: The first was Kitt 2000 Velp, of the Netherlands Mega Skippyballs, a large hopping ball that, by virtue of its size, was intended only for adult use. It came in three sizes: 120 centimetres (47in), 100 centimetres (39in), and 80 centimetres (31in).